Tonight's game
Same lineup as last night, with Randy Wolf on the hill. I’ve include some notes below about Furcal’s ridiculous three-game span, as we’ve been doing some serious Furcalating in the office this morning (kudos to Jon Weisman for the new verb).
Before we get to that, though, I want to answer the question from a couple days ago about whether or not Grady sees what goes on this blog, as I didn’t want to ignore the question.
To be honest, Grady actually does an incredible job of not reading any of the media "coverage" of the team, as he doesn’t want it to affect the way he deals with the reporters or other media members. It takes some serious thick skin to not take this stuff personally. A lot of players, coaches, managers and executives I’ve met over the years have claimed that they don’t bother reading "that stuff," but many of them still do. I have found that in the last year or so, the coverage of the team has become of far less importance to those being covered and I credit Grady with setting the tone. At the end of the day, they have a job to do and reading what is written about them is not usually beneficial to doing that job.
If you think about it, it makes sense. Let’s say you’re a school teacher and every day, thousands of people weighed in on what your lesson was like on a given day. Some are knowledgeable, some aren’t. Some are mean about it, some are constructive. Some will never be pleased with no matter lesson you plan and some will always be sure that they can teach the class better than you, even though you know your students and their various strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else. The same can be said for almost any profession.
However, Grady has asked me to let him know when there’s something significant that’s written about or covered that he needs to deal with and I do that from time to time. I also know that all of the players and coaches have tons of family members who read everything that’s written about them in media outlets and fan forums and report back. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them read this blog regularly, though I can’t imagine any of them post any comments.
So the short answer is, while I don’t think Grady is going to necessarily read this blog or message boards or anything else on a regular basis for input, he’s probably aware of what the public’s sentiment is to the extent that it is necessary. I hope that makes sense. Now for the Furcalations (and a Nomar note):
CONNECT FOUR – Rafael Furcal collected his third straight four-hit game last night, making him the first Dodger in L.A. history to have three consecutive four-hit contests. The Major League record is four straight four-hit games, established by Brooklyn Dodger Milt Stock on July 3, 1925. The last player with four hits in three consecutive contests was Furcal’s former Atlanta teammate, Marcus Giles, in 2003. Furcal is just the fifth player in the last 55 years to accomplish this feat with the others being Giles (2003), Brett Butler (1995), Mike Benjamin (1995) and Tim Salmon (1994). After going 4-for-5, Furcal is now hitting .476 (20-for-42) over his last 10 contests and has raised his average from .214 to .297 since the third inning on Saturday, May 12. He was actually hitting .158 on April 21.
MORE ON FURCAL – Rafael Furcal has 14 hits in his last 16 at-bats, becoming the first big leaguer to accomplish that feat since Derek Bell from April 20-24, 2000, according to SABR’s Trent McCotter (and confirmed by Elias). Also confirmed by Elias was Tot Holmes’ claim that in 1923 the Dodgers’ Jimmy Johnston went 23-for-28 from June 24-30.
STILL MORE ON RAFFY – Rafael Furcal now has 15 career four-hit games which is his career high. The only other Dodgers with two consecutive four-hit games since moving to Los Angeles were Willie Davis (1966), Manny Mota (1969), Jimmy Winn (1974) and Steve Garvey (1976).
NO CHANCES FOR NOMAR – In Randy Wolf’s last start on Friday, Nomar Garciaparra did not record a single putout in a complete nine-inning game, becoming the 24th first baseman in Major League history and first player in Dodger franchise history to accomplish that feat. The last big leaguer was Raul Ibañez on April 18, 2005, who played eight innings in the field that day, as did eight others on the list. That makes Garciaparra one of just 16 first basemen to play nine full innings without recording a putout in a big league game. Other former Dodgers to share the record are Dolph Camilli, Bud Clancy, Gary Thomasson, Bill Skowron, Frank Robinson, Len Matuszek, Franklin Stubbs, Fred McGriff and Greg Brock, though none actually did it in a Dodger uniform.
Inside the Dodgers 
The Roche Motel is BACK.
Great stuff again Josh! Much appreciated as always, I’ll lay off about anything regarding the lineup because this is working, sure a move or two could be made, but if it’s working you don’t tinker with it. And really all that matters is that the boys come away with the “W”.
Go Dodgers!
Yes Josh the info is definately much appreciated and i for one look forward to coming onto this blog and checking out the interesting insight on my favorite club. I definately dont think Grady should look at these blogs because if he did he would have gone through a rollercoaster of emotion seeing as how he gets praised as much as he gets abused. Let’s get the W any way we can and not question why we got it! Although that is why this is a blog for people to share their opinions so i dont fault those who question. So thats my input.
