175 Million Strong
Tonight we are also celebrating 175 million fans attending a Dodger game since 1901, which is an amazing number if you think about it. Consider the following:
– Odds of winning the lottery are 1 in 175 million
– According to the UN, 175 million people live outside their country of birth
– Americans eat 175 million eggs every year
– Consumers purchase more than 175 million roses for Valentine’s Day
– 175 million Americans are licensed to drive
– The population of Brazil is 175 million
– McDonald’s has 175 million visitors per week
– Dinosaurs roamed the earth for 175 million years
– There are 175 million internet users in the U.S.
– 175 million people worldwide speak French
– 175 million Americans have cell phones
– The most expensive comedy ever made is recent summer release “Evan Almighty” at $175 million
– There are 175 million profiles on Myspace.com
The moral of the story: don’t take this number lightly. You guys deserve to be commended for supporting this team through thick and thin and there are some great surprises in store tonight for those who are here.
For tomorrow’s Fourth of July game, as you can imagine we’ll be completely sold out and therefore, the parking lots are going to be very full, since we have to close one of the lots for the fireworks display. Because of that, we’re suggesting that you arrive early, as parking gates open at 4:10 for the 6:10 game and try to carpool with four or more to a car.
In addition, specially discounted $5 remote parking will be available in Lots 13 and 14 which are located on Stadium Way next to the Fire Academy Training Center.
Thanks for your cooperation and hope to see you out here tomorrow night.
Tonight, the team is trying to get over the hump…it’s the sixth time the team has been 11 games over .500 but yet to be 12 games over.
Here’s the lineup:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Loney, 1B
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Kemp, RF
Betemit, 3B
Lieberthal, C
Wolf, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Looks like Martin gets a day off. Let’s hpe the offense has enough pop to score some runs without him.
I hate Kent in the 4 spot though.
Actually lieberthal has done quite a bit of damage to the Braves in his career. I was surprised not to see him batting for Beimel, instead of the old gray fat guy.
I think Russ should get more nights off. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I want to see him out of the lineup, I want to see him in with healthy legs for a LONG time.
I agree with “order”, with this lineup, I’d like to see Abreu playing 2nd. Heck, they might as well put in Ethier for Gonzo as well…just for one night.
I dont like the fact that Martin has the day off, But I guess its the right time because Lebbie is 4-5 against the opposing pitcher. Also, Betemit hit a pinch hit HR against him. I like Loney hitting 3rd though and its nice to see Kemp in the lineup. Hopefully this offense can score a few runs for Wolfy tonight.
i bet we have more wins then losses in games when Loney and Kemp are in the same lineup.
KEEP KEMP!!
thats catchy. Who wants Keep Kemp tshirts!?!?!
hopefully the team can finally win with lieberthal starting… i believe they are 0-6 when he starts
this is a good move, liebs has a good history off of davies and i guess if he has to catch better than it be wolf than anyone else. No one wants to comment on nomar’s night off?
Lieberthal isn’t a scrub. He’s hit .330 before in his career and has been an all-star. He was a soild catcher through out his whole career.
yeah kent in the 4 spot is getting a little old. I know there’s no real answer there (or the 3 spot for that matter), but really Kent should not hit cleanup.
fezzik031: “…the old gray fat guy”.
HEY HEY HEY – WATCH IT THERE! (LOL!)
“Keep Kemp” sounds good – Just don’t let Vin Scully (or A-Rod’s wife) make up the T-shirts! (LOL!).
BTW – Relax – Kemp is not going anywhere.
Just Win Baby!
GO DODGERS!
well with Martin having the night off only means one thing… my wife wont be watching the game with me 😀
lol 53. Matt C-Bomb.
Yea… I think Russell Martin is gonna run away with all our GFs/Wives.
fezzik031: “well with Martin having the night off only means one thing… my wife wont be watching the game with me”
lol! – Ya, along with 175 million other wives and girlfriends. I wonder if zobeita will be watching the game tonight with heart martin out of the line-up.
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Joe Beimel was the pitching star of the game yesterday. He was amazing. For sh!ts and giigles go to Weisman’s site from yesterday. Not one person acknowledged Beilmel’s awesome performance yesterday. Not one. Why? Because they are pseudo-fans. They don’t root for the team. They root for the players they like. It’s a fake Dodger site. The only site that oldbear has not been banned from. Enough said.
gf
dfgh
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fezzik031@yahoo.com | July 3, 2007 03:26 PM posted: “hopefully the team can finally win with lieberthal starting… i believe they are 0-6 when he starts”
Correlation but not causation. For example, the last time the Dodgers faced Kyle Davies, Lieberthal (and Wolf) started and the Dodgers had a 4-1 before Tsao had his one bullpen blowup, being charged with 5 runs in a 6-4 loss. Lieberthal was 2-4, 1 R, 1 RBI.
