Guo Mania

A Wish On A Dandelion

2009-02-12T11:34:00.000-08:00

Is the term that Jone Weisman, of Dodger Thoughts fame used to describe Guo's 2007 outlook prior to his 2008 award winning season. Weisman goes on to say...

It took a while for Joe Torre to trust him in important situations, but eventually [G]uo saw regular use in a season that left him with a 2.14 ERA (199 ERA+), 96 strikeouts against 84 baserunners in 80 innings, and no trips to the disabled list.

An ERA+ of 199 are you kidding me? That's a great feat for a 26 year old pitcher. One of the best in the last 20 years I'd guess. Well, using B-Ref, I performed a quick query of the last 20 years, with pitchers having thrown 80+ innings in their age 26 season. The results put Guo's 2008 ERA+ as #10 on the list. Click here to see the Baseball-Ref query and the complete list of best ERA+ seasons as a 26 year old. And if you filter by only LHP, Guo shoots up to #2 on the list only behind J.C. Romero's amazing 2002 season with an 236 ERA+. Guo is slated to be the setup man and likely backup closer should anything happen to Broxton. With that the case, I'd expect Guo to cherry pick atleast a half a dozen or so saves this year.

The Red Envelope Please...

2008-12-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

The offseason accalades keep pouring in for HongZhi Guo. The latest piece of hardware for the flamethrowing southpaw is the TYIB Setup Man Of The Year Award.

[K]uo won with 30.3 percent of the vote. He was followed by Grant Balfour of the Rays (19.2 percent), Carlos Marmol of the Cubs (17.6), Scot Shields of the Angels (7.5), Brad Ziegler of the Athletics (6.1), Scott Downs of the Blue Jays (4.9), Mike Adams of the Padres (4.5), Dan Wheeler of the Rays (4.2), Taylor Buchholz of the Rockies (3.8) and Chad Qualls of the Diamondbacks (2.1).

[K]uo went 5-3 with a 2.14 ERA and his first career save in 42 games (including three starts), allowing only 60 hits in a career-high 80 innings while striking out 96 and only walking 21. His relief ERA of 1.69 led the league (minimum of 50 innings), and opponents hit only .204 against him.

While this award is a great accomplishment for Guo, who is as talented as any pitcher on the Dodgers staff, it goes to show what great numbers Guo is capable of if he remains healthy. The question will always be there if Guo has the durability to pitch back to back days out of the pen, or every fifth day in the starting rotation. Last year as the season progressed, Guo was given the opportunity to pitch in higher leverage situations. Guo should have a good shot at repeating as the TYIB Setup Man of the Year, a feat that nobody has ever accomplished(1). Unbeknownst to the Dodgers front office and members of the media, the award kicked in a stipulation in Guo's contract wherein his last name must be spelled with a 'G'.

(1) - Research Department is currently investigating this claim
Hat Tip: to Underdog on this story.

The Huncharm Of Taiwan

2008-09-24T16:04:00.000-07:00

It appears that Guo's season is likely over. Even though he is playing catch on the side, I see a return this season at about 10%. What a great season he had and the Dodgers will miss him in the playoffs. Hopefully, Guo can make it through the offseason without having to need another surgery. Guo had an amazing K/9 of 10.8 this season. Control, is usually Guo's greatest enemy but this year he battled those deamons and ended up with a K/BB of 4.57. As a relieve Guo's K/9 was a stunning 11.16, 8th best of any relief pitcher in MLB with over 60 innings pitched. His K/BB was 3rd best in the majors for all relief pitchers, second only to Mariano Rivera and Jonathan Papelbon. There's no doubt that Guo is one of the league's best pitchers when healthy. I hope he will be able to contribute to this team, if not in the post-season, next spring.

Good & Plenty

2008-07-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

HongZhi Guo has been sweet music to the ears of Dodger fans, as he is posting some of the best stats of any major league pitcher this season. It would be nice if he was doing so in a starting role, or in higher leverage relief appearances. With the apparent injury to Dodger closer Takashi Saito, Guo will likely be thrusted into a more important role in the bullpen. We here at Guo Mania would like to see Guo become the main 8th inning setup man, the role that Broxton is currently being used in, if Broxton gets moved to the closer role while Saito is out. Let's take a closer look at the dominating numbers Guo has put up so far this year.

