Author Archives: J.P. Hoornstra

About J.P. Hoornstra

J.P. Hoornstra covers the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Torrance Daily Breeze, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News, San Bernardino Sun, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Whittier Daily News and Redlands Daily Facts. Before taking the beat in 2012, J.P. covered the NHL for four years. UCLA gave him a degree once upon a time; when he graduated on schedule, he missed getting Arnold Schwarzenegger's autograph on his diploma by five months.

The Dodgers’ closer debate continues, at least in the manager’s mind.

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Brandon LeagueKenley JansenOne day after Brandon League allowed the game-winning home run in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks Tuesday, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly defended his closer. Sort of.

“I don’t feel Brandon’s done anything really wrong,” Mattingly said. “I know he’s given up — gives up the home run to (Guillermo) Quiroz (Saturday), the home run (to Paul Goldschmidt) last night. Even the blown save, we feel like if we make plays for him he gets that one (April 24 in New York). Then he’d have zero (blown saves). So I don’t really feel like Brandon’s come in and walked the park, gotten hit all over the place. Obviously he’s getting hit a little bit, though.”
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Tim Federowicz is the backup catcher again; Justin Sellers optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque.

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Tim Federowicz

Tim Federowicz posted a 1.643 OPS after being demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Tim Federowicz returned to Dodger Stadium on Wednesday. In his mind, and on the depth chart, it was like he never left.

Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that Federowicz will be the team’s number-two catcher, supplanting veteran Ramon Hernandez, whose 0 for 4 performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday lowered his batting average to .045. Hernandez, who was obtained from Colorado for pitcher Aaron Harang on April 6, is staying on as the Dodgers’ third catcher.
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Daily Distractions: Zack Greinke on mano-a-mano death matches; is Don Mattingly safe?

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Zack Greinke Carlos Quentin

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke is not in favor of mano-a-mano fights to the death. (Getty Images)

The beautiful thing about interviewing Zack Greinke is you never know what he’ll say next. Clichés are not his forte.

Tuesday, Greinke was asked for his thoughts on eliminating benches-clearing brawls, like the one that led him to fracture his collarbone in San Diego, by banning players from leaving the bench/bullpen during a fight on the field. His response:

“That’s above me, for one. I think it’s part of the game, or it has been forever. Any rule changes, there’s going to be something that could backfire in a different way. Say we’re not allowed to do anything, is there a different way you could go about it? So you get into a fight and it’s just one-on-one until one person dies? The umpires aren’t going to do much.

“It’s not like these brawls where people are coming off the benches are bringing weapons out. Most of the people coming out of the dugout are there to calm things down, not encourage it.”

Greinke, for the record, is not in favor of one-on-one fights to the death.

Some bullet points for a Wednesday morning:
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Brandon League’s job is in jeopardy after the Dodgers’ sixth straight loss.

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Paul Goldschmidt

Paul Goldschmidt’s home run off Brandon League in the ninth inning Tuesday makes him 9 for 20 with two homers against the Dodgers this season. (John McCoy/Staff Photographer)

You get the feeling that the Dodgers will have a new closer soon.

Tomorrow, perhaps.

Brandon League didn’t blow a save Tuesday, but he added another shaky performance to a long list of them in 2013. League allowed a pair of runs in the ninth inning, both on a Paul Goldschmidt home run that lifted the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-3 win at Dodger Stadium.

The Goldschmidt home run came on a belt-high sinker over the middle of the plate, the last of 11 pitches that included five foul balls after the count went full.

“My plan was to get Goldschmidt to ground into a double play,” League said. “That’s an example of what happens when you throw a good hitter a (feces-infused) pitch.”

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Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez will miss 4 to 6 weeks with strained hamstring.

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Hanley Ramirez

An MRI on shortstop Hanley Ramirez’s left hamstring revealed nothing more than a strain, but the team has set his timetable for his recovery at four to six weeks.

That projects to somewhere between May 31 and June 14, a minimum of 24 games missed from the time of the injury.

