Tonight's lineup
As you can imagine, much of today has been spent planning for next week’s onslaught of media that is following the home run chase. There was an interesting article on SI.com about those covering it, many of whom we’ll see next week en masse. Among the many things we have to take into consideration is where all these people will park, where they’ll sit, where all the photographers will shoot from, etc.
And we’re hoping to see some of you at the Sleepover tonight at Dodger Stadium. The game will be on DodgerVision, with this lineup:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Loney, 1B
Kent, 2B (five career homers off Fogg, tied for his most against any pitcher)
Gonzo, LF
Nomar, 3B
Ethier, RF
Lieberthal, C
Tomko, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Yay, Martin gets a day off…we can stop talking about it now. Also, the Phillies have traded for Iguchi from the White Sox to replace Utley.
Saw on the NY Post LAD are looking at Scott Proctor
Alex – Where did you pull that trade from? I want to read about it
Darn, this puts the phils back in the playoff hunt, kinda.
Phillies acquired second baseman Tadahito Iguchi from the White Sox for RHP Michael Dubee.
its on mlbtraderumors.com… i wonder if we could use proctor as a starter. crazy idea i know…
Anybody here think Nomar should be batting eight or nine in tonight’s lineup? Lieberthal can get things going with the bat most of the time.
Ok finally Martin gets a day off!!! but do you think its a good choice to take it now?? are will they all so give him Sunday as well so he can have todays off with Monday being no game????
*also* and sorry menat to write 2 days off (instead of todays)
I’m willing to do that Cheer!
Personally, I think they should have waited till Sunday to rest him to give him 72 hours off. But, with tonight off he gets 48 hours to rest his body (Thursday night until Saturday night). So, Martin will now play both tomorrow and Sunday and get Monday off. So he’ll get 48 hours and then about 54 hours off after the Sunday afternoon game until the Bonds express rolls into the Ravine Tuesday night. So, actually if you think about it that way he’ll get more time off this way…
Rosenthal reports that Loney/Ethier/Meloan for Teixeira/Benoit has been proposed.
Terrible, terrible idea.
and then rosenthal wakes up realizes tomko/lurch are our 4-5 starters, and realizes we have more pressing needs?
UGH!!!!!, can the trade deadline please pass already???
where’s that trade rumor from momo?
Foxsports.com
Under the article about Teixeira and the Braves.
Furcal
Pierre
Martin
Tex
Kent
Gonzo
Kemp
Nomar/Meat
Pitcher’s spot
I gotta say i like how that looks.
before you start bashing me… I really do like our kids, Loney included. I just like Tex more than Loney and Kemp more than Ethier. That’s my logic for liking the rumored trade.
Yeah, until he leaves after next season and we’ve lost Loney forever…untouchable, I still don’t understand how this ‘rumor’ is still out there…
1+ year of Teixeira is NOT worth 5+ years of Loney/Ethier/Meloan. No way.
that’s all fine and great DD, until you realize that we’ll be paying the rest of his salary this year, then about 12 million in arb next year, and then he’ll be gone. Oh yeah, and we’ll have to find another 4th outfielder (someone who won’t be as good as Ethier I’m sure).
ok the trade I heard just a few minutes ago on kfwb by A Martinez was that KC wants La Roche for Dotel straight up. Martinez said if it were up to him it would be a done deal.
glad Martinez aint our GM. What a rip off that would be. Where’s KC going to play him? LF? 1st?
It’s not even CLOSE!
5 years of Loney
5 years of Ethier
6+ years of Meloan (he’s not even on the 40 man roster)
FOR…
14 months of Texiera
The Angels can give up Kotchman etc…they can have Texiera, or the Braves for Saltalamacchia etc…stupid trade rumor…
WOW… no way! thats 10 times worse than Hu or Abreu… I’ve lost all respect for A Martinez now.
how about Betemit for Dotel straight up
LaRoche for Dotel!!!!
Excuse me while a puke for the next 3 hours!
haha jspelk… that makes no sense from either side of the deal. What’s A Mart thinking?
Martinez is a fool.