Now let’s go out and get the W tonite! GO DODGERS!!! GO WOLF!! DONT FORGET TO VOTE FOR MARTIN!!
Josh, great post. I understand why Grady doesn’t read much media coverage I probably wouldn’t either to an extent.
But sometimes when you have a group of people with the same mindset like Grady and his coaching staff its easy to get tunnel vision. I’m not in that inner circle so i can’t say that he doesn’t have people on his staff with different opinions but management seems to be set with the whole “veterans first” mentality.
I totally forgot my point haha…anyways.
I know Grady knows more things about the game and Roster as i do but some of his moves have been major head scratchers and I fully believe its his “veterans first” mentality that leads to these decisions.
I bet Logan White is in Ned’s ear saying not to trade the farm and is suggesting that perhaps a guy like Matt Kemp can out produce gonzo or that Kuo and Billingsley are better options then Tomko and Hendrickson.
I Love Logan White.
Thanks for the great post Josh. I am one of the few who believe that Grady (and Ned) are doing a great gob. Keep it up Guys!
GO RAFFY!
GO DODGERS!
The headline of the article regarding last night’s game:
“Furcal’s hot stick leads Dodgers past Cards”
Sorry to be juvenile, but come on Ken, isn’t one of the first things you learn in journalism school that you should attempt to avoid double entendre in a headline?
I’d love to read an article about Furcal’s hot bat, or his hot hitting, but not his hot stick. Sorry.
fansince53, I’m with you. I’m very supportive of Grady and Ned thus far. Especially Ned because of the depth he’s created in the organization – setting the Dodgers up for success this year and next and many more, I hope.
Hahaha puppy thats funny i thought the same thing at first!
Fansince i back them up too! I love what they have done for the team so far this year!
atleast the headline wasn’t “Furcal’s hot stick helps Dodgers ram Cards”
so, gammons seems to think we’re in for glaus and will give up laroche + pitching if our scouting department approves. which means it will never happen, given gammons track record.
man glaus’s proven numbers if he can stay healthy, but thats the problem. you think were sending hendy to toronto max? id hope ned would be looking at alex rios, because we have Laroche waiting. please no glaus. i was thinking of all the teams that need pitching, and couldnt really come up with anything.
This is Gammons by tv interview btw. He said Rios also might be moved. But why would we want Rios? Kemp is basically the same player as Rios or will be in a year or two anyways.
fansince53, I think their are plenty on this blog that support both Grady and Ned’s decisions, we are just less out-spoken and repetitive as the nay-sayers.
I don’t know if Hendrickson goes to Toronto. I can see him going to the Cards maybe with Ethier and Betemit for Rolen but eh Rolen’s contract and struggles are buggin me.
Glaus can never stay healthy. If we trade La Roche for Glaus I will turn in my dodger fan card.
Earlier this year there was a Hendrickson for BK Kim rumor but he was dealt to Florida. I think eventually Hendrickson gets traded. Probably for an other bullpen are or a minor leaguer.
I think Little has a good idea when it comes to handling news stories. Being a former Journalism student, I know how they just sorta pick at the apple tree until something falls. Plus, what good could it do to a player going through a slump like Betemit to read all the stuff written about him (myself included in my more hotheaded moments).
Personally, to sift through the many facets of my feelings on the state of the Dodgers at any given time, I get my Dodgers news from Three places: First, I go to Dodgers.com and this blog to get the news straight from the hoss’s mouth. Then, I go to the Times website (and sometimes Daily News) to hear what Henson, “Boo-not-Rauuuul” Bill Shakin, Adande, Plascke and even T.J. Simmers to get a somewhat objective view of the team (well, except from T.J., who sometimes comes off as a mischevious imp, which can be entertaining to readers, but I imagine a pain-in-the-butt to you all in the office) Lastly, I go to dodgerblues.com to hear the thoughts of a frustrated fan, which in a way helps me to vent my own frustrations about the things that don’t go right in a season (plus, looking forward to the day they can finally take down the Gibson clock). Although it can be a bit low-brow at times, I can relate to the frustration, as I was seven the last time Big Blue won a Series, World or NLCS/DS.
The point of this being: I know my emotions get easily riled by the wordplay of the local media, I can’t imagine how it’d feel to Grady and the guys if they spent their time chasing down every word written about them like Drama in Entourage last week (who I wonder if he ran into Tony Soprano in the Tri-State desert).
