Category Archives: Mark Ellis

Dodgers 7, Brewers 5: Your Annual Mark Ellis Leg Injury

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mark_ellis_april2013_vs_pitStop me if you’ve heard this one before — Mark Ellis, off to a very good start to his season, hobbles off with a leg injury. I know, right? After all, Ellis missing time with leg trouble isn’t exactly an everyday occurrence, since it’s only happened in 2012 (46 days)… and 2011 (15 days)… and 2010 (39 days)… and 2009 (60 days)… and 2008 (11 days)… and 2007 (3 days). We jest, but seriously — the odds of him making it through his age-36 season without hurting his lower half were only slightly better than the odds of Chad Billingsley‘s elbow not blowing up.

All that being said, it’s a huge blow to a Dodger roster that absolutely did not need further injury concerns at the moment. Ellis had scored the first run of the night and was hitting .342/.363/.452 after he strained his right quad attempting to run out a grounder in the fifth, and while that stat line was never, ever going to be sustainable, he’d been a bright spot on both sides of the ball over the first month of the season. It’s a big loss.

Unfortunately, this is the kind of injury that almost always results in a disabled list stint. While we of course don’t know the severity of Ellis’ strain, Ruben Tejada missed 48 days last year when he did the same thing, while Mike Napoli was out for 35. In 2008, Alex Rodriguez strained a quad, and he missed 23 days. No word yet on how long Ellis will be out… but don’t hold your breath. This is almost certainly measured in weeks, not days.

That makes the infield more of a mess than it already was, though at least Hanley Ramirez is expected to begin his rehab stint this weekend and could be back as soon as early next week. With Ellis out, some combination of Nick Punto, Jerry Hairston, & Skip Schumaker will probably cover the keystone, and while that sounds pretty terrible, at least it might keep Hairston off of third base, where last year’s defensive issues have clearly not left him.

As for who might take Ellis’ roster spot, it remains to be seen. I imagine Elian Herrera is the most likely candidate for his versatility, yet I would not at all be against the idea of adding Alex Castellanos as a righty bench bat, especially since it seems Hairston won’t be available for outfield duty all that often.

That’s all to be sorted out, however. For now, this is just bad news on a club that really could do without more of that.

******

All of this overshadowed what was a pretty eventful victory otherwise, especially for the Boston foursome who came over in the Punto trade last year. Josh Beckett was his usual homer-prone self, allowing two dingers and three earned runs over 5.1 innings, but Carl Crawford hit his second homer, drove in two, and scored twice, while Adrian Gonzalez drove in three on two doubles. The second one drove home Punto with the eventual winning run. I know we all miss Rubby De La Rosa & Allen Webster, but… so far, so good.

Beyond that quartet, Justin Sellers came up with two more hits — .224/.308/.293 isn’t that bad from him, all things considered — and Luis Cruz even got in on the fun with a hit of his own in the eighth. That all pales in comparison to the fact that Juan Uribe collected yet another walk, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t note that the much-maligned Ronald Belisario picked up strikeouts for three of the five outs he managed, even around Hairston’s fielding woes. Brandon League, pitching for the third day in a row, managed to get through the ninth with the usual amount of heartburn, though at least that was largely due to his own throwing error. If I never, ever have to live to see him again facing Ryan Braun with the tying run on in a two-run game, I will be completely okay with that.

Dodgers 7, Mets 2: The Mark Ellis Show

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markellis_homer_newyork_2013-04-23Not long ago, someone asked me why I never write about Mark Ellis. After all, we spend so much time discussing Luis Cruz, Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, etc., so why not Ellis?. The answer is simple — other than complaining that he doesn’t hit righty pitching that well, he rarely generates a story. He gives you solid defense, enough to carry generally mediocre offense, but he’s usually not so good or so lousy that he demands a great deal of attention. It’s not sexy, but there’s value in that kind of consistency.

That changes tonight, because Ellis’ big night was the highlight of a 7-2 Dodger victory that was closer than it seemed, given that it was a tie game after six innings. Ellis homered off both Robert Carson and Brandon Lyon — who apparently is still in the majors — following two singles off Jonathon Niese. But even saying “Ellis had four hits” doesn’t really do it enough justice, because his second single hit Niese in the lower leg and forced the New York starter out of the game in the third inning, which isn’t going to help the Mets bullpen for the remainder of the series.

So here’s to you, Mark Ellis, hitting your 100th and 101st career homers while quietly hitting .348/.370/.470 this year with the usual solid defense. The night is yours.