Ramirez pulled up lame running the bases Friday against the San Francisco Giants, his fourth game back after missing the first 24 games of the season with a torn ligament in his right thumb.

The Dodgers have been using Dee Gordon exclusively since Ramirez’s injury.

Dodgers pitcher Zack Greinke nearing his first rehabilitation assignment.

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Zack GreinkeZack Greinke threw approximately 60 pitches in the Dodgers’ bullpen today and seems to be making progress toward his first rehabilitation assignment. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said that Greinke touched 90 mph on the radar gun.

“I don’t know how I’d be throwing more than 100 pitches,” Greinke said, “but throwing 50 to 75 should be pretty easy at this point, if that was the case.”

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How much will Elian Herrera play for the Dodgers?

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Elian HerreraElian Herrera will be available to the Dodgers off the bench today and manager Don Mattingly hinted that Herrera would spell Dodgers left fielder Carl Crawford or right fielder Andre Ethier in the starting lineup tomorrow.

Ethier hasn’t been given a day off by the manager (not the schedule) since April 7, Crawford since getting back to back days off on April 30 and May 1. That’s weighed on Mattingly lately, though he acknowledged that the injuries to Jerry Hairston Jr. and Mark Ellis last week left him little choice until both players ultimately went on the 15-day disabled list.

“We’ve had a lot of guys hurt and it’s like we just keep throwing everybody else out there,” Mattingly said. “We want to have that option on the left-hander, to give Carl or Dre a day off.”

The Dodgers will see a left-hander, Wade Miley, tomorrow in the series finale against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Dodgers place Jerry Hairston Jr. on the disabled list, recall Elian Herrera from Albuquerque.

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Elian HerreraThe Dodgers placed Jerry Hairston Jr. on the 15-day disabled list with a strained groin Tuesday as expected and recalled utilityman Elian Herrera from Triple-A Albuquerque.

Herrera was hitting .250/.310/.336 for the Isotopes. He had at least one hit in his last seven starts, and is batting .306 (11 for 36) with two home runs in his last eight games. He batted .294/.333/.353 in spring training with the Dodgers with three extra-base hits, all doubles, in 51 at-bats.

With the Dodgers down to four healthy outfielders — Carl Crawford, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Skip Schumaker — Herrera figures to see more time in the outfield than the infield while he’s here.

Jerry Hairston Jr.’s groin injury could open a spot for an outfielder in Los Angeles, but who?

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First it was the pitchers. Now the Dodger position players’ health is unraveling like a spool of thread with Mark Ellis‘ quadricep, Hanley Ramirez‘s hamstring and Jerry Hairston Jr.’s groin all giving out within a 10-day span.

Hairston could join Ellis and Ramirez on the disabled list soon if he isn’t able to play the outfield. Among the Dodgers’ reserves, only Skip Schumaker is a natural outfielder (infielders Luis Cruz and Justin Sellers have made cameos there during spring training). Manager Don Mattingly had a clear criterion for Hairston to avoid the disabled list.

“Either he can play the outfield or he can’t go at all,” Mattingly said. “Jerry’s going to need to be able to play the outfield for us to not have to make a move.”
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Mark Ellis goes on the disabled list, finally.

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Mark EllisThe Dodgers placed second baseman Mark Ellis on the 15-day disabled list Monday retroactive to April 27, the day after Ellis strained his right quadriceps muscle running out a ground ball against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Ellis has been on the bench, but hasn’t been active for a game since then. “He got a lot better quick then kind of leveled off,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.

Chris Capuano

Chris Capuano was activated from the disabled list so he could start tonight’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The left-hander had been on the DL since April 17 with a left calf strain and made a rehab start on Wednesday for Triple-A Albuquerque against Memphis, allowing two runs on seven hits with three strikeouts in 5 ⅓ innings.

Prior to his injury, Capuano made three appearances (one start), going 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA.

The Dodgers have Justin Sellers, Skip Schumaker, Luis Cruz, Ramon Hernandez and possibly Jerry Hairston Jr. available off the bench tonight, though Hairston is still dealing with a strained groin.