Anyway, good luck to Raul Mondesi (whose arm I miss in the outfield), and above all, LET’S GO DODGERS!
P.S.: Double-entendre headlines increase the chance the reader will read the article… plus increases chances of ending up on Leno for even bigger exposure
id most definitely rather have glaus than rolen if it came down to dealing for a 3b but i dont think thats happening.
Josh… thanks for the excellent posting. You’ve definitely shed some light on this very curious subject. You really hit the mark…
Also, I’m certain Grady will sleep better at night once he finds out that Max has as much knowledge of managing a professional basball team as he has.
“I know Grady knows more things about the game and Roster as I do…”
Max, rest assured that Grady Little has forgotten more about the game of baseball than you will ever know… period. I don’t know how you could come off with that statement like that. I for one do wonder at times about his moves, but you cannot even begin to imagine what goes on behind the scenes in the Dodger clubhouse and you cannot know the reasons behind why Grady does what he does, whether it be good or bad…
I respect the man and enjoy the way he handles this team. For most of his tenure thus far, the Dodgers have enjoyed first place… obviously Grady Little is doing SOMETHING right.
Go Dodgers!!
Go Grady!!
All of you seem to take it for granted that Grady Little can read.. Or even come to some intelligent conclusions after doing the reading..
I WONDER…
Josh, I totally agree with you on Mondessi.When I used to see him play for us everyone cheered Raul so loud it did sound like Boos but we knew it wasn’t.Obviously he never saw his RIFLE ARM in action as one of the few truly five tool players we’ve every had.
Go Blue!
Well put Josh why anyone would think that the players and management would visit Romper room for insight to the team is beyond any intelligent comprehension.I swear I have seen Preschool kids behave better while unattended then some in here.We all go thru our little fits and tantrums but atleast most of us back the team and players most of the time.But then again I guess that is called blind faith by others….That Said,
Go Blue 2007!!! Set some Records Tonight Raffy!!! The Playstation is Rooting for you!!!
1 down 3 to go!!!!
Hi 53. I agree. Management is doing a great job with the Dodgers. Remember ’05. I know it is difficult to be patient but I believe Ned is working not only to be successful now but for some time to come. That is, to be constantly competitive. I’m not sure why we would criticize Grady. Isn’t first place good enough?
I love the kids but know that all will not become Dodgers either because they are backed up or we have other needs that must be filled by trade or free agency. Perhaps some will go in a trade. I hope Laroche/Betemit work out. Rolen and Glaus are both big contracts on the backs of fragile bodies.
53 – my Snider, Kemp, Martin, Billingsley cards arrived today. Almost as good as getting a batting practice baseball.
Great post today Josh.
GO DODGERS !!!
“Nomar Garciaparra did not record a single putout in a complete nine-inning game”
That’s pretty crazy considering his a 1st baseman.
Not sure of everyone elses thoughts about future moves but I see changes with Gonzo. He is our #5 hitter, batting .216 with RISP and only has 13 RBI’s. He is 6th on the team in RBI’s while batting in the slot that should produce. On the other hand, I have never seen anyone as hot as Furcal.
LaROCHE!!!!! pretty good catch for not being a legit prospect.
haha and laroche walks…AGAIN
You can tell Furcal is seeing the ball very well.
WHY ANDY WHY!?!?! why must you get on base? it helps no one!
Yeah… he walked… again… on four pitches… none of which were even close to the strike zone. Get a life Max.
Max… open your mind and see if you can even grasp this concept:
Anyone, heck, even you or I could sit back and take four pitches if you knew you weren’t going to see a strike thrown to you just to face the pitcher. Everyone and their Mother knows that with first base empty, if Andy LaRoche is coming up with the pitcher following him… he ain’t gonna see a strike. And he knows it. So show me the patience in that type of hitting philosophy… where is it? This is why his OBP is inflated right now. I want the kid to see pitches. His OBP will go down some, but his SLP will go up… AND he’ll drive in more runs in the process. Having a high OBP when you are taking many walks that are basically being handed to you isn’t a fair sample of what the kids’ true talent might be. He’s being wasted in the 8th slot. Now re-read my post and you’ll finally get it.
Well I would’ve taken a walk in that situation… broken bat pop up….Guess he was pitched to…
Nice pop-up… on the first decent pitch he’s seen in two days.
Hey kss… nevermind I don’t want to hear it……
Raffy was pressing last ab but that was good that he took this ball.
