Today's game
The same lineup two days in a row!
Furcal, SS (batting .305 since May first and up to .281 on the year)
Lofton, CF (two steals shy of Maury Wills for 17th place all-time)
Lugo, 2B
Drew, RF
Ethier, LF
Betemit, 3B (can’t find a Betemit…sorry, bad one)
Martin, C
Loney, 1B (first career three-hit game yesterday)
Penny, P
Inside the Dodgers 
HEY JOSH,
HOW CAN I GET A FRIEND TO THROW OUT THE FIRST PITCH AT A DODGER GAME? GO BLUE!!!
THX
MATT
You got a chuckle out of me Josh. Good to know moral is back up. 🙂
wow, it’s amazing how much better this lineup feels from top to bottom. not a ton of power but everyone can rake. each of the other national league west teams is cowering because their lineup didn’t improve.
Is this a batting line-up or a track team?
I love it. GO DODGERS!!!! Think blue!!!
Nice play on Pearl Jam’s “Better Man”…I really like the move we made for Wilson, he’s ready to contribute now and is just reaching his prime IMO.
I dont like Lugo in the 3 hole at all. His 12 HR’s are a bit of an aberation this year. Betemit is a better fit in the 3 hole – way more power. Bat Lugo 2nd and either hit Loftin 8th, or better yet put Repko back in. Why isn’t he playing? Any word Josh? Lets throw up the high 5 tonight.
I read that as “better mitt”. In any event, enjoyed it and thanks Josh for keeping things light when many of us were bogging down.
I guess the Depo… GM had an impact on the Dodgers after all.
We now have a great OBP team. The theory might actually work.
One only has to remember the Cardinals of the 80’s to understand the theory. Unfortunately, we don’t play on Astro Turf.
Actually, the more I think about it, this might be the best method for scoring runs in Dodger stadium. You don’t have to count on someone hitting it out of the stadium, which we know is difficult at times in the cold of the night.
Go Dodgers…
I read it as “Better Mit” as well, euhlman. Thats why its a nice play on the line from PJ, because it has the baseball reference.
Good game for James Loney. Really hoping he continues to do well. Some feel he does not have enough power for 1B. Neither did Mark Grace whose high year was 17 homers. After his third year he never went into double digits with errors. Perhaps Loney with soft hands and plate patience (28 BB, 27 K’s at Las Vegas) and good contact will be that type of 1B. Think he worked hard when he returned to Las Vegas. A good sign.
I’m with charliegrimes, I like Lugo as the #2 hitter with Ethier as the #3. Lofton should be on the pine (and in the 8 spot when playing) and Repko should be getting most of the CF starts. I’m not sure why Little was making a big deal about getting Repko back….yet he won’t play him.
Let’s keep it going tonight!
Lugo or Martin at the 2 hole, Loney is gonna have to hit his way up in the line up like Martin.
hey Josh any news on Gagne,Brazoban & Mueller? I hope everything is going well for them.
So, where is Loney staying while in town? With Penny? He must be feeling a bit like a pinball – L.A./Vegas/L.A./Vegas…
They were working him in the outfield not too long ago, any news on where JL is gonna eventually land?
Where’s Repko, get rid of Lofton!!!!
Interesting stat from an article on espn.com today:
After the Dodgers and Devil Rays traded Jae Seo for Mark Hendrickson, the two of them combined to lose their first nine in a row following the deal (0-5 for Seo, 0-4 for Hendrickson).
Would prefer Repko in CF above Lofton’s terrible defense, otherwise it looks good.
Tough times ahead though, Dodgers, and can’t afford to let the focus slip. It is a long, tough claw back to the top, with little margin for error.
Loney is our first baseman of the future. I hope it starts now, especially if he shows the same kind of plate discipline he was showing down in AAA. He was only being shifted around because the Dodgers were contemplating resigning Nomar, but now that Nomar hit the DL again it looks as if Ned is thinking of just going with Loney. Loney can be a .315, 15 HR, 70 RBI kind of player. A great 6 hitter. But I’m not counting his power out right now. He’s only 22. It’ll come, and as long as he keeps showing plate discipline he could be a 20 HR guy.
