Tag Archives: Josh Beckett

Zack Greinke will start for the Dodgers on Wednesday.

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Zack GreinkeThe Dodgers will activate Zack Greinke from the disabled list, and the right-hander will start tomorrow’s game against the Washington Nationals less than five weeks after he had a metal plate inserted in his fractured left clavicle.

Greinke made only one rehab start last Friday and threw 80 pitches for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga. The outing didn’t go well on paper — he allowed six hits, three earned runs and lasted just 4 1/3 innings — but Greinke said he’s comfortable pitching a major-league game three weeks ahead of the original timetable. The team’s medical staff concurred.

“There is some risk,” Greinke said. “There’s risk starting [Clayton] Kershaw today. I’m sure on our team there’s a lot of risk every day. I think it’s well worth the risk we’re taking for my situation.

“If our medical people thought I shouldn’t be pitching, I’d be OK with it. If I had a problem with how I’m pitching I’d be in the minor leagues.”
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Daily Distractions: Is Josh Beckett headed to the disabled list?

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Josh Beckett

Josh Beckett is 0-5, and the Dodgers are 1-7 in games that he starts. Maybe it’s a good time for the DL. (Associated Press photo)


Josh Beckett really didn’t want to talk about his injuries after yesterday’s game.

We know that he tweaked his groin covering first base on an Adam LaRoche ground ball in the third inning. We know that he’s dealing with other injuries. We don’t know what part of his body they’re affecting, how serious they are, or when he started feeling them — we just know that Beckett isn’t right.

But we knew that already.

“I’m in one of those ruts where if they hit the ball soft it’s a hit, if they hit the ball hard, it’s a hit,” Beckett said after the Dodgers’ 6-2 loss to the Washington Nationals.

Will he need to go on the disabled list?

“I’m healthy enough to pitch,” he said.

That might not stop the Dodgers from putting Beckett on the DL as a “precaution.” Sometimes that’s baseball code for, “even though you can pitch, we’d rather you not,” and being 0-5 with a 5.19 earned-run average constitutes just cause.

More injury-related bullet points:
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Daily Distractions: Going to WAR over the Dodgers’ worst position.

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Nick Punto

Is infielder Nick Punto part of the Dodgers’ solution or part of the problem? (Getty Images)

What has been the least productive position for the Dodgers this season? Third base? Shortstop?

Guess again.

FanGraphs.com recently calculated the WAR (wins above replacement) for every team by position. (For an explanation of the frequently misunderstood statistic, which is calculated differently by FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference.com and has gained popularity in recent years, click here.) According to FanGraphs’ WAR, second base has been the least productive position for the Dodgers this year.

In fact, only five teams have gotten less out of the position than the Dodgers, in terms of offense, baserunning and defense. Mark Ellis (17), Nick Punto (10) and Skip Schumaker (6) are the only three Dodgers who have started games at second base this season.

The Dodgers’ best position, relatively speaking, is first base. Only the Reds and Tigers have gotten more WAR out of the position this season.

The chart has its limits. Take the Angels, for example. Add up their position-by-position WAR, and they should have the fourth-best team in baseball. In reality the Angels are 10 games under .500. The Baltimore Orioles are tied for first place in the American League East, yet their combined WAR ranks 21st in the majors.

This is why you play the games.

More bullet points for a Thursday morning:
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Postgame thoughts: Colorado Rockies 7, Dodgers 3.

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This conference on the mound in the fourth inning didn’t help Josh Beckett (third from right). It merely delayed the inevitable in the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies, a game that lasted 3 hours, 54 minutes. (John McCoy/Staff Photographer)

You got the sense that Josh Beckett could live with the smaller strike zone imposed by home plate umpire Larry Vanover tonight. Beckett could even live with the three runs he allowed in the first inning, maybe because he didn’t want to throw his shortstop, Hanley Ramirez, under the bus for committing an error that left him pitching out of the stretch one batter into the game.

No, there were other things happened tonight specifically, and this season in general, that Beckett has not made peace with.

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Chris Capuano throws 76 pitches, allows two runs in rehab start.

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Chris CapuanoChris Capuano‘s first — and likely last — rehabilitation start is over.

The left-hander allowed two runs in 5 ⅓ innings for the Albuquerque Isotopes on Wednesday, walking one and striking out four. Capuano also grounded out to the shorstop and pitcher and had no apparent issues with his strained left calf.

Capuano hadn’t experienced any pain in his calf recently, though he had to miss three starts after aggravating the injury on April 16.

His next start could come Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Dodger Stadium, or on Monday if Dodgers manager Don Mattingly chooses to give Josh Beckett an extra day of rest.

Capuano is 0-1 with a 9.61 earned-run average (five runs in 4 ⅔ innings) with the Dodgers this season.

Chad Billingsley to have Tommy John surgery tomorrow.

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Chad BillingsleyChad Billingsley will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow, leaving the Dodgers without their fifth starter for the remainder of this season and likely part of 2014.

Team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache will perform the surgery at the Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

Billingsley elected to undergo PRP (platelet-rich plasma) injections and rehabilitation after partially tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow last August. He pitched without pain throughout the winter and into spring training until he developed elbow pain during a bullpen session four days ago. An MRI confirmed an injury to the ligament.
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Dodgers rotation scramble: Josh Beckett scratched, Chad Billingsley bruised, Zack Greinke improving.

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Josh Beckett

Josh Beckett was scratched from his scheduled start Tuesday with the flu. Several Dodgers have been afflicted with the bug (Ted Lilly, Zack Greinke, Peter Moylan, Ramon Castro, Adrian Gonzalez) and Beckett’s doesn’t seem to be too bad. He was scheduled to throw on a back field Monday morning.

(Update: Beckett indeed threw a simulated game on the back field and reportedly passed the test with flying colors.)

In his place, Josh Wall will start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers will likely use a combination of relievers, including some minor-leaguers, to fill out the innings behind Wall, who hasn’t pitched more than 1 ⅔ innings in a Cactus League game this spring.

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Daily Distractions: Dodgers’ Josh Beckett makes his spring debut, Hamburger puns, etc.

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Tim Lincecum and Josh Beckett will pitch their first Cactus League games today when the Dodgers play the Giants at Camelback Ranch. Dodger pitchers Brandon League, Kenley Jansen and J.P. Howell will also make their debuts in relief of Beckett.

The Giants are 1-1-1, having tied the Chicago White Sox 9-9 last night.

Update: Luis Cruz was a late lineup scratch with a stomach flu.

Some links for a Tuesday morning:

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Dodgers pitcher Aaron Harang is “planning on starting.”

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Aaron Harang

In a typical off-season, Aaron Harang said he’ll wait until mid-November to train for the upcoming season. After last season, he moved the plan up a month.

“This year I just decided to take some time to let my body recover — I didn’t go crazy. I did a lot of circuit-based training so it’s not as hard on the body.”

In circuit training, the participant moves from station to station, exercise to exercise, in a rapid fashion.

“I focused on trying to increase my strength from what I had in the past,” Harang said.

His training, combined with a new diet, allowed Harang to come into camp looking slimmer than he finished last season. He wouldn’t say how much weight he lost, but 10 pounds would be a conservative estimate.

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