I’m going to miss Martin I hate to see a guy who got 4 hits the night before have a day off but he needs to be ready in Sept. & Oct. beimel did a heck of a job last night but Kent saved his butt. I agree we should move Kent down in the line up to take some pressure off of him. It worked for Nomar he get’s hot he works his way back up. Little needs to stop being scared and bench veterans light a match under them. Oh well Go DODGERS!!
what happened to all the haters that were posting that we were crying to move Martin up to the three hole? wasn’t that the right move? No Doubt
WOLFPACK!!!!!!!
Great to see Martin getting some rest… Hope Lieberthal has a good nite…
Not so sure about Betemit playing 3rd…. He just hasn’t shown that he deserves to start… Much rather see Abreu playing….. I do consider both to be a better option than Nomar… He doesn’t look comfortable at 3rd just yet…
Like most everyone else, I hate the fact that Ethier is being blocked from playing because of Gradys insane belief that Pierre has to play every day… Totally Absurd… But, as we all know, that is not likely to change anytime soon… Frustrating !!!!!!
rwbjr@yahoo.com, “… because of Gradys insane belief that Pierre has to play every day…”
I think it’s become clear that management – Colletti, Little – and their talent assessment personnel collectively believe that Ethier and Kemp are just not centerfielders.
true old fogey, but if youre the least bit supersticious, it makes yah think and wonder. Think about the curse of the Cubs.***** fan interferred and kept them from going to the WS.
i mean, but has Kemp proven without a shadow of a doubt that he CAN’T play CF? And more importantly, that he can’t play it better than Pierre of all people? Once Kemp establishes himself I think it would be wise to move him to CF and Pierre to left. Considering more balls are hit to CF the CF’s arm strength is crucial. If this is an insult to pierre’s abilities and the fact that Pierre was signed as a CF…oh well.
If I’m the Manager I’m putting out the best possible line up that is going to win ball games so don’t blame Ned they got talent they need someone there that will make a good line up.
175 million and the important number to me is 1901. Which means even though I have YET to set foot in Dodger Stadium the 175 million includes me. The count goes back before Ebbets Field. The first major league park I ever saw. The Dodgers always had good attendance records, maybe unfortunately for people like me that’s why they left Brooklyn. They couldn’t find a place to build a big stadium there. You know it’s great when a contending team like the Dodgers can still juggle their lineup to get a look see at everybody. MAY THE BIG BAD WOLF SCARE AWAY THE BRAVES INTO THE NIGHT. LET’S GO YA BUMS. YOU CAN DO IT.
Old Fogey —
Are you telling me that you think Pierre is a better choice than Kemp ….
I consider Pierre to be the WORST CENTERFIELDER in the league…. He has NO ARM & he has bad routes to the ball & he is to quick to give up on plays that could be made if he were more agressive… He has made two terrible plays in the last two or three games
alone…
But, MORE IMPORTANTLY, Grady has refused to give anyboy else a chance in centerfield… So how can we possibly know if Kemp or Ethier would do a better job??? I feel very strongly that both could be MUCH, MUCH better at the position than Pathetic Pierre…
Also, don’t forget that Kemp has been playing in center during his stay in Triple AAA…
Another thing wrong with your argument – You are giving way too much credit to Ned & Grady when you say that they are competent at assesing talent… I hardly think that either one of them could be considered COMPETENT…
Where can I get a good Wolf mask?
I want to join the WOLFPACK!
Another day another Pierre discussion…Where’s 53? I’ll do it…
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107048/
Seriously, talk about something else
just my two cents, when I consider a CF I look at speed. CF has more ground to cover than any other position. I have no clue what youre talking about with Pierre being the worst CF in the league. The reason he is probably starting every night is because of his defensive abilities. I have seen him make more sliding catches than anyone else in the league. And its not because he’s getting bad jumps on the balls, it because the balls are hits with 70% of other CF. True he doesnt have an arm, that is the one thing he lacks in his defensive arsenal, but the worst CF in the League, he is NOT.
I called last nights game a great team victory because their were so many contributions from all of the players. I’ve always praised BEIMEL. I don’t know if we could have won last year’s NLDS, but HE could have made a diffence, especially in GAME 1.
rwbjr0@yahoo.com | July 3, 2007 04:43 PM
You read far more into my 04:21 PM post than what I wrote, which was essentially “Management doesn’t think Kemp or Ethier are CFs.” I stated exactly ZERO opinion on whether or not I thought they were right.
So far the innings played in CF by players not named Pierre:
Clark 14
Kemp 5
Valdez 2
Ethier seems awfully slow for CF – imagine the effective size of the gap between him and Gonzo. I wouldn’t mind Kemp trying CF and taking more time from Pierre and less from Ethier. But I don’t imagine that it will happen.
