Today's lineup
Still waiting on official word for a starting pitcher for tomorrow and an update on Brazoban.
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Vote for Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Saenz, 1B (great history against Duke)
Gonzo, LF
Abreu, 3B
Ethier, RF
Wolf, P
Also, be sure to check out the photo gallery on the front page for the shots of the team at the Pentagon yesterday.
Inside the Dodgers 
billingsley probably hates little. he knows he can really help the team out even if just for a spot start or two, but just isn’t being given the chance. gotta be frustrating.
Penny, Schmidt, Lowe, Wolf, Billingsley. that should be our rotation by September if management has a brain… that’s a big IF though.
when has managment shown that they have a brain (in regards to the pitching staff anyways…)?
fact is, bills got screwed over for a spot once when schmidt went down, and now twice because kuo ***** out of the pen. its not exactly fair but that’s how it worked out.
Have you guys ever read those horrible articles on dodgers.com called “Sarah’s take.” man she’s gotta be the worst writer to get published on a regular basis, period. Painful to even attempt to read it.
Eric Hull has been called up for Brazoban who’s been placed on the DL. Good lineup with Saenz in there who just massacres the Pirates and Zach Duke.
Go Dodgers!
Vote for Martin!
Dodgerdude, we have already done this. You should google her and then come back and talk….
hey dodgerdude-
about Sarah from “Sarah’s take”:
“Born in Pasadena, Calif., I have been a serious lifetime Dodgers fan. I had a birth accident that caused a condition called cerebral palsy.
I had a difficult time learning how to communicate without hand use and speech, but I finally learned to type with a head pointer (a wand attached to a Dodger cap) and a normal computer keyboard or an augmentative communication device. I am a slow typist. Because I never have taken a journalism class, I am essentially a self-taught writer.
After 25 years living in Pasadena, my family moved to an inherited small farm in Texas. I refused to stop following the Dodgers.
In 1999, I started my own website, Dodger Place. After I e-mailed L.A. Times writer Bill Plaschke and he wrote “Her Blue Haven,” MLB Advanced Media hired me.
I had been told that I was too disabled to be employed. Being able to contribute to the official website of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the last six years has been a dream.”
just so you know who you’re talking about.
please read Sarah’s bio, she doesn’t claim to be a professional writer, just a fan who’s overcome a huge obstacle
http://dodgerplace.com/biography.htm
Very glad to see the #3 slot go to Martin and equally glad to see Nomar sit this one out. Martin should get an extra at bat, which would be welcome in any game. If we win this one, I would like to give Nomar additional rest for a few games – maybe play Kent at first and give both Abreu and LaRoche a chance to play. I can’t believe that Nomar is in full health – his swings just don’t seem strong; he’ll foul off good pitches instead of crunching them, and only one HR at this stage in the season.
Any word on Tsao’s timetable to come back? Our pitchers are dropping like flies.
Who the Hull predicted him being called up for Brazoban’s spot? Unless Grady is dead set on 12 pitchers, it could still be Billingsley on Saturday, with Tuesday (Hedrickson’s spot) to be determined.
Reportedly Tsao stills needs time.
I would prefer to see the purported power bat of LaRoche against this week lefty, instead of Abreu.
I have tremendous respect Sarah Morris as a person and as a huge Dodger fan. I give her credit for her tremendous courage, in spite of her severe physical handicap. I personally do not enjoy her negative style of journalism and I no longer read her articles; but that is just me and my own opinion. Please do not take what she writes personal, as I once did and made a fool of myself. She is a very special lady. If you’ve got some time, give these a read: http://insidethedodgers.mlblogs.com/my_weblog/2007/03/its_really_a_na.html
This is from this very website on March 1st of this year. (Thanks again Kevin).
http://www.e-bility.com/carrie/technology.php
I believe that Kuo will be a very effective starter for us; certainly much more so than Tomko. Be patient young grasshopper, Billingsley will be in the rotation soon.
Come on Killer-T! Bash the Bucs tonight!
GO DODGERS!
Once again 53 I say, your a class guy !!!
Go Dodgers !!!
Interesting line up, 5 Right hand batters, including the Killer Tomato, I like when Saenz gets a couple of ABs. This is good against Duke. Martin looks good in the third slot. Is this only when Nomar is out? If anything, it breaks up the monotony. Sorry I couldn’t find the photo gallery. You know in my worthless opinion, if Jason Schmidt is O.K. as they say and he doesn’t pull a gagne, I would say that the rotation is set. As far the 5th spot, may the best man win. Our middle relief, seems sound, Brazoban? Joe Beimal’s hand is a thing of the past. Big Jon & Saito, if things stay as they are, this set-up closer combo, should carry us. They’re only human, of course, but as long as we get a lot of good & very little bad, we’ll do great. If not, I don’t want to even think of it. Our magnificent 7, is our 2007 Dodgers with Saenz & Betemit, the book ends. I think this is o.k. EXCEPT for the big crater over at 3B, which I hope to God, a construction company can fill it up with the man, who will break Barry Bonds HR RECORD.
You have to really wonder about management knowing what it’s doing. Every fan knew back in April that Tomko and Hendy should not be in the rotation. They might be serviceable out of the pen , but even that’s a big if. How come management has to lose all these games to figure out what us fans knew long ago?