I’ve lost all respect for A Martinez…
I’d be up for meat and hernandez but thats about it.
knowing ned he’s probably going to Tampa Bay for Ty Wiggington š
On Tex, he’s a star. The home/road splits worry me a little, but there’s little doubt in my mind that he’s a proven big league star. My stance has always been that if your gonna pay money or talent for players, pay for stars. We’ll have money to pay him, so if we want to keep him I am sure we can, although it would be very pricey, and would take us out of the running for any A-Rod deal. And of course… its true there’s no guarantee that he’ll sign with us. To be clear, I am not 100% for a Tex deal, more like 60-65%. I like the financial flexibility that having the kids around long term would provide us. It’s dicey, and i think i am happy either way. Tex trade or no tex trade. I just don’t want us trading top tier blue chip prospects for relievers. I think that would be far worse than any Tex deal.
Oh you know Ned is all over Ty Wiggy jspelk… that’s his style.
In all seriousness, the Dodgers are better off standing pat.
This trade market is just like the free agent market was last winter, completely Seller Friendly.
Just like happened to most buyers during the off-season (uhum…Colletti), buyers at the trade deadline will be robbed blind. The only difference is that instead of costing us $ its gonna cost us potential studs like LaRoche, Loney, Kemp, Kershaw, ect.
It’s simply not smart to buy in this type of market atmosphere. Its really no coincidence those guys down in San Diego decided to sell when they are in the middle of tight race. Those boys know what they’re doing.
Heading into last year laroche was rated as a higher prospect than Kemp, Loney, Martin, Ethier by everyone in baseball. In our system only Bills was rated higher.
Would A trade one of those guys for a freaking reliver with more arm issues than Gagne?
I was on tough as Nomar as anyone here but jeez guys since the AS break:
.326 .383 .488 .871
we’d be better of if we called up Meloan and just went forward with the team we hvae now. Maybe even give LaRoche another look.
I’ll just say Nomar is the least of our concerns right now, he’s been very solid lately.
well even if you want to go the route of well, nomar will be playing 3rd so theres no room for laroche anyways, he ought to be turned around for a quality starter, not a reliever.
Agreed, if we called up Meloan we’d immediately be a better team than ANYTHING we’d have to give up to get better. If we trade Betemit, LaRoche would be called up. Personally I just think Ned is testing the waters, to see what’s available and for how much. He’d be an idiot not to look into the Texiera situation, but to trade for him for what is being asked for is beyond insane. There’s nothing wrong with looking, just so long as you don’t touch! DON’T TOUCH NED, DON’T TOUCH!
also if we did do this utterly stupid deal, we’d have all but 2 position players making 7 million or more per year. Thats disgusting. Good teams win by mixing stars getting paid like stars with cheap young talent. This trade would tip us in the direction of the yanks and would without a doubt set us back.
http://i12.tinypic.com/61tin83.jpg
omg my friends sis sent this to her myspace page
Before this season Baseball Prospectus ranked Andy LaRoche the 20th best prospect in baseball. To trade that for a reliever would be absurd, especially when our 3B situation isn’t close to 100% settled yet.
As much as Teixeira is a top notch first baseman, he hasn’t been healthy this season, he plays in a hitter friendly park, and he is going to want a butt load of money. I think we need to keep our nucleus of young kids and add an arm or a top notch third baseman. Sorry, but Nomar and Betemit don’t cut it.
Sorry, but Nomar and Betemit don’t cut it.
—
are you talking defensively?
On offense since July 1 our two third baseman are doing this. Go find me someone not named A-rod doing this at 3b
.400 .514 .700 1.214
.309 .382 .412 .793
Laroche will be every bit as good as Martin, Kemp and Loney next year or the year after.
I like Max’s stance. Call up Meloan and give LaRoche another look.
I agree, Meloan and LaRoche can help us now.
Where is LaRoche going to play?
Meloan & La Roche will be sept call ups hopefully they’ll come up even sooner.
