Dodgers' 3B situation: strained hamstring, bitten-off ear, mediocrity

Coming into the 2014 season, third base was a position of strength for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the major league level in addition to great promise for the future with the inevitable move of Corey Seager from shortstop to the hot corner.

The same could not be said the last couple of seasons with the massive struggles of Juan Uribe, but following a 5-fWAR campaign, his excellent defense and suddenly solid offensive contributions were something to look forward to. Though he has walked less and struck out more through the early portion of this season, his overall line is nearly identical and his defense is still Grade-A stuff.

Unfortunately, what has not carried over is good health. A hamstring injury a few weeks ago sidelined Uribe, but he returned to the field after about a week off to recuperate. That week off could look amazing compared to what is likely in store for Uribe after he re-injured the same hamstring in Tuesday's game against the New York Mets.

Ken Gurnick reported the injury as a right hamstring strain, and David Vassegh chimed in with added information as well as words from Juan himself.

Uribe's injury is in the same spot on same leg ( right hamstring ). He said it felt worse than last time. Team will evaluate him tomorrow
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) May 21, 2014

With Hyun-Jin Ryu slated to be activated tomorrow from the DL and the Dodgers in need of a 25-man roster spot, a faux-DL stint for somebody was already a possibility. Uribe's injury simply makes it that much easier to free up a spot for Ryu while letting Uribe rest the hamstring in an effort to not have it linger all season long.

The bench would be short a guy but the club has gone that route before, and Ned Colletti has proven to care more about not cutting end-of-the-roster players in the fear that somebody claims them rather than keeping the most talented guys in the majors.

Of course, the Dodgers do have the perfect replacement, who is tearing it up in Triple-A Albuquerque: second baseman/shortstop Alex Guerrero, who entering play today was hitting .368/.411/.737/1.148 with a .482 wOBA and 191 wRC+ in just over 120 plate appearances. Yes, it's Albuquerque, but he is 27 already and the issue all along with him has been defense.

Unfortunately for Guerrero, tearing it up doesn't mean anything right now after he was physically torn up by teammate Miguel Olivo, who tried to attack Guerrero on the field; sucker-punched him in the dugout; and then sealed the deal and his fate in the big leagues moving forward by biting Guerrero's ear and taking a chunk out of it.

Guerrero's agent Scott Boras said plastic surgery to repair the ear is in order. How soon Guerrero returns to action remains to be seen, but putting him out of the question for the time being means third base will be handled by some combination of Justin Turner and Chone Figgins.

Turner is hitting .230/.280/.284/.564 with a .254 wOBA and wRC+ of just 60. Figgins sits at .211/.423/.263/.686 with a .340 wOBA and 119 wRC+. That's due to him somehow drawing six walks thus far. Neither is an appealing alternative to Uribe or Guerrero.

As I suggested on Twitter, it's pretty much come to this.

CALLING BLAKE DEWITT. #Dodgers
— Greg Zakwin (@ArgyledPlaschke) May 21, 2014

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Dodgers Digest

Dodgers bring back Trayvon Robinson on minor-league deal

The Dodgers signed a familiar name to a minor league contract as Trayvon Robinson will reportedly return to the organization that drafted him and then traded him away.

Nothing is official, but Matt Eddy of Baseball America reported Friday Robinson is back in the fold as he attempts to work his way onto a major league roster once again after flaming out in Seattle. Robinson, who won't turn 27 until September, was a 10th-round selection in 2005 and sparked interest amongst Dodger faithful when he hit .293/.375/.563/.938 with a .400 wOBA and 26 homers in 100 games for Triple-A Albuquerque in 2011. Before he could finish the season, he was sent to the Mariners in a three-team deal.

I wasn't a fan of the deal at the time, as the Dodgers seemingly got little in return for a talented guy like Robinson who was just breaking out. Even if he amounted to nothing down the road, it seemed Ned Colletti had sold quite low. Stephen Fife and Tim Federowicz were the main pieces coming back, and while neither has become a key piece to the big league team Fife has been nice rotation depth and Federowicz is a cheap backup catcher with an excellent defensive reputation.

