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Colletti's offseason acquisitions making significant contributions

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com | 05/03/12 7:59 PM ET

CHICAGO -- With new owners in place back home, general manager Ned Colletti rejoined his first-place club Thursday with decisions looming on making the Dodgers even better.

The signing of Bobby Abreu for the bench appears imminent, while reliever Ronald Belisario, who has served his 25-game suspension for violating MLB's drug policy, was activated, replacing Mike MacDougal, who was designated for assignment.

Meanwhile, the decisions that Colletti made over the winter, for the most part, have worked out so far. Aside from extending Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, there was little fanfare for the signings of starting pitchers Chris Capunao and Aaron Harang, second baseman Mark Ellis, role players like Jerry Hairston, Adam Kennedy and Matt Treanor, reliever Todd Coffey, the re-signing of Juan Rivera or handing the starting catching job to out-of-options A.J. Ellis and the starting shortstop job to Dee Gordon.

For all the credit that obviously should go to Kemp, who was named the National League's Player of the Month on Wednesday, and RBI machine Andre Ethier for the team's fast start, the pieces that were added have upgraded its supporting cast.

Rivera has been out a week with a slight left hamstring strain, the contributions of Kennedy, Treanor and Coffey have been limited while Gordon has been brilliant at times but struggled at others.

Overall, working strategically with a slashed payroll, Colletti seems to have succeeded with his goals of signing two starting pitchers for the price of one Hiroki Kuroda; of improving defense at second base; and the addition of a versatile right-handed bat in Hairston to counter opposing left-handed pitching.

"I felt there were areas we needed to upgrade," said Colletti. "Mark Ellis has been really good for us, defensively and with key hits. A.J. has been exactly what the staff said he'd be -- a hard worker, a handler of the pitchers, a guy with a great on-base percentage. His diligence wasn't lost on us. And Hairston has given us defensively versatility. The pitchers have kept us in the game, which is what you ask from the back end of the rotation, and they've really done that.

"We're going to need to be more balanced offensively. We can't leave everything at the feet of Matt and Andre. We're going to have to pass it around."

Manager Don Mattingly has been especially impressed with the two Ellises.

Here's what he said about Mark Ellis, who is batting .276 and handling the unselfish role of No. 2 hitter ahead of Kemp:

"He's been great, better than I honestly thought he was. I didn't do enough research. He grows on you all the time. He's been tremendous at second. But he's also a good hitter, he knows exactly what to do at the plate. He's given himself up six or seven times. For me, I love him."

Mark Ellis isn't surprised by his manager's reaction.

"I'm just doing what I always do, this is who I am and I try to be the same guy," said the 11-year veteran. "I played most of my career in Oakland, and not a lot of people see you on the West Coast, and the last couple years, we didn't have a very good team. I fly under the radar, and that's fine. I get in trouble when I try to do too much. This team, I don't have to do that. I know what a good play is and what a bad play is. I take pride in playing the game the right way."

Here's what Mattingly said about A.J. Ellis, who has a .306 average and .449 on-base percentage, third in the league:

"He's been really good, even better than I thought. The biggest area -- I'm not talking about his hits -- is the leadership, and you can just see it. You can tell he's slowed the game down. He's taking charge. We had a first-and-third and I got busy with something and he was waiting for a sign and he just put the play on himself. I looked up and he was already all over it. He's been everything we want. He studies, he knows what he's calling. Everybody is trying to find offense, but A.J. has been that guy you want back there. He has such a good feeling, you know he's studied and he knows where he's going to go."

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com | 05/03/12 8:50 PM ET

CHICAGO -- The Dodgers activated reliever Ronald Belisario off the suspended list and designated reliever Mike MacDougal for assignment on Thursday.

Belisario, 29, completed a 25-game suspension for testing positive for cocaine after missing the entire 2011 season on the restricted list with reported drug issues that prevented the Venezuela native from obtaining a work visa.

He has been on a Minor League rehab assignment in preparation for his activation. Because he was out of options, Belisario had to be activated or put through waivers -- with the risk that he could be claimed by another club -- before being sent to the Minor Leagues.

