OFFICIAL 2009 DODGERS SEASON THREAD : Season Over. Congratulations Phillies.

[erascism]

Nice job, Troncoso.

 

[Los Angeles]

take the cubs fans heart out and stomp on it

 

[letsgetit22]

Originally Posted by Beermann2

damn, I did the jordan fist pump. haha

I did the exact same thing

 

[beermann2]

damn, I did the jordan fist pump. haha

 

[p mac one]

Troncoso

 

[Los Angeles]

It is concerning that Joe only trusts Brox, Troncosco and Belli in the pen.

when you look at anyone else in there to go too, if needed, there really isn't anyone Joe can count on.

Luckily, Ned has already come out publicly saying they are looking to upgrade the rotation & pen.

 

[ooiron manoo]

Originally Posted by bright nikes

so hard to watch right now.

I know they are walking a tight rope in the late innings, but you got to love watching them respond in these situations.

Look at Troncoso, he has come a long way from last year. Dude used to get flustered as hell, and now [Andre 300 Ice Cold [Andre 300. Thats my boy rightthere,

.

The most impressive thing about this team is how they are winning.

damn, I did the jordan fist pump. haha

I did one of these

 

[p mac one]

It's really not that concerning.

3 reliable arms is more than most teams have. We also have one of the best closers in the game so far this season. If Wade can get things together a littlebit, Ohman can return to his career norms, and Kuo can come back healthy at some point, we'll have a great bullpen. As of now, it'll get the job done.

I don't think Ned needs to upgrade the bullpen through any kind of significant trade. Later in the season we'll have McDonald to use there, as well asLindblom, and most likely Stults if Colletti trades for a starter.

 

[Los Angeles]

alot of "ifs" homie.

the game said it all - 2 on, 2 out, 1 run lead & and joe decides to leave troncosco in the game to hit.

joe litterally looked in the 'pen and said the hell with this.

again if you dont think its concerning, thats on you - a lot of "ifs" dont sit well with me.

kuo coming back healthy

 

[p mac one]

you think Kuo is gonna be hurt the whole year?

Wade this bad the whole year?

We have an above average bullpen so far this year, without any positive contribution from two of the most productive guys from last year. If I said therotation would get better when Kuroda came back, would that be an "if?"

 

[mr jordan04]

Originally Posted by P MAC ONE

you think Kuo is gonna be hurt the whole year?

Wade this bad the whole year?

Kuo is done. Wade will be on and off all year until he gets the proper rest for his elbow

 

[ooiron manoo]

I'm in line with PMAC. Kuo has been on the shelf for precautionary reasons. Everyone knows and Kuo has acknowledged the fact that if his elbow blows outagain it will be curtains for him.

Wade will not suck forever, at the same time, you can't toss him in during a tight situation. Not right now. Leach is not ready for that situationeither. Unfortunately, Joe is all about the Lefty vs. Lefty and Righty vs. Righty strategy, so that leaves out Ohman. No way Mota gets the call, and Broxtonwas unavailable along with Belisario. So you can see why Joe just let Troncoso finish the game.

I'm not concerned, especially with Lindblom coming along nicely and the possibility of adding McDonald to the bullpen later in the year.

I know the bullpen gets a lot of flak for putting games in tight situations, but really, the bullpen isn't that bad, it is average.

 

[Los Angeles]

Originally Posted by P MAC ONE

you think Kuo is gonna be hurt the whole year?

P MAC, if you could bet your house on Kuo being back to some sort of healthy form, I have a feeling you'd make that bet.

There is no way I'd put any trust in Kuo, with his injury record - sorry I said it going into the season, and it's been spot on.

When a pitcher is throwing in the bullpen (far left pavilion) and throws like 3 pitches ALL THE WAY to the mound, something is wrong structurally with thatelbow.

Wade this bad the whole year?

As far as Wade, he came into the season with shoulder problems, they rested him - Joe put him to work and Wade's ERA has skyrocketed.

Do I think Wade can come back to form? Yeah, but I'd like for him to get an MRI and proper treatment because everyone knows that shoulder problem is stilllingering.

We have an above average bullpen so far this year, without any positive contribution from two of the most productive guys from last year.

The point I was trying to make was how Joe showed he had NO trust in the rest of the 'pen. IMO, the bullpen is average.

 

[ooiron manoo]

4. His preference is still to stay in the Pacific time zone, as close to his new home in San Diego as possible. So the Dodgers would now loom as his first choice, assuming those two teams could ever find a way to do business. But while Peavy might have done a quick thumbs-down on the White Sox, the Cubs still appear to rank second on his wish list.

5. And once you get beyond the Cubs and Dodgers, his next tier of preferred destinations appears to include the Giants, Cardinals and Astros (because of his friendship with Roy Oswalt). Then the Brewers would lag slightly behind that group. East Coast teams like the Phillies, Mets, Yankees and Red Sox would probably have to jump through so many hoops and offer so many dollars and perks, we'd bet heavily against Peavy winding up in the Eastern time zone any time soon.