Time Period	IP	K/9	K/BB	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP	ERA	FIP	BABIP	GB/FB
2008 Season	53+	10.63	4.85	2.19	0.34	0.96	1.69	2.03	.292	1.46
Career	148+	10.35	2.63	3.93	0.54	1.33	4.06	3.01	.331	1.11

These are amazing numbers that Guo is putting up. His FIP and BABIP go to show that his great numbers are NOT luck based. Comparing his 2008 stats with his career line, Guo's biggest improvement this year is in his control, or lack of walks. Bluntly put, Guo is walking less batters this year than in the past. Combine that with Guo's skill of suppressing homeruns and his amazing strike-out ratio, good things are going to happen. Hopefully, Guo will continue to see some high leverage situations, so the Dodgers can reap the benefit of Guo's tremendous talents. In 5 of his 6 appearances, Guo has pitched in above average leverage situations. Prior to the last 6 appearances, Guo appeared in 6 consecutive very low leverage situations.

Dream Of Guofornication

2008-06-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

The manner in which Dodger manager Joe Torre has used HongZhi Guo this season has gotten beyond the point of ridiculous. Guo (3.2 WAR), has arguably been the Dodgers best pitcher this year, striking out 47 batters in 40-1/3 innings pitched, while allowing only 2 homeruns and 10 walks. In the table below, I take a look at the average leverage index upon entering a game for all Dodger relievers, along with their "Wins Above Average" (WAR) score. Guo should not be used for mop up duty. He has better numbers than Saito (the closer), Broxton (the setup man) and Beimel (the LOOGY/other setup man). Scott Proctor should not be pitching in any situation other than mop up. He is the only Dodger pitcher with negative value and he is seeing higher leverage situations on average than Guo and Wade.

Game Entrance - Leverage Index
Pitcher	gmLI	WAR
Guo	0.64	3.21
Saito	1.57	2.17
Broxton	1.35	2.49
Beimel	1.20	1.70
Proctor	0.77	-.22
Wade	0.55	1.17
Park	0.83	0.35

In Guo We Trust

2008-05-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

He did it again. Pitching brilliantly out of the bullpen, HongZhi Guo helped the Dodgers knock off the Angels. Guo went four innings, striking out four, walking none and gave up only three hits. Perhaps Guo will earn another shot at the starting rotation? However it's unlikely as manager Joe Torre seems to like Guo as the second component of a tag team 5th starter duo with either Chan Ho Park or Esteban Loaiza. We here at Guo-Mania have mixed feelings about Guo's current role. We believe Guo should be the 5th starter based on merit, but have no problem with Guo pitching in this role if it is to keep his innings down, as he is coming off of a fourth arm surgery. We would just like Guo to pitch in high leverage innings. We don't want him to be placed into a long relief, low leverage mop up role. With the likes of Park and Loaiza starting ahead of Guo, chances are there won't be too many high leverage long relief outings from Guo. Today was not one of those days though. Park actually pitched well. The Dodgers defense (Loney), let Park down a little bit. Guo came in with the Dodgers holding a 4-2 lead. The Dodgers "Win Expectancy" was 65.4% when Guo came in, in the 5th inning. All five batters Guo faced in the bottom of the 5th inning were higher than average leverage situations, with Kotchman's two out at bat with runners on first and second a 2.3 leverage index. Guo got Kotchman to ground out. Guo would then go on to face one more above average leverage situation in each the 6th, 7th and 8th inning. All three of those batters making outs. Saito then came on to pitch the 9th inning with the Dodgers leading 6-2, giving up one run, as the Dodgers held on for a 6-3 victory.

Notes: Fangraphs Game Play Log

Domination

2008-05-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

Things were looking bleak for the Dodgers. Trailing 4-1 in the 4th inning with two runners on base, the Mets were about to blow open the game against Dodger pitcher Kiroki Kuroda. Then the bullpen phone rang, and up got none other than HongZhi Guo. He had been called upon to rescue the Dodgers before, but this would be a difficult task against the NL East leading Mets. Guo immediately struck out both Carlos DelGado and Angel Pagan to retire the side, then went on to strike out 8 Mets batters in 3-2/3 innings, for an amazing K/9 of 19.6 for the game. Guo entered the game with a Dodger win expectancy of 34.1% and left the game with a win expectancy of 78.7%. The only two Mets batters to reach base against Guo were on a walk and a hit batter. Guo's bullpen statistics now look as good as any top closer in the game. Let's take a look and compare Guo's bullpen stats to Broxton's and Saito's numbers thus far.

