Returning the Dodgers to Prominence (1989)

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I'll run through it position by position in preparation for the trade deadline

CATCHER
Couldn't be much happier. Both Piazza and Fletcher are hitting – with wRC+'s above 100. Our pitching is among the best in the league, so they seem to be handling the pitchers just fine.

In AAA Carlos Hernandez wasn't happy in losing his backup job to Fletcher, and hasn't performed well (83 wRC+). Maybe a change in scenery would be best.

INFIELD
First base
Here's an opportunity to improve. The improvement could come from within, or we might be compelled to make a move
Dave Hollins has struggled all year. He's currently on the DL with an injury, but is expected back soon.
Bobby Bonilla has gotten the majority of time at first while Hollins has been injured, and Bo-Bo has had his own struggles.
Mike Bush, Brian Traxler and Billy Ashley are the likely replacements (along with Chris Donnels discussed later). None figure to win a spot on a first place team expecting a deep playoff run.

Second base
Jose Offerman has had the majority of playing time at 2B. The defense hasn't been great (-3.9 ZR and 14 errors). We knew defense wasn't his strength. Offensively, he has a solid .342 OBP, but no power (.059 ISO), which we're leveraging by hitting him ninth in front of Rickey and Piazza. He's got a .282 BABIP so there's not a lot of hope for improvement for his .238 batting average – he's just not driving the ball. He's also been good on the bases with 16 steals in 21 attempts and a 2.9 (BsR).
Eddie Pye who started the season in LA, has struggled in AAA (77 wRC+). Rafael Bournigal has a 99 wRC+ in Albuquerque but he'd be behind Mike Benjamin (who'll aslo be discussed later).

Third base
Gary Gaetti has been more than we anticipated. He's bounced back to a 104 wRC+, after a 73 last year, to go along with gold glove caliber defense (+3.7). He's on a 3.3 WAR pace for the year.
Chris Donnels has also had time at 3B, 1B and 2B. He's struggled in sporadic playing time (79 wRC+) but he has a .417 OBP has a pinch hitter and hit a huge pinch hit grandslam against the Astros.
Mike Bush, mentioned above, is the AAA 3B along with Eddie Pye, also mentioned above.

Shortstop
John Valentin might be the team MVP. Since starting the season on the IL he's second on the team in WAR. His defense has been as fantastic (+5.3 ZR) as his hitting.
Mike Benjamin is the backup SS, though he gets most of his time coming in to replace Offerman at second. He's a plus defensive player at both SS and 2B. He's not much offensively, though his 50 wRC+ might be selling him a little bit short.
Eddie Pye (previously mentioned)and Clay Bellinger are in AAA. Bellinger has been on the IL most of they year, and isn't expected to be more than a backup to the backup.

OUTFIELD
Left field
Rickey Henderson isn't quite back to his MVP production of a couple years ago, but we'll take a 137 wRC+, near .400 OBP, and excellent base running (27 steals and 3.8 BsR). He's starting to slow down a bit of defense (-3.4 ZR) but his offense more than makes up for that.

Center field
Devon White is the MVP of the team right now if Valentin isn't. Just league average hitting with a .300 OBP but coupled with +16 defense in CF and 15 steals for a +5.2 BsR that makes for a very valuable player.

Right field
Bobby Bonilla has already been discussed. His league average hitting is a far cry from the 140 wRC+ we've come to expect.

Outfield
Mike Huff and Bill Bean have combined for a solid left-right combination off the bench. A combined 105 wRC+, average to better corner OF defense and positive base running is just about what we could have expected out of them. JT Bruett has also been with the team all season. He's taken advantage of the few trips to the plate he's been called upon for. More frequently, he's asked to play RF late in close ball games where he has a +.9 ZR in just 38 innings. He also starts whenever Devon White needs a day off and gets a few pinch running opportunities. He hasn't stolen a base, but has a positive BsR.


We've got the second best record in baseball (and second best pythag record) and we haven't had everybody hitting on all cylinders yet. So we're pretty comfortable, but always looking to get better.

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STARTING PITCHING
One of the top rotations in baseball. Nobody has an ERA over 3 or, more importantly, a FIP- of 100.

