Return to Sender

Hong-Chih [G]uo is on the trip, and the team is holding out hope he can return from arthroscopic shoulder surgery in September. "I've been expecting him back the majority of these two years," Manager Grady Little said, smiling.

Source: PE.Com

Skinny: Wouldn't that be great if Guo could make Bob T eat his words? I know this is the motivation fueling the attempted comeback. And best of all, Guo always does his best major league pitching in September... well, his only healthy major league pitching anyways!

Loose bodies

Inside The Dodgers reports today that Hong-Chih [G]uo had arthroscopic surgery today [July 25th] to remove loose bodies from his elbow and as soon as more info is available, we'll pass it along.

Viva Las Vegas

Guo News: Hong-Chih [G]uo threw on flat ground Thursday and could pitch off a mound soon, according to the LA Times. [G]uo is recovering from an elbow injury, and he'll likely be sent to the minors once he's healthy.

Skinney: The Dodgers in desperate need of a healthy arm on the big league club will keep their fingers crossed that Guo can pitch without pain. Guo hasn't been himself the entire 2007 season, so I am still doubtful about what he will be able to accomplish this year. If he can get healthy, he'd be a great addition to the Dodgers rotation and would allow the Dodgers to get Tomko out of the rotation.

Them are fightin words!

I doubt that [G]uo will ever pitch an effective game for the Dodgers again.
-Bob Timmermann
July 9, 2007
Comment #3

Guo vs Toronto - Eh!

Coming off two strong starts (Padres, Mets) in a row, Hongzhi Guo takes his lefthanded 96 mph fastball north of the border. Once again, Guo will be matched against a tough pitcher. This time it will be Toronto's ace Roy Halladay. Dodger Sims has the Dodgers as slight favorites to win, but it will take a great pitching performance by Guo to get the victory.

Skinny:
Guo only has 20 innings pitched under his belt so far this year as opposed to 82 from Halladay. Guo gets the edge in ERA and Field Independent ERA, part of this is due to Hallday facing tougher hitters in the American League. Guo is more of a fly ball, strike out pitcher, with a GB/FB/LD line of 29/48/23. Halladay, will get his fair share of strike outs, but he relies more on his control. Both pitchers have home run rates well below (stingy on giving up HRs) league average. Guo has yet to give up a home run in 20 innings thus far. While Guo tends to be a fly ball pitcher, Halladay induces alot more groundballs with a GB/FB/LD line of 56/26/18. Both pitchers have a similiar BABIP allowed. Guo is at .315 and Halladay having a nearly identical mark of .313. Halladay has been slightly more unlucky when it comes to stranding runners on base. Guo has a LOB% of 71.4% and Halladay of 64.4%. This should be a close and low scoring game, a game that the Blue Jays probably feel they should win. If Guo is on, the Jays could be in for a big surprise.

***********

Update: Guo got hammered. Better luck next time.

vr, Xeifrank

Guo-ing, Guo-ing, Gone!

Hongzhi Guo pitched masterfully, allowing only 5 hits, over 7 strong innings, while striking out 5 and only walking one. Guo threw alot of strikes and showed that when he can get ahead in the count, he is able to silence the oppositions' bats. Hongzhi Guo topped off a great night, a night in which the Dodgers took a second straight game from the Mets, by becoming the first Taiwanese born player to hit a homerun in the Major Leagues. Guo is not yet the ace of the staff, but he has definitely leapfrogged the likes of Jason Schmidt and Randy Wolf in the pecking order.

**********

The Taipei Times chimes in.

vr, Xeifrank

Guo Get em!

