Boomer, Baby
Time to see what the big guy’s got left in the tank.
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Kemp, RF
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Hillenbrand, 3B
Loney, 1B
Lieberthal, C
Wells, P
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Inside the Dodgers 
Im excited about Wells tonight, hopefully our Offense can wake up against Maine.
i predict 6 strong for boomer… and a win.. i still have space in my fantasy football leauge.. let me know if you want to join…
I’m looking to see what Boomer has left. He’s 5-1 with a 2.67 ERA in his career against the Mets, so hopefully he can keep it up.
http://www.fightingphils.mlblogs.com
Well, time will tell, won’t it? Personally, now being 4 games out of first, it seems like an impossible task for the Dodgers to regain the glory they saw before the All-Star break. Changing the line-up doesn’t seem to help; good pitching doesn’t seem to overcome better hitting; and poor offense is the worst blow of all. Can we go back to stashing cloves of garlic under the bleachers?
I’m also thinking he’ll give us a solid 6 or 7 innings.
I hope Wells success against the Mets continues tonight, and the bats wake up again. Ending the road trip with a win tonight would be huge before going home with the short Homestand. The clock is ticking, and it’ll be down to crunchtime pretty quick.
You learn something new everyday. Hillenbrand is a better hitter than Loney. Aren’t you glad we picked him up?
I’m re-posting this from the end of the last thread.
Pretty good read about “Old-school”/”New School” approaches to managing
http://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/
I’m afraid Wells is gonna get lit up tonight.
who is liberthal?
Today’s (Not-so) Oldtimer: Tony Fernandez
Why do I feel so much doubt about so many players who excelled in the 1990s? I looked up Tony Fernandez because I remember him as the best of the many Dominican shortstops who dominated the position in the mid-80s. When I saw his stats I began to wonder why he hit 11 homeruns in 409 ABs at the age of 35 when he had averaged only about 6 per year in many more ABs for most of his career. I’m not suggesting that Fernandez used steroids or hormones, rather pointing out how frustrating, disappointing … just plain sad … it is to have to wonder about so many of the guys I enjoyed watching so much.
In any case, “Cabeza” was in fact the best of the amazing defensive shortstops to emerge from the Dominican and particularly from the town of San Pedro de Marcoris in the 1980s. In 1985, 6 of the 26 regular shortstops were Dominican. In addition to Fernandez there were: Alfredo Griffin, Rafael Santana, Mariano Duncan, Jose Uribe, and yes Julio Franco.
Fernandez won Gold Gloves in four consecutive years, 1986-89. He played a prominent role in Game 4 of the 1993 World Series — a wild and woolly 15-14 victory for Fernandez’s Blue Jays — driving home 5 runs and scoring 2 more.
It feels like a long time since Tony played, but in fact he was around through 2001.
So, we have our share of optimistic people and pessimistic people out there. I just want a win anyway we get it. The lineup is lefty/righty toward the bottom, hence why Hillenbrand is 6th, Loney 7th. Besides, I personally would not want to see Hillenbrand, Lieberthal, Wells back to back to back, that’s practically an automatic three straight outs.
Alex:
That thing about back2back2back outs makes pretty good sense.
Come to think of it, you can apply that logic to the entire line-up. Save Leiberthal-Wells, it seems Grady is trying to stay away from back2back outs (I’m only half-kidding of course).
Hillenbrand may get some better pitches to hit with Loney hitting behind him, too. Not bad having a previous No. 3 hitter batting down at the bottom; could mean threats throughout the lineup. I actually really like this lineup, esp. since Hillenbrand has hit some balls really hard lately.
Are you kidding Lefty righty matchups are way overrated. Loney is a better hitter than Hillebrand and needs to bat behind Ethier.
Are the mets going to pitch to Loney with the game on the line? No way not with Lieberthal and the pitcher coming up.
Overrated maybe to you, but is used a lot and creates issues later in the game with the bullpen. But, I understand your concern.
I would rather see Loney get those pitches to hit instead of Hillebrand getting those pitches.
This is great, especially with the conversation yesterday, so with the lefty starting tonight against the Mets who gets the start at first base? Jeff Conine over Carlos Delgado
So why doesn’t Randolph use lefty righty match up and stick Gotay in the middle of Alou and Conine, he won’t because he wants his RBI guys hitting in the middle.
Because Gotay is a switch hitter and the entire lineup is filled with switch handed hitters batting righty along with right handed only hitters against the lefty pitcher Wells.
so wouldn’t it make sense to bat two lefties Ethier and Loney against the righty Maine!!!!!!!
Let me see…three atbats against Maine or worry about them bringing in a lefty reliver for one at bat…I still rather see Loney hit a lefty over Hillebrand
If Hillenbrand is as good as some of think then why was he DFA’d from so many teams?
hillebrand got DFA’d by the worst hitting team in baseball(madres), because he couldn’t hit!!!
No, you don’t stack the lineup against righties the same way you do against lefties. Against lefty pitchers managers tend to stack the lineup with righties. But, with a righty like Maine you mix and match lefties and righties, splitting them up throughout the lineup where you choose. A major exception to this is Kemp batting ahead of Kent, both are right handed. There is literally no differential of .BAA with Maine, so you have just as good a chance whether you are right handed or left handed. Now, Loney could be batting sixth, but the reason why is not because Hillenbrand is better it’s simply because he wants to create a problem for the bullpen later on. Any other questions?
Well Ned and Grady thinks he can. Wish I had their confidence.
By the time the Mets get to the bull pen Alex the game could be way out of our reach.
I rather grady try to create a problem for the starter not the bullpen!
It should be interesting to see how Boomer does tonight. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him go six strong innings. Hopefully he can provide some stability in the back end of the rotation.
http://mikesciosciastragicillness.com/
Why does everyone think Boomer is going to pitch good all of a sudden? Were in trouble…
Alright that’s enough, game time
Like all Dodger fans I really hope he throws well but I’ve watched him pitch this year a couple of times and he has trouble getting outs. We can all just hope he gets the Mets to hit the ball directly at the fielders (in Kent’s case that’s the only way he he can field the ball anyway).
in that case maybe ramon should play third instead of stone hands hillenbrand. just a thought.
BTW, nothing against Jon Miller, but I cannot stand Joe Morgan at all. I’m syncing the KFWB feed to the ESPN T.V feed.
have we really resorted to David Wells…
ditto on Joe Morgan.
I hope Wells was partying last night! I read when he threw his perfect game he was really hung over!!!
When Nomar comes off the DL this week, Hillenbrand will ride the pine.
Morgan is a Dodger hater!!! and Miller he always defends Bonds enough said.
Did anyone read Grady’s comments about Proctor?..How he had the best fast ball he had seen since they acquired him?!…and he still had confidence to bring him in in tight situations?..! Need I say more..
Bloody ESPN Australia has dropped the baseball for Soccer .. bloody soccer … thank God for MLB.TV
Ditto on Morgan from me too. Helluva player. Terrible color commentary sportscaster. He should have been at the L/L series instead of tonights game.
Nice leadoff hit from Furcal.
Joe Morgan just said that Furcal and Pierre have been doing a “good job” at the top of the batting lineup… I really think Joe just makes things up as he goes along.
anyone know of any contenders for Gold Glove at catcher, cant think of anyone that would beat Russ out in the NL.
Are we not going to score again???
Joe looked like he had ‘chinese eyes’ for the intro. Maybe he’s under the influence.
I knew it..Kemp strikes out
that was a poor AB by Kemp… the 2nd strike call was pretty iffy though.
/sigh
Forget hope for this team..one of the worst I’ve watched…Time for next year..
Rockies ahead of us again.!
Aaaand here comes Gordo–OOPS I mean Boomer…
They were going to give us the run and Kemp just stands there…
Well Im looking forward to Friday, we’ll have more options to try and fix the lineup. I think we need to fix the lineup coordinator before anything in the lineup is going to be fixed… sadly.
Let’s just hope he doesn’t embarrass us…Go Boomer
i don’t know which is worse..
Kemp’s wild swinging strike outs, or a called third strike in his last at bat when all he had to do was put the ball in play to give us a run.
Hopefully he can redeem himself in later at-bats
i don’t know if i can sit through this whole game listening to Joe Morgan ****** on Jose Reyes’ Teet or his own.
“my names joe morgan, Jose REyes is the best player ever…except for me.”
Milledge will hear it from Randolph on that blunder!
They are already hitting him..!!!
Wells is not fooling anyone
Good start…LOL
Where’s Tomko when you need him??lol
Kemp is a chump in those situations. He’ll get a hit with no one on next time ab.
I think this could be a long nighhhtttt…
Man… Wells don’t look good.
Dodged a bullet there! Wells isn’t fooling anyone so far.
Wells hasn’t fooled anybody in his life, he’s never been that type of pitcher.
Kemp is a bust. He’s afraid of hitting now.
Does anyone think we should have kept Tomko in the bullpen instead of Hernandez?
I remember Tomko being okay for one or two innings and that’s it..where Hernandez is just awful
blonde its kinda hard to call Kemp a chump, he hasn even played a full year and needs more time to mature.
With this current management, I bet we could end up with Reyes…. in about 15 years after his legs are all used up.
You really like Wells don’t you Alex .. I hope your faith is rewarded.
hahah Kemp a bust. Now i;’ve heard every thing.
Im so glad this team isn;t making the playoffs. I’ve got so manythings to do the first week of October it’s not even funny.
This lineup isn’t going to scare anyone…we don’t need Ethier struggling like he has the last couple of games…
Kemp is a chump in those situations. He’ll get a hit with no one on next time ab.
Posted by: blondecaboy69@yahoo.com | August 26, 2007 05:24 PM
Kemp is batting .372 with runners on base and .358 with runners in scoring position.
What faith, I’m just telling you that he’s never been the type of pitcher to fool you.
Our hitters have mid outfield power..!!lol…
Ditto on all the Morgan comments. Not only is he clueless in the booth and a Dodger hater but if you take a close look at his career stats he may be the most overated player in the Hall of Fame. Career .271 286 HR 1133 RBI in 2600+ games.
In my opinion he was a decent player and his career was helped by playing with great players like Rose, Bench, Perez, Foster etc… He had 2 great seasons in 1975-1976 that’s what put him in the Hall. To me if he’s in th HOF what about Garvey?
At least Loney hit it good…
I have to watch with the sound off because it makes me too upset..!
Morgan likes Bonds, Bonds is Mays’ Godson… Mays pulled the strings to get him inducted… dont you see the pattern 😛
Did Grady just green light Loney?
What the ****? Grady is complaining about guys not working counts and he green lights a guy on 3-0.
Something tells me that Grady has given up on the season, and the team has done the same on Grady.
fezzik
You read where even the players are questioning Grady’s lineups, didn’t you?
Seems like they’re as frustrated as we are….Nothing will probably happen to Grady though..sorry to say.
That’s better Boomer!
that’s what everyone said about Tracy and Depo and McCourt did the right thing. He just made bad hires I believe McCourt will bring back some Dodger tradition and do the right thing.
I’m waiting for the second time around the lineup after everyone adjusts. But, so far he’s doing the job.
Did Penny just give up on the division?
Yep .. he continues to hit the middle of their bats ..
WOoooooooooooo! Look at the wheels spin!
Pierre with an RBI??? wow, where are the werewolves?
diehardblue.
I don’t know what McCourt will do about Grady, but it’s Ned that I’m as worried about..He continues to stock this team with terrible talent and DFA guys that should be with the team..
That is a thing of beauty
except Kemp couldn’t get the run in AGAin!!
As Vin would say;
“Speed don’t slump.”
Kemp looks frustrated lately..
well at least KEMP put the ball in play…an at-bat too late, but let’s see if his next at-bat can get us a long ball 🙂
I would be frustrated too if all I had to do was ground out in the 1st inning and it would be 2-0 right now.
maine hit a laser
and Wells just gives up a hit to the pitcher..YIKES
I’m worried about Wells this inning…
Two bloops in a row?!!
LOL..diehard…
There is a reason the Pads gave up on him….
Go scouting grady play the bunt!!!
There goes Morgan again with the Furcal & Pierre have been doing their job all year comment. Hey Joe, they have the two lowest OBP (.345, .323) of any of the eveyday players for the season. Man, someone should turn of his mic.
Key at bat right here with Wright…
Just as I thought…
Pierre’s arm really helped us there..!!lol
He went to the ‘well’ once too many with the breaking ball, and payed for it.