There are some defensive range statistics that show that Pierre is above average in getting to balls that CFs should field – but I agree that he’s not much of a CF. My perception is that his bad routes have decreased quite a bit. (And he’s an awful batter. That bunt double last night was hilariously terrible.)
On the plus side for Kemp in CF: there is no scoreboard out there.
If the D’s are starting pierre for his defensive ability…eh, nevermind. But its painful to watch a runner tag up on a shallow fly ball while pierre bounces a throw in that barely reaches second base. Come one, are you telling me the defense wouldn’t be better with Kemp relaying that throw?
LF is the only acceptable to place to hide Pierre’s arm, which is worse still than Gonzos. You don’t hide a horrible arm at a premium defensive position.
But you can play a much better bat in LF in order to hide the defensive shortcomings, e.g., ManRam.
When are they going to DFA Tomko? He has no use on this team and is good for only throwing batting practice. Kemp , Either and Gonzo should be our outfield. Pierre is the worst center fielder in the league.
fEZZIK —
#1 Kemp is also very fast….
#2 How in Gods Name could you possibly know that Pierre has more sliding catches than any other centerfielder in the league??? He doesn’t even have more sliding catches than others on his own team… Or maybe you haven’t been watching Ethier play…
#3 You say “true he doesn’t have an arm”.. Dah
Evidently you don’t consider that an important part of being a good fielder… IT IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF BEING A CENTERFIELDER… You should be able to prevent runners from advancing on the base paths…. Pierre is incapable of doing this !!!!
Blind faith JUST BLOWS MY MIND…
… or Greg Luzinski. Or Big Frank Howard.
you read too much into what I was saying, what I meant was that his defense has more to do with him starting more than his batting. But, I said it a couple nights ago, Pierre is improving at the plate and putting a lot fewer balls into the air. Im not a die hard JP fan by any means, I was screaming at him for the first 2 months of the season about how many outs he created, but they have much more pressing needs to worry about than Pierre.
I wasnt quoting an official stat there RW, just stating what im observing in the games. Pierre has more range than MANY other CF and that can be gauged. No blind faith here my friend. I know Kemp has speed, I know ethier has pretty decent speed as well, but none of which are as fast as Pierre.
The best cure for a horrible arm…don’t give up a base hit that will score a run. But, yes if we’re comparing arms and arms alone. Obviously, Kemp should play CF. However, Pierre has been much improved as of late. His jumps have been excellent, but because of his early mistakes, there are a lot of misconceptions that Pierre is a bad fielder. It’s just not true, every player takes bad routes, drops the ball etc…Pierre is no different. He had to get adjusted to Dodger Stadium and lately he’s shown he has. Plus, he has the speed to make up for a bad route as well as the speed to pick off shots to the gap. He made a catch Saturday night, that is probably not caught by many CF’ers and goes to the wall. Because of a tremendous jump he made he was able to snag it. He’s going to screw up. Nobody is perfect and mistakes happen. Pierre’s not the best CFer, but most certainly not the worst. He just has the worst arm.
Kemp made some brutal defensive plays in center last year, where he literally jumped into the wall while the ball landed in front of the wall. But, he’s young, so just like his offspeed troubles, he has time to work on it. I like him in right field, he made a tremendous play last night and that’s probably where he’s going to play for a long time. With Pierre and Kemp’s speed they can track down a lot of gappers.
Ok— So it sounds like we are all pretty much in agreement….
None of us are completly satisfied with Pierre playing CenterField (nor his inconsistent hitting)….
Sooooooooooooo Why do Grady & Ned keep trotting him out there every single day…
NO NEED TO RESPOND – I already know their reasoning… Flawed though it maybe…
if we paid less for him, then I would be a little more forgiving. But not at what we are paying him, he most definitely is not worth that kind of money.
“The best cure for a horrible arm…don’t give up a base hit that will score a run.”
thats seriously the worst thing ever.
No pitcher in the world will even go out there and throw no hit ball. Hits will happen. If we used what you said then there would be no fielders in baseball.
The best cure for a bad arm is a good one. Alex you seem to be pinning all of Pierre’s negatives on others. I bet when people say “I wish we had a center fielder with an arm he would have been out” you probably respond “well if the pitcher didn’t give up the hit..”
give me a break.
you weird blogging community. why must you continually hate on players who play on the team you root for.
JP has played great this year. He leads our team in steals…without his 30 or so SBs we would have scored even fewer runs.
Nomar is a leader in the clubhouse and leads the NL in ave. RISP.
I agree that Kemp and Loney are good players and will some day be great players, but for now they are going to have to play when Grady calls for them.
GO Blue (no matter what)
jp has played far from great. He’s actually on pace for his worst year in his career.
http://tinyurl.com/3arqkk
This is a link to a statistics report from Hardball Times, CFs sorted by Revised Zone Rating, but can be sorted other ways. This DOES NOT account for throwing, and we all can agree Pierre’s is among the worst in all of baseball. Statistically, he is acceptable in field, except for his terrible arm.