For once, the Dodgers didn’t have to point to a lone offensive contributor, even on a night where Carl Crawford was 0-5. A.J. Ellis, Matt Kemp, & Adrian Gonzalez all got on twice; Justin Sellers had three hits of his own, and all of a sudden that .220/.316/.280 doesn’t look so bad, does it? Don Mattingly, apparently following my advice, stuck with Jerry Hairston & Juan Uribe at third base and got not one but two walks for his trouble. More than ever, I think Cruz might be getting DFA’d next week whenever Hanley Ramirez returns.

All of that offensive run overshadowed a second consecutive disappointing start from Clayton Kershaw, who lasted only five innings despite throwing 114 pitches. Kershaw actually breezed through 2 2/3 before inexplicably walking Carson — who was at the plate for the first time in the majors — and then Ruben Tejada with two outs in the third. Daniel Murphy & David Wright cashed in run-scoring hits, and while that’s all Kershaw would allow, he didn’t look like himself. Fortunately, the bullpen — Ronald Belisario, Paco Rodriguez, Matt Guerrier, & Josh Wall — threw four scoreless innings to retain the lead.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed that. Tomorrow brings Ted Lilly against Matt Harvey. Heaven help us all.

Dodgers Depth Chart Analysis: Not Exactly the Keys to the Keystone

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Editor’s note: Chris Jackson continues his tour of the Dodger organization with second base. It’s, uh… well, you might want to take small children out of the room. I don’t know if there’s a single future big leaguer in here.

Second base is the bastard stepchild of minor-league positions. The common refrain is that this where teams stick their weakest infielders, knowing that they will never amount to much, while the good shortstops with weak arms just end up playing the keystone in the big leagues. That mantra does not quite work, however, when looking at some of the better second basemen in the Majors.

When this guy is still your best minor-league option at second base, you know you're in trouble. (Photo courtesy of the Albuquerque Isotopes)

When this guy is still your best minor-league option at second base, you know you’re in trouble. (Photo courtesy of the Albuquerque Isotopes)

The Yankees’ Robinson Cano only appeared at shortstop 80 times in the minors, while playing 395 games at seond base. The Angels’ Howie Kendrick never played shortstop, instead playing 360 games at second and seven at third. Milwaukee’s Rickie Weeks was exclusively a second baseman for 208 games before being called up. Guys who did fit the stereotype of shortstop-turned-second-basemen include the Dodgers’ own Mark Ellis (351 at short, 31 at second), the Diamondbacks’ Aaron Hill (234/2) and the Reds’ Brandon Phillips (572/115).

All this really proves is that there is no way to identify who will someday become a big-league second baseman, while also showing that ignoring the guys in the minors at second would be foolish. At least in most cases, but …

Then there are the Dodgers, who have stacked up such an uninspiring group of second basemen on the farm that Ellis might as well plan out his future finances to include the Dodgers exercising his option for 2014. (Unless they go out and spend more GG moolah on free agents Cano or Hill, but there’s eventually gotta be a limit … right?)

Prepare yourselves for the big steaming pile of “meh” that awaits:

Elian Herrera: Last season’s token “out of nowhere” guy, Herrera went from .341/.381/.520 at Albuquerque to shining briefly in Los Angeles before eventually settling back into being what he is, a mediocre utility player. The 27-year-old has a minor-league career line of .285/.365/.397, with 238 games at second base, 110 in left field, 86 in center, 66 at shortstop, 60 at third and 15 in right. He pretty much is what he is, a utility player on a second-division team, which means he only gets back to Los Angeles if the injury bug turns into an epidemic.

Rusty Ryal: One of the many random infielders signed as free agents by the Dodgers this off-season, Ryal is a former Diamondback best remembered by L.A. fans for hitting a line drive off Hiroki Kuroda. He hit a perfectly pedestrian .263/.318/.402 as a reserve for Arizona in 2009-10 before shuffling off to Japan in 2011 (he was a disaster) and slinking back to the minors in 2012, where he put up a middling .257/.294/.384 line between Reno and Gwinnett (Braves). He will have to fight his way through a crowded list of players to make the Isotopes in 2013.

Joe Becker: A good guy, perfectly defining the concept of a blue-collar, overachieving player who came out of nowhere and somehow got all the way to Triple-A. Becker, 27, was a non-drafted free agent out of the junior college ranks back in 2007. He has steadily worked his way all over the system, playing second, short and third, always filling in as a backup wherever he is needed, sometimes on moment’s notice with some serious jet-lag.

