You did it again! (plus our lineup)
I’m pleased to let you all know that Wes Parker was named as the first baseman on Rawlings All-Time Gold Glove team. So many of you voted for him and having spoken with him yesterday, he couldn’t possibly be happier. He sent along this message to share with everyone:
"This award wraps up my career in the most beautiful way possible. I did not expect it. I had a shorter career than the other honorees, have been retired the longest (one year longer than Willie Mays) and was not sure fans would remember me after 35 years away from the game. Also, I am the only one of the nine who is not, or will not soon be, in the Hall of Fame, so am thrilled to have won.
I took great pride in my fielding. The first base position, I think, has been slighted over the years by players thinking they have only to catch throws and dig balls from the dirt to play it well. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dedicated first basemen charge bunts, range to their left and right for grounders, dive for balls, run all over the place for pop-ups and use their arms aggressively. They take risks, go after everything and defend their ground with pride and determination. And in doing all this they expand the position from one of passivity and conservatism to one of action, excitement, daring, beauty and grace.
I was lucky to have been born with good eyesight, quick reactions and a younger brother, Lyn, who for ten years smashed ground balls at me in our front yard. We were just two kids doing what we loved but that period between the ages of eight and 17 clinched for me the respect I have always felt for good defensive play and tried to exhibit during my nine-year career with the Dodgers.
Six months ago, when I first heard of my nomination, I was excited to be the lone Dodger representative among the other 50 and to be included among such fine men and long-time friends as Bill White, Brooks Robinson and the great Roberto Clemente. I am even more excited today to have learned that I finished on top at my position and for this I thank the many voting fans and friends around the country for recognizing my contributions. I also thank the O’Malley family for giving me the chance to play this wonderful game at the big league level, and the current Dodger organization for believing that I deserved to win. Lastly, I thank Rawlings for their 50 years of honoring defensive excellence. I am proud to bring this award home to Los Angeles, prouder still to call it my own personal Hall of Fame."
UPDATE:
Lineup for today is:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Kemp, RF
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Hillenbrand, 3B
Lowe, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Wes Parker was a great 1st baseman. He deserves it. It brings back memories to when the Dodgers were a good team that was managed correctly and when mediocrity was not put up with.
This was rad. Thanks Wes!!
Pretty crazy that the greatest fielding 1st baseman of all-time isn’t in the Hall of Fame. There is so much more to this game than HR’s and SO’s. Congratulations Wes, we are all proud of you, you deserve this honor!!!
I am very happy to hear Wes Parker won the Rawlings all time gold glove award for first basemen, and glad I had a chance to vote for him. By the way, I’m trying to vote for Russell Martin for the Hank Aaron award but I don’t know my contact number. I’m going to find out about it, but I’d sure like some help.
It’s the greatest feeling to see a Dodger accomplish an award. The Daily News (N.Y.) had a colorful listing of the consecutive scoreless innings listings with Orel Hershiser leading the pack and Don Drysdale following. Now that Brandon Webb is the chase, I wish him bad luck. The thing I’m most proud of is that the Dodgers still lead in National League in pennant victories, with the hated Giants & Cardinals following. I just read Ken Gurnick’s latest report on TOMKO, all I can say is, even though Tomko pitched better at home, lately, how badly must he pitch to convince LITTLE that he doesn’t have it as a starter anymore? I think they should take a chance and bring up one of the guys down on the farm.
I can hear Ned saying, gosh if Tomko was 6-6 as his career record suggests he would be instead of 2-11 we would be in the wild card drivers seat….
Brain Dead quote at the bottom:
Luis Gonzalez short-circuiting a two-run first inning when he was caught on a delayed steal with Martin at the plate;
Juan Pierre unable to stretch a double into a triple in the third inning, followed by a walk to Andre Ethier;
Martin making the final out of the fourth inning, trying to go first to third on Shea Hillenbrand’s single and getting gunned down by right fielder Jayson Werth.
Said Little: “That’s why they’re kids. They play aggressively and every once in a while, they run into some outs. That happens when you lose. When you win, you play aggressively and you’re safe.”
when did gonzo and Pierre become kids?
So who should pitch Sunday night against the Mets? There are a few choices, McDonald, Houlton, even…grr…Tomko. Or maybe something out of the box…what do you all think?
Houlton should go on Sunday, or maybe they’ll sign Wells by then.
Congrats to Wes. Defensively at first, he was the best.
http://www.fightingphils.mlblogs.com
If Tomko starts another game for us I will kill Grady! Diehard did you get my email I sent it from the address ryanwood@cox.net
How will you do it Ryan?
i thought u love grady?
van got your e-mail. thanks. I am glad you had a great time. If we make the playoffs this year, let’s get out to the yard and see another game.
I don’t care as long as it isn’t Tomko or Hendy. **** if they start them Little might as well make everybody happy and let the young kids play the field and let the old guys (Gonzo and Tomato) pitch. If you pitch Tomko or Hendy you’re going to lose so you might as well let the kids play and the washed up vets get their ab’s.
According to the LA Times, the Dodgers are still interested in David Wells. I say, why not? What have they got to lose? Another game, Tomko will do that anyways.
In 30 starts Tomko and Hendu have won a total of 3 games.
jungar, thanks. If only the Dodgers had someone who knew that…
yeah…
im looking forward to that…
tnx jason…
Kiper…LOL!!
Wow! Kids play agressively and thats why we lose. But when Sweeney doesn’t remember how many outs there are, or HillyBilly gets thrown out try to take second….then what?
Furcal
Pierre
Ethier
Kent
Loney
Martin
Kemp
Hillenbrand
Just a thought for tonite….
The whip for the arms that Ned signed or traded for
1.60
1.45
1.39
1.79
1.27
1.62
1.13 (1.51 with yankees)
1.33
0.76 (saito, not sure if he gets credit for trading jackson to get a closer only to have to dump that closer cause he wasn’t any good and go with a 37 year old japanese guy who had never closed, didn’t even make the roster out of spring training..but give him credit if you want)
But only 3 of those numbers are in the “acceptable” range. One being Proctor, who given some time will get his whip back to his Yankee 1.51 mark.