Bullpen Stats
	IP	SO	BB	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP
Guo	13-2/3	23	3	15.15	1.98	0.66	0.80
Saito	15-1/3	16	5	9.39	2.93	0.59	1.17
Broxton	15	21	6	12.60	3.60	0.00	1.00

It's not the largest sample size in the world, but nonetheless Guo has put up better numbers pitching out of the bullpen than both Saito and Broxton. The big question would be whether or not Guo would be able to keep up this pace pitching in late inning, high leverage situations. Guo would be a better option as a 5th starter (when needed) than Esteban Loaiza, but after Guo's magnificent performance last night, manager Joe Torre when asked if Guo would be the 5th starter come May 17th said no.

Tony Jackson - Daily News

"No," Torre said. "That second left-hander in the bullpen ... that's important."

Well, if the Dodgers are going to keep Guo in the bullpen, then they need to start giving him some higher leverage situations to pitch in. I am a little worried about Guo being the mop up pitcher for Loaiza and Kuroda et al. If you are going to keep Guo in the bullpen, then by all means call up Clayton Kershaw to make a few starts in the 5th starter role. If Kershaw is not an option this early in the season, then use Guo as the 5th starter. Leaving Guo in the bullpen is fine, but let's start using him in some higher leverage situations and demote Scott Proctor to mop up duty.

Plop, Plop ... Fizz, Fizz

2008-05-03T21:57:00.000-07:00

The last time we met, HongZhi Guo was demoted from the starting rotation and replaced with the veteran Esteban Loaiza. Guo's short stint as a starter didn't go great, but it didn't go bad either. Control was Guo's main problem. That and a pitch count that kept him from getting into the 5th inning of a game. It is my opinion that Guo was put into the starting rotation too soon, especially if he wasn't going to be allowed enough starts to stretch out his arm. There was very little margin for error in Guo's pitching performance to allow him to stay in the rotation. Once allowed to join the rotation, Guo should've been permitted to make more starts. It's not as if the Dodgers had a good pitcher waiting in the wings to take the 5th starter spot. Loaiza has been very bad in his starts, getting no deeper into games than Guo did, all the while giving up more runs than Guo did. Let's take a closer look at the 5th starter spot for the Dodgers.

	GS	IP	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP	P/GS	FIP ERA
Loaiza	3	11-1/3	2.38	2.38	1.59	1.50	56.0	7.52
Guo	3	10-2/3	8.44	5.06	0.84	1.89	70.3	5.45

It's obvious that Guo has better stuff than Loaiza and the much higher ceiling. The only category that Loaiza trumps Guo on is walks allowed. Control, which has always been Guo's downfall is what hurt him as a starter. The number that stands out ot me, is the fact that Guo pitched nearly the same number of innings as Loaiza as a starter (in the same number of starts) even though he had a strict pitch count in all three starts. Both Guo and Loaiza ended up taxing the bullpen at near equal levels. Keep in mind that 11 or so innings, is not a large enough sample size to go by. Now let's take a look at what each has done as a reliever.

	GS	IP	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP	P/GS	FIP ERA
Loaiza	4	12-2/3	4.26	1.42	0.71	0.95	NA	4.54
Guo	4	10	13.50	1.80	0.90	1.00	NA	3.10

Pitching out of the bullpen, Guo has been awesome. Guo has an impressive K/9 of 13.5 and has displayed pinpoint control pitching out of the bullpen. Does this mean that Guo should be pitching out of the bullpen? Perhaps it does for now, if for no other reason that it may help prevent wear and tear on his 4-time surgically repaired left arm. Guo should probably be allowed to pitch some more higher leverage innings if he is going to stay in the bullpen. There is no reason to waste that kind of talent in only low leverage situations. Using Torre's logic thus far, Guo will probably be named the 5th starter due to his great pitching out of the bullpen... and the cycle will continue. What it does tell me, that if Guo isn't going to be pitching in the rotation, the Dodgers could sure use the services of Clayton Kershaw, in the 5th starter spot!

