Personalized Jerseys
There was a question about getting personalized jerseys and while I haven’t been able to get an answer yet on the online store, you can call the Top of the Park store at Dodger Stadium and order a Billingsley jersey (or whoever) that way. The number is (323) 224-1334.
Here’s tonight’s lineup:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Nomar, 3B
Ethier, LF
Kemp, RF
Penny, P
The team has fared pretty well against lefties thus far (17-8), the best mark in the NL. And a win tonight would put the Dodgers at a season-high 13 games over .500 and would mark the first time they’ve won five in a row this season.
Also, if you’re at home tonight (not at the game), stay tuned on FSN Prime Ticket after the game for "Randy Wolf, Before the Bigs." He grew up locally, as most of you know, so there should be plenty of interesting references to things from the Valley.
Another Valley guy (and another former Philly), Mike Lieberthal, hit his first big league homer on this date in 1994 and it was against the Dodgers. Incredibly, his teammate at the time and the starting third baseman that day was Mariano Duncan.
And phinally, with the Phillies losing their 10,000th game yesterday, it begs the question of how close the Dodgers are. The answer: Not very. The team has lost 8,573 games since 1890 when it joined the National League.
Also, here’s an answer to some of your questions about spam which came from the guy at MLB who runs the blogs:
"Everyone’s comment at MLBlogs is followed by their email address as we are an open community and people can email each other — unlike other typical blog sites where you can’t contact anyone unless you register there. If the person wants his/her email address to be hidden, s/he must be a subscribed MLBlogger, and then can choose to have a first name only show up (it would be clickable to a URL or email address of that person’s choosing).
We can’t do anything about the spam, sorry…and of course that’s making an assumption that it’s coming from MLBlogs exposure, as it’s a Yahoo! account that can be spammed from anywhere. Six Apart is the No. 1 blog software company and this is their Typepad environment that we are using, at least for now.
Also, this is the first such comment I’ve received in 2-plus years of MLBlogs community, so it’s generally not a concern among users…even though I certainly hate spam as much as anyone."
Inside the Dodgers 
I noticed that often, Tracy tried to alternate the heart of the lineup righty-lefty-R-L, whenever possible, but I haven’t seen that much with Little. Any thoughts?
I’m delighted to see that we have both Kemp and Ethier in the lineup together for a change. Nothing against Gonzo, but he needs to take a day or two off as well.
Let’s take this one, DODGERS!!!
Now, replace Nomar with Betemit, and thatis the perfect lineup
That’s exactly what I thought, good to see Loney getting the spot above Nomar. That is a solid lineup right there. Especially with Gonzo not in there having no success against the lefty Moyer and Nomar in there who is home and has had great success against Moyer. Hope the blister won’t get in the way tonight for Penny.
Go Dodgers!
I think Nomar gets these next seven games to prove that he is not washed up. Even the biggest fan has to admit that this guy is toast!
I just read that Nomar is the weakest corner infielder from a power/Slugging standpoint in all the Major Leagues. Now that is pretty bad!
Great to Ethier and Kemp in there, I hope this is the OF that we see in 2008 and beyond.
Speaking of spam…
I no longer can use the email address I joined this blog with (shown below) because of the spam. I get 10-20 pieces a day, most of it consists of “ATTN LOTTERY WINNER!” and other such assorted Nigerian type scams. For some reason Yahoo’s spam filter does not catch them. No biggie, I’ve moved onto another email address but since I created it only for mlb.com, I have to think this is where the spam is coming from.
I’m going to get out to at least one game against the Phillies, probably tomorrow. My wife grew up in Philly so she likes to see her childhood team, 10,000 losses and all! She’s a Dodgers fan first though so there is no conflict in her rooting interests.
“License to Wed” was cheesy.
Thanks for the store info josh. As soon as i get paid on friday im calling.
oh no Grady’s off his rocker now. Loney is hitting in front of Nomar
russell in the lineup again?!?!?! geez, i figured he’d take this day off. this is why this guy is just so awsome. he loves to be out there. incredible.
when he got hit in the wrist on saturday and we had to go through extra innigs, i thought he would have the next day off.
this kids got energy man. i love it!!
Perfect lineup. WIN tonight looks good!
Wow we have the best record in the NL!!
I agree with everyone, it’s really great to see Ethier and Kemp in the same starting line up. I wish it would happen more often. Gonzo has been valuable to the team but I’d shed no tear having him sit a few games here and there.
Also, I have to admit (to myself if no one else) that Pierre has picked up his game over the last month or so. I’ve seriosly enjoyed watching him turn his singles into doubles and triples via the stolen base. His attitude also makes it really hard for me to dislike him. Though, again, I’d shed no tear if he sat here and there to get Kemp and Ethier more simultaneous play time.
On another note, I drove up to SF over the weekend and caught Saturday’s game. My girlfriend, friends and I came sooo close to getting Russ to join us for a drink on Saturday night! He was really cool when I said, “Come on Russ, this is our only chance to get to hang with you.” He paused, looked at his buddy, pondered, smiled and said “Maybe on the way back, man.” Oh well. It was good seeing him hanging out on the streets with everyone. Also, I got James Loney to autograph my hat after the game! What a great weekend!