The OPS of guys Ned brought in or traded for…
.825
.705
.688
.784
.645
.520
.669
.766
Not sure if any of this is in the acceptable range aside from Ethier up top. A case can be made for Pierre because power is not his game, but not in my opinion.
kiper
i think u should put kemp higher than that…
he deserve to be in the 3,4,5 spot…
Kiper I like the line up but Kemp is hitting to low. Here’s mine
Pierre
Furcal
Ethier
Martin
Loney
Kemp
Kent
anyone
how do you guys like that?
swood as you can tell I’m at work.sshh I can’t check my e-mail until I get home about 330PST
I guess I have Kemp hitting low too.
Pierre
Furcal
Kemp
Martin
Ethier
Kent
Loney
Hillenbrat
I’d go with
Furcal
Martin
Loney
Kemp
Either
Kent
Pierre
Hillenbrand
How about this one…
Lopes
Russell
Smith
Garvey
Cey
Baker
Monday
Yeager
How about our 1988 opening day line up:
Sax
Griffin
Gibson
Guerrero
Marshall
Shelby
Davis
Scioscia
Valenzuela
How did we win a world series?
Robinson
Reese
Snider
Campy
Hodges
Furillo
Cox
Amoros
congrualtions to wes parker, he would have playes for free because he loved the game, and his folks owned parker pens.
if we want our hitters to break out of slumps,we should make tomko throw batting pratice, that should be a cure all.
as everyone says we can not win anything if we keep giving him the ball ever again,
Today’s Oldtimer: Wes Parker
See Josh’s article with an extensive quote from Parker.
I’ll just add that Parker was a team player. In his first full year, Parker batted a lowly .238, but contributed to the Dodgers World Championship team — and powerless offense — with 19 Sacrifice Bunts, 75 walks, a .334 OBP, and 80 runs.
Congratulations Mr. Parker! I too am glad I had a chance to vote for you.
It was awesome having you at the WIN Women’s Baseball clinic teaching us how to pick up groundballs. Thank you for your patience. -Emma
nice lineup…
check this one out:
Furcal
Ethier
Kemp
Kent
Martin
Loney
Hillenbrand
Pierre
Lowe
I’m telling you, Ethier is the epitomy of a number 2 hitter. With solid protection, he’d be unstoppable. Aggressive baserunner, patient hitter, doesn’t GIDP often, and a fair amount of power.
They’ve updated and have the lineup posted now…That is a great lineup for tonight’s game and hopefully the one we use the majority of the time.
That looks pretty good but I still like Martin hitting 2nd because he hits behind the runners so well. I like Loney 3rd because he hits the gaps with authority. Kepm 4th because he has all the power. I like Either 5th and Kent 6th because Kent can protect Either.
Kent *should* be hitting sixth at this stage in his career…
Good lineup. That’s about perfect with what we have to work with until Laroche is around.
I hope Grady gets well soon.
#3-#7 is really strong.
#8 is terrible, but we have limited options.
This should be the near perfect lineup for the rest of the year given the personnel we have on hand. Wish we had Betemit to try and fill in on third, but that’s just spilled milk at this point. LaRoche has not played enough lately to bring up before September, but I would bring up Abreu when the Dodgers return home and let him play third in place of Hillenbrand. There are a number of people that could be DFA’d in order to make room for him – take your pick: Saenz, Hernandez, Tomko.
messagebear
I wish we could be joint GM’s of the Dodgers..I agree with all of you DFA’s…but good luck with that happening..
We definitely could do a better job…It’s interesting to me if we know this, why don’t the people in charge have a clue..It’s just ridiculous to me.
Abreu is actually not playing very much right now. Could be “punishment” for him sitting out a month when he may or may not have been injured.
DY was drafted as a 2nd baseman and then converted into an outfielder last year. That kid can really hit if he can learn to keep the strike outs to a minimum. I think they should put him back on the dirt and prepare to get rid of Kent. I’ve like Kent for a long time but his time has passed as an everyday player.
I guess Young was striking out too much while he was going 7-14 when he got called up last? He just wasn’t as “exciting” as JP…
It doesn’t matter what lineup we have as long as we keep throwing Tomko out there every 5th day. And if we keep throwing out Hernanadez and Seanez out of the pen. If we had a DECENT fifth starter our pitching would be in the top 3 in the majors.
No Scott the reason is Ned didn’t give him that 5 year contract to sit on the bench. Grady’s hands are tied…hes being forced to play guys like Pierre and Gonzo.
No he just wasn’t OLD enough. But yeah he tore the cover off the ball the last time he was up, I’m just refering to his numbers throughout his minor league career. But I’ve seen him play alot whe the Dodgers had teams on the east coast and man can he hit. He’s hilarious too.
Diehard I was up all last night thinking about it and I finally figured out why Grady always plays Pierre and Gonzo. It’s because management makes him… they signed these guys and they are telling Grady he HAS to give them a chance to produce or else they will find another manager… They probably tell him he has to hit them in the middle of the order to so they can see good pitches, hit for a higher average and make management look good. I might be wrong but its a decent theory.
Hey swood!
If I was Grady and was as confident in my 17 years minor league mangaing experience as you are, I would put the lineup that I want and Colletti could jsut fire me then. Surely some other team would give me another chance at managing, right?
swood…
u really love grady huh?
i can’t believe u can’t sleep thinking about him… LOL
please forgive my excessive type-o’s!
I don’t know scott I mean if think if it was you being told to play these guys or else be unemployed… what would you do? I think you would play them.
Van it is very hard to fall asleep knowing that Tomko just coughed up a three nuthin lead and we lost a game we should have definately won…
What do you guys think of my theory of why Grady always plays Gonzo and Pierre?
yeah…
but u are addicted to grady…
From the last thread. Vlady was signed by Evans to a 5 year deal. McCourt nixed it because he thought he wouldn’t be approved by MLB to own the club if they thought he would drive up the price of players. Right or wrong this was ridiculous.
If Lowe can’t beat Durbin, then we have no chance at the wild card!
You guys probably wouldn’t be happy with this lineup…
CF Combs
SS Koenig
RF Ruth
1B Gherig
LF Meusel
2B Lazzeri
3B Dugan
C Grabowski
P Insert Dodger starter here
What do you mean I am addicted to Grady…? He is a tight manager, one of the best in the majors and I will always stand behind him… trust me van I am involved with baseball in some kind of way 24/7 I know a good skipper when I see one and Grady is a good skipper.
