The latest…
Good news out of San Bernardino. Just got a call from Mike Saeger, the 66ers broadcaster, who tells me Jason Schmidt went 6.0 innings and allowed two hits, one walk and struck out seven guys. He threw 71 pitches, 51 for strikes and topped out at 91 mph while averaging 88. Afterward, he said he felt great, so there should be a story with quotes from Jayson Addcox relatively soon on dodgers.com.
Out in D.C., Joe and a bunch of the players and coaches went to Walter Reed Medical Center today, which is really a pretty cool thing. Despite the issues that the hospital has had over the past year, at the end of the day, the facility is still helping veterans recuperate and that means something. From what I’ve been told, the patients there were extremely grateful that guys like Juan Pierre, Andre Ethier, Chad Billingsley, Eddie Murray, Marlon Anderson, Dave Jauss, Jaime Jarrin, Rick Monday and others went down to see them when they didn’t have to.
Also, I’ll probably throw a reminder in each day to vote for Russell Martin and the rest of the Dodgers.
And as long as we’re talking about voting, Wes Parker stopped by this morning to tell me that all the work we’re doing on the all-time Rawlings Gold Glove team is paying off, as he’s apparently moved from third place to first place with just 20 days left in the voting. Please help keep him there by voting here. I know this would mean the world to him if he were to hold on and win.
The lineup in D.C. is the same as last night with Pierre and Furcal switching spots atop the order:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Nomar, 1B
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Martin, C
Ethier, RF
Abreu, 3B
Lowe, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Schmidt sitting at 88 MPH means he has a ways to go.
From the Daily News:
“D.J. Houlton isn’t going to start Saturday night. Barring a major development, Hong-Chih Kuo is going to be the guy. We asked Grady about D.J., and he didn’t want to say the guy has no chance to get that start, so he didn’t. But D.J. has no chance to get that start.”
“Also, Kemp didn’t play today or yesterday because the 51s had to change planes before leaving Las Vegas for Nashville, and Kemp’s equipment bag somehow didn’t make the transfer. This according to DeJon, whom I just talked to.”
88 is still >>> than 84. 84 wasn’t cuttin it.
88MPH isn’t the greatest for Jason, but pitching six full innings and throwing strikes is a good step forward. I can’t wait to see him back on the mound in Dodger Blue.
Go Dodgers!
Billingsley not going saturday is a mistake.
max,
As much as I would love to see Bills start on Saturday, he has not been doing the prep work for it. It makes sense to have Kuo come up. Then again, it would make sense to have Kemp up too.
Jason Schmidt better get over here, I still think of him as Giant. It must be really appreciated, that the Dodgers visit Walter Reed Medical Center. Wait till they see more of Russel Martin in the post season, then he’ll take over from Lo Duca. I know, we got to get back there first. Russel will help us get there. I put in a vote for Wes Parker and e-mailed a copy to a friend of mine. He’s not a baseball fan,but when he gets back to me I’ll tell him who to vote for.
Yeah Bills was never going to happen he would need to go down to AAA for two weeks to build back up his arm strength and stamina. And we really can’t lose his arm in the bullpen for that long. He would of only been good for 4 maybe 5 innings at absolute best. Perhaps when Tsao is off the DL they can option Bills back to prepare for being a starter again. BUT until he does get optioned he won’t start because his stamina isn’t there. Of course Kuo may also only go 5 innings Saturday night, but we’ll have Bills to back him up. Otherwise we’d be looking at Tomko coming in after Bills on Saturday…which none of us want. So Kuo is the way to go for now. Bills deserved the start, there’s no doubt, but this is the smart move for now.
Those results from Schmidt are very promising. The guy doesnt throw mid-90’s anymore. He didnt last year and he is never going to again. However, he has very good command, is an intimidating pitcher, and has a great changeup. When he is throwing all of his pitches from strikes, his fastball in the high 80’s /low 90’s will still be extremely effective. The just knows how to pitch and knows how to win. I’ll echo another persons sentiment from before: hopefully he feels great tomorrow, and hopefully 88-91 mph will only go up as he gets healthier and more strength. All in all, very enthused by these results…
Definately alex– really, as long as Bills has a chance to pitch for the big club i dont care where it is. I love him as long relief at the moment and no doubt he will be a great starter one day, but he is just **** filthy regardless of the situation. Definately seems much more confident though when he begins an inning rather than inheriting runners on base…
And, i would buy definately one of those Russ Martin shirts…
in the last 10 games Billingsley has thrown 15.1 innings. Which is more then a starter will probably throw in 10 games. He also threw 3 innings one day and then the next day threw another inning. He has the arm strength to make the start. Why would you assume that if Bills made the start Tomko will finish it? Billingsley can easily go 6 innings right now. Plus he gets all of his strength from his tree trunk sized legs. If Grady doesn’t have the confidence in Tomko to mop up for billingsley then DFA Tomko.