This is FAR from a perfect lineup. If the Dodgers used their best resources, this is how they’d stack up:
Hu, SS
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
LaRoche, 3B
Ethier, RF
D Young, LF
Abreu, 2B
Anyone think Piazza could be a good acquisition for a package of Lieberthal and Martinez/Saenz? He could be a pretty good power bat off the bench (easily better than Saenz), in a familiar ballpark, and would probably be more effective than Lieberthal when Martin actually takes a day off.
Since the A’s are in position to sell, what do you think it would take to get Joe Blanton from them? He hits arbitration next year, and has a nice low ERA and a good WHIP.
Good one momo. A minor league lineup with 2-3 major leaguers. That’ll DEFINITELY win 100 games.
Those players are the most talented at their positions in the Dodgers organization. So yes, they will win games. Though not 100 right off the bat.
I’m looking forward to the day, momo, but not very likely very soon with this management.
Nice I can see this gaining steam. The national media is now on top of it.
—
Nomar Garciaparra this season: .270/.315/.327. Wilson Betemit this season: .223/.351/.489. Betemit since the beginning of May: .275/.384/.659 in 91 at-bats. Is this really so difficult? The Dodgers have the NL’s best record anyway, but at some point, production is going to have to matter more than name recognition. It’s not like Garciaparra is just slumping. He also had a sub-700 OPS in the second half of 2006. .
I think it was max that originally proposed looking into Blanton, something that seems like a great idea. But im afraid it would take something considerable to get him, but who knows. I also thuoght abuot the Piazza thing when the A’s announced pieces were available. It would be great. We only use a backup every other week anyways, but Lieberthal is still probably a much better defensive catcher that Piazza. And i dont know how Piazza would feel about being nothing more than a pinch hitter and an occasional backup.
That minor league team would not win 85 games. No power in there either.
Akinori Otsuka..we should trade for him.
Good call jungar, he’s pretty close to lights out and would enjoy playing with Saito I would think. Otsuka-Broxton-Saito, thats pretty filthy! I’d take that over the Pads trio.
no…Aki will cost far too much for what he is worth b/c he is under contract for several more years cheaply. Plus, he is an injury risk. Thats why (gasp) Gagne would be a better pickup for several teams.
Piazza is thought to be too fragile to catch at this point, so that trade wouldn’t work. Although how cool would it be to have him back as a pinch hitter!
Wow very nice line-up i see here! Could be the line-up we will see in 08, very nice i like i like …… Gotta love some of the guys that are really contributing to this winning spree of ours:
Last 4 games
Pierre- .368 AVG, 7 R, 2SB, 2 RBI’s (wether you like it or not, Pierre’s 7 runs scored is what we signed him for)
Furcal- .400 AVG, 4 R, 3 RBI’s
Martin- (obviously) .642 AVG, 4R, 5 RBI’s
Kemp- .666 AVG +average defense
Ethier- .615 AVG, 3R, 6 RBI’s
….. Ethier has been a very bright spot these past 4 games and it seems as though Grady has noticed and is rewarding him in playing time. I love that Kemp and Ethier are in the same line-up tonight and i look forward to seeing them both smash this lefty! ….. I have trouble with all the rumors about the deals that are to be made and im sure none of them have much substance, but what bothers me most is that Ethier gets mentioned as the one to be traded if we were to get rid of one of our OF? Why? The guy not only raked most of last year (during his first big league appearance i might add) and won a starting job, and sure he slumped at the end of the year but he was having troubles with his shoulder and plus he is starting to pick it back up again this year. IMO getting rid of Ethier would hurt this club in more ways than i can explain, Kemp is a great ball player and will be for some time but Ethier has the same if not more value as Kemp does and has more experience than Kemp does so to me Ethier is untouchable and i hope Ned see’s it that way to!
I can see us going after one of these guys.
Jaimie Walker
George Sherrill
Casey Janssen
Scott Downs
Joaquin Benoit
Octavio Dotel
Joakim Soria
Al Reyes
Santiago Casilla
David Riske
Rafael Soriano
Matt Capps
Ryan Franklin
Damaso Marte
Jesus Colome
wow momo that would be terrible, not only is there no power but no experience to go with it. Sure they have loads of talent but come on you can only do so much with a young team, just look at the Marlins. They are a good team and are getting better but it will take time for them to let there talents show.
trade Hu. We won’t need **** for awhile!
I think with Ethier what we see is what we get and thats good enough for me, a guy who will hit between .280-.300 and OPS between 800 and 900. My take has been all year that he is one of our 3 best OF (Kemp, Ethier, Gonzo) and shouldn’t sit.
With Kemp what we see is only scratching the surface. He is 3 or 4 years younger than Ethier. Kemp is gonna mash. He really is. He has dominated all levels he has played while being younger that those he is playing against.
yeah i mean no one *wants* ethier traded, i just think people if pressed, would prefer him to be traded over kemp. of course, i like most would like to see them both stick around.
jungar—what about the proctor/brunney rumor? although i can’t imagine who we would trade to the yanks…
i think Hu, LaRoche and Young are the prospect Ned is throwing out there. Maybe Betemit as well. I think we are stuck with Nomar sadly.
Posted by: jspelk2@uic.edu | July 16, 2007 04:43 PM: “jungar—what about the proctor/brunney rumor? although i can’t imagine who we would trade to the yanks…”
NY needs a 1B; SEND THEM NOMAR! Seriously, like everyone else, they need starting pitching and we won’t want to send them any. They would probably like Loney as well – NED: DON’T TRADE HIM!