Yeah Don… I know… the truth hurts, don’t it? I just want the kid out of the 8th slot…
………
WHAT A JOB JP!!!!!!
Pierre… again… hitting the ball with some authority. Great at bat… took Wells deep in the count and an RBI single in the books… very nice.
96 pitches and on fumes… Wells is done… Come on Kent!!
Bases are loaded Casey is AB well Kent… 2-18 vs Wells…He’s due!!!!
rolen would be great if this was 2001, just like nomar, gonzo, schmidt and kent. so yep, expect to see rolen soon. kidding guys, settle down. no really what has LaRoche done not to keep playing?
In May Dodger third basemen are a combined for an OPS of well over 1.000. Lets just roll with it right??
Doggone it Kent! That’s the same kind of junk that always messed with Steve Garvey… how can anyone swing at pitches THAT far out of the zone.
ahgggg and Casey strikes out…..We’ll get em in the 5th
Junger Nobody at all is saying that LaRoche should not be playing EVERT SINGLE DAY @ 3rd base for the Dodgers.It’s that he is hitting in the 8 slot with ungodly obp without getting alot to swing at and kss is totally in love with him and wants him to be the cleanup hitting stud….
oops every
joking aside, imagine our 3-4-5-6 hitters and how sick it would be if only it were now: nomar, kent, gonzo, rolen circa 2001 )
101 24 120 .310 nomar
102 37 108 .313 kent
90 28 103 .288 gonzo
96 25 107 .289 rolen
and schmidt would go 13-8 with and era of 3.45
Great AB by Pierre earlier.
A tale of two Wolves? Last start vs. this start…struggling a bit with his command of each AB, not necessarily his command of his pitches.
Grady should try Pierre in the 8 hole, move Martin to 2 and Gonzo to 7. Pierre can get on base, steal, get sacrificed to 3rd and score on a hit by Furcal.
oh i see fish, i just keep hearing about glaus and rolen. we dont need em right now…yeah my bad. no keep the kid in the 8 hole. my thing is we need more pop out of the 5 hole and a better OBP out of the 2 hole and 3 hole to be WS type team.
anyone hear how kemp has been doing recently? i have been on vacation.
Kemp would be ideal for the 5 hole
The dodgers ought to take whatever they can get out of laroche this year and roll with it. He isn’t going to be perfect and they know it.
Andy gonna see a pitch or 2 now…..
You’re funny fisher… I dunno where I even said that… but hey… you say cleanup hitter and I say 6th slot for LaRoche. Who’s in love with him? So here goes again…
he get some pitches now…
nomar (if we had a great three hole guy) would be awesome in the 5 hole too. I love how he hits and how aggresive he is, but with Pierre and Furcal ahead of him it would be cool to let them run a little more if possible. But he is our best 3 hole hitter now, i certainly agree with that. Yeah for me Gonzo cant be replaced soon enough and i have nothing but respect for him and his career….
Maybe not anymore….
well… gee… wild pitch… first base open. Anyone care to guess what’ll happen next?
This is hilarious. Almost like the guys in the game are listening to all this banter about LaRoche and they’re just messing with you guys.
would u guys pitch to Laroache right nowing if u walk him most likely furcal gets up with RISP right now? curious…???
F++K never mind
F’in A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay… you call THIS a fluke!!!
BETEMIT. GREATEST PINCH-HITTER WHO HAS EVER LIVED.
It’s Wilson time. Need some runs now.
I doubt there are many pinch hitters with such a great ratio of HR-plate appearances as Betemit.
Gotta admit, the guy is seeing the ball again…
And Wells is STILL out there… amazing… maybe we’ll score a couple more off of him.
One word–Amazing
Darn me for not being logged in, I can’t watch the game tonight, but i can listen with a delay online! WOW BETEMIT! I think I woke up the block!!!
who needs rolen. lol i love and hate baseball all in a matter of minuets
Yeah, baseball drives me crazy. I think that’s why I’m hooked. Probably the single most unpredictable sport of all time.
I think the whole city heard that shot! Wow I like betemit for the situational hitter cause he ***** hard when he is ab the whole game.
at 9:11 i am dropping f bombs in a bad way and and 9:13 I am dropping f bombs in a good way!! i am currently in Hawiaa on vacation on the bed and breakfast computer, no java plug in (no game day) so i am living on the yahoo sports box score and u guys…..
I’m sorry Grady you are smarter then the rest of us… Great call on Betemit ph role.
what no MLB gameday?