Same thing about Pierre, he should bat 8th , if at all.
line up looks pretty good today but i really hope Furcal, Pierre & Abreu are a little more patient at the plate it’s pain full watching those guys take 1st or 2nd pitch hacks!
Fliegel-
The answer is simple…
You have people in management who care more about older(so called proven)players who also make losts of $$$s much more than they care about younger, unprovern players..
In other words, they are unwilling to take a chance on young players.. Our management somehow feels they owe the oldtimers something…Not a very good way to manage obviously.. They also don’t want to look foolish after spending millions of $$$s on these guys, so they stick with them much longer than they should… Pride is a shameful thing in these circustances…
We wouldn’t have Martin or Ethier doing what they are doing for our team if it weren’t for injurys last year.. Injurys is about the only way our young players ever get a chance.. Even though it is obvious to everyone that some of then have a much better upside…
SAD but TRUE!!!
Ron… you amaze me buddy! And you’re a class act as always. I can’t believe you spent the time to find that old post of mine!
Add my name to the pro-Sarah Morris list! And yes, you don’t have to like what she writes, but you do have to respect the courage, determination and passion she shows with her work ethic.
Go Dodgers!!
Go Sarah!!
Only because you say so of course
I am so sick of watching our young players getting JERKED AROUND because of the egos & stupidity of those in management…
Billingsly, Kemp, Loney, Abreu, LaRoche and others deserve mcuh better…
I also felt Bigbie deserved a chance to prove himself on the big league level…
well no matter what the 3rd base situation was handles horribly for all players involved.
about Sarah… I semi-knew about her circumstances before I wrote that comment… my biggest problem with her is the stances she takes on certain issues… and her love affair with management… Ned especially. There is obviously nothing wrong with her abilities to formulate opinions, and I disagree with them most of the time. What she’s overcome is commendable, no doubt, but her writing is not good. Now, I am not forced to read what she writes, so I guess i just won’t. Overall though, she’s a dodger fan so she’s alright by me for the most part… my bigger concern right now is Randy Wolf.
Who is doing the hitting so far today — Abreu, Martin, Either.. OUR YOUNG PLAYERS
Sorry ETHIER
that was Pierre’s first hit since Tuesday’s 4-hit miracle.
OH MY GOD THAT MEANS HE DIDN’T HIT IN TWO GAMES! GASP!
Martin JUUUUst missed that single to left
Yep and that when he went batting 2nd again.
Gonzo looks really really good right now, Abreu I think just took a nice step toward securing a job.
he’s not a third basemen
he’s not a third basemen
he’s not a third basemen
ok, ive said my piece.
Yeah but if he spells this year at 3rd and we don’t resign Kent then he is our 2B with alot of a year at the ML level.So we don’t have to pull the trigger on a stupid stop gap 3B move or worse…
Well… maybe he’s a third baseMAN for the time being.
Alex… I think you’re absolutely right. Abreu does look solid and he just might stick if he keeps hitting like this.
alex… Pierre hasn’t really hit all season.
my problem is he’s not going to solve any kind of power problem…so if they’re not going to trade for anyone they might has well have stuck with the guys they already had up.
Betemit?WE have pitchers who hit better except in pinch hit situations.
true what im saying is when you already have a power problem you don’t make it worse by choosing someone with no power over two people with potential power.
um…by the way, bills tonight?
But one thing is for sure …We Have a Catcher!!!
Russell!! You’re amazing!!
OMG there are just no words to describe how awesome martin is. if you look up “all-star” in the dictionary, you’ll find a pic of him
Martin is incredible and now his power is coming to form, he’s a really special player we should all be thankful to have.
VOTE FOR MARTIN!
Ok we all agree on 1 Player
and we should let nomar continue to bat third because…?
Thats a start.
Alex… it appears that LaRoche is going to be sent back down after tonights’ game. People will ask why. Simply plug in the numbers on the stats page. Compare Betemit, LaRoche and Abreu. You tell me who should be sent down? Betemit’s finding his stroke again, and Abreu can spot at second and play a decent third base. I don’t like the fact that LaRoche wasn’t given the job outright and that he was platooned with Betemit… but that’s the way it’s been and the kid hasn’t hit left-handed pitching the way we need him to. I hope he gets better and helps us win the pennant in September.
Russell! What more needs to be said about this guy.
Power makes change easy. Shame he’s got the day off tomorrow because of the day game Sunday, but that’s baseball and this is a long stretch of games.
Ooops… I meant the comment above for Fisher… sorry Alex…
atta boy… big inning right there Randy… now bring in Bills!
keep wolf in or hit for him????? what would you do???
It’s an easy decision unless Hull is only up for one game. LaRoche goes back to Vegas. Abreu is a switch hitter and just so long as he doesn’t fumble every in between hopper at third, he looks really good. I love his hustle, speed and his bat is a beautiful thing to watch. So it’s his job for now and actually it’s not even close. Even LaRoche said Abreu is a better player and right now he is.
ok Kevin I missed your point.If you are saying that LaRoche is going back to gain experience I fully Agree and he was puzzled himself about the call up as was the rest of us.He can’t gain anything here riding pine.
That ends that discussion Bills in pen, Kuo goes tomorrow.
and if kuo blows up…which is a possibility, then what?
not really, there is a chance they will call up Houlton because he is stretched out longer. He has been pitching well and with the overworked bullpen, he may be a better option.