Is it just me, or do the Dodgers always find an inning or two to EXPLODE against the Reds? I remember when it started last year with that 9 or 10 run 1st inning. I love innings like this!
P.S. Nate-lori – This lineup would make a great track team wouldn’t it?
Does anyone know if NOmar is travelling with the team?
Berry621: Being a Dodger fan in Indiana, I don’t get to see many games on TV. While watching last night’s game on the Reds network they showed Nomar in uniform in the dugout.
Thanks
**** YESS! 1 MORE AND WE SWEEP!… hopefully the padres lose today.. but after the game, they showed before the bigs eric gagne, and it really got me thinking of how much i want this guy back on the team… he was the face of our franchise, the fan favorite, an all star, a cy young winner.. and if the organization does not bring him back, i will be seroiously dissapointed… so i hope all u other dodger fans feel the same way, i just dont want him to be another mike piazza, fernando valenzuela, or steve garvey… i want him to get a chance to prove himself, and come back healty as a dodger… and all dodger fans should speak up and let be known…
GAME OVER!
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
we’ve jumped 2 teams already, 5 in arrow.
rayloveselaine – if Gagne is healthy … Boras will want the moon for him, and the past two years we paid 20 million for 5 innings or so.
We won last night on a dropped ball and a bad throw … and tonight on good pitching by Penny ( two homers nonewithstanding, but at least he doesn’t walk much so the shots tend to be solo ) and company, and some needed offense.
Great to see the ability to put together 2-out rallies return. But there’s still a lot, a whole lot, of work to be done. One slipup now and we are five or six back again, just like that.
Go Dodgers.
Great win tonight! It seems that winning is a cure-all for the attitudes here in the blog… mine especially included! lol…
Josh: Now that I’ve had a chance to calm down, and with all of the other inquiries here as well, would you please tell us what the deal is with Jason Repko? I’m fairly certain, given both of their comments when Repko was returning last week, that both Ned and Grady were optimistic that he would provide a “spark” to the team. And yet even with their comments of praise for his return, Jason Repko has only 12 at bats in his more than a week back from the DL. What gives? I think it reasonable that we become informed if he’s still injured, but I don’t think that’s the case, because if he were, I’m sure you’d have let us know by now. Repko is a much better center fielder than Lofton is, and now that we have Julio Lugo to bat second, there’s no need to be giving up runs with Kenny’s lack of a throwing arm in center. Lofton’s a true professional and he is a class act, but it’s time for Repko to be tested.
Jason was batting .304 when he went down with his injury, so we know he can hit. Why is he sitting on the bench so regulary? I’m sure a lot of us would like to know the answer to that question. Thanks!
1) When Brad Penny can bat in the first run of a 4-run third inning, that says one thing: the opposing pitching staff is awful. They were still awful after their trade with Washington. Just think of how much better their lineup would have been with Austin Kearns, and realize then how bad that trade was.
2) Grady Little is smarter than we would have otherwise given him credit for. After the homer to Clayton, Dessens had to go, but someone had to get ready in the pen. The reliever would be ready just in time to face Ken Griffey Jr. One theory is to use Joe Beimel, because he’s your left-handed reliever, which is probably what Jim Tracy would have done (as Dodger Thoughts commenter “Uncle Miltie” points out). Grady, however, realized that this is still Ken Griffey Jr, and brought in his best pitcher to face him, Takashi Saito, even though you had a righty on a lefty. Playing the percentages only matters, after all, when you’re dealing with average guys.
3) I disagree entirely with keeping Hendrickson in the rotation over Sele, especially when Sele has been so much better this year. Hendrickson has actually been terrible in Dodger Stadium, odd as that is, while Sele is much beter (even with a better strikeout rate). If you must keep Hendrickson in the rotation, here’s my idea.
Running the numbers, if you had a platoon of Sele starting at home and Hendrickson starting on the road, you would have a pitcher who has these stats (Dodger starts only):
6-3, 2.85 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 2.5
K/BB
which would combine for one of the best pitchers on the staff. I’d like to see Grady try that one.
4) While I agree with Ray that seeing Gagne again next year would be nice, it won’t work with him making 12 million. If he took a Nomar deal on a contract for next year, that would work much nicer, but the contract flexibility would be important, just in case he went down with an injury again and we needed bullpen help.