That has to be the reason. But like I said yesterday… the Dodgers better start playing the young guys every night so the stadium will fill up and they can afford to pay those overpaid, washed up players.
swood, Grady loves the vets and that’s one of the things wrong with him. He and Ned consult about everything and they both think alike unfortunately.
ericlittle are you from north carolina? and are you grady’s son? LOL
no but fliegel did you read my theory above…? You’re not being very clear as to if you agree or disagree with it.
Swood-I come here every day for the last two year to read Josh’s insight and get the lineups as well. It is fairly entertaining to get the opionions of some diehard Dodgers fans as well.
I have to disagree with swood, i don’t think Grady is a good manager. I just don’t think he does enough things to win games. I know that the games are won by the players, but a manager has to be worth at least 10 to 12 wins a season. I don’t think Grady does that. He may not lead to many losses, but he just seems content with “being in the game” well, that’s not good enough for me and it shouldn’t be good enough for the Dodgers or their fans…
see… that’s called addicted…
i didn’t say that grady is an awful manager but you are right there defending him…
Thats great eric but you didn’t answer either of my questions.
swood I think Ned and Grittle think alike unfortunately…
Ned: GRADY! Get Kemp out of there and get Gonzo in there or you’re fired!
Grady: Ned, relax. Didn’t you notice I already have Gonzo in for Ethier today?
Van I am not talking to only you when I am defending Grady I am talking to all the people who say he is a bad manager…
grittle does not have to play gonzo or bat him in the middle(he has a 1 year contract). If the GM is telling me how to make the line up for my team then he could go down a manage them himself. These are all grady’s decision’s you make a lot of excuses for him. Why was he stuck in the minors for 17+ years? when guys like Giradi, Gonzalez, Dbacks coach, and a bunch of other guys I can name make it to the big leagues in less than 5 years?
Scott I agree that some of that may go on although I don’t think it goes on in that manner… I think Ned more implies that he wants the vets in the middle of the lineup or he will fire Grady.
Hey, Bob Melvin, DBacks manager, who has the personality of a sheet of paper is doing a better job than Grady Little. He plays all his young guys every day and when they slump, he goes to another young or younger guy and let’s him play until he cools off. I am in AZ and when a DBack player has a 3 for 4 he’s in the line up again the next night regardless.
Because diehard all those other guys you named (you can throw Torre in there as well) all played in the big leagues and had more recognition to their names starting out then Grady did because he never made it to the bigs as a player. Besides Grady did nothing but win in the minors.
Yea thats because arizona management lets Melvin do what he wants. There is no way our management would allow Grady to bench Gonzo or Pierre for more then 1 or 2 days in a row.
This lineup should be a glimps into ’08. I think with the standings, both division and wild card, the way they are now, players that will not be here next year should get less playing time. Let those who will be here more playing time especially the younger ones. After Sept 1st, if we’re worse off than we are now, set up like it’s opening day. Regardless, THIS IS ANOTHER MUST WIN.
I’m not saying Grady is the worlds best manager but why do you think he and Ned talk numerous times a day? Because Ned is telling him that the money is spent on the old guys so they have to play. All you have to do is look at Little’s face during a game and you can tell he isn’t happy because he can’t play his best players and he also knows that if he gets through this year then all his young guys will start because all the vets will be gone.
diehard-please keep in mind there are very few managers out there that never played in the big leagues. Thus Little had to pay his due in the minors. Don’t forget he was under Bobby Cox his last 12 years in the Braves organization. Did a pretty good job with several ofthe guys that came through their farm system.
GRADY makes the LINE UP!!!! what about Jim Tracy why did he get two chances. You hear about a guy named Tommy LaSorda a carrer minor leaguer but got his shot quite early. Freddie Gonzalez big league experience? Did Bobby Cox play in the bigs?
Diehard there is nothing for you to say because you know I am right. LOL. Anyway I sent the e-mail last night at 11:00 Eastern Time. I hope it sent but I’m not sure did you check your e-mail last night diehard?
Well then, swood, just based off your answer there, aren’t you saying that the Dodgers don’t think enough of Grady to let him do what he thinks is right? Then that would mean he’s not a good manager. Right?
I don’t know what you are trying to say diehard? Maybe because he didn’t have as strong a personality as Cox or Gonzalez thats why they didn’t give him the job? Maybe he just didn’t interview well, reguardless he is our manager now and it probably worked out for the better for us because he just got more experience.
B.Cox is why the braves are good it has nothing to do with their A-ball manager that coached in Durham. I would give grittle more love if he was B.Cox bench coach but he wasn’t. A minor league manager has to play the high priced players I think that is Little’s philosiphy a minor league coach. Let him manage in Vegas.
No Kiper Colletti doesn’t want it to look like he’s wasting McCourt’s money so he’s making Grady play these guys and making Grady put them in a spot in the order where they can produce.
J.Tracy strong personality! HAH!
I’ll be home in about an hour I’ll can check my e-mail then.
Ok but its unfair to speculate what Ned tells Grady behind closed doors because the only fact here is that we just don’t know. Diehard who cares about Jim Tracy or Bob Melvin we are talking about the dodgers here. If you want to talk about them go to the pirates or dbacks blog.
Well I want a manager that makes his own decisions!!!!!!!!!!!
You think Bobby Cox let’s the GM make his Line up?
If he had Ned as his GM he might not have a choice!!!!!
Oh, by the way , SWOOD, I’m, don’t lol, I’m 69yrs old.
Ok, swood, so even if it’s not all Grady’s fault for the lineup (just for argument’s sake) what about all of the bone-head moves during the game? Is Ned phoning down to the dugout and telling Grady to leave Tomko in for 1 more batter?
I’m not as old as messagebearer.
Scott you can watch any team throughout the year and say their manager made boneheaded moves. Not just Grady. That stuff happens when you’ve played 130 games in a season.
wow pierreeast i’m 16 years old. I think I am the youngest one here.
Colletti is definitely telling Little to play the older guys more often than the kids, think about it, if Grady made up each line up(usually composed of the veterans) on his own with no input from Colletti and our results were the same as those of late, why wouldn’t he get fired? Colletti has no basis to fire Grady if he tells him to play the veterans even if the team is not performing to its full potential.