I just finished reading Sarah D. Morris’s column and before I write anything I have to say that that gal’s quite an inspiration. Also that her love for the Dodgers shows up in her columns more than anyone elses. The one thing that stands out in this latest column ____although I feel this team can make it to the post season as is____ I agree when she says the Dodger should sacrifice a playoff birth this season rather than give away their future. Yes, and the fact that GONZO’s contract ends at the end of the season, ETHIER should go back to LF thereby leaving RF to KEMP. Although we do lose out on a lotta HRS that can come from an outfield position when we have PIERRE, he does posses a lot of offensive talent(although I wish he was an infielder). No he’s not Ichiro Suzuki but he is Juan Pierre. I believe he racks alotta pitchers brains when they’re on the mound and he’s on base or at the plate in a given situation. Sarah says the Pierre acquisition was a mistake____ maybe it was_____ but I have to disagree in the fact that many times it’s paying off. Well I’ll be wearing the BLUE Our Lady of Mount Carmel San Paolino Giglio T-Shirt with the WHITE lettering and my matching LA cap tonight for all to see and hoping we keep on winning. GO YA BUMS___GO DODGERS!!!!
I think many posters look at trades backwards (junger a notable exception). Generally, and particularly for deadline deals, GMs make their target list first, then inquire. While they have their internal list of “untouchables”, etc., that doesn’t matter until they have a target. It’s not, “hmm let’s trade Tomko, Hu and Young; now what could we get for that?”
i agree…you have to look at both sides of the coin. imo laroche/meat/hu or someone of that caliber for a midline SP is the deal we should make. Relief pitchers are seriously inconsistent and i’d be weary to give up ANYTHING of value for them. otherwise its shades of the jeff shaw trade…lets not go there again.
even though yes, shaw was useful for a while.
The guys on that list above are all mid reliver/set up guys who are not on first or second place teams (a few exceptions). All have lots of “holds” and do pretty well on Batting Avg against and do well with inherted runners. I’d then look at a list of the top 20 starters available who throw well historically at dodger stadium. Someone else mentioned for example Wood Williams. One quick look and you say no way…Another look and you say, hmm maybe with a chance at a ring and his career success in these parks, lets roll the bones…
Williams this year:
4-10 5.34era 1.44 whip (barf)
Williams at Dodger Stadium:(career)
6-2 2.96 era 1.07 whip
9-9 3.38 1.18 at Petco
8-8 3.42 1.24 at Arizona
I hope we don’t do much wheeling and dealing this year. Not much out there, and everything that is out there is way overpriced. I’d rather have Houlton, Tomko, and Hendrickson start games for us occasionally than go out and make trades. Randy will be back soon, and hopefully he’ll be effective, he’s still a good pitcher. Also, this may be a bit premature, but why not call up Kershaw for a few starts if we’re really struggling with our SPs? Not saying give him the full time gig, but a few starts in the majors could boost his development even more, and could help the team out as well for a few games.
For those who are unaware. In Sun,’s game, with Robert’s @ bat,Broxton’s pitches, were
98; 97 & 100 mph. Roberts fouled them all off. He came back, with a change-up @ 87 mph (Inside corner) to strike Roberts out. That was awesome.
It was the 8th inning with the bases loaded….
I have to agree with those on the board that believe the Dodgers number one target should be a RP to pitch the 7th inning.
Dotel, Reyes, Lidge, Marte, or Otsuka would be my top five choices.
This is contingent on the fact that Wolf will be a decent number four starter the rest of the way…
As for a bat, the Dodgers have too many good offensive players to work in the lineup as it is, no sense adding another.
Both Kemp and Ethier should play everyday.
Betemit should play everyday.
Two of those three almost always sit!
i agree with mpdclarke.
they shoudl give kemp a shot in CF. and either right.
betemit is pretty good when he’s off the bench.
Momo, you have to be kidding, right? I want LaRoche to be as successful as the next guy but did you see him when he was called up?? If you are truly set on ridding 3rd base of Nomar, Betemit is a much better option. The kid has pop, he plays good D, and he gets on base (in spite of his 25 points over Mendoza average). And an unproven Hu over Furcal? Craziness! Pierre and Gonzo, well, they are what they are but to say they’re both worth ditching for D.Young?? C’mon. As of late, Pierre has been taking good at bats and Gonzo is the most patient hitter on the team. Abreu will be great (possibly 2nd is his next year) but while we have Kent, we have to take advantage of his bat.
Anyone see this from baseballsavvy.com:
“More importantly, the idea that the Dodgers might have to trade a player like Matt Kemp or James Loney or Chad Billingsley or Jonathan Broxton or Andre Ethier to get something valuable in return is total ****. There are always salary dumps, fine pieces to the puzzle, who can be had for less than the best prospects. Sometimes much less. There are always things you can do. Always, always, always.
Again, as I said last week, I’m talking about starters like Bronson Arroyo, in particular, and Woody Williams. And while I won’t take credit for it, since Tim McCarver said it first, Octavio Dotel is a great idea. Look for Colletti to get one or two of these guys.”
Thoughts?
Just to reiterate others’ earlier points:
Wilson Betemit since May 1st (107 PA) .275/.383/.659
James Loney (101 PA) .385/.446/.593
Matt Kemp (100 PA) .380/.420/.554
So why doesn’t Wilson start more?
betemit is pretty good when he’s off the bench.