maybe the D’s are thinking that one of penny,wolf, schmidt, kuo are likley to go down at some point this year anyways, and bills is the ace in the hole. its kind of silly, but not really. there’s a good chance at least one of that group will hit the DL, they all have injury histories.
i did my part russell martin got my 25 votes and some at the stadium on sunday too. hopefully he wins.
schmidt’s rehab start is encouraging hopefully he can keep his velocity up in the high 80s or low 90s and solidify our rotation now that tomko got bumped and hendrickson appears to be on his way out of the rotation too
How do you get 3 innings in one day and 1 inning the next as the possibility to pitch 6 innings? He’d be on a pitch count of probably 75 pitches anyway which would take him to the 4th or 5th innings. Which would mean Tomko or Seanez would come in afterwards to take it to the 7th inning. This way Kuo goes 5 innings and Billingsley can take it to the 7th or 8th. Which is the route I’d rather take!
Kuo, Bills, Brox, Saito
OR
Bills, Tomko, Seanez, Brox, Saito
Which would you rather have?
15.1 innings is about right for 2 starts, but it really doesnt matter. The stamina he has build by pitching less innings every couple days is very different than throwing 6 in a row. That outing where he threw three great innings was the first time he pitched three innings this year i believe. There is more to it than just the amount of innings pitched in the amount of games played. It has to do with consistently throwing 5+ innings… Of course he could make the start, so could Saito, but he wouldnt be as effective as if he had a couple tune up starts before hand. Its a very different mindset starting a game off and coming in out of the bullpen, and both involves different types of prep. This is a fine move by Grady.
what the **** makse you think Tomko is going to pitch if billingsley does? did grady say that somewhere? It takes a great amount of arm strength to throw 3 innings one day and then have to come back out the next day to throw another. Plus He’s throw 15.1 innings in 10 days which is the same or more then any other starter does in the same amount of time.
Kuo will probably only give us 4 or 5 innings which would cause us to use our bullpen for the rest of the game. Billingsley has the strength, control and stuff to easily go 6 or 7 innings. This really shouldn’t even be a discussion if Grady made the right move and started Billingsley from spring training but he didn’t because he fell for Bombkos “New Delivery” ****.
Saying that well throw a guy who will probably give us 4 or 5 innings and then having to use the bullpen for 2 or 3 more innings is dumb.
Billingsley should get the start. He’ll give us the best chance to win and thats all that matters. I hate watching him in the bullpen. He could have 4 or 5 wins in the rotation right now if he was in it at the start of the year but no we had to watch Bomkbo get shelled and lose 5 games.
Bills will get his shot soon enough. Taller and they fall farther
(looking at you Henderickson)
April
1.66/0.69/.159
May
5.14/1.57/.304
I totally agree with you MAX…
Grady’s judgment in how to use what starters when has obviously not worked so far…
Why in God’s name should we trust him now…
Like you said, we have already lost several games because of this…
But, of course, as most people on this blog think —Grady knows best – He can do no wrong.. What a bunch of BS…
Billingsley SHOULD get the start. It was clear from his performance last season that he was ready to contribute as a starter–although, still working on being the ace that his stuff suggests that he can be. Letting him work this season out of the bullpen against Major League pitching was probably a good idea–improve his pitching against big league hitters, improve efficiency, etc. Not at all uncommon. Plus, it saves a rather young arm–we don’t want him to be Kerry Woods or Mark Prior, prospects with a great future behind them. But given that we will need at least one (and probably two or three) starts until Schmidt gets back into the rotation (I am guessing that he will need at least one more rehab start, and maybe two), Bills could fill in.
But, it’s been clear for a while that he won’t, because he is not stretched out. There is a lot of arm strength needed to pitch the innings he has pitched, and its clear he could go out and pitch 4 innings. But you really expect 5 from a starter, and preferably 6 or 7.
This is why people are saying that Tomko would pitch behind him. If Bills could not muster 5 innings, Tomko is the only guy who can go long. Even if Bills goes 5, we either run through all of our one inning guys, or we let Tomko eat some innings. Of course, we could still make the roster move and call up an extra pitcher (which we will have to do if Kuo gets the start), but it’s still a greater strain on the Bullpen. But, given that we’re about to engage in more of this amoral interleague junk, we won’t use up so much pitching (no pulling a crusing Lowe for a pinch hitter).
I think Bills could be ready with one start in AAA or one simulated game, but since he would have had to throw that by now, it’s not going to happen (part of that is a compliment to him–we simply don’t want to lose him from the Major League Roster for the period it would take for him to get ready–even if that is just 5 or 10 days–as you can tell by seeing how much he’s pitched over the last 10 days). So it’s something of a lousy scenario for him, but it’s been clear for a while.
And it’s not like it’s bad that Kuo is getting the start. Hopefully, he’s a big part of the future too. But, I am not sure that Kuo has the stamina or the stuff to go as far as we hope, and I am long-term much more confident in Billingsley.
