First-half finale and sleepover
The first half comes to a close today and a win would be nice to send us into the All-Star Break. For those who just can’t stand to let the first-half go away, we’ll be sleeping over at Dodger Stadium tonight for the first time ever. By "we" I mean 250 or so die-hard Dodger fans and myself, as well as Crystal Fukumoto from the PR Department. There will be media covering the event, which means that part of our job is to help them out at all hours of the day, even if it means bringing my sleeping bag to the office.
I’ll probably post a blog around midnight tonight with an update from the stadium, but for now, here’s today’s lineup:
Furcal, SS
Izzy, 3B
Nomar, 1B
Ethier, LF
Kemp, CF
Cruz, RF
Martinez, 2B
Martin, C
Sele, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Interesting lineup. We’ll see how Ethier responds to the cleanup spot – he’s done everything else beyond expectations – so, why not try it. I can’t get over the fact that Drew needs another rest day, however, expecially with the All-Star break coming up. If somebody measures out his contract dollars against games played, it will probably set some kind of a record for this year. RIDICULOUS.
The Dodgers have no business resting Drew when Kent is out of the lineup. What a joke. I’m glad, at least, that Lofton isn’t in the lineup. This season is looking more and more like ’05 all the time with bad lineup choices being made all the time. What is the justification for not having the best possible lineup in with a good pitcher starting for SF?
I like Izzy batting second & Kemp seems to be out of the slump he was on.
Blogging from a sleepover definitely will be a first, I think. Looking forward to it!
Mark
http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com
Drew is 3 for 27 against Schmidt lifetime, so that explains his benching. Cruz, however does have a HR and triple against Schmidt but that’s it as he’s gone 2 for 14 with 7 K’s against Schmidt.
So Cruz get’s rewarded another start for going 0-4, let’s hope he can contribute something today. He should be batting 8th not Russ, not sure why Russ has been there all year. Ethier batting so high is great, but i would like to see him in the 3 hole with Nomar cleaning up. In my eyes Nomar actually should be batting 2nd, the 3rd hitter should provide power and speed, Nomar’s strength is hitting for average.
If we supposedly have one of the top couple farm system’s, why is our best pitching prospect, Billingsly. By no means does he have dominating stuff, perhaps a number 2 or 3 kind of pitcher. I wouldn’t mind giving a shot to a couple different younster’s, maybe a Hanrahan, or Clay next year. With Lowe now struggling as well, our staff is one pitcher deep.
Jd will get hot in the 2nd half, if not we could be in serious trouble. Looking at even SF’s lineup compared to ours, if they can keep their guys healthy I’d take theirs anytime. Fins, Durham, Feliz, Vizquel, Alou, Winn, catcher and 1st is about the only positions where we have a substantial advantage. The pitching staffs are at the very least even, with there’s possibly a bit deeper. With all the “great” moves we made, why are we 3 games over .500? If u think about, without a few key cogs we could really be buried right now. 1-Nomar has played better than even he expected 2-Sammy. Gagne is probably done in a Dodger uni, Yhency’s hurt and Baez is so inconsistent. Saito has only a handful of saves, but he’s gotten us out of countless tight situations.3-Penny. Who would’ve thought he had it in him. The transformation has been fun to watch, aside from his bush league tirade. Let’s just pray he stay’s healthy, because if he goes down…. 4-the rookies. It’s a good thing we do have such a deep farm, we are playing as rook’s as anyone right now. It’s a good thing our youngster’s have responded so well, without those guys it’s hard to imagine us being anywhere near .500
Obviously alot of fans are tired of the laid back approach our coaching staff employs, myself included. Hopefully Repko can inject some life into this squad, that’s if Grady put’s him out there. We gotta get this turned around in a hurry, other teams in our division are heating up, namely the padres…slowly but surely we are slidin towards the cellar.
OK guys. Going to Ontario for two weeks. Will be passing through Montreal, home of Gagne and Martin, on our way to Windsor across from Detroit. Counting on Ray, Gary, patriotacts and others to protect the kids. Stay positive and keep the faith. Remember we are building and any building needs a good foundation first. Thanks to Josh, Mark, Roy for making the first half much more enjoyable even when we didn’t win as often as we had hoped. I have really enjoyed their contributions and the insights of the many contributors to the blog. Check in when I get back. Looking for good things to happen after the all-star break.
Have a good trip “euhlman” !!
It’s the bottom of the 7th 3 to 1 Dodgers and Grady made a double switch bringing in Drew for Cruz and Baez for Penny !! This is one gutzy team and I’ll be happy if Ned stays pat, unless he can get something for Perez !! Good article in today’s LA Times on Gagne, I just have to hope that Ned and McCourt see value to do what ever it takes to keep him !! We’re 2 games back, half way through the season and if any of you think this is bad you haven’t been tracking this team very well. The injuries alone were enough to sink better teams then this !! Keep the spirit and believe in these guys because they have what the amazing Mets had in 69 ” True Grit” !!
Go Dodgers !!
When Repko comes back who sits? Ethier, Lofton? Coletti needs to trade for some pitching in the next week, who goes?