Padres acquired outfielder Scott Hairston from the Diamondbacks for RHP Leo Rosa
I enjoyed the article by Chris Ballard of SI on the HR record chase. This is the second one for me. I wasn’t born yet when Ruth set the record. I was a happily married man with a family when Aaron broke it. Now I’m pushing 70, Retire, divorce and I think a widower(my ex-wife passed on about 10yrs after the divorce). I personally think that it is an important event. I’m disapointed, of course, that it is a Giant that will hold the record, BUT I’ll honor the record when it is accomplished, asterisk or no asterisk. What ever the final total is that will be the figure for A-Rod and other to shoot for. As for last night’s game which ended up a typical close Dodger victory, games I love AFTER THE’RE OVER. BUT I think from now on I’m going to call Little “HOOKLESS”. I am a great believer in the 100 pitch count but I don’t think you should leave a pitcher in when the other team is using him for batting practice even after “ONLY” 81 pitchers. So it’s Hookless Little. LET’S GO TOMKO. COM’ON DODGERS!!!!
we had room to have Abreu on the team, why not make room for LaRoche. Drop Ramon Martinez, add LaRoche. Play Meat as primary SS/2B backup and give Kent and Furcal rest every now and then. Rotate LaRoche, Meat, and Nomar at 3rd. Give LaRoche as many pinch hit opps as possible. Drop Hernandez and add Meloan.
“Saw on the NY Post LAD are looking at Scott Proctor”
I feel like punching something!!!
After thinking it over some, I’m starting warm up to the Teixeira trade idea. Maybe (and this is a huge maybe) he will enjoy playing here enough to seriously consider re-signing after 2008. We could easily offer $100 million and by that time he’d have familiarity with L.A.
I still HATE the idea of giving up a great young pitcher like Meloan.
Stop fooling yourselves…he’s a Boras client, he’s going to leave and go to the highest bidder. I’m starting to feel ill that we’re still talking about this even though the L.A Times hasn’t mentioned anything about us involved whatsoever. It’s not going to happen…
5 years of Loney
5 years of Ethier
6+ years of Meloan (he’s not even on the 40 man roster)
FOR…
14 months of Texiera
NO!
Why couldn’t the Dodgers be the highest bidder? Lots of contracts will be off the books by then.
Living on the East Coast I really have to get into it to keep up with the Dodger farm clubs. I just don’t have the time to make the effort. The only information I get is from this website and mostly from you guys. It’s nice to hear that LaRoche is doing so well and this kid Jon Meloan and Kershaw must be sansational. I really can’t wait to see them. I just hope it’s in Dodger Blue. I remember Scully raving about the Jacksonville 5.
Ok, so the proposed deal:
5 years of Loney
5 years of Ethier
6+ years of Meloan (he’s not even on the 40 man roster)
That equals a little over 1 million dollars a year for the next 2-3 years, then arbitration for the final three seasons before free agency.
OR…
14 Months of Texiera
He’s going into his final year of arbitration which he will command over ten million dollars for 2008. He’s making nine million this season. Also, if we somehow bid the highest he’s going to command at the very least 120 million dollars for seven years. I highly disagree with this ‘rumored’ trade and I can’t believe I’m talking about this trade that’s just not going to happen. It’s a waste of all our time…
In regards to Proctor, I don’t buy anything in the N.Y Post. Any paper that has A-Rod with a blonde as their front page story…sorry I’ll find my news from other sources.
Instead of going after texiera we should go after Tori Hunter.
Brad Penny .293/.326/.390
Juan Pierre .284/.316/.337
Hunter
AVG .298
HR 21
RBI 73
OBP .342
SLG .548
We would be running away with the west if he was in our lineup compared to JP. He has as many HR as Pierre has RBI
i really doubt mccourt is sprining for a big pay day anytime soon. he spent (some would say wasted) a great deal of money in the offseason and our payroll is already 100 milllion plus. How much higher would you like it to go? I know its not our money who cares right, but it is a factor. Also, I don’t think this deal would be good for team chemistry/morale at all, something that has been given importance by managment… do you?
Any news on D Lowe yet?