The Dodgers are obviously taking a chance with Belisario, whose career has been plagued by off-the-field problems. Now that he has returned, they need to learn which Belisario shows up -- the one that was the most pleasant surprise of the 2009 season, or the one that was an unreliable distraction in '10 and '11 while battling rumored addiction problems.

After wearing out his welcome as a Minor Leaguer with Florida and Pittsburgh -- he missed the 2005 season with Tommy John surgery and 2006 with an unspecified suspension -- Belisario was signed out of the Venezuela Winter League in '09 as a free agent by then-Dodgers scout Ron Rizzi.

Belisario reported that spring three weeks late with visa problems, was sent to Minor League camp after one Cactus League appearance, only to pitch lights-out in Minor League camp to get a second look with the Major League team at the end of March and make the Opening Day roster.

Belisario became a workhorse that year, making 69 appearances with a 2.03 ERA. He threw a fastball in the mid-90s with a diving sinker.

But he was five weeks late to Spring Training with more visa problems in 2010, his status complicated by a driving under the influence charge in Pasadena in '09. A disastrous sophomore year followed, which included a month-long drug rehab and a whopping three-run increase in his ERA. The domino effect resulted in the overuse of Ramon Troncoso, effectively costing the club two effective relievers.

General manager Ned Colletti decided not to rely on Belisario in 2011, but it came at a high cost -- the signing of setup man Matt Guerrier to a three-year, $12 million contract. Guerrier had a somewhat disappointing first season with the Dodgers, as he went 4-3 with a 4.07 ERA in 70 appearances. Belisario never got out of Venezuela -- again with visa problems and rumors of more drug issues -- and spent the entire season on the restricted list.

MacDougal, 35, was signed to a one-year, $1 million deal, with a 2013 option after being one of the most pleasant $500,000 surprises last year.

After battling through injuries and a Minor League demotion by the Cardinals in 2010, the former closer with Kansas City and Washington filled a key middle relief role for the Dodgers with 69 appearances and a 2.05 ERA (1.78 against division opponents). He had two 11-game scoreless streaks and limited hitters to a .157 average with runners in scoring position.

In eight Cactus League outings this spring, MacDougal was 0-1 with a 7.88 and eight walks. In seven relief appearances this year, the right-hander issued six walks and had a 7.94 ERA over 5 2/3 innings. After being stricken with the flu in April and losing weight, he temporarily lost velocity, although it appeared to return when he pitched in Denver this week.

May, 4, 2012

By Dan Braunstein | ESPN Stats and Information

Kemp finishes historic April

Matt Kemp set a Dodgers record with 12 home runs in April and also set a Los Angeles Dodgers record with 30 career April homers. He eclipsed Ron Cey, who had 29 career April homers for the Dodgers in 353 more plate appearances in the month. Kemp is three home runs away from Duke Snider’s franchise record of 33 April home runs. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Kemp became the first player in Dodgers history to have a .400 batting average, 12 home runs and 25 RBI in the same month.

Kemp’s career batting average in March/April is .343; he doesn’t have a .300 average in any other month. Since 1921, Kemp’s .343 average in March/April is fifth best among players with at least 500 PA in the months. Among active players, Kemp ranks first, 18 points ahead of second-place Miguel Cabrera.

Another walk-off for Kemp

Kemp’s walk-off home run Saturday night was the fifth of his career and fourth in the last two seasons. He led the majors last year with three game-ending homers. Since the start of 2011, no other player in baseball has more than two walk-off home runs. He’s hit five of the Dodgers’ last six walk-off homers; before that, Andre Ethier hit six in a row.

1st inning dominance

The Dodgers’ 7-6 win in Colorado Tuesday highlighted a key reason for the team’s early success this season, as Los Angeles led 4-0 after the first inning. For the season, the Dodgers have outscored opponents 26 to 6 in the first inning, averaging more than a run per game in the opening frame. The 26 runs scored lead the league, and the six runs allowed are for fewest. The pitchers’ early success is nothing new; the Dodgers allowed 52 first-inning runs last year, 11 fewer than any other team in the league.