Reyes scoring that run was a result of his speed and Juan Pierre’s rag doll arm.
Thank You Wright!!!
yeah if Pierre didn’t through like a girl Reyes wouldn’t have scored.
We need a MAN in center field…Listening Ned?
true…it’s not like reyes is particularly fast or anything..
he scored from first on a single… A SINGLE( they gave him a double but any other CF that’s a single)
To be fair to Pierre, if Reyes hadn’t have scored on that double and stayed on third, then Wright probably wouldn’t have got picked off, so with one out and that fly ball Beltran hit, Reyes would have probably scored anyway.
I think that Pierre might be able to get the ball to home plate quicker if he thew the ball to Kemp and then let him try to throw out the runner.
WOW…
That is uncalled for! Throw Maine out!!!!!
Don’t care if you like him or not Kent is one tough SOB!
Kent is a tough S O B
geez… that was some high cheddar. atta boy JK, shake it off.
MOTHER FOFOFOFODODIJDvndvjaswv! That’s it Wright is getting one right in the mouth!!! A-HOLE MAINE!
hopefully wells will take care of the situation on behalf of Kent. That was a dangerous play..
Oh great..now our only power threat is out of the lineup..Kent..hope it isn’t anything really bad.
Ethier has to get a hit…get out of your slump..NOW
God, I really hope it’s not a concussion…
I hope Beltran gets some chin music in retaliation….
This is why I wanted LONEY hitting behind Ethier!!
Yeh…Ethier comes through
We can’t afford to loose Kent now. I hope he’s ok. The redness and swelling was already starting to show.
Hillenbrand doesn’t get it done…Maybe Loney can…go James
If we get no runs this inning..I can’t watch..now it’s 0-2 on Loney…
Shea continues to kill the ball, just at people.
LONEY will clutch up!!
hillebrand got jammed.
Loney doesn’t get it done..Boo hoo
This team has gotten awful again with men in scoring position…it’s pitiful
Loney thought he had a 9 Iron there! pitiful
why cant we get a productive out… we cant even buy one.
No Kent no Martin no win I fear
PATHETIC….LIEBERTHAL STRIKES OUT…Dodgers..unbelievable..
1st and 3rd no body out, and we cant even hit a pop fly… where is Pierre in that situation?
Does anyone feel SWEEP?
I hope this funk goes away when they leave Shea Stadium. Must be some kind of voodoo from one of the many Carribean Latino contingents on the mets club.lol
I can understand why the players are getting frustrated with Grady. He continues to shuffle the lineup batting guys in different positions almost on a daily basis. There’s no continuity. He needs to to stick with one lineup and and let the guys get comfortable with their position in the batting order.
If guys get pissed because they’re not getting enough playing time (Gonzo) oh well, its crunch time and the Dodgers need to win some ball games.
Is it just me, or did Wells look @ 50 lbs lighter in that perfect game clip from 98?
Reading in the press, Grady is getting frustrated with the lineup, too. He wouldn’t be shuffling them and batting guys in different positions if the lineup wasn’t, collectively, currently horrible at its job of scoring runs. We had the same lineup day after day after day earlier in the year and boy, enough people complained day after day after day.
WOW! Look at fat boy leg out a bunt!
How about that ?..Wells bunts and is safe…WOW.
That bunt was big fun!
I think the Dodgers would be better off with Gonzo in LF Kemp in CF and Ethier in RF but that would mean that Ned would have to admit to making a mistake by signing Pierre. Not going to happen.
I thought they would roll out the O2 tank to 1st after that. lol
Finally..Matty gets it done!
griffon- earlier in the year the Dodgers were in 1st place. Who cares if people complain as long as the team is winning.
The Wells bunt is cashed in, that alone just made me a David Wells fan
Well I guess a bloop will do. Kemp will take whatever he can get.
Catching up between innings:
Everyday some posters critique the line-up; many in a(to me annoyingly) sarcastic and/or insulting style e.g. rodmky at 4:09 above. Many times these critiques are answered by other posters patiently explaining that managers don’t like to bat LH hitters in a row. The explaining posters give at least 2 reasons for this baseball truism-the LH relief specialist and the throwing off of the rhythm of the starter by the R-L-R alternation. The critics never speak to the baseball truism model directly; they merely state that Little is stupid as if the explainers had never explained his (not stupid) reasonning to them and on we go on an almost every game basis. (except on the rare occasions when Grady posts a line-up the critics like which, of course, meets the no 2 LH hitters in a row paradigm anyway.) It amazes me that the critics, who obviously have quite a high opinion of themselves, are either too rude to take on the the truism directly or are for some reason not capable of remembering this paradigm of line-up constuction from one game to the next.
and now Martinez gets a hit and Kemp doesn’t see the ball and can’t score…let’s hope that doesn’t hurt us.
and now Kemp gets picked off third.! YIKES
Kemp needs to pull his head out! He should have scored there. And then they get him at 3rd on a pick off!!!
Our Third base coach is Horrible!!! I blame Kemp too but I have seen too many base blunders since he’s been there.
wow, kemp made 2 bad plays in the same inning…i think that would be grady’s fault..or maybe stan conte’s
I was just about to defend Kemp and then he gets picked off, took the buzz on an otherwise good inning
oh wait..it’s the 3rd base coach’s fault..i’m glad this blog is here to clear up these dilemma’s for me
Kemp continues to make key mistakes against the Mets
no… Did you not see the playoffs last year. I’m just bringing up we have had A LOT of base running blunders by everyone not just Kemp
I just hope he doesn’t have any more mental lapses…especially on defense.
jjriley… ur really getting on kemp. I’m not saying it ain’t deserved or that anyone on the team is exempt from criticism, but he’s very young and has only been playing baseball for 5 years i believe. Not defending his base running, just saying it isn’t his fault we ****.
what does last year’s playoff’s blunders made by our 3rd base coach have to do with the last inning and the key mistakes made by KEMP?
i want him to do well like any other dodger, but when he makes a mistake, like the 2 he made last inning, he get’s called out on it, just like any player, including the likes of hillenbrand, martinez, pierre, loney, martin, etc.
oh i forgot they censor that word… let me say that again… it isn’t his fault we are really bad.
So far Wells doing better than Tomko…but is he tired now running the bases?..Will he last?
Uh oh..Wright up…PRAY
I can deal with young guys making mistakes its part of baseball. That what the coaches job is to have our runners aware. Last year in the playoffs our coach was watching the play at the plate isntead of stopping Drew a third! that’s inexcusable. How many games have we watched where our runners Killed rallies for base running mistakes?
Wells wouldn’t get so tired if he laid off a few burritos and chimichangas per week.
it’s KEMP’s fault that we didnt score an extra run the last inning just like it was Pierre’s fault that reyes scored from first earlier in the game. If blame can be laid on pierre, then blame can be laid on KEMP..the “he needs to mature, he’s hasnt had a full year in the major’s” excuse doesn’t negate his mistakes last inning.
Good job on the bloop hit though, that at least gave us a run
come on big dave one more
Matt hasnt been the same since dropping the fly ball in the last game of the last Mets series, get him a psychologist.
youre absolutely right, that comments wasnt posted in response to that situation, so stop taking stuff out of context, and stop assuming that I would make that excuse for him for those two situations. That is fundamental baseball. The maturity aspect is probably more due to his inability to produce as of late.
Oh my G>>>>> Wells did it…bases loaded and strikes out ALOU…WOW
boomer for president
great job by wells..way to battle…now its time for our bullpen to get him the win! 🙂
One thing about Wells, there isnt much he hasnt seen before, and hasnt pitched out of at one time or another.
That was a money pitch to get Alou. I think Wells is done for the night.
YES!!! BOOMER! Tremendous rollercoaster but he did his job! Clear the buffet Boomer is coming through!
whos next?
yea… it was his fault. There’s no way around that fact. I just want some of you to realize how important our young players are to the team. They allow you to save money and sign more expensive players at positions you need. They’ll mess up more often that the veterans, but the upside, talent, and inexpensiveness are necessary to build championship teams. Power hitters with Kemp’s potential are rare, so I am more ready to live with mistakes from him than i am mistakes from Juan Pierre or the other multi-millionaire vets.
Wow, some of you guys are really hammering Wells about his weight. Very funny but remember he’s talented enough to overcome his weight issues and pitch in the Big Leagues not many fat guys I know could pull that off.
Dogerdude you misunderstood me. I know along with everyone else that Kemp’s defense is a helluva lot better than Gonzos.
Wells or Brett Tomko??? Answer–David Wells, every day of the week, and twice on Sunday Night Baseball. Everything we could have hoped for tonight.
Bad baserunning errors on the part of Kemp, the result of inexperience (though, as bad as they were, they were not huge mistakes–you don’t want to get doubled up on a fly ball, and he was not leaning too far off third). He needs to be taught and coached better. I was at Shea at that horrible double play last year in Game 1 of the NLDS, and Donnelly seems to constantly hold up runners who can score and lots of mistakes at 3rd.
Any news on Kent yet?
So who comes in now to pitch?
And do we hold the lead?
Good AB by Gonzo–work out Maine (Ethier had another great one earlier too).
Rudy for the 6th, Beimel/Proctor in the 7th. You know the rest.
Gonzo’s giving Maine fits. And then he delivers!!!!!
great at-bat by gonzo, and he finally delivers after fouling off all those pitches…go blue!!!!
Joe Morgan is horrible… At the start of the game he said that Wells is good 1 outta 2-3 games, and maybe tonight would be the one game. Now he just said that he “expected Wells to pitch well tonight.”… Gosh I hate this guy.
Gonzo is beginning to swing well again. Maybe Ethier or Kemp can get a breather in the next game or two.
CLUTCH DOUBLE GONZO! Tremendous, tremendous pinch hit at bat by Gonzalez.
Great AB by Gonzo. About the longest single I’ve ever seen, but as long as it scores Loney, it’s golden.
I feel good about this game. Hold on here, sweep the Nationals while the D-Backs and the Padres beat each other up, and then it’s all about whether we can beat the teams directly ahead of us.
we’re getting to Maine now. Here comes Willie with a hook.
Wait why wasn’t Gonzo at second?
going to the pen… let the carnage continue.
Steroids is coming in to pitch…
fezzik- Agree with you about Gonzo but maybe Pierre should be the one to get a breather.
Excellent–Maine, the Mets ace, gets pulled in the 6th inning. This is what we need to do every game. Work the counts, make the starter work hard, and get to the bullpen as early as possible. If we can get to the bullpen in the 6th inning of every game between now and the end of the year, we’ll win the division. There are only a couple of bullpens who can shut you down for more than three innings (good news, we have one of them–let’s hope they do it tonight).
Oop nevermid it’s Scott Schoenweis
Why Pierre, he’s been doing well lately.
Case and Point.
Pierre with ANOTHER RBI! Amazing!
Pierre is coming through on National Television love it!
What power by Matt Kemp!!!
You gotta love it! The bounces seem to be going our way for a change.
YES! Two RBI singles Juan Pierre style by Kemp tonight!
great job by our pierre and kemp to get some clutch rbi’s with 2 out…cushioning that lead never hurts 🙂
home plate power by Kemp LOL… however they score is good for me.
Giving the Mets a taste of their own medicine now!
One 2 RBI game from Pierre is not enough to make me change my mind about his season on the whole. I’m not saying that it should be a permanent change but he could use a day off, who cares about the consecutive game streak
Wow, we’re doing this without Martin tonight… thats a good sign.
Cal Ripken cares about it, he’s probably on the phone daily to Grady telling him to bench him HAHAHAHA
4 run lead. WOW! I like the chances here. As long as Proctor, or Hernandez aren’t involved in relief.
Can you imagine how much worse the outcomes of the 1st 2 in this series would have been if Loduca was in the lineup?
**** Rudy SEE-Yahn-yez
Maybe we’re learning a thing or two from the Mets. We have great talent on the team, but it’s raw and does not play in the smart and aggressive way that the Mets do. But tonight, they have.
Here’s a question–is it just me, or does it seem to everyone else that Matt Kemp makes way more mistakes than most players do. A bad strikeout in the first, two bad base-running plays, and then that little topper tonight. This is not a rip on Kemp–I love the guy. And the fact is, he’s been crticial tonight DESPITE the mistakes because he is so talented. But just imagine what he can do if the coaches really work with him and teach him to minimize those mistakes. It’s tough to do mid-year, but they need to start, and really focus on fundamentals with him (and the other kids) in spring training.