For those of you that saw the Pierre-Furcal-Nomar throw out at third the other day, wasn’t the contrast between the two throws astounding?
Ok first of all no, our team would have scored more runs if pierre was a better offensive player, or if he wasn’t playing at all. His steals are great but vastly, vastly overrated. Also, I’m not trying to hate on Nomar, but where do people come up with this leader in the clubhouse shtick, as if that’s helping us win games more than a 1B with a sub .700 OPS? We don’t really know who the true leaders are and even if we did what happens on the field should be the number one priority in assessing a player’s value. I agree everyone should be rooting for all the players, but stop making excuses for the underwhelming performances of pierre, nomar, etc. For now I just accept it and hope they will improve.
randyisrad@gmail.com:
I root for Juan Pierre to do something good when he bats. I root for him to make the play when the ball is hit to CF. It’s honest criticism to point out his consistent shortcomings.
And blind faith is not a good philosophical approach to anything. Leads to things like suicide bombers.
“And blind faith is not a good philosophical approach to anything. Leads to things like suicide bombers.”
quote of the year.
Nomar, until he was benched, was also on pace to score LESS THAN 50 RUNS this season from the # 3 spot in the order! That is horrible.
A good # 3 hitter should drive in runs, from in and out of scoring position (extra-base hits help here). He should also score a lot of runs because he has #4 and 5 hitting behind him, by being on-base a lot (not Nomar this year) and by being in scoring position a lot (extra-base hits help here too.)
My point was that we need to root for our team, not pick apart every time they have a bad game.
What would you have Ned do? Cut JP and Nomar?
Play Betemit at third?
Let Kemp take over CF even though he has never shown that he can play well out there.
There is a reason Ned is the GM and not you guys
Loney went 0 for his last three games…maybe we should cut him as well
weak points randy… Kemp has never shown that he can’t play center, and he has the tools to play it better than Pierre. However, you can argue that since we have JP playing CF already, it makes no sense to make the switch mid-season unless Pierre becomes even more incompetent than he has shown earlier this season. He’s bad, but not bad enough to have to make the switch right now. Saying that Kemp shouldnt be switched to CF becuz he’s never done it before is a poor point to argue.
I just got some good information telling me that Kemp’s ball from last night just landed
randyisrad@gmail.com: They had a good game last night and we’re still picking like vultures upon roadkill. 😉
Nomar’s slump is since the last All-Star break:
2006 (2nd half): .229 .286 .408
2007: .272 .310 .334
that’s just about a full-season of about .300 OBP and .375 SLG from your #3 hitter.
Where has all the power gone? Long time passing.
Where has all the power gone?
Long time ago.
Where has all the power gone?
Gone to graveyards every one.
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?
alex41592@aol.com: I saw Reggie Smith hit one off Vida Blue that was just like Kemp’s. It was early in the game so no one was in the pen. It hit about 1/3 of the way up the back of the bullpen wall. Awesome.
Martin from the 3 spot:
15 games (23 for 63) .365 2 HR’s 10 RBI’s 7 SB’s
Comment from afar: I have had the pleasure of watching the Dodgers in 3 different home parks. Ebbets Fiels, The Colesieum, and Chavez Ravine (I know I must have misspelled some of them.)
Comments from far out: I get the feeling that a large percentage of the gripping on this site is not to bench players but to try and get rid of Grady and/or Colletti. I happen to think they both do a pretty darn good job.
Does that mean the team is 100% perfect? No! But so far so good. I dare say if you were told 6 months ago we would be within a game of first place on July 3rd you would have been very happy. Especially with what was supposed to be our #1 or #2 pitcher contributing less then nothing.
I’ll keep Ned and let some of the a$$inine posters go.
max_power_05@yahoo.com | July 3, 2007 03:25 PM, “i bet we have more wins then losses in games when Loney and Kemp are in the same lineup.”
This year the Dodgers are 4-3 when both Kemp and Loney start. None were a Penny start.
I can tell you honestly that if I had been told on opening day that we would be just 11 games above 500 and that we just played 500 ball for the month of June I would have said that we UNDERACHIVED!!!!
And that is what I say now…. We have UNDERACHIEVED….
This team has so much more potential than it has shown… But, because of injurys and old timers not doing their part…. Plus many, many questionable moves by management this team has most difinetly UNDERACHIVED !!!
Look at the Payroll — Do the Math !!!!
123 the hard way.
A 4 pitch first inning, cannot get any better than that!
Wolf off to a Great Start…
Who would have guessed ???
I’d say he overachieved lol
Rude greeting lets Roll!
That’s what we like — good start by Furcal & Pierre…
The Blimp landed at Dodger stadium….
Did you guys see Bobby Cox cut one on the bench? He was pushing pretty hard.
Great at Bat by Loney….
