Lineup
Rain seems to have stopped for a while here. We still fully expect to play tonight. Here’s the lineup:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Nomar, 1B
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Martin, C
Ethier, RF
Betemit, 3B
Wolf, P
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Inside the Dodgers 
Lets take care of our former skipper this weekend. I’m looking for a big game from Nomar… but the complete opposite from Betemit. Prove me wrong wilson, prove me wrong…
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
Quick start this weekend, don’t give the Pirates any thought of having a chance. Betemit first homer is coming tonight.
Go Blue!
i hear you eheurman, betemit’s going yard tonight! randy wolf is gonna do his impression of mark beurhle and no no the pirates also, i feel it. jk but he will pitch a good game.
I too am hoping and pulling for Betemit. Show us you can do it!!!
Here’s for hoping nothing weird happens in the outfield today, I’m sure Grady told the team to be cautios (sp?) out there today.
wolf has had control issuse earlier and then goes on a run. Hopefully tonight he starts on a run. Wolf is really turning out to be the biggest steal of the offseason.
Tony Armas tonight…Betemit has to get a hit.
early in games*
Why do Dodger haters post on Dodger blogs? You’d think maybe they don’t get enough love on their own blog so they have to come bother real people.
I too am a Betemit fan. I think when he breaks out he’ll break out on a real hot streak. One thing about Grady….he really knows how to handle people. Also it’s amazing how well the pitching is with the injuries we have incurred. Ned has done a fine, fine job also.
Go Dodgers!! Go BSU!!!
paulg57 – because they are real posters, just rantings of one, psychopathic loser who has nothing better to do than create fake blogs and post fake comments.
… because they are NOT real posters…
The Pirates are praying for rain, because the game will be over by the 4th inning if Armas even lasts that long.
I have to say I love the scrappy run producing team this year…. pAy-Rod May have 4 more HRs than the Dodgers team, but we have the best record in baseball baby!!!
Seriously though, I wouldn’t mind seeing a couple dingers tonight (by the boys in blue).
Finally I can see eye to eye with you max on 1 point. And Kevin Pay attebsion to this one point.While Valdez is not our answer at 3rd he is swinging the Hot Bat . He played 1 game at 3rd and did a great job! he went 3/4 on the night and made no errors didn’t miss anything near him and had strong throws.Betemit shows close to what Beltre had going at 3rd with the glove but he is not that good yet but will post similar batting numbers(not the steroid contract year numbers) oops did I type that?Valdez is trying to prove himself and has made no mistakes yet but is still riding the pine…All said and done breakout whatever numbers to your advantage I think Valdez deserves a 3-4 day a week shot at 3rd until betemit shows his worth or werth…(bad pun)This is the Dodgers Not the Sabre A’s We all pay and we demand performance for the pay.(Raffy is special I know and doesn’t heat up til may…Yes I flogged him lastyear too…But he proved himself and I’ll be patint with him. Betemit is not Raffy yet and until he shows all that range and hitting skill he will not be thought of as The Dodgers 3rd baseman.All said and done I’m all for LaRoche IF he shows a true desire to go MLB by hitting the way we all know he can and playing 3rd base with range and judgement like a Dodger.Otherwise if those 2 don’t get it going I’m all for Abreu coming up and taking over because he is Knocking down the door and Making loney look like a disgruntled little kid in Vegas.Dodgers rock this Year and evryone better hold on to their jobs tighly because this 40 man roster can change the 25 one up n down with all upside from the 40.What ned has built here is a team that gets better with injury as opposed to what we have had in the past.ie Schimdt down Hendy up…We have great people to fill the gaps and most teams don’t.Grady rested 3 for a night game when they all came in on the redeye that was to have 3 rested great players ready to go and do during the day game rather than 98 zombies….and thats the point that you missed Max!Could have lost both games.although in my most humble opinion I think martin could have caught lowe to a win and I think Hendrickson is soo focused at the moment that he would have thrown a good 5 inns with lieberthal. Grady went for the split and I still respect that decision.
Go Blue 2007!!!
paulg57 – There is no such thing as a Dodger hater. Did you ever notice that no one ever refers to us as Los Angeles. Everyone uses our real name, Dodgers. Now there might be some Dodger deniers or closet fans but no haters. Just check first to see who is writing each post and not read those from the deniers. There are so many good posters that nothing can tarnish this blog. Go Dodgers!!
