New York City
Judging from most comments yesterday, you’ll all be happy with today’s lineup.
And while I’m saddened to know that some of you have lost respect in me because I defend the team’s decisions, you’re certainly entitled to that. I think it’s also important to know that just because I try to explain their decisions and I defend Grady, Ned and everyone else here doesn’t mean that as a fan, I agree with every single thing that we do every single day. Just like all of you, I have my own opinions but as many of you have learned in your own careers, everyone expresses their opinions in private and then you come to a group decision. Once that decision is made, you publicly stand behind the people making it. You don’t point fingers, blame others or explain why you were right and someone else was wrong. That’s called being a good teammate and those who don’t do that are promoting themselves above the team, no matter what walk of life you’re talking about. To me, that’s a pretty slippery slope in a world where people need to lean on others for a group’s success.
At the end of the day, Grady has a .558 winning percentage as a big league manager, which is among the best of all active big league managers, if not the best. That’s not an accident and the name of the game is winning. Ned has been a GM for one year and the team went to the postseason while holding onto the future prospects that are so highly valued by everyone in the industry. So I’ll gladly defend both of them and their decisions and try to explain why they make the decisions that they do, even if some of you don’t understand that reasoning.
As for David Wells and his pending signing, there will obviously be those who agree and those who disagree with it and again, that’s a very welcome part of the game (and this blog). Some of you asked for an explanation and while I’ll leave that Grady and Ned who will obviously be quoted on the record once it’s official, as a fan I can say that I think it’s a pretty low-risk signing. I don’t think anyone would argue that we haven’t exactly seen great results out of the back end of our rotation and hopefully David will have enough left in him for five or six quality starts before the end of the regular season. But in response to the comment made about Wells vs. the fifth-round pick that wasn’t signed this year, I can tell you that the two are completely unrelated. They come from totally different budgets and the dollar values on one is drastically different than the other.
All that said, here’s today’s lineup:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Kemp, RF
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Hillenbrand, 3B
Penny, P
UPDATE: Brett Tomko designated for assignment
Inside the Dodgers 
LETS BEAT THESE METS!!!!!!!!
GO DODGERS!
Is Grady crazy, putting Hillenbrand at third!! why isn’t Martinez in there? Just playing!!
Lineup looks great to me.
Awesome line up. I know we’re all thinking the same thing with this line up. Should I say it? No, I’ll bite my tongue. Ah, who am I kidding someone has to say it…… I love Nintendo Baseball!!!
I would thank Grady for this, but I suspect Gonzo will start a game during this series (which is ridiculous).
great post again Josh..glad to see you’re responding to the comments about you.
I don’t think it’s fair for you to get “bashed” just because some of the posters on this blog don’t agree with you. Instead of looking at the totality of the circumstances and all the facts (including the role a gm and manager has), they want to tailor the facts/stats/data to their liking to prove their “point”, which ultimately ends up in people being called “idiots” among other things without pondering what goes on behind closed doors.
Thanks again for this blog, and i hope more people will st
THANK YOU GRADY! awesome lineup!
stay around despite the atmosphere that this blog takes sometimes*
Also, wouldnt you rather have Wells pitching then Tomko?
You’re right Josh, I’m happy with the lineup.
As fans, we don’t have to be pulling together with management like you do, so I understand your public and private opinions could be different and I respect that.
I guess we need to make sure we don’t “shoot the messenger”, heh?
i hope this is the lineup for the rest of the season…
when i look at this lineup it really looks great…
but i just can’t help but to imagine Loney hitting 3rd, Kemp 4th and Ethier 5th…
i can’t w8 to see that 3,4,5 order… i know it’ll come if we don’t get a power bat next year…
I just want to say that I do respect Josh’s handling of his position and his own integrity, even while I may have given up on the value of the managers that he represents.
In the meantime, it seems as good a lineup as we can muster these days, so let’s go all out DODGERS and BEAT THE METS.
It is nice to see a great lineup this time go into Shea to hopefully sweep the Mets! GO DODGERS!!
http://mikesciosciastragicillness.com/
Great lineup tonight. Just what most of us wanted and its a good thing because Oliver Perez is good. I hate the mets lets get a win tonight Blue.
Josh,
Your daily postings are much appreciated and, at least from this fan, do not go overlooked. I agree with the lineup for today and hopefully it produces a positive result. Thanks again for keeping us informed. Go Blue!
Thank you Josh.
Thank you Grady. You remind me of Walter johnson.
Like I said before I am encouraged to find that Boomer’s last win was against the Mets when he won 5 -1 on 7/16.
I miss u Liz…
Diehard Josh was talking directly to you when he said, ” And while I’m saddened to know that some of you have lost respect in me because I defend the team’s decisions, you’re certainly entitled to that. I think it’s also important to know that just because I try to explain their decisions and I defend Grady, Ned and everyone else here doesn’t mean that as a fan, I agree with every single thing that we do every single day.”
I thnk Gonzo really needs to fall on his sword and take one for the team if he really wants the team to win and take pressure off of Grady to make him “happy” as Crasnick’s column suggested.
Hey Roberto, what was the proposed trade to get Blanton from Oakland? Do you know?
Fantastic lineup. It must be hard for LaRoche to wait out this injury. I salivate at the possibility of LaRoche in this lineup.
Scott if Gonzo was a true team player he would go into Gradys office and tell Grady and Ned that he isn’t able to contribute anymore and he is ready to take on a smaller role to allow the younger players to play and give the team a better chance to win. Thats what a true team player past his prime would do.
I was thinking if Grady were to get fired I think the best possible replacement for him would be Dave Duncan pitching coach from St. Louis. Duncan is a former major league catcher who has had experience working with some of the best players and some of the best managers in the bigs. He has had success beyond belief as a pitching coach and there is no question he knows how to manage. He would be the perfect replacement if management decides to cut ties with Grady.
Nice grounded read Josh.
Thank you for your work, Josh. Rest assured you are greatly appreciated.
I love this line up. It is a beautiful thing seeing the kids getting the start against those dirty Mets. I hope they all keep their focus and come out strong to set the tone for the series. I also like the arrangement of the line up. For the most part, it’s lefty, righty, lefty, righty. Nice.
WE NEED THIS WIN TODAY. Badly.
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I HATE NEW YORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Ethier & Kemp in there today is a very good thing, Let’s beat the Mets!
swood: right on about Gonzo
Hey, Is there anyone here who doesn’t like the lineup and actually wants Gonzo in there?
(Please don’t respond Ned)
I Love L.A.!!! Now that’s a lineup!! Grady, if you keep this up we might start jumping on your wagon….Let’s get a sweep, with this lineup all 3 days.
What do you guys think of Dave Duncan as a manager? Do you think he would be better then Grady?
Praise Jesus!
A Great Lineup!
Correct me if I’m wrong but I think this is the same lineup that got us 15 runs two days ago in Philly. Lets get another 15 tonight in the apple!!!!! Penny for cy young!!!!!
swood, anybody would be better than Grady. That being said, yes i would like Dave Duncan as a manager. Maybe he can bring his sons Chris and Shelley with him. I saw those guys play high school and college ball out here in Tucson and they can hit. I’m sure by now Duncan has alot of Tony LaRussa in him, and he does handle all pitching decisions in St. Louis. Bring on Dave…
the good part is that this is our best lineup. The bad part is that its rarely used.
Grady Little has inherited good teams. Especially the team in Boston but once he left they won it all. Coincidence?
Great Post Josh and thanks for the explanation regarding Budget differential. That was me who brought that up. It helps in understanding the thought process.