/agree Leek… one of the better posts of the evening.
i think it’s high risk-high reward if you play KEMP.
He’s young and needs to gain the experience as a big league player to be effective. He has his good moments and his bad moments.
Tonight is a good example, he has 2 rbi’s, but the ball on both those hits were not solidly hit like Kemp hit’s in the past. With those 2 hits, he made 2 bad baserunning plays and had a bad couple of at-bats.
Solid inning by Seanez, I’d maybe throw him out there for one more. He didn’t even break a sweat. Get Beimel up in case Rudy gets in trouble.
Thanks Fezzik–and it came before I saw Tony Jackson’s post. He’s noted a “Strange Night for Matt Kemp” too.
nevertheless, i don’t mind having kemp in there getting those at-bats that he needs to gain the experience that a young stud like him requires.
I can live with his mistakes, but sometimes he needs to be up there without the desire to hit the ball out of the yard all the time. He takes some monster swings sometimes, and that’s not really necessary all the time. IF he had put the bat on the ball in the first inning, we would have scored the runner from third.
Good situational hitting is something that he should be able to develop as he gets older and matures, while minimizing the mistakes will be something that will be eradicated as well
OMG!!! He said it again!!! I cant help but laugh everytime they say it. Reminds me of Rex Hudler announcing for the Angels the other night. Tried to give medical definitions of a Cat-Scan and would continuously use the word Antanomical (No, thats not a mispelling of Anatomical.) Then to top it off he tried to give the accurate acronym of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) and said it was Magnetic Renaissance Imaging. Simply amazing how some of these guys try to show off how smart they are and prove how absolutely clueless they are. There is not a single Commentator left who can hold a candle up to Vin.
Agreed. Kemp is still a diamond in the rough that just needs pollishing, and refining. He can only get better. I just hope he doesn’t get dealt away on some stupid trade that won’t pan out. As Yogi would say; “It would be Deja Vu all over again.”
I’m glad Hillebrand is hitting in front of Loney so he could hit that lefty out of the pen.
This is an important win for us tonight. Losing 2 out of 3 isn’t what we were looking for but its also not the end of the world. We still have 6 games left with both SD and AZ. We can still win the division or the wild card. We have 33 games left including tonight and if we win 25 of those I think we will have a good shot at the division. Particularly if we sweep AZ and SD for the rest of the season.
Just to clarify, I agree with the follow-up comments about Kemp, and want to see him getting playing time. He can do things even when he makes mistakes. Most guys–espescially power guys–get thrown out on his nubber, but he’s god the speed to add to it.
well Saenz at least put the ball out of the infield…. guess that is an improvement.
Another thing if we are gonna go on a win streak to end the year we are gonna have to get Roberto out of our pen and Seanz of our roster. Its not likely to happen so Hopefully they will become non factors after september callups.
Another thing if we are gonna go on a win streak to end the year we are gonna have to get Roberto out of our pen and Seanz of our roster. Its not likely to happen so Hopefully they will become non factors after september callups.
Win???? Aren’t we only in the seventh? One would certainly hope for a win, but there’s some baseball left against a good, opportunistic, well-executing team.
A 0.758 win percentage over 33 games would guarantee the division, I’m sure.
I would be tremendously surprised if that happens, though, or if we sweep either of AZ or SD 😉
swood 25 out of 32 is alot to ask. Dbacks are going to be hard to catch, unless they hit a major slide. I do think we have a legitimate shot at the wild card though, Maybe 20 more wins? That’s still alot to ask.
swood I thought you said we had the FOURTH best talent in the division?
griffon I can’t even tell if you’re a dodger fan, you’re so pessamistic. Its far from impossible for us to go on a win streak like we did last year(11 in a row, 17 of 18) If you think about it ever since that series against Houston we have been in every game and had a shot to win every game. Trust me if you were to ask anyone on SD or AZ they know we’re not dead. We have enough talent to put together a win long win streak.
No diehard I changed my mind I think we have the 2nd best talent in the division behind the Rockies. I wouldn’t at all be surprised if the Rockies put together a win streak to get the wild card. Thats if they can get their pitching together.
Hillenbrand should have just held the ball!
So you don’t include pitching as “talent”. So I was right about grady, I was right about our talent, do you see a pattern…
I include pitching as talent. The Rockies have talented young pitchers diehard. Francis a healthy Cook and the two good rookies.
Grady really badly wants this game he’s going to Broxton in the 7th, I cannot blame him in the slightest.
**** Grady! A little early for Brox isn’t it?
compared to Lowe,Penny, Bills,Broxton, Saito,Beimel plus our young studs in Double A
No Grady is right for putting Broxton in now. We NEED this game. The rockies have better depth in the rotation then us diehard. Im talking about this year not double A.
Not when you say they have two “rookies” that’s not pitching depth, and Cook is hurt!!
The Rockies have the worst bullpen in baseball!!
No they don’t diehard. Fuentes is a great situational leftie. They don’t have any stand outs in their pen but their pen isn’t awful. Cook is coming back soon. Both of the rookies have been awesome this year for the Rockies. If you take Penny out of our rotation their starters ERA is better then ours. Defend THAT diehard.
BROXTON! WHAT A PITCH!
swood – I’m the realistic kind of fan, I guess, not the kind who changes my mind on the quality of the Dodgers’ talent with every other game 😛 Didn’t get the memo where the requirement of Dodger fandom was stipulated as “no pessEmistic behaviour”; goodness knows we’ve almost all complained on this blog at some point.
I see great things for the Dodgers in the future, if we keep the young core of Martin, Broxton, Bills, Ethier, Kemp and Loney intact and add pieces wisely. But I don’t expect a playoff berth in 2007, as these players learn the ropes of the Bigs. Likewise I don’t expect them to win 25 out of 33.
I keep an eye on a few blogs from the San Diego / Arizona fanzone and I haven’t picked up a whole lot of worrying there about the Dodgers – not of late.
Big Bad John
Good Job Brox!!
Nice job Brox!
Big John steps up when the world is watching
Why are you going to take Penny out of their rotation? Take out there ACE and we have a better ERA. Francis a good situational lefty!HAH! that’s why he lost his job!! C’mon!
I meant Fuentes he’s Horrible we have a least three guys out of the Pen. They have a weak closer also.
Now Steroids is in the game
Griffon I’m not talking about the SD or AZ bloggers I’m talking about the players. Trust me they are worried about the Dodgers and Rockies. Either of those teams could go on a long win streak at any time. I think the Rockies won 21 of 26 earlier this year. I said Fuentes diehard not Francis…? Francis is a starter…? He lost his closers job cuz he can’t pitch to righties.
What’s the Rockies closer’s name again I can’t remember? You haven’t mentioned how much better the Rockies are then us at every position other then catcher and 2B.
I meant Fuentes, he can’t pitch to righties and you are comparing him to Beimel,Broxton, and Saito that’s three guys better than a guy who can’t pitch to righties.
The difference between our young talent and then D’Backs young talent is the D’Backs management has more faith in them then our management has in ours.
I don’t think Helton is better than Loney five years ago he was but not this year. Tavares is a push with Pierre. I’ll take Kemp over Hawpe who is hitting under .200 against lefties.
Diehard Beimel isn’t very good against righties either. The Rockies are the BEST fielding team in the MAJORS we are 2ND TO LAST. Catching the ball makes a huge difference. Someone who played ball in college should know that Omar.
exit You have to admit Melvin has managed that team well too.
Griffon–give Swood a break. There’s nothing wrong with a little optimism. He’s right that if we go on a streak, we’ll win, and that we have the ability to go on that kind of a streak. Will we?? Let’s hope so.
Starting Pitching and Relief Pitching make a bigger difference. When you know if you get a lead going into the seventh that’s almost an assured win that’s huge!!
Taveras kills Pierre!!! All you guys do is ***** and complain about how bad Pierre is. Taveras is hitting like .320. Besides he has a throwing arm. Pierre has zero assists all year which is amazing considering how much EVRYONE runs on him. Diehard come on. I know you know better then to suggest that. HAWPE IS 2ND IN THE NL IN 2 OUT RBI’S. HELTON LEADS THE MAJORS IN PITCHES SEEN PER AB. Diehard Loney and Kemp are not better.
yeah Melvin has done a much better job then Grady too. Melvin usually plays his best lineup everyday possible.
**** those are some great pitching matchups for the Yanks/Red Sox series, sorry but they are
Yea Grady is terrible at making lineups. Gonzo should go to Grady and tell him that he knows he can’t contribute the way he used to and he wants to be a LH PH off the bench and nothing more. If he was such a good guy and teammate that’s what he would do.
Tavares numbers are inflated cause he plays in Colorado that’s a fact. Pitches seen are you serious is that a stat you see on a baseball card. Loney is way batter than Helton… I’ll take Kemp playing everyday over Hawpe any day. Comparing numbers with colorado guys is ridiculous how big are their gaps, of course they hit better. You don’t want me to bust Out Pierre’s stats when he was in Colorado. I never bash Pierre he plays hard I respect that plus his 50 SB’s.
I didn’t say you ***** about Pierre but it seems like everyone else on this blog does. One word diehard… humadore.
This team is grrrrrreat when leading after 7, as long as Broxton, and Saito-san are in the picture.
wow Martinez is almost above the Mendoza line!! That qualifies him in Little’s mind to play another year, qualifies him in Ned’s mind for a contract extension.
HUGE OUTFIELD!!!! that is GAP city!!!!
Diehard the Rockies are 3rd in the NL in Runs scored on the road. Defend that…
OK that is their strenght the Dodgers are top three in pitching. Including the BEST 8-9 inning combo in baseball!!
Still no update on Kent? I thought something would have been said by now.
omg we’re actually having a conversation on stats that involve obscure categories such as a teams position in the NL in Runs scored on the road?!? How is that any different from other obscure stats like percentage of balls thrown when there are two strikes in the count after 1:30 in the afternoon on the road. Come on!!!
I don’t know if you ever heard this but I learn this to be true “good pitching ALWAYS beats good hitting”
i honestly think i could run faster then Boomer.
Well diehard you dropped that argument quickly… Max/Exit/Adrian did you read my earlier comment today on yesterday’s blog? Diehard their pitching is a little worse then ours but our hitting is alot worse then theirs. Not to mention their fielding. The reason we have a better record then them is our manager and they’ve had some bad luck.
Boomer is faster than Penny…
Fezzik I got that stat because diehard said the rockies only hit well because of their ballpark. Is there something wrong with that…?
read Fezzik coments little swood you always seem to be wrong. the other you were telling me that grady is the best manager in baseball and they have the fourth best talent in the division. Now your saying Dave Duncan should be the manager and they have the 2nd best talent. Your all over the place!
Reyes looked befuddled!
Someone asked me who they thought the manager should be if we fired Grady so I said dave duncan. I responded ^^^^
Swood you are under estamating how HUGE it is to have Broxton and Saito.
absolutely not, youre going to play a lot of games at home and on the road, but what you could have done was to state the stats overall. That would have to be indicative of their road stats as well. I just hear stats like that and I just laugh because of how absolutely absurd some of them can get.
Actually I take that back the Rockies do have a better record then us. We’re lucky its not more then 1/2 game.
“He’s (shea) done a good job filling in,” Little said. “He’s hit in a little bad luck since he’s been here. Defensively, he’s been very, very good.”
Im sorry but what in the WORLD is Grady smoking? Shea has a stone glove at 3b.
Did we just beat the Mets in Shea, with Martin on the bench, with Kemp hitting two balls for two RBI’s shallower than Pierre, with David Wells bunting for a base hit and all of this on National Television?
Swood you have a lot to learn about baseball when your telling me Grady is Top 3 manager in baseball.
Fezzik I said that a couple days ago and Diehard said it was just cuz Coors Field. He didn’t understand that half those runs came on the road. I don’t underestimate Broxton and Saito but that is about all we have on the Rockies.
Timely win! Now lets go home, sweep the Nats, and get on a roll.
Their starting Pitching is not better!! Francis, two rookies and Cook on the DL is not better!!!
When did I say Grady is a top 3 manager in baseball? Please copy and paste that to me. I said Grady is better then Clint Hurdle. Grady has never had a losing season. Hurdle has had 6 consecutive.
I sure hope Wells does us the same against his former team down the stretch….
Their starting pitching is a little bit worse, but not as much as you think. The difference isn’t as big as our hitting is from theirs.