1st Inning This Season

	Dodgers	Opponents
Runs	26	6
BA	.381	.157
HR	8	1

Winning the close ones

All four Dodgers wins during the week were by one or two runs, typical of the team’s season. Their 12 wins by one or two runs are two more than any other team in baseball, and the Dodgers have lost only four such games. They’re 9-3 in one-run games; the nine wins are more than any other team.

Gordon hits first career homer

Dee Gordon hit the first home run of his major-league career leading off Tuesday’s game in Colorado. It was the first leadoff home run for the Dodgers since Rafael Furcal did it against the Angels and Jered Weaver on June 13, 2010. In between Furcal’s homer and Gordon’s, every other team in the league had at least one leadoff homer.

The Dodgers have yet to have a home run from a second baseman, third baseman or left fielder. They’re one of only four teams without a homer from three non-pitcher positions but the only one of those four teams with a homer from shortstop, thanks to Gordon’s homer Tuesday.

Loney’s improbable hit

James Loney’s two-run single provided the only scoring in the Dodgers’ 2-0 win over the Nationals Sunday. The two RBI were Loney’s first with two strikes this season and came on the first two-strike hit against Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez all season. Before Loney’s at-bat, opponents had been 0 for 48 with 32 strikeouts in two-strike at-bats against Gonzalez.

Walking off

The Dodgers’ 8-5 loss to the Rockies Wednesday was the team’s third walk-off loss of the season, tied for the most in baseball. Six Dodgers games have ended in walk-off fashion, also tied for the most in the league thus far.

Tough spot for Elbert

Scott Elbert entered Wednesday’s game with runners on second and third and one out and allowed a walk-off homer to the only hitter he faced, Jason Giambi. Elbert became the first Dodgers pitcher since Mike Fetters to allow a walk-off homer to the only hitter he faced; Fetters allowed a home run to Richard Hidalgo of the Astros leading off a tie game in the bottom of the ninth inning on June 1, 2001.

The last Dodgers pitcher before Elbert to enter a game with runners on base and immediately allow a walk-off homer was Rudy Seanez on July 5, 1995, at Atlanta. Like Elbert, Seanez entered a tie game with two men on and allowed a game-ending homer. Seanez gave it up to Chipper Jones, who coincidentally also hit a walk-off home run on Wednesday.

Rare trouble spot for Kemp

With the Dodgers trailing 5-2 in the 7th inning Monday night in Colorado, Matt Kemp struck out with the bases loaded and nobody out. It’s a situation in which Kemp has not fared well over his career; he’s now 1 for 13 with five strikeouts with the bases full and no one out.

After Kemp struck out, Andre Ethier did the same. According to Elias, it was the first time that Kemp and Ethier struck out back-to-back with the bases loaded.

Belisario reinstated; MacDougal designated

The Dodgers reinstated reliever Ronald Belisario from the Restricted List on Thursday after the right-hander finished serving a 25-game suspension for failing to comply with baseball's drug policy.

Belisario will be eligible to pitch when the Dodgers begin a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs on Friday at Wrigley Field.

In February, Belisario, who is from Venezuela, admitted he had tested positive for cocaine and that had prevented him from obtaining the neccessary paperwork for a visa to enter the United States, and also forced him to sit out all of last season.

To open a roster spot for Belisario, the Dodgers also announced they had desinated right-hander Mike MacDougal for assignment.

Belisario previously said he does not have a problem with any drugs and that his positive cocaine test was the result of "a one-time thing."

During his 25-game suspension, Belisario, 29, made four appearances for Triple-A Albuqueque and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.

Belisario was a key member of the Dodgers' bullpen as a rookie in 2009, posting a 2.04 ERA in 69 appearances, before that figure ballooned to 5.04 in 59 games in 2010.

MacDougal, 35, posted a 7.94 ERA in seven appearances this season.