EL SEGUNDO HERALD August 11, 2016 Page 5 Dodgers Look to Improve at Deadline By Adam Serrao The dust from the moves that the Los Angeles Dodgers made at the recently passed trade deadline is still settling. Maybe that’s just the dust from manager Dave Roberts having to shuffle his roster so many times due to injury. On Monday Aug. 1, Major League Baseball’s trade deadline came and went and the Dodgers were major players. Former Oakland Athletics “On Monday Aug. 1, Major League Baseball’s trade deadline came and went and the Dodgers were major players.” executive and current Dodgers General Manager, Farhan Zaidi, turned to his old club to pluck starting pitcher Rich Hill and right fielder Josh Reddick off the market. While both moves were much needed upgrades for the Dodgers, the team’s extensive list of injuries may just interfere with any grand postseason plans that the Boys in Blue had originally mustered. The Dodgers made some pretty bold moves at the deadline, specifically by playing with the wealth of talent that the team has in its farm system. In order to attain Hill and Reddick, the Dodgers dealt away three young, promising prospects. All pitchers, Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton made their way to Oakland in the deal. Holmes was the Dodgers first round pick in the 2014 draft. The 20-year-old had an 8-4 record with a 4.02 ERA in 20 games for the Dodgers Class A Rancho Cucamonga team. Montas hasn’t played yet this season due to injury, but the 23-year-old was a highly touted prospect in the Dodgers system. The 24-year-old Cotton who played for the Dodgers Triple-A team in Oklahoma City was 8-5 with a 4.90 ERA in 22 games. While none of the players dealt away jump off the page at you, it sure is a hefty ransom to give up for a 36-year-old Hill and Reddick, 29, who is currently having the best season of his career. The Dodgers, however, are in winnow mode and truly believe the acquisitions may not only help them secure a wild-card spot for this year’s playoffs, but could even help the team overcome the much-hated San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League West. “Reddick is a two-way player, he has power, he’s a Gold Glove-caliber outfielder,” Zaidi said of his newest acquisition to the team. “I think he’s going to help this team a lot. He was as good as any player available in this trade market.” While Reddick’s worth seems to be known, Hill’s is a little bit more troublesome. The left-handed pitcher is 9-3 on the season with a 2.25 ERA in 14 starts, but at the time of his acquisition was on the 15-day disabled list because of a blister on his finger. While Reddick and Hill are both clear upgrades to a Dodgers team getting almost no production out of left field and struggling to find any healthy pitching, Reddick’s .296 average and 28 RBIs at the time of the trade were the best numbers of his eight-year career and Hill, like the rest of the Dodgers, is struggling to get healthy. Both players are free agents and able to walk away from the club after the season. In order to make room for Reddick in what quickly became a crowded outfield, the Dodgers optioned Yasiel Puig to Triple-A Oklahoma City. While the move came as a surprise to some, Puig’s .260 batting average is only slightly above his worst season ever with the club (.255 last year), while his 34 RBIs and seven home runs show a distinct lack of power and production that made him such a tantalizing rookie in 2013. Time in the minors to find his swing can’t hurt for the 25-year-old right fielder who has left a hole in the Dodgers lineup. Puig didn’t create the only hole, though. The Dodgers pitching staff is in complete shambles. Last Wednesday, the team placed their 24th and 25th players on the disabled list, increasing their National Leaguerecord total (the 2012 Red Sox had 27 players on the DL). “This is why I’m very hesitant to say that it can’t get any worse,” Roberts said of his team. “We just have to handle it and manage it, and that’s what we’re doing.” In all, the Dodgers have seen Hyun-Jin Ryu go on the DL twice, followed by a line of pitchers that includes Alex Wood, Brett Anderson, the newly acquired Rich Hill and most devastatingly, Clayton Kershaw. Meanwhile, pitchers like Brandon McCarthy and Bud Norris can’t get past the third inning of any particular game and rookies like Brock Stewart are called up to fill in and wind up giving up 12 runs and getting the loss. Currently, Kenta Maeda is the only reliable arm in the starting rotation with Scott Kazmir filling in here and there, as he pleases. The injury bug has even expanded to the bullpen. Now, relievers Adam Liberatore and Louis Coleman join already injured Chris Hatcher, Casey Fien, Yimi Garcia, and Chin-hui Tsao in the pen. That’s what happens when you’re starting pitchers can’t pitch. It taxes the bullpen as well. “You have to get innings out of the starting pitching,” Roberts continued. “You can weather adversity, and we’ve done a great job of that, but you’re as good as your next start. No excuses.” As of last week, the Dodgers remained as close as two games behind the Giants for the lead in the National League West. While that sounds like a good spot to be in despite all of the injuries, consider that the Giants had lost 13 of their first 17 games coming out of the All-Star break. With ample opportunity to not only catch the Giants, but pass them and build a lead, the Dodgers have recently squandered opportunities and