I don’t EVER see B.cox leave a pitcher in too long. He lives by ” I rather take a pitcher out early than too late” Giving his team the best chance to win. Which is what grady doesn’t do gives us our best chance to win.
OK we are in agreement BOTH Little and Colletti must go.
If our GM is telling our manager how to make a line up he needs to go. And if our manager is listening to him then by all means bring in guys that know what their doing.
Yea but then if his bullpen stinks(which it does) his teams blows big leads like they did yesterday in Cincy. The reason the braves have been good in recent memory isn’t ONLY because of Bobby Cox. Remember for a couple of years he was the GM and someone else was the manager and they still won the division Diehard.
Diehard why do you ALWAYS talk about Bobby Cox. Go be a Braves fan if you love Cox so much. LOL
when was this? Bobby Cox has won 14 straight division titles(not always having the best team)as a manager. Who was the braves skipper when he was the GM?
Ok got to go dinner time on the east coast. Think about what I said about Colletti pressuring Grady. If anyone should go it should be Ned (although it won’t happen).
14 straight division titles!! That’s why I love Bobby Cox!
No Kiper Colletti doesn’t want it to look like he’s wasting McCourt’s money so he’s making Grady play these guys and making Grady put them in a spot in the order where they can produce.
—
Ryan Basically I agree in general with what you are saying, I put way more blame on Ned than Grady….but:
But your logic is off on this one, meaning…In showing McCourt that he didn’t waste money he will prove it by wasting money?
In other words..not making the playoffs is really what would be wasting his money.
What do you think McCourt cares about today?
That the contracts of Schmidt, Tomko, Pierre, Gonzo, Nomar and Wolf aren’t as bad as they seem because we almost made the playoffs and some of them wound up with some good stats?
Or
That our personell director realized the ship he built is sinking so he decided to take another course of action that showed he waysted all sorts of money, yet managed to get us to the post season?
Which really is what your trying to buy, a chance to win a ring.
Cox is a badass…
i don’t like so much about him…
i want an average manager…
maybe a little of grady and a little of cox…
swood , what I’m saying is that they agree on everything so that means they both like the veteran players and that’s why they get played. I Don’t think Grady’s under direct orders to play these guys. I just think it’s his choice. After all the final decision on who plays is Grady’s.
what do you not like about a guy that defends his players right or wrong. I love that and as player to know someone has your back like that. Your going to play your *** off for him.
LOVE THIS LINEUP!
We will win tonight 8-4
i don’t care if it is grady’s decision or not…
put alot of the blame on ned than grady…
ned is the one who signs FA not grady…
grady is only doing his job.. and that is to give playing time to the one ned sign…
Congratulations Wes Parker.
martinloneykemp–thanks for pointing out Wes’s sacrifice bunts. My uncle is a long-time (LA) fan, and once mentioned that the classic formula was Maury Wills would walk, steal second, get sacrificed to third, score ona fly ball, and Sandy Koufax would pitch a shutout and the Dodgers would win 1-0. Parker must have been a big part of that formula.
Somone said the line-up does not matter, because we can’t win if we keep throwing out Tomko. I disagree–we had chance, but not the right personnel. Tonight’s line-up, however looks very good (except for Hillenbrand, but it can’t be helped that Nomar and LaRoche are both injured).
Nevertheless, Tomko should not start again. Our dilemna is that we just won’t DFA anyone 9 days before the rosters expand. So we either need a convenient “injury” or we need to option someone down to Las Vegas (to either make room for DJ Houlton [most likely], David Wells [if we sign him], or James McDonald [wildcard]).
Here’s a question for those more learned in the nuances of the transaction system. Generally, if you option someone down, you can’t call them back until 10 days have passed, unless there is an injury. But, does that rule apply when the rosters expand? Can you option a guy to AAA on August 31, and then put him on the active roster the next day?
(This still may not work, since we need Stults on both the 25th and the 31st, unless we sign Wells, in which case, he would probably go on the 31st, and Stults would not be needed again until September 4.)
I guess the other question is can we designate a guy for assignment on the 31st and assign him back to the major league roster when the rosters expand. Then we might actually DFA some people.
These question they’re asking: Will the Dodgers win the NL West?, Will they win the wild card? or neither? If we new the answer to them it would proberbly take all the interest out of the whole thing and we’d already be down to the bookies office waiting for our payoff.
complete game by d. lowe
ugh, I hate Chicago, I need to move soon!
Oh…let’s waste some more money and sign David Wells..He sure was good pitching against the Dodgers and all the other teams..He might be better than Tomko, but that’s not saying much…Find a pitcher in house like Houlton or whoever else is down there that might be good…If he thinks about signing Wells for the playoffs..that’s like putting a BIG cart before the Horse..
scurtis..
Why do you hate Chicago?
The summer is about over!
I do think he is under implied orders though. He isn’t going to make a huge descsion that would make Ned look bad. Thats why it took months to get Nomar out of the middle of the order.
Grady has been in baseball his whole life there is no way that us fans can sit her disgusted with Tomko or with Nomar and Gonzo in the middle of the order or Pierre with his .315OBp at the top of the order but him not.
I wonder what he says to his wife behind closed doors.
Thing like **** man, I have to roll out a righty 3b guy with no power instead of a lefty 3b with power vs the righty tonight. And thats because we needed a guy in the pen who has done nothing but give up 7 runs in the 13 innings i let him pitch.
His wife says to him most likely, hey he hired you do what you are told, you are managing in the Majors for the Dodgers!!
So when your GM goes out and puts 28 million dollars down this year alone (nomar, Bonzo ,Pierre) to those three players and pronounces in the press that he got Pierre cause “he gets on base an awful lot and makes things happen” or that “because Drew opted out, we needed a guy in the middle of the order to replace those 90rbi” or that Gonzo “is doing as expected 10-15hr and 25 doubles and some veteran leadership and bat in the middle of the order”
What would you do?
Women starting to put more clothes on soon! hehe
I like this lineup tonight. I have a good feeling DLowe will hold a lead once we pound JD Durb!
Chris Young is seeing a back specialist tomorrow and will miss at least one start…Also, Victorino is back for the Phillies on the roster for Hamels who’s now on the DL.
scurtis
try to visit L.A
girls don’t even wear underwears coz it’s freaking hot in here! LOL
i hated living in chicago b/c theres too many obnoxious cubs fans around!
swood, this is why Grady is a bad manager:
Scioscia declines to speculate on how many of the club’s 74 wins have resulted directly from the Angels’ high-octane game on the bases, but he does allow, “Without the baserunning, I know that we would not be at the level we need to be offensively. The bottom line is scoring runs. If you’re not scoring them with slugging percentage, you’d better maximize every chance you have.”
