Midwest Summers
All those great things I was saying about summer in Chicago…well, now it’s raining. Should be able to get the game in, though.
Russell Martin is out of the lineup today and he went for a precautionary MRI on his left knee because of the way he went into home plate yesterday, but we still have no results. From what it sounds like, no one seems terribly concerned but since Grady was planning for an off day tonight, it made sense to make sure everything is ok in there.
Here’s the lineup:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Kemp, RF
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Hillenbrand, 3B
Loney, 1B
Lieberthal, C
Stults, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Is LaRoche ok? He was pulled out of the game early yesterday and he isn’t in the lineup today.
He made an error. You can’t do that unless your a veteran and then you can make them all day long.
I guess Laroche getting clutch hits two games in a row means nothing.
This proves my theory that Little sets up his line ups a week in advance!!!!
Hope Martin is ok, that means more than any lineup changes.
Knowing Martin is ok, is good. But Gump said that LaRoche will be seeing a lot of playing time. Seeing Hillenbrand and Lieberthal in the same line up makes me cringe. I’d rather see laRoche strikeout and develop than see Hillenbrand strikeout on 3 offspeed pitches and just get older.
I agree with diehardblue…Grady pulls names out of a hat when it comes to lineups.
I don’t think Grady plans off days for Martin…I really don’t. That being said, Im sure he’s fine.
I figured we would see Hillenbrand in the lineup today. He has faced Lilly 10. He is 4-10 against him. I hope Russ is ok. A day off for him is a good thing, Hope to see him in there tomorrow. Look for Laroche to return to the lineup tomorrow as well.
I hope Martin AND LaRoche are ok.
So, is this a throw-away game by default? Lieberthal and Shea. Although without Nomar back Shea was our regular 3B. But at least no Gonzo today.
“Ethier” way, I’m sure we’ll still do fine. LET’S GO BLUE!
Oh that explains it Hillebrand was 4-10 a few years ago when he faced Lilly(they were both on the Jays last year). Why is he batting in front of Loney?
i honestly cannot believe how much u guys hate on little…. look at how many game martin has played…. he needs to rest sometime…. hillenbrand has been awsome for us thus far expect for the last game and now everyone is hating on him. this is a good lineup tonight, as is everynight we cant play the same people 162 times a year esp a catcher
Left/right/left/right, I think we’ve talked about this before and also would you want Hillenbrand/Liberthal/Pitchers spot back to back to back? Nobody would…
Hillenbrand is in there for the numbers against Lilly, there is still plenty of offense in that lineup.
I hope all is going to be well with Martin. If he goes down, the team is doomed on making the playoffs. I guess Lieberthal will be designated to work with the lefties. Stults, and Wells.
I remember the good old days when Loney and Kemp were not good enough to play daily so don’t worry LaRoche will convince them soon enough.
Plus you know, Nomar is making 10 million next year for nothing, so we wouldn’t
want to lock in our 3b guy of the future too soon.
If Kemp/Loney had to wait 100 games, so can LaRoche.
Hey I know your a chico guy and its my alum (Chico 94) but how and the **** is a .242 Batting Average and .258 OBP and a.355 slugging awesome for us or for anyone? thats garbage.
well, people on this blog are attributing laroche sitting to one error. Why? Because it makes Grady look bad, and that’s a “reason” you roll with to justify laroche sitting.
Could there be another reason for him sitting? Of course there can be..But saying Grady is “punishing” laroche for that error on that 1 single play works best to further your agenda when you’re on the Grady hate train.
In my opinion, if Grady was the type of person to take such a hard stand against a player who makes 1 error, then Martin, Kemp, Kent, Furcal and any other player would be sitting indefinately the next game and beyond.
But of course, what do i know, Grady is the worst manager in the history of baseball and he puts hillenbrand out there. It’s not like he’s had any good games for us anyways. You wouldn’t know it by reading the comments here. Instead, it seems like people are waiting for guys like hillenbrasnd and ramon to do bad, so they can jump all over them and trash them. When they do well, mouth’s are shut.
So, let’s hope hillenbrand can shut some of you guys up by giving us a good game. We need this win! 🙂
.242 avg 3 errors is not ‘awesome’ left/right/left oh yeah I forgot Laroche bats lefthanded? don’t play hillebrand/Lieberthal on the same day that’s how you fix that. Paly Abreu or HU but not Hillebrand!!!
Thank you skaizoji and alex for bringing some non-emotional arguments/reasons for tonights line up! There are reasons (Alex rattled off a few), plus it’s a solid line up. Kemp, Ethier, and Loney are in there. Shea has been fine for us (I was at the game when he hit the 2 run homer to tie it at 8 and the sac fly to win it in the 12th) and Grady saying LaRoche will see a lot of playing time doesn’t mean EVERY SINGLE DAY. We are fine. We will win tonight. We will gain on either the Padres or the DBacks.