1
Tremendous at-bat by Loney
lol yeah that and the tub o lard on the steps….Poor Braves….
Is Kent slow or what ???
Even though we got that run, I dont like Pierre bunting in that situation. Doesnt a hitter who gets paid 9 million a year have enough confidence to get furcal in from 2nd base himself? Furcal’s super fast and doesnt need that much help to score on a base hit… that was just a waste of an out. Sure its a “safer” way to get a run in, but it sorta kills the inning for a bigger rally.
Yes that and he absolutely killed the ball
2-0 Marlins over San Diego Top 2
That’s 4 straight batters first ball swinging
Make that 5 and we’re tied up
This is more like the Wolf we all know & love….
ugh wolf!!
Anyways congrats to the Dodgers for those sick #’s!
Vinny must have heard you ALEX…. He made the very same comment…
Enough already…..
THANK YOU
We hope that’s RANDY’S BAD INNING.
Slugfest!
OK, IT’S GONNA BE ONE OF THOSE TONIGHT! KEMP’s DOUBLE AND BETEMIT’S BOMB!!!
YAY kids!
Will the REAL Mr Betemit please stand up…
Somebody told him to pretend he is pinch hitting…Ha Ha
Why wasn’t Wolf bunting — Dumb Dumb Dumb
You’re right, but Lieberthal is at second now so…
Now, should Pierre bunt here?
Pierre did what he does best….
Betemit Crushed that ball bet it tapes futher then Kemps lastnight.
MEAT one of the most dangerous .200 hitters in the game. But PIERRE should bunt or take.
That was a definate remember me? Shot
Actually I think Andruw Jones is the most dangerous .200 hitter in the game.
It’s time Grady — Don’t let this game get away….
We aren’t good a comebacks…
Thank You Thank You
We got away with it that time…
Jones is the .200 hitter I would like on our team….
Let’s try some J.D. HOULTON.
Randy Wolf may have been a two month wonder, but he doesn’t seem to belong in the sarting rotation any more. No velocity, no control, and no pitch placement. He’s beginning to make me as sick as Tomko.
I agree. Wolfe does not appear to have his control , give the ball to Houlton and see how far he can go with it. Who knows you might accidently find another starter.
Make that D.J.
Is DJ coming in, hope so.
Wow, he hit a horrible pitch too! 4 RBI night so far for Betemit
Wilson B. Loves hitting against his old team….
I say —- play him in the next two games…
Anybody remember Opening Day 2006? This game is just like that one which ironically also involved the Braves and Dodgers. Also, Betemit hit a HR for the Braves…strange game indeed…
tonite belongs to the hitters. Its just one of those nights.
Im getting concerned about Wolf’s elbow.
Tony Cloninger
I love baseball-reference.com
A sentence I did not think I would ever say this season: D.J Houlton restores order…
*Colletti on the phone trying to sell Tomko for a bag of salty nuts*
D J looking good so far…
Need some runs from the bottom of the order…
vin scully just said pierre is a good player
also…padres are losing
D.J. always reminded me of Carl Erskine.
Pierre has been a good player. Just not this year so far or since the 2003 season.
the numbers don’t lie people. You can throw all the runs scored and stolen base stats you can but for Pierre he can’t be successful without getting on base. Let me rephrase that.
Pierre can’t help the team unless he’s on base.
A coupler runs won’t hurt right now.
wow. Jones has a cannon.
Pierre is fine.
Would I rather have Kemp? Some days yes, some days no.
I have never heard so much whinning outside a pigpen.
You sound like a bunch of little old ladies.
Jones is what a centerfielder is supposed to be like….
You can see how important having a good arm can be…
Now THAT was a beautiful piece of hitting by Matt Kemp, punching a slider into center field
Wilson B does it again….
I still say we need to play him the next two games…
K_E_N_T__&__K_E_M_P
rwbjr, you are rather transparent. You only want Betemit to play because that would sit Nomar down.
I’m not saying it’s not a good idea, but you are looking for new ways to say the same old things.
I remember last week when a lot of people on this blog were saying how much more advanced & ready to play at this level Loney was in comparison to Kemp…
I didn’t agree then & I sure haven’t seen anything recently to change my opinion…. Kemp is every bit as ready as Loney…
It’s just so great that we have both of them so that we can even make such a comparison…
And just as you say that Loney looks effortless starting the 3-6-1 DP. You’re right it’s so great we have both of them!
NO paul —-
The real reason I want Betemit to play – He has 3 HRs and 8 batted in against his old team….
Nomar sitting just happens to be an xtra benefit – which I didn’t actually think of until you mentioned it…
Marlins defeat the Padres 6-4
come on Nomar!!!!
Nomar is just having an awful year, period.
dang it
you’ll get ’em next time
I don’t recall seeing Nomar this upset over a strikeout…
I think it is the fact that he has been hitting so poorly that is causing such a drastic reaction… Never seen him throw a tantrum before…
Pierre again doing what he does best….