I totally agree that Wells is a low risk/high reward pick up and if it dosen’t work out, so be it, no sweat. If Tomko and Hendu were .500 pitchers in the games they started this year we would be in the playoffs right now.
I to like this line up and I certainly respect the job you do. Facts are facts, things have gone a little south recently but there is still time. A few bad choices were made in the offseason and so be it, we move on.
I do understand that this is not fantasy baseball. Committments were made to players regarding playing time I am sure or Gonzo would not see the field over Ethier based on performance alone right now. The numbers are just to good/bad to think otherwise..but that’s ok too, they are all human beings and keeping people happy in a team enviornment is important. To those who say Gonzo should man up or whatever, I disagree..he has not said one bad thing about anyone. He has not played everyday. I don’t know I like the guy and he had a great first half. If he can regain that stroke it will be helpful. You never know who might struggle later. Maybe Either, maybe Pierre or maybe Loney.
Josh you do a great job and it’s much appreciated. I want to be here and I don’t want to turn people off from being here. I took Pupys and Casino’s post to heart as much as possible and want to be positive. I am in other aspects of my life, so why not with the Dodgers.
Im thinking about going to another game this year but i think my money will be better spent on my Nintendo.
well said jungar.
thank you josh. I know sometimes its hard to see but we all do appreciate the time you take out of your busy day for this blog.
Thanks for the post, Josh – very well said. I think we all want the same thing, which is for the Dodgers to win, obviously, and make the World Series. So at least we have that as common ground.
Oh, and whatever one thinks of David Wells signing, I agree it’s low risk – and, hey, we get to watch someone other than Tomko out there. He would’ve been creamed on Sunday. I will be stoked if they took 2 out of 3 this weekend. I also hope Andy LaRoche comes back soon and joins the team 9/1. Then I’d like this line-up even more! 😉 Cheers.
Using winning percentage to evaluate Grady is bull. This is his FOURTH year managing in the major leagues. Small sample size people. Go tell Cox, LaRussa, or real accomplished manager that Grady is better because he has a higher winning percentage. The fact is that Grady has to be evaluated by how he uses his talent and his in game decision making, which has been controversial at best.
Exit- When Grady inherited that Boston team they were a mess! A lot of talent, a lot of ego, a lot of losing. Grady turned them around and got them on the right track. I don’t think it’s very fair to call their winning the world series after Grady a coincidence when they hadn’t won it since 1918!!
Nice Radiohead reference in your name though. 😉
I just want to say first off, that if that lineup isn’t perfect it’s pretty close to it. I also would like to say that this will be the first time I’ve gone to a MLB game carrying the starting line up with me. Well at least my team’s. WELL ANOTHER BIG GAME GO DODGERS!!!!!
Wow imagine that lineup in 08 with A-rod instead of Shea. Now that would be awesome.
Lineup looks good, but it leads to the question–anyone know Nomar’s timeframe? What about LaRoche. Hillenbrand is fine as a fill-in (you can argue about Betemit, but that was done), but I’d rather have Nomar back or Andy filling in.
Excellent post Josh, and we should all make a point not to bash Josh. He does his job and does it well. I’m sure he’ll accept criticism, but good or bad he’s not making out the line-up, and has to be very careful about any personal opinions–whether he agress or not.
scott–just a comment about local reporters. Your’re (sort of) right that they have their own biases, including they are far less inclined to tick players/managers off (except Simers, of cours). But Rosenthal has incentives to go the other way too (including to keep selling the game, which is a big Fox product, interesting in places that don’t have a pennant race going on). Ultimately, there are a lot of biases going into this, so maybe Rosenthal’s right, but maybe not. We’ll see if it gets picked up on.
Jspelk- I agree with much of what you say. I also mostly agree with this here. A small sample isn’t all that telling. Buuuut, in Grady’s defense- How has Cox faired in the World Series? Even beyond that, how has he faired in the playoffs?! A friend of mine is a huge Braves fan and the only thing that I’m able to throw back in his face is “yeah, dude whatever. I hope you enjoyed your 1 championship in 14 straight division titles!” I’d be pissed if we made it each and every year but to no avial.
jungar,
Gonzo had problems with playing time in AZ last year and that is one reason he is not there. He gave the Dodgers an ok first half with a lot of meaningless stats for the most part when games were already won or lost. He was never very good in the field and we shouldn’t worry about keeping someone happy who #1 didn’t care for LA except for the fact that we were the only ones who would pay him what he wanted and promise him he’s start and #2 he’s going to be gone after this season so good riddance.
How can it not be about winning?
Thanks Josh!
A lot of us appreciate your efforts here on the blog.
Probably time to point out the good job Lttle and Colletti are doing. If we were to replace Little at all, I’d go for Walt Alston, but I don’t think he is available. Then again, he might be to low key too.
Does anyone here like Wilco?
I am seeing them live on monday and am a big fan. I have been a fan for awhile but for whatever reasons I have not been able to go see them..I was just wondering what to expect.
Nice, Grady goes back to the lineup that scored 15 runs. Keep it this way till the end of the season Grady. You MUST play the best players on the field this time of year.
well put Jungar.
great lineup with Martinez available to pinch hit or defense . We have been winning since Shea arrived at third. I would like to see Nomar back at third when he is healthy. I saw him at San Francisco on the last weekend when we clinched playoff spot last year, & was sad his body gave out. He has the Kirk Gibson Grit . we’ll need it in Sept.
Joe Pierre do you think we should try to get Dave Duncan as our manager? Do you think Gonzo should go to Grady and Ned and say that he wants to sit down and give the younger guys a chance to play so we can have the best chance to win?
By the way Josh…I cant tell you how forward I look to your blog’s. Your the best.
I love Wilco. I saw them at Coachella in 2005. They were pretty good. Jeff Tweedy just got out of rehab so it was a little strange at first. They really don’t like playing festivals so he was in a bad mood but they were still great.
I took this pic of them.
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b246/AEversW/Coachella%202005/IMG_1356.jpg
I assume you are going to see them at the Greek? I was thinking about getting tickets for that but i got Arcade Fire tickets at the Hollywood Bowl instead.
exit…no coincidence in Boston? Yeah Theo replaced his saves leader (Byun Yung Kim, 14 saves and did not even make the post season roster in ’03 because the Yankees were in his head from the previous years with AZ) with Keith Folke’s 40 plus saves. Not to mention the addition of Curt Schilling.
I’m not a big LaRussa fan, so I’m a little weary about Duncan. I like Kevin Kennedy who did well before and served a lot of years in the pre-FOX Dodger system. I like Girardi as well. We blew it with Scoscia so that’s water under the bridge.
JUNGAR!!! YESSS!!! I LOVE WILCO!! NIIIICE.
I’m going to the Greek show too. They are amazing. I’m friends with the opener, Richard Swift. Make sure to see him too. Fantastic.
Don’t bait me Scott, I am trying to place nice here!!
He should have never been signed, yes I agree.
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is one of my favorite albums ever.
Scott Kevin Kennedy is TERRIBLE. My dad knows him personally from his days in boston. His is a huge *** hole even though you can’t tell on TV. He had really talented teams but made stupid decisions with the pitching staffs. He wanted to pitch Clemens on 3 days rest after he had thrown 150 pitches in his last start. Thankfully someone talked him out of it but how stupid would that decision be. Kevin Kennedy is one million times worse then Grady. If we are to make a change it should be Dave Duncan and nobody else.