Mark Langston has been phenomenal. With Tim Belcher right behind him. Orel Hershiser maybe isn't quite the Hershiser of old, but we'll take the 200 innings of 80 FIP- pitching he's on pace to give us. Ramon looks like last year's injury took a bit out of him but a 92 FIP- out of your 4th starter will play. Pedro Astacio has jumped right in and shows that he belongs in this rotation. And Nolan Ryan seems to be about ready for minor league rehab. The rotation is deep and good.

Right after saying that, I'll back track a bit. David Nied and John O'Donoghue are both on the minor league DL hurting the depth a bit, but O'Donoghue should be back soon. Nied really struggled before his injury, both in LA and in AAA, so we can't count on his return. O'Donoghue had a 70 AAA FIP- before his injury. Pedro Martinez (79 AAA FIP-) continues to flash amazing stuff, but his control both drives up his pitch count getting him out of games too soon and puts more batter on base than we'd like. But when we're talking about 7th and 8th starters, you know things are going ok.

RELIEF PITCHING
The bullpen has been a slight disappointment. When they have the league's 4th best ERA, you know there were lofty expectations.

Rod Beck's numbers are skewed by a terrible first week puncutated by 4 home runs allowed. He's only allowed 4 since and has a nearly 10:1 K/BB rate. John Wetteland has been good, but we feel like he hasn't quite reached his full potential. Jim Gott has done just what we expected from him – racking up 10 saves in 10 opportunities.

Left-handers Tom Bolton and Tony Fossas have both been an improvement over previous versions of our lefties. Each is walking fewer than 2.5 per 9 and Fossas, especially, has been great so far. Though neither is that player you bring in and have 100% confidence that they'll sit the opposing team's best left-handed hitter back on the bench in the late innings of a close game.

Darren Holmes and Mike Christopher have both contributed to the big league team. Holmes got his first career save this week though he's struggled with control – though he was much better in Albuquerque. Christopher got his first MLB win earlier in the year but the home run has been his problem – though just 1 in 26 AAA innings.

Mike Munoz and Jim Poole have kept runners from scoring, but 7 walks in 9 innings between them doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. Poole has a 100 FIP- in AAA which is a bit better than Munoz' 104. Neither guy has performed like we expected.

Lastly, we were starting to get excited about the stuff that Angel Miranda was showing in AAA but he's expected to miss most of the rest of the season.

Mike Mimbs has acquitted himself well to AAA since being called up a few weeks ago with a 72 FIP-and left-hander Omar Daal has shown flashes as Albuquerque's closer, but I'd be nervous giving either meaningful innings in LA down the stretch.

There's no such thing as too much good pitching.

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Dodgers 4 – 2
52 – 28 Overall (5 games ahead of San Diego )

NOTE: I somehow missed writing up this week. Oh well.


The Rockies trade Fernando Valenzuela to Florida for P Matt Peterson. Valenzuela has not appeared in the majors this year.

The Marlins trade IF Rich Amaral to the Reds for CF Jose Texidor and IF James Lofton.

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Dodgers 5 – 1
52 – 28 Overall (5 games ahead of Houston), +131 Run Differential = 55 – 25 Pythag

The Good: Nine hitters had a wRC+ over 100 this week. Billy Ashley hit his first home run of the season. Complete game shut out for Ramon Martinez.
The Bad: Devon White just a 55 wRC+ on the week.

AL Player of the Week – Sammy Sosa (OF TEX)
NL Player of the Week – Barry Bonds (OF SFG)

Dodgers are third in the weekly Power Rankings


Dave Hollins was activated from the IL. Billy Ashley was sent to AAA.

Nolan Ryan began a rehab assignment at AAA Albuquerque. It didn't go well. Ryan faced 4 hitters, giving up 2 hits and a walk, before being removed with a back issue.



The Red Sox trade 1B Mo Vaughn to Kansas City for OF Johnny Damon and P Greg Harris

The Reds acquire RP Joe Boever from the Rockies for CF Cobie Cradle and OF TJ Staton.

Colorado trades IF/OF Scott Brosius to Chicago for P Kelly Downs and IF Ray Martinez.