Posted by: evy91_21@hotmail.com | July 16, 2007 05:39 PM
Betemit was 4-6 when he started on Saturday. STARTED.
Wilson Betemit has 10 HRs since May 1st in his last 107 AB’s Thats not bad guys.
since May 1st .275/.383/.659
By comparison A-rod has 12 in his last 136AB’s and Morneua has 9 in his last 134.
Is he a perfect player, no, **** no. But throw out April and the kid has been pretty decent. since May 1st .275/.383/.659
The Kid is 25.
Last season Maddux was acquired for the stretch drive for a fine-fielding, little-hitting SS, Cesar Izturis.
The quote kevinpoush@yahoo.com | July 16, 2007 05:40 PM
posted from “baseballsavvy.com” is right on, along with the list in:
Posted by: jungar@wsgcorp.com | July 16, 2007 04:33 PM
first of all, meat is not 25…whatever birth certificate he fudged to get i that way, fine. He is at least 26…he’s not a kid and he’s not a prospect anymore…but none of that is important. If it weren’t for salaries/blind loyalty to nomar he would be playing more. The FO isn’t THAT stupid, they’re just stubborn.
jspelk… he is 25… remember the braves got in trouble for signing him because he was too young. They were trying to say he was older than he was.
The story with Betemit is simple: He can’t hit lefties to save his life. So immediately he cannot be a full time third baseman. So you need somebody to platoon with him when we face left handed starters. Betemit is going to get his fair share of starts, he’s earned them. But they will only come against righties. Nomar can’t hit for whatever reason on the road, so if Nomar is not going to the DL, start him against lefties like tonight and even righties he’s had success against at home. But on the road Betemit should start all games against righties. For games on the road against lefties you can start Nomar or Abreu.
Personally, I don’t care if he’s 25 or 28- he doesn’t appear to be on the verge of breakdown. He looks good at 3rd and you can’t argue with the numbers that jungar posted. I think we all feel the same- he should be playing more often than Nomar. We love Nomar because of his years with the Sox, he seems like a great guy and he was a **** of a pick up last year. But last year was a long time ago and we’re in the second half of this year’s season. Production should trump all. Which, if they’re going to keep playing Nomar, it’s at least a start to put Loney ahead of him in the order.
ok i still don’t believe he’s only 25 but whatever, its not really the point i was trying to make. He’s been around for years and years. He had a few years playing behind chipper and renteria on the braves and subbing at various positions, i get that he never got his chance to start in ATL. Well, he got one here, and when you get your chance, you run with it and you don’t let go of it because you never know when you’re going to get that chance again. And that’s just what he did, he lost it. He IS the best option at 3b but Im just saying that he’s been around awhile and has yet to hold on to an everyday job in the majors. that’s all. i still believe he should be playing regularly because he’s the best option. I defer to alex’s plan.
To be fair he was buried behind two all stars in Furcal and Chipper. Like I say, like Alex is saying and many others are saying. Is he perfect no, is he bad enough that we need to trade top prospects in order to get a 3b, no. But he needs to play over Nomar . Nomar’s OPS is below Pierre’s and Brad Penny.
And Alex:
.231/.286/.385/.670 vs left (WB)
.190/.277/.241/.518 vs left (NOMAR)
.194/.256/.389/.645 abreu vs lefties.
Ok so we need to trade for a 3b who can hit lefties. How about we just throw olmedo out there! he kills lefties.
Olemdo would be a great idea 3 years ago. He’s a defensive liability and he hasn’t exactly shown he can hit anybody lately.
I pretty much agree Alex. That was sorta in jest. Olmedo might not be long for the roster. Without being able to play a spot and as u say his decline, how long can we keep him?
But vs lefties this year. that on base and power is pretty mean.
.227/.452/.545/.997
There are three N.L stadiums Nomar is batting over .300 in this season: Dodger Stadium (.329 avg/.387 OBP), RFK Stadium (.385) and Petco Park in San Diego (.357 avg/.379 OBP) Here’s the scary stat: There is not another N.L ballpark Nomar is hitting over .182 in this season. Those numbers tell you everything you need to know.
Lefty starter with Ethier 7 and Kemp 8 is a little weird. How about this, which still have some nice alternation:
Furcal, SS
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Kemp, RF
Ethier, LF
Nomar, 3B
Pierre, CF
Penny, P
penny looks fat. man im already nervous about the second half
Max: anything can happen, but the team IS in first place.
hahaha is kents walk up song Oye Como Va?
whew…..nice all around play for the boys in blue..including JP with the steal of 3rd and nomar with the rbi double….
looks like we might be able to score some runs tonight against that slow stuff moyer is throwing …
JP on base again!
Man, JP has a 80% or so success rate on steals. Hope nobody is still down on him.
He has zero power but he gets on and gets around. He may not be the best in the world but he’s what we’ve got and it’s working right now.
KENT KENT KENT!!!
yay kent!
Looks like the Phillies have thrown in the towel. They are more interested in saving the arms in the bullpen in a 6 to 1 ballgame then they are pinch-hitting for a high count pitcher and trying to get themselves back into the game.