Why do we keep running Wilson betemit out there when we have wilson valdez, who is killing the ball on the bench?.. i doubt they loose anything defensivley with valdez. The one big problem i have is that grady little is giving betemit all the time in the world to turn it around,but when andre ethier was struggling all he did was bench him. were playing the wrong betemit, but again wilson. prove me wrong.But, when the teams main problem is the 8th hitter, you know your in a good situation. and jennifer, i agree with you. i think randy wolf is gonna come up huge tonight.
http://raysdodgerblues.blogspot.com/
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
hey harold, enjoying rooting for the best team in baseball?
Hey Ray. I’ve enjoyed rooting for the best team in baseball since 1952, and never any more than now. Great posts guys. I agree, this team gets stronger when someone gets injured. It seems that you have hit the nail on the head. Lots of ways to score runs and great backup in just about every situation. Now wouldn’t want to lose Russell. He would be hard to replace. I think the 3B thing will play itself out before too long. Took Ethier a while to get his stroke so still time for Betemit. We could have guys like Shieffield and Frank Thomas not hitting their weight. We would wait on them. Be patient. Jim Traber still calls the Dodgers to take the NL. Go Dodgers!!
Ray. Keeping an eye on Greg Miller. Great outing yesterday. Great ERA, Whip and cutting down on walks. It seems like he has been around for a long time but will only turn 23 in November. Go Dodgers!!
Greg has looked great. It’s like its 2003 all over again. two other pitchers that are doing well are Justin Orenduff, and Mike Megrew. Both of them are comming of injuries, and proving themselves all over again.
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
Megrew got touched up in Huntsville tonight but a good turn around for him. They are handling Orenduff like they did Miller last year. Good idea. Go Dodgers!!
11:20 in Nova Scotia. Bed time for bears. The only good thing about being four time zones away from LA is that every morning when I get up I have the anticipation of looking at the Dodger box score from the night before, not knowing what has happened.
Go Dodgers!!
“The Pirates are praying for rain, because the game will be over by the 4th inning if Armas even lasts that long.”
Anyone could have called it.
🙂
Dodgers 9, Pirates 1, Top of 6th.
With his 2 doubles tonight, Randy Wolf (the pitcher) now has more doubles than Wilson Betermit (1). They’re more similar than you think. Betermit and Wolf both have 1 less strike-out than walks (Betermit 10 and 9, Wolf 4 and 3). But Wolf has compensated for that by walking only 5 while striking out 15 batters this year before the beginning of this game.
Also, I don’t get the ‘Betermit is a veteran’ bit. He really started playing full time in 2005, and I keep talking him down because I would love to see either Andy LaRoche or Wilson Valdes there. What’s the point of having prospects when they never get a chance to prove themselves? They gotta get indoctrinated sooner or later.
Mid 6th. Randy Wolf has just struck out the side.
oh man how prophetic. wolf with 10 k’s , and 2 doubles to boot. was he fooling people or what? hahaha betemit also homered but he will still homer tonight. go dodgers. i know you dont like betemit ray but the way the top of our lineup is hitting we can wait for him to heat up and drill 20 homers again with more ab’s. not bad for an eight hitter, when he breaks out look out mets.
betemit almost homered.
I don’t about that because it surely didn’t look like that ball was going out but Vin said it was going to be a homerun so I guess I have to take his words for it.
10k’s for Wolfman, awesome. Love how we’re rolling along without our supposed “ace.” Not to jinx us, but I don’t think every team could do as well without their best pitcher in the rotation.
graffitigenius “betemit almost homered.”
He got a nice solid hit today so hopefully that’s a good sign.
this is what our offense is capable of. Pierre is a terrible leadoff hitter but Furcal is back and it has allowed him to relax finally. Pierre is streaky too so we’ll see how he does in the weeks ahead. If he’s the 2004 juan pierre then he’ll be a welcomed addition as i’ve said before.
Betemit had a nice hit which should have happened with Armis on the mound. Betemit has such a long swing he’ll never hit about .270 or .280 but he has pop. I just think we have given him an ample amount of chances to prove himself. Valdez has been hot and he has some starts at third this year and in ST and with his hot bat i think he should be getting more starts right now.
Randy Wolf can rake! too bad he;s not right handed we could stick him at third.
Hey Max? Nudge the needle a bit. That record of yours is starting to skip again… or is it a broken record?
For those of you who think better offense trumps mediocre defense… it’s time to rethink your position. All of you who claim that a better bat in Valdez/Abreu/Martinez over Wilson Betemits’ stellar defense really don’t understand the game at all.
Third base is one of the key positions where one needs to have a strong arm, quick reactions and the ability to turn balls that may be headed for extra bases into mere singles or even put outs… and one needs to do it consitently and keep glove misques and errant throws to a minimum.
