Fifth-starter spot is up for grabs
Kuo, Loaiza could be in role by season's end for Dodgers
By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
LOS ANGELES -- An imbalance in the makeup of the Dodgers roster has manager
Joe Torre and pitching coach Rick Honeycutt contemplating another change in
the fifth-starter spot.
Esteban Loaiza had the role for one start, then was replaced by Hong-Chih Kuo
for two starts, including Tuesday night's in Cincinnati, in which Kuo lasted
3 2/3 innings.
Even though Torre said on Tuesday night that he was anticipating keeping Kuo
in the rotation, on Wednesday he indicated that Loaiza and Chan Ho Park were
candidates to start on Sunday against Colorado. And not because of what Kuo
did or didn't do on Tuesday night, but because of what he could do out of the
bullpen.
With Loaiza, Kuo and Park, the Dodgers have three career starters who are not
particularly comfortable or adept with the demands of relieving -- namely --
to warm up quickly and pitch frequently. With Takashi Saito as the closer and
Jonathan Broxton as the setup man, the only true relievers available to Torre
are Joe Beimel and Scott Proctor.
And with Dodgers starters averaging only 5 1/3 innings, as Honeycutt puts it,
"We've got to have a more useable bullpen."
One option would be to increase the pitching staff from 11 to 12, but that
would require reducing one position player. If it's Delwyn Young, he could be
lost through waivers. Torre isn't comfortable removing rookie Blake DeWitt,
because he's the only true third baseman on the bench. Starter Nomar
Garciaparra needs time off and Torre isn't comfortable with Chin-lung Hu, a
natural middle infielder, playing third.
"We have to go to 12, but we can't do that now because of Nomar, in my mind,"
said Torre. "It's a little tough right at this minute."
The third-base dilemma would have been solved if Tony Abreu's groin muscle
had ever healed. After being examined by a Philadelphia specialist on
Tuesday, he had an MRI in Los Angeles Wednesday and met with team doctor Neal
ElAttrache and the club had yet to announce a timetable for his return.
Kuo is attractive in relief because has the kind of stuff that can put down
an inning with a strikeout. Neither Park nor Loaiza are strikeout pitchers
anymore.
But putting Kuo in the bullpen for frequent use is risky, because he's
already had four operations on his elbow, two of them Tommy John
reconstructions.
"But he's been bouncing back the day after he throws," said Honeycutt.
"Unless something would change there, I think he's been healthier than in any
of the years we've had him."
Of Kuo's 50 appearances, 26 have been out of the bullpen. Park has started
275 of 330 games, while Loaiza has started 331 of 372 games. Kuo has a 3.60
ERA this year, Park 3.27 and Loaiza 4.32.
When the Dodgers go to a 12th pitcher, which Torre said is inevitable, the
leading candidate is Yhency Brazoban, who was dominant after opening the
season at Double-A and has been promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas.
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