Robinson made a couple of highlight-reel catches but quickly faded into obscurity after failing to hit big league pitching. In more than 300 plate appearances between 2011-2012 Trayvon posted a sub-.300 OBP. He tried to catch on with the Orioles last season, but didn't show much in Double-A and Triple-A.

There's no risk in bringing Robinson in on a minor league deal and what will likely be a Spring Training invitation -- the Dodgers give those out like candy -- as continued poor performance would be met with his release or a permanent spot back in Albuquerque as depth.

In a perfect world, Robinson would hit like Peter Bourjos and play defense like a poor man's Bourjos, thus allowing him to be a fourth- or fifth outfielder in The Show; back up Matt Kemp as a true center fielder; and perhaps even allow for one of Carl Crawford or Andre Ethier to more easily be moved without worrying about depth.

In all likelihood, this is going to turn out to be nothing more than a feel-good story of a former Dodger prospect and Los Angeles native returning home for a second chance.

Photo Credit: Roger C. Hoover (rogerchoover), Flickr

Open letter to Ned Colletti and Cesar Izturis in hopes of Dodgers' reunion

Dear Ned Colletti and Cesar Izturis,

Hi, Dustin Nosler here -- world-famous* Dodger blogger. (*- not really)

Look, there's no sense in going through a song and dance. The Dodgers need a backup infielder capable of fielding balls in play up the middle. Ned, Cesar is one of the best glove men I've ever seen in my 25 years of watching baseball. He and Alex Cora formed one of the best double play combinations I've ever seen.

Yes, Mr. Izturis has aged and his skills have declined a bit, but he's still fully capable of being a plus-defender at second base and probably at shortstop. Before you traded him to Chicago for now-hall of famer Greg Maddux -- a move I was upset about, at the time (in hindsight, it was the correct decision), he was even a plus defender at third base.

I envision Izturis as this year's Nick Punto, minus the head-first slides into first base. He's never been known for his bat, but he can hit enough to justify a spot on the Dodgers' 25-man roster. Not only would bringing Izturis back take some pressure off Alexander Guerrero and Dee Gordon, it'd also be nostalgic for yours truly.

The options on the market, as I'm sure you know, are less-than stellar. Unless you have a grand move to acquire Nick Franklin, Izzy might be the best option.

Cesar, you are one of my favorite Dodger players I've ever seen. Your magical defense was enough for me to fall in love with your game. When you had that fantastic offensive season in 2004, I thought you'd be around for the next 10 years. Here we are, 10 years later, and there's an opportunity for you to come back.

If you need me to relay the message to Ned and Co., let me know. I'd be glad to do so.

Anyway, that's about it. The Dodgers could use a sure-handed infielder on the bench for 2014, and Izturis is one of the best out there.

With Carl Crawford switching to No. 3, Izzy would have to choose another number. I'm thinking he could take No. 6, most recently worn by Jerry Hairston and most famously worn by Steve Garvey.

Best regards and much love,

Dustin Nosler
xoxo

Photo credit: Howcheng, Wikimedia Commons

Don Mattingly and Ned Colletti's severe disconnect hurting Dodgers

Just two days ago, I wrote on Yahoo! Sports that Don Mattingly shouldn't yet be fired. Today, I may have changed my tune.

Just in front of Wednesday's matinee series finale with the Brewers, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register brought us these comments from the soon-to-be-former Dodger manager.

"Must-read strong comments from #Dodgers mgr Don Mattingly pregame seemed to point finger at not only lack of "mental toughness" from his players but also at poor construction of the team. We gotta find a team with talent that will fight and compete like a club that doesn't have that talent,' he said, pointing to last year's team which led the NL West by 5 1/2 games at the end of May despite a far less-talented lineup.

I felt we got more out of our ability (last year). I don't know about being tougher but I felt we got more out of our ability. 

