Thursday, March 28, 2024
Home > Dodgers > Dodgers Spring Traning Notes: Sergio Romo Debuts, Clayton Kershaw Continues To be Awesome, and Wynston Sawyer Exists

Dodgers Spring Traning Notes: Sergio Romo Debuts, Clayton Kershaw Continues To be Awesome, and Wynston Sawyer Exists

Clayton Kershaw

Former Baltimore farmhand Wynston Sawyer drove in the winnings runs for the Dodgers on Thursday afternoon against the Cleveland Indians. Sawyer’s two-run single gave the Dodgers a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. They would go onto win by that 4-2 score. I have no idea who Wynston Sawyer is, but apparently he is a former Orioles prospect that never made it above double-A ball. He plays first base and catcher.

Who cares about Wynston Sawyer though, because the important news out of the Dodgers exhibition victory over the Indians was that Clayton Kershaw threw two perfect frames. Sergio Romo made a successful debut striking out 3 in one scoreless frame. Alex Wood pitched two perfect frames as well. Kenley Jansen tossed an inning allowing one earned run (although supposedly Andrew Toles misplayed a fly ball, and the run later scored on Chris Taylor’s error) on two hits and struck out a batter. As usual Chris Hatcher was his horrendous self, allowing one earned run on two hits but also striking out two. Kershaw made 23 pitches and said his fastball and curveball command felt good.

Thursday was a good day for Dodger pitchers. Friday is scheduled to be a good day for Dodger infielders as shortstop Corey Seager, and second baseman Logan Forsythe are both scheduled to return to the Dodger lineup on Friday afternoon. Forsythe was taking a few days off after having a lubricated injection into his right knee. Seager on the other hand was nursing a bruised right shin after fouling a ball off of it three games ago.

The Dodgers have a split squad day scheduled for Friday. Half of the squad will remain at Camelback to play the Kansas City Royals. Ian Kenned is slated to start for the Royals, meanwhile Rich Hill will take the mound for the Dodgers. The other half of the club will travel to Talking Stick at Salt River Fields to take on the Arizona Dbacks. In that game walking wounded Brandon McCarthy will face former Dodger and turncoat Zack Greinke at 12:10 PM. The Dodgers are now 5-1 i Cactus League play. We’re just one month away from opening day.

Scott Andes

Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic

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Scott Andes
Scott Andes: Longtime writer and Dodger fanatic
https://ladodgerreport.com

97 thoughts on “Dodgers Spring Traning Notes: Sergio Romo Debuts, Clayton Kershaw Continues To be Awesome, and Wynston Sawyer Exists

  1. Love seeing somebody who nobody knows come up and deliver. CK is CK, nuff said.. Romo with a perfect inning, SVS is slamming the ball…..spring is in the air.

  2. Rumor out there that Ol Friedman might be looking to adding a front line starter to the mix, and that could be the reason he traded Dejong, outside of the face that he was down on the list of prospects. Interesting stuff. I will believe it when I see it because he has never traded for a front liner before. And please do not say Grandal. He was not all that when they traded for him, and he certainly is not a marque player.

    1. Hey, where did you see that rumour floated? Any names? On the surface it seems odd to me, but I’m an idiot

      1. Yardbarker. I get it every morning. The starter they seem to think he is after is Chris Archer. He is young and Friedman knows him well since he is a Tampa Bay guy…the other name floated was Yankees reliever Dellin Betances, probably because of the blow up after his hearing where he was trashed by the Yankee GM.

  3. I like your pic there Scott…but what would have been classic is Tommy going nuts with Luciano as the umpire in the World Series……that was a classic shot.

    1. Michael

      There is no way he would have made the same call, at Dodger stadium.

      It is bad enough that we had to constantly hear from Cosell, about Jackson, let alone, see an umpire, back the cheater.

      1. It was blatant, everybody saw it, and he still made the wrong call, and to this day I think that call ended up costing the Dodgers the series because from that moment on, all the momentum was on the Yanks side.

  4. Does anyone know the thread for any of these games today?

    I don’t have MLB TV, so I will have to see it on line.

    1. Game is on MLB.TV, but on the D-Backs network. I really dislike their announcers….actually today is a split squad game. KC early and then the Dirtbags…..

  5. Blogoshere Quiz:

    Q. What website has the following three paragraphs as it’s opener for today’s blog?

    “So, I hear that some people are saying that trading Chase De Jong was really stupid – that’s the word they used: STUPID! Of course, most of these people have an “end game.” They are FAZaphobes! They hate Andrew Friedman for reasons they can’t explain (or care to explain in public) and they prefer to wallow in their negativity.