Plus, Hendrickson seems to be coming back to Earth, so we may need Billingsley to start soon enough anyway–then they may have to find a way to stretch him out working from the bullpen.
Also, I forgot to mention, The all knowing Mr Little was kicked out of Boston because of the way that he used his pitchers..
They didn’t want to put up with his nonsense.. Why sould we…
well one thing is for sure. It was dumb to trust Tomko to be a decent starter in the first place.
also, kuo is something of enigma. There’s really no proof that he’ll be able to get major league hitters out right now…and he hasn’t had the sustained success in a rotation that bills had last year. I think they’re content to leave Bills in the bullpen because its convenient. Doesn’t mean its the right choice.
Are you kidding me i dont know about you but im glad Boston didnt want Grady because now he is on our side. The guy is a great manager and he does know what he is doing! Yes you can argue that Bills has some kind of endurance but there has to be a reason why relief pitchers cant just relief one week then start the next, now i dont know because i have never been a major league pitcher, but it looks like from what i have in baseball that it does take time to get back your strength and endurance to start a big league ball game. The move was made to put Kuo back in Vegas to get his strength up then insert him as needed at the big league level, if we started Bills on saturday he goes maybe 3-4 innings and gets tired i would rather have a starter like Kuo (who last year showed he can start at the big league level *not saying that Bills can’t*) to eat up some innings. And what do you know we have Bills to back up Kuo if he cant get it to 6 or 7, i mean the guy has been lights out for the most part as a reliever so why take a very good long reliever out of the pen to insert him as a starter when you have a couple guys who can start and eat up some innings. I want Bills to start just as much as you guys but to think Bills starts and we have Tomko (or Bomko as some like to call him) to back him up as a long reliever?! Now that wouldnt make sense.
O and by the way Grady treated his pitchers the way that a lot of mangers should treat their pitchers, with confidence and loyalty. If you have a manager that shows confidence in you, you tend to do better, for instance there has been a couple games were i would have taken out a pitcher but Grady had the confidence in his pitcher to get the out or outs! And what do ya know they got out of it, now im not saynig hes perfect, no one is going to win all of them and there will be times were the confidence will be turned into ignorance because the pitcher couldnt get it done , well u know what?! That is the nature of the game, you would be kidding yourself if you think hes gonna get everything right. SO BACK OFF!!!! the guy only led us into a playoff birth and a winning season from a very bad (injury rittled losing season)
oh and a winning record and first place at the moment!
well grady may treat his pitchers with confidence and loyalty but he sure doesn’t do that with his third basemen.
i just don’t see the logic of using a guy in Kuo who will probably give us 5 innings if we are lucky. It just stresses the bullpen. It makes no sense.
hahaha well come on could you blame the guy he just cant seem to get a solid sign to keep someone there! We have seen brilliance (well maybe not brilliance but more like a spark of light) out of all those who played that position but nothing to be like man that guy is our 3rd baseman. ya know?!
and the argument that Kuo has more arm strength then Billingsley right now is laughable. Kuo has 20 innings this WHOLE YEAR. Billingsley had 15 in the last 10 games.
well think of it this way Max Kuo comes up only every 5 games and sometimes will get skipped so you have 4 other starters (im thinking this with Schmidt back in the rotation and not Hendy) who can get you the 6 or 7 innings, heck even sometimes 8 or 9, that you would need. All and all i would rather see Bills coming out of the pen then Tomko or Kuo, although i must say Tomko did pretty good last night in relief! lol
I’m in your corner on this one dahustlasbac. Grady is doing fine and, as much as I admire and respect (not a man crush) Chad Billingsley, he will need some starts in Las Vegas before he will be ready to start (AND HE WILL). Keep in mind that Bills is only 22 years old, for heavens sake.
Chad is doing an OUTSTANDING job as a middle reliever, and he will become an outstanding starter very soon, as well.
Can you imagine facing Kuo throwing 95 from the left side and then having to face Billingsley, Brazoban, and/or Broxton throwing 97 from the right side, and then having to face Saito in the 9th? Yikes!
PLAY BALL! (AND JUST WIN BABY!).
GO DODGERS!
it makes no sense to me…Best 5 pitchers in the rotation and if you have **** in the bullpen get rid of it. Its that simple. Its pathetic that we have to go with Kuo because he doesn’t want Tomko to have to throw. If thats the case get rid of Tomko. Grady makes NO SENSE! Just like this dumb lead off platooning and the third base situation.
well that was a quick 7 pitches.
My take: Unless you are already an established contender which we are not…the first three months u find out what you have, the next three months you get what you need, the final 3 months you put it all together.
I think Grady and Ned will get it done just fine and I am not above being critical on them. I fully expect to see Bills in the rotation along with Schmidt after the break and I fully expect either a 3b or RF power bat for the middle of the lineup.
