Day game
Russell’s back in the lineup today…day off for Jeff Kent.
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Kemp, RF
Gonzo, LF
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
LaRoche, 3B
Abreu, 2B
Lowe, P
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Inside the Dodgers 
No Ethier but I’m excited to see productive hitters at the bottom of our line-up. We gotta bounce back and take 3 of 4 from the lovable losers.
GO GET EM BOYS
This has got to be a misprint! Gonzo can’t seriously be hitting 4th. Atleast LaRoach and Martin are back in there.
I don’t mind the lineup today.
Lowe may go no-no today. Let’s roll!!
We got some love from a Sportsline writer that bashed us earlier this year. He says that we have the best shot at pulling off a Cardinals of ’06 performance (in the sense that we are under the radar and can make some noise if we qualify for the postseason). He also called out Grady for taking too long to inject the youth into our line-up.
Here’s what he said:
Mostly it’s about the pitching. Not that anyone’s noticed, what with all the excitement over Joba Chamberlain and his best-in-the-history-of-humankind slider, but Chad Billingsley has developed into something akin to an ace over the past few months. His emergence gives the Dodgers a starting trio unmatched in the NL, and the back-of-the-pen Broxton/Saito pairing makes them tough from the seventh inning onwards.
So yeah, I l-u-v luv luv luv the Dodgers when Billingsley, Brad Penny or Derek Lowe are on the hill. And whether they were prompted by injury to do so, the team has finally started to include Matt Kemp, James Loney and Andy LaRoche in the starting lineup most days. If the team doesn’t make the postseason, whoever insisted on giving 400 at-bats earlier in the year to Nomar Garciaparra will have some ‘splainin to do.
Nice lineup for now.
Anyone else a little confused with the pitching choices in last night’s 8th inning during a 4-2 still winnable game?
gonzo clean up? Not only do I have to see old *** gonzo in the line up, he’s batting clean up! what Martin,Loney, Laroche can’t do a better job batting clean up. I can’t wait to read all the excuses of why we have a 40 year old has been batting clean up?
Whoever that Sportsline writer is needs to be promoted…well said.
Scott that didn’t make any sense to me either.
diehard today’s line-up would be perfect with Ethier in Gonzo’s place.
right charris
I’m giving up on complaining about Gonzo. We know he’s going to play, so I just bite my tongue and hope he helps the team when he’s in there. I feel bad for the guy that sits when Gonzo’s in, but oh well.
Good to see Martin is ok.
Does Kent really need a day off, today? He can rest in a month when our season is over. It’s frustrating that with such a big game we have to rest our clean up hitter.
check this link out..
MLB ERA Leaders, age 25 and under, minimum 80 innings pitched:
1) Chad Billingsley (age 23), 3.30
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching?amp;sort=ERA&split=0&league=mlb&season=2007&seasonType=2&type=reg&ageMin=17&ageMax=25&hand=a&pos=all&minip=80
Russ is a GAMER!
ATTA BOY!
Obviously Gonzo has to be in the middle in order to stabilize the otherwise “too young and inexeperienced” group in the lineup today. That’s just Grady’s method, and nobody will dissuade him. After all, it might seem “disrespectful” to put Gonzo in sixth or seventh place in the order. He, of course, also made sure that Nomar got his 400 AB’s earlier in the season, as an article described above cooments, and that was largely a waste, since Loney and Kemp both should have played a major role in that early season. If they had, we might not have to fight this uphill battle to get into the playoffs.
good article jungar, it seems that the press is beginning to take notice of just how good Billingsley really is.
Gonzo batting 4th is ridiculous. We lose so much speed and defense with him out there. Why not play Ethier and bat him third or have Martin bat third? Hopefully it all works out. Go Blue!
Breakout game for Abreu today!!!!
Kent is a proven big run hitter against Marquis. 8 for nineteen.
Kent can rest after the season. Not today!
Good to see Abreu back in there. He’s a fun player to watch when he’s in a groove…let’s hope he feels the groove today.
I’d rather watch Tony then Bobby any day of the week. Hopefully he’ll get more of a chance next season. Is there any room for him?
http://www.fightingphils.mlblogs.com
Ah…. nothing like a 40 year old batting cleanup in a crucial game. But what can you do.
Not a bad lineup. I’d play Young or Eithier over Gonzo or Pierre though.
Ah…. nothing like a 40 year old batting cleanup in a crucial game. But what can you do.