I can’t wait for the trade deadline to pass. For me no trade for the kids will be OK so I just take what comes. I think Alex is right about Mark Texiera because his agent is Boras. Texiera won’t be looking for a good long term home. He will be looking for a big, big, long term contract. Three top kids for him is a no go even though Benoit is also included. Having said that, I think some prospects are at risk of being traded. – Abreu, Hu, Meloan, LaRoche. Nomar and Kent probably will be on board again next year. Can’t hold both Hu and Abreu for another year. One perhaps. Meloan is a closer in waiting – we have Broxton already in waiting. As Abreu and Hu are backed up, so is LaRoche. If we were further down in the standings the kids would be more safely in the fold. As it is a trip to the post season blurs the picture for them. Perhaps Ned can keep the kids who are on the Dodgers or close by using lower level prospects. – Josh Bell, Blake Dewitt, Delwyn Young, young pitchers. Protect Kershaw, MacDonald, Elbert(injured)
Tarp is out on the field in Denver, there is a potential 3-4 hour window of no rain, so the game may still take place tonight. But, it’s going to be a lot like last night all over again.
astros are up 1-0 in the first
BTW, Lowe’s injury is what they’re calling hip irritation, it’s unknown if he’ll miss his next start. But, it’s not his groin, at least not directly so we’ve dodged two bullets in two days. Both Penny and Lowe were seen working out today. This is according to KFWB about 15 minutes ago.
When was the last time the Dodgers wee rained out?
That’s (were)
If the’re going to call it I hope it’s sooner than later, there are things I could do. But I hope the game is played we’re having enough trouble with our starting pitching lately, this could drive them really off track.
BREAKING NEWS FROM ESPN.
The Dodgers have acquired pitchers Octavio Dotel and Zach Greinke from Kansas City for Jonathan MeLoan and Delwyn Young. To make room on the roster for Dotel and Greinke the Dodgers have released Roberto Hernandez and designated DJ Houlton for assignment.
To DD: Have you seen Betemit field? You want to risk close-late games with him at second or short? Absurd.
To others:Ty Wiggington is a solid 2nd tier player having a fine season.He always plays hard, as tough as Martin. If we had him all year we wouldn’t have a 3B problem and where would Nomar and Loney be? But he makes too much money to replace Saenz which is what he would do on the Dodgers.But if you were making fun of him or Ned you’re wrong.
Actually at this stage of the what 17 days without a break, I think it would be nice for a rain out.
Gives the relivers another day of rest, pushes the starters all back a day, which means an extra day of rest for Lowe, a day for Penny and a day for Wolfe to get some more time in the minors.
I think a rain-out could be quite beneficial.
#1 rad blue I just went to ESPN’s site and could find no news of a trade like you just mentioned.
#2 Miketink, are you kidding? Betemit is a superior fielder at both 3B and SS and I would suspect is as good if not better then Kent at 2B. Geeesh.
obviously you didn’t watch betemit play second last night….cheap shot i know, but still. dude is better off at 3rd.
During this rain out I just posted to Tommy Lasrda’s blog. I’m the only one there com’on you oldies go talk to him he must be lonely. You youngies who don’t remember him. Ya really miss sumptin’.
at this stage of Kents career I think your right paulg57
Oh sorry I mean RAIN (DELAY)
You are correct jspelk. Very few games get through to the Idaho air.
I live vicariously through this board for most of the info on the Dodgers.
Funny, for years it was The Sporting News, and now it’s the internet.
Game postponed, no make-up date announced, so Martin gets a day off and yet won’t have to miss a game. My guess is they’ll schedule a doubleheader for the next time we come to Denver, September 18-20.
Good deal for us, the roster will be expanded in September and we can play a double header easier then.
See ya later.
Jspelk: not a cheap shot at all.I love these people who think “words” like geeesh settle the matter. If Betemit could field well enough to play ss everyday he’d still be on Atlanta. At 2nd he is truly incompetent. He does not field at the level of a ML utility inf. and if we don’t have such a player he will cost us games but I don’t think management is so foolish.
I do agree with the geeesh man the we will benefit by being rained out tonight.
I believe the trade rumor above is a hoax in that I don’t think that’s enough to get those 2 KC pitchers.
I am disappointed about the rainout, but only because I miss baseball.