* He’s not his
wow Jungar, I am glad to know that I am not the only person here who is holding out on hopes of A-Rod being in Dodger Blue next year. Lineup with A-Rod next year, and imagine the speed we will have…
1. Furcal (Healthy)
2. Pierre
3. Kemp
4. Rodriguez
5. Ethier
6. Martin
7. Loney
8. Abreu
This is under the assumption that Kent is leaving. The top 6 people have a great chance at at least 20 stolen basesGive Furcal and Pierre 40 at the top of the lineup. Regardless of who the manager is next year, lets hope they can realize that potential and cut the strings lose next year. I think we can put the league on notice now, if this is the lineup next year, look out, if anyone gets on base, they’re going to second (minus Loney). Lets get it going in NY and beat da’ Mets.
Hey Josh:
You’re doing a great job. You are right in everything you say, and the vast majority of us appreciate and respect your efforts as well as each other and the Dodgers. Keep up the good work and know that it is important and correct.
Now let’s kick the **** out of those Mets!
HOLY ****!!!
did anyone see the update?!?!?!
BOMBKO GOT DFA’d!!!!!!
THERE IS A GOD!!
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a masterpiece.
you guys read josh’s update, brett tomko dfa.
exit= are you kidding me?!!! That is amazing!!!!
I like the lineup tonight. Hope the Dodgers have the same success as our rival Padre club had. I thought for a second about maybe doing a ‘Larussa’ thing with the lineup switching Penny, and Hillenbrand. Nope! I like the chances with this lineup. GO DODGERS!!
The Chin-Lung Hu era begins next week. 4 dingers in the last 10 games to go with a .350+ avg. He is a complete player.
jungar – sorry, lol.
swood – Duncan and no one else? Pretty narrow minded don’t you think?
Anyone else here besides swood’s dad have a bad impression of Kennedy?
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS TOMKO DFA!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSS
I want to see Matt Kemp hit that freaking apple in the outfield.
IT’S TRUE. BOMKO DFA’D!!!!!!!
i just peed a little im so happy.
w0w… so far that’s the greatest thing that happen for the dodgers this year…
tomko DFA
Scott do any of you know Kennedy personally? My dad was a friend of his. Now he hates Kennedy because he is a selfish jack***. Please Ned and McCourt if you are getting rid of Grady don’t get Kennedy he doesn’t know how to manage.
I’m leaving for the game now and I’d have to think about DUNCAN, but if da GONZ did do that it would make it easier on management.
What are we going to do with Hu, How much more time does Furcal have on his contract?
I guess this means that his option won’t be getting picked up in 2008…? LOL
P.S. Please sign with San Diego! I’ll forgive you for everything!
Wow thanks Max. Thanks kev…Actually I will be seeing them in San Diego (I live in San Juan Capistrano so it’s not that bad). I had other commitments but would rather be at the Greek, I love that place. Last show I saw there was Beck I belive. Or Tom Petty.
Foxtrot is great. All of the albums are great cause they are so different. My favorite might be “being there” or “Summerteeth” but I think that’s cause of nostialga as I bought those right when they came out and was really impressed (along with Uncle Tupleo) by the time I bough Foxtrot I knew I was gonna like it type thing.
Hu and Raffy next year, solid up the middle.
Tomko DFA’d…
C E L E B R A T E tonight common!
watch SD pick up tomko in 5…4….3….2….
dang we are acting like we just won the world series.
Well hopefully that’s the last we see of Tomko in a Dodger uniform. He’s had more than enough chances to prove himself, and he never came through. ADIOS!!
Wow, if we were all in a Bar and the Tomko thing was on the ticker as DFA’ed I get up out of my bar seat, stand on the bar and say….”drinks are on me boys, giddy up”
And I am not a loud person….
Josh, I would never lose respect for you. You have a job to do and people to answer to just like everybody else. What you do here is great and whether I agree with you or not (and I don’t about Grady) I still enjoy your take on things. Wells can’t be any worse then Tomko. I wonder why Ned didn’t try and get someone like Trachsel ,he’s not great , but he’s younger and available.
cant we just make this a *really* great day and release grandfather hernandez?
Guys, as frustrating as Tomko was, lets remember he is a real person and even though he is a major league pitcher, he does have feelings and a lot of the guys that we support on this team also support Tomko, for no other reason that he their team mate and friend. He didnt live up to our expectations, but lets represent the class organization of the Los Angeles Dodgers in wishing him well where ever he ends up.
fliegel josh wasn’t talking to you he was talking to diehard because yesterday diehard said that he had lost all respect for Josh because he stood up for Grady’s lineup.
fezzik, your right, but you no what, this time is okay.
Tomko DFA, What took so long? What a waste of a roster spot. At least it’s a step in the right direction.
“Being There” is great too. Have you heard their first album “A.M.”? It’s so country.
I saw Radiohead at the Greek last year. It’s really the best place to see a concert minus the Polo Fields of Coachella.
OK exit this is a dodger blog not a music blog. Give us your thoughts on us releasing Tomko.
swood , I know , I was just speaking in general. Thanks anyway.
So youre saying we’d move Hu over to 2nd from Short? Then what about Abreu?***** this is beginning to sound like USC Football, so much potential talent, but we can only field 9 at a time.
I agree fezzik our joy over this is strictly from a baseball point of view. We all know how great Tomko, Hernandez and Gonzo are as people. It’s well documented, but that doesn’t win ballgames, production on the field does. So, yes I wish Tomko the best in his personal life, but from a baseball perspective, it’s long overdue.
If they are high on Hu, then Abreu might be one of those prospects they can dangle out there with someone else to get some pitching for next year.
im not saying he shouldnt have been DFA’d. Just saying that we’re celebrating that a guy just lost his job, and that adds to unemployment… and umemployment puts people on Welfare, and lets face it, that hurts everyone 😛
Wow the Braves DFA’d Bob Wickman
Abreu has experience in the bigs, look for him to start before Hu.
He’d be an upgrade over Hernandez, no?
bob wickman, like tomko should have beend DFAed long ago. the braves could use tomko actually, the back half of their rotation, like ours, is a mess
How good is Hu defensively.?
i already posted my thoughts Swood.
i just peed a little im so happy.
Posted by: exit_music_4afilm@yahoo.com | August 24, 2007 02:31 PM
If I was a Jedi, I would cruise on my motorscooter thing down to San Diego
Towers: How long have you had this tomko?
LUKE: About two seasons.
BEN: They’re for sale if you want them.
Towers: Let me see his statistics.
me: You don’t need to see his statistics..
Towers: We don’t need to see his statistics..
me: This is the pitcher your looking for.
Towers: This is the pitcher we’re looking for.
fezzik031@yahoo.com While it’s never good to see somebody out of work, I don’t think you’ll see Tomko in the unemployment line or welfare office any time soon. 🙂
fezzik It’s nothing personal. Nobody means any ill will against the man personally. I wish him well. He was given more than enough chances here. It just feels like a HUGE burden was lifted from this team as a whole. Such is life. He may find a home somewhere else. Who knows? I just hope to never see him again in a Dodger uniform.
Bye Bombko!
Wickman > Hernandez??
Hu will get a look this september and on and off next year. If he’s ready he could take over for Furcal. Furcal has a better arm and has more pop but defensively Hu is probably the best we have in the organization with James Loney a close second. He’s a defensive Wiz.
Wickman is better fezzik. Tomko is horrible and I’m glad he’s gone. Fezzik I know you’re kidding about Tomko going on welfare but still….
Hu?
Hu are u talking about?
I sure hope we all as posters here got the message, Josh.