(1)Not until tonight did I realize my nearly lifelong love affair with the Dodgers is responsible for my incredible streak of winning lotteries and having nice people from all over the world offering to send me very large sums of money just because they know that I’m nice. As soon as the checks arrive I will be making a generous offer to buy the Dodgers and you loyal fans will never have cause to complain about ownership again.
(2)While we wait back to…:alex at 5:53 suggested that Nomar start at 3rd against LH. Not a good idea as
jungar pointed out at 6:04.With his RBI double in the 1st, Nomar lifted his batting average against LH 13 points to 203 and his RBI total against them to 7.We are 17-8 against LH starters while carrying Nomar and Pierre because the other
starting position players hit LH so well. Our problem is our record against RH staters.A positive step there would be for Pierre to lead off against them at least until Furcal is 100%.
(3)alex,I read your post from 6:19 about Nomar’s hitting in NL parks but didn’t understand the lesson. I did note these were 3 big ball parks so I guess your commenting on Nomar’s lack of power but I wanted to be sure.
(4)Liked the line-up posted by old fogey against LH because it has Pierre batting 8; didn’t like it because 7,8,9 are relatively easy outs in a row.
(5)Why do you fans who post here prefer it to Dodgers.com?Wouldn’t it be better if these two sites were combined?
**** did Moyer throw a 5 pitch inning?
Hate to post so much all at once, but it looks like Penny is throwing all fastballs this inning.
Wonder if he’s trying to just get his 5 innings in and take his sore finger into the trainers room and let the relievers take over.
I wouldn’t mind if he goes 6.
That’s why I’m starting to love Pierre 5 run lead he already has two hits and he’s going full speed on a routine groundball to short. People need to relax and appreciate him like our boy Scully says ” speed doesn’t slump”
lol Moyer keep on letting 2 guys get on. Iin’t this like the 3rd times so far?
oops I mean isn’t this like the 3rd times so far?
yeah KEMP!!!
KEMP!!!!
Man! this kid amazes me every time he steps up to the plate.
And i also don’t think it’s a coincidence that since Bill Mueller has taken over as hitting coach the dodgers have averaged 5 runs and 11 hits per game.
MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!! MATT KEMP!!!
SIT BACK RELAX & ENJOY THE GAME.
Is this fun or what? And no I meant to show how big a difference there is between home and road for Nomar. Aside from S.D and Washington D.C he hasn’t hit better than .182 in any other N.L ballpark this season.
Come on METS!!
Nice Penny and to think I wouldn’t mind you to only pitch 6th innings.
11 pitches, 3 K for Penny in the 7th! 104 total pitches. Nice work, and way to help out the pen.
Some guy called me a trader because I root for the Los Angeles Dodgers the team that deserted Brooklyn. He told me his father was a Dodger fan until they left and then he became a Met fan. I told him his father was the trader because he went against his old team and I stuck to the same team all my life. Most people agree with him GO FIGURE.
Two three-run homers – you gotta love games like these.
WE NEED MORE GAMES LIKE THAT GOOD FOR THE ULSERS.
WE NEED MORE GAMES LIKE THAT GOOD FOR THE ULSERS.
Posted by: pierreseastmeetswest@yahoo.com | July 16, 2007 09:47 PM
Now if only I would quit drinking!
yea… games like this would make me go easier on the old liver.
Lol @ the friendly alcoholic bloggers.
Vin seemed pretty adamant last night that Mueller was a big reason behind the D’s offensive turnaround. Looking at the numbers, it’s a pretty stark difference. Of course having Loney and Kemp just destroying the baseball and getting on base a lot helps a ton, and Murray didn’t have any such opportunity. But Ethier, Betemit, and Pierre are all having markedly better at-bats and swings, and you’d think that change comes from somewhere, esp. with the younger two guys. I was even impressed by one of Pierre’s groundouts last night – he was much more patient, working the count, and he was a half-step from beating the throw.
From Gurnick’s article on last night’s game:
“Dodgers now lead the league in team batting average (.275) and have climbed to third in on-base percentage [.344]. When Mueller took over for Eddie Murray as hitting coach on June 15, the Dodgers were seventh in both categories.”
“…Bill Mueller’s torrid offense went double-digits in hits for the sixth consecutive game.”
Over the last 30 days, the Dodgers as a team are batting .317/.382/.457. That INCLUDES the pitcher’s spot. Team OPS over .800 = not too shabby. They’re actually 5th in the NL in slugging pct. in that timeframe, 1st in OBP and 1st in AVG (leading the majors in OBP and avg), tied for 1st in runs, 1st in hits (by a margin of 36 hits), 1st in triples, 2nd in BB, 14th in SO. Also, in that timeframe, 30 SB with 7 CS for an 81% success rate and more steals than any ML team.
I’m not saying Mueller did all of that. But I think that if the offense stays anywhere NEAR this productive, Coletti should be looking for pitching help instead of a power bat, waiting until the offseason to find a hitter. The power is actually starting to surge a little bit, and I’m not too worried now that the team is starting to hit better w/ RISP.
Great #s puppyhead, I don’t think they’re a coincidence. Remembering Mueller’s approach when he played it seemed as though he hit the ball the other way with ease, something that our line-up has been doing consistently since he has taken over.
Those #s just go to show that our offense is fine, Steve Phillips listed a Dye to LA trade as the most likely to take place before the trade deadline. Has he even watched the Dodgers play over the past 12 games or so? Not only does that trade make no sense, it goes to show you why Phillips is no longer a GM and that ESPN apparently has no interest or insight on west-coast teams.