It’s great–a relief for our pitching. We can move all of our starters back a day, and our relievers get a day off. Martin gets a rest. This is good.
Can anyone confirm the post by radbluefan51 about the trade for Dotel and Greinke. It seems feasible, but questionable. Giving up Meloan is a bit risky, but I could see it. Giving up Delwyn Young makes sense because there does not seem to be room for him, and he is out of options after this year (I think). DFA’ing Houlton does not make sense. He has options left, so the only reason to DFA him is to make room on the 40-man roster. We would need two spots. But Young is/was on the 40-man roster, and by releasing Hernandez, that makes room for the other. So I could see optioning Houlton back to Las Vegas, but not DFA’ing him.
Anyone???
Radbluefan gave himself away when he said designated Houlton for assignment, he still has options…it’s fake
what happens with the guys at the sleep over now with the rain out? I hope they don’t show them taht horrible Sandlot 2 or 3 movie the dodger were promoting the **** out of. If you’re going to play a Sandlot movie play the orginal!
as much as Nomar as “turned it around” since the break I’d bet LaRoche would out produce him the rest of the season.
im suprised no one blamed GRADY for the rain-out yet….what a shock š
I’ve been looking at DodgerDude’s ongoing rumors about Texiera. First, I should say what I’ve been saying for a while–I just don’t believe it. Rosenthal has made conflicting reports, and says that the Dodgers have offered Loney, Ethier and Meloan. The only other person flogging that trade is Evan Grant and the goons at the Dallas Morning News. I think they just don’t like Tex, since they are so hot for Loney.
It’s an anonymous source, and I am guessing that it is once again coming from Daniels. Frankly, turning down Loney, Ethier and Meloan for Tex and Benoit would be sort of silly for the Rangers unless–and this is the key–they could find a way to get the bidding up. And insisting that the deal include Kershaw makes no sense. Hey, I’m optimistic about Kershaw too, but he’s still in A-Ball. Too much can happen. Meanwhile, Meloan is by all accounts actually ready, and still not on the 40-man roster (meaning he’s not using up options).
Here’s the other thing–no one in LA is writing about a trade of Loney, and Ned has, while not ruling anything out, repeatedly said it would have to be a knock out. Tex is good, but as I explain below, no knock-out. So why would Dodger sources give tips to a national reporter and Dallas reporters, but not to their local guys??? I mean, this would be pretty big news in LA, and yet there is almost not a peep from the Dodger beat writers. I have not heard it on Dodgers Live, or Dodger Talk. If this were out there, wouldn’t ever reporter that covers the Dodgers be hounding Colletti about dangling out not one but two of their young core? It does not make sense.
However, it DOES make sense for Daniels to CLAIM that the Dodgers have offered Loney, Ethier, and Meloan. By trying to drum up the interest in him, Daniels could get other teams to raise their bids for Texiera. If the Braves are willing to part with Saltalamcchia (who is much more valuable as a catcher than a first baseman, and they already have McCann), it’s a great pick-up for the Rangers. And they are more likely to drive up the price of bidders if they keep throwing out that other teams are making big offers. I don’t know if the Braves are offering Salty, or the Angels offering Kotchman, either. Someone is clearly in play for Tex, and I don’t know enough about the other teams (except for the fact that the Braves have two possible star catchers, and no star first baseman) to know if these are real or designed to drive up the price of Tex, but I am firmly convinced that the Loney rumors are trumped up.
Yes, DodgerDude, I realize that this is reading between the lines, but you have to do it. Reporters have human instincts, and GMs do, and they can manipulate information to their advantage. And that’s what I think is going on here.
The other reason is that I don’t see such a trade making sense. I can see why you like Texiera DodgerDude (and, since I have a couple of young nephews who like baseball and live near Dallas, I hope that the Rangers don’t trade him, because he’d be a great guy for them to root for). But while he’s good, he’s not necessarily great, and by no means is it clear that he’s better than Loney–in fact, Loney may already be better.
Jungar posted the home road splits. Tex plays great in Arlington, not as well elsewhere. Dodger Stadium is a notorious pitchers park, and it’s safe to assume that Tex’s home production would go down.