Rafael Ynoa: The one guy that got some people excited late in 2012, mainly for his Arizona Fall League performance (.330/.374/.515) that seemed to come out of nowhere. Still, he was left unprotected during the Rule 5 Draft and was not selected, which could more of a sign of his actual standing both with the Dodgers and baseball in general. A fine fielder, Ynoa, 25, has played 365 games at second and 130 at shortstop since signing out of the Dominican back in 2006. He has a little speed, no power, and profiles essentially as another Herrera, albeit less versatile than his countryman.

Scott Wingo: The Dodgers popped the 23-year-old out of South Carolina in the 11th round in 2011 after he had won the College World Series with the Gamecocks. They challenged him by sending Wingo to the California League in his first full season, but found him lacking (.246/.367/.337) beyond some decent defense and the ability to take a walk (56 total). Wingo does not offer much power and is not particularly fast. Despite his high draft status, he is basically just another organizational player.

Jesus Arredondo: A native of Mexico, Arredondo signed out of nowhere last year and will be 22 next month, so he hardly qualifies under the header of “prospect.” He hit .254/.305/.340 at Great Lakes, finishing with zero home runs and 13 stolen bases.

Kevin Taylor: The backup to Arredondo at Great Lakes, Taylor, 21, was a 36th-round draft pick out of a Nevada junior college in 2011. He hit .240/.284/.317 with the Loons and will have to fight for a roster spot somewhere in the organization this spring.

Malcolm Holland: Most high school players drafted in the 33rd round opt to thank their teams and head off to college. Not Holland, who joined the Dodgers in 2011 and played a lot against older competition as a 20-year-old at Ogden. Holland hit .244/.421/.275, showing some impressive plate discipline (54 walks versus 47 Ks) and speed (44 stolen bases), but little power or hitting aptitude. He played 36 games at second base and 23 in center field, so for the future he probably screams utility player, but he is young enough that if the Dodgers can get his bat going, he could be the closest thing they have to a sleeper.

Zachary Babitt: A college senior drafted out of Division II Academy of Art (yes, it’s a real school in San Fran), Babitt was the Dodgers’ 10th-round pick last summer. Sure, he was signed because they saved money on him that they spent elsewhere, but every team needs bodies to fill out the lowest levels of the system. Babitt, 23, hit .254/.389/.271 against much younger competition in the Arizona League. He will be lucky to make it out of Camelback this spring.

Next up: Shortstop, because if this entry did not make you want to spend a week at your local brewery, well, it sure will!

2012 Dodgers in Review #7: 2B Mark Ellis

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.258/.333/.364 464pa 7hr 2.9 fWAR B

2012 in brief: Injury-prone veteran – wait for it – got injured and missed about six weeks, but generally provided quality defense and adequate offense.

2013 status: Will earn $5.25m in final year of two-year deal and is likely to return as starting second baseman.

******

You know, it’s interesting. I can’t really say Ellis was good, you know? His .313 wOBA was merely tied for 16th with Omar Infante among all second basemen with 450 or more plate appearances, and that’s hardly something to be proud of. He was particularly troublesome after returning on July 4 from Tyler Greene‘s attempt to destroy his leg, hitting only .251/.314/.364 in 310 plate appearances, which is actually pretty lousy.

Yet… B. That’s for a few reasons, I think. First, his defense was as good as advertised, topping second basemen in UZR/150, and while I’m well aware of the difficulties in existing defensive metrics, I think we can all agree that it passes the sniff test. Second, it’s hard to ignore how much of a mess the position was when he was out, as the team attempted to patch with various combinations of Adam Kennedy, Jerry Hairston, Elian Herrera, and sometimes even Ivan De Jesus. And finally… well, remember how poor he was in 2011 (.288 OBP between Oakland & Colorado) and how little we thought of him when he was signed:

Mark Ellis is coming off a .288 OBP and is the proud owner of a better wOBA than Jamey Carroll exactly one time going back to 2006, yet he’s going to pull down about a million dollars more per season than the Carroll contract we didn’t even particularly like. Ellis was once a solid player with some pop, hitting double-digit homers each year between 2005-09, but that’s declined precipitously as he’s aged and been injured, averaging 33.5 days on the disabled list over the last four seasons. (h/t to pal Jay Jaffe on that stat.) Ellis is pretty one-dimensional now, since he doesn’t get on base well, doesn’t have a lot of power, and only has real value in his defense. Age and injuries – particularly leg injuries, which is what Ellis has had – can do a lot to diminish an infielder, so if Ellis suffers even a little with the glove, that’s going to make him a trouble spot, quickly.