—
Wish that we were playing our other 40 year old clean up hitter apparently.
LET’S TAKE THE SERIES BOYS IN BLUE!
hey Kent’s only 39, that doesn’t count.
As much as I love Russell being in the lineup, I hope they know what they’re doing with his knee being sprained..Can you imagine squatting all day with a sprained knee?…But we don’t win without him….He is tough.
And why is Hernandez still on this team….
Side note…Noticed the Pads put Bomko in in the 7th inning last night…got 2 outs and gave up a home run.!!!
If the Dodgers can’t hit Marquis…I give up!!!!…let’s not make him look like another Cy Young..
Go Blue
Thats really why we are where we are isn’t it. For all the other griping we simply didnt have the consistent quality 3-4-5 hitters and we missed 2/5ths of our starting rotation. Were begging for a 39 year old guy with 17 homeruns to be in there, cause he is our biggest threat, which is a problem.
Let’s go Dodgers! Let’s go D.Lowe! Get us a win! Please!!!!
I have the MLB audio for work but… with the new security, I can’t listen to it. Hate that. I can work and listen to the game just fine. Instead, I will have to check here or another game thread for updates. -crzblue
It goes without saying, but it must be said. the best news is that Martin is playing. That tumble he took trying to score was very, very scary. He’s a gamer and I don’t fault hostling, but it would have been worst to lose him on play like that while we had the lead and I don’t think he should have chanced it on such a short fly ball. It would have been hard not having Kent in the lineup without Russell too. Too much power to lose. Well I hope he’s not hurting and everybody’s happy he’s playing. I see where ex-Dodger Paul Shuey was released by the Orioles. Bert Hernandez has appeared in 1,006 games, 10th most in history. It looks like it’s the Dodger home record that killing us, not as good as the others. As far as last night’s game, Eric Shults looks like a good left handed pinch hitter, Does he play other positions? Of course, we got enough right now. Turning the page, I hope Lowe can keep it low, today and Blue Crew can get something started against Jason Marquis.COM’ON YA BUMS KEEP ON TRUCKIN’
Sorry some more errors Hustling & Stults I always preview but I always miss important ones.
jkeezell@verizon.net–from your posting last nihgt on the rotation, I was thinking the same thing that it would make sense for Penny to get the extra day of rest and then start against both San Diego and Arizona. But, there are 2 problems–it’s 2 extra days of rest (with Monday off). The other thing that it does is gives him a better chance of starting on the last day of the season, if necessary. If Grady keeps him going on 4 days rest (game or no game), he’ll pitch on the last day of the season on four days rest. If he went Tuesday against the Padres, he would line up to go on the last day of the season on only three days rest.
Also, I had forgotten about the day/night twin bill in Colorado on the 18th. I am not sure exactly how, but I am sure that it impacts the rotation.
Nice to see Russ back in there today. I thought he would get an extra day’s rest, but it seems he won’t have it.
Putting aside the debate about whether Gonzo or Ethier should be playing, when Kent sits, who should we have hit fourth? We don’t really have a true 4 hitter (even Kent is more like a 5 hitter, espescially at this stage in his career). Kemp might have the most power, but he seems to also be the most natural for the 3-hole.
I like the lineup today… like I’ve said before, Gonzo is not that much worse than Ethier so I am ok with him getting a start here and there, especially lately because Gonzo’s been having decent games. Only time I get mad about Gonzo starting over Ethier is when Ethier is clearly on fire. Of course I’d like to see Pierre sit a lot more, but I don’t feel like a beating a dead horse with that argument again. Anyway, we need this one today so lets go get it… Is Grady suddenly obsessed with the whole L R L R L R construction of the lineup?
yesterday is a throw away game to begin with!
not much to show for offensively with shea in the 6th spot!
and alot of mistakes on the defense!
but today is another game!
and im pretty confident with this lineup!
nice to see Abreu again!
Go DODGERS!!!
Let’s hope Lowe is “on” today and the hitters put something together early.
one more thing i would liketo point out!!!
grady should just take Furcal out of the game!!!
let’s just help his ankle and rest him if it still hurts!
Furcal is the JP in the 2nd half! not getting on base! too aggressive hitting!!!
play HU!!!
we are not losing anything here!! Furcal not contributing!
making errors!
ankle is not 100%!!!
