Notes: Pitching staff still taking shape
03/17/2006VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Because the Dodgers have one day off four days into the season and another two weeks later, manager Grady Little said on Friday that he's leaning toward starting the season with an 11-man pitching staff. For the first week, fifth starter Jae Seo will be in the bullpen.
"If we're confident in how quickly they're able to rebound, that will have a lot of bearing on it," said Little.
Eric Gagne is rebounding better the day after pitching, but he still needs two days off between appearances. Little said that it is too early to evaluate Yhency Brazoban, because he missed two weeks with a sore shoulder. He will throw two innings on Saturday. If either is not 100 percent, the chance of carrying 12 pitchers increases.
Assuming that both Gagne and Brazoban open the season with the club, that leaves four more bullpen spots, and Danys Baez and Lance Carter (both acquired in the Edwin Jackson trade) figure to hold two of them.
For the final two spots, there are 11 remaining contenders: right-handers D.J. Houlton, Takashi Saito, Jonathan Broxton, Franquelis Osoria, Aaron Sele, Chad Billingsley and Brian Meadows; and left-handers Tim Hamulack, Hong-Chih Kuo, Kelly Wunsch and Joe Beimel. Saito, Sele, Meadows, Wunsch and Beimel are on Minor League contracts.
The most favorable comments by Little recently have praised Saito, Osoria, Broxton and Kuo. Broxton struck out two in one inning on Friday night and struck out a pair in an inning on Monday after a few shaky early outings. Broxton said that he's made a mechanical adjustment that gets the lower half of his body more involved in his delivery.
"He can be a bull out there," said Little. "You see a kid getting better as Spring Training goes along."
Houlton had a shaky outing on Friday night, one that was compounded when Jason Repko came up empty on a do-or-die catch attempt that went for a three-run triple.
Wunsch, who was charged with the go-ahead run on Friday night, has had a rough spring, As for Sele, he has been a starter almost exclusively through his career, and adjusting to long relief can be a challenge. He is not expected to embrace the idea of going to the Minor Leagues if the club asks.
Kent's power: Despite a late start to spring games because of wrist surgery, Jeff Kent is swinging the bat as if he's healed. He slugged his second home run on Friday night, raising his average to .312 and his slugging percentage to .625.
"You look in the dictionary under 'old pro' and you'll see his picture," said Little of Kent. "He knows how to play the game of baseball. He's been doing it good for a long time. He wouldn't get out there until he was fully ready. He's a pleasure to have around."
Navarro improved: Catcher Dioner Navarro, who strained a hamstring on Wednesday, said that he continues to improve. Russell Martin started against the Mets on Friday night and was expected to make Saturday's game in Lakeland.
Reporting, not reporting: Starting left fielder Jose Cruz Jr. returned to Dodgertown and was in the lineup for Friday night's game, but Little said that Ricky Ledee won't be back until Saturday. The outfielders had been participating for their native Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic.
Tomko honored: Friday starter Brett Tomko returned on Wednesday to his alma mater, Florida Southern College, for a ceremony to retire his uniform No. 35. In 1995, Tomko won the Dick Howser Award as the Division II player of the year after going 15-2 with a 1.35 ERA and leading the school to the NCAA Division II national championship.
In the booth: Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully arrived in town on Friday. Also in town is former Dodgers outfielder Tom Goodwin, who will team with Rick Monday as an analyst for the weekend radio broadcasts.
Gadget dept.: Every year, new hitting aids hit the market, and hitting coach Eddie Murray has provided his pupils with Kinect Sports aluminum alloy training bats. The bat was designed with a reduced barrel circumference that coach Rich Donnelly said makes it look more "like a broomhandle" than a bat, but the smaller sweet spot requires better concentration for square contact.
The bat lacks the typical "ping" sound of aluminum and more closely mimics the sound and "moment of inertia" of a wood bat, according to the manufacturer.
Entrepreneur in uniform: Minor League reliever Aaron Klusman has launched AK Industries, an online clothing company that sells hats, T-shirts and hoodies to people who love all things extreme.
Klusman, who played for Rookie-level Ogden last season, came up with the idea for an action sports clothing line while in a business class at Arizona State University. At its peak, AK Industries sold $10,000 in merchandise in just four weeks. The company, which now has professional snowboarder Jef Groff as its spokesman, has reached the point where it is ready for retail.
Source: http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/
1 Comments:
Eddie Murray is not the only one making the Kinect Bat available at the Major League level. I have found that the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, etc... are using it as well.
I know that ASU, UofA and Alabama fastpitch softball teams are using it - no telling who eles.
kinectsports.com also lists Tony Gwynn and SDSU as partners.
That's two Hall of Famers and some big programs quietly using their new product. When I saw the Indians using it in live B.P. - they were hitting balls out of the ball park with it... so it must be more than your typical "small barrel" practice bat.
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