Here come the smart Pierre remarks
two outs for Pierre in one inning — isn’t he just the greatest ????
here comes the JP bashing, i can feel it
Well it was a high slider to Nomar, so I understand the frustration. Saito time!
come on sammy
GOT HIM SAITO! PLAYER OF THE GAME BETEMIT! BACK IN FIRST! WE WON WITH LIEBERTHAL!
GO DODGERS!
first time we’re 12 games over 500
I L_O_V_E MY TEAM___ WHAT A WONDERFUL GAME. It’s been a long time since I felt like this. I really feel that they are coming of age and the future is BRIGHT.
Well, a lefty is going tomorrow so Betemit is probably not going to start. He was tremendous tonight though.
Another great nite for the Dodgers…
Good games by Betemit, Kemp & others… D J included..
Back in 1st place…
We need to sweep these guys.. Looking forward to the next 2 games…Need to finish strong before the All-Star break…
The kids just seem to bring so much energy to this team… The games are just more fun to watch when the kids are doing well…
Also, Pierre did make a real nice catch up against the wall in center…
well seeing the braves pound wolf tonight it looks like there will be plenty of fireworks with lurch on the mound i aint talking about the aftershow.
nice to see some things don’t change here…..
Dodgers Win= Nomar, Grady, Ned, JP Bashing is kept to a minimum….
Dodger’s Lose= all **** breaks lose and everyone but the “kids” are to blame..
Glad Dodgers Won 🙂
loose*
Well Bursitus I Know from experience hurts like **** and ya have to just go easy on it with anti-inflammatory Drugs and rest…Wolfy is done for awhile but I liked what DJ had to say about his past and present state of mind.He has done a great job thus far and looks to get the call sunday vs the fish.Hull or Meloan? Discuss…
Good call on starting Lieberthal tonight.
Move Houlton to the rotation when Hendrickson gets bombed tonight.
Things to consider…the offense seems to have turned around even with Pierre still playing like a AAAA player.
Also consider. The offense turned around not only when Murry was fired but also when Martin was moved to the third spot and when Matt Kemp and James Loney were recalled.
I had a feeling Wolf was hurting. I thought it was his elbow might be a little sore but its his shoulder. His velocity seemed down the last 4 starts as well as his command. Those both point to injury. Hopefully its just some soreness. Shoulder injuries are common in TJ guys trying to come back. Mostly because they are afraid to re-injure the elbow so they compensate with the shoulder. Hopefully this was caught before any significant damage.
We lucked out with the break but you never know. Wolf could be out the rest of the month.
I am just hoping really, really hard that Colletti doesn’t end up trading one of Kemp, Loney or LaRoche for a renta-pitcher for the second half, or even a year and a half. Because that would seem very shortsighted.
Can only hope that Wolf can recover from this before the season is over – bring him back too soon and the problem will just be compounded. I wonder if he’s pitched hurting in previous starts and if so, why he wasn’t shut down earlier.
Can’t even begin to think what do do with the rotation now. We need Kuo and he’s not dependable. I suppose Houlton should move in, and we’d better hope like all get out that Hendrickson can deliver a few acceptable spot starts. Tomko, from what I read Little said, is a head case right now. Way to go, Tomko. Fold out when the team needs you.
I’ve seen reports that Wolf has now admitted pitching with some shoulder discomfort for the past month, and that makes sense given his record in the past half dozen starts. It should have been noticeable with the diminished velocity, but our coaching staff doesn’t seem to catch onto these problems, and you can’t depend on the player telling you. Hopefully Wolf has not aggravated the shoulder to the point of requiring some major procedure and major time off. You have to assume that both Hendrickson and Houlton will get some starting opportunities, but you can’t really expect that their results will match what a healthy Wolf was accomplishing earlier in the season. I can only see two minor league pitchers that have the stats worthy of consideration for a move up – Wade and Norrito among starters, and it’s always a stretch to think that either might be ready to take a start or two at the major league level. That would be kind or reminiscent of Edwin Jackson, who did OK for a couple of starts, but then descended into oblivion.
I definitely do not want Loney or Kemp traded. LaRoche and even Ethier is another matter in my mind, depending on what we can get for either or both. It definitely looks like whatever trade we do make will need to be for a starter. As far as I’m concerned, we should have gotten rid of Tomko already. I’m not sure there’s any trade value in him at all, but we need his roster spot.
Too bad about the D’s starting pitching getting injured. Three good pitchers left; we’ll see how the kids do picking up the 4 and 5 spots.