The Phillies trade LRP Mark Davis to Seattle for CF Joe Mathis.
The Phillies trade LRP Bob Patterson to Seattle for 1B Joe Pomierski and RHP Nate Minchey

The Houston Astros acquire RP Jay Howell and CF Dax Jones from Cleveland for catchers Lee Henderson and Dave Toth

The Angels acquired IF Jeff Blauser. They send IF Damion Easley, IF Gary Hagy and LHP Andrew Lorraine to Atlanta.
NOTE: We had looked into acquiring Blauser.

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Dodgers 3 - 4
55 – 32 Overall (5 games ahead of San Diego), 129 Run Differential = 59 – 28 Pythag

The Good: Jose Offerman continues hitting. He's up to .372/.059/100 on the season.
The Bad: Our first losing week of the season.

AL Player of the Week – Lenny Dykstra (OF KC)
NL Player of the Week – Larry Walker (OF MON)

Dodgers are 3rd in the weekly Power Rankings


Mike Benjamin was placed on the IL. Rafael Bournigal was recalled.
NOTE: This is an IRL injury

Darren Holmes was optioned to AAA. Mike Christopher was recalled.

SP John O'Donoghue was activated from the minor league IL


Oakland acquired LHP John Candelaria from the Phillies for RHPs Willie Adams and Don Wengert and OF Darryll Ratliff

Dodgers acquire Snyder

The Dodgers traded AAA OF Bruce Dostal and Rookie league IF Miguel Cairo to the Texas Rangers for OF/1B Cory Snyder.

With Hollins' and Bonilla's struggles this year we wanted to add a hitter to the roster. Snyder can play both corner OF positions (4/10) and 1B (5/10).

Snyder has hit .337/.169/115 in 338 PA's with Texas this year while playing 75 games at 1B, 5 in LF and 4 in RF. He's earning just $306,000 this year and is a free agent after the season.

Dostal was a fleet defensive OFer who could steal bases and spent 2 Septembers with the major league club. But he'd slowed down and been surpassed. Miguel Cairo is a light hitting middle infielder without standout defensive skills.

Snyder isn't expected to join the team until after the All-Star Break.

NOTE 1: The Rangers originally agreed to just Dostal in the trade, but that felt light, so I put 15 or so minor league players up for random selection. Cairo was the one I least wanted to lose.
NOTE 2: Snyder was a IRL Dodger in 1993 and 1994.

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AL All-Stars
C: Chris Hoiles, Mike Stanley, Jerry Willard
1B: Jeff Bagwell, Fred McGriff, Paul Moliter, John Olerud, Frank Thomas
IF: Tony Phillips, Robby Thompson, Gary Sheffield, Barry Larking
OF: Albert Belle, John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, Steve Finley, Ken Griffey jr, Wes Chamberlin, Tim Salmon, Deion Sanders

SP: Kevin Appier, Erik Hanson, Jack McDowell, Jose Rio, Brett Saberhagen, Curt Schilling
RP: Mark Eichorn, Michael Jackson, Paul Quantrill, Bryan Harvey

NL All-Stars
C: Sandy Alomar jr, Jim Leyritz, Mike MacFarlane, Russ McGinnis
1B: Cecil Fielder, Dave Winfield
IF: Craig Biggio, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell, John Valentin
OF: Moises Alou, Barry Bonds, Lance Johnson, Ray Lankford, Robin Yount, Larry Walker

SP: Tim Belcher, David Cone, Danny Darwin, Alex Fernandez, Kevin Gross, Mark Langston, Greg Maddux, Terry Mulholland, Pete Schourek, John Smoltz
RP: Dennis Eckersley, Doug Jones, Roberto Hernandez, Duane Ward

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ALL-STAR GAME

Deion Sanders led off with a triple. But three errors in the 6th inning help the NL to score 4 runs on their way to a 7-4 victory over the AL.

Ray Lankford wins the MVP with a 4-4 performance including a double and home run.

Dodger pitcher Mark Langston pitches an inning, allowing 2 hits, a walk and 1 run. He also gets a strike out.
John Valentin goes 0-3 with a strikeout.
Tim Belcher did not pitch.