GO DODGERS!
diehardblu, what are you talking about? Yesterday was Gonzo, Martin, Loney, LaRoche (L,R,L,R)
Today is Ethier, Hillenbrand, Loney, Lieberthal (L,R,L,R)
You could have played the switch hitting Abreu tonight, that’s certainly an option. But, Grady went with his past numbers vs. Lilly.
Oh and Casino…dead on!
wow that is two comments today from someone complaining that this community is hostile and all haters, kinda funny really. Skaizoji I will tell you the same thing we all tell other people. No body is forcing you to read this blog. If you dont like how we treat Little then you have a right to believe that and comment on it. But, its just the way things are here. There is a lot of frustration with the way Grittle handles the lineup and the veteran favor he showed to Gonzo in July/August when he was struggling. That among other issues. Im sure there were people who were pissed off when Little was signed over Orel. I personally think Orel would have made a better coach, and thats without ever seeing him manage a team.
No one knows what goes on inside Grady’s head (if anything) but I guarantee you he’s biased against young guys, you can tell from his daily quotes. Its always like, they’re inconsistent cause they’re young, they make mistakes because they’re young, etc. He doesn’t doubt their talent, but rather expects them to screw up from time to time.
Shea has been anything but awesome.
Well said Casino!
I can’t believe how harsh some of the postings on Laroche’s error on this blog.
NOBODY’S ‘PERFECT.’ Even the gold glover’s make errors. It wasn’t that costly. It was still a win. At least he tried to make up for it his next plate appearance getting a hit. Defensively at 3rd, I would take Abreu, or Laroche over Nomar, and HillenBLAND any day of the week. I hope Abreu gets some playing time in soon. Maybe Grady will put him in during the next blowout………
(L,R,L,R) is not how you should put to gether your line up.You would prefer to have a line up that is that balanced but to play weaker hitters in front of stronger hitters, even though Loney is hitting over .300 against lefties is crazy. The last time we faced a lefty you were explaining how we should load up with righties because the way the ball moves. Grittle makes horrible line ups no matter how you spin the numbers. Is he going to continue this shuffling in the playoffs?
Of course “the kids” make mistakes, but without them, we would be the Giants.
Probably worse.
The Dodgers are STAYING ALIVE I thought Russell didn’t land right on that play. I hope he’s O.K. because the team is jelling right now. Kemp might have trouble on the base paths but keeps getting on them with hits and he sure moves fast. Although they’re taking advandage of Pierre’s arm his speed is also an asset we need. That error didn’t bother LaRoche as he showed with that double. You can’t say that Little isn’t sharing the playing time. We got a chance this year and the future looks bright and long. Don’t judge Stults by the Met game, he’ll do O.K. The Phils just lost. It’s Not an impossible dream LET’S GO DODGERS STAY ALIVE.
Looks like the Cubbies switched up their lineup as well.
Okay, I think the comments on the error were all sarcastic jabs at the reasoning that Little is sitting LaRoche. I dont think anyone is really getting on LaRoche about the error.
I explained how against lefties most managers load up right handers against them. BUT we have lefties (Ethier, Loney) who can hit lefties. Some teams don’t have that luxury. I would go more into detail, but something tells me I’ll be writing the same thing again this season.
Diehardblu, just because you and some others on here THINK it’s a bad move, the results will be made on the field.
Exactly our lefties are good hitters. They shouldn’t move down for a guy that can’t hit good enough to earn a spot on the WORST hitting team in all of baseball, the pads!
BTW, Philadelphia blew an 8-2 lead in the eighth and ninth innings. We can pull into sole possession of second place and two games behind the Wild Card leader with a win tonight.
“You would prefer to have a line up that is that balanced but to play weaker hitters in front of stronger hitters, even though Loney is hitting over .300 against lefties is crazy. ”
Um, Loney is in tonight’s line up…
The Phillies bullpen blew if for them today big time! Braves had a helluva comeback win. Good for us in the wild card race.
dear shea,
lay off breaking balls i nthe dirt.
hillebrand shouldn’t be hitting in front of Loney that’s what I meant.
They weren’t moved down, they’re where they normally bat because of the (L,R,L,R). Hillenbrand is only batting 6th because Martin has the game off. A ton of teams use (L,R,L,R), it’s a proven system that works. The fact you personally don’t like it doesn’t really mean anything. The majority of managers out there use it every single game, like Grady.
Grady dosen’t want Shea to call him a derogotory name for someone who is male and likes other males. He also dosen’t want Shea to write on the team blackboard, the ship is sinking, so consider this a pre emptive move by Grady. I say good job.
Hey this type of pre-emptive move worked with Gonzo a few days ago….so who knows.
wow, mind readers!
Pinella loaded his entire lineup with righties for the lefty Stults tonight.
Saw Martin grimace and grab his leg as he went into home plate yesterday and thought to myself “Don’t be silly about sending runners and have them injure themselves at the plate.”