I’m extremely excited about tonight’s game – I’m in LA from Denver for a couple days, and my parents got me tickets to tonight’s game. This will be my first time at Dodger Stadium since the ’05 season. If any of you guys on this blog want to come say hi, I’m sitting on the 1b line, section 48FD, row B, seats 5-9. (I don’t have 5 seats, but I’ll be with my wife, brother, parents, you get it.) If I’ve ticked you off before, which is probably likely, don’t come throw things at me. Just come say hi if you don’t hate me 🙂 I’ll be wearing my Martin t-shirt. Hope to meet some of you!
Im going to tonight’s game also puppy… If you feel any peanuts thrown at you from the Res. level, that’s probably from me.
alex41592: “Another day another Pierre discussion…Where’s 53? I’ll do it…”
Thanks for covering my back Alex. I had already left for the game before the daily Ground Hog Day rant began. But stay tuned – today’s a new Ground Hog Day – Same thing, same people, over and over and over again, everyday. (By the way – Are you the same Alex frequently heard on “Dodger Talk”? – Just curious).
On the brighter side, it appears that the Dodgers are going to bring Jonathan MeLoan up from Double-A Jacksonville to join the Big team by this weekend. Although I have never been a very strong proponent of bring kids up from Double-A to the Bigs, we seriously have no choice, with Wolf headed for the DL, Hendrickson and Houlton headed for the starting rotation, and Tomko headed for the door (Hey, I can hope, can’t I?). This leaves a serious void in the middle of our bullpen and MeLoan appears to be the perfect fit right now. To his advantage (in my opinion) is his age. He will be 23 on Wednesday.
GO DODGERS!
The D’s should put their focus, on a S.P. because 3rd Base is solved. Here’s why. about over 90% of hitters, gear themselves, to fastballs and adjust down accordingly. With that said, Betemit should gear himself to breaking pitches, because that’s ALL he’s going to get. If you haven’t noticed, aside from last nights slider, which he stroked up the middle for a hit. It was the 3rd breaking ball, he has hit in the last four games. with the Power, he has to ALL fields, his ability to draw a walk, plus his more than adequate defense, he will coninue to adjust at the plate
and, I feel that makes him the 3rd baseman, we’ve been searching for. In one month of steady play, Betemit WILL BE the man. Mark my words….
Save this, then get back to me. I won’t eat crow on this one…Think about it..Go BLUE
Betemit certainly has the ability to take over the job. He needs to show it as a starter more often though. I think if we have patience with him, he can be a **** of a hitter for us down the stretch. Upside is there.
Hey pat25rod – A very good assessment of Wilson Betemit and one that I have also noticed over the past two weeks or so.
Betemit seems to be spending far less time guessing what the pitcher is going to throw and concentrating more on picking up the pitch as it is being delivered. This is a valuable trait that most good hitters possess.
There is one very obvious problem for Betemit, however, and that is Nomar Garciaparra – our “new” everyday third baseman. With Nomar (apparently) out of his hitting slump, Betemit will probably see very little playing time at 3B, except for spot starts or late inning relief. Of course, if he can continue to hit as he has been of late, things may change at 3B yet again.
GO DODGERS!
One of the best problems we would have to face is if Loney, Betemit, and Nomar all kept hitting well. That would be an act to balance, but if that’s the worst that Grady has to handle, I think even he could manage it.
No sir I am not that Alex
wow, i love how betemit has one good game and everyone’s ready to crown him the 3b already. I guess everybody forgot when the day before he came up to pinch hit and looked awful. If he could show any kind of consistency, then you would have something. But he doesn’t and he hasn’t the entire year. It was one good game people. Unfourtunately, one good game or one bad game seems to sway the opinion of managment all the time.
i’ll bet anybody 20 bucks Betemiss strikes out in 5 or less pitches his next AB
You’re right, of course, in warning against jumping on the Betemit bandwagon prematurely. Consistency is badly lacking. The selected moments of success show a glimpse of the potential, especially the power, that we hope can yet be salvaged. If Mueller can really exercise some influence, Betemit is probably his best target and biggest challenge. He has the raw material, and he is still at an age where he could develop into a heck of a third baseman. It’s probably our wishful thinking that shows up whenever he has a game like last night.
Well it’s the 4th of July and every other year I go over to the Greenpoint docks to watch the Macy’s fireworks display. I’ll proberbly miss most of the game but I’ll check in when I get back as usual. This year, like last year it’s tough since the team is playing so well and you hate to miss something. There are no portable radios carrying the Dodgers games around here any more and I don’t have a lap top(which I don’t think I’d take with me down there).That’s O.K. for years I had to wait to find out very late at night on T.V. BUT NOW it’s A_L_M_O_S_T like the Dodgers have come back to Brooklyn. Boy this modern tecnology I never dreamed it. GOOD LUCK TO HENDRICKSON TONIGHT AND A HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO AMERICA EAST TO WEST and NORTH TO SOUTH AND ESPECIALLY TO MY FAVORITE TEAM. LET’S GO DODGERS.