I still think it will take too much to get Peavy,

. I alsothink arm trouble is looming, however, if the Padres cave, I'm all for going after him.

 

[Los Angeles]

We should look into the Mariners / Indians pitching staff for someone to drop into our laps.

 

[p mac one]

I can't think of a team that has more than 3 guys they'd feel comfortable with in the 9th inning of a one run game.

Especially when all 3 of those guys can pitch two innings at a time.

 

[ooiron manoo]

The Indians are in no rush to trade Cliff Lee and the Mariners will dangle Erik Bedard.

More on Peavy:

The Cubs and Dodgers have been identified as two teams having interest, and Barry Rozner of the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald suggested that those two teams have talked to the Padres recently. The suddenly struggling Cubs appear to be Peavy's most preferred place. But their current problems are all about offense.

One Cubs person said he doesn't see a Peavy deal around the corner. And Cubs GM Jim Hendry said by phone, "The rotation's been fine." Hendry, who like Towers is an experienced dealer, is confident the murky status of their ownership won't prevent them from doing deals, though: "I'm optimistic we'll be able to conduct business."

The Dodgers are a team who definitely has the prospects to do a deal. But one friend of Towers said, "He'd have to be nuts to send him to the Dodgers," the biggest division rival and just two-and-a-half hours up I-5 (if traffic permits). Towers himself declined comment on anything specific related to a possible Peavy trade, as he said he doesn't want to repeat the winter circus.

 

[uclamike]

i would take Peavy like most of us would but i dont see the Padres caving in and trading him to a divison rival and even if they do call the dodgers they willask for half the farm because it is the dodgers

 

[mr jordan04]

Do I think Wade can come back to form? Yeah, but I'd like for him to get an MRI and proper treatment because everyone knows that shoulder problem is still lingering.
let him go kick it with manny for a few weeks. he needs some rest

still think it will take too much to get Peavy,

. I also think arm trouble is looming, however, if the Padres cave, I'm all for going after him.
i feel the same. but even at a "bargain," he's gonna cost a lot. both to our pockets and the farm system

 

[p mac one]

Ohman to the DL

AJ Ellis called up; that'll allow Ausmus to pinch-hit

 

[Los Angeles]

well, something had to give with Ohman.

strange call up, would have loved another bullpen arm since leach would be the only lefty coming outta the pen.

 

[Los Angeles]

*per LAT ohman has shoulder inflammation.

aj ellis will be sent down once kuroda comes back, so kuroda is coming back soon.

so does milton go into the pen?

bills
wolf
kuroda
kershaw
stults

 

[amarusgear]

I agree the Pads would not want to deal Peavy to the blue, but if they need his salary off the books it has to be done.

 

[p mac one]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgerthoughts/

[h1]Dodger bullpen is not overworked[/h1]
The 2009 Dodger bullpen is averaging 3.38 innings per game. The 2009 major-league average is 3.21 bullpen innings per game. The best team in baseball in this category is Pittsburgh, with 2.76 relief innings per game.

In short, despite all the concern about how many innings the Dodger bullpen has been throwing, the relievers are only being asked to get half an out per game more than average (or an extra out every two games). The Dodger bullpen is only two outs per game behind the least-used bullpen in baseball.

And for much of the season, the Dodgers have used one more relief pitcher than most other teams in baseball. So that if you do the math, Dodger relievers on average aren't overworked at all, relative to the other 29 teams.

Obviously, not all Dodger relievers are used equally, but as readers of this site know, I've been tracking daily pitch counts by the team, and with the possible exception of Cory Wade in April, the relievers all have gotten regular rest after a tough game or after a tough stretch of games. Dodger manager Joe Torre was prepared to lose Thursday's series opener against the Cubs rather than use Jonathan Broxton, whose 38-pitch appearance Wednesday has been his only outing so far this week.

Broxton, the team's top reliever, has thrown more than 20 pitches in consecutive games twice this year, Each time, he got at least two days' rest afterward. Every time Ramon Troncoso or Ronald Belisario has thrown more than 25 pitches in a game, he has gotten the next day off. No other reliever on the team has thrown more than 18 innings all season.

In part by dumping low-importance innings on the back of the bullpen, in part by biting the bullet and resting top relievers at critical times even when it was most tempting to use them, the Dodgers have mitigated the slightly shorter outings by their starting pitchers. Obviously, this needs to be monitored going forward. Randy Wolf could come back to earth and need more support, for example. On the other hand, the return of Hiroki Kuroda might only help.

The Dodger bullpen's 3.88 ERA is 10th in baseball out of 30 teams. Not bad at all, could be better. While you would always like the pitching to improve, if there's an argument that the Dodger bullpen is overworked, I don't see one that stands up.

 

[frenchblue23]

When they showed the stat last night of how many appearances each reliever had this year, I wasn't surprised to see this team's bullpen amongst themost games used in the league, in terms of appearances.