Hope that the ‘precautionary’ really is just that.
If you think that is the best line up the Dodgers can put out there, so be it. I think we have better personell that deserves more playing time than shea…that just me a babie that cries that little is the worst manager in baseball.
For me and others is a philisophical thing. I want youth to be fully servered if they are as good as the vets.
I think Laroche is better right now than Shea.
Just like I though Loney was better than Nomar in April and Ethier/Kemp both better than Pierre, in April.
I also thought Bills should have been starting in April instead of Tomko or Hendu.
I belive that if Kemp, Ethier, Loney, LaRoche and Bills were given their rightful spots in April and played daily in a set lineup, we would be in the playoffs for sure and be better set up for next year.
If Shea was better than LaRoche I would want Shea playing.
Now once the game actually starts I will be rooting for him to do as well if he was LaRoche or Ramon or Nomar, I don’t really care.
The best lineup for tonight? Yes this is. Martin is an exception due to obvious reasons. Hillenbrand has made some terrific plays at third base that have gone completely unacknowledged, because he’s made a few mistakes and because of the forever man love of one Andy LaRoche who by the way doesn’t look like he’ll be picking up any gold gloves in his bright future.
BTW, that in no way means I believe Shea to be better than LaRoche. But for this game, I get why Shea is in there. With that said, if LaRoche were in there tonight I certainly would not be complaining.
Both guys have small sample sizes (and one guy has never even faced Lilly) but on offense how does putting in a player with a .258 OBP beat putting in a player with a .418OBP?
Tonight, or any night? I really don’t get your logic?
mostly I don’t want Shea playing 3rd because I fall asleep watching him lob the ball over to 1st. Good thing is the cubs don’t have a lot of team speed.
I personally would rather see Laroche in the game over Shea. However, i do understand the move, and will just enjoy the game without resorting to discontent, hatred, and anger towards Grady for putting Shea in there.
If you think Gonzo, Shea, Nomar, Ramon would not start a game the rest of the season, you are surely mistaken. There’s a good change one or more of them would start more than 1 game the rest of the way. Moreover, if you think Laroche, Kemp, Ethier, Loney are going to start every game and get every at-bat the rest of the season, you’re quite mistaken again.
It should come as no shock when guy’s like Laroche, Kemp, etc. sit. But judging by the comments everytime they do, some act as if it’s the greatest shock in the world and rehash the same comments/arguments. Heck, If that’s the case, you might as well argue/complain/debate the lineup every single second and every single day and pre-emptively complain because it’s inevitable anyways. Some of you won’t be satisfied until you get what you want, without trying to understand the moves/decisions that are made by those put in charge of OUR DODGER team. I guess, it’s a shame that Frank MCcourt doesn’t give the reigns of the front office and management to insidedodger blog posters.
Game about to start.let’s go get em!
Well said.
chance*
JOSH: – Just a quick question, what has happened with the gameday feature. it used to work really well but during this series it is not working well at all.
Pierre never slowed down at all. He was thinking double all the way.
About my post yesterday–sorry, I do tend to make long posts. I’m not a journalist–worse, I’m a lawyer, so I tend to talk/write way too much. But in the chicken/egg question, I was like that before I went to law school.
I had not thought about Martin’s baserunning, because I always assume he can do anything. But people commented on his sliding, and appear to be right. Hopefully, he’s OK. He needed today or tomorrow off either way.
I agree that LaRoche should be in there, but Hillenbrand has filled in competently, defensively and offensively. I would want someone better regularly, but as a fill-in for injured players (Nomar/Andy), he’s OK. My concern is not so much that Shea is getting a start (we know Grady is going to give role-players the occassional start), but that LaRoche came out early yesterday. I can’t imagine that it was “punishment” for an error. Grady really does not do that.
Nice double Juan, let’s get him home!
I am sorry for wanting our best players to play.
The ones that are quite mistaken are Grady and Ned and our record (a game out of 4th) along with the play of the kids (Kemp, Loney, Ethier all hitting above or around .300 and Bills being our best 2nd half arm) have proved it. Your right though, no need to keep making the same point over and over again.
Let’s go blue, let’s win this one!
Man I still cringe every time they show the Dodgers are last in the league in HR’s.
i cringe everytime i see KEMP with his home-run swing at every pitch.
Hopefully failing to get pierre in won’t hurt us. We need every run we can get.
Hilly with the rag arm!
big DP!
okay so shea cant quite make accurate throws to first, but he can start DPs nicely 😛 and i know that that was a hard throw to first
yah that was a tough play and i was suprised it was that close with soriano’s speed.
Kent made an adventure out of that pop up.
Matt Kemps 14 games in the three hole.
.422/.426..672/1.098
Yeah it makes me cringe too..
I guess we have Hilly & Libby tonight. Good Luck guys.
casino… you don’t like to see Kemp bat?
Bad move on the steal attempt.
a delayed steal? Grady is joking right?
what are you doing Grady? Hillenbrand?