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Dodgers 2 – 2
57 – 34 Overall (4 games ahead of the Padres), +135 Run Differential = 62 – 29 Pythag

The Good: This week's pitching and defense. We allowed just 7 runs in 4 games. Chris Donnels' pinch hit bases loaded triple against the Expos.
The Bad: Cory Snyder was 0-8 in his first week as a Dodger.

AL Player of the Week – Kevin Mitchell (OF KC)
NL Player of the Week – Russ McGinnis (C PITT)

Dodgers are 4th in the weekly Power Rankings

Also, Tom Bolton is 4th in the majors in road ERA


OF Cory Snyder was added to the active roster. OF JT Bruett was optioned to AAA.


Dave Winfield got his 3000th career hit vs the St. Louis Cardinals.


Houston adds SS Dick Schofield and RHP Jay Witasik. St. Louis gets Trent Hubbard in return.

And Atlanta ships SP Tom Glavine to Montreal. The Braves pick up 2B Mark Grudzielanek and RHP Stan Spencer.

Colorado trades RP Marvin Freeman to Milwaukee for 1B Hayland Hardy and RHP Mark Kiefer.
Colorado trades OF Mike Deveraux to California for C Jorge Fabregas and CF Aaron Iatarola.

The Reds and Rockies continue to be very active this trade deadline. This time they team up for a deal. This time it's IF Mike Sharperson going to Cincinnati for 1B Jamie Dismuke and C Jon Fuller.


Nolan Ryan, after being pulled from his 3rd consecutive rehab start, calls it a career. He finishes with 302 wins, 4906.1 innings, 5133 strike outs, and 118.5 WAR

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Dodgers 5 – 2
62 – 26 Overall (5 games ahead of San Diego), +146 Run Differential = 67 – 21 Pythag

The Good: Dave Hollins and Bobby Bonilla had wRC+'s over 100. Ramon Martinez gave up 1 run and just 8 base runners in 16 innings.
The Bad: Jose Offerman had a 7 wRC+ and committed his 18th error of the year.

AL Player of the Week – Albert Belle (OF CLE)
NL Player of the Week – Andres Galarraga (1B COL)

Dodgers are #2 in the weekly Power Rankings


Mike Christopher is optioned to AAA. LHP John O'Donoghue is recalled.
John O'Donoghue is optioned to AAA. RHP Darren Holmes is recalled.


Dodgers Acquire Mercker
The Dodgers and Braves pulled off a trade. LA hopes to fortify their bullpen with the addition of left-hander Kent Mercker. Going to Atlanta are RP Tom Bolton and #7 prospect IF/OF Chris Latham.

Mercker has thrown 30.2 innings this year in 37 games. He's got 15 saves and a 2.93 ERA. More importantly, he has a 71 FIP- based on a solid 8.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. He has a 108 FIP- in 168 career innings. He'll be eligible for arbitration for the first time next season.

Bolton was pitching well with a 2.40 ERA (99 FIP-) in 34 innings.

Chris Latham played both the OF and IF for Rookie Yakima. He has a 123 wRC+ on the back of a very strong 24% BB rate.

NOTE: Atlanta offered the trade for OF Todd Hollandsworth. Using the Decision Maker, I offered: Hollandsworth, Latham+, Ashley, Mondesi and Cedeno.



The Rockies keep dealing. This time it's LHP Dennis Cook going to the Giants for C Craig Mayes.

The Pirates traded 1B Sid Bream to the Padres for LFP Luis Arroyo and RHP Darryl Meek.

The Marlins traded OF Roberto Kelly to the Atlanta Braves for RHP Mark Thompson, LHP Mike Myers and CF Chris Durkin.

The Braves are this week's trade leaders. They also move OF Ron Gant with 3B Bob Smith to the Cubs for OF Brooks Kieschnick and OF Dan Madsen


Ryne Sandberg, of the Brewers, get's his 2000th career hit.


Former Dodger, Dave Hansen, was the PCL All-Star MVP. He went 2-2 with a HR. His former teammates, Raul Mondesi, Billy Ashley and Brian Traxler, combined to go 2 for 8.

