NEWS/RUMORS/AROUND MLB Thread

more likely someone was telling him to get down on his knees

 

Dodgers reinstate Liberatore, option Fien to OKC
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 4 hours ago

The Los Angeles Dodgers reinstated Adam Liberatore from the 15-day disabled list and optioned Casey Fien to Triple-A Oklahoma City prior to Friday’s series opener against the Cincinnati Reds.

Liberatore, who joined the club on the road trip Wednesday, was put on the DL on Aug. 3 (retroactive to July 30) with left elbow inflammation. It was revealed soon after that the 29-year-old pitched with left elbow trouble since June.

That made Liberatore setting a Dodgers franchise record with 28 consecutive scoreless appearances all the more impressive.

His string of scoreless appearances came to an end July 24 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. That was also the same night Liberatore tweaked his right knee which rendered him unavailable for two games.

He owns a 1.62 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in a career-high 44 games. Liberatore joined High-A Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday for the start of a rehab assignment, allowing two runs on three hits in one inning of relief.

He then tossed a scoreless frame with two strikeouts for Oklahoma City on Tuesday. Fien returns to OKC after being activated from the disabled list on Tuesday. He had been out since July 19 with tendinitis in his right elbow.

In sending Fien down, the Dodgers have three left-handers in their bullpen. J.P. Howell and Liberatore have been mainstays for much of the season, while Grant Dayton has made the most of recent opportunities.

Also on Friday, the Dodgers activated Bud Norris and optioned Ross Stripling to Oklahoma City.

 

Norris reinstated, Stripling optioned to OKC
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 4 hours ago

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reinstated Bud Norris from the 15-day disabled list and optioned Ross Stripling to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Norris starts Friday against the Cincinnati Reds in the opener of a four-game set.

He was put on the DL Aug. 6, retroactive to Aug. 1, with a mild back strain. Norris was replaced on the active roster by Stripling, who started three games for the Dodgers after being recalled from Oklahoma City.

The latest of which came Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Stripling was spotted a 3-0 lead in the first inning and exited after five innings of work with the Dodgers leading 4-3.

Philadelphia mounted a comeback victory and Stripling didn’t factor into the decision. He’s 3-4 with a 4.04 ERA, 3.77 FIP and 1.25 WHIP in 15 games (11 starts) with the Dodgers this season. Stripling began the year as the club’s fifth starter.

Norris returns one day later than initially planned. He failed to make it out of the first inning in his last start after slipping on a pick-off throw to first base, which caused the back tightness.

Stripling replaced Norris in that start and allowed two runs over 3.2 innings. Norris made a rehab start for High-A Rancho Cucamonga on Saturday, allowing one run and collecting four strikeouts over 5.2 innings of work.

He’s 3-2 with a 4.34 ERA, 4.10 FIP and 1.21 WHIP in seven games (six starts) since being traded to the Dodgers. On Friday the club also activated Adam Liberatore from the DL and optioned Casey Fien to Oklahoma City.

 

yeah, "big game" james lol

James Shields is the White Sox's problem for the foreseeable future
BY Chris Cwik | Yahoo Big League Stew — 3 hours ago



When the dust settles on the 2016 season, there will likely be articles about the best and worst trade deadline acquisitions. These players either rose to the occasion and singlehandedly pushed their new clubs to the playoffs, or they crashed and burned, leaving a trail of failure and tears behind them.

The James Shields trade to the Chicago White Sox may not have taken place at the trade deadline, but it will be planted firmly on the latter part of that list. Things haven’t gone so well for Shields on the South Side. Through 65 innings, he’s posted an awful 7.34 ERA. His strikeout rate has plummeted to the point where his walk rate is nearly identical.

In every possible way, the Shields trade already looks like a disaster for the White Sox. The positive, or negative depending on your view, is that the team will have a couple years to attempt to fix what currently looks like a colossal mistake.

Shields’ performance will be the focus of Friday’s Yahoo Sports MLB Free Game of the Day. Shields is on the hill as the White Sox take on the Oakland Athletics. First pitch is at 8:10 p.m. ET, and you can stream the game on the Yahoo Sports app, Yahoo’s Sports Home, MLB index, video home and this very post. Local blackouts apply, per MLB rules.

The main issue with the Shields transaction isn’t so much about the trade. The White Sox didn’t give up significant talent for Shields. It’s more about his contract.

Shields is owed $42 million in total over the next two seasons. He has a club option worth $16 million in 2019, which can be bought out for $2 million. The Padres agreed to cover a fair chunk of that deal, leaving the White Sox responsible for, at minimum, $27 million.

This was known at the time of the trade of course, though there was also a chance Shields would opt out of his contract. That notion seems silly now, but consider the state of the free-agent pitching market for a second.

Rich Hill might be the most enticing name out there right now. He’s 36, has made 14 starts and hasn’t pitched in weeks due to a blister on his finger. The second-best name on the market might be Clay Buchholz. “That can’t possible be true,” you might say, but there’s at least an argument that Buchholz is a top-five option on this market. That’s how bad things are at the moment.