Does Grady have a laptop in the dugout and is he spying on inside the dodgers blog? Just in case he is… bench Pierre now!
Filthy hook by Bills! That’s why they won’t take him out of the pen.
They wouldn’t throw Houlton out there on three days rest, if they were going to do that they might as well throw Penny out there on three days rest.
actually that’s why they SHOULD take him out of the pen…
yeah alex you’re right. We might as well keep that filthy stuff in the pen and just let our 4th and 5th starter put us in a hole every start.
No-hitter alert… Morris through 5 in Philly.
jspelk and max i’m beginning to think you’re the same person maybe cause I can’t think there would be two of you lol…and that’s right I remember Eric Gagne starting out in our rotation, I don’t seem to remember that working out so well and the rest is history. Now OF COURSE he should be in the rotation, but there is an obvious reason why he’s not going to be taken out of the pen…look what he does in our 6th and 7th innings to extend to Big John and Mr. Saito. It’s just so obvious why he should be in the rotation and why he shouldn’t (figure that one out), it’s a ridiculously hard decision but this is working so you stick with this. He’s just SICK!
Billingsley looks pissed. I bet he’s taking this opportunity to tell Grady to shove it. Bills is easily my favorite Dodger if you can’t tell by me and all the man love i give to him.
Bills is filthy
We are wasting him by keeping him in the pen.
Pathetic Pierre is back…
1 for his last 13…
should be batting 1st or 8th or better still – on the bench…
Wow Matt Morris has a no-no through 5 and he’s 3 for 3. Who does he think he is The Bulldog? Bills is amazing!
actually, its really quite clear. good starters are more valuable than good relievers.
the only reason bills isn’t in the rotation is because Grady is a *****.
ah yes…Grady taking out a guy who is flat out dominating. Even when he dominates Grady shows him no respect.
I don’t like this move… Bills is obviously dealing right now… why risk it just for the lefty v. lefty thing? Its still a one run game Grady.
ahhhhh why did grady take bills out?
ah yes Biemel gives up a double. Great move Grady.
Morris just gave up a hit – No no-no.
Yep definitely the same person and I don’t get how we’re wasting him. He’s contributed to more wins this season this way then he ever would as a starter. Look we all like Bills maybe even (dare I say) borderline man-crush (definitely dodgerdude and max/jspelk), but he’s making this a better team by being in the pen and that’s that.
Nice job Beimel on the lefty…Grady played the percentages and Beimel blew it.
i actually don’t blame grady here… laroche the elder is not very good right now…beimel blew it.
Wow!! O. Saenz is really hitting up a storm — he is all the way up to .213…
He & Martinez (avg .118) need to go…
Need to make room for more productive players… Bigbie, Loney, Kemp & others…Oh, Thats right, Bigbie is already gone — what a waste….
That made Grady “Little” sense.
no man crush here alex, just want to use our best starting 5.
wow of course bills is mowing guys down like hes at vegas and he brings in beimel. grady cant trust bills against a lefty whos struggling. scary thought.
Now we’re counting on 5 outs from Saito… Grady your an ***!
Surprise Surprise Grady screws up with his pitching decision again…
Who could have ever guessed??
I normally do not criticize Grady, but taking Bills out is reminiscent of his Pedro Martinez move in Boston. This could be bad.
COME ON SAITO!
definite Man crush for me about Bills. don’t you just want to touch those tree trunk legs!! hahaha
was going to say that grady gonna put saito’s streak in jeopardy here. cmon sammy!!!
yeah but grady left pedro in b/c his BP was horrible…would you want to go to BYKim?
Wow, you people are so quick to blame Grady for any move he makes that goes wrong and once again never credit him when he makes a good decision. Beimel made the pitches, just like Pedro did in 2003. I don’t blame Grady now just like I didn’t then. And Saito hasn’t pitched in 5 days. 5 outs is no biggie for him.
Sammy Saves the Day!
sammy just got grady out of a jam!!!
Satio just saved Grady’s ****.
alex… we were complaining about the move before it went wrong.
Alex you need to learn that people make mistakes.
the streak’s gonna continue, counting towards 84 now
I for one am happy that Bigbie is gone. I know… I know… how could I wish that when Pierre is on this club. But with Bigbie gone, it only means that the way is cleared for Kemp to be called up if we should need additional outfield help. I’d hate for Bigbie to be called up before Kemp is… and I think this is ultimately what management wants… Kemp in a Dodger uniform before too long. But Gonzo is hitting again… and Pierre will never be rested… so what to do? Mind boggling…
think i’m going to start a countdown to 84 for saito-san. dating to last season, he’s had 25 saves, so 59 more to go
Mhm, you all certainly just did think Grady screwed up. Decisions work and sometimes they don’t. And luckily for Beimel NOT Grady Saito bailed him out.
We sure could use an insurance run here.
i think if ethier doesn’t start showing more pop they’ll find some way to replace him with kemp. i don’t know how, but i can see them doing that.
Players win games, managers lose games and umpires ruin games.
Good point Alex… I can’t even remember the last time that Grady Little ever pitched for the Dodgers. Good call. Saito for the ninth.
