Here’s tonight’s tidbits from Week 2 at Camelback Ranch:
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts announced his Spring Training, Cactus League starting pitcher will be…..Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is scheduled to pitch just one inning, so he’ll be finished quickly. Hershiser’s day will be done as Vin Scully says, “before the seats are warm”.
Sunday’s pitcher will be Rich Hill, with Kenta Maeda taking the mound on Monday.
Per Ken Gurnick: Julio Urias threw two simulated innings of live batting practice today. He faced Yasmani Grandal, Corey Seager, Joc Pederson and Justin Turner. Batter’s contact was reported as weak grounders and short flares. Quoting Gurnick, Urias was “simply overpowering”.
Injury report: Coach Orel Hershiser pulled a hamstring while demonstrating pitching techniques.
Oscar Martinez
I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium and immediately drenched in Dodger Blue. Chavez Ravine is my baseball cathedral, Vin Scully was the golden voice of summer all my life, and Tommy Lasorda remains the greatest Dodgers manager ever. My favorite things are coffee, beer, and the Dodgers beating the Giants. I also blog about my baseball card hobby at All Trade Bait, All the Time.
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“Coach Orel Hershiser pulled a hamstring while demonstrating pitching techniques.”
Father Time remains undefeated. Plus, he’s got a mean sense of humor
I just believe Urias is going to be a stud. However, pitchers are ahead of the hitters in early spring. First televised game is Saturday. Go Dodgers.
It was reported that Maeda put on about 10 lbs. How about Urias? Has he added any noticeable mass to his legs or look better conditioned overall?
Orel pulled a hammy last year in Vegas teaching Texas Hold em to some young whales, so don’t be concerned because he bounced back from that injury pretty quickly.
Orel is into Texas hold’em?
He lives in vegas and is a professional card player
Urias still had a teenagers body last year. Might be a while before he matures.
“A one pitch ground ball to the shortstop is better than a seven pitch strikeout’. Chris Sale, excited to see such an athletic defense behind him in Boston. They do look good.
Amazingly, he still was a teenager for the better part of the season.
I hear Betts is an alright player as well. Sandoval is an usual athlete. He’s actually quite ambidextrous and used to move very well for a big fellow. Hoping he has a nice bounce back.
Sale is great!
Bluto
He won’t be great until he is pitching successfully in a pennant race, and in the post season.
He has not done that yet.
Nope. He’s great.
Bluto
He hasn’t ever pitched, in a big game.
And there are a lot of really good pitchers, that don’t pitch well in the post season.
Most scouting reports had Urias as pretty much done or close to done when it comes to filling out. If you would call it a knock, the only knock on him was that there wasn’t more projectability size wise. I’m not saying there isn’t baby fat that can’t be converted to muscle but he isn’t going to get much bigger or different when it comes to his physique.
I’m betting 20 yr old Urias takes the next step this season. He is special, even if he doesn’t provide the purists with 200 innings this year.
Boxout
I agree with you about Urias.
He might be the one that takes us to the series!
According to a couple former major league pitchers, Urias has better stuff, then Kershaw.
He just needs to get the experience, and he got a lot of experience last year, including the post season, so he made a big stride last year.
I think you make a very good observation MJ, last year was a huge step in Urias career. the experiences he had both in season and in the playoffs is huge. Talk about getting a fast-forward button in a young career, watch out for Urias he is going to be a much more polished pitcher and will probably make significant strides in his pitch count issues he has had in most games to this point.
Yep, his history is that at every level he dominated after a short period. I think everyone on this board knows the 2017 Urias plan is to have him at peak efficiency DURING playoff time (just like Hill). Like a race horse, all the training and babying is to prepare him for the big kahuna, the playoffs! Time to accept that Urias and others are a huge part of “the state of the Dodgers” (at this moment) and why we don’t see the prototypical 200 inning starters. It is not because FAZ wouldn’t want them.