Yeah maybe we do need to get rid of Tomko but what can we do but wait and use him in certain spots untill we can work up some kind of deal!?
Good point Jungar!
I think Tomko will be fine in the Pen (sure trade him if we can) but he can replace Bills as the swing guy to get to broxton.
I think he is a classic mid reliver.. In the sense that some games he is unhittable. In fact it wasn’t THAT long ago he had 6 innings of shutout ball vs florida. Other times, not so good. He also seems to get in trouble in one big inning or if someone makes a mistake on defense or something, or a fluke hit. So now he can be pulled as he starts to self implode. He has good stuff is what I am saying I guess. He was pretty good in the pen last year if memory serves me right
Wow Lowe seems to be working hard to throw strikes this start i wonder if he is just off tonite?!
guess i cant complain hes getting the outs!
that was an awesome play by nomar
Lowe is gonna have to labor a bit to get to the 6th or 7th.
WASHINGTON — Jason Schmidt blew away the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes for six innings on Wednesday, including rehabbing Angels outfielder Garret Anderson twice. Along the way, the right-hander blew away expectations in the first start of his own minor-league rehabilitation assignment with the Dodgers’ Single-A Inland Empire affiliate, taking a giant leap toward returning to the big club.
The only question is whether he is ready to return now.
“I think there is some possibility, but it’s too premature for us to say that strongly,” said Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, who was at the game in San Bernardino along with trainer Stan Conte. “But I wouldn’t rule it out, either.”
Schmidt pitched six shoutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out seven. But his velocity, which was noticeably down even before he went onto the disabled list April 17 with bursitis in his shoulder, still wasn’t where it historically has been. His 71 pitches consistently fell between 88-91 mph and topped out at 92.
Not that anyone is terribly alarmed by that.
“You can pitch and be successful at 88-91,” Colletti said. “He can command four pitches. He might have to change the eye level and change the bat speed. But it’s not like he has always been a power pitcher who lives and dies with one pitch.”
Schmidt will throw a side session on Friday, probably with the major-league team in Pittsburgh, after which there should be a much clearer picture of what happens next. He could make another start for Inland Empire, or he could make another start with a higher Dodgers affiliate, or he could return to the Dodgers’ starting rotation sometime in the next week.
Manager Grady Little seemed to dismiss that notion.
“I think he’ll have to build up to a certain point before he takes the rubber for us,” Little said. “That is just my personal opinion, but we’ll talk about it.”
Gonzo is locked in right now and Ethier with the double to knock him in and oooh Abreu just missed plating Ethier.
I can’t belive it’s May 30 and our 3 hole hitter has 2 extra base hits for the month and were winning games.
That’s great news on Schmidt.
HOME RUN BY MARTIN…WOO!
MAN CRUSH!
-lol
WOW WHAT A SHOT BY MARTIN!
You really have to kill it to get it out of the power alleys in RFK!
Vote for Martin!
Go Dodgers!
MAN… did Russell ever CRUSH that ball! Light up the EAST Russell! Show them what ‘cha got… and steal some more votes!!
hahaha is it possible to have a man crush if you’re a girl? i mean, about 98% of my crush on martin can be attributed to his talent. oh well, whatever…nice job martin!
QUESTION
Has anybody heard anything about Bigbie???
The Dodgers have to do something before June 1st or they will lose him…
If they are not going to use him or trade him, Why did they bring him into the organization in the first place.. He has certainly played well, both during spring training and at Triple A…
from mlb.com: “Las Vegas outfielder Larry Bigbie is expected to exercise an escape clause in his contract Friday and become a free agent. Bigbie is likely to wind up playing in Japan if a Major League team does not offer him a big-league job.”
It is pretty rad that nomar gets rbi’s without even leaving the infield.
Zobeida-you can have a ZO-Crush, and come on give him at least 3 more percent..!!
haha fine…i’ll give him 9% for his looks and the rest for his talent.
Nomar just looks plain WEAK as a hitter… He is getting hits, but little dribblers & weak flyballs… He is showing no power at all… Makes you wonder…
That is frustrating news about Bigbie…
I can think of 3 players on the 40 man roster that I would like to see replaced by either Bigbie or Kemp Or Loney…
It makes no sense to me that Ned & Grady simply refuse to play our best available players… It just blows my mind…
I had complained about the Bigbie situation time and again during the month, while there was still time to bring him up and let him show for a couple of weeks whether he could maintain a .300 type of average with the big club. At least it could have showcased him for a trade. As it stands, we will get nothing for him and his effort in Spring Training and in Vegas.
Yep, we’re stretching for things to be upset about when we’re talking about Larry Bigbie. Double Shutout and 10 games over .500 and yes this is the best division in the National League. Only the A.L Central is a better division overall but it’s very close and one could argue the N.L West is the best division. Breaking out the brooms tomorrow.
Vote for Martin!
Go Dodgers!