HU?
yeah! HU!? LOL
van, Furcal has to lay off the first pitch. He’s swinging at it all the time, but he’s trying to kill the ball instead of just putting on the ground. How about a push bunt to 2nd base to start of the game??
that’s the thing!!!
he is frustrated with himself!
and he is trying to do too much now!!!
he is a veteran!
he is not doing his thing rayt now!!!
as the leadoff man he needs to get on base!!
I know that this goes against alot of what I’ve said before, but maybe Pierre back in the leadoff spot is not a bad thing right now. Furcal will have to take a few more pitches to allow Pierre running room and that may allow him to see better pitches, definitely more fastballs.
Agree with kiper04. Furcal to the 2-hole and he’ll see more fastballs as long as Pierre gets on base.
I really would love Pierre to bat lead off for the rest of the season. I think it would make more sense for Furcal to bat 2nd since we didn’t pay Pierre for his power and driving in runs and Furcal could do much better.
I hope this lineup works. I can’t see putting Gonzo in the cleanup spot. I would put Martin there. I like Abreu in the lineup though. I guess they want Jeff well rested going into the ‘*** Bay’ to beat up on his old team.
GO DODGERS!!
What’s bad Scoot is that people are complaining about someone with a 1 yrs deal and won’t be back next season. I don’t mind Gonzo playing and platooning.
Opps I mean Scott.
Did we have a problem with Martin batting in the clean up spot before? I wouldn’t mind seeing Martin there again.
Speaking of Pierre & Furcal I got an idea I know there is some fault in it, but I’d just like to add my 3 cents. Why not split them up. Let Furcal continue to lead off but Let Pierre bat somewhere in the middle of the line up but NOT 7th ofcourse. The lineup will seem broken up with 2 speedsters. Almost like 2 mini lineups. Oh well I’m new at this.
Well, Pierre was actually moved down in the line up already this season and it didn’t work. The problem with that is you can’t put Pierre in the 5th or 6th spot because those are RBI positions.. If you don’t want him in the 7 hole than the only place left is the 8 hole and in that case you’re either giving away back to back outs with the pitcher, or if there’s runners on base, you walk Pierre and pitch the pitcher. So it’s not a good idea.
Is it raining in Chicago?..Why isn’t the game on?
Wow since the all star break Henderickson’s era is 7.97
The league is hitting .344 off him. 53 hits and 31 runs in 35 innings. I guess he hasn’t been seeing his shrink.
It ends up almost the same if he bats 7th after he steals, they walk the 8th hitter. Now I know why they tried it the last time, they were proberbly looking for a broken lineup. JUST A THOUGHT.
Lowe vs. Marquis. We need this win.
Great start Dodgers…we need runs in the 1st for a change..
Does anyone even remember when we hit our last HR?
With the wind blowing out to left, I hope the Boys in Blue tee off on a couple, and hit em out on Waveland Avenue!!!
I would like to get back to that BROKEN LINEUP again, maybe with** Furcal batting 5th** after the game.
at least Gonzo won’t hit into a DP!
The second I post that, Soriano hits one out!!!!!!
Jungar, it’s much easier to remember the HR’s against us – like one two minutes ago.
I think LaRoche is going deep today. I have a good record of predicting HR’s.
Not a good start!!
NIIICE! Welcome back Russ! We missed you last night.
Lowe does not have much going so far. It’s early, but he needs to right the ship here with 2 outs..
A series draw here would pretty much put pay to the season, barring a sudden sweep of the series with the Diamondbacks and Padres.
I hope he settles down, and finds the strike zone…..soon.
Waiting on LOWE’S low pitch****What else????
Thought Lowe was a big game pitcher…When does it start?
hopefully he settles in, looks like Penny from the other night, after the first rough inning, he settled right in. Let’s hope.
Let’s hope is right…but let’s hope our hitters don’t continue to make Marquis look better than he is…so far not so good.
I guess we have to wait until next inning…It’s amazing that for 2 games we looked great…now it seems we’re back to our “old” not so good selves…We better win this game or it could be over..We can’t expect to sweep the D’s and the P’s…
pretty cool little tidbit, the lineup we have out there today avg. age of the 8 starters is 26.75 yrs.old, with ethier is 24.75 yrs.old.
We cant really fault Lowe for the homerun. The pitch was down, Soriano just did a good job of golfing it into left field. He looks like his normal self again, a couple ground outs. We’re only down 1-0 we get a couple clutch hits and we’ll be tied.
fezzik
I hope we can hit…so far we don’t look good at the plate.
too bad for Tony…well hit but an out.