Sammy is downright filthy tonight! He’s mixing speeds very nicely…
Now of course if that were Bills’ first inning of work, sure I’d totally be with you on pulling him at that moment. But he’d already gone over two innings and with Kuo tomorrow Bills may be called upon then as well. So the move makes sense, Beimel almost screwed everything up though.
kssparkuhl and alex… Even if a bad decision works out, that doesn’t make it a good decision. LaRoche has struggled against everyone this year, and Bills was obviously on top of his game. Why mess with it and bring in Beimel other than the fact he’s a lefty? Is Pierre playing CF for us a good decision just because we’re in first place?
Way to go Saito! WE WIN!
yes!!! 26 down, 58 to go
Well Max… it looks like the players won this game for Grady… just like he asked them to do.
Good Win today boys! Martin, Saito, and Bills saved our butts today.
Thank you Russell Martin! Thank you Bills and thank you for Saito which will probably be the most underrated Coletti signing EVER!
Go Dodgers!
Vote For Martin!
kssparkuhl… thanks for stating the obvious. Does Grady ask Pierre to **** at hitting, fielding, and anything related to baseball in general? cuz he does that very well.
Can i just please get a Go Dodgers!!! from Max, Jspelk and dodgerdude? That would make my minute, ok maybe hour lol
Go Dodgers!
Nice relief pitching by Bills, i really hope he gets his chance to start later on during the “dog days” i’m sure he will.
All right I’m off but when I get back I expect a Go Dodgers from Max and jspelk…i’m kind of sick of your pessimistic one-liners, but they are fun to read, doesn’t mean they don’t make me a little ill lol. Best to everyone out there!
Go Dodgers!
just because i shoot someone and they don’t die doesn’t mean shooting him was a good decision.
We won the game yes but Beimel made another appearance, although short and Saito who has sat out the last week with a sore shoulder had to get a 5 out save. Its ju
alex–the one liners, i kid because i care.
And dodgerdude, way to totally ignore the fact that by removing bills when he did, at a perfect time with the lefty v lefty matchup, he is now definately available to pitch atleast an inning+ tomorrow.
Go Dodgers!!!
i didn;t finish my though….
the move didn’t make sense and it could have easily gone the other way. The way Billingsley was throwing Ted Williams wouldn’t have even got a hit.
ah yes Alex going for the whole “pessimistic fans aren’t fans” argument. Nice.
dang! i didn’t finish my thought again….thought*
hahhaha gradys good at managing innings 1-6. when it gets into the 7th grab the rolaids. GO DODGERS!!!
Bye-bye Andy LaRoche…
Ill speak for alex here– the whole “ted williams couldnt even get a hit the way he was throwing” argument is equally pathetic.
ewk… this game was close… what if we would have lost today? big deal that Bills will be available tomorrow because we lost today. I understand that we gotta pace our staff, but if this one is close to being in the bag, u gotta give your team the best chance to get it. If this were a 2 or 3 run lead we had when Bills was taken out then I would have understood the move a little better. How do you describe it as being the “perfect time”? Bills was dealing and LaRoche has struggled all year. It was the wrong decision even though it didn’t cost us the game.
ewk216 i speak for myself when i say *YAWN*
Grady put Beimel in to get LaRoche out. He didn’t, move didn’t work.
Madres lost!
Move didnt work bc Beimel didnt execute– hardly Grady’s fault. It was the perfect time to bring in Beimel because he has 1.69 ERA against leftys and LaRoche has a .250 BA against leftys. There is nothing wrong with a manager thinking one game ahead in a season of 162 games. foresight is hardly a bad thing. By bringing the lefty specialist against the lefty im pretty sure Grady thought he was giving his team the best chance to win.
****, maybe even thought he was giving the team the best chance to win tomorrow too.
Solid win– chalk it up to the pen. Go Dodgers.
BILLINGSLEY#5? Is it now HRMARTIN? Pards lost but, Snakes beat Mets and spend night with us. Adam & Andy not look alikes and is Abreu alive & kicking. Come on GRADY’S GANG.
Who said foresight is a bad thing? I am thinking ahead buddy… if we would have lost today, that’s one game back in standings in Sept. Grady put the game in jeopardy by giving the ball to Beimel. ****, Bills already pitched 2 1/3 innings, I doubt he’d pitch more than an inning tomorrow, if at all.
The Mitch Jones experiment playing third base in Las Vegas continues with Jones socking another HR tonight. He’s now got 16 for the season. Its too bad he strikes out a whole heck of a lot.
keep the prospects, release Martinez. history shows La Roche starts every level slow, then tears it up after he gets his feet on the ground, abreu can play 2nd ss, and 3b .
Well, I found the Photo Gallery, Great pictures of our guys at the Pentagon. Where there a lot of Dodger Fans there?
Let me rephrase that last question: What do the people who work at the pentagon, think of the Dodgers?
its offical…Kuo up LaRoche down. It’s a shame. He really deserved more then 38 AB’s. Of course he’s not old and washed up so grady showed no confidence in him
hahaha. release martinez. that’s a nice thought.
Max How many players can play 3B at a time?How Many times can you march a player out there who is stuggling and continue to Win?How many old washed up players took 3B away from LaRoche? Max are you retarded or just a natuarally born idiot or did you have to work really hard just to be arrogantly idiotic?
Don! You slay me! You’re going to hurt Max’s feelings again just when he’s starting to embrace them…
Max, Dodgerdude, et al… you guys have brought the term “micro-managing” to an all-time diminutive level of minuscule proportion. “What if we lost! What if we lost!!” How absolutely pathetic… it’s Friday night… go cuddle with your wives or girlfriends and enjoy the fruits of victory. I swear… you’d think we were a last-place team by the way you guys incessantly post your “what if”/”Grady stinks” rhetoric.