All of that said, Wilson Betemit is a very good defensive third baseman. He’s the best at the position we have right now… or should I say, the best at the position who is Big League proven and ready. Defensive ability at the hot corner is good for saving many earned runs over the course of time throughout a long season.
Yes, Betemit is in a batting slump. He’s hit over 300 before in his career and he has good pop in his bat. He will get on-tracked sooner than later. Hitting eighth in the lineup every day however, isn’t going to allow him the opportunity to see better pitches… which will make it much harder for him to work out of his funk. It won’t be easy, but Wilson has the character to get the job done. Whoa… now I’m starting to sound like a broken record!
THE POINT IS…
1) The Dodgers are WINNING!
2) Betemit will save runs with his defense.
3) He will not continue to slup all season long.
4) The season is not yet three weeks old.
If and when the Dodgers start losing and Betemit’s bat becomes a liability, then I’m certain Ned Colletti will do what’s best for the team and make a change for the better. Yet the Dodgers are winning and leading all of baseball with their W-L record. Why mess with a good thing? As Grady Little might say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”… a pure Littleism in that comment. Why do we need to reinvent the wheel here folks?
Would I welcome a bigger and better bat to play third base if and when that option becomes available? Do I have confidence that Ned will make the right move if and when he needs to make it? Do I think the Dodgers will continue to win with Wilson Betemit at third base? The answer to all of these questions is of course yes.
The Dodgers are WINNING people! They are WINNING with WILSON BETEMIT playing third base… they are winning NOW.
Speaking of Ned Colletti… what a shrewd aquisition of Brady Clark… did anyone see that diving catch of his in the ninth inning? It was a thing of beauty…
Go Dodgers!!
By the way Don… I payed attention… you and the others have my retort! : )
And would someone please tell A-Rod to save some of this power output for the Dodgers in 2008!!
I was at the game tonite I love to see my boys win at chavez ravine. I was also encouraged by the way betemit hit the ball tonite hopefully he gets hot. Question when did Betemit become great defensively He is no where near Beltre on defense I’ve seen a lot of balls go down that third baseline. 3rd baseman job is to make that play he’s no way as quick as beltre. I’m not down on Betemit but he’s an offensive player he’s in there for his bat let’s not forget that. GO DODGERS!!!!!
last i check betemit is known for his bat not his glove…i think you are severely overrating his Defense.
Maxy… please do a little bit of research before you put finger to keyboard, okay?
Wilson Betemit has a .959 fielding percentage. He’s made only 22 errors in 230 games played, most of which were at… you guessed it!.. third base! Valdez has played third base twice in his career. Hmmm… math is like hard n’stuff… isn’t it?
If you are really looking for a lackluster hitter to put in the lineup for his ‘above-average’ glove at third base, I can recommend a couple high schoolers who can do that job just fine.
It’s interesting how the focus of the blog shifts from one player to another. Not much in the way of Gonzo and Pierre bashing going on now.
Betemit shows some signs of heating up and maybe we will be able to lay off of him as well.
When we had Dusty Baker, he always disliked the first trip through the NL East. That’s going to be a very interesting trip for us.
ksspark “1) The Dodgers are WINNING!
2) Betemit will save runs with his defense.
3) He will not continue to slup all season long.
4) The season is not yet three weeks old.”
If anything atleast his D is solid. Good point.
I don’t know about SAVING RUNS WITH HIS GLOVE but he does play SOLID D.
ksspark; GREAT summation, You
covered, many good and vital
points. A SUPER job, indeed.
I like your posts, They usually make sense….
where is this endless whining about betemit coming from. you betemit haters are obviously of the what have you done for me lately variety….la roche is not ready!!! its not all about potential..i hate to say it because i love andy, but right now he is a defensive liability…if you cant recognize that then i cant help you. and do not give me any argument for wilson valdez…its so funny when pitchers throw him curveballs, he looks like an overmatched high schooler who hasnt seen a good curveball….spinning around in a fashion that i would almost bet means he cannot hit breaking stuff. try to sneak a fastball by him, thats another story…but i could hit a fastball.
uncle charlie and valdez arent that good of friends. and hes never played third! when did he turn into chone figgins.