Ellis wasn’t able to avoid the leg injury, of course, but he did manage to prove his toughness by coming back in only about six weeks after the injury that was reported at the time to have nearly cost him the leg entirely. Despite that, he didn’t lose any effectiveness in the field and showed at least a mild improvement in his on-base skills over 2011, and so it’s hard to argue with a three-win player at second base, particularly when Carroll fell apart in Minnesota.

I’ll admit that I carry some of the same concerns into 2013, as Ellis heads into his age-36 season, and again, wasn’t that great. But honestly, I think I’d be a lot more okay with it if the roster can be constructed in such a way so that Ellis doesn’t have to hit first or second in the lineup – because that’s what second basemen do, you know – since as a solid-glove #7 type, he’s fine. It’d also be nice if they could find a platoon partner who could help ameliorate his inability to hit righty pitching (.612 OPS vs .877 against lefties), though somehow I doubt Don Mattingly will see him as a platoon player.

Still, all in all a successful season given expectations. Except, I feel like I’m forgetting something. What was it…?

Unfortunate memory captured for posterity by Chad Moriyama

Oh, right. That.

******
Next up! Nick Punto arrives to fill the Aaron Miles Memorial Roster Spot For Gritty White Guys!

Dodgers Call it Quits With Excruciating Loss

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Choose the more appropriate caption for Shane Victorino being shocked:

1) “What do you mean none of us could hit Barry F’ing Zito?
2) “Chris Capuano really made it only three lousy innings in his biggest game of the year because he hurt himself with a donut??”
3) “Matt Kemp had two on and two outs in the fifth and couldn’t get runs home?”
4) “Matt Kemp had two on and two outs in the seventh and still couldn’t get runs home?!”
5) “Don Mattingly really intentionally walked Angel Pagan to get to Marco Scutaro with men on, even though Scutaro has been blazingly hot and the exact same maneuver didn’t work a few weeks ago?”
6) “Mark Ellis did WHAT?!?! Get the hell out.”
7) “Please tell me that Don Mattingly didn’t force A.J. Ellis to bunt in the bottom of the ninth in a misguided attempt to have Elian Herrera or Bobby Abreu swinging away instead of one of your better hitters, right? Right?! AND that Dee Gordon wasn’t brought in to run for Andre Ethier yet? RIGHT?!”

Frankly, I’m exhausted from watching that game. Just drained. It was alternately thrilling and excruciating, and I’m not sure if I actually even enjoyed the experience or not. The Reds did their job, including a good inning from old friend Jonathan Broxton, to put the Dodgers in a position to head into the final day of the season still alive. And for a minute there in the seventh, you couldn’t help but believe.

After Zito hit Andre Ethier with a pitch to lead off the frame and was relieved by Guillermo Mota, A.J. Ellis followed with one of the most impressive at-bats of the season, a nine-pitch affair that ended with a blast over the wall that fell just out of the reach of center fielder Pagan to bring the Dodgers within one. Dodger Stadium wasn’t full, but it sure sounded like it at that point. Just when you think the legend of A.J. Ellis can’t get any larger… well, there you go.

They weren’t done. Mark Ellis doubled to deep right and… we won’t talk about that. It was a hard-hit ball for extra bases. Victorino followed with a similar hit, this time making it to third, and with three extra-base hits in the inning and Kemp coming up down one, everything was in place for magic. But it wasn’t to be. Kemp went fishing for a low-and-away slider, the kind that we saw him go after constantly back in the 2006-08 era, and the threat was over.

After a quiet eighth, there was hope in the ninth… briefly. Ethier, somewhat miraculously, singled up the middle against lefty Jeremy Affeldt. A runner! The move seemed clear: bring Gordon off the bench, let A.J. Ellis try to repeat his magic or possibly hit one into the gap that Gordon might be able to score on. If Ellis failed, then let Gordon try to steal ahead of Herrera (or his pinch-hitter, Abreu.)

No. Of course not. Mattingly sent in the bunt signal without sending in Gordon, and while it’d have been nice if Ellis could have made it work, it almost didn’t matter. What was the end game there? Twice-DFA’d Bobby Abreu with your season on the line? Elian Herrera? You’re taking the bat out of the hands of one of your best hitters for… what, exactly? Moving Ethier up 90 feet that Gordon probably could have (and eventually did) steal anyway? It’s stunning. Ellis struck out after failing to bunt twice, Abreu flew out, and Mark Ellis failed to redeem himself.

And with that… it’s over. The Reds did their part. We could have had an absolutely rocking Dodger Stadium for a late afternoon game tomorrow with Clayton Kershaw on the hill, especially since the game is to start earlier than the Cardinals game.

But it wasn’t to be, and there’s no shortage of reasons why.

And I’m spent.