5) Kenny Lofton is still not convincing me. I’d much rather see Lugo batting second while Repko is near the bottom of the lineup playing center field. But come September, give me Matt Kemp in that spot.
If your idea of getting a “spark “from Repko is swinging at offspeed pitches in the dirt on a consistent basis then he is doing his job! Like i said nice kid lots of energy but blows it at the wrong time! Is anybody going to talk about and give credit to Saito any time soon? He is and will be the biggest reason if the Dodgers get to the playoffs.Without him no telling what type of shape the bullpen would be in!
If your idea of getting a “spark “from Repko is swinging at offspeed pitches in the dirt on a consistent basis then he is doing his job! Like i said nice kid lots of energy but blows it at the wrong time! Is anybody going to talk about and give credit to Saito any time soon? He is and will be the biggest reason if the Dodgers get to the playoffs.Without him no telling what type of shape the bullpen would be in!
That has been my reluctance aboy Repko too his just a bit Raw still and needs to refine a tad bit more However; He is providing a spark just as Touted, we are winning we are winning! Can’t credit it all to him but he is present and cruz isn’t and we are winning.
I’m with ya on the sele deal Patriotacts Very Soild in LA and Hendrickson simply is not producing. Penny is hitting .222 and is a real threat to get a hit every other game or so. The Reds pitcher made a pitch to a pitcher and forgot that penny has some power while not being able to bunt.That was the first hit he gave up and it ate him up for the rest of his shortened start.Penny does the same thing sometimes.As Weaver did most starts.
The Platoon Idea that you brought up is something that i have been thinking of all year but in a little grander fashion. Lets say you have 6 Pitchers who can throw 3-4 innings well and you tell them get me 3-4 innings each start every 3 days and have 6 or so relievers for them 2 of which are capable of 2-3 innings then the rest 1 inning specialist as a pitching staff? You have a 3 day rotation of people who can Throw hard nasty stuff and rest for 2-3 days and range your situational staff as well without Paying anyone over 5-6 mil a year and most in the 2-4 mil a year range.You can double switch and situational hit at will. Bad starts could be taken care of quickly. I dunno its kind of an abbiration and would take a change in the whole training process but its an idea from left field.
Team looks Good I like the match up next game Go Blue Make us Proud Maddux!!! SWEEP!!!!
oops sorry forgot 1 point Go Saito Thats 10 saves on the the year.I hate to minimise the bull pen but the way this team is structured its become a hitting team and the win has to come from the bats. 5-3 in the 8th I was scared! Saito is Da Man.Saito needs a song or chant he likes the saves!SAMMY!SAMMY!Mas Teguilla Sammy Hagar live has a chant at the beginning of the song of The Fans Screaming SAMMY SAMMY. Mas TeQuilla!
KRUK IS A CLUCK!John Kruk wrote today on ESPN that the trades we made were for nada as far as helping this lineup goes. I think the upsides are a more solid defence,I think the combined gloves of Betemit and Lugo are better then izturs one glove he can’t play 2nd and 3rd at the same time and we got Maddux for him.So up side is 2 gloves 3 every 5 days and 2 better hitters as well as another SS turned 2nd base….not to mention that Maddux can pitch and will perform because he has a reason to do so and a batting team behind him! Crush the Cluck git er Done Mad Dog!
hey man, a PJ fan are you? Ive been doing the “Cant find a Betimit” line since the trade 🙂
My two biggest passions in one: Pearl Jam and the Dodgers!!! nice
John Kruk writing about how old our offense were really made me crack a smile. Lofton isn’t all our offense, after all 😉
The platoon idea for Hendrickson and Sele has been in my mind a bit too, because Sele does well at home. ( Though I discarded Hendrickson completely and thought Sele should pitch some home starts to push the others back or some juggling like that ) It would be cool if Grady tries that one out, but I don’t think he will, sadly.
There’s a lot of hard work still to be done, the Reds doesn’t have great pitching so we simply have to do well against them. You have to pack away the teams you can beat and try to break even against the tougher guys. Hopefully the offense won’t go dead quiet again when they face someone quality.