I Like your blog postings (even the plain ‘ole lineup is in itself pretty valuable service) because they open up a bit of the organization the fan doesn’t get to see.
My blog isn’t so inside and reflects more of the thoughts us fans have on the outside looking in. I think it is very insightful and revealing to us fans when you address some of the questioning of the moves of management that occur in the comments. Maybe coulda been done more courteously, but maybe that changes with today’s posting by yourself. Will definitely be a better blog if that happens.
http://altdodgerthinking.blogspot.com/
Well, I think I can see this next year if Kent decides to call it a career.
Loney 1b
Hu 2b
Raffy ss
LaRoche 3b
Hate to see this, but maybe Nomar and Abreu for some pitching help.????
Hey Van are you posting this from the Phillipines or are you just or phillipino decent?
Luis Castillo tweaked his knee and is out of the lineup and is day to day, Gotay will fill in for tonight for them **** Mets
I guess B. Cox had enough of Wickman huh? Their pitching staff, and bullpen got beat up bad by the Reds. He was overworked. Seems he’s the sacrificial lamb to me.
exit- Being There may be my favorite Wilco album. Summerteeth is incredible too. The only one I do not have is AM. I can honestly say that I have yet to be dissapointed by Tweedy and Wilco. They are an amazing band. I was at Coachella that year too. I’ve also seen ’em at the El Rey. I can’t wait for the Greek show! Seriously, Arcade Fire put on an amazing show and your money is well spent but you should get to the Greek for Wilco and Richard Swift too! 🙂
nice Star Wars jungar.
Well, no one wants to see Tomko down at the LA Mission this weekend, but I really doubt he’s “unemployed” since the Dodgers still owe him money for this year, right? Sounds like easy money.
* of not or
im a filipino but im already here in L.A…
just having some fun…
tomko is gone! yeah!
Im unable to find fielding stats for Hu on MiLB.com… anyone know where else to locate them?
California, LaRoche is a BIG IF if we acquire A-Rod. Just remember there will always be another LaRoche. A player of A-Rod’s caliber comes along once every 20 years.
good luck Tomko. Thanks for the Dodger children’s book you designed. i gave it to my little nieces.
No matter what Wells does for us, I’ll always be thankful to him for helping us get rid of Tomko.
Scott- your easy money comment reminded me of the Darren Dreifort Wealth Creating System video I saw today: http://mikesciosciastragicillness.com
The way I see it LaRoche must have some value, because they have never wanted to trade him.
and the whole statement about Welfare was a joke. Im glad Tomko isnt in Dodger blue anymore, and for the moment, there is not a blatantly obvious liability in the rotatation. Lets get it going and hey, maybe Wells will throw at the Mets on Sunday and start a fight, and maybe, just maybe, it will light a little more fire under the Dodger’s butts.
My biggest worry tonight is Beltran. He’s been on fire, and off the hook since his return off the DL. Oh yeah! Can’t forget that pest Reyes. The Mets are pretty much dead without him.
SWOOD this is dodger blog, not a family decent blog..lol
“OK exit this is a dodger blog not a music blog. Give us your thoughts on us releasing Tomko.”
—seriously I was about to say
No offense SWood but this is part of why things get un civil at times. I don’t mean your comment, thats no biggie at all, in fact I bet you wrote it joking with a smile on your face..but this place should be like a little community where getting to know each other aside from our baseball opinions is a good thing. I think it creates respect etc between people who otherwise would never know each other. A more imagined face behind the name. I think just knowing a little about each other makes things more personal and people might be less prone to saying something about someone they shouldn’t. I don’t know I may be way off base….
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So I feel totally stupid Max and Kev or at least out of the loop, but who are Arcade Fire? I’ll have to check them out…
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On A-rod, just imagine how things would be different if we had the first pick in that draft, not the second. Instead of Driefort we would have had A-rod. Ouch.
Lets hire Offerman for one more assignment…. send him after Beltran… KIDDING!!!
Wow–a big surprise. I really figured they would just find a way to manipulate the roster until next Friday. But nope. He’s gone. That must also mean that the Wells deal is official.
It looks like pierreseatsmeetswest got to see this before heading to the game.
We don’t need Offerman, Penny will take care of Beltran. I’m seeing some positive things starting to happen here this could be the beginning of a beautiful Aug/September run. Lookout DBacks….
Jungar I don’t come on this blog to meet friends or “join a community” I come on here to talk Dodger baseball. The only reason I said that to Van was because a couple weeks ago we had a quick coversation with manfromchina about him being chinese and van told me he was philipino.
D-Backs are comning back down to earth.. 5-5 over their last 10. Just as I thought, there is one more week in Aug, and the month might be balancing out for them. Bring on September. We could see ourselves in 1st again by mid sept if all goes well here in NY and we carry over the momentum.
I think we are gonna have to eat alot of Tomko’s salary though aren’t we? I mean wasn’t he signed through next year?
For the sake of speculation that I see in some of the posts above, I don’t know much about Kennedy or Duncan as manager choices, but, if it comes to that, I hope that whoever makes the selection decison will look at a few people in the Dodger system or a couple of former Dodger players. Gibson comes to mind, as does Hershiser, and maybe even Valentine who is coaching in Japan. I’m sure that you guys can add a number of others. I would like to see someone who’s got the Dodger passion for this game, for winning, and for building a team for many years to come.
fezzik Do you think Steinbrenner, and the Evil Empire would be stupid enough NOT to resign A-Rod? He carried that whole team on his back for the most part of the 1st half of the season.
I hate to say, or admit it, but loyalty is pretty much extinct in this day, and age. Cash is King. Whoever has the deepest pockets, and fattest checkbook lands A-Rod. I would love to see him in Dodger blue! He’s holding his cards close to his vest. He doesn’t want the issue to be a distraction right now with their run for the playoffs. Guess we’ll all find out after the season ends.
I DON’T WANT A FORMER PITCHER AS MANAGER I DON’T CARE WHO IT IS!!!!!!! PITCHERS WHO WANT TO BE COACHES SHOULD BE PITCHING COACHES NOT MANAGERS!!!!!!
oh cool Kevin. That was my first Coachella and i’ve been going ever since.
My original plan was either to go see Wilco at the Greek on the 29th or Gogol Bordello at the El Rey(i think) on the 28th, those dates might be flipped cuz I always mixed them up, but then The Arcade Fire announced a show at the Bowl and I had no other choice. I had to go see The Arcade Fire again. They blew my mind at Coachella 2007.
Jungar, The Arcade Fire are the greatest thing ever.
jjriley I think that ARod will opt out of his contract with the Yanks and if he is tired of their fans he will sign somewhere else. If that happens we have a legit shot to get him.
swood:
Tell that to Tommy Lasorda.
Just kidding; you’re entitled to your opinion.
I don’t think the YAnkees will re-sign. They won’t be getting the money from the Rangers anymore.
In order to sign A-Rod we’d have to get rid of some huge contracts (schmidt, Pierre, ETC.)
messagebearer what do you mean tell that to Lasorda?
LaSorda is the rare breed of a pitcher who becomes a good skipper.
swood I think he’s on every Dodger fans Christmas wish list! lol I know he’s on mine. The rotten apple fans have been more kind to him this year. With good reason. His numbers are insane.
I meant when you said you didn’t want a former pitcher for a manager.
Personally I think that pitchers only understand one side of the game that’s why they should become pitching coaches not skippers. The best skippers are catchers because they understand both sides of the game.