Hongzhi Guo pitches tonight against John Maine and the New York Mets. Guo is coming off a good outing against the Padres. Let's hope the defense doesn't let him down this time and that he can harness his control a little better. vr, Xeifrank

For He's A Jolly Good Fellow

Nobody can deny that Guo deserves his spot in the starting rotation after the nearly masterful performance he put up against the Padres and Jake Peavy. Guo outpitched Peavy and left after 6 innings, having struck out 8, only allowing 3 hits, but walking four. The Dodgers were unable to hold a 9th inning 5-1 lead, as Nomar booted the game away. Guo was definitel one of the few positives of this game, as he put the Dodgers in position to halt their 2 game losing streak. Oh well, let's hope Guo can cut down on the wildness a little bit when he takes on another big challenege at home against the Mets next week. vr, Xeifrank

Stopper Guo

Hongzhi Guo, in his second start of the season will have the unenviable task of taking on Padres ace and Cy Young favorite Jake Peavy. The Dodgers enter the game with a two game losing streak, both losses at the hands of the Padres, and now find themselves 1-1/2 games behind both the Padres and Diamondbacks. The Dodgers are in need of a great performance from Guo. It is time for him to bear down, trust his dominating stuff, throw strikes and challenge the Padre hitters. Guo is now thrusted into the role of "stopper", let's just hope he can put together a great performance, because the Dodgers will sure need one to match Jake Peavy. vr, Xeifrank

Guo is so-so in starting debut

Hongzhi Guo's first start for the Dodgers in 2007 was a mixed bag. Guo was not hit hard, as he scattered 5 singles in 4-2/3 innings of work. Guo's downfall was his first inning wildness, when he walked two batters including one with the bases loaded. It was Guo's misfortune that manager Grady Little happened to pick today to rest the teams best hitter, Russell Martin. The Dodgers were only able to muster one run against Ian Snell. Guo only gave up two runs, but made 94 pitches in less than 5 innings, which is not going to cut muster. In Guo's next appearance he is going to need to pitch more efficiently, and should target a full 6 innings of work. vr, Xeifrank

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Engines

Your Guo Mania engines that is. Hongzhi Guo will make his season debut in the Dodgers starting rotation tomorrow against Ian Snell and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Snell is a very good pitcher on a below average team, so it won't be an easy task. I will be happy with a line of IP-5, K-5, BB-1, HR-0. I will be most concerned with his control (base on balls) and the number of home runs given up. Guo is a strikeout pitcher, but he did tend to get alot of fly ball outs in his stint as a starter in Las Vegas the past two weeks. What I am definitely NOT looking forward to is the botching of his name pronounciation by the Dodger announcers. Even though it is spelled with a "K" in Taiwan, it is pronounced like a "G". How hard can it be to properly pronounce a last name that only has three letters in it? vr, Xeifrank

Knock, Knock... Who's there?

Opportunity. Opportunity who? Opportunity to stick in the Dodgers rotation, that's who! Yes, speculation has it that Hongzhi Guo will get called up to make a start this saturday for the Dodgers. This is a great opportunity for the flame throwing lefty. Let's hope Guo cleans the place mat when opportunity comes knockin' !!!
vr, Xeifrank

per Rototimes.com:
Hong-Chih [Guo] is the most likely candidate to start for the Dodgers on Saturday against the Pirates, according to the LA Times. Still, nothing is set in stone, as [Guo] allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings in his last start at Triple-A. "He's still a work in progress," manager Grady Little said. "We'll have to make a call whether to get him in there for Saturday or not."

Stretch!

The Dodgers have begun to stretch out Hongzhi Guo, hopefully in a move that will land him in the Dodgers starting rotation shortly. Brett Tomko who will have his next start skipped, as the Dodgers have an off day, will most likely remain in the bullpen when Guo gets the call. In his first appearance starting at AAA-Las Vegas since being sent down, Guo pitched four scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no runs, striking out four, while walking only one batter. I would call this a very successful outing for the lefty.