Musical Guos

2008-04-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Dodger manager Joe Torre announced that Esteban Loaiza will retake HongZhi Guo's place in the starting rotationi. I felt it was a little too soon for Guo to be in the starting rotation given his conditioning after coming back from a 4th surgery. But this game of musical chairs of moving him from the bullpen to the rotation and back to the bullpen all in the month of April cannot be a good thing. Guo didn't pitch all that bad. It appears that Guo, Loaiza and possibly Park are just being used as place holders until Kershaw is ready to come up.

Rough Time Of It

2008-04-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

Last night was a step back for HongZhi Guo in his quest to secure the 5th starter spot. It was not a typical Guo-like performance. Normally, Guo litters the box score with Ks and BBs, while being stingy in the Hits/HR categories. Last night, was quite the opposite. Guo only struck out one batter and didn't walk any batters. Guo instead pitched to contact. Whether that was on purpose or not, I have no idea. It could've been a strategy to keep his walk rate down and help him pitch deeper in to the game. Cincinnati is not exactly the stadium you want to pitch to contact at, as it's a hitters park. Guo found that out when he gave up a homerun to Reds slugger Adam Dunn, Guo's first of the season. Guo recorded nine outs on batted balls in play (BABIP), as one of them came on a double play. Meanwhile, Guo gave up seven hits on BABIP, which most people will tell you is very unlucky. How unlucky Guo was is up for debate as some balls that went for hits were hit hard and more than a few were not. In previous starts, Guo's high walk rates got him to his pitch count quickly and last night it was the high hit rate. One of these days Guo will put it all together. Let's just hope it comes sooner rather than later. Guo's next start should come Sunday April 27th at home against the Rockies.

I am a Walk, I am an Island

2008-04-15T22:47:00.001-07:00

HongZhi Guo, making his first start of the 2008, after battling back from his fourth arm surgery pitched well after escaping a few first inning jitters. Guo walked three batters in a row with two outs in the first inning, allowing the Pirates their only run when his last walk plated Nate McLouth who had lead off the game with a single to right field. Guo struck out Jose Bautista for the final out and ended up stringing together five consecutive strike outs. Guo registered a total of six strike-outs in four innings, he walked four batters and allowed only two singles. It was a very typical Guo outing. Getting into trouble with walks, making a lot of pitches and striking out a lot of batters. Still, it was his first start of the season and hopefully he will improve on it five games from now. Look for Guo to have a similar pitch count of 75 pitches in his next start, before Torre begins bumping it up a little bit each time Guo goes out to the mound.

Yo Ho Yo Ho

2008-04-12T00:48:00.000-07:00

Guo Joins The Rotation.

Left-hander Hong-Chih Kuo will bump Esteban Loaiza from his scheduled start Tuesday night against the Pirates, according to manager Joe Torre.

The goal of management is to bide time with Loaiza, Park and Kuo taking starts for another month or so while preserving the arm of 20-year-old phenom Clayton Kershaw, who has never pitched more than 122 innings in a professional season.

Skinny: What a great moment for Guo fans. For a while it looked as if this day would never happen. I am not surprised that Guo finds himself in the rotation, just a little surprised that it is happening this early. This spot in the rotation will eventually go to Kershaw and the Dodgers would like to keep Kershaw down in the minors for another month or two. Guo's innings also need to be watched, and I don't expect him to pitch more than 5 innings per start on most occasions. Between his four time surgically repaired pitching arm and his tendancy to be a little wild, the bullpen better be well rested on days that Guo starts. Luckily for Guo, his first start will be against a weak hitting Pirates team. Best of luck!!!

