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

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Dodgers sucked today, the offense better show up tomorrow. The only good thing is that the giants and padres lost today to.
 
Sunday Dodgers' Notes: Stults To DL
(CBS)

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Quick notes:

Eric Stults has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with the thumb problem. Right-handed reliever Travis Schlichting who posted a 0.66 ERA (1 ER/13.2 IP) in nine game at Double-A Chattanooga, was called up to take Stults' place.

Bad news: With back-to-back losses, the Dodgers now trail the Cubs 1,014-1,012 all-time.

The Dodgers haven't lost three straight games since losing eight straight in Philadelphia, Washington, and Arizona from Aug. 22-29, 2008.

Hiroki Kuroda will make his first start since opening day on Monday versus Arizona.
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DODGERS FYI

[h1]Dodgers place left-hander Eric Stults on disabled list[/h1]

They call up right-hander Travis Schlichting from double-A Chattanooga, where he was 1-0 with a 0.66 earned-run average.

By Dylan Hernandez
2:15 PM PDT, May 31, 2009
Reporting from Chicago -- Eric Stults, who lasted only three innings in his start on Saturday, was placed on the 15-day disabled list today with a sprained left thumb.

Stults' place on the active roster will be taken by right-hander Travis Schlichting, who was called up from double-A Chattanooga.
Stults threw the Dodgers' only complete-game shutout of the season in a May 9 victory over San Francisco to improve to 4-1 with a 3.58 earned-run average. But a sprained thumb caused a sharp decline in his form, and he was 0-1 with an 8.03 ERA over his next three starts.

Stults' move to the disabled list will open a spot in the Dodgers' rotation for opening-day starter Hiroki Kuroda, who is set to be activated Monday.

Schlichting, 24, has never pitched in the majors. He was drafted by Tampa Bay in 2003 as an infielder, but was later converted to a pitcher in the Angels' organization.

Schlichting was 1-0 with a 0.66 ERA in nine appearances with Chattanooga. He had given up only one run in 13 2/3 innings.

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Here's the lineup:

Pierre, LF

Furcal, SS

Hudson, 2B

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

Loretta, 3B

Hoffmann, RF

Milton, P
 
Travis Schlichting



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[h2]3/31/2009[/h2]http:// [h3]Prospect Profiles 2009: Travis Schlichting[/h3]
Overview-Schlichting was a 2003 4th round draft pick of the Rays out of high school. He had pitched before but the Rays preferred him as an infielder. After 4 mediocre years as a position player, he decided to give pitching a try again. Following a stint in the independent league, Schlichting was signed by the Dodgers and quickly showed great promise. He was good enough in 2008 that the Dodgers added him to the 40-man roster and he has the potential to be an impact bullpen arm.

Stuff-Schlichting mainly sticks with a two-pitch arsenal: a sinker and a slider. His sinker sits from 89-91 mph and touches 93. It has solid arm side tail and sink when he's going good, but it can straighten out a bit at times. His slider is thrown hard and it sits at 82-84 mph. It has the necessary bite to eventually evolve into a strikeout pitch for him, but he needs to make sure it doesn't flatten out.

Command-Not surprisingly, Schlichting's consistency and command are lacking at this stage. It's not so much that he walks a lot of batters, it's that he will leave pitches in the zone or won't hit his spots. For example, he'll leave his sinker high and hang a flat slider from time to time. I'm not especially worried at this stage because of his relative inexperience, but he does need to show improvement going forward.

Mechanics-I think I honestly want to see more video before passing judgment. For now, I will just say that nothing looks especially awkward or worrying, but since he's new to pitching, I wanted to see him throw later in the year because lots of adjustments will be made. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get that video. Now that he's at AAA though, I should have lots to work with.

Mental-Scouts say that he's aggressive on the mound and very confident. It doesn't surprise me that he comes off as mature when considering that he is older and has had to go through a lot to get here.

Health-There's nothing of concern in his past, although he did recently get shutdown in Spring Training with a bulging disk in his back.

Performance-It's a small sample size but the results are promising. In only his first full season as a pitcher, he kept the walks remarkably low (2.72 BB/9) and his strikeout rate was quite decent (7.39 K/9). His ERA was a solid 3.77 and that is backed by a 3.64 FIP. He did give up 58 hits in 59 2/3 innings, but that was largely tied to him leaving his pitches all over the zone like I have previously mentioned.