Yeah, Swood, the Rockies pitching isn’t even close to ours. Offense is a different story.
saying that half the runs come on the road, in just an arbitrary fashion can seem just a little iffy. Im a bit lazy, can you show me the stats that actually prove half their runs are on the road, as opposed to the seeming assumption that just because half the games they play on are on the road, therefore half their runs are scored there.
That was an assumption fezzik… Weren’t you the one who just said I shouldn’t post a teams ranking on runs scored on the road?
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.
Posted by: swood@rcn.com | August 22, 2007 01:53 PM
I figured one of the best meant Top three!!
No, it was simply a clarification of where some objection could have come with the stats that were posted.
No diehard you can’t just assume that. Its hard to question what he does when he has managed 20 professional seasons and never had a losing record.
17 in the minor leagues is not impressive to me. What do you mean by one of the Best? Top 5?
I’m not gonna say top anything. I will say he’s better then Jim Tracy and Clint Hurdle though( you could be a better skipper then those 2 fools diehard). Sometimes I question his lineup but nobody can deny he is a winner.
diehard, that is a seemingly fair analysis. “One of the best…” is a stat that should only be reserved for the top 5-10%. Saying that that would be 3 would be accurate for the Majors. Scioscia, Randolph, Piniella, Cox are all better managers.
Swood, you cant just limit how good a manager is to his record. There are a lot of coaches with winning records in the Majors. Every manager is going to have a season of a losing record, its just a matter of when.
I call the guys with big fat rings on their fingers winners. Not life long minor league coaches.
In 21 years Grady has never had a losing season. I’m sorry but I just think thats sayin something
He has only managed 3 years in the bigs. How many rings did Cox, Sciocia, Randolph or LaRussa had after their 3rd season?
17 years in the minors thats saying something more…
Diehard whats so bad about Grady other then his lineups??? Exit/Max/Adrian look late in yesterdays blog please.
now its down to three years Scioccia won in less than three. Larussa won with the A’s in less than three. Cox won 14 straight division titles in the BIG LEAGUES enough said. Randolph might make it to the series and its been less than three years.
A line ups is the MOST critical job of a manager! the other being the handling of pitchers and he’s notorious for that.
No Scocia won it in 02 and wasn’t he hired in like 98? LaRussa had a better team in Oakland then Grady has with us and better then the 03 Sox. The 04 Sox were alot different from the 03 team. Can you believe Grady made the ALCS in 03 with Byung Yung Kim as his closer.
Arizona WON the WORLD SERIES with that guy as their closer. He’s horrible now but he was descent back then.
No diehard Byung Yung Kim was never decent. Arizona had the good Gonzo’s 50+ homers. I just asked my dad and he doesn’t think LaRussa won it in his first 3 years in Oakland. He thinks it was year 4 or 5. Give Grady some more time please diehard. I know sometimes he does stupid *** lineups but I don’t think he deserves to be fired.
btw swood, little has had multiple losing seasons, some were seasons in which he shared the position during the season. But even so, in 1983 he had a .467 win percentage. And that year he was the manager the entire year. But its not minor league coaching stats that make someone a winner. Thats like saying someone is one of the best current ball players because they had a .360 BA career in the 15 years in the minors and when they came up to the bigs, they produced for 2.5 years with a .300 avg.
Fezzik show me the link to this stat. I thought he had only a losing season when he came into a season half way through. Give me a link because I’m pretty sure he hasn’t had a losing season.
Yeah Arizona’s pitching had nothing to do with them winning the World Series.
mikey was picked up in 1999 and won the series in 02… 3 years. But that is an extraordinary turn around, but that is what winning coaches & management do.
I don’t care why Arizona won the World Series. Scocia is a better manager then Grady is. He is maybe the best skipper in the game.
Jinley
Was that some sort of rascist remark “Chinese eyes???” I think there’s a reason I quit reading this blog. Too much negativity. You guys are supposed to be fans? Pleeease. Now who was the MVP of the game…oh that slow “has- been” David Wells. Do you guys ever admit that you’re wrong? No.
It’s always Grady when they lose. The lineup. The coaches. When they win you are still critical of Grady. And you gang up on poor swood. I can’t believe that you call him Grady’s wife. What is with insulting each other. This blog is made up of very immature people. Too bad. Let’s be Dodger Blue and support them. Please???
http://www.mwlguide.com/managers/littleg.html
there’s your link swood. and btw saying that he only had a losing season when coming in more than half way through the season is kinda bogus. that is the first time I had seen you mention that and it was only in the face of actual stats. Kool-Aid drinker for certain.
In 2000, posted 82-80 record in debut season, guiding Angels to third place finish in A.L. West (-9 1/2)…
Mike Scioccia does that make 02′ his third season? I’m researching I’ll be back with more…
Uhhh XOX I was holding out judgment on Wells. In fact, I have read very few negative comments on Wells and certainly represent a minority of the group. As for “ganging” up on Little, it is no different than the controversy that surrounded Little while he was in Boston, he had some supporters, and some that claimed he was a scapegoat for the loss in 03. This is just a debate on differing view of Little. and we’re debating stats, no personal attacks have been made on any individual person.
oops I meant ganging up on swood**
Cox returned to the Braves as General Manager in October of 1985 and oversaw a farm system which set the foundation for the team’s recent success. He added the field managing responsibilities on June 22, 1990, then devoted all his time to those duties when the Braves named John Schuerholz General Manager in October of that year
That means Cox made the World Series in ’91 took a team that finished last in 90′ to first in 91′
Ok fezzik Grady has had a couple losing seasons in the mid 80’s. He hasn’t had a losing season in 15 years. Even those losing seasons he wasn’t too far under .500. Anyway you’re right that isn’t what makes him a good manager. Here is my final assesment of Grady. He is a mediocre major league manager.
XOX russell thank you for supporting me but I am ok really I can hold my own with these guys. Poor Swood =(. Everyone is so mean to him =(. Nobody agrees with anything he says =(.
LOL I think we can agree with that assessment. I have only heard one or two comments about him being the worst manager in baseball. Which he certainly isnt, someone had money riding on those games and they needed a scapegoat.
In just his second full year with the As, La Russa managed the club to an A.L. West-record 104 wins, the A.L. pennant and into the 1988 World Series. He again earned Manager of the Year honors from the BBWAA and the Sporting News. For three straight years, 1988-90, the As led the major leagues in victories, only the 11th time in history that a team had accomplished such a feat
That means he won the Series in his third season 89′
wow proved ALL my points what do you say now swood
Diehard Cox is a better skipper then Grady by far I never argued that. As I said Grady is around 15th of the 30 major league managers. Diehard you are the reason people think this blog is negative. You insulted Josh and said you had lost respect for him.
/pulls on diehards chain
HEEL BOY!! !HEEEEEEEL
/pats him on the head
good boy
😀
swood that’s unfair people were complaining about this blog being negative ALL season I didn’t start bashing grady until rescent.
respect comes and goes with everyone. losing respect is simply a matter of saying you’ve gone from 100% respect to 95%. He didnt say he lost all respect, as far as I know.
Ok diehard I don’t give a **** about those other great managers. Grady will never be as good as them and thats the end of it. No matter what you say he isn’t the worst manager in baseball.
Fezzik LOL for that comment at 8:55.
As well as I Die, I started bashing him when he, as the manager, failed to do his job in finding some inspiration to pull the team out of their slide… I fear it will cost him his job.
OK as Fan of the LOS ANGELES DODGERS I want the best and when our manger is in the bottom half of managers that is unacceptable. Sorry I pay a lot for my tickets we have the third highest prices in all of baseball.
Diehard give fezzik the quote you said about Josh. It was something like “I can’t believe you defend management I have lost ALL respect for you.” Something like that.
Arizona, beware those footsteps you here are the Dreadful Los Angeles Dodgers coming for you!Ain’t no mountain high enough !
Diehard you don’t have season tickets you’re on here every day right before during and after the game. Diehard I just noticed you love to disagree with me. Anything I say you disagree with. Fezzik you seem to know your dodgers I will send you an email later from ryanwood@cox.net. You are my new best friend on this blog. Sorry diehard.
Grady doesn’t deserve to be fired he is an average manager, not in the bottom half, that isn’t supposed to get you fired.
Thats 20 years experience as a dodger devotee! and then studying the game for pretty much my entire high school career. My knowledge doesnt stop at just the dodgers, it goes well beyond.
Poor Swood =(. Everyone is so mean to him =(. All because he tries to understand Grady and gives him a chance =(. Nobody ever agrees with poor little swood =(.
Dude fezzik how old are you? I am 16 and I live in Virginia. Diehard you definately shouldn’t have said that about Josh. He was pissed off and he let everyone know in the blog the next day.
Swood, unfortunately, in a Market as big as LA, people here will not settle for that. He may do better in a small market team such as Kansas City or Denver.
Im only 24… so the moment I became a Dodger fan was watching Gibby’s hit in ’88 with my pops.
Ok then if you guys want a great manager you should fire Grady. Great managers are hard to come by though. I think if you fired him you wouldn’t be able to find the top of the line skipper you are looking for.
The only person who I think would do better then Grady would be Dave Duncan. He is the type of guy who could develop into a top manager and join the LaRussa’s and Cox’s class.
Fezzik I became a dodger fan watching Adrian Beltre hit a walk off grand slam against SF with my pops.
finding a great manager is like finding a diamond in the rough. if you keep finding lumps of coal, you dont just settle on that, you keep searching for the diamond, which means throwing out some “decent looking” lumps of coal.
hmmmm thats a good point fezzik. I think everyone on this blog seriously hates me. Everyone has been disagreeing with everything I’ve been saying the whole year. I think its because I defend Grady. Fezzik do you live in So. Cal?
We all have our moments that we like to look to and say that was the point in which I fell in love with the team. If that was the moment for you, then that was past the point in which our farm system had started to descend downward. Our farm system is finally getting back in the groove of things and returning to it’s once former glory. It takes time, but I think we have the right people in the right places on the farm, now its the hard part. Getting the right people in the right places in the bigs. Part of getting that great manager is going to be creating an environment in which those great managers will want to come to. I think we’re heading in the right direction on that aspect, seeing the amount of prospects that exist on the farm and managers knowing that there is a deep well of talent in LA.
I live in orange county, about 3 miles from Angel stadium, my older brother is an Angels fan, quite frankly, im tired of hearing him brag.
Hi Swood. I’m visiting Virginia right now. How are you a Dodgers fan living there?? And where in Virginia do you live. It’s past 2300 right now. Are you able to see the Dodgers play very often. It was great that the game was the Sunday game of the night, right?? Go Dodgers!!
Swood at least you are sticking with your guns and trusting your insticts on Gradty. I think the majority of the people on this blog do not support him. There are those that do, but dont voice it because the anti-Grady rhetoric is soo noisy here that people may feel like they are going to be drowned out or mocked (unfortunately) its good that youre sticking to your instincts and finding solid arguments to back those up. I just found it harder and harder to defend Grady’s actions when Ethier was hitting so well and was being blocked by Gonzo.
I am so depressed because the dodgers haven’t been playing well lately and school is about to start again for me. I wish I lived on the west coast that way I wouldn’t have to stay up till past 1 AM on a school night for the dodgers home games. Hopefully though I will be staying up late watching games at dodger stadium into mid october. lol. When I think of the OC I think of like surfing and beaches, are alot of kids into surfing where you are fezzik?
its kinda funny, every away broadcast we see, I see dodger blue hats there. We have fans nation wide, as living and growing up in LA makes a lot of people want to leave when they want to start families or get moved by jobs, or whatever. Thank God for MLB.tv, thats how I get by at work :D.
im about 15 miles from the beach. I dont head out there all that often, mainly because im not a beach person, I love computers, they dont do so well with beach sand. Noticed I referred to it as Orange County, not the OC. Dont limit your opinion of Orange County because of one extremely horrible show that Fox put out.
I respect Grady too, Fezzick. Ethier was a bit cold for a while. And funny thing Gonzo picked up a bit with that homerun. I had hopes for Wells because he stated that he felt it wasn’t over for him and that he was going to play his heart out. I got drowned out in the blog so I left licking my wounds. The misery on this blog was deafening and the disrespect for each other rampant. It even overflowed to Josh and the management. What a pity. I think that it may be a few young negative voices. You and Swood are the voices of reason, thank goodness. Keep it going. Go Dodgers!!