* * * * * * * * * *

per the Los Angeles Times

[Hongzhi Guo] will slide into the rotation if his next start at triple-A Las Vegas goes well. [Guo] pitched four scoreless innings Wednesday against Tacoma. He is scheduled to pitch again Monday for Las Vegas, then make his first Dodgers start June 2 at Pittsburgh.

vr, Xeifrank

Leaving... on a jet plane

don't know when I'll be back again. And so it goes, Hongzhi Guo has been sent down to AAA to make room for Tony Abreu's major league debut. Guo, in his short stint, was shelled one time, and had one effective appearance. Guo will most likely be assuming a position in the Las Vegas 51s starting rotation. Hopefully, to stretch out his arm for a later callup to replace the struggling Brett Tomko in the Dodgers rotation. Good luck to Guo, hope to see you soon. vr, Xeifrank

Guo takes one for the team

Not wanting to overshadow his fellow teammates Hongzhi Guo took one for the team and got shelled in his first outing of the season. Pitching out of the bullpen, for some strange reason. Doesn't Grady Little know that Guo is allergic to pitching out of the pen!? Guo allowed teammate Jonathan Broxton the opportunity to pick up a hold in what looked like a Dodger blowout and Takashi Saito a save. Broxton and Saito will be the first ones to thank Guo for this opportunity to pad their stats. Let's hope that first of all, that tonight's outing was just a fluke and secondly that somehow Guo and Billingsley can weasel their way back into the starting rotation.

Touched up a bit

HongZhi Guo making his third rehab start in Las Vegas for the 51s was touched up a bit. Guo pitched four innings, giving up two home runs, three runs, walked two and struck out five. Guo received a no-decision. At the moment no Dodger starter is stringing up back to back poor performances. There is no spot in the rotation for Guo at the moment, but with Tomko and Hendrickson in the rotation, that could just be a matter of time.

Guo does his Mark Hendrickson imitation

and pitches lights out in his second rehab start at Triple-A Las Vegas.

From Yahoo Sports

The left-hander struck out seven batters in 2 1-3 innings against Sacramento, giving up a pair of singles. He also hit a batter, but used a fastball clocked at 94 mph and a sharp slider in striking out all seven batters he retired. "I was just trying to get outs today," [Guo] said. "I was lucky to get that many strikeouts. I feel healthy and was glad I could throw my slider for strikes."

When Guo becomes ready to join the Dodgers rotation, which pitcher would be the odd man out. Lowe and Penny are both healthy. Mark Hendrickson has been pitching lights out. Tomko has been decent, and Randy Wolf has had his ups and downs. Best bet is Tomko or Wolf get displaced or Hendrickson comes down to earth. The bullpen is also becoming crowded, as Brazoban will be ready shortly to rejoin the team. Could there be a trade in the works? Only time will tell.

All systems go!

Guo pitched 2 innings in his first rehab start for the Las Vegas 51s. In his start Guo pitched 2 innings, giving up one hit, one walk, one run and struck out three batters. Look for Guo's pitch count to be slightly increased in his next start.

Dust him off!

From Rototimes.com

Hong-Chih [Guo] is scheduled to pitch Sunday at Triple-A Las Vegas, marking his first game action since he injured his shoulder March 21 at spring training, the Los Angeles Times reports. [Guo] threw 30 pitches in a simulated game Thursday and did not aggravate the finger blister that bothered him a day earlier. The only concession to the blister was that he refrained from throwing two-seam fastballs to avoid friction. "Otherwise, I threw all my pitches and everything was good," [Guo] said.

Uh Oh!

Ken Gurnick reports that Guo has been pitching hurt this spring. Guo will have an MRI on his pitching shoulder, luckily it's not his elbow that has had two Tommy John surgeries. Luckily for me, I am heading out of the country for three weeks (to the land of Guo). Hopefully, this mess will be all sorted out by the time I get back. Keep the faith! vr, Xei

Woe is Guo

Mr Guo's chances to become the Dodgers 5th starter, took a serious blow today when Guo allowed not one, not two, but three home runs, including a walk to Dice-K, who was instructed not to even swing the bat. The only positive to come from his outing was that he struck out three and only walked one (but he did actually hit one batter). With Tomdrickson pitching so well (small sample size alert) this spring, things aren't looking good for Guo.