I believe a “Go Dodgers!!” is in fine order here…
Wow fisher… let me back up my boy Max here… 38 ABs is all LaRoche got. 38! Pierre will get 700ABs or so this year to prove he *****. 38 is just a little more than 5% of 700. LaRoche has high upside, good power, and very good patience as a hitter. He’s been solid for the most part at 3B. You can tell very little about a player in just 38 ABs. You wrote “How Many times can you march a player out there who is stuggling and continue to Win?” good question, but you’re asking it about the wrong player.(Pierre). LaRoche did not do as well as he can while up, but again, it was only 38 ABs. Management will not commit to a young player unless he hits .300 from the start. In case u didn’t know, and I’m guessing you don’t, LaRoche was rated as our top prospect before the season started by Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and a few other respected baseball sources. He deserves a decent shot at a major league job, and 38 ABs is not that.
ewk, one more things is that Beimel holds left hand hitters to a .147 average while Chad is struggling with a .328 but did get 2 left handed batter out regardless of his performance. I bet if Chad did finishes that innings, he probably wouldn’t be available to pitch tomorrow.
ksspark…
I’m doing a paper tonight, so I’m using this as an excuse to procrastinate. I already gave my “Go Dodgers!”, and I will celebrate at a bar later. Also, what’s wrong with wanting improvement out of your team? We are tied for first and SD and AZ are pretty good teams this year too.
JP .276 avg as of tonight #42 in the NL…and he doesn’t play 3rd base….LaRoche is going nowhere fast keeping our bench warm and upside does not equal production this year.Abreu is hitting well fielding ok and has shown improvment where as LaRoche diminished in every start and showed that while it was good for him to get a taste he still needs some work.Now what are you argueing for again ? What is your point? Do you have a point other then the one on top of your Head?
Tired of Negativity and the Same old Harp strumming the same garbage every single Day? Your **** Right I am!Team keeps it together and all you 2 want to do is talk smack about Grady and JP….Geeze that Record is old already and in case the numbers don’t work well in your Heads you should Note That We are in first place JP will start Tomorrow and Grady will still be the manager and you will still have nothing to say or do about those facts.
I dont know…. mlb stats definately has 1.69 era vs leftys. curious…..
^5 Kevin thx for the support.
Oh and BTW
GOOOO BLUE!!!
I’m arguing that management doesn’t trust young players unless they hit .300 right away. I’m ok with Abreu at 3B, and am in no way arguing against him. I am also arguing that you can’t judge a player on 38 ABs. It’s just too small a sample size. That was it, not that complicated to understand. I’d rather see LaRoche stay because of his upside and power potential (This team need power). BTW, JP has a .305 OBP… thats bottom 5% of the league status.
and his runs produced per ab is where?
That is the only Stat JP needs to worry about and JP DOES NOT PLAY 3rd Base…………
fisher…I’m really amazed that you already know what kind of player LaRoche is going to be after 38 scattered AB’s. Whats even more amazing is that you already know Abreu is the answer at 3rd after 26 AB’s WOW! why don’t the dodgers hire you?!?
seriosuly you’re argument, if i could even call it that, is a joke. LaRoche has alot of upside. His “chance” was a complete joke. He never played 3 games in a row. How can a guy get into a groove playing a game and then sitting. Please, come on. Thanks for calling me retarded btw. If i didn’t have people who didn’t know me telling me what i was i’d soooo confused.
Obviously getting on base means nothing to Grady. Abreu has a .296 obp which unbelievably is lower then Pierre’s. You can’t score runs with out guys on base.
If wanting to be better is negativity then guilty as charged.
LaRoche Might be Great and he might not ever make it outta the minors again but a first place team in need of hitting is not the place to prove that unless you are proving it….Am I wrong????
So am I to understand that all you guys are satisfied with being tied for first?
Im very excited to have Kuo is the rotation. Cant wait to see what he can do on a regular basis, and im guessing that is what we will get judging from Grady’s quote. Another thing i liked from the article on losangelesdodgers.com was grady’s quote about Laroche– about how: “He’ll be back and he’ll get a lot of time in the big leagues,” said Little. I liked that.
Penny, Schmidt, Wolf, Lowe, Kuo- All we need is Carl Crawford or maybe even Aaron Rowand… ive been hearing things…
BTW guys… LaRoche has an OBP over .400 while not getting many hits… that is really good… walks are not as good as hits, but they’re pretty close.
Why do you think a third baseman shouldn’t have a good obp? everyone should have a good obp! OBP means ON BASE PERCENTAGE. That means the percentage of time someone is ON BASE. When you are on base it usually means you didn’t make an out, unless you are JP who only gets on base by forcing out furcal at second.
Who really wants LaRoche anyways. Him and those annoying walks. GOSH! never gets a hit.
I think we should all remember the very first thing we learned during our first year of live pitch baseball, if anyone here every played baseball which im begging to doubt, a walk is just as good as a hit.
ewk I show you the figure that I just posted.
I guess it was LaRoche.
Here is a write up on Laroche from rotoworld..
Dodgers optioned Andy LaRoche to Triple-A Las Vegas.