Hi Russell I live in Fairfax County about 15 miles south of Washington. I watch the Dodgers on MLB Extra Innings. Usually they’re on that but if they’re not I watch them on MLB.TV. I really appreciate you standing up for me. Where are you in Virginia right now? Fezzik I think the reason that everyone gives me so much garbage is because I am one of the only Grady supporters and they know if they shoot me down about Grady there will be people to back them up.
im hardly a voice of reason, but thanks for your belief. I was hoping we’d hire offerman to take care of Beltran a couple days ago… LOL. Then I learned we got Wells, and well, Offerman may not be necessary now :D.
swimming against the current is always difficult swood. its a good life lesson to learn early.
Fezzik I never even watched that show on Fox. I don’t like shows like that too much. I am a dodger fan because I learned baseball from my uncle who lives in Manhattan Beach Cali. He is a huge Dodger fan and had season tickets for 10 years.
good.
Do you know where Manhattan Beach is fezzik? How far from you is it? I haven’t been there since I was about 10 years old.
I’m in Virginia Beach. I got here on Wednesday. I live in Long Beach CA actually. My sister is definitely into surfing all year around, wet suit in the winter. The weather is super all year around. Shorts and sandals weather most of the year, at least for me. You definitely are a Dodgers fan. Every manager has their methods, including Grady. No matter what, if the team loses the manager will get criticized. I can’t believe you’re only 16. You seem very wise and mature for that age. Are you going to come out here to live?
When you say swimming against the current is always difficult are you referring to me standing up for Grady when everyone else was shooting him down?
yes that is what I am referring to.
Manhatten Beach is a lil about an hour out for me…depending on traffic
Well Virginia Beach is about 4 or 5 hour drive for me. I live in more of like suburban Washington DC. I would love to go to college in so. cal. It has always been my dream to go to USC but my GPA will be too low for them to accept me. Instead I might go to Pepperdine. Russell how old are you?
Did you notice that when the Dodgers win there is less said on this blog than when they lose. Maybe that means that everyone would rather be negative. Where is everybody?? Out celebrating?
I love USC, cant wait for saturday, afraid I am going to be putting USC before the Dodgers on Saturday, if there is a conflict in schedules.
Good point Russell. People love to complain about the team on this blog and when we get a good win against a good team there isn’t as much to complain about hence there just being me you and fezzik here tonight.
well of course, its always easy to talk about a scapegoat. I could remain negative about Grady even after a win, but thats just counter-productive.
I could go create another account, I have plenty of email addresses to register under. Then there could be 4 people here 😀
My sister actually teaches upper division at Pepperdine sometimes. Maybe you could go to a state university?? Have you applied anywhere yet? California has a lot of colleges, most of them the best. I’m leaving for home tomorrow night. I was just here to take a cruise on an aircraft carrier. I love DC. So much history. I love Maryland as well.
Fezzik did you just graduate from college. Do you think Grady should be fired? I know alot of others do and even though I like Grady I don’t think he can take us to the next step which is the world series. Maybe we do need someone new in here who can take us to the next level.
it is kinda a shame that this blog gets so negative at times, but gotta hand it to the Dodgers organization, and Josh for keeping the community going here. There are a lot of organizations that dont do a team sponsored blog to keep the fans in the loop.
I am not very farmiliar with all the So Cal colleges but it would have to be one that is less then USC because I don’t think they take anyone with less then a 3.8 GPA and I have a 3.6 GPA. Russell what do you think of Grady?
I graduated in 05 from college. while it’s nice to have a winning season and to be better than the Gnats, It just is not enough for me anymore. I want to see LA return to its former Glory of the 80’s and I dont think Little is the man to get us there, niether is Ned, in my opinion.
Do AZ and SD have a blog like this on their website?
And I do believe that the organization reads those negative comments which makes me feel terrible. I know there are a lot of Dodger fans that are positive. I haven’t written anything on the blog for a couple of weeks because I felt outnumbered. I can’t be negative because I’m such a Dodgers fan. Being that I always hold out hope for victory. And if not, there’s always next year. Go Dodgers.
I am more into the rivalry with SD then I am with SF. Maybe its because SD has been more competition for us the last 2 or 3 years and SF hasn’t been very good. I think SF isn’t going to be very good for the next couple years because they don’t have any young position players like we have and SD and AZ have. I wasn’t born in the 80s and I don’t really remember the 90s so I haven’t really been able to get into the SF rivalry.
Russell, that is the same way that I feel about the boys in blue, I dont think anyone should be questioning who is a bigger fan on this blog. I think the vast majority of people here are big fans, except for those who openly say they are not. We just have differing opinions of what is wrong with the team. Swood, who do you think, if anyone, is to blame for the Dodgers second half slide?
Russell I hope you don’t mind me asking but how old are you? Do you remember when we were bigger rivals with SF then SD?
3.6 is super!! My sister actually got her PhD from USC. She got her BA and MA from Cal State Long Beach, another great school. Have you applied there yet?? What are you majoring in anyway? I sometimes wonder about Grady’s lineups but I’m sure he gets advice from his coaches, etc. I have to believe he knows more than I do. I try to have faith in him and funny enough, his craziest lineups seem to work. I wonder about poor Tomato though. What’s going on with him??
SF is going to start rebuilding in the off season, their GM has already laid out the direction they’re going in the next couple years and it’s supposed to be a youth movement. Look for them to start grandfathering out their veterans. Their team now is mainly due to their age, look for them to get better in a couple years.
I think the blame for the second half slide has to go to a little of everyone the management, the players, and even the manager. I don’t know why but for the past few years we haven’t been a very good second half team. Do people on here really call other people not true fans or not big fans?
I haven’t applied yet and I think I’m going to major in business. Sometimes the lineups that everyone on the blog complains about most get us the most runs and the ones that everyone on the blog loves don’t do anything. I thought Grady’s comment about nintendo baseball was funny. Did you guys read that?
yeah, I was called that just the other night because I wasnt okay with the lineups posted. and going to Dodger games for me is a lot of money, and I dont see the purpose of dropping that kind of money on a team with a manager that is not going to send out my favorite players.
Really I missed that fezzik, sorry to hear that. I have been told a couple of times that I shouldn’t talk and that I don’t know much about baseball because I’m only 16. I think there are a couple of people that I can think of that are jerks who post daily on this blog and I think we all know who they are, when someone says something like that though I try to ignore it and try not to let it bother me.
by the way, my favorite players are the ones who produce. Its not like being a fair weather fan for a team. Its the ability to confidently root for those people who are going to come through.
Who are you’re favorite players fezzik?
*your
I just laughed it off, I wasnt bothered by it. I think it was in the midst of a heavy anti-grady argumenmt that someone was having and they were probably more reacting to that as opposed to my comments.
my favorite, Billz, Ethier, Martin, and Loney. Probably in that order.
Yea that is the right thing to do. I mean the only problem I see with Grady is he has weir lineups. Am I missing something which makes him a bad manager. I mean there must be a reason everyone on this blog doesn’t like him.
I would probably have to say my favorit player is Jeff Kent. By the way did you see that in my own words with Jeff Kent? That looked really interesting.
*weird
Swood..what’s funny is that it’s around 1:00A.M. here and you are still blogging. No one wants to say anything nice about Grady because they will get slammed. Okay I like Grady okay. Watch everyone slam me now.
The biggest part, from what I’ve seen is the line ups. The great teams all have their starting 8 and a pretty consistent batting order. The constant shifting of the lineup does not allow any routine to establish or any momentum to carry over from game to game.
My favorite players are Russell, Ethier, Saito, and Penny. I’m also fond of Kent. Did you see him get hit in the face with that pitch Fezzik??
Exactly I think there are a couple Grady supporters but they are afraid if they say anything they will get shot down. Ya Russell I have a bad habbit of staying up late. Sometimes on the east coast the west coast games can run until 2 or 3 in the morning.
I didnt catch all of it, mainly because Kent doesnt really interest me, Im waiting for him to retire so we can get Abreu up and get him used to the major league level.
yeah, I saw the pitch, I was wondering if Wells was going to retaliate.
But I’m up too, probably still on west coast time. But back to sand and surf tomorrow! I love Virginia. It’s gorgeous. But I love the Dodgers!! I can’t leave them.
Ya thats a good point fezzik people can’t get used to their roles when they’re being moved all over the order. I still think that Grady is a good baseball guy. I know if diehard were here he’d start disagreeing with me but I think its true. I mean hes seen it all as far as in game goes. Do you think he is good or bad at knowing when to take a pitcher out and when to leave him in.
Did you notice that the Dodgers went into that big slide right when Kent had that pulled hamstring?? What was that all about? Coincidence. No arguing. Just wondering.
ooh, you hit it on the nose. I was just commenting during the game that he leaves the pitcher in too long. He has a huge bull pen, the best in the league so why keep a pitcher in that’s sinking?
Fantastic,direction changing 6-2 win by our Los Angeles Dodgers over the New York Mets.I just knew that after Superman Jeff Kent got hit off the helmet,and their tasteless fans starting cheering their pitcher,Maine,to get the third out with no regard for Jeff Kent,that would light a fire on this team!David Wells fantastic first start,way to go Ned Colletti!
Superman Jeff Kent, hope it is not serious!Furcal and Pierre,keep it up, you guys are unbelievable!You guys are a great 1,2 punch!Broxton and Saito, you are the best set up man and closer in the majors!You guys are unbelievable!We are coming home now and this it it!Arizona, we are still gunning for you, or do you think we have forgotten?Those footsteps you here are getting louder and louders,because it is those Dreadful Los Angeles Dodgers coming for you!Ain’t no mountain high enough!
Ya you’re probably right russell. We are a different lineup with his bat out of there. He has been the one consistant cleaning up along with Furcal leading off and Pierre hitting 2nd in Grady’s batting order.
I have seen a couple of moments in which I questioned him pulling a pitcher early, for instance last saturday night in the marathon against the Rockies. Proctor made only 1 pitch that night I believe and we could have used him later in the game as opposed to Roberto.
ndeschenes I love your posts. They are so encouraging. =)
I hope when September 1st comes Grady will almost completely stop using Roberto. I get really nervous whenever he comes in the game It seems like hitters are usually able to square his pitches up.
Well when a player as hot as Kent was when he gets hurt, its going to affect the team as a whole. Should it affect them as much as it did, no, so I dont think it was mainly that. Hard to really say what caused it, but it is easy to say who should have been stepping up to lead the team and to get them moving again. Unfortunately, it took Grady a while to do so, and it cost us. Thats why I think he is going to be gone at the end of the year.
Go Dodgers. This game was the must win game. I think that David Wells was the hero. I hope that Jeff Kent is okay. We all know what happened the last time he was out. No more negativity about Pierre. He’s done his share. And San Diego lost big tonight 14-2. Down they go. Go Dodgers!!
Do you think Grady and Ned will both go? Do you really think anyone from management other then Josh reads these blogs?
Well with Kent being hit like he was, he may need to be out for 15 days, concussions are not to be messed around with. If thats the case, we may see Abreu early this week.
I never saw the injury report on Kent was it a concussion and is he gonna go on the DL?
It seems that so much of the game depends on the pitching and when the starting pitcher stays in too long when we all know that something is going wrong (whatever that may be) it doesn’t get better but gets worse. Maybe when the bases are loaded and the last two on base were walked…!it was an act of God that the last guy was struck out. Whew!!
Unless Ned pulls A-Rod out of NY and into LA, I dont know what deals he can make that are going to save him. That Pierre move is finally beginning to pan out. So that deal may not be a bust yet.
Jeff definitely got clocked. You could see in his eyes that it was not a little bump. He’s a superman, that’s why he was still standing.
Ya Pierre has been playing better as of late. Russell I was really nervous too when Wells walked the bases loaded and I was really relieved when he struck out a dangerous hitter in Alou. I hope Wells can keep up his success.
Ya I hope Kent will be OK. Russell how old are you?
I havent heard anything yet either, we’ll probably have to wait for tomorrow for a report on the situation.
I know pierreseastmeetswest went to the game tonight with his daughter. He will be happy with the result. He is a really nice guy.
Out of the last 32 games of the season how many do you guys think we will have to win to win the division and the wild card? And why do you guys think we haven’t been a very good second half team the past couple of years?
He lives in New York?? My dream is to go to Yankee Stadium. I’ve been to NYC once. I loved it. I saw there’s a subway stop that says Yankee Stadium!! I would also like to go to Shea.
last year we had an amazing second half. But october is a whole new season. Injuries and pitching cooling off is generally the thing that causes second half cool downs. I think this has been the situation in LA over the last few years.
I’m hoping for the Wild Card. It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. Is it?