Hanging Chad

Poster nuetralluke over at Minor League Baseball had what I thought was a very good breakdown of the Dodgers 5th starter competition.

The Dodgers aren't being stupid in this situation. In fact, this move makes perfect sense for them. Despite what some on this board may think about Hendrickson and Tomko, if you look at their fielding indepent era's they were both over a half a run better than Billingsley last year. Yes, Billingsley is a very good bet to improve that in the coming years but that is exactly why he needs some time to hone his craft. The Dodgers still see Billingsley as their future ace. Several people within the organization have said so explicitly and no one has said otherwise. It is also clear that the Dodgers are one of the deepest teams in the league when it comes to viable starting pitchers. By having Tomko or Hendrickson start the season in the rotation they are giving them as good a chance as any to improve their value for possible trades in the future. It is no secret that they have been shopping Brad Penny this offseason, doesn't it seem logical that with Kuo and Billingsley nearly ready to start full time and with Elbert and possibly Miller waiting in the wings that they would want to get the most out of Hendrickson or Tomko if they were going to trade them? All that is actually pretty irrelevant though if you believe as I do that Kuo will begin the year in the rotation. He makes much more sense than Billingsley to start not only because he was so effective as a starter at the end of last year, but also because he proved ineffective as a reliever. Coming off of two Tommy John surgeries made it difficult for Kuo to warm up effectively in relief. He said so himself and his stats as a starter and as a reliever clearly back this assertion. Here is what's going to happen. Kuo will be sent to the minors to begin the season. There will be 100 posts by people who picked Kuo as their 'great fantasy sleeper' crying about how dumb the Dodgers are. A few weeks into the season when they actually need a 5th starter Kuo will be the guy. If Bills excels in the bullpen Penny and possibly Tomko or Hendrickson will be traded opening up a spot for him in the rotation and all will be well in the world.

And then there were three...

As Dodger Thought blogger Jon Weisman points out in blog entry, Chad Billingsley has won a ticket to the bullpen and the 5th starter is now a three pony race. This is both good and bad news for Billingsley. The good news is he made the team and will most likely be in the rotation before the all-star break. The bad news is, that he did not win the 5th starter spot. Our man Guo on the otherhand looks to be headed to AAA. The scenario GuoManiacs are pinning their hats on, is that Guo will head to AAA to stay on a 5th starter schedule. Worst case scenario would be that Guo struggles in spring training and heads to AAA to work on his control, while Tomko or god-forbid Hendrickson becomes the 5th starter to start the season.

Expected chance of being the 5th starter out of spring training.
Guo	60%
Tomko	30%
Hendrickson	10%

Stringing Along

According to Tony Jackson of the LA Daily News the Dodgers plan on stringing along their cattle heard of 5th starters into the second week of the season.

Tony Jackson wrote:

Dodgers manager Grady Little said Monday that the competition for the vacant fifth spot in the team's starting rotation - a battle that has only intensified through the first two weeks of Grapefruit League play - might not be settled until after the regular season begins.

If this is the case it won't bode well for Guo who has trouble pitching out of the pen. The good news is that Guo seems to have the inside track in the 5th starter competition. If Guo heads into the regular season as the probable 5th starter, then having him pitch out of the bullpen until April 10th is not a good idea. Jon Weisman over at Dodger Thoughts remedies this problem with the idea of starting Guo in the minors and calling him up for the April 10th start.

Jon Weisman wrote:

[Guo] is designated the fifth starter by the end of Spring Training, is sent down to Las Vegas to stay on a starting pitcher's schedule during the first week, then is called up by the Dodgers just in time to make the No. 5 starter's first start.

This seems like the best scenario and allows the bullpen a few extra days to weed out the lowest performing pitcher until Guo is called back up.

Cold medicine

Our beloved HongZhi Guo tested positive for some cold medicine at the Asian games, in which Taiwan beat the Japanese team in the finals of. The Taipei Times brushes this off as the non-story it is.