Nice Job by Tsao
yeah what gives with wilson. it can’t be that he is a better Pinch hitter than hitter can it? Was he just slumping, pressing, what? I mean the guy is unconsious now?
not for me. god forbid i download the java plug in….
If the hotel courtesy puter lacks it then it would be a courtesy by you to d/l it! LOL
Kent got smoked…that was ugly down the middle
Every time Willy Mays Hays hit a fly ball lou brown made him do push ups. If its good enough for Lou then make it happen for pierre. Come on Grady!!
You fishing while there Junger?
ummm WMH was the leadoff hitter….
Good call grady Tsao did his 1 inn+
yeah were on the big island, kona coast. caught a 30 pound ono and a bunch of yellow fin tuna. its pouring now, heading to the volcano area tommorow. never been here before. i like Kauia and Maui better.
Junger… you nerd! Get off the computer and spend some time on the beach with whomever you’re there with! lol… We’ll hold the fort here until you get back…
i know, i know, life is ruff….
I hear ya. It’s actually pouring at the momment. i am waiting for all the ladies (wife, mom and sister) to get ready for dinner. so it’s perfect timing. Were 3 hours behind. Yeah the only thing i miss right now is the blue crew…
Ono es Bueno Great for enchiladas! Ya get em trolling or on real sportfishing gear? Yellows are starting to lick for the local SD *************…..Can’t let me just be happy for 1 moment…….
Work Baseball and fishing.. I’m married and the children are grown doing their thing.I can see myself watching the game game anywhere when its on…..
Yeah… just sold our house… the new one won’t be finished until July… and I’m here at my sister’s house watching MLB.TV on my computer. I miss DirecTV already, but MLB.TV isn’t half bad…
Ya get Vin on that?
Gonzo’s struggles: 1 HR in the last 27 games and 3 RBI’s in the last 19 games. Not sure why he isn’t moved.
sorry andy laroche im back on the wilson betemit bandwagon….is this some kind of sick joke betemit is pulling? ahhh the enigma that is wilson betemit. well we have all seen what a little power will do for your lineup, can change the game in an instant. i love it.
Yeah… it’s the same broadcast I’d get on DirecTV only it’s streamed and in lower quality… but for online video, it’s definitely watchable.
chicks dig the longball. but i still love raffy.
graffiti??? are you flip-flopping??? : )
Really… I just want someone, anyone to please settle in at third base. I’m sick of seeing all the other positions being filled with reqularity and for whatever reason, the Dodgers haven’t had a REAL everyday third baseman since the days of Ron Cey. Sure, Adrian Beltre filled there for a few years, but Cey was the real-deal. I’d say it’s about time someone step up and take over… and I mean this… I don’t care if it’s Betemit or LaRoche or Daffy Duck! If he can hit and field his position… then so be it…
Quack!!
ive never been a huge laroche fan, but i just wanna see some production over there. we couldnt ride betemit at the rate he was going, we had to light a fire under him somehow. he was just looking lost. that said i would like betemit to sit agains leftys for sure though. i think he needs to drop the whole switch thing. then on the other hand laroche is highly regarded as one of the top prospects in the game, so a platoon is really not good for his development. this is why ned makes the big bucks and we argue on the computer. only time will tell….
Beltre was the real deal til his contract year and we had the honor of that performance. Thankfully we didn’t bite and we have a Great opportunity to fill it with Laroche or betemit or anyone who Ned sees fit and I trust ned ahellva lot more then Depocrapo.
i wanna see gonzo either hit or get benched in favor of kemp…lets look at it in the simplest way we can….one tool ( gonzo ) , five tools ( kemp ).
what’s gonzo’s tool?
lets not make it a depo vs coletti thing…ownership is as much to blame as the gm ala the vlad guerrero debacle….
ok what tool does Gonzo have?
haha lol jspelk. i was just trying to be semi positive, and maybe give him his “leadership”, then i realized its not a tool that scouts use, so……..its really sad when you look at it dollars and cents aside. : (
That was nasty… Pujols looked lost in that at bat!
saito is just filthy and he gets no love outside of LA. he made pujols look like a rookie, calling timeout hahahaha lol.
Man run clipped me graf nj!
Well fisher… Gonzo DID have triplets a while back… so I guess he does have that tool. Oh, wait…
Well… too bad for Raffy. Glad he’s on track again… and we actually won a series with St. Louis!!
HUGE SERIES VICTORY! WAY TO GO GUYS!