The other concern I have is that outside of Kemp I’m not aware of any of our OF prospects that are hitting for a good average and with power in either AAA or AA. That could present a serious need for the future.
Twenty one straight goose eggs, I hope nobody got their rocks off when MARTIN exploded. A typical win our great staff did it again, LOWE, BEIMEL, SEANEZ. And the hitting was timely. A great win.
“Schmidt sitting at 88 MPH means he has a ways to go.”
if he sits at 88-91 he’ll be good for us i’ve seen him pitch at that MPH range & he’s pretty good there. One more thing Brad Penny looks like he’s bowling when he swings I noticed it yesterday. He reminds me of Jose Gonzalez a not so famous ex-Dodger.
o.k. i’m out, i’m gonna go vote for Russell Martin a few times, late!
They say the Padres have the best bull pen, when I look at ours, I say the Padres bull pen must be Awesume. I Know after Schmidt arrives, they’ll be some changes made, because we’ll have more pitching then we need. I think the next big thing will be going after the big slugger for the middle of our line up. Through the last few years a lot of our guys are ending up on the Yankees & the Mets. Proctor,Duane Sanchez,Mota,Faunsworth To name a few, but none of that ever hurt us. We don’t miss anybody,not even Gagne. Example: Kelly Wunch—Joe Beimel. Same-same. I think along with Betemit,Abreu. this club has talent. I just hope Ned Colletti has a head on his shoulders. Boy I wouldn’t want his job. One mistake, one bad deal and this front running team…ah who knows? Back in ’51, the Dodgers went head over heels for Andy Pafko and they gave up a lot for him, some think it might have cause the pennant. Eh but lets think positive. Ya know tonight was a big win, because the Friers and Rattle snakes won so did those dam Bondzee boys and when you can win on a night like this its really big. What ever happens, I hope it’s for the best. 1988 is a long time ago.
In the above, I have to correct something. Make that the’51 trade cost the pennant, or cause the pennant colapse.
A great national story on Russell Martin from Ken Rosenthal on Foxsports.com
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/6868932
We never had Proctor and Fransworth but the other 2 you’re correct. I think you mean to put Quantrill in their somehow.
Wow great article on Russell alex. That just shows you how much the players on our organization love this kid. I makes me think that the players would rebel if Martin is not offered a great deal after this season. He is certainly something special and i hope he is a Dodger for the next 10 years!
LETS GO OUT AND GET THE SWEEP TONIGHT BOYS!!!!
I think Hendy will have a great game but will it be good enough to keep him in the rotation when Schmidt comes back?! We shall see!
GO DODGERS!!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Vote 4 Martin!!!!
Reading that article made me flash back to a young Piazza and how much I loved him. Future first ballot hall of fame guy. I was so angry when the Dodgers traded him for Sheffield. I stopped going to Dodger games for a few years after that move. I think I like Martin even more than Piazza because he’s more balanced. He does baserunning that make you go wow, defensive plays that make you go wow, as well as his hitting. Mike is a tremendously gifted hitter, but isn’t that gifted athletically.
Moral of the story to ownership: Don’t trade Russell Martin!
I thought you all would be intersted in this little article courtesy of CBS Sportsline. The article was written by Larry Dobrow who encourages feedback from the public. The article is titled “They’re no fantasy studs, but you can’t win without ’em” where he goes on to bash all of us Dodger fans. The article can be found on the MLB Home thread at sportsline.com. I encourage you all to send him hate-mail. The article reads as follows: “Paul Lo Duca, New York Mets: I was skeptical when he arrived from the Marlins, owing to his frequent second-half fades and sloppiness behind the plate. Also, you have to be suspicious of any player embraced by Dodgers fans, who should be limited to opining about hot dogs and valet-parking attendants.” Now get over there and let him have it! I already did.
Here is the link (sorry I don’t know how to hyperlink): http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10203435
Apparently I do LOL!
Great article on Russell Martin. My fingers are sore from voting for him (and Wes Parker), but well worth the effort on both counts. As a young Dodger fan, Wes Parker was my hero; much like Russell is today (but not in a man-crush sort of way – lol!).
In my opinion, Mark Hendrickson’s future as a Dodger starter (or a Dodger, period) hinges on tonight’s game. If he tanks, he’s out of the rotation and, most likely, at the top of the trade bait list. I really want to like the guy, but I get real uncomfortable whenever he’s on the mound. (Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he has allowed more home runs than any other Dodger pitcher).
GO DODGERS!
Can somebody else please get MAD about my above mentioned article, this one really has me pissed-off and it should for the rest of our Dodger community. Some east-coast punk thinks he can take cheap shots at our organization and get away with it, I don’t think so!
i’m sending him some hate mail right now
Right on!!!
Larry Dobrow is just another prototypical dodger hater, for all i care he can go to ****. ill be sending my regards to that *******. hot dogs and valet parking huh?
wow $cumbag is censored??