But he will save runs– did anyone else hear there really great piece of info Vinny gave up at the beginning of the game– freddy sanchez prevented something like 22 runs more than the avg. third baseman last year. This year at second base, he is giving up 13 more run than the avg. second baseman– they have stats for all of this crazy stuff– I’d like to see what Betemit’s is compared to the rest of the league, bc he is pretty solid with the glove…
Wilson Valdez has started a game at third this year and a couple during spring training. He is faster then betemit so he doesn’t have to have a very strong arm his speed will compensate. Betemit is an average defender. Last year he had problems with balls down the line and bunts. He is an offensive third baseman. Thats why he’s still in the lineup. He’s in there to try and break this slump. Grady is not putting him out there for his glove.
agreed about valdez. people are kidding themselves with him. he looks totally overmatched when facing a really good pitcher. When Kemp returns from injury (I hope sooner rather than later) I see no reason to not to send Valdez packing.
holy jesus…people towards the end of spring training were wanting Valdez on the team. All he does is hit .370 so far this year and now people want him gone. amazing
His carrer numbers aren’t great at all and he’ll be gone before the break but if he’s hot play him. You have to get as much as you can out of him.
I just want to know why the “Who should play the most games at third base for the Dodgers this season?” poll on Dodgers.com doesn’t even mention LaRoche.
Hey, look on the bright side, at least the poll mentioned Nomar… even if its never going to happen.
Max… where are you coming up with the “average defender” comment for Betemit? If you’re going to make such a blind comment, try supporting it with facts. But alas, you cannot. His .959 fielding percentage refutes your logic immediately. Huh… “your logic”… that’s a misnomer if I ever heard one. Saying a third baseman has “problems with balls down the line and bunts” is like saying “the rain is wet” and “trees grow in the forest.” This is a given nature of the position, but with these supposed problems at third, how many times did you see Betemit make great plays up the line from third? Many. You’re just ignoring this fact because you want Mike Schmidt or Ron Cey playing the hot corner… a player who is carrying big lumber and making great plays. Wilson Valdez is NOT a third baseman. Did I EVER say I didn’t want him on the team? No. At this point I’d rather see him be our utility man than Martinez, but I say keep the both of them until we eventually bring up Loney. Betemit is the third baseman now. LaRoche is doing what he’s being paid to do… and that is to get better and become ready for his shot… which obviously out of Spring Training this year was proven that he is NOT ready. Remember last year? Russell Martin tore up Spring Training and Navarro struggled, yet the Dodgers chose to go with Navarro to begin the season. Why? Because he had so much more experience handling the rotation… not that Martin couldn’t do it, but because Martin needed more time. But when Navarro got hurt, the Dodgers didn’t hesitate to bring Martin up and the rest is history. Perhaps the same might happen for LaRoche. If so, then he needs to be ready for this… and that is exactly what he is being paid to do. I just hope that Loney keeps HIS head on straight and remains ready to step in when his time comes. Right now his attitude may be affecting his play. So there really is something to be said for BEING an MLB third baseman and getting the job done defensively. With the team winning, they have the luxury on being patient with Wilson Betemit in the number eight hole… where do you think LaRoche would bat in this lineup? Exactly. And that’s not where you want to see a young player struggle. Russell Martin handled the number eight slot last year BECAUSE of his mental toughness… I just don’t think LaRoche is that tough yet.
And Max, I’m really offended with you using The Savior’s name in vain in your post. What does He have to do with this anyway?
Have I mentioned lately how this “new” Brad Penny is looking better and better on this team? He may just be the key to the rotation… let’s just hope he paces himself this year and can keep his pitch counts where they need to be. And he looks to be in better shape as well…
“Why? Because he had so much more experience handling the rotation… not that Martin couldn’t do it, but because Martin needed more time.”
Kevin, I gotta call you out on this one. If he was ready, why would he need more time? The guy has the strongest mentality on the team, he’s a solid hitter and defensive catcher too; what would he need more time for? Further, a good portion of the starts last year went to players who did not play last year, negating Navarro’s experience just a bit. And at that, Navarro’s experience was a mere 49 starts. It was the Dodger brass that needed more time, not Russ Martin.
I will agree I like how Penny’s playing, particularly how he’s going deeper into games. I’d like to see him strike out more people than he walks, and I have to think that if he doesn’t then he’s not going to do as well. However, his career and experience suggests he’ll probably take care of that, so I think he’ll be good.
Good call Pats… yes, Dodgers’ brass needed more time with Navarro because they didn’t feel a AA catcher was ready to handle the rotation, but we all know NOW how tough Russ is. Then? We had an idea he was going to be special, but it wasn’t proven at the MLB level… but he did have the minor league stats to back up the promotion… which is something that LaRoche is going to have to work on yet. I just hope if and when the time comes, that Andy is ready to be THE man for the job.
Ooops… I meant:
“… yes, Dodgers’ brass needed more time with MARTIN because they didn’t feel a AA catcher was ready to handle the rotation…”