There has to be a mixture of competitiveness. It's not 'Let's put an All-Star team together and the All-Star team wins.' It's finding that balance of a team that has a little bit of grit and will fight you. And also having talent to go with it.

All grit and no talent isn't going to make you successful. But all talent and not grit isn't going to get you there either.'"

Wow. Someone should check on Ned Colletti after that shot.

Those aren't the words of a manager who's in sync with his boss. There is an obvious disconnect between the two. The thing is, it didn't seem to be that way before this year. Could it be the pressure and under-performance of the team? Absolutely. But that doesn't excuse either from blame.

At this rate, both Mattingly and Colletti need to go. The Dodgers need a fresh start.

Here's my plan:

• Fire Mattingly and Colletti
• Promote Logan White to general manager
• Hire Brad Ausmus away from the Padres to manage

Normally, firing ones GM two weeks before the draft isn't advisable, but White runs the Dodgers' draft anyway, He, DeJon Watson and Vance Lovelace will be able to handle things just fine. Unfortunately, the ownership group would never turn over control of its $250 million team to an unproven, first-year manager. Look for Tony LaRussa's phone to be ringing in the next few days.

Yes, this team has suffered a myriad of injuries, but that's no excuse for the severe disconnect between Mattingly and Colletti.

Case in point: Mattingly wanted to keep Tim Federowicz as the team's backup catcher. Colletti, for some reason, has opted to keep Ramon Hernandez. It simply doesn't make sense. And this is minor compared to other things.

The fact is, this team is 18-26, in last place in the National League West and isn't going anywhere while there's so much uncertainty and, seemingly, strife.

The Dodgers are a few comments and roster moves away from becoming a full-fledged circus. And not the good kind of circus (if there is such a thing).

Photo credit: BryanKemp, Flickr

Report: Dodgers, unfortunately, sign Ned Colletti to long-term extension

When Mark Walter, Magic Johnson, Stan Kasten and Co. bought the Dodgers in May, many assumed (hoped?) it would spell the end of Ned Colletti's tenure as general manager. But here we are, four-plus months later and the much maligned Dodgers' GM was given a contract extension.

Certainly not what I wanted or expected, up until last week when scuttlebutt began about the Dodgers possibly giving Colletti a new contract.

Don't get me wrong, the guy is nice. I asked him a few questions at Blogger Night and, in his way, was coy and nice when answering. It takes more than just a nice guy to put together a competitive baseball team.

But that doesn't excuse some of the moves he's made in the past. While he was able to land Hanley Ramirez for for a nice price and got the Dodgers another impact bat in Adrian Gonzalez, he was still able to make a couple trades that were either unnecessary or ill-advised.

And that's just this season. We all know of the horrible deals from the past.

Colletti isn't exactly a hot GM when it comes to the open market. No team would be on his tail to get him signed, so I just don't understand why the Dodgers felt the need to get this deal done now -- especially if the August blockbuster with Boston turns out to be a dud (for the record, I don't think it will).

So, I guess we'll have another three years of trading prospects for relief pitchers at the trade deadline. At least Colletti has few financial restrictions, so his potential poor moves can be covered up with money.

Kershaw to miss start, rest of season?

Clayton Kershaw, who's struggled with a hip injury, will miss his next start and possibly need season-ending surgery.

Really, can it get any worse for the Dodgers? Matt Kemp was down for an extended period of time, Kenley Jansen is having heart issues again, Chad Billingsley might need Tommy John surgery and now this.

The Dodgers are just one game out of the final Wild Card spot, but it really seems like they're out of the playoff race completely.

Kershaw's long-term health is more important than a depleted team making the playoffs in 2012. I want the Dodgers to make the playoffs, but I'm not going to be surprised at this point if they don't.

Photo credit: SD Dirk, Flickr

Dodgers' news and notes from around the Web

Chris Capuano (right) makes his Dodger debut today against the Padres at 5:35 p.m. He's the No. 3 starter right now because Ted Lilly is on the disabled list, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him outpitch Lilly this season.