To swood, I appreciate the encouragement back!We can see glimpses of greatness in this team, and if they can put it all together in these last 32 games,they certainly can finish a Championship Team!Ain’t no stopping us now!
We had good seats tonight, upper deck, just to the right of home plate, about even with the Mets dugout. Wasn’t a spot not visable to me. It was great, whenever the place got quiet I rooted for the team calling them by name and my voice traveled pretty good. Fans were turning around and looking up at me. Wells was great I’m sure he heard my encouragement. When he finished the 5th I Yelled, “Boomer You’re a Dodger now” and I know I could be heard through the silence. Boy, Kent sure got hit hard, again. I thought he’d stay in, he’s tough enough. I asked Ethier to hit one for the big apple in the 9th, and I drew some laughs. Nobody knows how important this win was, but a win in New York is always big. I believe we tied the season series 5-5, against a great team. I want to see this same Dodger team come back here every year, with little change in the personnel. I want them to get to know our team. Like they use to. I bought the Jackie Robinson T-Shirt. My daughter got a Carlos Beltran. We’re tied too, she beat me in the first game of the NLDS(well it feels like a tie,anyway). Came straight home after the WIN. I saw all 3 games. I’m glad we weren’t swept. I think all this club needs is a little more experience and it will stay strong for an entire season GO__GO__GO__DODGERS!!!!
haha… how did wells get a bunt single
Wells needs to teach Pierre how to lay down a bunt. Pierre looked horrible in the first inning.
this comment is number 440 of the night… we all need to get lives!
that was 439 dodger dude. Mines 440. I have class tomorrow at 7 in the morning. I need to get up at 5:45 yet im here instead of getting all my **** together.
After reading some of the after game reports it looks like Superman Jeff Kent will be ready for tomorrow night’s game!First place here we come!
Just wanted to comment on the chatter–I think that the tendency is to comment after a game when we lose because the forum serves as a means to get out the frustration. With a win, there’s no frustration.
But, just to respond to the issues on negativity–I think that the organization is doing most things right, top to bottom, on-field and off. There are a fe questionable decisions, to be sure, but things are better now then at any time under Fox.
The biggest problem is the guys on the field–we’re trying to thread a needle by playing veterans who are supposed to carry the team now, and kids who will contribute now and lead later. Lots of questions here about not putting in the kids more often now, but we can still get in the post-season this year, and we are well positioned to be a championship caliber for years to come.
I hate Joe Morgan as much as anybody. I have a very clear memory to this day of exactly where I was sitting when he hit the homerun that knocked the Dodgers out of the 1982 playoffs. I had lined up to buy tickets to the potential Dodgers-Braves one-game playoff at Dodger Stadium a full four hours before anybody else showed up. One of the most disappointing moments of my life.
And Joe is a pretty lousy announcer.
But any argument that Morgan doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame is just sour grapes.
One way of developing this point is by comparing him to the great Steve Garvey, as one poster above mentioned. With apologies to those who feel more adamantly, it’s a close call whether Garvey should be in.
That said, Morgan is clearly more qualified than Garv for the Hall. Here are the lifetime stats:
Garvey — 8835 AB 2599 Hits 1650 Runs 440 2B 272 HR 689 SB 1308 RBI .294 BA .329 OBP
Morgan — 9277 AB 2517 Hits 1143 Runs 449 2B 268 HR 83 SB 1133 RBI .271 BA .392 OBP
Many of their numbers are similar. Garvey has 175 RBI more than Morgan. Morgan outscored Garvey by 507 runs, and is 30th all-time in that category. And although Garv had a higher batting average, Morgan more than made up for that with his walks and stolen bases (11th all-time). Both were excellent fielders and while it’s true that Morgan was surroudned by the Big Red Machine, Garvey was part of a darn good Big Blue Wrecking Crew.
Rip Morgan’s announcing all day long, but don’t weaken your own voice with bitter and completely unfounded comments.
Im glad WeLLs had a good game and showed us his heart.. That bunt was perfect, Hopefully this is the shake up we needed for us to get hot..
Funny..no one was here on this blog after the big win at Shea except a couple of us positive fans!! How refreshing was that. Go Dodgers! And all of you bloggers, have a nice day.:)
First let me make a pre-cursor comment before my first real blog … after the stunning bunt by Boomer … had the Dodgers not responded they would have been DEAD for the season. But the life is there in this team and they responded like all GOOD teams should have – five runs over the next two innings to put the game away.
With that said,
I usually root one game at a time, but I must admit — this series with the National is a MUST SWEEP SERIES!. Anything less will be very difficult to overcome, and it could become the series that most people will turn to as the turning point of the season!
WAR Dodgers being 1 1/2 out of WC and three out of Division by Sept. 1
The Dodgers need to sweep the Nats. If they don’t then the season is over.
Im going to a game down in san Diego on Sunday. I can’t wait!
Josh, Im trying to donate some money to Think Cure but I keep getting an error message saying “gift value invalid”.
I’m pretty sure I’ve filled it out properly but I guess I haven’t. Do you know if this has been a problem before or am I just retarded?
It’s not if you win or loose It’s how they play the game .pull the pitcher .bunt pinch hit etc .when omeado is the last resort. or hernandez we have to live with it .if they play the hot hand ,more power to them .when a hitter goes 4 for 4 and sits the next game ,i question that
any word on Kent?
I never like to call any series a must sweep series, but if there is one this has got to be it. We have our best three going in this series against sub-par pitching and that’s putting it nicely.
About, Kent, he flew on the plane last night, so that’s good news.
well its good news in that he wasnt hospitalized…. but even if it was a concussion, he should be placed on the DL, but not have to be hospitalized overnight for that. I’ve had them before, they are not fun.
Hey fezzik031 – This from Yahoo Sports:
“Martinez didn’t start the game but came in to run for Jeff Kent after the slugger was beaned by Maine in the fourth. Kent staggered out of the box after Maine hit him on the side of the head with his second pitch of the inning.
Little, third base coach Rich Donnelly and a trainer all checked on Kent, who appeared to be groggy before he was escorted to the dugout but said he was OK after the game.”
Sounds like Kent will be in the line-up tonight (I hope).
GO LOWE!
GO DODGERS!
Lets hope so. Im sure he knows what a concussion feels like and the ***** thing about them, is that you really cant always know if your 100% until you get out there and start running around. Dont mean to harp on the concussion part of it, but would hate to see him injure himself even further because he is trying to be Superman. If he can make it through tonight and perform at a reasonable level, but until I see that, im holding not going to say one thing or another, but hey, Him saying he’s okay is an update I guess. Just glad it didnt catch him like Kirby caught his a couple years back… career tragically cut short there.
More from Yahoo Sports on Jeff Kent:
“Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent was hit in the left temple by a fastball from John Maine in the fourth inning and came out of the game. The ball struck Kent in the earflap of his helmet.
“We’ll watch him carefully during the flight (back to Los Angeles),” Little said. “That was scary. But he thinks he’ll probably be able to play (Monday).”
He’s a pretty tough hombre for a “Washed up old veteran” (as the Ground Hogs call him).
GO KENT!
GO LOWE!
GO DODGERS!
Kent should sit today… “washed up old veteran”? He’s a vet, certainly passed his prime, but no one roots against him. What’s the “ground hogs” thing about? Isn’t ground hog day only once a year?
Gonzo and Nomars are washed up. that is all.
It’s nice to see how everyone feels good about themselves after 1 win. I’m not being a “ground hog”, but certainly not a “positive fan.”
Kent might be a serious problem. Even when its not a conscussion he certainly won’t be back at full strength with the bat. Does anyone know what the heck is going on with Nomar, btw?
Nomar has to be a bench player from now on. Loney is going to outproduce him and so will LaRoche when he’s given a chance, which with the way things have been going will probably be when Hillenbrand and Nomar are both hurt.
It’s really frustrating when injuries are the only way to get your best players on the field.
Kent should sit out tonight and possibly tomorrow night as well but we all know how Grady likes playing injured players. I mean look at Furcal. Another week or two on the DL and he could be 100%. Now he is one the way to one of his worst seasons ever.
Seriously Ken Grunick, or whatever, so be a comedy writer.
“Andy LaRoche had every opportunity to settle in at third base”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
I just skimmed through Gurnick piece…to say its too early to judge Ned is a little much. I mean he’s screwed up so many things in such a short period of time! I mean, maybe he inherited a “mess” coming into 2006, but he had one of the best talent pools in baseball in the minors to dip into. This year he is taken a step backward in almost everything he has done. His philosophies about players and stats and such isn’t going to change. Its not too early to judge him at all.
Exit/Max/Adrian if I could tell grady anything this is what it would be:
YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH YOUTH!!!!! Forget about Gonzo and start playing the young guys every day.
With the Dbacks in San Diego starting tonite, we can sure use a sweep of the Nationals. I would also like to see the DBacks sweep the Pads since the Mets are at the Phillies, here is a great opportunity to get a huge jump in the wild card….
just cant get too excited about being tied for third in the NL west.. 3.5 out of a wild card and 6.5 out of the NL west.
jungar, if your a fan, you can get excited about the possibility of getting to within a game or better in the wild card..
its hard to get excited about this team. The youth has been wasted, the injuries have hurt us, and management continues to defy logic and good commonsense.
I am a fan. have been for 25 years. And I am not excited. Did you think I just lied for fun?
It’s very disappointing that Andy Laroche and Tony Abreu are presently sidelined, I was looking forward to seeing them back contributing in September, but I understand that there is a possiblity that both or one of them could make it. I hope so because we can sure use some fresh bats.
That’s not to say I won’t be rooting my hardest for them. I am just not that excited, based on what I have seen all year for reasons no need to be rehashed.
I thought Andy was playing again… 4 ABs two nights ago, 1 AB last night. Anyone got more info?
And in spite of all that, we’re still alive. I agree, they are not a bunch that excites you, especially if you go beyond the players and talk about Grady and Ned, but yet here they are only 3.5 back in the wild card. Let’s just pretend we live in the perfect world and the DBacks sweep the Pads, the Mets sweep the Phils and we sweep the Nationals, we go into San Diego 1/2 a game back this weekend. If you consider how hard Ned and Grady have tried to sabotage this ship and yet here they are on the doorstep, we have to be excited. No?
According to Ken Gurnick’s mailbag this morning he said Laroche is still hurting I hope you’re right dodgerdude and my inf should be updated.
kiper… no… sorry. No excitement. Our drought will be 20 years next year. I’ll be excited with a World Series championship, not by being very close to a Wild Card berth.
dodgerdude, i respect that. It has been a long time and we should expect more than the wild card. But i just have to stay with them until the end.
we should have won this series against the Mets but we really really really blew the middle game. Pierre getting thrown out, Gonzo being Gonzo and Grady being Grady.
It’s really frustrating because all of our mistakes this year have been mental.
I am tired of pretending? Is that fair?
If we get in to the playoffs we have as good as chance as anyone..so i’ll get excited then….
jungar, i’m with you man, i agree and i think you have a valid point.
I think we have the best talent in the NL west we have the best 8-9 inning combo in baseball and should be 5 games up. And just because I see that grady is killing this team I’m called negative or a groundhog. Is it just me that see’s the talent or is everyone like swood and think the Rockies are more talented?
Im with Jungar on this. Once we make the playoffs i’ll be happy. I am not satisfied with mediocrity which is exactly what this organization has been since 1988. Good enough to put butts in the seats but not rings on the fingers. Welcome to Dodger Baseball.
Well we have one of the last ranked defenses in baseball. We have a great pitching staff. 4th overall. Even with injuries. But 13th since the all star break. We have a below average offense. only 7 teams in baseball have scored less runs than us. 4 less since the all star break. So I don’t know, seems like a poorly constructed roster if you ask me.
This team isn’t that talented. Kent’s numbers are inflated by one great month. Loney has ****** for 2 months now. Furcal is off/on and lost his ability to steal. Pierre, while better of late, is still one of the worst CF (offensively and defensively) in baseball. Kemp is inconsistent. There is still a huge hole at 3B. Martin and Ethier have been good. The bullpen is solid. If Wells can keep from ******* as bad as Tomko the rotation is fine.
What it comes down to is the offense not being very good. It isn’t Grady’s fault when he starts Kemp & Ethier and both fail (in one night) to score runners from 3rd with less than two outs. At least Hillenbrand hit the ball. Despite what you think you know Grady isn’t the reason this team is losing. He won’t be the reason if they turn it around. It is on the players to produce and for the most part they haven’t.
wow the Astros just fired their GM and Manager.
