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

Today's Birthdays

The Cost Of Doing Business: Angels 8, Diamondbacks 3

Otherwise, the game had plenty of diversions; Jose Molina stole a base against Montero, who made a number of mistakes during the game. The string of failed or dubious catching prospects for the Snakes continues apace, and it seems that if this game is representative at all, the rest of the division will be running against him, early and often. Baseball America recently ranked him the team's fifth-best prospect ($), and cited improved defense as a reason for the rating; if yesterday's game was any indication, he's got a ways to go before he knocks Chris Snyder out of the starting job.

The rest of the Snakes' roster was also shaky, and in particular, the outfield. Robby Hammock, the former catcher, has been converted to a super utility guy, and lost a routine fly in the seventh that eventually put Tommy Murphy on third with a credited sac fly and a two-base, one-run error. The Angels compounded it with a three-run eighth against Jorge Julio, an erstwhile relief ace with the O's in 2002 who's never been as good before or since; he's carrying a 5.40 ERA this spring, and all the pitchers the Angels faced today had spring ERAs higher than that, even.

But my favorite moment of the game had to be watching converted shortstop Warner Madrigal come in to pitch the last out of the ninth. Greg Jones got himself in some trouble, walking the bases loaded after an Alberto Callaspo single, and then giving up an RBI sac fly. Scioscia had seen enough, and called in Madrigal; what was hilarious was that this was, to my knowledge, the first time he has ever appeared in a game with major leaguers, though not against them. Madrigal had once upon a time been considered an outfield prospect, but his bat vanished in 2005 and 2006, and so he was converted to the mound, to some (limited) success — 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA over 12 innings. He got Carter to fly out meekly to left, ending the threat. I still wanna see Madrigal do it more than against a few low-A hitters. More, I don't see how they could have thought he was anything but a first baseman or a pitcher based on his incredibly thick middle; if he's an outfielder, it's in the Albert Belle mold, but you can think of a dozen active pitchers with his build, including guys like David Wells, Brad Penny, Bartolo Colon, and so on.

Recap/Box

News

• Joe Saunders reported no soreness after yesterday's game, which means little by itself, but the Angels are about to make a midseason mistake by bringing back Bartolo Colon to replace him.
• Bartolo Colon is on schedule for a late-April to mid-May return.
• Casey Kotchman is back, just like I knew he would be. Earth-shattering confession from Mickey Hacker Hatcher:

  "Every guy who comes up thinks he has to hit home runs, he has to show power," Hatcher said. "I just keep telling him, we want a guy who's going to hit .300, hit to the opposite field, drive in runs, and he'll get his walks too. When he's going good, he'll start hitting home runs."

  Hey, he said "walks"...
• John Lackey will pitch on opening day, not really a surprise...
• ... as is the news that Jered Weaver will start the season on the DL, but should make his second start after April 15th or 16th.
• Grady Little gets a one-year extension; his salary is an estimated $600,000, in the bottom quarter of all major league managers.
• New, worse parking at Dodger Stadium: congratulations, Frank, for completely misunderstanding how parking was supposed to be set up. In addition to a raised fee of $15 to park at the park, the new, "better" parking will force you to park near the entrance where you came into the lot. Gack. At least Frank understands one issue:

  McCourt said parking problems would be eased if there were public transit to the stadium. The Dodgers are working with government agencies to begin the process.

  How weird is it that Angel Stadium has actual rail transport conveniently located, while Dodger Stadium has ... nothing. More of the same at dodgers.com.
• Brad Penny was a scratch from his last scheduled start, due to shoulder stiffness. Hong-Chih Kuo and Elmer Dessens looked equal parts awful in a 6-2 trouncing by the Mets, who even offered recent punching bag Oliver Perez as a potential victim. No such luck. Kuo has a 3.00 ERA in spring training, but that doesn't count the rainout against the Red Sox, in which he gave up five runs over two innings.
• Top Rangers pitching prospect Thomas Diamond is done for the year; he has had Tommy John surgery and is expected to return to the mound in 2008. Because of his tenure with the Rangers, the team will have to put him on the 40-man roster or expose him to the Rule 5 draft.
• Darin Erstad has made the White Sox as their starting centerfielder. Unbelievable.

  "If the season started today, my center fielder is Erstad," [manager Ozzie] Guillen said. "But it's a good thing the season doesn't start today. Hopefully, [Brian Anderson] will step it up."

• Bobby Jenks owns a 10.64 ERA in spring training, and Ozzie Guillen is predictably shooting his mouth off:

  "I worry about Bobby. If you are not ready one week and a half before the season starts, you have problems," Guillen said. "If you are not ready to this point, and you are not in condition to start the season right now, you have to dig in and start pushing yourself to get better." Unlike last year, Guillen can't take issue with Jenks' weight. It's just that his usual velocity isn't there yet, and he's also struggled to hit his spots. The White Sox haven't gone public with any additional concerns about Jenks' arm.

• Tony LaRussa, busted for DUI.
• Via David Pinto, Seth Kolloen worries about Felix Hernandez's sudden offseason weight loss:

  FELIX HERNANDEZ LOST a bunch of weight in the offseason, and everyone seems pretty psyched about it. Shin splints bothered him last season, and optimists expect that a slimmer Hernandez will be a better Hernandez.

  I'm not psyched. I'm terrified. Hernandez's drastic weight loss may help his legs, but I'm losing sleep about what it might do to his arm. Ever hear of Edwin Nunez? You would have -- in fact, you might be deciding whether to draft him for your fantasy team -- if weight loss hadn't derailed his career.

  Hernandez has a 3.21 ERA over 14 innings and 4 games, with 10 strikeouts and 2 walks. I wouldn't be too worried.

Jon's Five Questions About The Dodgers

Despite losing offense with the departure of Drew, the Dodgers are slightly better on paper this year thanks to the ongoing maturation of the kids and the increased depth on the mound, but they also had some things break their way last season in unexpected fashion: Saito's debut, Kemp's seven home runs in his first 15 career games, the clutch hitting, and will need similar strokes of good fortune to keep pace with the San Diego Padres and improving Arizona Diamondbacks. (On the bright side, Odalis Perez's collapse and Cesar Izturis starting at third base are distant memories.)

Basically, the team's entire season rests within the infamous margin of error, and I'm not going to try to fool anyone by pretending to know where it will land. You like a good mystery? Pick up the Los Angeles Dodgers in paperback.

Labels: angels, dodgers, spring training

// posted by Rob @ 7:37 AM link  //  3 comments