We need to come out in full force so this “sportswriter regrets ever having composed that one
Hey charris1010321 – How’s this:
“Also, you have to be suspicious of any player embraced by Dodgers fans, who should be limited to opining about hot dogs and valet-parking attendants.”
Mr. Dobrow (or is it Dumbo?) – You are obviously nothing more than another brain-dead Yankee fan who has never seen Russell Martin play. (He’ll be the one starting behind the plate for the NL at this year’s All-Star game).
Perhaps you should get a job that you are better suited for, like washing A-Rod’s jock strap. I’ve seen better sports journalism in a junior high school newsletter.
HAHA I love it 53! This blog is much better when we’re attacking a common enemy rather than each other.
Done and Done.
Mr. Dobrow,
Hopefully your inbox is flooded with Dodger fan hate mail by now. And if not, just wait until those “apathetic” L.A. fans get around to it in August. We have more important things to do like have lunch at the Ivy, go catch the premiere of Vinny Chase’s new movie or meet Lindsay Lohan for a drink at Les Deux, right? Stereotypes rule!
Paul LoDuca was loved in L.A. for the reasons J.D. Drew was hated. He was lost in the minor leagues for something like 8 years. LoDuca actually has a great personal story of losing his mother at a young age and always promising her he’s make it to the big leagues, and it shows in his character. He’s a “gamer” in every definition of the word. Not to mention he is actually pretty talented. His play is inversely related to Drew’s, who looks like his pre-game ritual involves hanging out with Ricky Williams and Snoop Dogg. Drew is also the Scott Boras client who wouldn’t sign with the Phillies after he was drafted and has spent half his career on the D.L with patty cake injuries like a sore knee or hangnail. I love how Boston was happy to have him for about 2-months, and is now seeing the light. Maybe Dodger fans do know what they’re doing.
I just think you got the LoDuca poke wrong. He exemplifies what’s right in professional sports these days, and Dodger fans loved him for that. And don’t look now but we are going gaga over our newest farm-system produced (sorry for the use of such a difficult concept for you New Yorkers to grasp) catcher Russell Martin. Jump on his bandwagon now, while there is still room. You can thank me later.
honestly i didn’t know cbs had a sports site let alone have some ***** write for them…perhaps thats why he writes for him. No one reads it.
I have voted for Russell over 100 times now!
max you are one of my favorite attackers on this blog, I’ll be disappointed if you don’t rip him a new one.
maybe this guy is a-rods “mystery blonde”..either way i could give a flying you know what about what some ****** bag from CBS sportsline says. I’d rather read my old high schools sports report then his garbage.
charris: I vote for Max as our “ENFORCER”
Ditto
Well, we have 1/2 a day left.
then, it’s June 1st and no
Larry Bigbee ??? We need a Power Hitter and he’s it. Why
the stall ??? I sure hate to
lose him…..
We got Bigbie for next to nothing and he has never shown too much power during his big league stints, he’s nothing more than a poor man’s Brady Clark IMO with a glorified and overachieved Spring Training. It would **** to lose him with nothing in return but thats pretty much what we got him for.
Bigbie is not going to start over Gonzo or Ethier, so there’s no point in bringing him up. And a guy with a career .395 slugging percentage isn’t a power hitter.
Are the posters who beg for Bigbie the same folks who thought Wilson Valdez was all that? Bigbie was an insurance policy in case of OF injury or other early catastrophe, e.g. Gonzo demonstrating that he was washed up, nothing more. Since nothing has happened, he will probably test out his options.
“wow ***mbag is censored??” Posted by: graffitigenius@hotmail.com | May 31, 2007 10:07 AM
Apparently you aren’t familiar with the source of this term, nor what it most literally means? Too rude to describe on this blog.
Wow did you guys miss the message in that article or what? What he is saying iis that some players Play well beyond the stats that everyone cherishes so much it seems and the players that were listed were a small sample of those types of Players. Meaning that He was giving Lo Duca a Thumbs up rather then bashing him for his sometimes streaky stats.I’m Sure Martin will never be on that list as everyone will know soon enough who he is and how good he is on the field let alone what he does for the team that is not always seen in the reg stats.With the exception of the Rip on Dodger fans I thought it was a descent article and it was a Bigger Rip on Fantasy Team type fans which I guess does apply to some of you.Big Topics of discussion this season so Far has Been on the Food court and Parking and the one I really thought was funny the HDTV whining….So to a point he has valid reason to cite those examples for some Dodger fans…But please don’t go Throwing hatemail this guys way if you missed the point as you will embarass not only yourself but the rest of the fans nationally and only prove this Guys point….
I know I’m gonna catch flack for this from some of you but I really don’t care about your opinion anyways if you find this post offensive.
Now on to Bigger more important things like our Hitting Streak in the #9 spot!
Hope Hendy is Taking a little extra BP today as Lowe was really proud of Penny and himself for Keeping it going!But as 53 always says’JUST WIN BABY!’