At the time of the deal, there was at least a chance Shields could recover some value in Chicago and take a shot on the open market. It would have been tough to surpass his $44 million, but all it takes is one insane club to make the offer. On top of that, in this fantasy scenario, Shields would have easily been the best pitcher on the market. That could have upped his price, or at least convinced a club to guarantee his contract in 2019 or beyond.

That was probably a long shot no matter what, though. Shields doesn’t have many great comps due to his age. Hisashi Iwakuma hit the market at age-35 last season and was initially given a three-year, $45 million deal by the Los Angeles Dodgers. That deal was later voided due to injury issues. Iwakuma, however, was coming off a much better season than Shields, so it would have been tough for Shields to make the case he deserved that type of money.

Put all of this together, and that means Shields is Chicago’s problem for the foreseeable future. It will be up to the organization, and pitching coach Don Cooper, to get Shields back to a useable state. Cooper is regarded as one of the better pitching coaches in the league, but his track record isn’t perfect. For every Estaban Loaiza and Jose Quintana who have blossomed under his tutelage, there’s a Jeff Samardzija and Francisco Liriano wilting in the darkness.

The results over 13 starts look disastrous for now, though that’s probably not enough to completely write off Shields just yet. That said, given the age and the results, things don’t look good. Shields was added to help push the White Sox to the playoffs. Instead, his contract could be the one thing holding the team back from making that one key acquisition that pushes them over the edge for at least the next two years.​

 

never got comfortable huh?
funny, the reds hitters didn't have that problem [not even their pitchers]
btw, when you fire off a laundry list of alibis and then say it's not an excuse...
yeah, well, that's exactly what it is bubba

Norris: "I never really got comfortable"
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 2 hours ago

For the second time in less than a week, a Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher who came off the disabled list struggled in his outing. While Bud Norris pitched deeper into his start than Brett Anderson managed to, Norris was hardly successful.

The first five Cincinnati Reds hitters of the game all reached. Billy Hamilton drew a leadoff walk in the first inning, Ivan De Jesus Jr. singled, then Joey Votto hit a fly ball to center field that carried enough for a three-run homer.

Brandon Phillips and Eugenio Suarez both singled after the home run, though Norris did manage to get out of the inning without allowing any further damage. He retired the side in order in the second and third innings but ran into more trouble in the fourth.

Cincinnati scored three more runs and took a 6-0 lead on a Dodgers team that had already squandered multiple opportunities with men on base and runners in scoring position. Jesse Chavez came on in relief with two outs in the fourth inning.

Although he did not want to use it as an excuse, Norris said the condition of the mound negatively affected him, via Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA:

“The second warm-up pitch of the game, I was on the first-base side, and (Reds starter Tim) Adleman was on the third-base side, and unfortunately a big piece of clay came out. It happens, it’s part of playing in the dirt. … You’re really trying to have your back foot planted and drive off that back leg. I never really got comfortable. But it’s not really an excuse. You’ve got to go out there and play the game.”​

Norris halted his warmup tosses in the first inning and asked the grounds crew to work on the mound after he noticed clay was missing. While the surfaced was repaired, the right-hander hardly looked comfortable during the opening frame.

Norris also grew agitated with home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez’s strike zone, which prompted Yasmani Grandal to tell Norris to control his emotions prior to the second inning beginning.

The 31-year-old is now 3-3 with a 5.51 ERA, 4.59 FIP and 1.41 WHIP in eight games (seven starts) since being traded to the Dodgers in June. Friday’s game was the second time in that span Norris has been charged with six runs.​

 

Ethier facing live pitching, running bases
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 2 hours ago

The Los Angeles Dodgers have again hit a stretch where there continue to be positive updates on injured players who are hopeful to return this season. Los Angeles previously went through it with Brett Anderson, Brandon McCarthy and Hyun-Jin Ryu, though it hasn’t yield the expected results.

With September, the last full month of the regular season, drawing near, Clayton Kershaw threw a scheduled bullpen session Saturday and is on track to increase the intensity in a second bullpen, likely to come Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

Along with Kershaw, the Dodgers are hopeful Andre Ethier will make his way off the 60-day disabled list. The veteran outfielder has yet to appear in a game this season after sustaining a fractured right tibia during Spring Training.

Ethier was initially diagnosed with a lower leg contusion, only for additional testing to reveal the spiral fracture. He was projected to miss 10 to 14 weeks from late March — a timetable that’s come and gone.

According to Andy McCullough of the LA Times, Ethier is now facing live pitching and running the bases at Camelback Ranch:

Andy McCullough ✔ @McCulloughTimes
Andre Ethier has been taking at-bats against live pitching in Arizona.
Dave Roberts estimated he is running at 75-percent.
8:11 AM - 21 Aug 2016​

Despite Ethier’s recent progress, a date has not been set for possible rehab games. While Ethier has all of September to join the Dodgers, their Minor League affiliates conclude their regular season by the first week of next month.

Ethier participated in live batting practice last month for the first time since his injury. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts reiterated he expects the 34-year-old to return in September, but isn’t certain what role or capacity that would be in.

Ethier hit .294/.366/.486 with 20 doubles, 14 home runs, 53 RBIs, a .366 wOBA and 137 wRC+ in 142 games last season.

 

injured ethier > redDICK

 

Thor is so good.