Go Dodgers!
I too do not want to see Gagne Go 😦
Gange is a DODGER!
Hopefuly when he get his option bought out he resigns w/ us with an incentive type contract …like Nomar did
Dont let Gagne get away
sweep!sweep!sweep!sweep!
Go DODGERS!!
GAME OVER!
Gagne should pitch for us for free next year. Of course, I know he wont, but he should. I love him too- but can’t bear to look at how many millions we have given him over the last 2 years for…. nothing. I can’t see paying him anything like Nomars deal which, at $6M base, isn’t exactly peanuts.
I love how you people complain about money the Dodgers spend like it came out of YOUR pocket.
Saying Gagne should pitch for free or to even THINK he “owes” idiot fansd anything is childish. Grow up. You cant bear to look at his millions? why because your jealous? Poor baby.
That said, I too hope Gagne somehow stays a Dodger and regains his all world closer status. I still want to believe deep down Gagne wants more than anything to stay in LA. we shall see
Hey PJ,
Isn’t there some “Washed up Garage Bands R Us” chats you can go hang out in instead? I don’t recall saying he “owed me” but also don’t want to him to sign a fat deal and not play, again. By the way, tell me, where DOES the money come from if not Idiot fans?
Wow PJ, you have some real hate. That was a pretty ignorant comment. You probably think we’re jealous of Darren Dreifort too? and his 10 mil a year for 5 years to make a few relief apperances. Get real dude, Gagne roided up, got a sick contract, and now he’s hurt. Plus I dont think anyone is serious about him pitching for free, but in theory 5 mil over 2 years for what? To sit on the DL? Come on how can you even argue.
I see the Dodgers.com banner has been updated.
Oy, pearljam233, I’m pretty sure that the cable bill, stadium tickets, Dodger jersey, stuff I buy to eat at the stadium, all of that, comes out of my pocket. Would have loved if it wasn’t so, but such is life 😉
As far as Gagne goes, I started follow this team last year ( great timing, huh 😀 ) so I never saw him pitch. I’d love seeing him back because I love the concept of a francise player, but not at 12 million a disabled year. Maybe all those 98 miles / hour fastballs have simply caused his body to have to pack it in, and that’s a reality we need to face. If not, if he can come back next year, seeing him sign a Nomar-type incentive contract would be great. It would give me the fuzzy feeling that he feels about the francise and its fans the way the fans feel about him, you know? Playing for only six million or so would be practically playing free from him, and incentives could push it higher. With Boras the money monkey as his agent, that probably won’t happen, but one can dream.
how many times do I get to sign the petition for Steiner? hope that Maddux has a great game.
Anyhow- I really hope management is smart about all contracts, seems like we pay our DL waaaay too much lately. Hopefully Kent comes back and rips 10 dingers on our way to the west title!
Lets GO DODGERS!!!
Benny P. is still the webmaster no? I know he was a HUGE!! Gagne fan. I don’t get the new banner PERIOD!!!
PS don’t get me wrong the rooks rock.
see the Dodgers.com banner has been updated.
Posted by: patriotacts425@comcast.net | August 3, 2006 01:16 PM
Yes I noticed that too
Aybar is the reason why they changed it… right??
Kents not in this one
This banner is a lot better – every time I saw Gagne a small bit of me whimpered 😀
New banner:
– Penny, our All-Start starter
– Kent, the guy who carried us last year and got little reward for it
– Can’t puzzle out who that is – Furcal? If so, he’s the big-contract man who is hitting well of late
– Martin, our favourite rookie with the spine of steel
– Saito, who has converted all of his saves so far this year.
Banner looks pretty good to me!
Drew, Kent and Nomar and Gagne are gone.
Featured are Penny, Ethier, Furcal, Martin, and Saito.
Gagne needs to be in the banner PERIOD!!
Just so you all know, it was actually my call to change up the banner on dodgers.com. It’s no disrespect at all to Eric or any of the other guys on there, but we just felt like having three guys up there who aren’t playing right now wasn’t that exciting, so we mixed it up a little bit. Kent, Nomar and Gagne will all be back at some point, don’t fret. JR