I encourage everybody to read this article, it will make you very upset that our homegrown former players are preaching “Dodger baseball” to others while we can’t get a manager that has half of a clue.
Here’s the link:
http://sportsline.com/mlb/story/10312195/1
wow so the phillies rotation for the next week or so is kendrick, durbin, moyer, and ? wow.
oh yeah, lohse too. ugh. and the phillies are still in it. man the NL is so freaking weak.
The NL is weak, and the Dodgers can’t make up any ground!!! Wow.
look..jspelk…hate to say it ..but remember it doesn’t matter who the other team throws out there to pitch..We can make anyone look like Cy Young..and not good news that Victorino is coming back..He makes things happen along with Rollins…still not easy for the Blue Crew.
kiper.
Maybe because the Dodger’s have as many or more flaws than the other teams…I probably wouldn’t say that as much if we still had Betemit, Anderson…and didn’t have Saenz, Martinez, Tomko, and Hernandez…LOL
so it means..
wolf can’t go back to the rotation even in september?
i heard that he will be avaiable just in the bullpen…
swood what do you say when you and Grady are in bed?
Yeah too many annoying cub, white sox and bears fans and fat people.
Yeah I need to get out to LA soon!
Great article Charris. I will add that..
The % of runs scored via home runs:
Dodgers are 28th in baseball.
The Angels are 30th.
The Angels have score 79 more runs.
***thanks to Jon Weisman and Baseball Prospectus for these stats***
thanks jungar, good stats there. Obviously Mr. Weisman isn’t too happy with the way Grady is managing during games either.
Kershaw pitched 6 strong innings in his last start. Struck out 8 walked 2 and allowed no runs.
I think the Angels have hit even less HRs than us, and in the American League. How in the world are they doing so well. Well, they have better pitching, for one thing. And also, they have a far better manager and coaching staff. Their defense is also superior (no noodle arms in CF and LF).
angels better coaching staff?
better manager yes..
but i think the dodgers had a strong coaching staff than the angels…
van, how can you say that when just last year Bud Black (the Angels pitching coach) got hired to manage the Pads. You definitely need to read that article, I think what the players about Mariano Duncan will change your mind.
well ive heard hatcher isn’t a good hitting coach because he doesn’t preach patience, but whatever they’re doing, its working. their pitching coach seems competent. and their third base coach isn’t donnelly.
*say about
did anybody hear matt kemp say he would rather play somewhere else
No, I heard Kemp say a while back that he never wants to leave the Dodgers on a postgame interview.
Ive heard him say he’d *rather* play CF. Course he’d be an adventure out there but also might have a shot at throwing someone out.
ok well i’m pretty sure on espn 710 in la that i heard him say he would rather play somewhere else. like i said i’m pretty sure. not 100 % sure.
If he wants to play somewhere else, send him to Florida with a couple other prospects for Miggy!
Well maybe Kemp wants to play somewhere else because in LA he’s stuck behind the jewel of the free agency market, Juan Pierre.. you think?
i just want to know if i really heard him say that.
I don’t think he would say that at this point of his career.
The Dodgers are now 9-24 in games where Tomko has pitched(starts and relief appearances).
career stats for Tomko from yahoo sports(Not a misprint)
ERA
With Bases Empty: 2.40
With Runners on: 7.48
RISP: 9.38
RISP W/ 2 OUTS: 20.92
BASES LOADED: 17.89
Nice pickup, Ned.
thats what i was thinking kiper but i thought about it and i really think he said it but i was wondering why he would say that.
i may sound stupid for saying this but wouldn’t alot of pitchers era be high with risp or the bases loaded?
GD Kemp was freaking safe!
E I T H I E R is coming into his own as batter.
It’s a great article about the Mike Scioscia, the Angels, and their running philosophy. And then so annoying that some of our speediest guys–Pierre, Martin, and now Kemp have been thrown out on the basepaths.
I like that we are finally being aggressive, but what lousy timing for it not to work.
I am watching on the radio. Was it close?
Yep, Kemp was safe…bad call and he ran through the stop sign again. And what Pierreseastmeetswest said, he really truly is coming into his own. Should play everyday, just tremendous at bats lately.
Kemp’s feet touched the plate right as the tag was applied, it was bang-bang. But he was safe and called out.
It’s good to see Ethier Fouling them off at the plate, and having them long at bats.
Kemp might have been safe but that was not a smart move by him. and thats the 2nd time its happened he really needs to learn to pick up the coach at third earlier!
Ethier amazes me sometimes. that was a great AB!
Pierreseastmeetswest is clearly right. Great ABs by Ethier the last couple of days. I did not pitch count, but he was down 0-2 before he hit that. He may be the best hitter in the line-up for working the count.
Let’s get into their bullpen!
We could sure use another run here in the 2nd..
true. seems like Grady needs to talk to Mr Kemp about that!
Shea is a waste!
Atta boy Shea..
After a walk and with the pitcher on deck, Shea’s gotta take a few pitches..
That’s good construtive criticism, the 6-4-3 would’ve been easier to take if it had been after a few pitches, same result but you have to make the pitcher work. So overall just a horrible AB by Hillenbrand.
I may sound stupid for saying this but wouldn’t alot of pitchers era be high with risp or the bases loaded?
No that’s not stupid at all! And even if it was, there are no stupid questions…so let’s do this. I am going to think of another pitcher around Tomko’s age and go look…how about Brad Penny? I am not wanting to pick Johan Santana type thing, nor do I want to pick anyone to try and prove a point……so here we go…
Penny has 221 starts
Tomko has 246 starts
Penny- ERA
With Bases Empty: 1.71
With Runners on: 6.62
RISP: 9.89
RISP W/ 2 OUTS: 20.33
BASES LOADED: 13.32
So yep, your right.
Aaron Rowan always reminds me of Ron Cey with his batting stance.
Brandon Webb has only given up one run all season with the bases loaded, that’s incredible. Of course, that’s probably because it’s almost impossible to have the bases loaded against Webb.
