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June 14, 2009
[h1]Russell Martin to DH today[/h1]
Wear sunscreen ...
- Russell Martin is scheduled to be today's Dodger designated hitter, according to the team press notes.
- Jonathan Broxton made the long journey to be present for his son's birth just under the wire, writes Dylan Hernandez of The Times.
- The Irony Committee has approved the news that Saturday's Dodger game, independent of the 101-minute power delay, was the team's shortest of the season at 2:28.
- Joe Torre will be on "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien" on Monday.
- There may be free parking coming for the Dodgers' upcoming home series against the A's, but in general, "discounting is a bad word," Dodger President and Chief Operating Officer Dennis Mannion told The American Chronicle.
[*]A new Cooperstown-based game, the Hall of Fame Classic, will take place a week from today, with Jeff Kent, Steve Finley and Steve Lyons among the participants. [*]The other night, Lyons talked openly about the end of his playing career, notes Sons of Steve Garvey. [*]Journeyman reliever Stephen Randolph, 35, has been moved into the Albuquerque starting rotation and pitched six innings of one-hit, three-walk shutout ball Saturday. His rather interesting stats as a starter: 18 innings, four hits, 10 walks, 17 strikeouts, 1.00 ERA. [*]Korean reliever Hyang-Nam Choi, 38, struck out four in two innings, raising his total with the Isotopes to 25 in 16 2/3 innings against 13 baserunners. Right-handed batters are hitting .098 against him with two walks and 21 strikeouts. [*]Jose Lima? Still kicking, if not screaming. [*]Happy 83rd birthday, Don Newcombe!
Posted by Jon Weisman on June 14, 2009 | Permalink
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgerthoughts/2009/06/june-14.html
[h3]Now a dad, Broxton back with Dodgers[/h3]Los Angeles (41-22) at Texas (35-26), 12:05 p.m. PT
By Daniel Paulling / MLB.com
06/14/09 12:46 AM ET
ARLINGTON -- Jonathan Broxton had been asleep for about an hour when he received an important phone call at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday.
It was from his wife, Elizabeth. Her water had broken.
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Broxton caught a flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta on Thursday and drove the three hours to his hometown of Waynesboro, Ga.
"When I landed in Atlanta, she was in the fifth stage," he said. "She was in the eighth stage when I got to Madison, which is about halfway. I thought there was no way I was going to make it."
The doctors rolled his wife onto her side and she crossed her legs. That slowed the procedure long enough for Broxton to get there about 5:50 p.m. on Thursday evening.
"I walked in and she said, 'Let's go. I'm ready to get this thing out of here,'" he said. "It's a pretty neat thing."
Jonathan Brooks Broxton was born shortly thereafter and weighed slightly more than seven pounds. His father missed Friday's game against the Rangers but returned to the team Saturday.
Broxton said none of his teammates has offered words of wisdom on fatherhood. Dodgers manager Joe Torre, who has four children, has just one piece of advice.
"I'm probably not a good guy to give advice on that," he said. "Just enjoy your sleep when you get it."
Broxton said he's had the opportunity to sneak in a few naps. He plans to return to Waynesboro after Sunday's game and rejoin the team in Oakland on Tuesday.
Pitching matchup
LAD: RHP Chad Billingsley (8-3, 2.73 ERA)
Billingsley impressed Torre against the Padres by scuffling through a start without anything near his best stuff but took the game into the sixth inning and did well enough for his eighth win. He allowed the first three batters hits and two runs in the first inning, making 117 pitches in only 5 2/3 innings. Billingsley has never faced the Rangers. He's among league leaders in wins, innings, strikeouts and ERA.
TEX: LHP Derek Holland (1-3, 6.54 ERA)
Holland was supposed to start Thursday but was pushed back after the Rangers were rained out on Wednesday. He replaces Doug Mathis, who is going to the bullpen. Holland is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA in his three starts since joining the rotation. He is 1-1 with a 6.06 ERA in nine relief appearances. The Rangers talked about moving him back to the bullpen, but he is going to stay in the rotation now that Brandon McCarthy is on the disabled list.
Tidbits
Jason Schmidt, Eric Milton, Will Ohman, Eric Stults and Claudio Vargas all threw Friday as part of their rehabilitation programs. Torre said there was no lingering pain for any of them. ... Left-handed reliever Hong-Chih Kuo threw a bullpen session of about 35 pitches Saturday. ... The Dodgers are 5-4 on Sundays this season.
[h4]http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/...ierre-has-been-MVP-for-Dodgers?urn=mlb,170042[/h4][h4]With Manny gone, Pierre has been MVP for Dodgers[/h4]
The Los Angeles Dodgers haven't faltered with Manny Ramirez(notes) on suspension like many thought they would. The reason? Juan Pierre(notes).
According to the Boston Globe, Pierre went into the weekend hitting .351 with an on-base percentage of .408 as the leadoff hitter. When Ramírez returns, they hope it will have the feel of a midseason acquisition, as it was when they picked up Ramírez from the Red Sox on July 31 last year.
"We're a better team with him," said right fielder Andre Ethier(notes). "There's no doubt about that. I think early in spring training we were able to draw the conclusion that Manny wasn't with us and that we had a good team anyway and that we were just going to go along as if we didn't have him around."
While no one was helped more than Ethier by Ramírez's presence in the lineup last season, he is making his own mark as a hitter without that protection, according to the Globe.
"I think what we did, to be honest with you, is we shelved him," said backup catcher Brad Ausmus(notes). "We knew he wasn't going to be with us, so we made a conscious decision that there's no reason to dwell on it. When he comes back, he'll have no problem sliding back into the lineup on this team. He's easygoing and, sure, there'll be a few days of media hype over his return, but after that, we've added one of the best hitters in the game to our lineup. So it's all positive."
Source: Boston.com
Related: Manny Ramírez, Los Angeles Dodgers
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/rumors/teams/Los+Angeles+Dodgers/mlb.t.19
Nice!
- Journeyman reliever Stephen Randolph, 35, has been moved into the Albuquerque starting rotation and pitched six innings of one-hit, three-walk shutout ball Saturday. His rather interesting stats as a starter: 18 innings, four hits, 10 walks, 17 strikeouts, 1.00 ERA.
- Korean reliever Hyang-Nam Choi, 38, struck out four in two innings, raising his total with the Isotopes to 25 in 16 2/3 innings against 13 baserunners. Right-handed batters are hitting .098 against him with two walks and 21 strikeouts.
Also, good luck to Lima trying to make it back to the bigs
