NL West Discussion

[Giantmetfan07]

Post any little shit you wanna talk about it.

 

[cruzg24]

"Everything went well for Tim Lincecum while he stood on the AT&T Park pitcher's mound Saturday, and everything had to.

Unbeknown to him, Lincecum was pitching for his spot in the rotation, and he did more than enough in a wild 3-2 extra-innings victory over the Houston Astros to get the ball when the Giants visit Philadelphia later this week. Lincecum threw eight shutout innings but wasn't credited with the win after Santiago Casilla's and Hector Sanchez's mistakes in the ninth sent the game to extra innings.

Sanchez earned a measure of redemption with the game-winning hit in the 12th, bringing a joyous end to a night that started with a vintage performance from Lincecum.

"I can't put a staple on whether I'm halfway or three-quarters (back), but today was a good day," Lincecum said. "I've always said it's not about what you've done, it's about what you've done lately."

Lincecum was coming off the worst stretch of the worst season of his career, and manager Bruce Bochy indicated twice last week that Lincecum could skip his next start if the struggles continued. Lincecum said he wasn't aware of that, and the Giants were eager to put the thought behind them after Lincecum gave up just five hits, walked one and struck out a season-high 11.

"I'm not going to answer 'What ifs,' " Bochy said. "He's starting on Friday. He's had a tough go, but it's all about being resilient and bouncing back. He did that tonight.

"That's

the Timmy we know."

To find a taste of his old form, Lincecum went back to the basics. The flame-throwing kid who lit up the radar gun has been replaced by a veteran who regularly throws just 89-91 mph with his fastball. But that didn't stop Lincecum from using the fastball early and often -- very often.

Lincecum used his fastball just 40 percent of the time in the first half, but he went to the heater on 40 of his first 50 pitches Saturday while setting the Astros down effortlessly.

"I wanted to get aggressive," he said. "Fastball location sets up every other pitch. The big thing tonight was to compete.""

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Good to see Timmy starting to get back on track.

 

[Mexi]

Timmy sucked all year, saw us without Kemp and in the midst of our dry spell (54 innings scoreless or some shit) and pitched "Great"

then he sucked again

faces the Astros(awful lineup. wow.) and was good

lets just chill

 

[Giantmetfan07]

hilarious when the media overblows a performance vs a bad lineup or a lineup doing well against a bad pitcher.

I mean, are we really talking about "getting back on track" when his two previous starts he allowed 7 ER and 6 ER?

 

[Mexi]

Dodgers suck

GO DBACKS

 

[cruzg24]

hilarious when the media overblows a performance vs a bad lineup or a lineup doing well against a bad pitcher.

I mean, are we really talking about "getting back on track" when his two previous starts he allowed 7 ER and 6 ER?

Well its a start, he has been so bad that it was a very good sign for him. Better than him getting lit up again. He needs to start somewhere.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

but it's overblown. It was still a bad lineup. Let's see him string together 5 or 6 good starts and then we'll talk about him "turning it around".

 

[playmaker7]

I'm hoping Tim can REALLY get back on track but it's gonna take more than these little starts to convince me. I need to see it consistently because that's the exact opposite of what he's been this season. If they're serious about trying to make the World Series again, he's gonna have to be Cy Young Tim, not 9 ER Tim...

 

[cruzg24]

"The Cubs offered to send Ryan Dempster to his preferred Dodgers straight up for solid right-handed pitching prospect Allen Webster, but the Dodgers have rejected the offer.

The issue seems to be this: The Dodgers don't appear to love Dempster quite as much as he loves them.

According to people briefed on the talks, the Dodgers have thus far offered a couple of lesser prospects, guys who may project as relievers.

The Dodgers, or so it seems anyway, may be more interested in a different Cubs pitcher, Matt Garza. While they like Dempster enough to make an offer, they also like Garza very much, perhaps even more."

Source: CBSSports.com

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Last week Chad Billingsley was placed on the disabled list with an inflammation in his right elbow and it was said that he could be out “a while.” ”A while” could be the rest of the season.

At least that’s what Stan Kasten, the Dodgers’ president and chief executive officer thinks. Dylan Hernandez reports that Kasten made the commets “out of concern and not based on medical evidence,” but the fact is that there’s just over a month of the season left, so if the guy does anything but feel perfectly healthy as soon as this DL stint is up, he’s probably toast for 2012.

NBC Sports

 

[Teagz]

Kevin Gregg

went from closer to out of work reliever in a hurry and now the 34-year-old right-hander has signed a minor-league deal with the Dodgers.​

He’ll get an invitation to spring training, although the Dodgers’ bullpen is already pretty crowded and they also recently added Mark Lowe on a minor-league contract.​

Gregg was never particularly well-suited to be a closer, racking up 143 saves from 2007-2011 despite an unimpressive 3.89 ERA and 4.7 walks per nine innings. He had a 4.95 ERA in 44 innings for the Orioles last season before getting released shortly before the playoffs.​

 

[Teagz]

An update here on the Dodgers’​

Carl Crawford

.​

According to beat writer Ken Gurnick of MLB.com, Crawford is throwing at a distance of 90 feet and taking regular swings off a tee at the Dodgers’ spring training complex in Arizona without any pain or discomfort in his surgically-repaired left elbow.​