Anyway, here are the links.

Diamond Leung, former Dodgers' beat writer, brings us an article by his colleague Hugh Bernreuter on Dodgers' prospect and current Loon Brandon Martinez. Martinez suffers from Tourette Syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder. It's a fantastic read.

The Midland Daily News has an article previewing the Loons' season. There's an interesting -- but somewhat expected -- note on O'Koyea Dickson.

"A couple of notable hitters will not start the season with the Loons. First baseman O'Koyea Dickson, who hit .333 with 13 homers last year with Ogden, was expected to be with the Loons but did not make the opening day roster due to a hand injury suffered in spring training. Shoemaker said he did not know when Dickson would return to action."

That explains why he was left off the initial roster; the same as Joc Pederson.

Chad Moriyama looks at Ned Colletti doing less with more.

Mike Petriello (kudos on the site redesign) sat down with Jon Weisman via video to preview the Dodgers' 2012 season.

Lasorda's Lair is putting together a podcast for Sunday at noon.

Eric Stephen looks at some of the current Dodgers' streaks.

Photo credit: slgckgc, Flickr

Why is Ned Colletti in a rush to sign mediocre free agents?

Since Ned Colletti was named Dodgers' general manager in late 2005, he's always been in a rush to sign free agents. One has to wonder why that is. It has cost the Dodgers a lot and is just a bad practice in general.

Here are all Colletti's major signings in November and December:

December 2005
Bill Mueller
Nomar Garciaparra
Rafael Furcal
Kenny Lofton
Brett Tomko

November 2006
Garciaparra (re-signed)
Juan Pierre
Randy Wolf

December 2006
Luis Gonzalez
Jason Schmidt

December 2007
Andruw Jones
Hiroki Kuroda

December 2008
Casey Blake (re-signed)
Furcal (re-signed)

December 2009
Jamey Carroll

November 2010
Kuroda (re-signed)
Jon Garland
Juan Uribe

December 2010
Rod Barajas
Vicente Padilla
Matt Guerrier

November 2011
Juan Rivera
Mark Ellis

December 2011
Chris Capuano
Jerry Hairston
Aaron Harang

Some of these signings were good: Furcal (both times), Garciaparra (first time), Lofton, Wolf (both times) and Kuroda (both times).

However, most of these signings were made in haste, either costing the Dodgers money by not playing the market and not playing young players or losing out to superior players. And the Dodgers haven't signed any elite players in this time period.

Colletti's refusal to trust -- or even give a legitimate chance to -- young players was apparent in 2007 and even today. In November 2006, he re-signed Garciaparra to a 2-year, $18 million contract without blinking. James Loney was fully ready to take over.

Pierre, being pursued by only the Giants in November 2006, was signed before the market could even play out. The Giants had reportedly offered him a contract in the neighborhood of $30 million over three years. Colletti, for some reason, felt compelled to give Pierre five guaranteed years and $14 million more.

Was Kenny Lofton's 2006 performance (.301/.360/.403) not good enough? It was better than anything Pierre did in his time as a Dodger, except when he was (rightfully so) a part-time player for the team in 2008. Yet, Colletti didn't even give re-signing Lofton a second thought. Curious, as Lofton was approaching age 40 and seemed to be right up Colletti's alley. I guess Pierre was more the player he was looking for. It's one of the only times Colletti has chosen a younger player instead of an older player.

With Torii Hunter, Andruw Jones, Aaron Rowand and Ichiro Suzuki all 2008 free agents (at the time of Pierre's deal -- Suzuki signed an extension with the Mariners later that season), Colletti couldn't possibly have waited for a better player? I know he eventually signed Jones (who busted) and Rowand got a ridiculous contract, but it's the principle of the matter.