    So it was stupid to trade a guy who was like Number 11 or 12 on the depth chart for starting pitchers? That’s this year. Next year, he would probably be like #15 or 16. Stupid? Yeah, he was going to be valuable… Yeah, and I’m Albert Einstein! Those guys kill me. No matter what FAZ does, “it’s strange, it’s bad, it’s stupid!” Never mind that FAZ has won the division in their two years in power. Never mind that they have built the farm system to one of the best in the game. Never mind that they are one of the favorites to win it all this year. It’s always a complaint! Bitch! Bitch! Bitch!

    Frankly, I am sick of it and if I offend anyone – just leave. Never come back! We are better without you! You know, if they could articulate a real reason, I could respect that, but I just can’t respect Anti-FAZ-ism just because someone is so biased they can’t see the forest for the trees.”

    ***Post your answers***

    Wheel in the Sky, Baby

      1. Not a person, but yahoo sports questioned the move. Of course that is the pundits job, to spin things their own way and have you believe what ever they tell you is true…….

    1. It is the blogosphere and people feel they have the right to complain until their heart’s content – or to troll, be cute, be mean, be asinine…

      There’s plenty of bitching and moaning in SF about veterans like Jimmy Rollins and Matt Cain and not letting the kids have a chance. It’s vet love they say. If they, the fans, ran the team, they’d assuredly win the Series every year. One minute Bochy is the greatest, the next he’s incompetent.

      I wonder what the Rockies nuts have to say about their leadership and their chances. And then there’s the DBacks…

      I’m sure Friedman and Co. are happy with the trade and that they have trust in the process they have laid out. The roster on April 1st is never the same roster in September and October. Unlike many teams, the Dodgers have chips to make a big add at the trade deadline. I think the Rockies do too.

      1. Rye

        I was trying to find the thread for the game today, on the DBacks site, and one of the writers said in so many words, that I don’t want to hear about how terrible the Shelby Miller trade was, for the 100th time, so there you go.

        1. Greinke vs McCarthy……….hmmmmmmmmmmmm………….you know a player is pretty obscure when there is not even a photo on his profile……welcome to the Dodgers, Wynston Sawyer.

      2. Rye, good post. It’s a topic on which all of us have an opinion. It used to be the old vet was there as a backup, to give the younger guys a day off while they learn the kid what it takes to be a professional. Even a 50/50 split with the youngin would be acceptable. At this point (actually before this point) guys like Rollins and Utley should not be starters. They’re good for a couple hundred PA’s while the kids who have earned a shot are given it. And Cain? He’s our McCarthy, only a lot more expensive. If he can still take the ball you give it to him. He’s still a scary dude to me. I’m kinda glad he’s still there of course, he’s a #5 that projects maybe 90 innings. But I don’t want to face him. He’s only 32 and still capable of a quality start. He had 4 of them last year. If suddenly he were to be ok, it makes the giants better.

        1. Badger

          I hope it is getting warmer where you are at, it is 78 where I am, today.

          I know you like warmer weather, like I do.

    2. I am not a huge fan of Friedman, and yes, they won their first 2 years in power. They have improved the farm system some although they dropped 5 spots in the ratings this year. But they won despite Friedman. They had huge pieces in place before he got here. Some deals he has made make sense, others boggle the mind. His deadline trades have not really been all that great and his constant trolling of the waiver wire makes one wonder what the hell is going on in his mind. I get the Dejong was pretty much blocked, and it was a 2 for 1 deal. So it most likely was the right move. But if you are a fan of his signing so many infirm and injury prone guys, well I would have to disagree with that philosophy. 2 years in and they have gotten pretty much nothing for the 24 million they have paid McCarthy. 15.6 last year to Anderson for zero wins. The big trade with Oakland netted 3 wins in the regular season and no help against lefty’s. Strange? Bad? Maybe not, but highly questionable. And since we spend our hard earned money to support these guys, we are pretty much entitled to bitch all day long. Can we run it better? No….Most of us would deal from the heart not the brain. The future has not been told yet, and none of us will know the outcome of this years dealings until October. But with FAZ it has always seemed to be more of the same. He still has a small market mentality. No I do not think spending large sums of money instantly make you World Series worthy. The most successful teams have mixed and matched. I like the farm system and some of the kids there have bright futures. I am not stupid enough to think that every top prospect is going to make an impact on the big club. I have seen far too many so called can’t miss guys, miss by a mile. I am a fan with an opinion that frankly some will not agree with. That is fine by me, I cannot control anyone’s opinion and neither can you. 28 years removed from their last WS appearance, and truthfully, they are no closer now than they were then. Depth aside, this team has holes and a ton of question marks.