I won’t argue that LaSorda was a very special breed, but why do you think they called Hershiser the “bulldog”. Just thought there may be something to that, and he has already been a pitching coach.
Swood- I understand you’re here to talk Dodgers. So are all of us. I have to agree with Jungar though. You may not be here to “join a community” (I don’t think any of us are here for that) but it’s kind of unavoidable. I know when I see a name by someone that I think has made some great points in the past, I read their post first. I know when I come here I will enjoy the things I read. I know I will hear things before any of my other friends that are Dodgers fans that don’t frequent this blog, I.E., TOMKO’s DFA (I sent a text out to a ton of friends upon hearing that news and now I have a ton of side conversations going on about it!). The way I see it, regardless of intent, anyone who writes or reads on this blog often is by default a part of a community. By definition, really. And I agree with Jungar’s assesment. It stokes me out to know that he’s a Wilco fan and a Dodgers fan. That puts us (exit included) in our own little minority!
Ok- moving on. Jungar, Arcade Fire are beautiful. Between them and Russ Martin I can say most assuredly, something must be in that Canadian water! (and there you go SWOOD- I tied it all back into Dodger talk) 😉
Tomko DFA’d? There IS a god.
Hershiser is not going to be our skipper messagebearer just face it. There is a reason why of all the major league skippers ONLY ONE was a former major league pitcher (Bud Black, San Diego). This is off the top of my head but I think there have only been 4 dodger skippers in history(including brooklyn) who were former pitchers.
Kennedy has Dodgers roots and has always wanted to manage the Dodgers – as long as swood’s dad is not on team!
I like Gibson and Hershiser to be coaching in some capacity. Anyone that’s already with the Angels has it too good to leave though.
Spoken like a TRUE Scossia, Brenly, Bochy, Melvin, or Girardi fan swood. I don’t care for the AL, but you gotta agive props to the Angels organization. Lots of ex Dodgers on the coaching staff, and doing well. Catchers are under rated, and under appreciated for sure in my book.
OK kevinpoush and jungar I am gonna end this conversation here because its so rediculously stupid. IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT MUSIC GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. IF YOU WANT TO TALK DODGERS STAY HERE.
I wish Bret Tomko, the man all the best. He is a very talented person, baseball has been tough on him. I’m sure its not the end of the world. Health and family are much more important than baseball! best wishes!
YES! A great lineup and a great roster move all in one day?
:runs to window to look for flying pigs:
In 5 or 10 years after he retires Brad Ausmus will be a good skipper for someone. Kennedy is an *** hole and if he EVER manages this team I will stop being a dodger fan. Trust me Scott if you want me to I will email you some of the stuff he did in Boston and it will change your opinion of him.
I would love A-Rod to come to the Dodgers as mouch as the next guy. But Sorry guys! With the amount of money that the Yankees dish out to guys that aren’t good or over the hill(Giambi,Pavano,etc.) you’re crazy not to think that the Boss wouldn’t pay A-Rod as much as he wants and more. He is in his prime and with the new Yankee Stadium opening up in two years Stienbrenner would do anything to keep the best baseball player in the world on his team. With all of the records that he is going to break I just don’t think he’s gonna leave New York. Sorry! But that’s just my own opinion.
nkirby4 Good one! lol
swood, you do realize that you complaining about something that isn’t related to Dodger baseball is in fact talking about something that isn’t dodger baseball.
brown1525 You may be right, but we can always hope he lands here. DARE TO DREAM!
Hey Josh, I think you do a real nice job with the blog. Thanks for getting the lineup out early every day and for all the insight into the team that we can’t get other places.
I know it’s in poor taste to celebrate someone else’s misfortune, but I have to say I’m glad to see Tomko go. I’ll be happy for him if he can turn his career around somewhere else, but he was hurting our team with his performance this year.
swood you better email McCourt since I don’t have much influence…
We all wish Tomko the best in his personal life and now he has even more personal life to do it.
Man what a day. First a great lineup, then Tomko is DFA’d then I noticed that nobody had been complaining about Grady then I noticed that diehard hasn’t had one post today. Cheers to a good day. LOL.
Maddux vs Moyer in Philly tonight. Battle of the old fogeys tonight.
Jungar I don’t come on this blog to meet friends or “join a community”
—
That’s cool. I do. Maybe its my age. It’s been great trading e-mails with Max and others about non dodger stuff. Now I know that Kevin might be interested in some of the things I am.
I don’t really get a chance to go out and meet people of similar interest as much as I used to or would like to. So no one will censor me about anything I write here but Josh. Period. I am certainly not going somewhere else because you all caps’ed me.
I swear to god if anyone knows McCourts email I would email him telling him not to hire Kennedy the day we fired Grady.
No jungar I like you and I have read some really interesting stuff from you this year. I just think this isn’t the time or the place to be talking about music. I am very sorry if I offended you.
By the way where is Max I haven’t seen him on this blog in a couple weeks? Does anyone know?
Gosh jungar i feel guilty about saying that now. Sorry buddy.
One of the things we’re overlooking here is the fact that Paul Lo Duca and Ramon Castro are both on the disabled list. They’re forced to play Mike Difelice and Sandy Alomar Jr during this series. Just pointing it out but to me it’s a big deal.
max died.
You didn’t offend me at all man. You have your rights as do I. No biggie at all…But me, I have a pregnant wife who is due in Nov, I am in my mid 30’s and really don’t have a chance to talk with as many people about different things etc as I wish I could. In other words, I don’t get out much anymore!
So basically what I am saying, if the post that I (or anyone writes) is not your cup of tee, move on and read the next post. I don’t think that’s that big of a deal..
LOL ^^^^^ yeah so did Alex
swood, stop man….no worries, really.
For all you who like the young guys coming up, you really should check out the 1974 WS DVD that’s part of the A’s WS dvd set. Even though we lost, it was great to see Tommy and the kids in that series. Netflix has it.
Josh-
I miss understood you were defending grady because that’s your job. I really like this blog you earn my respect. I was a little harsh on you JOSH. My apologies. I’m glad we have our A team out there!!! GO DODGERS!!
Today’s moves should have an energizing effect on our team. Let’s build on today & remember the incredible run we had last year. I retired last year & wandered up the coast to see us clinch on the last Sat at SF. How sweet it is. Go DODGERS!!!!
Ya your right jungar i over reacted my bad. Hey good luck with your kid man. Is it a boy or a girl.
Nice resolution, guys. I like reading what Jungar has to say about the Dodgers and even though Swood has made a big deal out of our side conversations, I’ve enjoyed much of what he’s had to say about my boys too. We all love the Dodgers ore we wouldn’t be here right now. I mean, I’m at work right now sorta counting down the minutes ’til I get to throw on the AM radio for the game! Music and Dodgers are basically my 2 favorite things in life. Seeing them crossover is a slice of heaven.
I say this same line up all weekend, and see how we turn out. Martin can rest Monday, no wait I’m going Monday!!!!
Hey diehard how you doin’ today little buddy. Are you gonna praise Grady now for the lineup?
RIP Alex
“Music and Dodgers are basically my 2 favorite things in life. Seeing them crossover is a slice of heaven.”
pretty much. I’d include playing guitar and stuff but that goes right along with music.
I love the line up. I will not post any negative comments towards grady as long as I see him field our best players, regardless of their age.
Anybody think Wells will have Liberthal as a battery mate Sunday?
Yo diehard where have you been all day you are usually always posting throughout the day? Did you see Tomko got DFA’d? Any thoughts?