I agree with you 100% puppyhead, the other day I was syaing we need a third basemen tbecause that is our biggest whole. I kind of like the idea of having Nomar start at home(w/ normal days off of course) and platoon him and Betemit on the road because Nomar continues to hit well at home. The offese is just firing on all cylinders and although it wont stay this hot the rest of they I dont see any signs of them returning to their 1 run status. A No. 2 or 3 pitcher now would make this team a virtual lock for the playoffs, although I think they are anyways because good hitting with really good pitching is better then no hitting with great pitching (Pads). But like I have been syaing all year, you get this Dodgers team into October ball and it will be very tough to beat a three man rotation of Penny, Lowe and Bills. Plus if Wolf comes back like he did in April you could use him as the No 3 and hae Bills dominate out of the bullpen like he did earlier this year. The main thing the front office needs to do is to decide which 3b is the 3b of the future and trade the other one(meat/laroche). So the Dodgers COULD make a trade but only if they keep Ethier, Kemp, Loney, Bills, and I also like Kuo when he’s healthy. So my advice would be only trade for a starter if we can get one packaging Laroche/meat and/or D young which come salary dump time will look really good.
The latest trade buzz I’ve heard is Octavio Dotel for either Delwyn Young or Kuo. Both seem expendable in my mind and Dotel would serve our team well as the 7th inning guy. Dotel-Broxton-Saito seems pretty imposing.
You know I’m either way on trading for a 7th inning guy… I think we are fine how we are with Beimel or Seanez, now obviously Dotel would be better and that way Beimel can be strictly situational and Seanez can be the long reliever (more or less). But I also think they could aquire a decent starter packaging D Young, and a starter I believe is more important than a reliever right now. I think the Dodgers have the availability of prospects that dont seem to have much future with the dodgers to go ahead and go after both a starter and a 7th inning type guy.
The astros are def. sellers and Brad Lidge has been struggling on their team, how about packaging something to get wood williams/jason jennings and Lidge? What would we have to give up?
I thought he wasnt closing for the stros but apparently he is still their closer, but they got some decent guys in th epen why not go after a 7th inning guy and a starter in the same deal is what I’m tryin to say.
This today from MLB.com:
“White Sox right-hander Jose Contreras is drawing attention from several teams, including the Dodgers, Braves, Phillies and Indians. Contreras is signed through 2009 and is due $10 million each of the next two years.”
I can’t believe that Ned would be interested in this guy. His numbers look Odalis-like to me…and so does his salary. Pass.
We won’t sign Contreras, I think the White Sox are stuck with that $20 million mistake. Their are better, less expensive options out there.
Def. pass on Contreras.. I love the idea of us going after woody williams, and never thought about him as a trade opp. Didnt he just sign with the stros last year? And just to add fuel to the third base fire, La Roche is tearing it up in vegas since he took that week off for his shoulder. He hit two more bombs last night… And for us this year, a solid 3/4 starter like williams, jennings is more valuable that the oft-injured dotel… but we will see. We are in a great situation where we dont really need to make a move, but it can also be dangerous bc any move that Ned makes pretty much has to pan out.. We really should be able to package D.Young, Kuo, Betemit/Laroche, Hu, Meloan into something really good. OSWALT!!
Just imagine the rotation next year– Penny, Lowe, Oswalt, Schmidt, Bills. It might be a bit of a pipe dream, but its a beautiful one…
I agree completely. We could even get W WWilliams this yr instead of Jennings and not have to sign Oswalt next year. Instead we could go after A Rod…..I know thats an even bigger pipe dream lol. I think the Dodgers arein a great sit. They can make a move and become even better, or stand pat and be just as good…so it must be the perfect move if Ned does any move at all.
Contreras is a bum. He’s been horrid this year and he would get lit up even in the NL.
What is KC smoking with Dotel? They’ll be lucky to get Delwyn and or Kuo..nothing better. Why can’t we try Meloan before trading for someone, more importantly…
Why are people so high on Williams? Jennings is clearly a better pitcher this year. Williams is 40 and his best years are behind him, Jennings is 28 and has never had the luxury of playing his home games outside of a launching pad (Coors/Minute Maid). Williams only put up good #s in St. Louis and San Diego.
Im high on Williams bc of how well he always pitched against the D’s and in Dodger stadium. He is a veteran one year rent a player who we could probably get for next to nothing, and he would really solidify the back end. With a guy like Jennings the stros are more likely to demand something legitimate, which i dont want to give up. D. Young for Jason Jennings just isnt worth it in my opinion..
We would have to give up more for Jennings but he would clearly be worth it. Young is blocked and Jennings is a solid back-end guy. Besides once Wolf comes back how much more value do you think Williams will bring us in comparison to Hendrickson? I can only see a push there in an absolute best-case scenario.
If Hendrickson and Tomko can hold it together, i think the Blue needs to go after a big bat!!! Mark Teixeira is there and available..I know that we would have to give up Loney, but, Tex is only 27 and already a proven HR hitter!!!
So we should stick with Hendy and Tomko, trade a bunch of our young talent and bench a guy hitting .380 to pick-up a guy coming off an injury in a down year? That move will never happen.