      1. “Most of us would deal from the heart not the brain”

        Well, you gotta go with your strength.

        Solid post Michael. I agree with your take on how they are going about this, it’s not how you and I would do it. But I have to admit they haven’t completely f’d it up yet. We’re favored to win the West again. If all goes right, we’re playing the Cubs again.

      1. Badger, you are the winner. It’s funny, I finally decided to take a look at The Stench’s blog, same crap just a different day. Narcissism on steroids from the Grand Stench. The Wheel in the Sky keeps on turning.

    3. Sometimes said poster takes anything that is a bit reserved and balanced, or even just a “wait and see” comment, and turns that into fodder for his rants against the anti-FAZ quadrant of the universe. When actually most of the blogosphere respects the FAZ (for me, a bit too much), and the rest of us just merely think they are perhaps a top 10 FO, with some weaknesses and a bit of poor judgment to improve upon.

    1. Rye, Toles is not making this team. They are not going to carry 6 outfielders and right now he is the #6 guy……Pederson, Puig, Ethier, SVS and Gutierrez are ahead of the guy…He will most likely be in AAA.

      1. That’s a shame. He’s an intriguing young talent. Too many LHH’s. Perhaps when Ethier needs one or two of those 10 day DL stints. Or SVS or Gutierrez go the DL and rehab route.

        Does Segedin make the squad? Backup infielders are Utley and Culberson or Kike?

        Toles could find himself in a trade package someday.

        1. Kike is playing himself right to AAA. He has yet to get a hit. Then again Seager does not have one either. Probably Culberson and Segedin have the best shot. But Taylor, who can also play 3 infield positions and the OF and has been hitting well, has a real shot too.

          1. Yeah he is, but that guy is assured a roster spot. They signed him to come off the bench and hit lefty’s. Toles is a lefty, and they are not going to use him in that role. He is the #6 guy right now and OKC bound.

        2. Rye

          I don’t see Segedin on the team, he isn’t as versatile, as the other players.

          And he doesn’t play shortstop, so he will be on the AAA team, unless he gets called up, during the season, like last year.

    2. Rye

      Joc has already led off, and that wasn’t a good experience.

      Take a look at how he hit in all the different batting orders, and he is much much better, hitting eigth.

      That is because he can wait for his pitch, or get a walk.

      But the rest of your batting order, looks good.

      And no one knows for sure who is going to make the team, besides the obvious players, so we will see.

  6. Pitchers getting hammered in both games today. McCarthy 2 innings, 2 runs, Paredes 0 innings 3 runs, Castillo 1.2 innings 3 runs, all that vs the D Backs. Hill 1.1 inning 4 runs, Stripling and Somsen each have given up 1 vs the Royals……..

  7. Great info out there yesterday and today on chats:

    First Keith Law:

    Cedric: Any thoughts on the DeJong/Zabala trade?
    Klaw: I answered this on Twitter by linking to my Mariners report. Zabala is the only real prospect in the deal.

    Then Jim Callis of Baseball America had a Q&A on Twitter, he wrote:

    Alvarez will be a starter. Cy Young Award ceiling. Great stuff, more advanced than expected. @Dodgers #top30prospects

    The @Dodgers are very excited about Mitchell White. Could move very quickly. Will there be room in rotation when he gets to LA? We’ll see.

    Two prospects who may make the biggest jump in the LAD system are RHP A.J. Alexy or LHP Caleb Ferguson. @Dodgers #top30prospects

    I think Calhoun has little chance to stick at 2B & winds up in OF. Omar Estevez is @Dodgers 2B of future. I haven’t talked to a scout outside org who thinks Calhoun can play 2B. Calhoun in prime (this is best guess, not ceiling): 25 HR, 0 SB, 350 OBP. @Dodgers #top30prospects

    Ariel Sandoval has some interesting power potential, not sure he’ll hit enough to tap into it. @Dodgers

    And finally, Jeff Sullivan had a chat on Fan Graphs

    9:59
    Dave Kingman: Will having Logan Forsythe at the top of the Dodgers lineup be better for Seager than Utley/Kendrick of last year?
    9:59
    Jeff Sullivan: Last year’s Dodgers leadoff hitters batted .259/.332/.398. Logan Forsythe is better than those statistics

  8. I think Joc has the ability to be a 20/20 CF. I know FAZ looks down on stealing bases, but I believe Joc can do it.

    1. I remember reading that article last summer. What’s not to like about the kid? I checked his stats, he went on to have a breakout season since the article was written. However, it was at Rancho. He will probably end up this year at AA or AAA. At 25 years old we could see him in 2018 or 2019. Good times to be a Dodgers fan.