Who was the “manager to be” that DePo had designated before he himself was asked to depart. I believe he managed the Vegas team and then went to manage in Japan after he was passed over in the change to the Colletti/Little regime. I thought at the time that he might have been a good selection and would have good familarity with our minor league talent.
Swood/Jungar- i totally wrote that before i read your guys back and forth. I wrote “nice resolution…” after I read Swood’s “No jungar I like you…” I wouldn’t have wrote “even though Swood made a big deal” had I read “I over reacted.” That’s funny how that worked out.
Benching Martin for a nationally televised ballgame? No way. Forget about the fact he probably won’t miss a game for the rest of the season.
Don’t know. Were keeping it a suprise. It’s our first. See this isn’t so bad, is it? lol
Van is another guy who e-mails me in private sometimes. It’s pretty cool.
Kev, Max (exit) yeah guys our Wilco “talk” fired me up. I am “red eyed and blue” right now. Have fun this weekend at the show(s). Let’s connect on Tuesday to discuss….I am really fired up to see them. First band in a while that I will be seeing while in their prime creative years.
Go Dodgers, let’s get this series off on the right foot.
I don’t think so messagebearer I mean I would like someone with more major league experience somewhere. There is a big difference between managing AAA and the majors. We are a world series ready team now and I don’t want to have our guy’s talent be wasted in their prime while we wait for a manager to develop.
Bear it was Terry Collins…
He managed one of the all time great collapses by the Angels I belive. I think the Angels were up 8 games on Sept 1 and lost it and didnt make the playoffs.
alex You never know. It might work. I’d like to see Martin get a little rest from behind the plate for down the stretch. He can always pinch hit if need be. I’m not talking the rest of the pitching staff, just using him (Libby) for Wells exclusively like he was for Wolf.
The only person who I really ever email is diehard…. I guess I’m just not as popular as you guys =(. Kidding of course. On a more serious note If Wells doesn’t work out that will leave us in a bad spot, either we will have to get Hendy out of the pen (bad idea) or we will have to call someone up(probably Houlton). Either way we have to really hope that Wells can find his form that he had with the Yankees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Collins
You guys talking about changing managers and stuff, and catchers usually do make good managers. I was wondering where I could submit my resume, I use to be a catcher in high school and college.
You can submit it to me californiaauto.
Happy Dodgers= happy fan’s. Can’t wait until back to back series with SD & AZ in mid Sept. I’ll be there & get a bobblehead of Tommy as a bonus. Let’s show the Mets our team speed. SD has been incredibly close to us for 2 years. Keep the pressure on AZ & watch them fade. Show the NL that the west is best!! GO BLUE!!!
HA! Nice, Jungar!
I can’t wait to watch the Mets go down. I feel a streak coming for the Dodgers and Arizona hitting the skids.
It is of some relief, to know that the professionals make the tough decisions for the Dodgers while the nonprofessionals (fans and bloggers) make suggestions. Nick, Grady, and Josh- thanks for being pros!
Fun to watch the kids, but watch the veterans on the roster… Kent, Gonzo, Nomar, and Lowe keep things interesting. Martin (practically a veteran now), Kemp, Ethier, Loney, etc. will have their time soon… but it will take a full 25 man roster to reach the playoffs.
Sorry for Tomko… such an underachiever; but really pulling for Boomer to get us some clutch victories.
Go Dodgers!
Tonight’s game sets the tone for the whole series. I see us stealing at least 8 bases this series and giving are pitching good run support.
Thanks, jungar.
He was the one, and I see he had several years of major league managing; however, no real successes, so his time has probably passed by.
ya messagebearer I didn’t know he was a former skipper. I don’t really know anything about him but he seems like he would be OK I guess…
The Dbacks have cooled off quite a bit. They were due. For a while there it seemed they could do no wrong. Welcome back to Earth! I hope the Cubbies whip up on them this weekend.
Ok Dodgers let’s go!
And Gonzo, if Grady play you this weekend anyway you better do something good!
It’s probably not worth talking about replacements for Grady, because I don’t think he’s going anywhere, but I disagree with Swood. Some great managers have had no big league managing experience. Tommy won 2 pennants his first two years as a big league manager, Alston won the world series his second year as a big league manager, Scioscia did it in his third. Sparky Anderson won the pennant his first year, and Dusty Baker was a first year manager in 1993 when we kept him from winning the division on the last day of the season.
Beautiful job by Pierre, we got something going here!
Kemp K’s, but that’s better than a Gonzo DP…
LET’S GO!!!!
ugh….we take the good, we take the bad, we take them both and we have the facts of the dodgers.
Strange not to see LoDuca in the lineup. Is he on the DL?
Awh man. I thought we were going to get to ’em early. Let’s go Brad.
Uh oh! Rabbit on the base pads.
S.O.B.!
Dodger baseball at its finest. Wouldn’t expect anything else.
Penny is the fussiest pitcher I see regularly when it comes to the baseballs he pitches with ( and running his hand through his hair to get help gripping the ball ) I’m guessing there’s something not to his liking with this batch of baseballs, and now his control is not to his liking. One fears that things will pile on from here. He’s not fooling them out there right now.
Rock and roll, Martin!
Way to go Martin!
I love it when OTHER teams run themselves out of innings.
Thanks to Martin that got nipped in the bud, but 30 pitches for the inning doesn’t bode well. Hope Penny recovers and takes charge.
I hope Brad settles down. Pitch count’s up there already. He got out of that cheap. C’mon Dodgers! Let’s score some runs, and run Perez’s pitch count up to turn it over to their bullpen.
Josh,
just got a chance to read your post for this evening,great post. if anyone has DODGER PRIDE as was discussed yesterday you have it. i have been a Dodger fan since the 50’s. In the old days you heard less trash from the Yankee fans than we listen to from the people on this blog. stay the course Josh and stay Blue. It has been people in the Dodger organization like you that has made it the best **** organization in baseball!! Go Blue , we have a pennant to win.
Today I just feel as if that one run scored will be enough for the Mets.
Come on, Dodgers! This is the best lineup we have – make something happen!
Nice AB from Kemp.
Opportunity wasted.
It was a good recovery for Kemp, and he probably won’t see another fast ball over the plate. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like Ethier can handle this particular lefty very well.
Here we go again.
The execution is not there yet, but they’re collectively having good solid at bats that should pay dividends later. It’s only the 4th.
Lefties aren’t fairing well against Perez tonight.
Martinez should had started over Shea.
Shea is 1/6 before today
Martinez 4/8
Dang Martin should had gotten that hit in the 1st inning.
I have to agree with that. Martinez has been doing better with the bat lately.
Actually that against Perez in there career.
Back to back BB’s. Not good.
two games in a row with Bad Brad, is this a sign of things to come down the stretch?
Whew! Dodged a bullet there!!
Is today Furcal bday. Yahoo profile and wikipedia has it for today but baseball reference has it in October 24.
fezzik He’s settled down some. Can’t be ‘lights out’ every start. It’s early yet. I like our chances against their bullpen They’ve been getting hammered lately.
Wow, that was some catch by the Mets’ right fielder. Why is Pierre back to hitting pathetic little fly balls, anyway?
OMG Kemp said the f word. I guess he known he miss his pitch.
PFFFFFFFFFFT!
San Diego’s lineup playing like studs tonight. Our lineup playing like duds.
Good thing we’re not going to the postseason this year. This mix of over-the-hill veterans and young players wasn’t quite it. Next year, Kemp, Ethier and Loney will be that much better. And Gonzalez and Garciaparra and Kent will be gone.
