Arizona Diamondbacks
Tony La Russa, the Diamondbacks’ top baseball executive, made national headlines with his comments about San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Asked by ESPN why no baseball players were joining Kaepernick in his protest of wrongdoings against minorities, La Russa said Diamondbacks players wouldn’t be allowed to sit or kneel during the national anthem.
“You’re not going to be out there representing our team and our organization by disrespecting the flag. No, sir, I would not allow it,” La Russa said.
La Russa also responded to a headline-making comment of Baltimore Orioles center fielder
Adam Jones that baseball is a “white man’s sport.”
“When he says it’s a white, like, elitist kind of sport, I mean, how much wronger can he be?” he said. “We have tried so hard, MLB, to expand the black athletes’ opportunity.”
After shelving Rubby De La Rosa because of an elbow ailment, the Diamondbacks will decide this offseason whether to move him to relief, allowing him to delete a changeup that bothers the elbow.
Colorado Rockies
The offseason will allow outfielder David Dahl, who appears to be part of the franchise’s 2017 plans, to prepare his body in anticipation of his first full bigleague season.
It has been a grind for Dahl. A lacerated spleen took a chunk out of his 2015 season, as did a knee injury. He started this season with Class AA Hartford (Conn.), which, because of issues with its ballpark, played all of its games on the road. Coming to the big leagues in late July was a treat but exposed him to the longer season.
“The last couple weeks I’ve lost some weight, bat feels a little heavier, stuff like that,” Dahl told
The Denver Post. “It’s just something that I’ve got to get used to, especially if I want to play here in the big leagues and play that long of a season.”
Manager Walt Weiss has taken to resting Dahl, 22, in part to protect a sore throwing elbow.
“I had that conversation with him,” Weiss said. “His professional career has been a little uneven because of the injuries, and he’s missed chunks of time here and there. So we’re paying attention to all that.”
The Denver Post raised the possibility that Bud Black, who managed the Padres from 2007 until June 2015, would be a Rockies candidate if Weiss isn’t retained.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Having weathered a three-city trip that involved nearly 6,000 miles of travel, the Dodgers entered the week with a five-game lead over the San Francisco Giants and on course for their fourth consecutive NL West title.
“We’re in a good spot,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “You look at this road trip on the schedule, and it was a tough one to get through.”
Closer Kenley Jansen was wearing a removable brace on his right wrist because it was stiff, but Roberts said he was not concerned and noted the pitcher reached 97 mph in a recent outing.
Jansen entered this week with 45 saves, tied for second in the big leagues. He was on pace to post career bests in ERA (1.81), WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched, 0.649) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.78).
The 28-year-old appears headed toward a huge payoff this offseason in free agency.
Three left-handed starters who are working back from injury or ailment — Brett Anderson, Scott Kazmir and Alex Wood — loom as additional pitching help this month and in the playoffs.
San Diego Padres
The Padres’ A.J. Preller is believed to be the first general manager in major league history to be suspended by the commissioner’s office.
MLB issued the punishment following its investigation of Preller’s trade of left-hander
Drew Pomeranz, who went to the Boston Red Sox on July 14.
The Padres will retain the pitching prospect they got in the trade, Anderson Espinoza.
The Padres, according to ESPN, broke from industry standards by keeping two sets of medical files on players — the first for internal purposes, the second to share with other clubs.
All teams send medical information into a central database, the report said. The Padres, by holding back certain details, sought an advantage in trades.
Preller also was suspended for one month in the late 2000s when he headed the Texas Rang- ers’ international operations. USA TODAY Sports reported the club had no plans to fire him or discipline him further.
Responding to the suspension, Padres ownership and CEO Mike
Dee supported Preller, calling the transgression “unintentional but inexcusable.”
The Padres’ players and coaches were shocked Sept. 17 when they learned that infielder
Yangervis Solarte’s wife, Yuliette, had died from complications of her fight against cancer. She was 31.
San Francisco Giants
Santiago Casilla entered the week with 31 saves, but his ninth blown save of the season caused
manager Bruce Bochy to announce that Derek Law and
Hunter Strickland would be the candidates to close games as the Giants try to claim a playoff berth.
The change came after the St. Louis Cardinals, aided by Randal Grichuk’s game-tying groundball single, rallied in the ninth inning from a 2-1 deficit Sept. 17 to win at San Francisco and further tighten the wild-card race.
“I know it’s been rough for Casilla, and in fairness to him, that’s pretty bad luck. He made a great pitch there,” Bochy said. “Another couple of feet and we’d all be smiling right now. But time to tweak it a little bit. I’m not saying Law is the closer, but with him and Strick, they’re going to be more in the mix in the eighth and ninth.”
Bochy said Law, who missed 15 games because of an elbow strain before coming off the disabled list last week, should be able to work back-to-back games.
With Casilla eligible for free agency this offseason, Law was seen as a candidate to succeed him next year. He went into the week with a 0.39 ERA over his last 26 outings.
Cory Gearrin, who induced 13 swings-and-misses from the Cardinals over two innings Sunday, also could be used in more high-leverage situations.
“The first game was more of a kick-start. This game was, ‘All right, we’re here. Let’s get it done.’ ”
Dodgers catcher Yasmani Grandal on left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who threw five scoreless innings Sept. 14 at Yankee Stadium, leading Los Angeles to victory in his second start after two months on the disabled list