Thank you for a wonderful performance, Sele, even though our managerial genius tried his best to mess it up for you. Nice clutch job from Baez as well. I don’t understand what Little was trying to prove, other than make Penny unusable in the
All-Star game. I also don’t understand why first Furcal and later Kemp are beyond being asked to bunt in obvious situations with men on and nobody out. It’s not like Schmidt is likely to allow a big inning – you would think that adding an extra run would be a reasonable strategy, particularly when you don’t have your full best lineup in place. We needed your effort today, Sele, and you gave it. This fan surely appreciates you effort.
Thanks Gary. Nice game to finish off on. Many positives. You are right. The injuries have been devastating. The young guys put some life into the team and fans. I too don’t want to see prospects traded unless they have no route to the Dodgers. eg. Delwyn Young. He deserves to play in the bigs somewhere. I still think we will string things together when some of the injuries heal. The all star break will be a refresher for some. If Ned makes a deal or two I don’t think they have to be major at the cost of the future. I believe his goal is the win the division this year and go from there in the next two-three years building on a foundation of real Dodgers.
Nice game Sele !! Great win !!
“messagebear”, they’ve been saying that Penny was going to pitch an inning today since his last start. It took the place of his normal bull pen session, it was a great decision !!! It was also great see Baez pitch with confidence today !! A solid Baez equals WINS, keep it up !!
Nomar / Penny, do us proud and kick some AL butt !!
Go NL !!!
So today is the sleepover at DS?
ok, got my 3-1 win, wow…. nice. Now.. how about 8 games over .500 in the 2nd 1/2 and the NL west title. Lets go BLUE!!!! We can do this!! Nice job by Sele today.
Using Penny was a huge mistake. Why couldn’t he just pitch his normal bullpen session. He nearly blew Sele’s excellent performance if Beimel and Baez had not bailed him out.
Batting Cruz second yesterday was ridiculus. Why not Izzy, Martin, or Martinez. Someone with a decent batting average. Well, at least we got a huge win going into the break. Go NL.
6 Point Play
1) Grady wanted to keep Penny fresh. Penny was not really effective in his apperance, which shows how different being a reliever is than being a starter. Makes one wonder if Baez would be an effective starter.
2) Cesar Izturis’ bat is downplayed by his defenders, but is actually quite effective when he’s not hurt. Thus far, he has hit .396 with a .934 OPS at home.
3) Furcal is all better now. Since Izturis’ return, he has hit .333, largely because he’s not hurt anymore. Of course, having less pressure on him on defense helps too.
4) Andre Ethier is making a bid for rookie of the year. Hitting .352 and showing moderate power, he wasn’t shabby in the cleanup spot, going 0-1 with a sac fly and 2 walks. His bat will likely make him a fixture at left field, which would put Repko in a position of earning his spot in Center and Right field, which shouldn’t be too difficult with the amount of rest that Lofton and Drew need.
5) Grady Little has announced that Billingsley will start the first game after the all-star break. I would like to see how Billingsley will perform. This guy is better than what he’s shown; clearly he’s been rattled. But with a 98 mph fastball and a great curveball, ignore the small sample size.
6) Lineup I would run once Tomko, Repko, Ledee are healthy:
Furcal – SS
Izturis – 3B
Nomar – 1B
Drew – RF
Kent – 2B
Ethier – LF
Repko – CF
Martin – C
Rotation
*Billingsley
*Lowe
*Sele
*Penny
*Tomko/Hendrickson
On the out – Tomko or Hendrickson, Hall, Cruz, Baez
Incoming – relievers, backup catcher
offensive x-factor – Izturis
rotation x-factor – Billingsley
defensive x-factor – Repko
bullpen x-factor – Broxton
Furcal has turned it around and none to soon !! My guess is that when Repko comes back Kemp goes down and Repko battles Lofton for the starting CF job. Unless Billingsly has an exceptional start his next time out my guess is he goes down when Tomko returns, although I would prefer to see a Perez trade or release.
It’s going to be a great second half to watch !!
Go NL !!!
New subject. Does it bother anyone else that before games at Dodger Stadium, when they play/sing the National Anthem, many of the fans begin cheering before the song is finished ? The words “home of the brave” are drowned out by fans hooting and hollering. PLEASE show some respect and wait until the song is finished, then yell nice and loud for our Dodgers ! It also bothers me that many fans do not remove their hats during the anthem. Again, please show proper respect.
Sounds good to me patriot but i’d almost rather see Repko as leadoff or #2.He’s too good a hitter and too fast on the bases for #7 and Either should bat Higher then #6. Gary, Furcal is getting a couple more hits but he still can’t throw to first…….not much of a turnaround.
Great Job by Sele Today and the bullpen!
Guys- Kemp needs to be sent down now. The kid seems to have a great attitude- but striking out at this rate cant be good for his development. Let the kid play a couple months in AAA, maybe bring him back in Sept, but I think hes too valuable to mess with before he is ready…. He looks at times like hes going to be an amazing talent.