Max? You alright? It’s okay… you can come out now. Dang… I hope Max isn’t choking on that crow he’s eating right about now. I really do enjoy our banter. And by the way Max… you and I were at the same game a few years back. That was the one where Paul LoDuca played his first game at Dodger Stadium in the uniform of the Florida Marlins. You’ll also remember that game as being the last appearance Darren Dreifort pitched in his career.
Bad to the Bone… I love it!!!!
That definativly works for Saito Kinna old school kinna Blues groove but gonna cut ya to the bone strikeout gameover music. Bad to the Bone goes #1 in Dodger stadium this Year!!!!
Bout Damned times the cards turn….Raffy Got respect tonight and that in itself should prove that he needs to hit after JP Just because we all know how productive he is at this time of year.JP is JP and his whole career is built on Not striking out and running fast and scoring runs. Furcal will pop a few over the next few months and will maintain a .300+ avg.All in all 2 outta 3 against the brokenbirds is good enough for me given last years record! Great job By The entire Bluecrew! Lets go Send the Angels to ****!!!
BTW Junger Socal Sportfishing report …over 500 Yellowtail today mostly SD they are coming….
does anyone know who is pitching on the 21st with the schedule rotating…? is tomko being skipped completely? If it goes Penny, Hendy, Lowe against the Halos, I assume it would be followed by Wolf? I want to know who I’m seeing and Im hoping its not Tomko…
Hey, I got a new Dodger blog that I’m posting in daily at http://dodgerbaseball.mlblogs.com/, so feel free to check it out
Betemit hit anohter bomb and it really helped us out tonight but i still don’t think he’s the answer at third base right now.
Betemit is doing well of the bench and as it stands right now he’s our only possible left handed hitter off the bench.
Betemit is a weird guy. When he starts he seems to be nervous and trying to force too much but when he pinch hits he seems to just go up there hacking.
La Roche should still be the guy right now. Let Betemit start a game a week and have him available off the bench because well we need a lefty off the bench since Loney and Bigbie are in triple A and Anderson is hurt.
Ah… see! It’s starting! No longer the cry for DFA Betemit… now he’s reserved to the possibility of keeping him on the team in a pinch-hitting role. It’s okay Max… I’ll never say “I told ya so…”, but Grady would…
Betemit should start at least twice a week, the way he’s swinging. Aside from his amazing pinch-hitting, he’s 3-11 since the LaRoche callup, which, although not great (.272), is better than he was (.130). He’s seeing pitches better and breaking his slump – 2-3 days a week is not a bad idea. If a guy produces after being benched, he has to have a chance to earn a spot back.
Yeah, LaRoche is getting on base, and I love that. But we haven’t seen a great swing from him since his first day. Betemit is pretty patient, too – if he’s seeing the ball better, he’ll walk AND hit.
Gonzos a 5 tool player. He has a screwdriver, hammer, wrench ,and plyers plus a leatherman tool.
hahahaah lol fleigel! the leatherman tool!!!! hahahaahhah thats great.
Betemit still only has 7 more hits then he does strike outs so Im not ready to anoint him our third baseman.
Realistically Betemit has no future with the Dodgers after the trade deadline anyways.
Hey Harold (euhlman) – I’m not sure if you will see this post WAAAY down here or not, but if you do, could you please e-mail me your home address (if you wouldn’t mind doing so, that is)? I have something that I want to send to you.
By the way – Where did you order your cards from? One of the shops that MLB.com uses is just a few blocks from my office. They have an outstanding assortment of cards and other great stuff. I have to be very careful whenever I go in there! (LOL).
I will be at all three games at Angel Stadium this weekend watching the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles crush the Lost Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Orange County, Disneyland, etc.
GO DODGERS!
Max, Betemit has a lot of strikeouts, but not recently…and his slugging pct. is higher than Gonzo’s, Nomar’s, and Furcal’s. And 100 points higher than LaRoche. If he’s seeing the ball now, he’s a worthwhile player.