I don’t understand a delayed steal with a player you would use an hourglass to time.
Go figure.
I think Hildy was thinking about going and by the time his brain was able to relay the message to his feet, it appeared to be a DP. Either that or he thinks he is still in an Angel uniform and stupid aggressiveness is rewarded.
Gotta get that run back as soon as possible.
Way to go, and help yourself out Stults! Is it just me, or does Monroe look alkward & lost in CF?
Talk about blind luck!!!
That was insane blind luck, tough break Pierre deserved that RBI.
Uh oh!
I’d like the offense to score a run or two now …
We got some wood to carry up there this inning. Hope we use it on Lilly.
casino… you don’t like to see Kemp bat?
Posted by: dodgerdude17@yahoo.com | September 5, 2007 05:31 PM
of course i do…he’s hitting the ball great. It’s just his situational hitting i’m not keen about. But like everyone says, he’s young and needs to mature. I was listening to the ESPN telecast since i’m in SD at the moment, and even Orel said that Kemp should have tried to hit a grounder to bring pierre home instead of taking such a huge cut at the ball his first time up.
But like everyone else, i agree, he’s a great hitter, no doubt about it.
Grady Little!You had better listen to this man!You don’t want to win bad enough!All the fans should destroy you!How in the world do you not have Andy Laroche at third base!I have nothing against Shea,but Andy Laroche commands respect and spreads terror with the opposing team!If you can read this blog get him in now!Little,you jerk,he should start every game until the end!Got it!Good!
Too much 1st pitch swinging.
somehow, i doubt grady’s reading this blog in the dugout..maybe after the game? 😉
When I saw the lineup I didn’t like this game..So far I’m right..Let’s all pray there is nothing REALLY wrong with Russell’s knee…that would be awful for this team…
I wish we could get the ESPN telecast in LA…we get our local channel with Vinny, but I would rather listen to the ESPN guys..
and Andy should have been in the lineup…but Grady probably thought because Shea hit Lilly in the past, he would put him in…the PAST is the key word…not my fav player Shea..!!!
Com’on Bucs Stop them Cards.
yah, i’m listening to the ESPN telecast..it’s orel, steve philips, and that other guy that usually calls the weekday espn games (i forgot his name)..
A coupler pitches from Lilly in the right places could get things started.
pierreeast You don’t think the Cards will stumble into the playoffs like last year do you?
I hope I’m wrong, but we usually don’t do well the few games Lieberthal has played..LOL…but it’s true…
Just as I said that, Lieberthal gets a double…nice going
Nice 2 bagger from Libby. Outfielders are carefull of all the mud on the track out there.
With Stults it’s like having 9 hitters in the lineup.
I like the way Furcal battled there.
Nice shot RAFFY that at least gets us on the score board.
The Dodger pitchers are fairing well against Cub pitching so far.
only down 2 runs..we can do this!!!!!!!
drpdedblnd@aol.com–What???? Seriously, you would rather listen to Steve Phillips, Orel Hershiser, and “that other guy” than Vin Scully? Vin Scully!
Do you also hate mom and apple pie??? How can anything be better than Vinny. There are times when I would rather listen to Vinny than watch a game being called by someone else (though, I can usually just mute the TV).
I’m rooting for the Pirates because I don’t want the Cardinals to win any more pennants.
leekfink
just for a change I would like to listen to them…yes..
I can listen to Vinny all the time..and like him alot…just like to hear different views..
Ugly game right now..Matt has a good arm…too strong though…I think this game is a goner…I remember when Stultz was so good last year…
BAD overthrow from Kemp.
We all knew Kemp had a strong arm. Right?
hmm, throw was a tad too strong..just as tad of course.
Some of you guy’s who don’t like to listen to negative comments toward the “kids” should consider yourself lucky because ESPN isn’t holding back their comments.
wow..just showed a shot of grady in the dugout on the ESPN telecast..Grady had his hat off and he looked pist off. You could probably see the smoking coming out of his ears in that dugout shot.
As long as Kemp comes out in the plus column after each game, I’m OK with it.
So do something good next, Kemp! 😉
drpdedblnd@aol.com–you worried me there. Not that I would want those other guys, but at least you’re only talking about once in a while.
Well, I hope Proctor does well here. I have my doubts though.
STULTS was just too hittable, but what I seen of him they proberbly can use him off the bench as a left handed pinch hitter lol.
true..KEMP needs to redeem himself with his offense in this upcoming innings, along with the other dodgers. No matter what 1 run isn’t enough..we need to score!!!!
off topic.. but i can’t help but wonder what the reaction towards a gonzo or pierre overthrow would be in that very same EXACT situation. Somehow, i doubt there would be much silence about it on this blog. That’s just the way it goes i guess..double standards are acceptable 🙂
The thing is casino, Pierre and Gonzo aren’t physically able and just don’t have the arms to overthrow anybody.