Oh, wait. That was a TWO-year contract for a slap-hitting 3B, and an option based on PA for a knotty old 2B. Wheps.
Gosh Wright made a Beltre played.
**** not again Wright
I guess that Ethier will be sitting on the bench tomorrow.
Yes, despite the fact that on any given day his likelyhood of doing good is much higher than Gonzo’s 😐
Randolph is hesitant to go to the pen…. lets see what happens in the 7th.
Penny has been just fine tonight, it’s lack of timely hitting and flat out bad luck that has us scoreless so far. A nice 6 innings for Penny, a little rocky at times but you can’t win if you don’t score.
maybe wells can help tutor penny and billz for the remainder of the year.
Guess Perez isn’t tired. He hasn’t thrown that many fastballs. Leans toward more breaking stuff, & off speed junk. It’s worked for him so far.
That why Shea should been bench for the hot Martinez.
A quality start for Penny for sure, just horrid offense again tonight, maybe it will pick up tomorrow and we’ll take the last two like in philly.
Penny did great. But indeed, you can’t win unless you score.
Can the Dodgers score four runs in three innings? I rather doubt it. ( Despite having the lineup we all clamour for given the current 25-man out there. It is a lot easier to second-guess than it is to manage. )
Yeah Saenz walk
get olmedo a walker to get back to the dugout
No pinch runner for Saenz?!!
Steiner said they didn’t want to waste 2 guys on 1 spot and it too early.
It wouldn’t mater anyway.
So sad. So, so sad this lineup making a junkballer like Perez look like Cy Young. Now, I hope we hammer their relievers.
Looks like Perez/Mets aren’t gonna let the Dodger vets beat them today. Only really challenging the Kidz- Ethier, Loney, Kemp. That’s the problem w/ playing kidz in a pennant race. They tend to grip their bats a little to tight in these races. I know its just the 1st game of this series but the Kidz are looking a little anxious in their atbats.
Please prove me Wrong Kidz and do someLthing these last few innings!!
How does that saying go? “Live by the Kidz-Die by the Kidz”
Did you guys see that fight in Philly? Carlos Ruiz slid real dirty into Marcus Giles and then a big brawl broke out. The pads fight everyone this year.
NIICE! Timely twin killing.
If we are gonna win the wild card or the division Penny is gonna have to be better every night then he was tonight. We’ll need a win almost every night Penny pitches. Give Oliver Perez credit he pitched well tonight.
Where was the hit in the 1st inning Kent?
Hey we can still take two out of three if a rookie and an overweight 40+ year old pitches well…
Ethier will walk and Martin will drill a 3-run homer calling it early.
**** Ethier that should be 2 runs in the 1st inning.
I like it so far! C’mon Martin!!!!!
3-run homer coming up for Martin.
swood-Thatz what this Dodger team needs is a good Brewhaha! Get that fire going down the stretch.
Grand Slam for Loney off Feliciano… calling it early.
Gosh I hate walk especially when walk don’t count in my fantasy league. I hope Loney hit a grand slam.
yes sir triton. I would actually just take any hit here from loney.
Holy Cow! We have to get something out of this..Be patient Loney.
hmmmmmmm Martinez I guess
WHAT RAMON FOR LONEY????? WHAT IS GRADY THINKING????
Felicano owned lefty is a good move
could have been worse
OK Ramon now we NEED shea to get a hit.
But it **** Martinez can’t come through.
steiner “grady is a firm believer in riding the hot hand…”
hahahahahahah
they are both idiots steiner and little
We could have done at least the same, or better leaving Loney in there.
haha manfromchina. Are you chinese?
**** hillenbrand YOU STINK.
**** Shea got rob by Wright.
nope…
i think steiner wants to have david wrights kids
S.O.B Hillenbrand got that one! GAH!!! BTW, no Dodger has a single hit against Feliciano in his career. More bad luck tonight…
I should’ve said no left handed swinging Dodger has a hit against Feliciano, man Shea smoked that, 2 feet higher it’s a tie game. Those are the breaks in this game…
Well, at least no shutout! If the bullpen can hold them here – great. Wagner’s been getting roughed up lately.
I don’t know jjriley Wagner is still Wagner and 2 runs against him will be really tough. Especially with our offense…
This game is over!!!
Great Proctor is in to give the mets some more insurance runs. Our offense stinks.
Charlie Steiner considers a .192 hitter a hot hand…
Every time I watch Ned Colletti’s Deadline Dud Scott Proctor pitch…
it makes me puke!
Stinks tonight, I have more faith in this lineup than any other. This game was lost long before the eighth inning. Though this isn’t helping…
Oh this is gonna be interesting Ned’s DFA vs. Ned’s deadline acquisition…
Aaaaaaaand it goes from bad to worse. Thanks Proctor!
That Betemit/Proctor trade is looking better every day, isn’t it. Now all we need is for Marlon to give us the death blow for this game.
Better luck tomorrow boys, bad luck tonight hopefully the balls will fall tomorrow. Talk to you all then…
Charlie Steiner is an idiot!
Thar she blows! No need for Wagner now.
I think Farnsworth would have been better then Proctor. Atleast Farnsworth has good stuff and has had some success in the majors.
And Farnsworth hasn’t been worked to death.
God **** proctor *****.
looks like the only good news tonight is that Bombko is gone.
Ramon for Loney? seriously now.
Since Proctor became a Dodger, he had one, or two decent outings. But since then, he’s stunk! He’s been about as effective as Blowberto lately.
**** Gonzo got a hit. That means Ethier will ride the pine the rest of the series.
I think that Meloan and Hull could have done as well for us as Proctor and Hernandez.
i think Jon Meloan would have been better then Proctor and Farnsworth.
I was hoping for Mota to come in. No such luck. Gonzo with a rare hit. Let’s see what happens…..
WHAT THE **** WAS THAT?!?!
What the **** was Pierre trying to do? He basically just handed them an out.
Come on Kent tying grand slam.
Holy Cow! Never a dull moment here! Never say die! C’mon Kent!!!
Urgh dang Kent
No, now this means Ethier will ride the pine…
God Ethier killed us tonight.
this team sometimes….this team.
Ethier choked like a good Kid. Not ready for Primetime. Bring back Gonzo!!!
Oh well! I think Wagner did that on purpose for the save opportunity. I hope for better things tomorrow.
1 for 5 2 K’s 7 LOB for Ethier tonight, two days ago he was the man, today he’s the goat. It’s the ups and downs, he’s still the man. But, the problem is this will cause him to sit, that’s what’s wrong with the system in place.
“What the **** was Pierre trying to do? He basically just handed them an out.”
there is a reason he’s lead the league in outs for a couple of years now. It’s his job. He’s an outs machine.
You can’t create a save opportunity jjriley, no save for Wagner.
trition please leave.
He won’t get one. You can’t get a save with a 4 run lead and create one in the inning.
Surely you don’t mean that triton. He just had a bad night. His production has been waay better than Gonzo’s since the all star break. All the young lefties had a tough one tonight.
Wells, won’t do us ANY good. He does NOT hit GRAND SLAMMERS
25 LOB’S. That’s disgusting.
A-Rod can’t help these guys.
What a darn shame.
My bad! Too much beer drinking, and brain damage on my part I guess tonight. Better luck tomorrow!
Horrible game tonight for our offense we should have scored runs against Oliver Perez he was wild and out of control. Our guys just aren’t pacient enough to work the count more and take more walks.