Today’s lineup according to Tony Jackson’s Daily News blog:
SS Furcal
CF Pierre
1B Nomar
2B Kent
LF Gonzo
C Martin
3B LaRoche
RF Ethier
LH Hendrickson
Nope old Fogey haven’t said 1 word about Bigbie as I watched his Huge avg I saw very little run production until last week or 2 ago.Only Reason I liked Valdez so much is because I think he has more to offer the team over Martinez as I have stated before.But then again neither one is a very good fit anymore with Betemit Abreu and Laroche all here right now.
fisher, obviously that article was about hustle-type players that do the little things right, they aren’t stat hogs but they are valuable to their respective teams. How do you say he has a point with this sentance “Also, you have to be suspicious of any player embraced by Dodgers fans, who should be limited to opining about hot dogs and valet-parking attendants.” He claims our opinions should only count for parking and food (basically saying Dodger fans don’t know squat about baseball). If you’re comforatable with a below the belt shot like that, thats your perogative but I definitely didn’t miss the overall point to the article, I’m just pissed that he slammed our organization like that.
Big Topics of discussion this season so Far has Been on the Food court and Parking and the one I really thought was funny the HDTV whining….
Thought I had covered that in my previous post…
and this is what I was talking about as far as hatemail goes,
Mr. Dobrow,
Hopefully your inbox is flooded with Dodger fan hate mail by now. And if not, just wait until those “apathetic” L.A. fans get around to it in August. We have more important things to do like have lunch at the Ivy, go catch the premiere of Vinny Chase’s new movie or meet Lindsay Lohan for a drink at Les Deux, right? Stereotypes rule!
Paul LoDuca was loved in L.A. for the reasons J.D. Drew was hated. He was lost in the minor leagues for something like 8 years. LoDuca actually has a great personal story of losing his mother at a young age and always promising her he’s make it to the big leagues, and it shows in his character. He’s a “gamer” in every definition of the word. Not to mention he is actually pretty talented. His play is inversely related to Drew’s, who looks like his pre-game ritual involves hanging out with Ricky Williams and Snoop Dogg. Drew is also the Scott Boras client who wouldn’t sign with the Phillies after he was drafted and has spent half his career on the D.L with patty cake injuries like a sore knee or hangnail. I love how Boston was happy to have him for about 2-months, and is now seeing the light. Maybe Dodger fans do know what they’re doing.
I just think you got the LoDuca poke wrong. He exemplifies what’s right in professional sports these days, and Dodger fans loved him for that. And don’t look now but we are going gaga over our newest farm-system produced (sorry for the use of such a difficult concept for you New Yorkers to grasp) catcher Russell Martin. Jump on his bandwagon now, while there is still room. You can thank me later.
Posted by: charlie.grimes@gmail.com | May 31, 2007 10:35 AM
Fisher- while those are topics of discussion for our team (none that I care about personally) I guess my issue is with the context of the statement. I personally found it offensive and you obviously didn’t, just a difference of opinion I guess.
I don’t take offence to it because it doesn’t say a word about me as a fan.It says something about other fans of the Dodgers and those people outnumber us I’m sorry to say.Not to mention that LA is sooo Large and diversified that for the amount of People here True LA Dodger Fans who really care about the players and who they are is probably the lowest % of Truefan/Population in the country.I guess i’m just used to not fitting in the stereotypical types.
Not to mention that I really don’t agree with nor lend credibilty to most ‘Jounalist’ as they always write half of the story and only in pieces that they like then make up the rest.
agreed fisher…i’ve tried to defend our fans before but when you are there at a game you just cant. coming in the 3rd leaving in the 7th, it annoys me. as a whole thats what the “dodger” fans are like, but i thinnk it’s pretty safe to say that most of us on the blog are true dodger fans. i see why you didn’t take offense. i do wish that some of thoise “fans” could get a clue.
Fisher – Yes, the parking and food issues have been highly publicized but his crack at dodger fans as confinded to only having opinions on these issues (meaning they dont know anything about baseball, or sports in general) is where I took offense.
Dodger/LA Sports fans viewed as people who show up late, leave early, go places to be seen, and being generally apathetic towards the acutal game. So when he says he was skeptical on LoDuca with his premise being “because he was embrased by Dodger fans” who dont know anything other than parking and hot dogs he’s coming with a definite low-blow.
The point of my email was hey, we knew he was a guy you wanted on your team a long time ago. And in fact, we (along with every other team JD played for) could have told Boston fans you’ll despise him too.
He took a definite cheap shot at us as a fan base, in my opinion.
I know that Charlie but be honest How many People who are true Dodger fans Regularly post on this Blog? Of those people How many Really get it about Players Like LoDuca Martin Butler Maddux Lowe IZZY?I was bashed soo hard and knew that we really didn’t have a real spot for him lastyear but those kind of players are must haves. Not for the whole team of course because they would for all of there Heart just lose alot of games.In your post as I read it you just seemed to be telling him that he was wrong about LoDuca meaning that he had some he was not a great must see Player when he did say he is must see.Guess I just missed your point on the We know greatness when we see it part.Sorry I ment no harm in pointing out your post if that was your message.
