Dodgers’ James Loney keeps a low profile
He ranked fifth in the National League in runs batted in heading into the Dodgers’ game against the New York Mets on Thursday. He was tied for fourth in doubles and fifth in hits.
But James Loney has kept a relatively low profile this season, in part because he counts high-profile players such as Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and Manny Ramirez among his teammates.
Loney was even overshadowed on his bobblehead night, as Ramirez’s third trip to the disabled list stole the headlines Tuesday.
Not that Loney didn’t appreciate the effort to push him into the spotlight.
“Any time you play here, you get pretty good recognition,” Loney said. “But it was nice they tried to get me recognition.”
Loney said he requested 50 bobblehead dolls to give to his family members and friends.
“I liked it, man,” he said. “Pretty good detail.”
Loney’s bobblehead night became memorable for another reason — he was the player who called to acting manager Don Mattingly and made him step back on the mound after he had stepped off, resulting in a rule infraction that forced closer Jonathan Broxton out of the game.
Loney said he knew where he should position himself for the upcoming at-bat, but wanted to double check with Mattingly.
“I thought there’s no way it could hurt to double-check,” he said, smiling. “I guess there was.”
Change in the rotation
With James McDonald out of the Dodgers’ rotation, Manager Joe Torre has elected to start rookie Carlos Monasterios on Saturday.
“The only other option on the club right now would’ve been J-Mac,” Torre said. “And I just think we need his ability in his bullpen.”
The Dodgers’ former minor league pitcher of the year, McDonald was recalled from triple-A Albuquerque on Monday. He was charged with four runs and nine hits in a loss to the San Francisco Giants that night.
Monasterios’ last start was June 18. He is 2-2 with a 5.40 earned-run average as a starter.
Schaefer serves suspension
Torre’s walking rulebook, bench coach Bob Schaefer served the one-game suspension he drew for screaming at home plate umpire Adrian Johnson on Tuesday.
Schaefer said he understands that officials are under orders from the commissioner’s office to handle bean ball situations a certain way but maintained the Dodgers and Giants should have been allowed to settle matters on their own after Matt Kemp was hit by Tim Lincecum.
“The players should police themselves,” Schaefer said. “We’re the ones who got penalized, and they’re the ones who initiated it.”
Both benches were warned after Lincecum hit Kemp. Schaefer was thrown out of the game for arguing that Danny Bautista should have been ejected for throwing a ball near the head of Russell Martin later in the game.
Torre and Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw were thrown out when Kershaw threw at Aaron Rowand in what appeared to be a retaliatory act.
Tim McClelland, the chief of the umpiring crew that day, said the pitches by Lincecum and Bautista were deemed to be unintentional. He said both benches were warned after Kemp was hit only because Kemp appeared upset.
While Schaefer said that not allowing players to settle their on-field problems on their own could lead to even more violence in the future, McClelland said that he could not let the players police themselves.
“ Major League Baseball and the commissioner have put out directives on how to handle situations like that,” McClelland said.
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
Are you a true-blue fan?
Get our Dodgers Dugout newsletter for insights, news and much more.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
