How are the ex-Dodgers doing?

While the Dodgers are enjoying a 12 of 16 run that has surged them back into a tie for first place with the Giants, I thought I'd take some time to look at how some of the 2013 Dodgers are doing.  That is, those who have since moved onto different teams.  Here we go.

Ricky Nolasco, SP, Twins: 4-6, 5.74 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 69 K's in 95 2/3 IP
Wow, he's been a disaster.  He was very good for the most part with the Dodgers last season, giving them many quality starts over the second half.  Then he faded, and was barely heard from in the postseason.  Nonetheless, the Twins gave him four years and $49 to fix their awful rotation.  It hasn't worked.  Phil Hughes and Kyle Gibson have been pretty good, but Nolasco was brought in to lead that staff.  He looks like a huge waste of money right now.

Edinson Volquez, SP, Pirates: 6-6, 4.07 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 63 K's in 93 IP
I'm not sure what the Pirates expected out of him, but all things considered, he's been pretty decent.  Considering he has a career 4.69 ERA and 1.48 WHIP, his numbers this year look even better.  The Pirates lost A.J. Burnett to the Phillies after their great run last season, and the team as a whole is struggling to find their footing.  The thing with Volquez is that I'm not sure he can get any better than this.  A second half plunge wouldn't surprise me at all.

Chris Capuano, RP, (formerly of) Red Sox: 1-1, 1 HLD, 1 BLSV, 4.55 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 29 K's in 31 2/3 IP
The Red Sox tried to make Capuano their swingman, ala Paul Maholm with the Dodgers, but it didn't quite work.  He was designated for assignment on June 25 after getting shelled by the Mariners a couple days before.  He's certainly had his fair share of arm problems, and at 35, who knows if he has any chances left.

Ronald Belisario, RP, White Sox: 3-4, 8 SV, 6 HLD, 4 BLSV, 5.54 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 28 K's in 37 1/3 IP
Three days ago, Belisario was canned as White Sox closer after he was given a three-run cushion against the Blue Jays, but couldn't finish the job.  Maybe Robin Ventura has never walked to the other side of Camelback Ranch, because if he had, he'd have seen just how wild and unpredictable Belisario is.  There's no way he should've been a closer in the first place.  Ventura learned his lesson the hard way.

Javy Guerra, RP, White Sox: 0-0, 3 HLD, 1 BLSV, 2.40 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 16 K's in 15 IP
On the flip side, a pleasant surprise has been Guerra.  He spent the first couple of months in Triple-A and earned his way up in June.  Good for him, as his Dodgers' career ended with a thud, going from 21 saves and "closer of the future" in 2011 to barely existent thereafter.  Maybe he's found confidence again, who knows.  On a team like the White Sox full of horrible pitching, he's got a great chance in front of him, and so far, has made the most of it.

Carlos Marmol, RP, Reds: 0-3, 1 HLD, 1 BLSV, 8.10 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, 14 K's in 13 1/3 IP
It's been a tough road for Marmol this year, as the stats above all came with the Marlins before he was given his walking papers on May 19.  He was then signed to a minor league contract by the Reds about a week later, only to leave Triple-A without permission a couple weeks after that.  Weird stuff, but I think even he realizes he's at the end of the road.

Mark Ellis, 2B, Cardinals: .194 AVG, .276 OBP, 6 2B, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 4 SB
Ellis had a solid career with the Dodgers, but after the signing of Alex Guerrero, he was shown the door.  Guerrero hasn't emerged with the big club yet because he wasn't ready defensively, and has since had part of his ear bitten off by that nutcase Miguel Olivo.  Dee Gordon, however, has come on strong enough to be an All-Star candidate.  So, releasing Ellis was a smart move because Gordon is the everyday leadoff hitter, and Ellis is really struggling at the plate.  He'll never have big numbers, but the ones he has now are pretty bad.  It's hard not to like how hard the guy plays, but the bottom line is that he's just not producing.

Skip Schumaker, OF/2B, Reds: .242 AVG, .276 OBP, 6 2B, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 1 SB
Schumaker only played one season with the Dodgers, as he was a favorite of hitting coach Mark McGwire from their Cardinals days.  Like the Dodgers, the Reds have used him all over the outfield and at second base, making him the super utility guy.  His average continues to tumble, as this is the fourth straight year it's gone down.  But, like I said before, that's less of a concern because he's there to plug in holes when necessary.

Nick Punto, 2B/SS, A's: .235 AVG, .336 OBP, 5 2B, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 2 SB
Much like Schumaker, Punto is mostly there for his utility work, as he's appeared mostly at second and short, but also a little third and right field.  He's getting a pretty good amount of at-bats on a very good team, and thanks to 20 walks, has a decent OBP.  He appears to be well on his way to his fifth postseason in his career, and that experience is where he's truly most valuable, just like when he was a Dodger last year.

Dodgers by the numbers

I haven't done this in awhile, but it's always fun to look at exactly where the boys in blue rank in certain categories.  Today I'll focus on the bullpen, which has been a huge part of turning things around.