Crawford hopes to begin facing live pitching within the next couple of days and told reporters on Tuesday afternoon in camp that he is “confident” he will be ready for the beginning of the 2013 regular season.​

Crawford has batted just .260/.292/.419 with 14 home runs, 23 stolen bases and 75 RBI in 664 plate appearances since signing a seven-year, $142 million free agent contract with the Red Sox before the start of the 2011 campaign. The 31-year-old outfielder was traded to Los Angeles last summer.​

 

[Teagz]

Last week the Rays cleared two 40-man roster spots by designating infielders​

Reid Brignac

and​

Elliot Johnson

for assignment.​

They traded Johnson to the Royals as the player to be named later from the big James Shields swap and now they’ve traded Brignac to the Rockies for a PTBNL or cash considerations.​

It makes sense that they didn’t have to simply waive Brignac, because despite hitting just .227 with a .586 OPS in 256 games as a big leaguer and not even producing much at Triple-A he’s a good defensive shortstop and former top prospect who’s still just 27 years old.​

Brignac won’t be playing shortstop in Colorado unless​

Troy Tulowitzki

gets hurt again, but he could work his way into the mix at the other infield spots while serving as a utility man.​

 

[Teagz]

Padres prospect​

Rymer Liriano

, a 21-year-old outfielder who ended last year at Double-A, will miss the entire season following Tommy John elbow surgery,​

according to Corey Brock

of MLB.com.​

Position players recover faster and more easily from Tommy John surgery than pitchers, certainly, but the year of lost development time might be an even bigger deal for Liriano. According to Brock he’s hoping to swing a bat in six months, at which point he might be cleared to play winter ball.​

It’s a tough break, because Liriano was probably a good half-season from potentially being called up to San Diego and ranked as a consensus top-100 prospect after hitting .280 with a .350 on-base percentage and 32 steals in 127 games last year.​

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Clayton Richard & Padres Reach Agreement


[font=lucida sans unicode']PEORIA, AZ — Clayton Richard, the Padres last arbitration-eligible player for 2013, agreed to terms Saturday night.[/font]

The left-handed pitcher will make $5.24 million on a one-year contract. Richard would have been seeking $5.5 million in an arbitration hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The Padres were offering $4.905 million.

 

[Teagz]

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly is entering the final chapter of a three-year contract that he signed in 2010. So it’s time to start printing more pages.​

According to beat writer Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Dodgers officials have spoken to Mattingly recently “about a new contract,” though there’s no hurry to get anything done this spring.​

“We’ve talked to Don a lot about what he does and doesn’t want right now,” Dodgers chairman Mark Walter said Saturday at the team’s spring training complex in Arizona. “I think you might see something come up before the end of the year.”​

Mattingly holds a 168-155 managerial record in his two seasons with the Dodgers. That’s all well and good, but the stakes are significantly higher now that the club boasts the largest payroll in the major leagues.​

Mattingly does hold an option for 2014, but the Dodgers don’t want to pick it up quite yet.​

 

[cruzg24]

Madison Bumgarner, who debuted with two shutout innings in a 9-9 tie against the White Sox on Monday, is not twisting as far back in his delivery as he did last year. He did not realize how exaggerated it was.

"Gradually, it was more and more," he said. "Before I knew it, I was spinning around like (Hideo) Nomo did."

Bumgarner hopes the shorter delivery will have two benefits: more consistency in his pitches and less time to the plate. The more he twisted, the more opponents ran. They attempted 14 more steals than in 2011 and their success rate rose from 52 percent to 73 percent.

In fact, Bumgarner allowed more thefts (27) than any other left-hander in the majors in 2012.

Catcher Buster Posey could see a difference against the White Sox, who took advantage of Bumgarner's rustiness with two singles and a walk.

"I've caught him before when he had a real good move to first base," Posey said. "Maybe with less of a turn, he'll get his old move back. He's pretty deceptive to runners when he's right."

Source: San Francisco chronicle

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Carl Crawford's availability for spring training and beyond is in doubt after the Dodgers' left fielder was diagnosed with nerve irritation in his left arm. He will not be able to throw or hit for seven days.

"It challenges Opening Day," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly told reporters in Glendale.

Crawford flew Thursday night to Los Angeles to have his elbow examined by team physician Dr. Neal El Attrache. The team said the irritation developed from increased intensity hitting live pitching and is not uncommon for a player attempting to return from Tommy John surgery. Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery on Crawford's left (throwing) elbow last August.

If Crawford begins the season on the disabled list, Skip Schumaker and Jerry Hairston might begin the season as part of a platoon in left field. Alex Castellanos is getting a long look in the outfield this spring, as is non-roster invitee Tony Gwynn.
Opening Day is April 1 against the San Francisco Giants.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Cody Ross Suffered Lower Leg Strain - Out 2-3 Weeks.

 

[cruzg24]

I think Chase Headleys year last season was a fluke, I want to see if he proves me wrong. Idk I dont think he can sustain that hitting at PETCO.