Knock, Knock.. Who's there?

GuoMania is now beginning to trickle into the local mainstream media as the Riverside Press Enterprise put up a nice article detailing the obstacles that Guo had to overcome to make it to this point in his Dodger career. The article touches on a fathers dying wish for his son to play big league baseball and high school pitching duels with Dice-K. Let's hope that the two former far east rivals, will have a few October duels here in the US.

5th Spot, Corner Pocket!

A look at the battle for the 5th spot in the Dodgers starting rotation.

Player	IP	K	BB	Hits	HR	K/9	K/BB	HR/9	ERA	WHIP
J.Mays	4	2	1	4	0	4.5	2.0	0.0	4.50	1.25
B.Tomko	4	2	0	3	0	4.5	Inf.	Inf.	0.00	0.75
C.Billingsley	6-1/3	2	2	5	0	2.84	1.0	0.0	0.00	1.11
H.Guo	6	2	6	2	1	3.00	0.33	1.50	1.50	1.33
E.Stults	7	4	3	8	1	5.14	1.33	1.29	5.14	1.71
D.Houlton	3-2/3	5	1	2	1	12.27	5.0	2.45	2.45	0.82
M.Hendrickson	6-2/3	6	2	9	1	8.10	3.0	1.35	8.10	1.65

Guo Takes Care of The HATED Ones

Not even a bag full of steroids can stop Guo Mania!!!!!!!!!

Guo Ready for Sring Training

Jon Weisman of Dodger Thoughts fame and lore has a nice article up previewing the Dodgers 2007 spring training. In his article he previews what are Guo's chances of making the team and what kind of role he will most likely be vying for.

Weisman wrote:

Hong-Chih Kuo, P: In contrast to Ethier, the question here is whether Kuo can build upon a hot end to the season. He pitched better as a starter than as a reliever, so perhaps it's rotation or bust, but these things can change in a moment. It seems likely that they'll find a spot for him, rather than see him waste healthy innings with that exciting arm in the minors.

Weisman touches upon the "Fools Gold" aspect of Guo's 2006 tease. Is his arm the 10 pound gold nugget, or just a pyrite poser!?

Fools Gold?

After struggling pitching out of the bullpen the Los Angeles Dodgers decided to convert Guo back into a starter at AAA. Guo made his first start of the season for the Dodgers on September 8th and made four more starts during the stretch run, plus one start in the playoffs against the Mets. Guo's numbers as a starter in that short period of time were outstanding. Here is a look at Guo's numbers and a few other noteable pitchers during their best 5 game stretch. This sets the bar very high for Guo as other pitchers are able to cherry-pick their best 5 game stretches. No pitcher beats Guo in K/9, K/BB and HR/9, although there were some remarkable stretches as shown by Johan Santana's best numbers. When compared to hot free agent Barry Zito's best five game stretch, Guo's numbers are much better. Guo will fly under the radar of the casual baseball fan, and even many of the more serious fans but if he is able to put up anywhere close to these numbers again, he will most certainly be considered one of the elite pitchers in the major leagues. vr, Xei

Pitcher	IP	K/9	K/BB	HR/9	5 Game Period
Guo	29 1/3	10.74	5.0	0.31	9/8 - 9/29
J.Santana	37	12.65	13	0.97	4/27 - 5/17
Webb	40 1/3	7.36	8.25	0.00	9/3 - 9/26
Carpenter	38 1/3	8.22	5.0	0.23	8/26 - 9/16
Liriano	37	11.19	6.57	0.97	6/16 - 7/8
Jer.Weaver	33 1/3	8.37	6.2	0.54	5/27 - 7/3
C.Zambrano	34	10.85	2.28	0.53	4/24 - 5/16
Peavy	27 2/3	14.31	8.8	1.95	5/11 - 6/6
Bonderman	35 2/3	11.10	4.4	0.25	6/3 - 6/25
Zito	36 1/3	8.17	2.36	0.99	5/27 - 6/16