Pierre do u think Cey was as underrarted as I do? It seems like Garvey, Baker and others get alot of credit, as they should, but the Penguin man, that guy was awesome. Good Power, Good On base…etc
Ron Cey was also a great glove..
I had the good fortune of meeting the Penguin at Dodger Stadium back in 1999 and when my brother and went to shake his hand, not ask for an autograph, about an hour before the game, he turned us down. He was not the friendliest guy in the world. That to me was a big put off. I also have been fortunate enough to meet Dusty Baker, when he was managing the Giants, and Steve Garvey at card signing show in Phoenix, both guys first class, especially Dusty…
I’m really enjoy seeing Hillenbrand fail (no, that’s not being a bad fan; I just don’t want him on the team next year).
Great play by Loney….
Loney IS YOUR FATHER! We need a song for each Gold Glove play he makes!
Hey any body notice the Texas Rangers have a 24 – 3 lead. How many games do we need to score 24 runs…???
I thought football started in September? 24 runs…wow
Yesterday and today I’m watching the game on a GE TV I bought in 1980, believe it or not, It only plays when it is hooked up to cable. I’m watching MLBTV-EXTRA INNINGS.
I know that LaRoche still is not playing, but Abreu has been. I think that we should have Abreu up here playing instead of Hillenbrand, or he could also spell Kent for when he needs to take a game off. It’s ridiculous that all of a sudden we have Hillenbrand as the starting third baseman.
Good old KENT still can hit.
ANDRE ETHIER YEAH THAT’S THE MAN.
I love it he has a tremendous at bat and doubles to left, he swings at the first pitch and kills it for a home run! HE’S LOCKED IN!
That ought to give Grady something to think about – can he really afford to platoon Ethier with anybody?
You can only first pitch swing if you’re going to do what Ethier did.
Two poor at bats by Kemp and Martin sandwiching Kent’s double and Ethier’s BOMB. When it works no complaints obviously, but you better get a hit, but when you pop it up, bad, bad, bad.
Jebus, what a STEAL of a trade. You think Oakland regrets that one???
Either is trying to hit well enough to regain his slot in the 8th hole.
I always think of that infield GARVEY LOPES RUSSELL & CEY and I always wish we could duplicate it, some day.
Eighth hole would be bad enough, jungar – I’m afraid if he gets two more hits today, he’ll be sitting out tomorrow.
hahaha no doubt Oakland regrets getting rid of such a talented player. I also agree that this should help Andre’s bid to be an everyday OF wether its in Left or Right! Kemp hasnt shown great AB’s at all this season, except for a couple knocks he needs to learn to take some pitches and wait for a good pitch to hit, it seems as though he gets to aggresive out there and hacks!
My oldest daughter got an autograph from CEY. He signed it with a big 10 next to his name.
Cey hit with power, JUNGAR and mostly line drives, hit a lot of balls hard against the wall, most of his HRs were line drives.
dah-
Wait till a guy who has 8hr in 167 ABs learns how to hit.
.323/.359/.515/.874 are Kemps numbers while he is still learning. That’s not bad at all. We just have to live with the mistakes as he will improve and figure things out.
Texas is up 30-3
Cey had a unique way of running, he look like a penquin, so they say.
Totally Pierre, and who can forget how great he was in the 81 playoffs. Yeah I was a big fan of his. The whole team really…Those were the days…..
LOWE could use some of those TEXAS runs—to use across the season.
Yes, those were the days, my friend, I thought they’d never end______________but they did.
Say it for me Pierreseastmeetswest…Ole reliable Kent!
KENT is hot again, and that’s good.—He like a flash of the past.
Kent’s a little streaky but: (1) when he’s hot, he is RED HOT; and (2) he tends to get hot in a pennant race.
My Loney has a first name,
It’s J-A-M-E-S
My Loney has a second name,
It’s L-O-N-E-Y
I love to watch him every day
And if you ask me why I’ll say
‘Cause James Loney has a way
With H-I-T-T-I-N-G!
L_O_N_E_Y is no balogna.
THIS LINEUP CAN WIN! FLAT OUT WIN! PLEASE SEE THIS AND NEVER CHANGE IT…except Hillenbrand when LaRoche is healthy…we can win this season, but next season looks amazing!
Even if the Brewers lose, I hope they score a run.
I hate to see anybody break Hershiser’s 59 consecutive scoreless innings record. I don’t like when an old Dodger record falls. But when he broke Drysdale’s, Well, that was O.K.
Josh–
Unrelated to the game, Rick and Jerry on the radio are talking about the fact that the Dodgers are going to take the train from Philly to New York after tomorrow’s day game. When they fly, they fly a charter. Do they charter a train too? Are all of their bags and equipment going by train too?
Whew, That was close. Don’t like to see Howard up there.
I’m going to Shea on Friday by train too, The 7 train.
While the Dodgers are batting with a lead, let me say following the Dodgers in those days for me was pretty hard. Mostly when they played the Mets and I always saw at least 2 games at Shea a year. On National T.V. In the World Series and other post season games. Checked the scores religiously. Bought the year books & media guides. Got Dodger Blue mag in the mail, bought the LA Times. All I can say now is thanks to modern tecnology, It’s a lot better.
Boy it’s pretty hard to score runs these days FURCAL just got in there.
I have a question for pierreseastmeetswest and fansince53 (which, I assume means a Dodger Fan since 1953), as well as anyone else from the Brooklyn days. How did you react when the Dodgers left Brooklyn? How was it that you decided to keep being a Dodger fan?
And his name is JAMES and it should be JIM.
I totally agree alex, this line-up needs to stick, no cheap outs 1-7.
Bombko’s starting sunday…
why do you have to go and kill my happy Dodger buzz max???
I felt bad to say the least. I’m glad the Giants left too, because I would of felt worse if dem BUMS left alone. When the 1958 season started and for a few years they actually broadcast some of the games back to us. I guess I could never root for any other team. I did all I could to keep in touch with them. I even tried to be a Yankee fan but I just couldn’t. I thought I could become a Met fan but I found that I could never root against the DODGERS. They are my team until I die. Win or Lose.
pierre, thats some hardcore fanaticism, I love it!!!!!!
I think we are going to see KEMP rouning his head of, I hope for a long long time.