Be interesting if Proctor gets us out of the inning…any bets?
Way to go Proctor…do it more!!!
Hey Little, you are nothing but a momentum killer!The pennant is on the line and like the blundering fool you are, will watch us slip to four games out!Time is running out!How in the world did you not have Andy Laroche in the line up!You are a complete idiot and you make everybody suffer because of your stupidity!You do not know how to go for the kill!You are a disgrace!
Nice job by Proctor so far.
dodgerdude..pierre and gonzo aren’t able to overthrow anybody?
You sir, are correct. But an error is an error, so lemme rephrase my inquiry to just a general error leads to an extra run for the opponent since my general point is the same.
But then again, i should keep these comments to myself, since it opens up a can of worms and all types of excuses for certain plays and players suddenly show up up, when those same very type of plays for other players (who’s names need not be mentioned) would be considered inexcusable no matter what.
That is the life of the insidedodgersdoublestandard.mlblogs.com
I just lost MLBTV MOSAIC and this game in not on extra innings tonight. Well I’m back, didn’t miss much. But it’s all I got.
good job by proctor. I hope our bullpen doesn’t get worn out with the early exit by stults..we can still win this game, but the offense has to come up big. The past couple of games, our offense has scored a bunch of runs, so let’s hope we can do it again!
It looks like PROCTOR did a good job coming in, in the 5th.
why the hatred for ze cards? They’re one of the few likeable teams other than the Dodgers and thing have gone so badly for them it’d be nice to see them do well. Plus I hate the cubs.
I think Lou did right putting Pie in CF.
Oh Oh, what do we do now work on Lilly’s pitch count? He can still screw up.
casino..
I don’t like the feel of this game so far for the Dodgers..remember we don’t have 2 of our good hitters in the lineup…Andy and Russell..and if Lilly falters, they have Marmol in the bullpen…when they’re ahead..that’s not good for us..
jspelk I don’t care for the Cards due to their past history against the Dodgers – especially the playoff history.
Proctor does well tonight.
If the Dodgers’ offense is so fragile that it can only win with the absolutely correct alignment of players in the lineup, that bodes no good.
Good thing that the offense is not quite that fragile, of course. Even though the past two games were mostly built on strings of singles with the odd double. A little more power would be good.
Come on, Kemp, transfer some power from your throwing arm to your bat 😉
oh…I like the Cards but obviously the D’s are much more my favorite. Proctor did well. Its too bad we can’t get anything going. Lily hasn’t looked particularly dominating but we haven’t been able to do much.
We got lot of help on the bench, some young help and Nomar & Gonzo might have some pop in their bats. Saenz is over due, way over due.
It’s nice that Shea has been so good against Lilly..when does it start?
We look like that tired Dodger team that couldn’t do anything…I liked the Dodger team of the last few days…
Doesn’t look like the Dodger’s night…
Stop the presses…if Lieberthal gets on, the Tomato gets to bat….LOL
Here comes Marmol….not good
Here comes the Tomato……..and Marmol. We’re toast.
It’s a bad day for NL Wild Card teams. Dodgers and Cardinals are both losing, and the Phillies completely tanked. Possibly the worst managed game I’ve ever watched…
http://www.fightingphils.mlblogs.com
Maybe we’ll find it in the Cubs bullpen tonight. Anything to get rid of this sinking feeling.
Little, we have the pennant in sight and what do you do!You did worse than nothing!You don’t know how to win and you are scared of success and happy with mediocrity!If we have any hope left, you better have Super Andy Laroche at the hot corner for the rest of the season to follow Superman Jeff Kent’s cue.Everything else will fall in place!You idiot!
I think I hate the Cardinals more than I hate the Giants, but it’s pretty close.
Stop the presses…Tomato gets a hit….and some luck…
HOLY COW! It’s about time the Tomato did something. It was a cheap run, but we’ll take it.
Raffy needs to come through for a change
I knew OLMEDO the killer tomato was over due I even knew he would make it to 2nd.
as usual Raffy doesn’t come through.
I think they will do better against Howry, and Dempster than Marmol. I hope so. I hope Rudy holds them in check here.
GO DODGERS!
This is about all we could ask for, a change of pitchers, maybe one of them will have a bad night and we could roll. I just hope it ain’t one of ours, Com’on Rudy.
We’re not out of this game yet.
we’re in troble if Russ is out for a long time.
dodgerdude.
I couldn’t agree more…Pray that Russell’s knee isn’t bad..
Beimel coming in…He hasn’t been good lately.
Not bad Rudy. Com’on Beimel.
I just hope Beimel throws strikes, and isn’t wild.
Whew..out of that…Can we score please!!!!!
Nice jog handcuffing Kendall there. Now I hope they Hammer Howry!!
Glad to see Beimel end that inning. He’s had his troubles lately, but he looked like his realiable self there.