I know, that’s a big IF…
gonzo’s tool… can change three diapers at the same time?
puppy…in Betemit’s last ten games he only has one more hit then he does K. While he does have 7 hits in 10 games, which doubled his total, he is still not an everyday player right now and since Grady hasn’t called up Loney or Bigbie we have no left handed bat off the bench.
too be fair to gonzo…last night i predicted he would pop the first pitch up in at least one AB. He did it on the second one :(. He should really not be batting 5th or even be in the lineup with Kemp destroying triple A right now.
what does that say when betemit is out slugging gonzo and nomar? thats a horrible reminder……did you have to do that puppyhead…heehe so negative. betemit is our secret weapon off the bench as of right now because as max said we have no lefty bats on the bench. kemp is gonna force the issue here pretty soon if he already hasnt. gonzo’s at bats are not fun to watch max….
gonzo’s at bats have been yielding a lot of sad faces lately. ;(
Ditto Graffiti 😦
what concerns me is… lets just say at some point Kemp comes up and starts taking ab’s away from gonzo. He does well. Lets say we make the playoffs. Does Grady even have the stones to leave gonzo on the bench in the playoffs when he’s a ‘proven winner’ and give him one last shot at post season glory? I don’t think he does. Of course all of this is hypothetical.
Gonzo said he signed with the Dodgers because he wanted to go to another world series. If he would do the honorable thing and retire, I would buy him tickets to the series.
Gonzo is a class act. I hope he stays within the organization someday. He’d be a great coach. That said, I need to throw one of these in myself:
: (
It’s time to plant Kemp in left field and watch him grow. He’s only going to get better and will catch more balls and throw out more base-runners than Gonzo will at this point in his career. I really enjoyed watching Luis Gonzalez throughout his career… I just wish he were ten years younger, then we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.
FREE MATT KEMP!!
FREE JAMES LONEY!!
Gonzo is good in the clubhouse. Thats about it. All though his quote about young guys only caring about stats kinda ticked me off.
Gonzo was a great player, I wish we had him 10 years ago, but his time has past. Not everyone can play into their 40s and still be productive.
yes, the middle of our lineup is an all star team circa 2002. Heck, throw in a 2002 Schmidt and Lowe and we’ve really got something!
Gonzo knows his career is over and all of his quotes about veterans and against kids tells that. I know he has a option on his contract and if it is picked up…I’ll go nuts. It’s Kemp at SOME OF position in 08 or bust.
So now it’s Gonzo’s turn. Probably a good thing, seeing how things have turned out for Pierre, Nomar, Raffy, and most of all Betemit. I guess it would be OK to keep Betemit now?
These days Gonzo is a shadow of his former self. He appears harmless at the plate trying to pull every ball hard but ending up grounding out meekly to first or second. Great clubhouse guy though….(I’m done ragging on Betemit — of course, management was right all along. His power numbers from last year were no fluke!Love that platoon).
Max,
Didn’t say Betemit was ready to be an everyday player – I said he should get 2-3 starts a week to let his swing continue to develop, as he seems to be seeing the ball better.
Good point about his strikeouts, though. But I’ll take someone who strikes out if they hit doubles and HRs when they hit the ball 😉
I believe gonzo has like 3 rbis and like one home run over the past 20 games. For a 5 hitter in a lineup that scores runs that is pathetic. We need someone else to bat fifth, i.e. Matt Kemp.
I would like to point out that Matt Kemp is not playing for the 51’s in Portland tonight. He didn’t play on Tuesday, but he pitch hit. So for him not to start tonight especially after a day off would make me think he’s on his way to L.A! Maybe it’s wishful thinking, I’ll keep checking to see if he’s there.
I noticed that too Alex…I wonder who gets sent down to take his spot. Maybe Kuo unless they are waiting for a Hendrickson deal to go down.
Just curious Max… why would you wait for a Hendrickson trade? He’s kept the team in virtually every game he’s pitched in this year except for one and has a low 2 ERA… I’d much rather see Tomko go if there was such a trade in the works.
because he’s Mark Bleepin Hendrickson!
He’s done well for use but his last start was a classic mark hendrickson start. Plus we have 2 or 3 other pitchers that can do better then him that aren’t in the rotation and besides Hendrickson is probably not in the long term plan for Ned, if he has one.
It we trade now we’d get something decent for him, if we wait until has another couple of bad starts or until he completely implodes we probably wont be able to give him away. I find it hard to believe that a guy with a career 4.86 ERA will turn it around and stay around 2.80-3.00 ever. Might as well sale high when we can.
The reason i say trade Hendrickson and not Bombko is because Hendrickson will bring us more via trade. Plus Bombko may have some value to us in the bullpen but even if he doesn’t do well in the pen, which may be a given, we wouldn’t get anything in return for Bombko if we tried to trade him. Even if Hendrickson completely implodes we’d still get more for him then Tomko. Mostly because he’s left handed and at times can eat innings when he doesn’t get shelled. Now i’ve gotta go to work! yay.