  9. He tripled in yesterdays game and it was an all out hustle play. He hit a scorcher down the LF line and when the fielder had a little trouble handling it, he just kept running. Looks a little like his brother……That game against the D-Backs was just flat embarrassing. Pitchers got hammered and it was most of them. Nobody looked sharp. Rhame could not even make it out of his inning.

  10. Watching McCarthy. Good news – he is on the mound and I saw what looked like a 92 mph two seamer with movement. Bad news, he was missing his spots. I’m encouraged by what I saw. 92 with movement this early is a good sign. Command can come later.

    True, narcissistic barking has been his trademark for the 20 years I’ve known him. You can ignore the trumpeting until it gets personal, day after day, month after month, year after year.

  11. The dbacks have 4 guys competing for the starting shortstop job and Brenly didnt use the term “depth” regarding that situation, he is calling it “hazy”.

    Shelby Miller struck out 5 in a row and was hitting 97 yesterday. He even threw one 99. Is he back?

    1. Mentioned Ahmed above, he can pick it.

      Corbin is a guy they miss. If he comes back, if Greinke comes back, if Miller, if Walker…

      Heck, they might consider moving Robbie Ray to the pen. Dude has a great arm, misses lots of bats, can be inconsistent. Maybe a high leverage Andrew Miller-like guy in the waiting.

      1. Good take Rye. Last year when I talked about the dbacks I nearly got run out of here. You can probably guess by who. The dbacks look really good to me, but a lot of their good depends on their highly regarded pitchers actually coming through. It looks like a very capable starting staff to me. And the team should hit.

        Brenly and partner are talking now about our crowded outfield. Brenly said Roberts told him Puig should be an every day player in right.

        1. Hmmmm. Are you suggesting Puig and others for one of their startercs?

          I thought DBacks would make a much stronger showing last year.

          1. I am of course watching a replay of yesterday’s game in case you’re wondering. The comment about Puig sounded like they don’t intend to platoon right field.

            Dbacks were hit hard with injury. Miller scraped a knuckle and had issues with it all year. Peralta and Pollock went down and Greinke scoinged his back carrying all that money around.

          2. Zack’s good now. He got some hands on Swedish help over the winter and is set to pitch 200 innings and win 15, accumulating 4+ WAR and earning his money. It is written.

          1. Badger

            You got me again, darn you!

            Did you see the thing on that fertilizer king, and his plane?

    1. Badger

      I think that is difinitly not a coincidence.

      Do you notice that that attorney general, always has a smirk on his face?

  12. How did Anderson get through an entire half of inning, with having to make a play on a ball, and making a throw, to first?

    What is wrong with our guys today?

      1. Bluto

        I do, because we had to go through those first innings all the time, and they were torture.

        And you should be in a good mood, since Price won’t be having, any surgery soon.

        1. I’m in a great mood, that’s why looking at results in Spring Training is dismissed so easily by me.

          Odd grammar above.

  13. Hill not happy about his performance yesterday. McCarthy consoled himself with taking some good with the bad (in a mostly bad performance).

    It’s still early but Roberts better not be counting on Kazmir or McCarthy.

    1. Don’t worry YF.

      If they are not reliable, there’s a plethora of arms to take their place. I’m oddly bullish on Alex Wood currently.

      That said, I think both veterans will be given as much rope as possible.

  14. I guess 7 guys that go 100 is equal to 4 who go 200. FAZzy math. ArithFAZmetic. Using highly technical FAZorithms. Over my head. Can’t say I’m in bluto’s Wood boat. And I don’t trust McCarthy or Kazmir to finish the season with more than about 40 starts between them. I’d like to put everyone past Kershaw on the Urias Extended Spring Training schedule. If we can start the season in mid June, we could finish strong.

  15. The one good thing I took out of yesterday’s loss to the Cubs was 3 straight hits by left handed hitters off a lefty. Ethier, Utley and Pederson….was nice to see.

    1. Michael

      That would have been even better, except that was Anderson pitching.

      I know first I was bitching that I wanted them to knock Anderson out, and now I am discrediting there hits.

      A women always has the prerogative, to change her mind.

  16. I wonder why Scott hasn’t changed this, but he might be working the weekend.

    I remember he had to work a lot of Saturdays, when he would have rather been home, watching the Dodgers.

    1. Boxout

      I would think you would know that a president can’t do that.

      And if it even happened, it probably came from the intelligence, that got a subpoena to do that.

      Because there is just to many connections, to Russians.

      And think about this, why would Obama risk something like that, he had nothing to gain from something like that, he wasn’t running for office again, like tricky dick.