Sorry Kiper, no deal. Teixeira seems like a classic home wrecker to me and anyone who WANTS to play for Baltimore must be a little unhinged. I like our homegrown talent…
Your talking about trading Loney, probably a couple of minor leaguers. Loney is hot but, he is 24 and has “potential” where as Teixeira has a track record of hitting HR’s and again is only 27.
If we need a setup man, why Dotel? Let’s go get Gagne!! He’s out there and available.
For the reasons listed above, that deal will not happen. Loney has more than potential, he has enough of a successful MLB track record that we can go ahead and start calling this kid the real deal. Teixera is an upgrade in the power department, but we’d also be taking a hit in average and defense. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
sure, i mean. lets deal kemp for dye too, he’s only potential, dye is proven. seriously people, we can only hope our FO isn’t that stupid. I wonder how many times people will have to hear this, but…without an extension for tex, there will be no trade, and with boras as his agent, there will be no extension. Done.
Point well taken!!! I remove the Teixeira deal from consideration.
jspelk2, wow!! We’re just talking here, sorry to have offended your intelligence. Obviously, you have some GM experience… Good luck.
don’t get me wrong…what do i know? i just don’t see anyway that deal makes sense for us…yet people keep talking about it like its the savior for our team or something!
i mean obviously tex>>>than loney right now. but thats not the deal. its a year a two months of tex for loney under control for the next 5 years for pennies…is that worth it? maybe. but maybe not.
I guess the solution is, shore up the bullpen, tweak the starting rotation and hope we can continue to ride the resurgent offense for the next 2.5 months.. The Padres can be had, they’re offense is worse and i believe the D-Backs are going to start to fade…
right and just remember, the pods have barely had any injuries to deal with. imagine if 2/5 of their rotation had gone down…they’d be in bad shape. they are vulnerable b/c they have little minor league depth.
Great win last night. I forgot my labtop at work so I missed all you guys!! Nice hitting by everyone, Nomar included!! Let’s keep it going.
In general I would be happy with no trades this year but depending on what we would have to give up i’d think another reliver (although personally I would call up Meloan and try him before trading) or another starter can’t hurt. You can never have to much pitching and i’ll belive wolf to be effective again this year when i see it.
Per my post above: hitting is doing fine. Extra power would be nice, but let’s obtain it in the offseason and not sacrifice any of our top prospects. I think the best thing for this team would be a reliable back-end starter or a 7th-inning guy. I love Beimel as a situational lefty; I’m not sold on him as a regular 7th-inning guy d/t his numbers vs. RH. Seanez has been a wonderful surprise this year, however, I’d rather have him as a long reliever or extra-innings innings eater than as a 7th-inning guy.
I like the idea of Williams or Jennings in the 4-5 spots in the rotation. The Ds have enough farm depth to unload someone talented who will likely never be a Dodger to shore up either the ‘pen or the rotation; those moves, without giving up Broxton/Bills/et al, are all I would like to see done. If no moves are made, I wouldn’t be too sad.
And what about Piazza for Saenz/Martinez/Lieberthal and a low prospect? The A’s probably don’t want him anymore, and if he’s healthy he’s a better bench hitter than Saenz (this year) I’m sure. The bench will be important down the stretch, and so far our pinch-hitters haven’t been what they were in the past.
But Piazza is hardly serviceable as a backup catcher, and you never know he would be satisfied being simply a pinch hitter. If we did that we would almost have to call up a third catcher from triple A… Granted Lieberthal only catches once a blue moon, you still need a backup catcher if, GOD FORBID, anything were to happen… And in late inning situations, you cant use your backup catcher as a pinch hitter. Personally, id like to see us call up ben davis or something and let Lieberthal pinch hit occasionally…. We are paying him a lot of money to do pretty much nothing…
Good points, ewk. What if he were OK with pinch hitting? He was not healthy this year even as a DH; he’ll probably retire after this season. Who knows, maybe he’d love to end his career with the Dodgers in a pennant race…I’m sure he’d rather do that than do nothing for the A’s in his final season.
Keep Kemp
Screw Dye
Keep Loney
Keep Billingsley
Conner Jackson may be on his way to the white sox for jon garland or prehaps john danks.
Id LOVE him as a pinch hitter– i just think it means we have to pull up another catcher which could throw in wrench in the 25 man roster… But im sure he’d love it, and im sure the A’s would be happy to take any one young decent player for him….
If Lieberthal stayed and they traded Saenz/Martinez, it would open up a bench spot…
Is Williams sending $20 million with Contreras to get someone to take him off his hands?
Seriously, this guy is killing the White Sox with one terrible start after another. If he placed him on waivers nobody would claim him.
He has negative trade value.
I would love to add Dotel at the cost of a B or C Prospect.
No way keep the kids we don’t need a bat. We need a starter but I don’t think we can get anyone better than Hendrickson. Keep the team in tact we have a future!!!!
Kendall was traded so Piazza can catch again.
“This also gives Jason an opportunity to get into what he relished when he got over here, which was to be with a team that is right there knocking on the door,” A’s general manager Billy Beane said. “I think it’s a place he’ll thrive in and people there in Chicago will also identify with a guy like Jason.”
Last month, the A’s announced Mike Piazza would be a catcher again once he recovers from a shoulder injury — so he could be Suzuki’s backup while also doing some work as designated hitter. Kendall has caught at least 143 games in each of the past seven seasons and 150 or more in four of those years.