Don’t get me wrong, I am the farthest thing from a Betemit fan (remember, it was I who dubbed him our “Designated Out). He is a feast or famine guy this season, that’s for sure. But if he can start producing consistently, as he did for us in the last half of last season, he may very well make his way back into the starting line up. That said, doing so will be a very difficult task for him as a bench player.
We are all well aware of Betemit’s excessive strikeouts (which usually occur at the worst possible time), but keep in mind that he is now just one homerun shy of tying Gonzo and Kent for the team lead at 10, with A LOT fewer at bats.
By the way max, I now call him “Will-soon Bat-n-miss”.
Good point about Betemit being Mueller’s toughest challenge, messagebear, but I think it’s do-able.
GO DODGERS!
PS: Call me a fool, but I’ll take your bet, max. You say he strikes out in five pitches or less in his next at bat, and I say he doesn’t. (Foul balls included). I win if reaches on a walk or HBP in less than five pitches, and you win if he reaches on a dropped third strike in less than five pitches.
“Will-soon Bat-n-miss”
53! You crack me up!!
http://wavcentral.com/cgi-bin/log/log.cgi?id=760&sound=/sounds/movies/grndhog/gndhog02.mp3
You guys know that I think the world of Grady Little, but this one bothered me (especially Grady’s last sentence):
“Right now, (Tomko’s) confidence level is down,” said Little. “We need this guy. He has a very good arm, and he needs to step it up. We’ll keep running him out there.”
It’s WAY beyond a confidence issue – The guy just plain su cks! It’s time for Tomko to put down the baseball and pick up the chalk and move on down the path of life.
GO DODGERS!
Yeah, but no manager would say “Oh yeah, Tomko right now is horrible. We never want to use him, we’re on the verge of DFAing him. He’s our last option in the bullpen and he’ll only be used in mop up situations.” I’m pretty sure what Grady said was political, it looks as if he’s lost almost all confidence in him, moreso than Tomko losing confidence in himself. So, hopefully Hendrickson can go 5 or 6 tonight, otherwise Grady may be forced to go to Tomko, because Houlton probably won’t be available. So, needless to say we need a good outing from Hendrickson tonight. Maybe we can sneak by with a combination of Tsao and Seanez if Hendrickson faulters, we’ll see…
I agree with you Alex. Grady would never say anything like that, and I admire him for his patience for giving guys like Tomko and Betemit more chances than I certainly would have.
I, too, hope that Hendrickson can go 5 or 6 innings tonight. He has been very good out of the bullpen for the past month, but EVERY time he takes the mound, I get a little uncomfortable in my seat.
I do not think that we will see D.J. Houlton again until Sunday – when he makes his first start of the season.
GO DODGERS!
AFRAID —-
I’m deathly afraid that the situation with Tomko & Wolf is going to cause a panic in Ned’s mind & that he is going to do something DRASTIC that most of us are going to be unhappy with…
When we lost Drew to Boston, Ned made some very questionable decisions that have hurt this team…
I think that before the All-Star break is over, we are going to be scratching our heads & wondering – What the Heck Just Happened… It’s his MO… I hope I’m wrong…
Also, I’m wondering what are we going to do with R. Martinez when he is done rehabing in Vegas… It doesn’t seem like we have any room for him…
I second that concern about making another “panic deal”. I hope we continue to insist that our Bills, Kemp, Loney trio remain untouchable. As for R. Martinez, I think he’s been less than productive and has outlived his usefullness for our club. If we can’t stall his progress in terms of returning from the rehab assignment, then he should be DFA’d, because Abreu can fill in wherever Martinez did with more upside to be developed.
I’m also thinking that we should try to extend Tsao to pitch two or even three innings, thus positioning him for a long reliever as needed. I think he has the necessary stuff to go more than one inning, which I still don’t trust Seanez to be able to do effectively. Seanez seems to be a strictly one inning man, and he has been effective in that capacity.
I certainly agree that Martinez should probably be DFA’d …. But I don’t understand – why would they send him to Rehab if they had any intention of releasing him ???
He certainly hasn’t been very productive so far this year …. Which makes Abreu the much better option….
Yes, I also agree concerning Tsao…. I think that he has the ability & could very well turnout to be a strong middle reliever…. Just hope he can stay healthy…
Seanez has been a pleasant surprise…. But it stll makes me nervous whenever he takes the mound…
BTW the LaTimes Dodger Blog has a very interesting article in which he GRADES the 1st half of the season & how he feels everyone in the organization has done.. It is a fun read…
My neighbors brother ended up being the 175th million customer and got to throw out the first pitch on tuesday night. The ironic thing is that he also got to throw out the first pitch on the preceding sunday game against the Padres. He wrote a book about the history of professional baseball in Ventura County and they honored him at the sunday game. Then by chance he was the 175th million customer at tuesday nights game. He got to throw out the first pitch 2 times in three home games.
vr, Xeifrank