6-4-2 — an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

Today's Birthdays

The Joy Of Six: Dodgers 12, Astros 7

Speaking of scary, Jae Seo just isn't getting it done for the Dodgers, while Duaner Sanchez is for the Mets. I'm still in favor of that trade on general principles, though.

Recap

Roster Notes

• Jason Repko is day-to-day after spraining his ankle in yesterday's game.
• Odalis Perez has returned to the Dodgers and has been sent to the bullpen.
• Oscar Robles was optioned to AAA Las Vegas.
• Giovanni Carrara has been signed to a minor league contract with the Dodgers, following a release from the Pirates organization.
• Cesar Izturis will tentatively start a rehab assignment in Vero Beach on May 20.
• Luke Hochevar, last year's first-round draft pick by the Dodgers, threw a consistent 95 MPH and touched 97 while pitching for the Independent League Fort Worth Cats.
• From the Times: "A Dodger internal investigation concluded that double-A outfielder Matt Kemp did not take a swing at Birmingham Baron Manager Chris Cron during a bench-clearing melee Saturday. Kemp will not be disciplined."
• Scot Shields, who went to the hospital with chest pains, seems to be just fine so far as his heart goes. Hint: have them check for esophageal spasms.
• Casey Kotchman is returning to Los Angeles to see team physician Craig Milhouse on Friday.

  "Casey has to get his stamina back," manager Mike Scioscia said. "It started to cut into his practice and it started to have an effect on him being the player he knows he can be."

• D-Mac, on his most recent callup:

  "I have to keep my strikeouts down and keep my walks up, but it is going to be a challenge," McPherson said. "I don't think I'm expected to be the savior of the team and I don't expect to be. I'll bat the ball around a little bit and let everything take care of itself. I'll just try to get back to some basic fundamentals with my swing."

• Dallas McPherson, on whether his experiences have made him wiser:

  "I'd like to think so, but at times I wonder myself," McPherson said. "I know I've got to be more patient at the plate, get my strikeouts down, my walks up, and still do what I'm supposed to do, hit for power."

• Darin Erstad has a bone bruise on his right ankle but no other damage.
• Mike Scioscia admitted the team is looking at trades to improve the offense.

  "There has been focus outside the organization," Scioscia said. "It's not just in-house. (General manager) Bill (Stoneman) has conversations with general managers around the league. (But) there are a couple of things we need to have patience with."

  "A guy like Juan Rivera coming back is going to have to get enough at-bats to get into a groove because we know how he can help us if he gets going. And then there is also balancing that with looking outside the organization for a player that can come in and get after it on the offensive side. As of yet, none of that stuff has surfaced outside the organization."

• Despite yesterday's pasting, Rotoworld is optimistic about Kevin Gregg, recommending "Patient owners will keep him active against the Mariners on Sunday."
• Justin Duchscherer continues to experience soreness in his elbow, and is "effectively day-to-day for the rest of the year".
• Milton Bradley won't be back in action until at least the A's next homestand, starting on Tuesday, May 16.
• Rich Harden is unlikely to return until the end of the month.
• Huston Street finally returned to the A's lineup, notching his first save since going on the DL.
• The Giants believe Moises Alou will miss 4-6 weeks due to his sprained ankle.
• Jose Contreras has been disabled by the White Sox with a pinched nerve in his right leg. The Angels will see knuckleballer Charlie Haeger instead.

Shut Up, Jason Kendall

"Major League Baseball has turned into a badminton league. They told me I didn't have any shot of getting my suspension knocked out," Kendall said.

...

"The fact that they won't knock anything off is embarrassing to the game because the game has changed. Now you can't really defend yourself. I understand I have to be suspended, but it's not like I went out and picked a fight. Nothing would have happened if he wouldn't have said anything to me, if he wouldn't have taken three steps hard at me," Kendall said.

...

"I get called out by Lackey. He calls me out and disrespects me and I'm supposed to sit here and have him yell at me? So basically what Major League Baseball is saying is that any big league pitcher out there can yell at somebody and get fined $2,000. That's what the fine was." Kendall said.

...

"I think the big thing was this was my fourth time, and all four of the fights I've been into has been about sticking up for myself or sticking up for my pitcher. I guess they don't look at that," Kendall said. "People that are making decisions have never been in a situation like that. They wait for situations like this to happen so they can have this big power. And that's what they did. They have the power right now."

// posted by Rob @ 8:39 AM link  //  4 comments