lost to subpar teams when it has mattered the most. Despite all of the injuries and insufficient play, Los Angeles continues to maintain a slim lead in this year’s wild card standings. If Reddick and Hill can give a jolt of life to an already wounded ballclub, the Dodgers may get lucky and start streaking at just the right time. If the team would like to do that, they will first have to find their health. • Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658 Warriors’ Football Looking for Pioneer League Crown By Adam Serrao The West High Warriors are back and have their eyes squarely set on this year’s Pioneer League football championship. After the teams season was cut short in the playoffs last year, head coach Greg Holt has rallied his troops together once again to begin a football season in which the Warriors should be this year’s favorites. With a number of returning seniors from last year’s team, West has the experience and practice to use, in order to improve on a 6-5 record and second place finish of one year ago. With just two weeks to go until the first game of the 2016 football season, the Warriors and Holt want nothing more than to get back out there on the field and begin to prove that they are a first place team that can make a run in this year’s CIF Southern Section playoffs. The West High Warriors are setting out to improve on a season that saw the team experience inconsistency across their 11- game schedule. It has become a known fact that Pioneer League teams have traditionally struggled against their rivals from the Bay League. Last year, it was no different for the Warriors. After beginning the season with two impressive victories over Culver City and Inglewood, the Bay League portion of the schedule crept up on West and certainly affected their record. A loss to Redondo Union was quickly followed by a loss at Mira Costa and before Cueva and his kids knew it, their unblemished record would attain two losses. The Warriors went on to find success in league play. Though the team lost their one and only matchup against the eventual Pioneer League champs, North High, West would rally to win their final three games of the season heading into the playoffs, beating the likes of South High and Torrance High while they were at it. Though the end to their regular season was successful, the Warriors would run into bad luck in the playoffs. A first round matchup and re-match against a Bay League foe stood waiting for West as the Warriors traveled to Redondo Beach to face off against the Sea Hawks. The second matchup of the year between the two teams ended just as badly as the first. Though the Warriors put together a big second quarter and led 21-14 at the half, Redondo would rally and retaliate in the fourth quarter. Fourteen fourth quarter points put the Sea Hawks ahead, 35-28, and sent West to an opening round playoff loss. Just as quickly as they entered the playoffs, the Warriors made their exit, looking forward to next year to right the wrongs of the season that had now passed them by. Next year is now here. Coach Cueva will have to deal with the loss of some integral players from last year’s team like wide receivers Bobby Fujioka, and Denver Silverlake, running back Michael Timmerman and tight end/quarterback Cody Wissler, just to name a few. Despite those losses, however, Cueva will return key contributors from last year’s team as well like starting quarterback, Drake Peabody, and running back EJ Hatter. A team with experience at both the quarterback and running back position is a team that is most likely already light-years ahead of most of its competition. West will look to take advantage of that experience that they will inherit and attempt to use it to not only win the Pioneer League, but also to make a deep run in this year’s CIF playoffs. If the Warriors would like to get to the playoffs, they will have to be successful against the teams in their way on this year’s schedule, first. Some of those teams include their traditional Bay League foes that have historically been a pain in the Warriors side. West will begin the year with a matchup against the El Segundo Eagles of the Ocean League on August 26. They will then take on the Redondo Union Sea Hawks, Mira Costa Mustangs, and Carson Colts before finally starting league play. While the Warriors have a favorable record against El Segundo, going 8-2 through their last 10 games, they’ve certainly struggled against the Bay League. West is a combined 7-18-1 against the likes of Mira Costa and Redondo in the last 13 matchups with each team, respectively. No one ever said it was going to be easy for coach Holt and his squad, but if the Warriors ride into league play on a hot streak, we’ll all know just how good they are after facing some tough teams and adversity. It’s been a long wait for the Warriors, especially after getting bounced from the playoffs in the first round one season ago. Football is finally back, and the team is putting their finishing touches on practice that should have them rearing and ready to go against El Segundo in two weeks. The Warriors are out to become the best team in Torrance this year with the Tartars, Spartans and Saxons all breathing down their necks. A great head coach in Holt, experience returning to the team, and pure passion and dedication on the football field could just have the team on top once all it is said and done. • Up and Adam
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