But even if it is the same, look at Loney’s home/road splits. Loney does much better on the road. So while it would be assumed that Loney would improve away from Dodger Stadium, it’s fair to assume that a player with a higher road average will improve his home average just by becoming used to the park.
It’s also against the philosophy that Colletti has shown. Some people have disliked moves to get veterans who can fill holes, and have blocked kids. But Colletti has almost always gotten older veterans and clubhouse leaders. Tex is a young guy. Colletti has not traded any kid who has been central to the team’s situation, and Loney clearly is. And, as everyone has pointed out, Tex has Borass as an agent, and can go to the market after 2008. Loney is not eligible for antoher 5 years–that’s a lot of money to save for a lot of other contracts, and for a player that ranges from almost as good to somewhat better.
Throw in Ethier, and it makes less sense. That means Kemp is the starting Right Fielder full time. I could see that–Kemp certainly is hitting, but we got Gonzo in the off-season because we were not ready for that. Also, who gives Gonzo a day off? We only have 4 outfielders? And who starts in left field next spring.
Anyway, the point is that we should definitely keep Loney and not get Tex (my prediction, by the way, is that history will prove Loney the better player, though they will be close). And I just don’t believe it’s under serious consideration.
So, sorry for the long post. But here’s confirmation for my theory from Tony Jackson, via Dodger Thoughts:
“There is NO WAY the Dodgers proposed that deal. NO WAY.”
Check out comment #5
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/archives/2007/07/tonights_lineup_56.html
It’s possible that Ken Rosenthal knows more about the Dodgers than a pretty good sports writer that covers them every day. But to quote Wayne and Garth, it’s also possible that monkey’s might fly out of my butt.
well i do agree with you in that, watching the Braves game right now, they are talking a lot about this trade. None of our annoucers have said anything about this, maybe its not their style…but still.
no trades.
If we finish this season with LaRoche, Kemp, Billingsley, Loney and Either i’d consider it a successful season regarless of how we finish the season. Of course playoffs and a world series would be nice as well but I’d rather keep playesr that could help us contend for 5-10 years then trade them away for guys who will only help us contend for 1 or 2.
I hope this will help:The Dodgers have only 39 players on their 40-man roster;in addition we have at least 3 if not 6 players on the 40-man who could be placed on the 60-day DL where they don’t count on the 40-man.
Meloan and Young are not enough just for Greinke.
The problem as I see it in my eyes, and my eyes only, is that currently the Dodgers have a feel about them like I have not seen since the days of Garvey, Lopes, Cey, Buckner, et al.
I love that we have so much home grown talent, and in the day of free agency and players moving around from year to year, I think it’s terrific that we potentially have the ability to have the same players on the roster for several years to come.
This is like the old days in the new millineum.
I just love it and don’t want to trade any of our super talent.
With that said I would like to see at least a relief pitcher come on board and perhaps bring up Meloan to start.
Other then that if no trades are made, then Lurch goes to the bullpen and some of the LV guys get the chance to start/relieve.
Just don’t trade the future for a few minutes of pleasure.
Regarding Barry Bonds and the Giants visiting next week, I would like to pose a hypothetical question just to see what people think about it. If the Bochy plays Bonds, should we give him the opportunity to even attempt tying (or breaking) the record? I suggest intentionally walking (or beaning) Bonds each time he steps to the plate as a gesture of disapproval. I don’t want to hurt Barry, but I would hate to see any Dodger pitcher surrender the tying/record-breaking home run, especially considering the circumstances surrounding the suspicions of steroid use. Of course, Barry didn’t hit our pitchers at all when we visited SF last series, and so I could definitely understand pitching to him. But what if someone makes a mistake and 755/756 lands in the Right Field Pavilion? I think not pitching to him, or throwing AT him would be giving Barry what he deserves.
LaRoche homered again. 10 this month.
mmmmmm Andy LaRoche. Between him and Bills im all out of man crushes.
Padres have signed Shea Hillenbrand to a minor league contract, that’s got to be some locker room, eh? Bradley, Barrett, Hillenbrand, Wells…