Boxout
The 200 innings thing, might be better for some pitchers, but a team is still going to want to have there top pitchers, throw more innngs, then the other pitchers.
And that will keep the balance, with the bullpen pitchers.
I really don’t have a problem skipping starter’s starts, to keep them fresh, but they better pitch deeper into games, then last year.
We did go farther last year, but the way most of these starting pitchers didn’t pitch deep into games, is no recipe for success.
And that may be the reason, that our bullpen, pitched so badly, in the series against the Cubbies.
MJ,
I don’t think you’re going to see many pitchers, outside of Kershaw, going too deep into games.
The front office, and I could be REALLY wrong here, and Roberts seem to believe that the TTOP is real
MJ,
Who in the world said Urias has better stuff than Kershaw? Were they drunk at the time? Perhaps stoned?
That’s idiotic.
Kershaw is a generational talent.
Bluto
I think your right about Kershaw, but even Kershaw, has to keep the post season, in mind.
And there is a difference in real good stuff, and being a good pitcher.
Dan Pleasac and Hall of Fame pitcher, John Smoltz said that about Urias.
And I am not sure that Roberts, thinks that.
Well I am watching the Dodger show right now, and it is interesting to hear them talk, about the starting rotation.
I just heard Roberts talking about Kazmir, and he said that Honey says he looks good, as well as another coach, and Roberts who is a very positive guy, said we will see when Kazmir gets out there.
And it looks like most are talking more about the young pitchers, including Wood, just like everyone here.
And I agree with everyone here, that Urias is only going to get better.
And Rye I don’t think Urias needs to gain, anymore weight.
It is funny because even though they are taking about the last two places in the starting rotation, they didn’t mention the veteran pitchers that much.
But we do know they will have to give the veterans, the first chance.
And I have loved Betts, since he first came up.
Dude, easy on the commas.
Purists?
All of management, and everyone in here, recognizes the need to monitor the young pitcher’s innings. He won’t get 200 innings anytime soon. I can see it tiered at 150, 175, then 200. He only threw 122 innings last year. He’s only thrown 344 total innings in four years. His workload will no doubt also include a pitch count ceiling. Last September he needed 78 pitches to get through 3.2 shutout innings. I think number of pitches will be a more significant factor than actual innings pitched. He struck out over 9 per 9 IP. As was mentioned, a strike out is impressive, but it can take a lot of work to get it. His WHIP in LA was 1.455. At OKC it was 0.867. I hope he gains enough confidence to pitch to contact. With his stuff, 78 pitches should get him 5 innings and a W.
Badger
You are right it is good to pitch to contact, but it takes most pitchers a little while, before they pitch that way.
There are still veteran pitchers, that fight that notion, when they pitch.
Urias is still a very young pitcher, but he has always pitched, much more maturely then his age, so maybe he will figure that out, sooner.
I do think he did progress throughout the season, and he was making better pitches, in the first inning, and earlier in games, then from the begining.
He actually came in in relief, and had a couple of very clean innings.
Maybe umpires will be easier with Urias this year, since this is his second year.
Badger, thank you for the quote from Tolstoy yesterday. I’m reading some more of his quotes and I enjoy it.
A man is like a fraction whose numerator is what he is and whose denominator is what he thinks of himself. The larger the denominator, the smaller the fraction.
Leo Tolstoy
That describe anyone here?
Me!
Bluto
That isn’t you!
I have no problem with you, you do OK here. Even Catbox is alright most of the time, although he and Badger will never share a bag of peanuts…
Jonah
That fits what Badger was trying to get across.
But I don’t think he meant it, about anybody here.
But I like that quote!
I think Mr. Timmons for one fits that.
Can’t disagree with that.
Tolstoy was an interesting guy. Some thought he was a crackpot anarchist, espousing numerous bizarre ideas from vegetarianism to pacifism, but he wasn’t a nihilist, he was a Georgist.
