The Los Angeles Dodgers Once Again Own the NL West

This baseball season has been an odd one for Dodgers fans. An overwhelming majority of their fan base has been unable to regularly watch the games on TV due to the Time Warner debacle. It is an issue that has been beaten relentlessly, so I’ll spare you that post. But what has been a tepid experience for most of Los Angeles is now an exhilarating ride. The Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched the National League West Division Title for the second time in two years.

Clayton Kershaw took the mound tonight, and for the first two innings, all was right with the world. Our ace, our historic ace, had pitched a perfect two innings. For a moment, at least for this blogger, I had a tinge of wishful thinking, “How amazing would it be if his season is endcapped with a perfect game, NL West clinch?” You can go ahead and wish a pox on my house because I jinxed it. The perfect two innings came to an end, and honestly, it looked as if Kershaw was going to collapse. Memories of last year’s NLCS flooded my mind. In the top of the third, Kershaw gave up a single to Joaquin Arias. Gregor Blanco singled to left field in the next at bat. And then, in the least Kershaw-y of Kershaw moments, that guy, Kershaw, balked! It was his only in this season and the tenth of his career. With Arias and Blanco on third and second respectively, and Giants pitcher, Tim Hudson up to bat, there was a glimmer of hope that Kershaw would start getting some much needed outs. Indeed, Hudson grounded out, but Demon Lord, Hunter Pence would extend the rally. Pence would end up safe on a botched fielder’s choice, and his at bat would bring in Arias to score. Joe Panik managed to get in a single before Buster Posey could come up and ground into a double play.

For a while, the Dodgers couldn’t muster anything against the 39 year-old Hudson. In the bottom of the 5th, Carl Crawford reached first after being hit by a pitch. Having dealt with an impotent offense before, Kershaw hit a standing triple, scoring Carl Crawford and tying the game. In the bottom of the sixth, the Dodgers offense finally woke up with a Puig opposite field bomb:

(Courtest of Chad Moriyama @ Dodgers Digest)

The Dodgers managed to score three more runs in that inning and then another four in the bottom of the eighth. Our good friend, Brian Wilson, closed the game against his former team and secured the win.

Even though the Dodgers have seen the last of the Giants in the regular season, there is a very real chance that the rivals could face each other much later in the playoffs. If the Giants manage to make it into the wild card game and beat the Pirates, and if they manage to beat the Nationals, then the Dodgers can look forward to a very dramatic boss fight, I mean NLCS before the World Series.

Part of me wants the Giants to make it to the NLCS just so their fans can get a taste of hope’s sweet nectar, before the Dodgers crush the dreams of a third World Series Birth in the last four years.

Sweet sweet baseball, you are not a destination, but a journey. Thank you for this season. I cannot wait for the playoffs.

How Capuano Has Given Up 15 Runs over 19.1 IP (Or Why is Brandon League … Still?)

The last two interleague series the Dodgers had were against the Tampa Bay Rays at the beginning of the month and the most recent debacle that took place over the last three days. Both series were being touted as possible World Series match-ups. With the Red Sox and the Rays duking it out in the American League and with the Dodgers just raining hell on every team that comes their way, it’s not far off to say that we won’t be seeing the last of the American Leage East. It’s fitting that the last two interleague series the Dodgers would play in would begin and end with Chris Capuano on the mound.

Within that time, Capuano has started four times and has pitched 19.1 innings, not making it beyond the fifth inning in any of those starts. To make matters worse, Capuano has given up 15 runs in those 19.1 innings pitched. That’s almost one run per inning pitched. For the sake of comparison, every other pitcher on the Dodgers has pitched more than 25 innings. Only Nolasco and Ryu were pulled in the fifth, but that was only once over their last four starts. In Kershaws last four starts, he has pitched 30 innings and has given up two runs. Greinke has pitched 27.3 innings and has given up only three runs. Nolasco has pitched 25.1 innings and has given up seven runs. Ryu has pitched 26.1 innings and has given up nine runs. Although Ryu has given up a concerning number of runs (whose pitching will be discussed in another post), he’s been staying late in the game, giving the bullpen much needed rest. 

Normally, I’d come to Capuano’s defense, but his last four starts are simply inexcusable. Looking at his pitch f/x, the only spot where I can say there is a difference is his increased use in his slider. In 2012, he was using his slider about 10% of the time, this season he’s using it roughly 12% of the time. The increased use could be because he picked up an extra 5 mph on the velocity. He’s also using a cutter this season, however, that has accounted for only .25% of his total pitches. Interestingly, as he has headed into his age 35 season, the velocity on his “fastball” pitches has not dropped. His whiffs per swing on both his sinker and slider have been consistent with last season. It may just be that hitters have figured him out, it’s just a bad season for Capuano, or last season was a fluke. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Capuano’s contract ends this season. He has a mutual option for 2014 that would be for $8 million. But that just seems like it would be a waste, especially since he would most likely be relegated to a bullpen role if he were to stay with the Dodgers for an extra season. 2014 will most likely bring a healthy Fife and, hopefully, Billingsley. With the addition of Wilson, and the already bloated contract of a terrible Brandon League, the thought of paying $8 million to a relief pitcher that doesn’t add any extra value to a loaded bullpen is horrifying. 

Speaking of League, he’s been almost as bad as Capuano. Since August 2nd, League has pitched 5.7 innings and has given up seven runs. According to BrooksBaseball.net, his velocity has remained the same on his sinker and slider, and with the exception of using a four-seam fastball and a change (both accounting for a total of 1.12% of his pitches thrown) not much has changed from last season. Again, like Capuano, it could be that hitters have figured League out, this is a bad season (but he has had many bad seasons), or the end of last season was a fluke. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, they’re stuck with him and his disgusting contract for two more years. A few weeks ago, League was placed on waivers and no one wanted him. If the Dodgers wish to get rid of him, they would have to be willing to eat a significant portion of his contract in order to do so.

And since we’re discussing contracts, if the Dodgers and Capuano part ways, and the Dodgers find a sap of a team to pick up League and part of his salary, the Dodgers would be able to offer Kershaw his inevitable, record-setting contract. Sources have mentioned that his contract will hover around $200 million. If he wins the Cy Young He’ll more than likely win the Cy Young and is a heavy favorite to win the NL MVP. If he’s able to clinch both, the Dodgers will have a hard time trying to explain why they shouldn’t be paying the man what he will soon be owed.