Fisher, I see where you’re coming from as I’ve had some terrible experiences in the Ravine because of half-wit fans. I lived in San Diego for the majority of my life however and can personally attest to ignorant fans in other organizations as I’ve also attended countless Padre/Angel games. Most on this blog are much more educated in baseball than the average fan as evident by our passionate debates with empirical evidence (stats, projections etc). That said however, a low blow is a low blow.
In your comparison with JD and we know what we are doing as fans go we didn’t hire him and he lf of his own accord for money not because we as fans hated him and you will note that there are those who will defend JD with stats as being a big reason to miss him.I don’t miss him and was jumping for joy when he left.But had hoped for more then Gonzo but at this rate Gonzo will come close to JD’s HR #’s.
But is he wrong Statistically?
I will never miss Drew, what a pile of garbage!
If he recieves a ton of Response does that make him a good writer? As far as journalist go the more response they get the higher their value.I mean look at Geraldo Rivera I think that guy is a freakin ***** but there he is no matter where or what its about he is giving his ‘Expert’ opinions and insight and the same people who talk about Valets and Hot Dogs are sitting there glue to his every word…This guy and his opinions of Dodger fans has already gotten way more attension then he deserves.
Dear Diary HA HA Just joking Any way I just read something, that would make, MICHAEL BARRETT feel better. The Yankee were up, last night, 9th inning,2 out,A ROD on 2nd,Pop up to 3b, HOWIE CLARK,Bluejays, camps under it, SUDDENLY, he things he hears his SS, calling him off of it, he back off, the ball hits the ground,A Rod on 3rd, and the SS said it was A ROD,while running to 3RD, who called for the ball. Boy that brought back memories. Ya know, I got into this mess, about a year ago, my friend had a computer & Sports on Demand’s Extra innings, which I’ve been watching the past couple of years, claimed that they would not be on cable TV, this year. Everybody was talking about MLBTV MOSAIC & you had to have a computer to see it. So I became better friends, with my friend. He was kind enough to bring me into the computer world. On April 30, of this year, I got my own P.C. I saw the word COMMENTS and immediately I went preserk and I found out my finger was bigger than my mouth. I can’t stop, everthing I know is rushing to my finger. I usually feel this way about a woman, not about a 17 inch screen. You know, where I’m from everytime the Dodgers are winning, or in 1ST Place, everybody says they’re over achieving or playing over they’re heads. Who care? As long as they’ve gotten to the first round a few times. Someday, I tell them, we’re going all the way. This may be someday, or NEXT YEAR, as we were famous for saying. Ya KNOW, I noticed , last night, that Tony Abreu, looks more like Beltre, FACIALLY, than Wilson Betemit,but Betemit is my MAN CRUSH, oh I mean man, boy you young wipersnapers are messing up my vocabulary. You Know, when we showcase Betemit, nobody will be interested in his “Bowling” average (188). I think the Dodgers are going to gift wrap him, along with Billingsley, Hendrickson,Loney & Young and hope that somebody wants to play “Russian Rollet”, oh I mean, “Let’s Make A Deal”.Ya think they’ll go for guys like Ian Kinsler, J.J. Hardy(fat Chance). One of my favorites is Troy Glaus, AAHH I’m no good at this. It’s always someone I least expect. I’m having such a ball. If you don’t like my slant on my Dodgers, you can lump it, or spin passed it. NOBODY YET HAS TOLD ME TO STOP. If you want to comment about it do it HERE, not with lottery winnings. Some JERK, got some lute he said belongs to me. With all the information I’m giving out you can dropped it off in my hallway. My friend told me how to get rid of you, he told me to MAKE MY FINGER DO THE WALKING. I noticed in standing, this morning that the N.L.WEST is the only division that has 3 teams with at least 30 wins, so don’t let anybody talk about a “weak division” & we’ve been playing a lot outside it too. I Know we haven’t played the Mets yet, and if they aren’t the best team, then they’re fooling me. 3,056 people think the Yankee season is over, and 949 still have Faith or is it Hope, Me? if it was another team I’d say “no”.
I Love The Dodgers and enjoy debating with others who share the same passion alot of very informed and intelligent fans here.Some alot smarter then me some not so gifted but I like the banter and appriciate all of you. Now Let’s Breakout the Brooms and Sweep em all the way back Home!!!
It was reported today that Dodgers have the lowest percentage of runs scored via the HR 19.7% The Rockies have the next lowest 24.3%. Almost 5% deeper. I know we all know this, but it’s something to to think about. It was also reported that the is a very good chance of rain in Pittsburgh tonight. GO DODGERS
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Wonderful blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
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Any suggestions? Kudos!