He’s been the best hitter in the National League since the break, he has one bad game. You have to send him right back out there tomorrow to get this out of his memory. BUT…Gonzo will be in there tomorrow because he does have good numbers against Hernandez, even though he’s been pretty bad for 2 months now. Ethier does not do well against Hernandez, so Ethier probably sits tomorrow. El Duque also kills right handed pitching, so Kemp may sit instead. What I do know is Gonzo will start tomorrow regardless. Whether we like it or not.
Plz Mets and whoever we play next:
Please sweep the Dodgers, please provide a six game losing streak putting that final nail in there, so we can put a cap on a season that stopped in its tracks when the arms fell of more than half a whole rotation ( not a good one but a rotation nonetheless: Schmidt, Wolf, Kuo ) and the whole of a veteran/rookie mix lineup.
kthankz
If we are gonna start winning our offense is gonna have to produce alot more then it has been lately.
I don’t even want to think about nit picking on who’s in the lineup tomorrow right now. I just hope Stults has his ‘A’ game on, and there’s more runs scored.
Our team just isn’t mentally tough enough to grind it out in other words play well through the dog days of summer. We need to get a skipper who can keep the focus and who won’t allow the team to go on long losing skids.
Hey swood, the club has won 6 out of the last 9. I wouldn’t call that a losing streak.
jjriley I am talking about before the last 9 when we were losing almost every game. Also last season when we lost like 8 in a row and won like one game in three weeks. The same type of thing happened this year. Our team is way too inconsistant.
griffon64..
dont EVER post another comment on this blog ever again. we dont need ppl like you here. so **** off!!
kthankz
well said bill. By the way where are you from?
Just got back from the game, had to wait about a half hour for a bus after a 20 miniute train ride. Had pretty good seats out in the left field corner, field level. Not for watching the game though, too far away, but I saw everything, no obstruction. The best thing was before the game. LONEY, ETHIER, KEMP & HILLENBRAND were sprinting & exercizing and MARTIN infull gear was jumping around and having a catch with coach WARTHEN and PIERRE as puzzling as ever was just taking batting practice swings. All this no more than 60, 70 feet away from me. You know I’m 69 years old, believe me the feeling is no different than when I was 9. There is nothing like eyeballing your own baseball club.
I’m leaving to go check the box score.
Thanks for the report Pierre…Your passion is inspiring. Let’s get em tommorrow.
We need to get wins tomorrow and Sunday. We need to gain ground quickly on San Diego and Arizona.
Greetings from Stafford England. Ive been reading comments and following a little bit. Seems like nothing has changed . I see Grady stooped to all time levels with his “nintendo baseball” comment. I cant wait for the day he is back on the farm milking cows. Off topic but quite disturbing is Scott Proctor’s joke of an outing. No matter how many times Betemit strikes out, no matter how hot Andy is in the minors, that was an idiotic trade. You cannot convince me Proctor is better than Meloan, let alone Hull. Im convinced Ned had Hillenbrand on his mind for some time, and its sad that dou$$hebag still has a starting job in the majors. You guys wanna cry about bloggers being pessimistic? How about his comments from Toronto calling his team a sinking ship just because he was plattoning with Overbay. Hillenbrand is a joke.
And Yes….We are celebrating the DFA of Brett Tomko as we speak!! Cheers to that! Here’s to a David Wells ressurection!!!
Jennifer, whend did you say you where coming back?… as for the news about tomko… FINALLY!!!
and if you guys are still intereseted, i have a few spots left in my fantasy football league.. once again its for Dodger fans who want to keep in touch.. so let me know.. if you are interested send me an emai to
ray_villa_17@hotmail.com
BELIEVE IN THE PONCHO!!!
It’s easy to blame the team for lost opportunities to score more runs, but we have to own up to the fact that sometimes our pitching cannot carry the day when it is necessary. A staff ace should be expected to win some of those 1-0 and 2-1 games, especially at the crucial time of a pennant race. I can remember many times a Koufax and a Drysdale, and a Hershiser doing that. Unfortunately, along with an uncertain daily lineup, we don’t have that kind of pitching either. Penny has performed much better this year than last, but for some reason he has a much better first half of the season than his second half. Realistically I don’t see him winning more than 17 games even with the fast start that he has had, and that probably won’t be enough to get us to the playoffs. Not putting the blame on him or Lowe, because they are a couple of the best in the league, but that needed killer instinct in the critical games just is not there.
Griffon, that’s shameful. I don’t agree with saying that people with different viewpoints are less of fans, but it really calls it into question when you write a post wishing the Dodgers to lose. I’m sure you have some justification, some reasoning behind it, but I don’t care. I’ve never known a fan to wish his/her team to fail. Leave that **** at the door.
Message,
You think it’s possible that Bills could step up in a big enough way to help Lowe and Penny along? It seems there are enough good starts in his arm that if he gets locked in, he could really boost the other starters and give the bullpen some relief. I just hate to think that the team with the 2nd-best ERA in the NL might not have enough pitching to carry it; seems like the offense is the larger problem. 3 runs off Oliver Perez isn’t too much to ask…
wanna know what’s wrong with the dodgers?
this quote says it all..
“Ned and I have a pretty tight relationship,” Tomko said.
“BELIEVE IN THE PONCHO!!!”
the Poncho is SO last year, plus I think it’s been drained of its powers at this point.
I think the PONCHO magic has gone the way of Nomar’s power rating. Have to find a new “Call to Win”.
The Poncho has been burnt to a crisp. That or a dog is using it as its bedding.
The Poncho is dead.
maybe rayloveselaine can come up with something new, I’m not to good with “CALL TO WIN” names.
Believe IN THE HOT HAND!!
hahahahah. I laughed for 10 minutes last night when Steiner said “Grady is a firm believer in playing the hot hand”
Somebody ought to give Grady a “hot foot”, and that might light a fire under him. Otherwise, I see nothing inspiring coming out of that corner.
where’s the line up?
I’ve been reading alot about Bombko lately. He blamed him ******* on an injury this year. He always does that. He’s just a big baby. At least if Wells ***** he’ll say flat out that he *****. Im so glad bombko is gone.
you can’t help & feel bad for the dude but business is business & the dude wasn’t cutting it, I’m sure he’ll find a gig some where.
yahoo posted the line up:
Furcal
Pierre
Ethier
Kent
gonzo
Martin
Loney
Hill
Gotta go heavy on lefties where you can against El Duque, he’s a flat out righty killer. So, that lineup is as close as we can get it.
Kemp out of the lineup though? he’s been so on fire lately… he should be in there.
I could of seen Kemp in there for Ethier, Gonzo was going to play because this season he’s done well against Hernandez. But Hernandez’s .155 BAA against righties this season says ‘play all possible lefties’ 2B, C and 3B do not have left handed alternatives, so Kemp sits to start the game.
Ray,
Im back home the 16th. Hopefully the 15th, as im trying to catch Built to Spill play. I totally agree the Tomko article is a complete joke. What do they have the disabled list for? Brett Tomko is trying to tell us he is a better option with a bad back than any multitude of others. That alone is grounds for Ned Coletti to be fired. Is he really that tight with Tomko that he can let him rack up a 2-11 record? I cant believe some of these things im reading over here. I dont care what the splits are against Hernandez Kemp should be playing over Gonzo. Gonzo isnt exactly killing any sort of pitching right now. Ah well im off to the Iron Bridge for some sightseeing!
I’m noticing a pattern developing here with this OF rotation. We get one game with Ethier and Kemp, one game with Gonzo and Ethier and one game with Gonzo and Kemp. I’d be willing to bet that Gonzo and Kemp play the OF tomorrow night.
no lineup from Josh today, what gives!