Pierre…too many pop ups
nice hit 20 push ups hayes!!!!
even better…hit the bottom of the order.
Casinod–I admit that there is definitely a double-standard with respect to the mistakes that the old guys make and the mistakes that the kids make. I personally don’t harp on the older guys, but what’s wrong with a double standard? If Matt Kemp is still making baserunning mistakes and airmailing his throws from right field after he turns, oh, let’s say 25 in three years, people might be upset with him. Also, if he were hitting .245 rather than .345, people might be upset. But given that we know he is a gamble, and he is still the best hitter on the team, with tremendous upside potential, people will cut him more slack than veterans who are not supposed to make those mistakes, and who are not living up to their career production.
Take Jeff Kent–Kent’s an old guy, but he’s having another solid year and gets very little grief around here.
Without Russell we just don’t look like the same team…
Kent made a battle out of it at least. Let’s see how Meloan does.
Here comes Meloan….let’s hope he does well
Kemp looked safe, man he’s fast and ya can’t hit ’em harder then Kent hit that last pitch. Well one more chance. Come on Meloan hold them if you can.
Martin’s the key to the whole team. He’s the MVP. If he’s out, we’re done. We can still pull this game out without him, but not the season.
Nice throw from Libby!
leekfink.
Totally agree….the team is flat without Russell…We look like the team that wasn’t winning tonight…Let’s hope we can beat Marquis tomorrow to at least take 3 of 4…Lowe should be ready tomorrow..He likes the big games at the end of the season..
Here comes Hendy….pray
I don’t like the hush hush about Martin’s MRI.
Grady with the hook. Haven’t seen Hendy in a while. I hope he shuts them down.
Meloan, maybe nervousness, but that’s 6 walks counting the last inning he pitched. It would be great if none of them scored.
leekfeek,
i didn’t say there was anything wrong with double standards. It is what it is, especially on this BLOG and the favorites certain people play on this squad certainly are indicative of that.
I’m not saying that these views/opinions/standards should change. Afterall, everyone has their own opinion on things and they treat certain players the way they want to. Being objective is a tough thing when you have such high feelings towards certain players and downright negative feelings towards others.
Like i said, i didn’t want to open up a can of worms, because my observations don’t really change a thing, and you’re view on certain players won’t change no matter what.
In sum, I just found it curious that the reaction by certain posters on this blog are remarkably different depending on the player. In fact, the division is clear and it is what it is.
Just an example, of many that i’ve observed..The pierre error he made last week in SD where he didn’t see the ball was talked about after the game and even the day after even though we won the game. This overthrow error where Kemp failed to even hit the cut-off man will probably not even be mentioned since it’s “okay for him to make mistakes.”
Like i said, it is what it is. And if we end up losing this game, Grady will probably be trashed because he didn’t put laroche in the lineup over shea. I don’t recall however, anyone praising Grady for the past 2 wins v. the Cubs when he had Gonzo in there over kemp/ethier when there were countless “grady is an idiot” comments prior to the game, and the dead silence about the “horrible lineup” after the 2 wins.
Me too, I’m thinking more about Martin then this game.
Good job Grady…when they changed batters, why did he leave Hendy **********
ndeschenes – breathe, man.
In general, Russell is taking the day off on an injury scare. Andy has some back issues. If they played today and had to go on the DL, or aggravated injuries and tailed off in performance when trying to play through pain, would that help the team? Probably not.
Glad I’m not a MLB manager – you just can’t please the crowd 😛
Today is a game we lost – it will happen. News flash: you can’t win every game.
Just gotta come out tomorrow and play hard and see what happens.
It’s not our night……
Casino
That flyball Pierre missed on Friday cost us the game. We lost 2 games in the standings that’s why it was so huge. get your facts straight.
We were playing so well…and tonight we stink
Game over.
Great job Hendy….thanks
Grady coming to get Hendy…too late as always
bringing gas to the fire with blowberto!!!
HENRDY last pitch 9/1
I hate when we play this way when ESPN is watching…they didn’t see us play well….don’t like it!!!!
diehard, you’re correct, we did lose that game, i was thinking about another error that he made earlier in the year..sorry for offending you and you’re sense of rightness
Blowberto! This could go from bad to worse.
wasn’t that the whole base of your post?
Ugly gets uglier
Love Blowberto…what a joke
jjriley
it already did
Well I guess the roof is caving in now, but it’s just one loss.
no it wasnt, it was merely an example.
if you read it correctly, it says “Just an example, of many that i’ve observed..”
get your facts straight or scroll up and read it.
since it was the “only” example you posted I figured that was your backbone.
Blowberto blows it again
yeah, it was 4-2 not so long ago…are brox and sammy out of commission tonight?
It’s amazing to me that Hernandez is still on this team…ridiculous
I’ll take Hull over Blowberto why is that guy in the game?