LaRoche deserved better after doing a great job of getting on base for a team that just didn’t appreciate it. He hit .216/.444/.270 in 37 at-bats during his 26 days in the majors. The power surely would have come had the Dodgers given him more of a chance. Maybe he’s not ready to hit for average, but he’s a better bet than Tony Abreu.
dodgerdude…a walk is just as good as a hit. A hit doesn’t make an out nor does a walk. A walk may not be as good as a home run though.
Love those word Max Chance and upside those are Minor league words and Betemit has great power….From the Bench…Gagne was a Great Pitcher From the Bullpen…You use the smallest things to make your points but yet never expand past that because your points belong on a needle.You Rant a rave all th time kinna like the other day when you were trying to prove Bills worth as a Starter and you went from 15.1 inns in the last 10 games to 15.1 inns in the last 10 days and tried to make the point that he has superhuman Starting pitcher capabilities beyond any starter on our rotation…Get Real Max your points for the most part are made up and you only use stats that back your arguement its a lot bigger world out there and your small samples of LaRoche go into alot bigger samples of his AA and AA performances the Kid still needs some time.
ewk216 look
Chad split
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7705/splits;_ylt=AlqBPTU95Y3efI35GAk0KcaFCLcF
Beimel split
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6664/splits;_ylt=AlqBPTU95Y3efI35GAk0KcaFCLcF
wow only you Max could equate a walk to a HR……..
yea… i say a walk is almost as good as a hit because a walk doesn’t score a runner from 3rd or 2nd. And extra base hits are much better than walks too. Nonetheless, we agree, walks are very good to a team’s success.
De DA De
oh god. a carlos mencia reference…now i know fisher is an id iot. LOL at him thinking i said a walk was just as good as a home run. This group is fun!
Yeah is misread that one ya got me there max.
Man we’re firing up a storm in here! Ok, here’s my issue with OBP, I think it’s a very very highly overrated statistic. I’m all for my share of walks, do not get me wrong. But, last year I sat and watched J.D Drew with runners in scoring position take a ton of walks. I don’t want him taking walks with runners in scoring position.. I want him driving in those runners in scoring position. When runners were at 2nd and 3rd tonight Abreu could’ve worked the count like LaRoche and taken the walk and left it up to Ethier with the bases loaded. But who knows what happens with Ethier in that situation. What we do know is Abreu was aggressive and lined a two run single to left center to take the lead. LaRoche’s OBP was inflated due to his position in the lineup so I throw that out although the kid does have a great eye, but he’s not known for his eye he’s known for his pop, which he did not display in the short term.
Both players are in the future plans for this ballclub, so LaRoche will be back there’s no doubt. But at this moment in time the job is Abreu’s because he made the most of his limited opportunites. He showed hustle, speed and clutch hitting. That’s why he’s here and LaRoche is on a plane for Vegas. Doesn’t make it right, doesn’t make it wrong, it’s just baseball.
aa, slc, you were looking at BA while i was looking at ERA…
Walks are good if the pitcher isn’t throwing strikes and LaRoche shows great disap;ine at the plate he does know his strike zone and doesn’t swing at garbage nor put the ball in play like JP when he could take that pitch.I’m not Saying JP is Great I would much rather have Kemp Starting in CF but the Reality of it is that nobody is gonna take him this year for what we signed him for and his upside is later in the year.We are stuck with him and he will play and he will produce his traditional numbers.I won’t shed a Tear if he is traded or when his contract expires or if he opts out same as with Drew.If he gets better great if he gets worse then we are screwed and I don’t see how bashing on the guy is gonna do anything but be counter productive.
You know Alex I like the way you get it from the head to the fingers.You have alot of Knowledge and do a great job of getting your point across.
BA is more overrated then OBP.
Pierre hit .292 last yeah with 2002 hits but only managed 87 runs scored. Im sure if he walked more then 32 times and had an OBP around .380 like any respectable lead off hitter should he would have scored well over 100 and would have had a great season instead of an ok yea.
He was on the cubs max….
When has Furcal ever posted a.380obp?
ok 1 year his rookie 2000 season.
to back off 3rd base for just a bit…yeesh. im concerned about the D’s using Bills on back to back days. Is that silly? I’m afraid he’ll blow his arm out b/c he hasn’t thrown on back to back days in his career very much. ]
as far as third base, i think they used very small sample sizes for all the players involved, which is a mistake. But I believe eventually that mistake will be rectified.
and also, we can’t really expect a team like the D’s (or Grady) to value walks when he says things like “we don’t do that Oakland thing, we swing 3-0) and claiming that pierre gets on base a lot. im not saying its a negative or a positive, but this is definitely an anti-moneyball team.
Here’s my case for walks… Walks are a byproduct for a good hitter, not a goal. Ted Williams said that the most important part of hitting is getting a good pitch to hit. Russ Martin is a great example of this. He picks them out better than any other dodger, and has the walks to back me up on this. When he sees a pitch he likes, he swings hard and usually gets an extra-base hit out of it. Walks and patience take nothing away from his aggressiveness, but it makes him a better hitter.
Point taken but they had to get it going there and Andy’s numbers wern’t good in Vegas and were similar here with a bunch of walks in the 8 hole and little of anything the few times they had to pitch to him.I want him to do well and be THE 3rd Baseman for the next decade just think he needs some more work in being agressive and Hitting for avg to compliment his great eye for strikes and balls.