For the reasons listed above, that deal will not happen. Loney has more than potential, he has enough of a successful MLB track record that we can go ahead and start calling this kid the real deal. Teixera is an upgrade in the power department, but we’d also be taking a hit in average and defense. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it!
Posted by: charris1010321@yahoo.com | July 17, 2007 11:32 AM
Im sorry charris but i just had to correct you. Teixiera is a lifetime .283 hitter and has won gold gloves the last two years. He’s a great player.
Jspelk… Teix is under control for at least one more year after this year I believe. And LA would have the money to keep him.
I am not advocating a trade for him, I’m just stating facts and what i believe to be true.
It’s not a question of Texiera vs Loney. It’s a question of Texiera for Loney and two top prospects.
OK dodgerdude you got me on defense there as Teixera has won gold gloves but is he as athletic at the position as Loney has shown? Loney seems to be making highlight plays on a nightly basis. And do you really think that Loney is only a .283 type hitter? Listen, I think Teixera is an awesome player but do we really need to upgrade on Loney right now? Texeira will require the type of $ that will keep us from landing a huge 3B in the offseason while Loney is under contract for several years on a much lower pay scale. Tex would have been a good move if Loney wasn’t panning out but he is so I still believe that move makes no sense.
the only trade that make sense to me right now is to find a mediocre number 4/5 starter… the relief is not a problem if we can find a number 5 starter… it’s just a problem rayt now coz we don’t have a real number 5 starter so we can put Hendy back to the pen…
we don’t need to give youngsters rayt now for a months rental power bat…
Loney, Kemp, Ethier are Untouchables…
and in the nomar, betemit issue…
i think nomar is the best option…
nomar plays everyday…
betemit gets his average more on coming of the bench…
when betemit is starting he doesn’t usually hit…
we all know that when betemit hits 2 or more it usually comes from giving nomar a day off…
so i think nomar to third this year before acquiring our dream guy in third(A-ROD)next year…
dodgerdude..you’re forgetting about the fact that Tex a. doesn’t want to play in LA, he’s a east coast dude and he’s expressed his desire to stay there and b. i doubt mccourt is breaking out the checkbook for what boras will be asking for. so if you feel like looking for a new 1b in ’09, sure, lets trade for him. He’s a great player.
charris… i agree. Like I said, I am not advocating for us to trade for Teix because Loney is doing very well and will be making far less money than teix over the next 5 years. I do believe teix is better than loney in most every way, even defense, but overall it doesn’t make sense for us to do that trade. BA to me is not as important as OBP and SLG, and i think teix is superior in those two stats. Loney is still very good though, teix is a good amount better but way more expensive in terms of money and talent that it would get to trade for him. Stick with our kid.
jspelk… do u not read what i post? I am not saying trade for teix. I’m am just saying he’s good, and better than Loney. Also, he’d go where the money goes, so don’t say stuff like its a “fact” Tex doesnt want to play on the west coast. Maybe he has preferences but enough cash will get him out here.
dd–then you should read my post, where i clearly typed tex>>>loney. so i agree with you. and i do think that where someone plays has an effect on where they sign,and i don’t think mccourt will outbid everyone else for him. do you?
again, i understand and agree with what you’re saying in theory. i just can’t see us a. getting tex to agree to an extension giving boras is his agent b. us shelling out what boras will be asking for. and lets make no mistake it would take one of our top pitching prospects to get it done too, since that is what texas really wants anyways.
naw, especially not with loney around and doing well. If we did the trade for Teix, I could see McCourt ponying up the dough though. But I dont think i’d want that, its not worth it and that money could go to other places like keeping all our kids here longterm.
so we’ve been agreeing the whole time… why we gotta argue so much? ha. and no, i didnt see your Teix >>>> Loney post.
I’ve even heard that a lot of power hitters refuse to sign with NL West teams because their #s will depreciate at our Yosemite sized parks out here. For that reason, A-Rod might be out of the question next year, which ***** but when career and season #s drive contract values, I guess you can’t blame them.
as long as ARod doesnt go to the Gnats I’m fine with us not getting him. If he does, all bets are off. you bring up a good point also. tex-playing in a bandbox. same with dye. same with dunn(although he can hit it out anywhere).
about the NL west parks thing, its really only SD and SF that hurt hitter in terms of homers. Dodger Stadium doesn’t yield as many total runs as most other NL parks, but homer totals are average at worst when compared to the rest of the NL. Mix in those few road trips a year to COL and its not so bad. LAD wouldn’t be that bad for A-Rod in terms of homers lost due to NL West Parks. SF is friendlier to right handed hitters too. I think the same is true in SD. Again, A-Rod will go where the money goes.
Here’s a link to ESPN’s park factor system in case you are interested.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor?sort=HRFactor&season=2007
A-Rod will be in LA next year, just not in Blue!!!He will be an Angel, and that’s OK as far as baseball goes, but business wise the Angels would really put a dent in the Blue’s domination of the SoCal dollar..
The Dodgers need to stay the course. They need to find 1 or 2 pitchers, starter or setup/closer, and i think the rest will take care of itself. The young guys will hit and the veterans will lead so let’s hang on and we will win the WEST!!!
I’d really hate it if the Angels for A-rod… I’m pulling for the Red Sox to get him… talk about high drama.
Well, if it’s about ego’s you know Theo Epstein has a huge one!!!