It was us Mon & Tues, Tonight it’s the Cubs.
jspelk
They won’t pitch tonight…no reason to…we already lost
About Russell–here’s the thing–MRI results take a while. I don’t think they’re being hush-hush, they just don’t know yet. I hope.
Casinod–You’re right that all of this will get shaded. And, except for on outburst, I’ve actually been pretty supportive of Ned and Grady. But are you really supposed to give credit to Grady for the win because he started Gonzo over Ethier in a game where Brad Penny went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs and Matt Kemps had 3 singles and a triple? That’s a game you’re supposed to win.
If the Dodgers come back and win the division, there will be some people still calling for his head, but a lot of people will give him credit.
I think that’s the fundamental issue–success breeds credit and forgiveness. The better you are, the more your mistakes will be overlooked.
We have to take 3 of 4 against the Cubs and then sweep the Giants over the weekend.
diehard..well i guess you just misunderstood the “..of many that i’ve observed..” part of my statement.
I thought that made it clear that that was not the ONLY example i’ve observed, but anyways..
obviously, i meant were they available tonight before the wheels came off lol.
wow, the bad news bears are playing at wrigley…weeeeeeee.
Little, if I was the owner I would have already fired you!
Im glad i decided to watch the US Open instead of this garbage.
I still don’t understand why we didn’t keep Tomko in the bullpen instead of Blowberto?..We still have to pay him, and he is better at one or two innings most…much better than Blowberto….now the Pads have him…don’t care about that but I sure would rather have him than this silly Blowberto who just hit a man and has given up way too many runs already this inning…A JOKE
exit
Forgot about the Open..darn..
wanted to see the Roddick/ Federer match….
He might as well let BERT finish this up.
All I said was you posted one example being critical of people here and it was incorrect. I don’t understand a lot of grady’s moves, where else am I going to go with my concerns? I hate to see our talented squad not reach its potential because of our bad coaching all the way around. from grady to Donnely.
yeah the Roddick/Federer match has been very good so far.
exit music
thanks for reminding me..going to watch the match now…Dodgers too painful tonight
Any bets on how high Blowberto’s ERA will be at seasons end?!! lol I’m thinking he’ll be lucky if it’s under 10…..
thanks max power!!! Save me some misery.
I hope they at least pinch hit for Hillenbland here. Let one of the kids have a whack at it.
leekfink…
i didnt mean to suggest that Grady should be given credit for that win. We all know managers don’t win games, they can only lose them right? 😉
but my post was meant to show that there is a general consistent atmosphere that arises where grady is ridiculed, trashed, and bashed to death for his “wrong moves”, but when those very same wrong moves are made and are successful, instead of acknowledging that it was a good move, an okay move, or even a lucky move, it’s just silence.Radio silence if you will until the next “wrong move” is made that backfires and all of a sudden the hate starts up again. Like creatures of the night in the woods that only show their face when they feel it furthers their agenda.
Sometimes, i get the feeling that some are waiting for bad things to happen, for grady’s moves to backfire, for certain players to have bad at-bats, or certain pitchers to fail. I know this isn’t true of course, since we’re all “dodger fans”, but, if you didn’t know any better from reading this one blog, you would think that is the case.
But like i said, it is what it is, and my personal opinion of what i observe won’t change and thus, i’d rather just enjoy the Dodgers, the rest of the season (hopefully including the offseason), and the specific comments that I feel are fruitful and interesting for me to read while ignoring the other needless comments like i’ve always have.
ANd if my comments are needless to some, then so be it, but this is a free blog, and i post what i want to post, and i read what i want to read. Most times, i’m afraid that some people are afraid to voice their opinion on certain things for a fear of being ridiculed about it, or challenged consistenly on an issue that is a matter of personal opinion. That is the general feeling I get from emails I received from posting on this blog and invitations to other places to post (along with all the wonderful UK lottery winner type emails i receive as well).
GO BLUE!!!!
That ball that Hillenbrand picked up was going foul (or at least could have). That’s a play that a ‘veteran’ should know to at least wait on.
A loss here is not as big a deal as if MARTIN doesn’t come back, right away, TOMORROW, it could be the season. At least it will be very hard.
All I said was you posted one example being critical of people here and it was incorrect. I don’t understand a lot of grady’s moves, where else am I going to go with my concerns? I hate to see our talented squad not reach its potential because of our bad coaching all the way around. from grady to Donnely.
Posted by: diehardblu@yahoo.com | September 5, 2007 08:17 PM
where else are you going to go with your concerns?
Well, you can always voice it here on insidedodgers like you always have. My posts above aren’t meant to tell anyone to shut up, or to stop posting what they want to post, their opinion, or what’s on their mind.
I mentioned specifically that i was just posting about what i’ve observed over my time here on this blog, and my opinions about certain things. That is all, nothing more. Like i said earlier, it’s off-topic, and not really Dodger related to on-field matters, so let’s just leave it at that since i’m not saying that Pierre’s error that day was “okay”, “acceptable” or “meaningless” just like i’m not saying Kemp’s error was bad. I was just posting about my observations to the way people react to such plays on the rare occasions when they do occur. That’s all.