As Far as Bills goes on the back to back days he did well lastweek 3.0 and 1.0 but yes the team does have a history of blowing up young pitchers so it is of concern and very good Valid points.Not that you need my validation.
Ya Know tonight when grady pulled Bills I was all ***? and then a hit then Saito to do 5 outs I wasn’t happy about it but he did the job we won the game and then started to think about the whole picture with Who starting tomorrow and the 4-5 inn part of it and having Bills avail for 1 maybe 2 short inns. made alot more sence and I got over it but only because it worked.Thats why he is the Manager and we are not and blog instead.
Interesting fact —
JD Drew hitting .222
J lugo hitting .220
Thank heaven they don’t still play with the Dodgers… Old Grady would be shoving them out on the field every day…
We should count our blessings..
And therefore TY to ned and JD for not signing and dropping out on the team because nobody here wanted them cept for the rotoworld fans.They Have High OBP and huge upside……Hope Laroche Learned a thing or 2 with his cup o coffee and comes back Blazing Hot later this year or next.And Really Hope that ned has Learned not to deal with the D-Rays…Stingers Killed poor ole croc hunter …Cripes Danger Ned!Only trades I want to see this year are the ones that fortify this team Not the trades of lastyear where if they are not on the team they can’t hurt us trades.We had alot of those to deal with and we did get better for them but we are as good as lastyear at this point and have alot less of that situation to the point where if we trade smart this year and get a true + player that we can retain we can Pull the powershift to LA!
Go Dodgers!!!
Opps back to point …Grady only has 25 players to work with and has to use them all as effectively as possible with a regular rotation of SP BP IF/OF and bench players anyone sitting on the bench for more then 4 games needs to go and the only players who should sit for that amount of time is starting pitchers and maybe a closer if his services are not needed in that time period.Switching players is not the Whole sabermatic in and out swap that takes place on paper.I mean how would you like it if you worked in one place and was starting to get a good hold on your job then was Told you are going to move away from everything you Know and are expected to do as well and had better excell against a bigger badder Market?With LaRoche Loved seeing him up but his ML numbers did not look good and bringing him up was strickly a Kneejerk move in the attempt or getting an instant made adrinaline pumped kid like Eithier was lastyear.He didn’t pull the numbers and the reason he came here was because betemit wasn’t either so Abreu Gets the shot But not because La Roche Has been overlooked but because he is simply more aggressive at the plate and has enpugh power to double in Runs.Andy has HR power but not at this level just yet.Seriously was anyone not shocked that he got the call before Abreu givin his .230 something AAA avg.?As Abreu was hitting in the .340’s?
These 2 are my Least Concern.Raffy and Nomar are My Big Concerns.Together they have 1 HR.I am Totally sure JP was signed to leadoff because Raffy had HR power Lastyear and throught his career.Nomar should have 7 by now and Raffy 4 or 5.AS of Late I have seen Raffy popout as much as I have seen Nomar weakly Groundout and for the #1/2 and 3 hitters that is the biggest concern.Raffy Has put a few Big hit games together but he is sliding back again.Nomar Only hits if there are runners on and Kent hits 3 outta 11 AB be it singe double or HR I mean for everyone who wants to bash on Gonzo Kent is the Mr. RBI guy #4 hitter. Gonzo is pulling his weight in the hitting dept.Another issue with Furcal is that he is no longer stealing bases I’ve seen JP go 5 6 pitches into the count several times as of late and Furcal is not running.I’ve seen Martin take more bases this year and thats is not his job.**** Martin might score 100 times before Furcal this year.These are the more imminent dangers that I see with the core players this year and a big reason we are not Leading the division by a few games.
I must say that I was very impressed with Chad Billingsley’s outting last night. We won in typical fashion but Chad looked great. The sad part is he may have show cased himself, since it looks like Kuo is still favored over him. In case anybody wants to know, the present temperature in Pittsburgh this morning is 81 degrees and again T-storms are forcast. I also noticed not only is the NL WEST tight as usual, but we have 3 tough teams,all good, and I wouldn’t dare count the Giants or Rockies out. It seems like the lower,in the standings a team gets in this division the better they play. Like there was a trampoline(if I spelled it right), on the bottom. Well I just hope we got another win under our belts tonight. GO GRADY’S GANG GO DODGERS. COM’ON YER BUMS.
Great game, Dodgers! Especially appreciated Martin, as usual, also Abreu (congratulations), Bills and Saito. We need all of these games on this trip, and it’s good to win a tough one like last night.
A few thoughts on a number of issues:
First, it does no good to try and derail either Colletti or Grady. Before either of them is gone from the Dodger organization, it would take a failed year or two in our team’s performance, and none of us would like to live through that experience again soon. I personally do not like either Grady or Colletti and would not have selected either one for the job. My own preference would have been for someone with more established Dodger roots rather than a Giants’ second in charge and a semi-retired baseball veteran like Grady, who doesn’t show the emotion and energy that I’d like to see. But most of all I don’t share their “veterans preferred” philosophy, which will probably be our team’s downfall if we have one. For my money we would have Loney playing first, with Nomar being a backup and a bench mentor, if on this team at all. Kemp would be back on the team at least vying with Ethier and probably pushing Andre to a better performance. Since we have Betemit and Abreu, both of whom can play positions other than just 3rd base, I would cut Martinez and Clark at this point, because Martinez is no longer producing, and Clark would be redundant with Kemp here. I expect that LaRoche will be back later on after he heats up in Vegas.