Boy! Look at what this lineup has produced tonight! I vote Grady keeps it like this for a while. You gotta love it!
LIBBY a hit in his old ball town.___(for the Dodgers)
Amazing for Liberthal to shake off some serious cobwebs, and come in to get a hit.
Thankes Pierre. That’s an amazing insight. I did not know that they broadcast games back to Brooklyn after they left, and am alwayss curious what Brooklyn Dodger fans did when they left.
They’re doing you proud tonight!
You mean you HOPE he keeps this lineup. He may have had another one plan for tomorrow.
Great game tonight, hopefully we can build on this until Sunday. Now Tomko watch the video and compared it to when he was 5-1 last?? They will never learn. I hope this isn’t the first time he took a look at the video to see his flaws?
I always felt the Dodgers were the 2nd best team in baseball. I just hope they come back to that. Maybe if they keep to home grown players, like they were famous for, even after free agency came into being, Who know?
Grady already has his line ups done for the whole road trip no matter what.
Most of my old friends that were Dodger fans are now rooting for the Mets. But believe me, the Dodgers are not just another team to them.
I bet Martin catches in the afternoon again tomorrow! lol
Only 16 more and we’ll matched the Rangers. I wish they’d save some for tomorrow and they’ll need some for the Mets.
SAITO is warming up in the bullpen. He must be cold.
Is it me or does charlie steinner get excited on every high fly ball?
leekfink: I was in high school in Brooklyn. It was not a surprise but it was a shock. Everyone I knew hated O’Malley. You know the famous quote from “Bums” name the 3 most evil men of the 20th century- Hitler, Stalin, and O’Malley.I left Brooklyn for college in ’59 but transferred to Brooklyn College in ’61. Left for good in ’63.People would beg me, argue with me, nag me to become a Mets fan- How can you support O’Malley’s team? Even after I knew more about the circumstances of the move; I couldn’t answer. How can one person break so many hearts? I’d say just until Sandy is done, just until Tommy Davis (also born in Brooklyn and what a hitter). But while I said it I knew it was love-you can’t reason with it. I knew every east coast NL teams’ radio station. Made beautiful women ride around with me listening to static from Cincinnati or Atlanta. I tell my kids -this is the longest love affair in my life.
COM’ON B_E_R_T hold that lead.
Some great irony, remember last month? The Phillies beat us 15-3 at the Ravine, the score now and well you get my point. Sweet revenge indeed!
Also, Martin probably would’ve started tomorrow anyway, but he at the very least gets the last two innings off. Also, with Kent out of the game for Martinez there is no reason whatsoever this lineup should not be out there again tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that.
Tomorrow Gonzo will start just to get us mad.
Man on 3rd on B.Webb! GO BREWERS
its over!!!!!!
The scoreless streak for Brandon Webb is over a 42 1/3 innings!
I thought I hallucinated at the box score from the Rangers – Orioles. 30-3 Rangers! Amazing! The Baltimore football team (Ravens) never even gave up that many points last season. lol
I said this before____I was truer to the DODGERS than any women.(Not that I wanted it to be that way, either).
And the Texas football team never scored that many points!
I’m happy that Brandon Webbs streek ended, now I can keep the consecutive scoreless inning standings a whole lot longer on my wall.
THEY SCORED FOR LOWE AND WE HAD A GREAT NIGHT AND WE CAN HAVE A BETTER NIGHT’S SLEEP.
Great to hear about the streak being broken. Go Brew Crew! Dbacks have lost 3 straight. Hope tonight makes it 4. Hershiser is smiling somewhere right now no doubt.
Ha. Tough call for me on Webb. Im glad Orel keeps it right now even though I was rooting hard for Webbie since we were high school teammates.
alright what are the odds of Grady putting out a different lineup tomorrow?
Martinez now with 20 RBIs in 126 PA. I’m too lazy to check but probably the best ratio on the team by a good bit.
Dodgers sticking w/ Tomko. Im outraged. Anyone else?
Seems the Dodgers were living a charmed life tonight. Even Roberto comes in to mop up, and not give up a run. Here’s hoping the outcome of the rubber game tomorrow has a similar outcome! GO DODGERS!!
F Tomko
Tomko needs to get lost. Hopefully with the roster expansion coming up, they can kick him to the curb for good.
Fabio Castro, tomorrow’s starter for the Phillies is a lefty so the only possible change in the lineup I can see happening is Saenz for Loney, which would be a mistake, but nonetheless is possible to happen. Kemp will be in there for sure, Ethier should be in there. Pierre is never benched and the way he’s playing shouldn’t. You have to go Ethier, Pierre, Kemp all the way to October. Gonzo 0 HR’s in 83 AB’s and 1 since the break, batting .233. Banished to the bench, he’s a great great person and I wish him the best, but he has to stay on the bench.
well put scurtis
i don’t understand how management thinks that we have a chance to win with Tomko on the mound but then again we have a giant as our gm
sticking with tomko…grady’s head deserves to roll over this decision alone. how stupid do you have to be to keep sending him out there. wow.
It’s got to be the same line-up tomorrow. Loney was 2-4, homered yesterday, and hits lefties well. Saenz is playing . . . poorly. And how do you choose between Kemp and Ethier? Both had great days!
I agree with the concerns about Tomko–espescially with him going against the Mets. But at this point, it’s a business decision. With the roster exapansion, it’s too late to DFA him (unless we can do some funny things that I suggested earlier). If he blows it Sunday, Houlton will get called up on September 1, and can fill in. Since we will have some additional pitching help (Houlton, Hull, Hamulack, maybe Meloan, and possibly Wolf before too long) we can go to the bullpen earlier when we have the fourth and fifth starter spot.
miketink–thanks also for your insights (added to Pierre’s) about your reactions to the Dodgers move from Brooklyn.