I don’t really think Grady is the man to take us to the promise land. He’s a great bench coach though.
Loney hit .298 in the month of July? Kemp is hitting .368 w/RISP put those guys in everyday and they aren’t so inconsistent. It’s hard when your young and your not in everyday. Hillebrand went 0-5 while Loney hit the ball deep his first time up, he ate up the first baseman on one shot, and then he singled to left of a left hande reliever. Our incosistent play and mental mistakes is all on the coaching staff.
Two points of concern that go even beyond whether we’re able to make the playoffs for this season. LaRoche and Abreu should at least have been expected to be up with the team and contributing in some way toward the final standings rather than leaving Hillenbrand and Martinez in the position of filling in at third and second base. Martinez has at least been able to contribute some key RBI’s, so, I’m not being entirely down on him playing lately.
It looks like LaRoche’s year mostly has been lost due to injury, and that sets his progress back to where we don’t know whether to expect him to be a significant part of next year’s team. Likewise, I would have expected to have Abreu available for second base next year, but his injury status makes that also uncertain. We should bring up Hu to see how he can perform in the majors once we’re no longer contending for the playoff slot. That might foretell what our attitude would be toward re-signing Furcal beyond next season, which is his last under our existing contract. We’ve really not had the chance to see Furcal at full strength (as he finished last season), because this management has opted to let him play with his troublesome ankle instead of DL’ing him to get it fully healed.
As for our management’s overall performance, I think you all know that I think they’ve both UNDERACHIEVED A LOT and should be replaced if we don’t make the playoffs by what will probaly require a miracle at this point.
Thanks for the alert exit music, yes the Astros fired Phil Garner but I didn’t see anything on GM Tim Purpura.
The Astros have fired both manager Phil Garner and GM Tim Purpura, FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal reports
– rotoworld
I read Ken Gurnick mail bag this morning and in one of his answers, unless he has not listed all of them he doesn’t list FURCAL as a free agent____Messagebearer.
Hu, LaRoche, and Meloan should get the call in Sept. From what I have looked at, LaRoche is back. Started on Saturday and got 4 Abs, then pinch-hit last night. I don’t think he’s at 100%, but he’s playing. Hu and Meloan are good enough to be able to stay on the team next year. Wouldn’t you rather have Hu over Ramon Martinez? Hu is 23 and has been in our system since he got out of high school. He’s done pretty much all the developing he’ll do in the minors. It’s time to call him up to the big team, even if just in a utility role sharing time at SS and 2B. Meloan should be good right away too. LaRoche I hope is physically ready to show his power hitting skills.
To Pierre’s posting:
As far as I know, we have Furcal signed through next year, so, it’s really what comes after that which is at issue.
To dodgerdude:
Yes, I would want Hu or Abreu being in place next season, or even to finish this season, in place of Martinez. As for Meloan, I’ve thought and expressed many a time here that he should have been brought up at the beginning of July to see if he could hold one of the relief spots. If he did, we should not have brought in Hernandez, nor had to trade for Proctor, and that’s just another instance where this management couldn’t see beyond their “veterans preferred” short-view.
Keep the faith!! You’ve gotta stay optimistic until the bitter end if you hope to fully enjoy the fruits of victory. This team is well within the playoff race, and therefore well within the World Championship race.
As for Grady and Ned. Grady truly baffles me with his lineups, and I frankly don’t think he’s doing a very good job. I wouldn’t mind seeing him go after this season. Let’s go after somebody with a more enthusiastic personality. Gibson comes to mind.
Although many of Ned’s decisions haven’t panned out, I can’t honestly say that I vehemently objected to most of them at the time he made them, so I guess it would be unfair to criticize. I do love that he resisted the temptation to mortgage the future for short-term gain. Overall, I don’t see any reason Ned shouldn’t continue as our GM.
MESSAGEBEARER: I don’t want to seem rude but I’m wondering if others think you are RUSHING THINGS.
Furcal is the only guy that we have signed on the offense back next year. I’d love to see this next year.
1B – Loney
2B – Abreu
SS – Furcal
3B – LaRoche
LF – Ethier
CF – Hunter
RF – Kemp
C – Martin
but Pierre isn’t going anywhere. I think the rest is rather realistic. Kent maybe retire if we do go with Youth.
This lineup would be nicee.
Furcal
Martin
Loney
Kemp
Hunter
Ethier
LaRoche
Abreu
that will never happy though
instead next year i hope this is the lineup we have with pierre there.
Furcal
Pierre
Loney
Kemp
Ethier
Martin
LaRoche
Abreu
I’m sure it’s a matter of opinion, and I may very well be in the minority on the faith in management issue. As far as maintaining our corps of young players in this July trading window, I have it on some what I would call inside information that it was Mr. McCourt who decided that certain of our young prospects would not be dealt by Colletti, and that made any worthwhile deal off limits.
that lineup probably wouldn’t win right away but by the end of 2008 it will start producing. Once the kids get into their place and feel comfortable.
2009 is really our year i think. Especially with Kershaw coming up fast.
The philosphy of having two slap hitters at the top of the order has to stop.
i really wouldn’t call Furcal a slap hitter. Last year he wasn’t this year he’s been hurt but has be trotted out there every day despite its obvious he’s not 100%.
Pierre should have never been signed PERIOD but thats one mistake we have to deal with. A 5 year mistake.
I really can’t fathom the reasoning behind the Pierre signing. Colletti said he couldn’t get power so instead of signing Lofton or someone else to a one year deal so he could try again next off season he signs Pierre to a 5 year deal.
He wanted to get power but he screwed himself on getting it simply by signing Pierre.
Colletti makes no sense to me. I hope he gets fired. I really do.
Anyone who has never had more than 15 homeruns in a season is a slap hitter to me. I think Furcal is a great slap hitter with line drive/gap power. Not a negative. I was being Nice to Pierre. He isn’t even a slap hitter he is a groundball hitter and we just have to hope it gets thru.
Pierre hits duck farts
If you’re still there Exit Music or someone else: Can you please update me on HUNTER I’m not formiliar with him.
torii hunter, great defensive CF, have a career power year this year (contract year). 26 HR, 302 BA, 345 OBP, 549 SLG. Great numbers to go with his defense.
Thank you dodgerdude sounds good I’ll make a note of that.
He does a lot of things well. steals some bases, about 30 or so HR per year
Torii Hunter sounds like a major league.
Isn’t this guy already in the majors, now that you put the name “Torii” in front of it???
And where do the Dodgers put Pierre after they sign Hunter? In left instead of Kemp or in right instead of Ethier? It’s gonna be one of those 2 spots, because at 9 mil a year they’re not gonna sit him.
If you want to go after a big bat it may as well be A-Rod. He won’t take anybody’s spot since 3rd base is open.
I have to go someplace but if EXIT MUSIC is still around I’ll wait for a few minutes for a response: You mentioned Hunter, right out of the hat like he was one of us. What makes you think of him as a Dodger.
yea, he plays for the twins
I’m sorry That was a question I left out the?
he was saying we could sign hunter and move pierre to left. I agree, and would include to possibility of signing andruw jones and moving pierre to left as well.
either andruw or torii would be cool with me
That’s what gets me. We have 4 outfielders and 2 of them are fighting for playing time and you kids already have some free agent to be on the team next year.
it’s not cool to bench either Kemp or ethier though!
i like this 2 guys…
right now they are 2 of the reasons why we are winning games…
if u want a power bat… they should get A-Rod…
he looks more like a leader than Hunter…
I thought we had a guy named C O L E T T I that was hired to take care of that stuff.
I don’t want Andruw Jones because he doesn’t hit for enough average. I know he is a great fielder and he hits alot of homers but his situational hitting will kill us. We would have to pay him alot of money and for alot of this year he has been below the mendoza line. I just don’t think hes worth the money.
I do think though that management has invested too much money in Pierre to go get another center fielder. I think it would be a mistake to move Pierre to left because that would keep either Kemp or Ethier from playing. We will not sign a CF in the offseason, the Pierre signing has really handcuffed us.
the reason i want to sign hunter or andruw instead of A-Rod would be because i like Andy LaRoche a lot. I think he’ll provide cheap power for us. I wich we hadn’t of signed pierre, but we did. Now we’re stuck with him in one of the OF spots. Kemp has too much ability to sit. Either is good, but not as good as LaRoche, Kemp, or Jones or Hunter. I want to improve the team and u gotta get creative to do that. I say sign jones or hunter, move pierre to left, have kemp and ethier split time in right (maybe also have pierre sit out more). Coletti was hired to take care of that stuff, but he’s done a poor job.
The Pierre signing was a bad one I think we can all agree on that. I would much rather have Hunter then Jones because he is a much better situational hitter and he still has power, plus less strikeouts. But I doubt we will sign either of them. I think next years team will look alot like this years, with some more healthy starting pitching and hopefully more young position players getting more playing time.
We can’t sign Hunter because of Pierre.
Why should we move Pierre to left? that would just take away playing time from Ethier and Kemp. Thats my whole point. We can’t upgrade our outfield without getting rid of Ethier or Kemp. Thats how horrible of a signing Pierre is.
off topic but how can ken gurnick say that laroche had “every opportunity to settle in at third base”. Im pretty sure 38 AB’s and 53 PA’s doesn’t constitute “every opportunity”
Heaven forbid, but if Colletti is still in charge we’re much more likely to see Bonds in Dodger blue than Hunter or Jones – that old Giant connection, you know.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Ethier. He’s a good player, but to me he’s expendable. He’s not gonna be a 30+ homer guy. If we could add a guy like hunter or jones, we shouldn’t let Ethier get in the way of that. I’m not saying trade him for a middle reliever. Keep him around, let him play some, and sooner or later someone would offer a nice deal for him. Maybe him plus a prospect for a top SP or something like that… But Colleti isn’t creative enough to do something like this so it’s just a pipe dream.
saw what you want about Pierre’s numbers being semi-acceptable as a major leaguer but He’s really a redundant piece of the team. We had a lead off hitter in Furcal. IF you are going to give us speed at the top at least get a guy that is somewhat decent.
Colletti really screwed us.
So you’d rather keep Pierre over Ethier dodgerdude?
This offseason has to be completely pointed to getting rid of Pierre.
Exit/Max/Adrian is exactly right, we won’t be able to sign another outfielder because of Pierre. The only way we could sign someone would to be to trade Ethier or Kemp and I don’t think that is a good idea. I wish we could trade Pierre but I doubt anyone would want him, besides we would still probably have to pay a big part of his contract. God that was an AWFUL signing.
I think the worst part about Pierre is his defense. Can you believe he has zero assists considering how much the entire league runs on him that is just amazing. If we had Hunter or Jones out there think how much lower our team ERA would be.
Pierre makes us a weaker team all around. Both on offense and defense. His stolen bases are nice but they don’t make up for the amount of outs he creates. All he has to do is walk more and he’d be great but he puts the ball in play 93 percent of the time and 72 percent of the times it’s an out. Thats really really bad.
thats exactly why OBP is very important.
Pierre makes 2 outs per every 3 at bats.
worst ratio on the team and i’m willing to be in the league.
I am sure Jones and Hunter have atleast 10 or 12 assists and considering that Pierre gets realistically ten times as many oppurtunities to throw out runners that is just unbelievable. Pierre hurts our pitchers more then anyone else. He doesn’t cover that much more ground then most CF’s anyway. We desperately need to get rid of him. I don’t even expect alot in return I just want someone anyone to take him and pay some of his salary.
dodgerdude, Andre Ethier may not hit 30 HR’s a season, but then again he might. Keep in mind that this is a guy who is 25 yrs. old, he is in his SECOND major league season, he platoons with Kemp and Gonzales. Andre Ethier comes to the ballpark every day wondering if he’s gonna play. If he knows that he’s the everyday rightfielder, i believe Andre Ethier is a guy who will hit .300, 24 – 30 HR and 90 to 100 RBI’s. Remember baseball players hit their prime in their late 20’s early 30’s so i’d hate to see the Dodgers give up on him now the way you are.
Dodger I often find myself torn between A-Rod and LaRoche. One of the things that I have to remind myself of, is that a player of A-Rod’s Caliber only comes along once every 20 years. He’s proven himself as a major leaguer and can come in and pay immediate dividends. LaRoche is still somewhat unproven, and while I believe that he will do fine in the bigs, there is just too big of a gap to put all that trust into LaRoche and pass up on A-Rod. If it was another 3rd baseman, I would probably lean more towards LaRoche.