I too have concerns with Raffy and Nomar this season. I think Raffy will get back with his stroke and base stealing once we establish a consistent batting order for him instead of switching him back and forth. Pierre was probably an unfortunate and panic induced transaction over the winter, and if we cannot deal him, he probably should bat lead-off, because he’s not going to adjust to anything else. Nomar, I’m afraid, may be playing with some physical impairment, because otherwise I can’t explain the total loss of power and weak swings. As much as Kent can produce in his hot spurts, I’m afraid that he will tail off further as the season goes along, and I would be very concerned about bringing him back for another season other than a bench player and backup for a younger guy on our staff. Gonzo is surprising me, and I don’t know where to classify him other than say that this should be his final year at least as a starter.
While I am glad for several of the off-season deals made by Colletti, such as Raffy, Wolf and Schmidt (assuming that he comes back from his health problems), I think that his trading record is unimpressive – Duaner Sanchez to the Mets, Hendrickson acquisition, and maybe even the Betemit acquisition in retrospect. If we’re looking to him making a substantial deal for a power player, I’m plain afraid that we’ll give up too much in the bargain – yes, I don’t have faith in him up against another GM. I think it is more likely that we can make a free agent acquisition after the season rather than a significant deal during it.
3 stats:
Dodgers batters have 2nd fewest strikeouts in the NL.
Dodgers batters have 5th most walks in the NL.
Dodgers batters have 6th highest OBP in the NL.
Dodgers batters have the 4th highest batting average in the NL.
Dodgers offense has the 8th most runs scored.
It is interesting to note that all of their stats are higher than 8th, except runs scored. Still, 8th in runs makes them top half of the league.
The fact that they strikeout so little means they put a lot of balls in play; higher team batting average reflects this, I think. For certain players, I think JP and Nomar in particular, more of these balls will turn into hits as the season goes on.
Those are interesting stats. Do you have the same for Arizona and the Padres? I would just be interested, because both of them seem to rely on younger players overall, and one could expect those younger players to improve in those categories, whereas I’m afraid that our aging veterans could very well decline in that type of productivity.
I want to thank, whoever is responsible for this. Anyone who went to Catholic grammer school, has been told they would get a call from God, asking if they would like to enter the religious life, well it was the same when the Dodgers left, Will you follow them or not? While I was making up my mind, I followed them through ever shrinking newspaper articules, Met series to Met series, the Brave’s telecast( the Cubs had one to, but I didn’t have cable tv then), on national T.V., I was furtunate enough to have a good team that made the post season and World Series on occasion etc..etc, Than just as it was getting tiresome,(proberbly the losing), along came Sports in Demand’s Extra Innings. I thought that was something until MLBTV, made me get online & low & behold I discovered the Dodger’s Website. L O O K O U T, I’m 69 years ooolld and I found a brand new toy. (ummmm) Messagebear, you think the Dodgers are old, believe me no way.
puppyhead – that’s why hitting the ball hard matters. The Dodgers are tied with the Nats for last in the NL in homers, and 9th in the NL in doubles. They’re also tied for 14th in the NL in triples, a category they led last year. They are tied for 2nd in the NL for stolen bases, but lead the league by far in being caught – this makes for a team stolen base percentage of 69.5%, which is 9th in the NL at best break-even (probably not quite even that).
Again, I have to correct the last line. Messagebear, You think the Dodgers are old? no way. My typing seem to be just about the same way that my ballplaying days were.
Well, Pierres:
I can join you in the older category at 71. Was a Dodger fan and likewise had a hard time with their west coast relocation. Spent many, many years finding far away radio stations that I could tune into in order to follow them starting at 11:00 P.M. at night. For me the Gameday is a new-found pleasure.
I have nothing against veterans per se. It is hard these days to find any veterans that grow up and stay with their original organization like in the “old days”. My problem with our veteran concentration is that all of ours have seen their better days somewhere else and are in their “fade years” at best. I certainly root for them whenever they’re up, but none of them are real Dodgers in the old sense. I think that Nomar will always be remembered as Red Sox, Kent and Gonzo likewise as having spent their time somewhere else. I don’t happen to think that this is the best way to develop a team for the future – it’s a one year/ two year stop-gap, and I don’t like the approach when it is hardly likely to bring us to the World Series, but blocks some of our younger talent who could grow into the major league job by being allowed the chance to develop at the major league level, once they have shown that they are ready for that challenge.
MESSAGEBEAR I’m sorry, but I had gotten off to attend to rest of my life. I happend to get back on to make a correction in my last comment. Like I mentioned before I get your point and I have to state now that I feel the same way you do about this present team. Gone are the days(well, I hope not), when this team was noted for their farm system and using home grown players, even after free agency came around. Sometimes I think, that’s the reason the O’Malleys (I hated them though) got out of the business. It’s great to hear from somebody that remembers the 11:00 PM EST starting time. All I want to say, isn’t this modern world great with it’s new scientific things, that most youngsters take for granted. I ‘d like to apologize to all concerned, for some things, because I guess I’m not the only one, with this trouble. It’s seems evertime I enjoy myself typing about the Dodgers, I get off this machine and find Wild Letters in my e-main. I must have made a big deal about it. I guess it effected my attituted. I realise now that most likely I ‘m not alone.
Nice win yesterday