Again, Tolstoy:
Jonah,
Did you have to mention The Stench? It was just starting to lose the shit smell in here. The Stench is a miserable soul masquerading as someone who gives a damn about others, when in reality he only gives a damn about himself. ( I know he is trolling in here and reading this, I can smell the Stench)
Great Tolstoy quote Jonah. I wonder what catbox would say. Like I mentioned, Leo was a Georgist, and they have very interesting ideas on management policies. Tax the landholders is one of them, so, our president wouldn’t be on board.
Agree True, he’s checking out who might be mentioning him.
So I finally ditched DirecTV and went with Charter. So now I will be able to watch all of the games and the Dodgers channel and finally be able to actually “see” what everyone in here talks about. Having DirecTV and MLB still didn’t always get me the games and I missed all of the ST games etc…
It’s tough reading about what all of you are actually seeing with your eyes, and I am someone who uses a good portion of my judgement on the visuality. If that is a word. States mean a lot but the good old eyeballs hold a lot of truth too. Really looking forward to it, and hopefully being able to contribute by 2.5 cents to the blog.
You’ll be more visually informed than me. I’m not paying this year.
I’ll be this guy:
“Everything we hear is opinion, not fact. Everything we see is perspective, not the truth.”
Badger
That would be silly if you didn’t get the MLB package,
this year.
Just follow and watch the team, and the players, and don’t let other issues, get in the way.
Joe is no Vinny, but no one will ever do what Vinny did.
And I like Joe because he doesn’t over talk to much, or take away from the game, like some anouncers, can do.
And he knows when a HR is a HR, unlike Charlie.
Tim
I got Charter as soon as they took over TWC.
And if someone is a big Dodger fan, they should just get either TWC or Charter.
I didn’t have a choice, until Charter took over, because TWC wasn’t offered where I live.
Actually Charter is cheaper then Direct TV, because with the usual subscription that most people get with a provider, at Charter you get all of those movie channels, with that package.
HBO and the other movie channels, you have to pay extra for on Direct TV, and with Charter, they are included for free.
What is the total price? My guess is about the same. There is no free lunch. Dish, Direct, et al have a basic price and then add in the cost of the others you order, Charter and TWC PROBABLY just incorporate those extra channels into basic and raise the price accordingly. That is what they want Dish, Direct, et al to do to their customers. And that is why TWC is going bankrupt (probably) and Dish, Direct, et al do not have the Dodger Channel. TWC wants them to add The Dodger Channel to their basic package and pay them $4 a month for all twenty- some million subscribers (do the math), instead of offering the channel to just those few who really want it and are willing to pay the extra $4 a month for it. A pox on the greedy bast***s at TWC and I hope they go broke.
Jonah
Everyone of these providers, have there sport networks, and there contract will come up, and they will be in same situation, as TWC was.
Because they will have to get the other providers, to pay for there sports network.
The reason Direct TV didn’t sign, was because what happened with the Lakers network, when they didn’t win.
If the Dodgers contract would have came up before the Lakers contract, every provider, would have the Dodger network now.
But the Lakers tanking scared, all the other providers.
The reason Direct won’t buy into the Dodger Channel is as I explained above. They have over 20 million subscribers. TWC will not go along with allowing the (maybe) one million subscribers who want the channel to get it. They want to require that Direct force all 20 million of their subscribers pay them $4 per month. That’s $80MM dollars per month to TWC. Direct refuses because many of their subscribers would cancel their subscription if that additional cost was forced on them. I agree with Direct completely and believe they should and will hold out. TWC made a stupid play bidding that much for the Dodger Channel, it will force them into bankruptcy eventually and they deserve it. And it has and will continue to cost the Dodgers in fans and they deserve that for being so greedy. The only way this ever works out is if the Dodgers allow TWC to void that stupid contract and re-negotiate a more reasonable contract that will allow TWC to sell the rights to Dish, Direct, et al at a reasonable amount the public will stand for.
Arriving at Camelback tonight. Anybody know if there’s a schedule for the workouts on all the different fields?