Some of his other splits are very interesting though. He's a sinkerballer, but induces only a slightly above-average amount of groundballs (44.9%). Similarly, he gives up about an average amount of line drives (18.4%). The odd thing is that he allows a well above-average amount of flyballs (34.6%), especially for a sinkerballer. Normally, this would scare the hell out of me, but 61.8% of those flyballs are infield pop-ups. Still, even though infield pop-ups are even more harmless than groundballs, the chances that he can induce 60-70% of flyballs to be pop-ups is very doubtful in the long run, so I would feel much better to see that GB% creep over 50%.

Schlichting still needs to get his hit rate down, his strikeout rate up, and induce more groundballs, but in the context of this being his first full season as a pitcher, it's hard to complain about what he has accomplished.

Other-Nothing interesting of note.

Projection-Schlichting's ceiling isn't much higher than what he is now, but his floor isn't much lower either. He could potentially be a decent setup man, and he's a solid reliever at worst. The most likely outcome is that he becomes an effective 7th inning reliever, maybe a less skilled version of Ramon Troncoso.

Travis will start the season at AAA, but with a solid showing there, he could get a quick call-up to the big leagues. Barring any complications from his back injury, I would expect him to be with the Dodgers sometime in 2009.
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Wade, Belisario, Troncoso.

If all 3 of these guys are healthy and effective in the playoffs, along with Broxton, right handed hitters will be done.
 
Did any of you guys read Plashcke's new "Manny Bash" column.....
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I swear, I love reading the Times. Still support by buying the paper almost everyday. I just can't take this "holier than thou" viewpointseriously anymore. I couldn't really stand his columns before, but I still read them. Plashcke is hit or miss. On the Manny issue, he has whiffed badly.
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. I wont post the entire column, just tidbits off ignorance.

In the wake of the May 7 juice bust, I didn't expect much from Ramirez, but the fans and the community should expect much more from the Dodgers, who are acting more like enablers than enforcers.

Since being suspended for 50 games for being a drug cheat, Ramirez has been allowed to maintain his lavish lifestyle as a truth cheat.
Simply because he has yet to address the media formally. He is the ONLY All Star/Superstar to be suspended, wait until he serves his time for himto speak. No need to jump to conclusions.

H
He has not yet explained himself to the fans, nor is he being pressed to set a date for such an explanation.

He has been told by owner Frank McCourt that when he does address the fans, he doesn't need to tell the entire truth, only the parts that make him comfortable.
Explanation? All the info is self explanatory. To acknowledge what happened would be enough.

He has remained on the All-Star ballot, collecting enough votes to give him a legitimate chance to be in the starting lineup, a sickening notion that McCourt would not condemn.

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, you would think Plaschke an "acclaimed" writer would do some research. Ballots are sent out at the beginning of the season, so arecall of every ballot, from every MLB stadium would have pleased good ol' Bill.

While some organizations would employ tough love, the Dodgers have showered Ramirez with much love, almost painting him as the victim while those who dare criticize him are the criminals.
Like the Cardinals banished Mark McGwire. Like the Lakers banished Kobe Bryant. The Cardinals and the Lakers are two classy organizations andthey backed their superstars through their tough situations. I can't think of one organization that has turned their back on their players during acontroversy.

And why won't somebody, anybody, trumpet the fact that without Ramirez, they have still won 13 of 22 games while increasing their lead in the National League West. Just once, I'd like a team official to say, "You know, we're a pretty good team without him."
A few players have been quoted as saying publicly "We are more than one player". Obviously, Bill missed these quotes, even though theywere printed in the LA Times, by the Dodgers only official beat writer, Dylan Hernandez.

So why not call Commissioner Bud Selig and demand that Ramirez be taken off the ballot?

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You remember my column about all the nasty e-mail I received from Dodgers fans who support Ramirez? It sounds like McCourt received much of that same e-mail, and is unwilling to publicly challenge his customers' love.

Fine, I will. If you vote for Manny Ramirez, you are endorsing his cheating. And if Ramirez does somehow become one of the top three vote-getters, then Selig needs to use his "best interest" clause and revoke his candidacy.
Thanks for speaking for everybody, Bill, way to drive your point. Some people feel that Manny is serving his punishment, by being suspended 50games and being publicly humiliated. Bill will not stop until Manny's head is on a platter.

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