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NL Player of the Month: SFG LF Barry Bonds
NL Pitcher of the Month: LAD SP Ramon Martinez
NL Rookie of the Month: ATL LF Al Martin

AL Player of the Month: CHW 1B Frank Thomas
AL Pitcher of the Month: CAL SP Roger Clemens
AL Rookie of the Month: CLE SP Garret Stephenson

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The offense continues its downward trajectory. Falling to 8th in runs scored, 9th in OBP and wOBA, and 3rd in WAR.

Valentin (138), Bonilla (113) and Donnels (149) were the only regulars with wRC+'s of over 100 for the month.

Offerman's 96 wRC+ stands out, but Dave Hollins finished the month at 66 and didn't homer.

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The pitching and defense continue to impress. Still fewest runs allowed in the league, first in starter ERA, bullpen ERA and FIP as well as Zone Rating. Second in pitching WAR.

Ramon Martinez was, as the Pitcher of the Month award alludes to, great in July.

The rest of the rotation was pretty good as well.

Some runs scored while Hershisher was on the mound, but he had a .330 BABIP during the month, so we'll chalk that up to some bad luck.

The big 3 of Beck, Wetteland and Gott continue to mow hitters down

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Dodgers 3 – 3
65 – 39 Overall (4.5 games ahead of Houston), +153 Run Differential = 70 – 34 Pythag

The Good: Taking 2 of 3 from the NL Central leading Cubs
The Bad: Losing 2 of 3 to the rival Giants. Both by one run. One a 10th inning walkoff.

AL Player of the Week – Darren Daulton (C KC)
NL Player of the Week – Roberto Kelly (CF ATL)

Dodgers are second in the weekly Power Rankings

Mike Benjamin is sent to AAA for rehab.


Paul Molitor collects his 2500th career hit. A 3rd inning double vs Bill Wegman in a 16-3 win loss to the Yankees.

Pittsburgh trades OF Wayne Kirby to Colorado for 3B Sean Berry and OF TJ Staton.

George Brett was claimed off waivers by Philadelphia from San Diego

The White Sox sent C Ron Karkovice to Montreal for OF Kevin Bass

Florida trades C Rich Rowland to the Padres for RHP Omar Olivares and 1B John Fantauzi

The White Sox traded SS Manny Lee and RHP Steve Olsen to the Mets for SP Charlie Hough

The Phillies traded OF Jim Olander and CF Alan Burke to the Yankees for LHP Brian Taylor and OF Christopher Hart.

The Brewers traded CF Chuck Carr to Minnesota for SP Jack Morris and CF Steve Hazlett

And, just before the trade deadline

The Dodgers acquire Scott Fletcher from the California Angels.

Fletcher has a .339/.087/93 line on the season in 409 plate appearances. A +12.8 ZR in 843 innings at SS (and 25 innings at 2B) has him at 2.7 WAR on the season.

The Dodgers give up IF Rafael Bournigal (.388/.085/102 in AAA) and IF/OF Lamarr Rogers (.484/.083/127 in A and .270/.60/48 in AA).

Fletcher is making $1.7 million this season and will be a free agent at the end of the year after signing a one-year deal with the Red Sox.

We were looking to upgrade over Offerman who has been up and down offensively all season and has a -6 ZR at 2B. Fletcher and Offerman are similar offensively, but Fletcher is much better with the glove. We expect that they will split time at 2B. Offerman will, obviously, stay on the roster and Fletcher will replace Bournigal (and Benjamin once he's back from the IL).

Fletcher was in the midst of a lot of turmoil in the Red Sox' locker room and the Red Sox were eager to get rid of him. We hope coming to a winning team with a solid clubhouse will alleviate those issues.

NOTE: As usual, the random decision maker selected Rogers from the Make This Work Now list. As was Bournigal who was a “throw-in” because the deal felt too light on my end.

We also considered trades for Randy Velarde and Bip Roberts centered around Billy Ashley. We also looked into 1B Randy Milligan, C Mike Stanley and C Mike MacFarlane but didn't come to any agreement.



UP NEXT: Three games in Houston.