OK understood I didn’t take it as you telling me not to post I just think grittl hurts us more then he helps.
glad to see Hillebrand get that meaningfull at bat in the 9th?
Can’t we all just get along? LOL
well, tough loss, we let it get out of reach at the end.
However, winning 3 out of 4 at wrigley is not too bad, so let’s try win the series with a win tommorow. 1 game at a time, 1 game at a time!
YA CAN’T WIN THEM ALL be back here tomorrow afternoon, tomorrow morning for some of you. Derek Lowe better bring his low balls with him and the team better bring there hitting bats and most of all they better bring back Russrll Martin.
Little you will never,never,never,never,never,never,never,never,never,never win anything!You are nothing bt a big loser!
Hey griffon 64,you know nothing!
I sure hope Lowe has his ‘A’ game tomorrow. It would be awesome to take 3 of 4, then on to the *** Bay and whip up on the Gnats. It all depends on Martins status. I hope he’s ok. He’s the heart & soul of this team. Without him, there is NO chance on making ther playoffs.
Wow! The snakes beat up on Peavy tonight! 8 earned runs.
If we pull out another win tomorrow and we better, I’m sure we will if Lowe stops giving up those homeruns, our record, after 140 games will be 74-66, exactly what it was last year. I didn’t note what place we were in last year, but I will this year.
Casinod–I understand your point now. No doubt, the board is more quiet when we win. I don’t view that as negative though. When we win, I think people are happy–even with moves by Grady they don’t agree with–and are more likely to go out and do whatever they do. When we lose, we become depressed, and this becomes a place to vent. There are a number of positive posters, though, and that’s appreciated.
Speaking of positive posters, pierreseastmeetswest makes a pretty good point. I did not realize that a win tomorrow would give us the same record as last year. Unfortunately, the division is tougher this year, because we were in first place (by a 1/2 game), and a win tomorrow would put us 2.5 games behind. But it’s not bad if we can get there. Win tomorrow, sweep the Giants, and we will control our own destiny.
leek..
thanks for understanding my point..it just was a suprise to me when i first started visiting this blog on a consistent basis to find the style of posts and comments that were here.
I can specifically recall discussions in July, around the trade deadline and how people would try to talk about specific moves/deals/trades that may be made, rumors if you will, and instead of discussing those, people would somehow sidetrack it into a negative discussion about certain players/situations, when quite frankly, it wasn’t even relevant, but somehow, it was twisted and spun into being relevant, and that is when i realized the “style” of posts that certain posters posted, and got used to it.
That’s all in the past, and i have adapted my perspective so that i could enjoy the comments section of this blog again. Unfortunately, some of chosen to leave and stop posting because of it, and find alternative places to share dodger related discussions, and that’s too bad.
With that said, we truly do control our own destiny. After this series with the Cubs, we play exclusively within our division the rest of the season. With us chasing AZ and SD, if we take care of business, we can win the division or the wild card. We just need to win, bottom line!
let’s do it!
of=have*
“The fact that we’ve won so many tight games is a testament to how he’s used our roster,” Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes said of Melvin. “He’s pushed a lot of the right buttons.”
NOTICE: The GM was complementing the manager for his use of the roster. Little makes the decisions of who he wants to play.
Rotation question.
I guess it’s easy for me to sit here and play Nintendo baseball, but I really must question Grady on his readjustment of the rotation. Granted, I have no idea regarding the pitcher’s physical ailments, but wouldn’t it make sense to keep Loiza on track and start him Sunday versus the Giants, push Penny back to Tuesday(giving him extra rest which I’m sure any pitcher with 180ip can use) and then Penny will be able to start game one versus the Padres and the final game versus the Dbacks? Wouldn’t it make more sense to have your ace pitch two games in arguably the 2 most important series of the year, instead of a pitcher who has made 3 starts all year? Call me crazy, but seems like I’d want my best pitcher going in the biggest series.
The Dodgers are satisfied with being mediocre. With Grittle as manager and Ned as GM how many playoff games have we won in the 2 years under them? It’s true this season isn’t over yet , but with these two running this club I’m sure they won’t make it. ( I hope I’m wrong) The problem as I see it is that the Yankees consider it a failure of a season if they don’t get to the World Series , where the Ds think it’s a success to just make the playoffs. That’s why the Dodgers will continue to be mediocre. They have to think differently.
The only way we’ll ratchet up expectations and the team performance will be through the owner’s insistance that the performance match the dollars invested in this club and through change in management that will use that investment more effectively. Both Colletti and Little have been a disaster in that respect. If McCourt wants to wait another year or two for a repeat performance by a mediocre club with mediocre results, that’s his privilege. I would cut both off at the knees as soon as possible and turn a new page for our Dodgers.
I agree with you totally bear