The same thing happened when he signed Luis Gonzalez for the 2007 season. Ethier was ready to take over in left field, putting up a .308/.365/.477 as a rookie in 441 plate appearances. Instead, he and Kemp were forced to split time with the likes of Gonzalez and Pierre. The Dodgers won 82 games in 2007 and probably wouldn't have been much worse off getting Ethier and Kemp 500 at-bats.

I was actually on board with the Schmidt and Jones signings, so I can't be too upset about those.

However, jumping at the bit to re-sign Blake after his less-than half-season with the Dodgers was inexcusable. The Dodgers had Blake DeWitt, who, in hindsight, wasn't the greatest option, capable of playing third base until someone better came along.

The fact that he gave Blake three guaranteed years when the only team seriously in on him was the Minnesota Twins is a classic example of the market playing Colletti. It should be the other way around. Blake had a fine 2009 season, but was not great and riddled with injuries after that, which isn't exactly abnormal for a 36-year-old player.

A good -- or even somewhat competent GM -- would play the market and not get taken in by past success, irrational mistrust of young players and minimal postseason success.

Which leads us to one Juan Uribe. He was signed on Nov. 30, 2011 when there was absolutely no reason to sign a guy like that to a contract like that (3 years, $21 million). Once again, the Giants and Colletti were in competition for a bad baseball player, and the Dodgers, unfortunately, won again.

Colletti was also in such a rush to sign Guerrier that he inexplicably gave him a 3-year contract.

If that wasn't bad enough, the 2011 off-season might take the cake. We know the Dodgers weren't going to be in on Albert Pujols, but why was Colletti's priority to sign replacement-level players (Rivera, Ellis, Capuano, Harang) and guys who deserve minor-league deals only (Kennedy, Matt Treanor) over guys like Kuroda and Prince Fielder?

No one knows for sure, but Colletti's refusal to trust young players could be an explanation.

Rivera was signed when Jerry Sands is perfectly capable of taking the reins. Ellis was signed in lieu of using a combination of Ivan DeJesus and Justin Sellers. Capuano and Harang are expected to replace Kuroda's production, which likely won't happen. Those guys are decent options at the back of the rotation, but the money they're earning $6 million (total) this season -- $6 million that could have been used to re-sign Kuroda and go with a rookie (Nathan Eovaldi) or a non-roster invitee (a player who always seems to find his way onto the Dodgers).

The Dodgers have needed a real bat for years (not Jones, not J.D. Drew, etc.). Prince Fielder is available and the Dodgers don't even think twice about pursuing him. I know the ownership situation is a mess, but every guaranteed contract this off-season (save Rivera and MacDougal's) has an uneven split between 2012 and 2013.

The Dodgers have spent $18.75 million this off-season on nine players, none of whom couldn't have been replaced by minor-league talent or non-roster invitees (I'm OK with the Gwynn signing, though).

The Dodgers could have signed both Kuroda and Fielder (with deferred money, of course) and have been a better team. Instead, Fielder is still a free agent, Kuroda signed with the Yankees and the Dodgers are not any better right now (arguably worse) than they were at the end of the 2011 season.

It's easy to rip Colletti and call him a double agent (working for the Giants). We all know he isn't, but some of the moves really make you wonder. Then again, he "crafted" his trade under Brian Sabean, the undisputed king of signing over-the-hill free agents and not trusting young players.

Colletti's job hasn't been easy the last couple of years, but the misallocation of resources has never been more apparent. I mean, the Dodgers are still paying for the likes of Manny Ramirez and Jones, Kuroda's signing bonus ($1.5 million this January and $2.5 million next January) and just got done paying off deferred money and signing bonuses from Pierre's and Furcal's contracts. That, and striking out on free agents, has kept the Dodgers from being serious championship contenders.

The 2008 and 2009 squads had the talent to make it as far as the National League Championship Series. Running into a hot Phillies' team both years didn't help, but having the ability to add a key piece (Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, etc.) would have gone a long way to bringing a championship back to Los Angeles.

Mattingly to replace Torre and Dotel trade

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced Friday Don Mattingly will in fact succeed Joe Torre as the Dodgers' manager, starting in 2011.