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Dodgers 3 – 3
68 – 42 Overall (3 1/2 games ahead of Houston), +156 Run Differential = 74 – 36 Pythag

The Good: Gave up a total of 8 runs in the 6 games this week. Dave Hollins homered – his 4th of the year.
The Bad: Losing 2 of 3 to the Astros; 1-2, 3-1, 0-2. Lou Whitaker was 4-10 in the series with 4 doubles. Loaded the bases with 1 out in the 9th inning of game 3 and didn't score.

AL Player of the Week – Jeff Bagwell (1B BOS)
NL Player of the Week – Mark Grace (1B CHI)

Dodgers are second in the weekly Power Rankings

*Mark Langston (1.50) and Orel Hershiser (1.62) are 2nd and 4th in the majors in home ERA.

Next week: 3 games with the Padres.

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Dodgers 4 – 3
72 – 45 Overall (4 games ahead of the Padres), +151 Run Differential = 77 – 40 Pythag

The Good: Mike Piazza walkoff homer vs the Padres.
The Bad: A Tom Browning bases loaded ground rule double. Back-to-back runners thrown out at second in a 4-1 loss to the Padres giving them the series win.

AL Player of the Week – Paul Molitor (1B MIL)
NL Player of the Week – Randy Johnson (SP MON)

Dodgers are 3rd in the weekly Power Rankings

*Nolan Ryan leads the majors in service time (26 years, 121 days).

SP David Nied was removed from the IL and optioned to AAA Albuquerque


Cal Ripken gets his 2000th career hit. A seventh inning single vs Bill Wegman in a 6-2 win over the Yankees.

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Dodgers 4 – 2
76 – 47 Overall (2.5 games ahead of Houston (who is on an 8 game winning streak), +155 Run Differential = 81 – 42 Pythag

The Good: Mark Langston 10 shut out innings vs the Braves in a game we won on a 15th inning Mike Piazza home run.
The Bad: Ramon Martinez' 2 inning start vs the Cardinals.

AL Player of the Week – Phil Plantier (OF BOS)
NL Player of the Week – Kevin Maas (OF FLO)

Dodgers are 4th in the weekly Power Rankings


IF Mike Benjamin's rehab assignment ended. He was optioned to AAA Albuquerque.


Jose Canseco hit his 300th career home run off of Rheal Cormier. It was his 15th of the year

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Dodgers 4 – 2
80 – 49 Overall (3.5 games ahead of Houston), +158 Run Differential = 84 – 45 Pythag

The Good: An 11-9 win over the Cardinals in which we gave up 7 runs in the 7th and scored 6 in the 8th.
The Bad: A 3-run 9th inning home run by Trey McCoy ruins a Tim Belcher gem in a 4-2 loss to the Pirates

AL Player of the Week – Jay Buhner (OF SEA)
NL Player of the Week – Cecil Fielder (1B MON)

Dodgers are second in the weekly Power Rankings


Cal Ripken jr hit his 300th career home run vs Rick Helling of the Rangers

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NL Player of the Month: COL LF Moises Alou
NL Pitcher of the Month: HOU SP Dennis Martinez
NL Rookie of the Month: ATL SP Steve Karsay

AL Player of the Month: KC C Darren Daulton
AL Pitcher of the Month: CAL SP Tom Candiotti
AL Rookie of the Month: TEX OF Sammy Sosa

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The offense continues to scuffle. Down to 11th in runs, 10th in OBA and wOBA. But 5th in WAR (thanks to defense and adjustments for our stadium).

Cory Snyder (107 wRC+), Rickey Henderson (105) and Bobby Bonilla (103) were the only regulars over 100 for the month of August.

Dave Hollins showed some life with a 99 for the month as did Jose Offerman at 84.

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Pitching and defense are keeping us afloat.
1st in: Runs Allowed, Starter ERA, Bullpen ERA, FIP and Zone Rating. 2nd in pitching WAR

Mark Langston had a 0.95 ERA and 57 FIP- in 46 August innings.
Hershiser, Belcher and Astacio all had ERA's below 3.00 and FIP-'s below 100.

Darren Holmes' 3.27 ERA was the “worst” for the bullpen.