Dodgers' moves also means changes for manager Don Mattingly

Dodgers' moves also means changes for manager Don Mattingly

Posted:   09/06/2012 10:10:28 PM PDT

MLB: With L.A. going from club full of rookies and journeymen to established stars, manager tries to pull right strings.

A funny thing happened on the way to September: Matt Kemp became the Dodgers' youngest position player.

Perhaps surprisingly, until Tim Federowicz (born August 1987) was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to become the team's third catcher as rosters expanded Sept. 1, Kemp (born September 1984) was younger than any non-pitcher on the active roster.

By itself, that doesn't mean much, especially since Kemp has been in the major leagues for six years. But it brought into sharp focus just how much the Dodgers' clubhouse has transformed this season - from an assortment of up-and-comers (Dee Gordon, Jerry Sands) and minor-league vagabonds (Elian Herrera, Justin Sellers) pressed into major-league duty, to a potent lineup led by several established stars.

Handling a new mix of personalities presents a new challenge for manager Don Mattingly besides filling out the lineup card, knowing when to pull the starting pitcher and winning games in the midst of a September playoff hunt.

"Everybody's individually different," Mattingly said. "A kid that's coming up for the first time or in a first year, you're having a lot of different conversations with that kid than you would with a guy that has six years under his belt and has been accomplished. They're definitely different conversations, but we're all on the same boat still. So we've all got to get on that page, that we're all headed for that one spot."

If there's a generalization to be made about those "different conversations" they seem to be more simple and more frequent.

Only the outfielders were absent when players gathered for a meeting on the Dodger Stadium infield Aug.22, three days before Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto boarded a chartered plane bound for Los Angeles. What followed was a basic spring-training drill, with pitchers coming off the mound to field bunts, catchers telling them where to throw the ball and infielders shuffling to (hopefully) the right base.

Even though the whole team took part, Mattingly said the meeting and the drill were specifically staged for the four players who weren't Dodgers in spring training - pitchers Joe Blanton, Brandon League and Randy Choate, and infielder Hanley Ramirez. (Shane Victorino was excluded because he's an outfielder).

Mattingly held a pair of closed-door team meetings last week. The first came after an uninspired 2-0 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The message was nothing profound - "concentrate on the game, play hard" in the words of Juan Rivera.

The second was just among the eight new Dodgers, in which Mattingly addressed the urgency of entering September 41/2 games out of first place in the division.

"It was a little odd when we first got Hanley and Shane and Brandon and Choatey. You get four new guys there," Mattingly said. "You lose some of these guys' best friends. (Josh) Lindblom leaves. ... Sending Tony Gwynn down, sending Bobby Abreu down, kind of been good fixtures and guys who have played with a lot of emotions, and good people.

"So you lose those guys, then you get new guys and all of a sudden there's another influx of three guys. It's like another adjustment period."

The Dodgers had a golden opportunity to catalyze the adjustment period when they won games in their final at-bat Sunday and Monday. On-field celebrations of walk-off hits, by definition, tend to bring a team together, but the positive vibes were squandered in losses to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The wins and losses say it's been a rocky transition. Credit Mattingly for at least keeping the lines of communication open and the new players for being receptive.

Mattingly, a lifetime .307 hitter and longtime batting coach, revealed he's already learned something new about hitting talking to Gonzalez.

"He made it as easy as possible, as far as communication, making me feel comfortable," Gonzalez added. "I knew that the guys loved playing for him. I knew that guys loved him as a hitting coach and during the transition to a manager it carried over."

Dodgers 9/6/12 Minor League Report - Isotopes Win Game 2; Lookouts Not so Lucky in Playoff Opener

Minor League Player of the Day – Josh Bard (AAA) - 3 for 4, 1 2B, 2 Runs. Bard didn't necessarily play a big role in the Isotopes win on Thursday, but he did have the best overall day with a 3 for 4 effort.

AAA – The Isotopes were able to even their playoff series against the Storm Chasers (Royals) on Thursday as they beat Omaha 5 to 3. Albuquerque scored all 5 of their runs after the 5th inning, starting with a two-run triple by Trent Oeltjen in the 6th. Josh Fields then plated a pair of runs in the 7th, while a Tony Gwynn RBI single scored the final run of the game for the Topes in the 8th. The only other offensive player of note was Dee Gordon who went 3 for 5 and stole his first AAA base of the season. On the mound Stephen Fife did his best John Ely impersonation as he allowed just 3 runs over 7 frames while striking out 5. Scott Rice recorded the save by finishing the game with 2 frames of 1-hit ball.

AA – The Lookouts couldn't do much of anything on Thursday as they were shutout by the Generals (Mariners) 3 to 0 in their playoff opener #3 hitter Luis Nunez went 2 for 4 while Jake Lemmerman singled and walked, but that was about it for the Chattanooga offense. On the mound Matt Magill put together a solid performance as he permitted just 1 run to score over 7 frames, but he couldn't help the damage that Eric Eadington and Yimi Garica brought into the game in later innings.

HiA – Season over

LoA – Season over

Rookie Ogden – The Raptors lost in walk-off fashion on Thursday as Grand Junction (Rockies) doubled home the game winner in a 4 - 3 victory over Ogden. The Raptors only had one extra base hit in their regular season finale, and that came via a double from Austin Cowen. Eric Smith drove in two of the team's runs, while Delvis Morales gave up 2 singles and 3 RBI's. On the mound Jonathan Martinez made his Pioneer League debut and allowed 2 runs on 7 hits, then Kazuki Nishijima permitted a run to score in his 2 innings of work. Travis Jones officially took the loss as he gave up the final run of the game.

Rook Arizona – Season over

DSL – Season over

Coming up – As of now I looks like Derrick Loop will start the Isotopes in their playoff home opener, while Zach Lee will try and even the post-season series for the Lookouts. The Raptors will also being their playoff run on Friday, and it looks like Lindsey Caughel will take the ball for Ogden.

Minor League Transactions – AA: I believe that I failed to mention that Eric Eadington has been added to the Lookouts playoff roster.

Albuquerque Isotopes Box Score (AAA)

Chattanooga Lookouts Box Score (AA)

Ogden Raptors Box Score (Rookie)

Minor League Central - Daily Dodger Recap