As far as Jones… saying **** no! is about as lightly as I can put it. Ethier needs to stay. Lets face it, we probably wont have another 30+ HR hitter over the next couple years, minus signing A-Rod. What really needs to happen is for us to find a manager who works with the talent and style of ball that we have. Lets face it we are NOT a power hitting team, but teams can win, and have won championships without that. I think most people here are familiar with my belief in small ball style, so Im not going to dive back into that can of worms. But why trade away a player like Ethier or Pierre who can fit into that model of play?
Pierre has 30 career assist. In 1998 Andruw Jones had 20.
I wouldn’t be totally shocked if Ethier put together a few 30+ HR seasons. And I think we can all agree he will hit .300 almost every year. Usually it takes young guys time to develop power. Trading Ethier would be almost as big a mistake as signing Pierre was. LOL.
If A-Rod comes here (doubtful), it better be to play SS. LaRoche will be our 3rd baseman in 2008. Trade Furcal for pitching help.
Hey Fezzik how are you doing. I know you like small ball but I do think we need to get rid of Pierre if the oppurtunity arises. Hopefully Ned will see that Pierre’s stolen bases aren’t worth all his negative qualities. CF is traditionally a postion that hits for power and I would love to have that on our team. Can Kemp play CF?
Exit/Max/Adrian I know you don’t really like Pierre either. Do you know if anyone would be willing to trade for him? And can Kemp play CF anyone?
can Kemp play CF?
what do u think?
haven’t u seen him play CF yet?
oh…
Yes is the answer…
There is a better show Albert Puljos gets traded then Juan Pierre getting traded.
No one wants that horrible production for so much money and so many years.
It’s not really the money actually. It’s the number of years. No one wants an aging one dimensional player for the end of his prime years. Players like Pierre don’t age well. His numbers have been in decline for about 5 years now with this year being no different.
Kemp can play center if given the shot.
Van I saw Kemp play CF last year and he didn’t look very comftorable there. I was wondering if he had improved at all…?
shot that*
i cant think straight right now.
I believe Kemp can play CF, but look at Pierre’s numbers as of late. His OBP is up. We all know about his weak arm, its always been a liability and always will be for him. Unfortunately our management didnt think it would hurt us that much. They probably were relying on the offense to be able to make up for those sac flys to CF. But dont put any bets on Pierre leaving in the off season, he’s gonna be around for at least another year. Maybe the management can find a strength coach for him to develop arm strength. There are other ways of working with a player than to just assume they are always going to remain at that level.
God ****** colletti you better have a good offseason or else you are gonna be on the hot seat because the deals you have made haven’t helped us but have hindered us. I will give Ned another year or so and if his deals don’t start working out I want someone new as GM. What do you think Exit/Max/Adrian?
IF (big if) A-rod comes here he can play 3B for a year and LaRoche can wait it out in AAA. Then when Furcal leaves in 09 A-rod could move to SS and LaRoche would get his chance at 3B. Unfortunately A-rod won’t be a Dodger.
If by some miracle A-rod does come to LA trading Furcal in the offseason would be dumb. He will be coming off a down year with questions about his ankle. With one year left on his contract the Dodgers would get very little back for him. He would only bring value back at the trade deadline. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to deal a quality player who is under contract at a good price for a lower level prospect (and your lying to yourself if you think LA would get more than that back).
i would have fired colletti the minute he signed Pierre to a 5 year deal.
Hey fezzik in a couple weeks of long toss I could get your arm stronger then Pierre’s and Gonzo’s. LOL haha.
if i was an owner I’d want my money invested wisely. Pierre isn’t a wise investment especially for 5 freaking years.
ofcourse it is his 1st year last year…
he did improve…
coz he made a great catch the first time he played this year…
and i do think he is a natural CF…
I agree Lath, but the one thing, Ironically enough, that bodes well in our favor of getting A-Rod, is the questionable moves that Coletti has already made. The trades havent panned out, so he is going to do all he can to make this work nad try to get A-Rod to LA, or else, he prob will be gone.
If you think Pierre is bad now just wait another year or two. His only asset is his speed and that will be the first thing to go. At 30 years old it should be right around the corner. I would be shocked to see him as a starter in the 4/5th years of his contract.
We should have left Furcal on the DL for a couple more weeks at the beginning of the season. It didn’t take rocket science to tell that his ankle would bother him the rest of the year if it wasn’t completely healthy when he came back. There have been so many stupid decisions this year by management and Grady. If Exit/Max/Adrian was our GM we would be 3 games up in the west and looking towards the playoffs… unfortionately we have Ned…
Van I don’t remember Kemp starting any games in CF and I have seen every dodger game this year except for two. When was this?
Fezz: Agreed, and the Dodgers are one of the few teams that can afford Rodriguez… but these are the Dodgers. It would make too much sense for him to sign in LA. He would be a perfect fit which is why I know he won’t be in blue next year.
he didn’t start CF…
i think JP had a half day that time…
Lath haha LOL. Lath did I tell you how you are my best friend on this blog because of that one time you went off on diehard. That was the best laugh I had in months.
lol, kinda funny how we can say that he wont be here because he is a great fit for the team. Kinda sad, but kinda funny at the same time.
Ok then how do you know that hes improved if you’ve only seen him out there for like 3 innings…
i forgot what game that was…
but he robbed someone a HR that day…
When did he rob someone of a HR? I don’t remember this? If anyone knows please tell me. I think I would have remembered that van.
coz he is a Center Fielder…
last year he was in CF…
the reason why he is in RF this year is JP…
if u can read the ball well u can play any OF positions!
I say, If Kent can play 2B so can LaRoche.
Sign A-rod, let him play 3rd, and stick LaRoche at 2nd.
What an infield!
Loney 1B
LaRoche 2B
Furcal SS
A-Rod 3B
The reason I prefer A-Rod at 3rd is because 1) It better preserves his health and 2) Its the position he’s been playing the last few years.
Also, I would much rather have LaRoche at second rather than Abreu or Hu. The kind of offensive production LaRoche can provide is tough to find in a second baseman. LaRoche would actually be a 2nd baseman in the mold of a younger Kent in terms of offensive production.
i think im not the only one who watch that game…
it was televised in KCAL-9…
it was a road game…
come on people…
who else have watch that game…
coz swood thinks im lying…
van, I don’t remember watching him play there this year, but i don’t doubt it, but i do remember him playing there last year. Besides, with his speed, arm and ability to get a jump on the ball on contact, he’d be a **** of center fielder.
Swood, Kemp made a great catch to rob a HR against the Cardinals on the road in centerfield during a blowout, if you didn’t see the catch it’s probably because we were getting killed in the game and you may have turned it off.
kiper…
he didn’t start…
JP had a half day coz Kemp Pinch Hit for him and he stays there at CF…
Kemp has played 15 innings this season in center field
tnx alex…
maybe swood is thinking that im crazy… LOL
LaRoche doesn’t need to spend ANOTHER year in AAA. He’s better than Loney, for crying out loud. Make room for him.
Gotta love hate TJ Simers….
The Dodgers were 24 games above .500 with Paul DePodesta and Jim Tracy during the Parking Lot Attendant’s first year of on-the-job training in L.A., but now that Frank McCourt really knows what he’s doing, the Dodgers are 225-228 the last three years. I wonder whether DePodesta and Dan Evans would agree to a consulting fee.
O sorry Van for some reason I don’t remember him at all in CF. Manny now that you say that I think it is a good idea. If we got ARod LaRoche could probably learn 2b and he would kind of look like a young Jeff Kent there (hopefully he would have a little more range). I like LaRoche much better then Abreu or Hu so I like that idea.
LaRoche has been hurt all year. He is on and off with his injuries. Let’s get him health, let’s get him 2 to 300 ab’s in the majors and then we can proclaim him the savior that we’re making him out to be.
exactly Kiper. I loved what I saw of LaRoche earlier this year. he was very patient at the plate. I think, if we got him up and healthy, he would have to find a place in the infield to play. 2B is the most likely candidate in the event we sign A-Rod. If Kent doesnt retire then we may have to part ways with LaRoche while we can. Or use him off the bench as someone with some power in their bat as well as with a high OBP. I could handle that in a pinch hitter.
anyone know how strong A-Rods arm is? We know it’s strong enough to handle the throw from first to 3rd. Does it rival Raffy’s Cannon? Same question pertaining to LaRoche.
LaRoche has had an inordinate amount of health problems and downtime. I hope he proves to be all that people expect, but he may be too frail in some respects. We have Nomar under contract for next year for better or worse, so he’s bound to get a good deal of playing time. There may be some other third base answers to come available either by FA signing, trade or other prospects. Hu may also come on the scene, as well as Abreu, so it may be a wide open field for third and second.
Sorry to say it, but if Nomar is here, then I think the management believes in him enough that they might feel is a suitable replacement for A-Rod and wont pony up the dough.
Did you read that LaRoche and Abreau might not be called up because of health problems?
This is not good news…We need something…
Well, we’ll see DY back up. We may even get to see Hu. That will be interesting. We’ve seen what LaRoche and Abreu can do, so it will be great if they can make it back up. Im more interested in seeing what the guys who will be making their debuts can do. We should see Meloan coming up this weekend too.
And the article said if a GM was fired for one bad year there would be no GM’s left..Ned isn’t going anywhere..but this next offseason better be good…and please don’t sign used up vets….It’s okay to sign “experienced” players but not used up ones…
TOP 10 dodger prospect 2006
1. Chad Billingsley, rhp
2. Andy LaRoche, 3b
3. Joel Guzman, ss/3b
4. Russell Martin, c
5. Jonathan Broxton, rhp
6. Scott Elbert, lhp
7. Blake DeWitt, 3b
8. Matt Kemp, of
9. Etanislao Abreu, 2b
10. Chin-Lung Hu, ss
I’m looking to see Hu in the callup, and he might prove to be a nice surprise. Also Meloan should have a chance to establish himself as a comer for 2008.
from baseball america. point is, Laroche is a stud. His shoulder issue just slowed him down, but since he was drafted he has been ranked around if not higher than guys who have really contributied…(Kemp, Loney, Martin, Bills, Broxton)
I have 2007 and 2005 list as well if you want to see them.
The surgery LaRoche had takes at least a year to get the shoulder back to 100% so next year he’ll be ready. As for the back thats probably just a minor tweak he had this year. Maybe compensating for that should when it would get tired or sore. A lot of baseball injuries are related. I bet Randy Wolf’s shoulder injury had something to do with his elbow.
not sure if anyone has really seen it or not, but if we release all of our free agents at the end of the year, team average age is going to drop almost 10 years!!!! No more handicap access into the dugouts!!!!
fezzik
That’s providing they don’t offer the old guys contracts..!
With Ned don’t be so sure.
I don’t think that anyone doubts LaRoche’s talent. It’s a matter of staying healthy and a matter of getting at bats. Time will tell with LaRoche as it will with all the Dodger young guys, but the thing to remember is that no matter how good LaRoche and Ethier and Kemp and Loney and Martin and all the young studs are, they need veteran leadership and a strong presence in the middle of that line up. None of these guys is going to intimidate an opposing pitcher at this point in their career. The Dodgers need a proven power bat in the line up to set up the rest of these guys. In time Kemp and Loney may be strong presences in the middle of the line up, but not quite yet.
Remember what happened to Scott Rolen?..His shoulder hasn’t been right for 2 years after Choi ran into him…Hope the shoulder problem doesn’t linger with LaRoche because I think Rolen is having surgery on his this off season.
kiper..
I agree with you…We need the young guys, but we really need 1 or 2 proven great hitters in the lineup..otherwise we have no chance to go anywhere…
I see no logical reason for them to resign, Saenz, Gonzo, Hernandez, Martinez or Wells for next year. They are all people who were brought in as stop gaps for one year or less contracts. Now that we have their replacements, or they have worked themselves out of a job, I dont see the reason for them to deserve to play in LA next year, then again, Im not Ned.
fezzik
I agree with you about not resigning those guys..Let’s just hope that Ned agrees.
Kiper again, I agree with you, A-Rod would be that presence in the middle of the lineup and give everyone ahead of him the protection they need. The people ahead of him just need to wait for the pitches and be patient. They will see the pitches
Furcal cf
Martin c
A-rod ss
Kemp rf
Ethier lf
Laroche 3b
loney 1b
abreu 2b