I'm suspect of this move for one main reason -- Mattingly has been an assistant under Joe Torre for quite some time. My fear is Mattingly picked up some of Torre's terrible habits, namely the mismanagement of the bullpen and pitching staff overall. That is Torre's biggest flaw as a manager and it'd be easy for Mattingly to follow suit.

I'm willing to give him a chance as Dodger manager, but Tim Wallach, the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate manager, would have been my No. 1 choice.

It seems the Dodgers are lacking fire from the top. I mean, the last "fiery" manager the Dodgers had was Tommy LaSorda. Glen Hoffman? No. Bill Russell? No. Davey Johnson? No. Jim Tracy? No. Grady Little? Certainly not.

I'm not saying Wallach would be an Ozzie Guillen-like manager (in terms of fire), but at least it would show the Dodgers not being afraid to try something new. However, they are, in a way, trying something new, as Mattingly has no managerial experience at any level. He is going to manage in the Arizona Fall League, so that's a start.

The plan was for Mattingly to succeed Torre as manager when the two came to L.A. three years ago, but my enthusiasm for the move dwindled in that time.

We'll see what happens. The Dodgers have yet to recover from not hiring Mike Scocia when they had the chance.

#####

Dodgers ship Dotel to Rockies

Octavio Dotel was traded to the Colorado Rockies on Friday for a player to be named later.

What can be said about this? This is flat-out a moronic move. Ned Colletti has made some bad moves in his time, but this one could eventually take the cake.

So the Dodgers traded James McDonald -- a guy who could have done the same, if not better than Dotel in the 18 2/3 innings he pitched for L.A. -- and their 2009 No. 1 prospect in Andrew Lambo for a player to be named later? That's absolutely brilliant. No wonder the Dodger minor league system is so incredibly thin.

Dotel is ineligible for the postseason roster, so the return is going to be quite minimal.

To think, the Dodger roster decisions are going to be made by a guy who made this trade for the foreseeable future. That saddens and infuriates me as a Dodger fan.

The initial trade was baffling, so what does that make this? It's called incompetence.

The Dodgers' ownership issues are a big problem, but the biggest problem may lie right under that Ned Flanders-esque mustache in the Dodger front office.

Forgive me for this rant, but there's really no eloquent way for me to sum up this move.

It's a frustrating time to be a Dodger fan and there appears to be no bright spots in sight.

Frustration already setting in

First of all, this is my first post in four and a half months. My apologies, I've been really busy.

Now let's get down to it.

The Dodgers are off to an inauspicious start (9-14).

General Manager Ned Colletti recently called out Matt Kemp on a local radio show, calling his defense "below average." He also criticized his baserunning.

Kemp, the team's best player, started really hot and has cooled a little since. However, he's still hitting .278/.333/.546 with seven home runs and 20 RBI.

That's really genius, Colletii. Call out the team's best player, thus singling him out for the poor performance of the entire team.

Never mind the fact you're the one who put the team together. Never mind the fact you spent $3.85M (over two years) on a career utility player (Jamey Carroll) when you could have spent $2.35M on a guy who is currently leading the National League in home runs - Kelly Johnson (nine).

But the offense isn't even the issue.

The pitching staff has been atrocious.

Save for Hiroki Kuroda, Clayton Kershaw and Jonathan Broxton, the staff has been awful. Its 4.84 ERA ranks 25th in baseball and its 1.51 WHIP is 27th in the league just one season after leading MLB in both categories.

But yeah, let's single out one of the guys who is actually producing. Now, has Kemp's defense and baserunning suffered since last season? Sure. But keep that stuff in-house. There is absolutely no reason to make that information public.

Things are kind of down in Dodgerland right now. I'm not giving up hope, though. The team needs to get in a groove.

Here's hoping Kuroda can keep it up and Kershaw can continue to develop. Because with the money problems in L.A., it doesn't look like the team will be able to add a difference-making starter anytime soon.

Go Blue!