Hot Start

2008-04-09T22:51:00.000-07:00

HongZhi Guo is off to a hot start in 2008. He has yet to give up a run, is allowing less than one hit per inning and over one strike out per inning. He has struggled a bit with his control, issuing 4 walks in 6+ innings. Guo's first outing of the season came as a starter, as he substituted for scheduled starter Chad Billingsley when rain threatened the early innings of the game. Guo's second outing saw Guo pitch 3+ effective innings against the Diamondbacks. The Dodgers may in fact be looking for a new 5th starter shortly if Loaiza doesn't turn things around, but I don't see Guo as being the first option to fill that role. Guo's innings will be watched closely the first third of the season, as he is coming of a fourth arm surgery. Let's take a close look at Guo's rate stats after the first week of the season.

	IP	ER	K	BB	HITS	HRs	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	WHIP	ERA
Guo	6-2/3	0	8	4	4	0	10.8	5.4	2.0	1.20	0.00

Hello Bullpen My Old Friend

2008-03-03T15:21:00.000-08:00

Diamond Leung reports that HongZhi Guo will likely be starting the season in the bullpen.

Skinny: I really don't find this as a surprise and I see little problem with this plan. The only downside is that Guo does not have a history of being effective pitching in relief. I am not confident that the sample size is large enough for this to be a future trend. On the otherhand, this could wind up helping Guo by taking some pressure off of him. As a bullpen pitcher he would likely be pitching lower leverage innings. Coming off of off-season surgery, starting the season in the bullpen could help put a limit on the number of innings that Guo pitches in this year. I see it as highly unlikely to have Guo start AND finish the season in the starting rotation. The best scenario is for him to follow the path that Chad Billingsley took last year. Starting the season in the bullpen and then working his way into the rotation based on merit and a rotation spot opening up. With the uncertainty of Schmidt's health and the possible ineffectiveness of Loaiza, Guo could shortly find himself called upon to enter the starting rotation by June.

Guo's Debut Live Blogged!

2008-02-25T14:31:00.000-08:00

Diamond Leung is going to kindly live blog the 2008 Spring Training debut of HongZhi Guo. Hat tip to Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts.

Skinny: While this normally wouldn't be any big deal. Guo hasn't faced live batting in quite a while. And to top things off, this will be the first impression that new manager Joe Torre has of Guo. We all know that Guo is fighting for one of the last remaining spots in the pitching staff and a decent outing would undoubtedly leave a good impression in Torre's mind. Let's pray for the best.

Healthy & Effective?

2008-02-05T10:56:00.000-08:00

In Jon Weisman's DodgerThoughts, Spring Training Breakdown of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jon opines that he believes HongZhi Guo has a spot on the opening day 25-man roster if he can just do two things... Cut down on the visits to the surgeon (stay healthy) and don't walk too many people (be effective). In fact here is what Jon had to say about Guo.

Hong-Chih [G]uo, LHP: I think the Dodgers are past the point of worrying whether [G]uo would be better as a starting pitcher or a reliever. They're just wondering if he can stay healthy for consecutive months. Being out of options, [G]uo should make the Opening Day roster if he's upright, especially if the team goes with 12 pitchers. As a left-hander, he even has a shot joining the otherwise all-righty Dodger starting rotation if Schmidt can't answer the bell. He'll stick as long as he's healthy and effective.

Dodgers & Guo Going to China

2008-01-18T22:08:00.002-08:00

The Dodgers and Padres will play exhibition games in China this spring. For those of you who have never travelled to China but are considering a visit let me state that it will be the best place you've ever visited in your life. Please enjoy the following video. Good luck to both teams and may you have a safe and memorable trip to the Middle Kingdom. Huanying!

Rose Parade

2008-01-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to get front row/curbside seats to the Rose Parade.

www.flickr.com

Return to Sender

2007-08-07T15:37:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-07-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-07-09T16:14:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-06-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-06-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-06-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-08T00:24:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

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

2007-06-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-05-30T21:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-23T22:52:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-22T14:54:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-15T21:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-07T23:21:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-02T23:29:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-04-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-04-27T11:34:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-03-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-16T16:07:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

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...

2007-03-14T01:07:00.003-07:00

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

2007-03-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-03-13T01:59:00.000-07:00

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?

2007-03-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

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!

2007-03-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

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

2007-02-26T21:27:00.000-08:00

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

Guo Ready for Sring Training

2007-02-05T20:36:00.001-08:00

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?

2007-01-29T21:59:00.000-08:00

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