So I’m just curious even more… where would this mystery player, assuming Ned trades for him… where would this mystery player help out? We all want to see Kemp and Loney up here eventually… we all want to see Kuo and Bills get their shot, not to mention other minor league players… where is the deficiency? Third base maybe… but now that Betemit’s waking up, are we sure we want to trade away that kind of power? I just don’t see any kind of deal happening… not this early in the season and not with the Dodgers currently battling for the best record in baseball.
Your “what if” concerning Mark Hendrickson is pretty big… because you have to remember that all of his career numbers happened while playing on that high-powered offensive club, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. No run support… and he’s more likely to get that here in LA… even though he still isn’t getting the support he deserved early on, they’re starting to score runs for him. With good left-handed pitching at a premium these days, I’d be careful about letting Hendrickson go.
But I will say this… if you asked me last year in September what I thought of him, you’d bet I would say get rid of him… but his turn-around has been nothing short of spectacular and who’s to say that the Dodgers aren’t the best place for him to succeed. With his only one bad start… your opinion needs more validation before I’d say trade the man.
Here’s an interesting stat for y’all:
The Dodgers have played 41 games so far this season. There is only one Dodger player who has been in EVERY game. That would be Juan Pierre.
Nomar has been in 40 games, but several of those were as a pinch hitter. Russell Martin, Andre Ethier, Luis Gonzalez, and Jeff Kent have been in 38 of the 41 games (also a few as pinch hitters).
I am a bit curious as to why every other Dodger player has been given at least three days off (less Nomar), yet Pierre has never had a day off.
I am not trying to start any drama here, I was just wondering why this is the case. Could it be a condition of his 5-year/$44 million contract?
GO DODGERS!
Maybe the reason for Pierre playing every single game is that management doesn’t see anybody else on the present team as capable of playing center field other than in an emergency situation. My suggestion would be to bring up Kemp and let him play an occasional CF to substitute for Pierre and certainly let him play another game or two per week in left in order to sit Gonzo once in a while. Needless to say, it would be good to develop Kemp some at the major league level before we get late into the season.
kssparkuhl…the run support he got in TB has nothing to do with his 4.86 career ERA or his 2.88 Career BAA or his career .5 BB/K ratio.
He has done well right now but there is a 98% chance he’ll return to his career numbers. Now is the time to trade him not after he implodes. We probably will get a minor leaguer or two for him unless with package him in a deal with Betemit or someone.
ok…what is up with the rotation adjusting so tomko pitches on monday (never mind the fact that im going that night and im pissed) if they were going to skip tomko, why didn’t they just skip him completely? the brewers are arguably a better offensive club than the angels…i don’t get it.
It’s probably just because Grady likes to keep Lowe on normal 4 day rest. Tomko is a fifth starter so Grady doesn’t care if it’s a week between starts for Tomko. We have two off days in the next two weeks so some rotation juggling will be coming regardless to maintain proper rest for the main core of the rotation.
jspelk2@uic.edu – you poor thing! I went to Tomko’s last Monday start. Waste of time and money and fuel.
Also, be careful buying tickets for Monday games 😉 The Dodgers are 2-4 on Mondays. And I went to two of those losses – the Arizona one and the Cardinals one. I’m not buying any more tickets for Monday games 😛
fansince53,
Pierre has played 162 games each of the past 4 seasons. I think they’re not resting him because he doesn’t really need it – he will perform at the same level with or without rest. Love him or hate him, he’s pretty consistently the same player. That, and we don’t have a stellar CF replacement to spell him for a few games.
Anyone notice that ESPN bumped the Dodgers to #3 in their power rankings, behind the Mets and Red Sox? Can’t say I disagree with them, although I think once the Mets’ old pitching breaks down a bit, the Dodgers could switch with them.
well, we had the tix long before i knew who would be pitching, unfourtunatley.the last game i was at was martin’s walk off grand slam, which of course, we left early (the shame…) i just would have preferred not to see tomko. but maybe that means bills will be piggybacking for a few innings.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the Dodgers or baseball, but it is VERY powerful:
http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1
God Bless our troops.
Thank you “fansince53” for sharing the youtube clip. It kind of puts our daily lineup concerns, etc. in a different perspective. Regardless of how each of us may feel differently about the troops’ purpose of being there, these are our people doing their duty in dangerous circumstances, and we need to love them and remember them all. I hope that they can occasionally enjoy the game that we all love from far away, regardless of their favorite team, just to get a valued break from their everyday routine. God bless them all!