Unbelievable 15-3 victory for our noble Los Angeles Dodgers over the Philadelphia Phillies!Before the celebration,just a word of caution about last night,and forgive me if I’m wrong Juan Pierre,but when you got thrown out by Jayson Werth at third, I pray that there was no arrogance or cockiness rounding second going to third,and that your mindset is always on your ability and noble character,because we must never,never,never forget that wearing The Los Angeles Dodger uniform is all about integity,honesty and true character!Superman Jeff Kent does it again with his 2 doubles and all around presence which always calms this team and makes the team play to their highest level!Matt Kemp with that smacked triple & 4 hits!Fantastic Matt!Furcal and Pierre were superb causing havoc with every at bat and their 3 hits each!Formidable!Way to go Grady Little for leaving them 1,2 in the lineup.They will always pay maximum dividends for the team in those positions!Derek Lowe ,once again,showed the character of a champion pitcher!Way to go Mr.Champion Pitcher!.Everybody deserved honorable mention tonight on our Los Angeles Dodgers!After we lost yesterday, Ken Gurnik posted that we should forget about second place!Never Ken, by doing that we lessen ourseles as a team!We must aways focus on first place and beyond,because Arizona is a counterfeit,but The Los Angeles Dodgers are the real eal!Remember Superman Jeff Kent preached patience and faith!This was probably the best game we played all year!Hey Arizona,getting nervous yet!Ain’t no mountain high enough because Let’s all get Superman Jeff Kent his World Series Ring!
Tomko has no business starting for us anymore, upper management needs to realize that!! just my 2 cents.
If anyone is interested, Tony Jackson’s notebook at his Daily News blog mentions some of the details of the team’s scheduled train ride tomorrow–commercial travel on Amtrak, but private cars and extra security for the team.
Still some questions, and I am actually curious about the team’s travel in general–planes, busses when they get in town? If anyone else finds it interesting, maybe Josh can get Scott Akasaki or Bill DeLury to guest post some day about how they arrange team travel.
First, a huge congratulations to Wes Parker! Dodger fans everywhere are proud and rejoice with you! Second, what a win!! What a line up!! What a team we can be if we play fundamental baseball, get good pitching and roll this line up out day in, day out! Let’s go Dodgers. Keep it going!
TRAINS—The best way to travel a short distance like from Philly to N.Y. I love trains and recently traveled from N.Y. to Florida & to Chicago. I plan to go the distance and continue from Chicago to LA. I understand it is a total of about 3 1/2 days counting the time in Chicago waiting for the train to LA. Then I plan to come back the same way.
That’s when I will live up to my e-mail address.
NICE! Brewers tied it up! So much for Webb’s streak! Go pull off the sweep Brewers.
Good win tonight for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles. Finally the bats broke out and I think this might be a game that starts a win streak. Hopefully we see the same lineup tomorrow night. Horray for our great skipper Grady!!!!!
pierreeastmeetswest what does that email address mean? Does it have something to do with Pierre going from Chicago to LA in the offseason? Or do you travel with the team?
I CAN’T BELIEVE WE ARE TRYING TO ‘STICK IT OUT’ WITH TOMKO!!!!! I DON’T KNOW WHO MADE THIS DECISION BUT WHOEVER IT WAS NEEDS TO BE FIRED ASAP!!!!!
Grady Gump – after the game he tells reporters that Tomko is still in the starting rotation & that he is going to continue to rotate Ethier, Kemp & Gonzo….
Grady Gump – HAS BEEN OFFICIALY DECLARED AS BEING BRAIN DEAD…
ah **** you beat me to it.
“Grady said after the game he’ll stick with the plan of rotating Kemp, Ethier and Gonzo into those three spots.”
Tony Jackson’s blog.
Now its gonzo *and* tomko that have incriminating photos of Mrs. Little, eh?
great win.. hoping laroche gets healthy soon.. looking forward to see him at third..
I HAVE MY FANTASY FOOTBALL LEAGUE GOING AGAIN… IF ANYONE WANTS TO JOIN LET ME KNOW.. SHOOT ME AN EMAIL TO
ray_villa_17@hotmail.com
BELIEVE IN BLUE!
Great win Dodgers…but can’t believe my eyes…TOMKO WILL REMAIN OUR 5TH STARTER.
What does he have to do…? be beat by 20 runs to take him out..?…give me a break Dodgers.!!
miketink,
thanks for the reminder about the radios of that day. you young guys have it made with MLB baseball. every time a big play happened it seemed that was the time that those old AM stations would fade and we’d scramble to find another or move the car or the radio in hopes of it coming back. that’s what we did in the old days no time to second guess lineups and rip players on a blog. maybe it was the Good Ol Days.
Maybe we should let Tomko face the Rangers he’d probably give up the 30 runs in the first 3 innings. Although even if he did that Grady would probably STILL stick with him… seriously guys what does it take to get out of our rotation???
If kemp and Ethier are not the starters in the corner OF starting today, that will be the stupidest thing grady will ever do as a manager of the dodgers…
this 2 kids are pounding the ball… and i love watching it…
i knew this kind of game would happen!
i said that if furcal gets hot this team can score 10 runs or more…
Furcal is the answer for this team… if he can continue hitting the way he hits the ball yesterday we have a big chance going in to the playoffs…
Go DODGERS!!!
Van isn’t it 7:45 where you are? Why are you up so early? Grady already has done the stupidest thing of all time by sticking with Tomko. You know I always stand behind Grady but I have to disagree with him on this one. I think Ned is telling him he has to rotate Gonzo in there.
maybe grady thinks that we will win 2 games against the mets so he would just let tomko blow one out!
seriously…
we should have had a 7 game win streak here…
the game against colorado we should have won that… and tuesday, we should have won that game if tomko didn’t pitch…
grady pls don’t be so **** stupid! take tomko out of the rotation!
im always up this early swood… LOL
yeah.. i can’t believe it either.. how can he stick with tomko.!
Van we could have easily won 7 in a row right now. Seriously how bad does Tomko have to pitch to get him out of the rotation. HE’S 2-11 WITH AN ERA OF 6!!!!! You can’t pitch much worse then that. Grady we are in a pennant race and we can’t afford to throw him out there every 5th day its like a guarenteed loss!!!!! If you are reading this Grady DON’T start Tomko sunday PLEASE.
Dude van I haven’t woke up before 10:30 ET this summer… I would love to see Gonzo be primarily a bench player also but I don’t think Ned would allow it. He doesn’t want McCourt to think he gave that big contract to a bench player.
i don’t know why grady doesn’t want rookie pitchers!
im trying to figure out why…
Me neither Van I mean I can’t figure out why he won’t pitch Houlton? He pitched the entire 05 season in the majors. He’s major league ready and I think he would be a heck of alot better then Tomko.
Our real players keep drawing walks. Nice patience ya bums.