ERA: 3.57 (15th best)
Saves: 34 (7th)
Save %: 68 (19th - still feeling the effects of Brandon League)
Walks: 122 (22nd)
BAA: .244 (15th)
OPS: .669 (7th)
Total Bases: 451 (25th)
K/9: 8.29 (12th)

Trust me, these numbers listed above were not pretty back in April, May, and June.  The League experiment as closer was a colossal flop, which mercifully ended after four blown saves and a 6.00 ERA in early June.  Then Kenley Jansen was inserted as closer, and after blowing his first save in Pittsburgh, has gone 14-15 since.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the numbers for the boys in the 'pen right now:

Kenley Jansen: 58 1/3 IP, 4-3, 17 SV, 16 HLD, 2.01 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 84 K
J.P. Howell: 48 1/3 IP, 2-0, 10 HLD, 2.05 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 42 K
Paco Rodriguez: 42 IP, 2-2, 2 SV, 14 HLD, 2.14 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 45 K
Chris Withrow: 18 1/3 IP, 1-0, 3 HLD, 2.45 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 21 K
Ronald Belisario: 51 1/3 IP, 5-6, 1 SV, 13 HLD, 3.33 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 41 K
Carlos Marmol: 7 IP, 0-0, 5.14 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, 4 K
Brandon League: 42 2/3, 6-3, 14 SV, 1 HLD, 5.27 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 22 K

The top four in that list are as good as it gets.  Jansen's success in the closer's role has made everything else fall into place.  Howell and Rodriguez are fantastic from the left side, and Withrow has forced the Dodgers to keep him with the big club.  They get big outs whenever necessary.

Belisario is his typical streaky self, but he's been on a hot one the last couple of months.  He had an 8.31 ERA in June, lowered it all the way to 1.42 in July, and hasn't surrendered a run in August.  When he's on, he's tough to catch up to.  The Dodgers will ride this hot streak as long as they can.

The numbers for Marmol and League obviously aren't pretty, but there is a silver lining for both.  League has put up blanks in nine of last 12 appearances since the beginning of July, lowering his ERA by over a run.  Marmol doesn't have a large sample size, but is scoreless in his last five trips to the mound.

Keep in mind that Brian Wilson will soon be coming, as his rehab is just about done.  Don't be surprised to see him move right into a setup role.  He's been scoreless in three innings of work, and if reports are true that he's more than recovered from Tommy John surgery last year, then look out.  He's another big chip to be added to this great team in the postseason push.

The stomach ache (Guerrier) gets traded for the headache (Marmol)

If there was ever a definition of trading one bad player for another for a "change of scenery," this is it.

Both the Dodgers and Cubs can only hope that's true, as Carlos Marmol has been shipped to the Dodgers for Matt Guerrier.  Both have healthy contracts, and both have struggled mightily this year.  In addition, the Dodgers will receive extra cash along with $209,000 in international signing considerations.

And if you don't think the Dodgers value the international market, I ask you to take a peek at the stats of some guy named Yasiel Puig.  So this was a good add-on to the trade.

Marmol has had quite the up and down career, but 2013 has been pretty much rock bottom.  He's only 2-5 in save opportunities, to go along with a whopping 5.83 ERA and 1.70 WHIP.  Yikes.  Much like Dodger fans felt each time Brandon League took the ball with a lead in the ninth, Cub fans knew to expect the worst.  And neither did anything to change that.

What can Marmol do for LA?  As I mentioned above, it's all about the infamous "change of scenery" for struggling players.  From 2010-2012, he saved 38, 34, 20 games, respectively.  So the history of pitching effectively late in games is there.  The Dodgers tweeted out an interesting fact: since 2007, Marmol leads all relievers with 644 K's, and is fourth with a .174 BAA.

That's all well and good, but obviously Marmol is a different pitcher now.  The Dodgers recently promoted Jose Dominguez and Chris Withrow to pitch in middle relief.  They certainly have good stuff, but are still rookies.  Ronald Belisario and League are awful.  Paco Rodriguez and J.P. Howell are reliable lefties.

So this certainly gives Marmol a chance to get some holds, bridging the gap to Kenley Jansen.  In a perfect world, League would get DFA'd, but not with that contract.  Maybe Belisario?  I'd be fine with that.  I have a feeling it will be Withrow, since Dominguez throws near 100 MPH and wowed everybody in his one inning on Sunday.

The biggest hurdle Marmol will have is lowering his walks, as 21 in 27 2/3 innings is way too many.  He has 32 strikeouts, so he still shows the ability to get hitters to swing and miss.  Rick Honeycutt doesn't have much to lose by working with him, so let's see where this goes.

As for Guerrier, he leaves as a major disappointment.  He signed a three-year, $12 million deal before 2011 to be the primary setup guy.  It never worked out.  He appeared in 70 games in '11 with a 4.07 ERA, and injuries limited him to only 16 games last year.  In 34 appearances this year, he had a 4.80 ERA and 1.47 WHIP.  He was DFA'd a few days ago, so he was on his way out regardless.