      It is just another lie.

      Any time this president is accused of something, or credited with something negative, he blames it on someone else.

      He has no integrity, Just like anything that he tweets.

      And if all of this stuff is lies from the press, how come every time something comes out, one of his cabinet, has to resign, or recuse themselves?

      1. Boxout

        And Clapper just said that didn’t happen, and he knows better, then anyone.

        Trump only said that, because it came out, that his son in law had a meeting with the Russian ambassador, at Trump tower.

        What is he worried about?

        1. Yeah, a President can’t wiretap, and a President can’t sell thousands of guns to Mexican drug cartels, and a President can’t weaponize the IRS against Americans, but Obozo did it. WAKE UP!!! You are proving my point about being a Defective Detective!!!

          Oh and James Clapper? This James Clapper, the one who perjured himself on wiretapping Americans??

          https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-11-17/lawmakers-resume-calls-for-james-clapper-perjury-charges

          1. Boxout

            Just like Sessions!

            Like I already said, what would Obama gain, from something like this?

            He wouldn’t risk his integrity, or legacy, to do something like this.

            He truly has no dog,in this fight.

            I mentioned Nixon, and it sounds like Trump, is paranoid, just like Nixon.

            What is he a afraid of?

  17. Did everyone see the article today in Dodgers Digest, about Kershaw?

    They also refer to an article in Fangraphs, about Kershaw on March second.

    It is about Kershaw never throwing any of his off speed pitches, when he is behind, on the count.

    As any Dodger fan knows, that in the post season, if Kershaw is having trouble, he tends to throw fastball after fastball, especially if he is down in the count.

    But he tends to do that, even in the regular season, but he tends to get away with that.

    And last year against the Cubbies in the last game, Kershaw continued to do this.

    He did throw some sliders, but it was mainly fastballs, and Kershaw’s fastball, isn’t all that, when he isn’t throwing his other pitches.

    Why isn’t Kershaw seeing this, and adjusting, is my question.

    It might be partly, because he gets away with this in the regular season, but after all of those games, in the post season, you would think he would see this, and change it.

    I think Kershaw needs to work on being able to throw his other pitchers or off speed pitches, on any count, to make him a better, and a less predictable pitcher.

    It looks like the Cardinals are not stealing pitches.

    They just know that Kershaw doesn’t throw any of his other pitches, when he is down in the count.

    And we know Kershaw has a great strike to walk ratio, so maybe it isn’t as noticeable in the regular season, because he doesn’t get down in the count often!

    1. Jonah

      That Sheep does look familiar, but where is it’s lingerie?

      That one therapy Sheep, always had lingerie on.

      1. Are you having a battle of wits with Boxout? You know, of course, that no one wins these jousts, what’s the point?

        1. Jonah

          Boxout and I, like this back and forth.

          And we don’t usually get personal, so no biggie.

          And I don’t know if you ever watch the news, but the politics of today, are very very different, right now.

          It is quite scary.

        2. Jonah

          I bet Badger is at the game today, or he just went down there, to watch the players on the back Fields, having batting practice.

          1. Not this year. Circling my wagons. Connecting the dots. There’s a storm on the horizon. It’s a bat sh*t crazy storm.

  18. Badger

    It was warm all week long, and one day, it was actually 80 degrees.

    But today it has been raining since 11 AM, and the high will be 53 today.

    I hate when it is cold, because my dog is like a mail men, because he wants a walk no matter, what the weather is.

    And no Jonah, my dog does not wear a sweater.

    1. Your dog probably can’t do this. But on the other hand, if he’s trained you to do it, he may be a lot smarter…

        1. Badger

          It is so predictable.

          I think it is also the fact that it is public, that Trump’s son in law, and Flynn, met with the Russian Ambassador, at Trump Tower.

          Trump doesn’t understand the checks and balance, of our government.

          He doesn’t understand, that they are all separate entities.

          The FBI asked one of the other entities today, to make it be known, that Obama and the FBI, didn’t wire tap, Trump.

          1. You must realize that both parties are equally corrupt and neither will change their ways. The only possible ending is revolution, a sport far more dangerous than baseball. And not for old fellows like us. Father Time will relieve our internment here when he sees fit.

          2. Yes, I do realize corruption is not one party specific. I’m not that naive. But, there is one side of that coin that is much scarier to this planet than the other. The elites won’t save us. (Chris Hedges) You may consider reading it.

  19. Badger

    This is scary for this country, and I am not just talking about Trump.

    Who knows what this ambassador got from these guys, when they didn’t know it, or the stuff, they do know about.

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