Who mentioned that no-no before? Dodgers look like they’re in a hurry to get to SF. COM’ON GUYS.
well thats the trick. lowe *should* be able to keep us close, but he kinda dropped the ball against the pods this weekend. He didnt get much run support last time out, hopefully we can turn that around for him this time. We just got through the lineup, so everyone has seen him, lets hope we can get the ball out of the infield on the ground.
Our hitters are using ten pitches an inning and getting no-no’d through three by a pitcher with a plus 4.00 ERA. Really guys.
I guess everybody will blame Gonzalez again, but this lineup is stacked with the youth. One guy in the lineup doesn’t mean no score.
fezzik If I remember right, the last Soriano HR was in the same part of the strike zone – low, and inside. It’s like he’s got a 9 iron golfing them out like that. Amazing!
Griffon youre absolutely right, but it was noted a couple weeks ago that the offense hasnt performed too well when Gonzo is in the lineup, then again, he was in the lineup in the route the other night. Lets just be patient and we’ll figure Marquis out. Lowe is looking very good now, two strikeouts this inning…. so far.
Marquis has a career ERA against us at 2.20. He have always giving us a bad time.
The career ERA thing can be misleading because a team’s composition changes from year to year. I want a stat that gives me his career ERA against the members of this specific lineup. “The Dodgers” is a pretty diverse entity that includes that awful team from 2005 😉 This lineup of youth probably haven’t faced him too often.
The 3rd was more Lowelike with his sinker coming back. ****We have to show some disaplin at the plate.
Furcal has been a terrible lead off hitter most of the year…Why is he still leading off?
So true but not too much since he was with the Cardinals last year.
So far making Marquis looking like Cy Young…hate when this happens.
no discipline as hitters today…no way to get to the playoffs.
No Hitter… there i jinxed it… get a freakin hit!
wow, what an inspiring effort so far.
yarrum
kind of pathetic…
It’s the same old story, they got to give Marquis a chance to screw up. They should start taking some strikes.
Marquis always been a Cy against us 2-1 record 2.20 ERA, 1.02 and 217 baa so get over the CY c rap.
Marquis has needed a ******** 36 pitches to get through 4 innings. 9 pitches an inning average, pathetic.
4 walks by DLowe
D Lowe….another pitcher that was better before the break…
Lowe grrrrr @ 2 outs walk.
I smell the no hitter going to be broke in this inning.
The sound of Vin Scully’s voice makes you think “all’s right in heaven”*****but what about on earth?
I feel myself wanting to spout about how Grady is a bad, passionless manager and that’s why the team is playing so badly, especially after reading an article on the Diamondbacks where their manager are praised for using his players in such a way that the Diamondbacks have pulled out a lot of close games, which created the disparity between their runs scored and runs allowed and record.
But I won’t, since that will be a knee-jerk reaction to the awful way the lineup is handling this game 😉
I wish I could let go of the idea that “maybe” the team can make the playoffs. Reality is, they won’t.
*le sigh*
nice LONEY!!!!
wohooooooooooo!!!!
N O W L O N E Y
Ah Loney, youth will be served!
Loenyyyyyyyyyyyyyy I knew it
L O N E Y ! ! !
YESSSS! Way to go James! Show the rest of the team this guy is a chump.
oops mean Loneyyyyyyyy
Hey oakland! You smelled right!! lol
LaRoche almost hit that one out!
Gonzalez used 5 pitches, Martin 5, Loney 3, and LaRoche 8. Finally some pitches used.
That’s was 21 pitches that inning.
I can’t wait to see La Roche look like I’ve read about him with LV.
but now Lowe gives up a double…
If management had started the season with Loney at first base, he would be very close to leading this team in HR’s. Sort of dispells the idea that he doesn’t have power, but Nomar somehow did.
messagebear
right again…Loney is a fixture now at 1st….end of discussion…Love him..
Lowe is back in the groove. Now, somebody else needs to come through with the big hit.
Dodgerdude, did jinx him so give him the credit first.
Very good to shut them down after we tied it. Derek is still struggling but it’s starting to look more like his type of game. All we need is some offense( isn’t it almost always?)
Way to go young guys…Tony..nice
Let get Abreu in.
what is it with Raffy?..He can’t hit anymore..terrible at bats he’s having…be more patient.!!!
Opportunity lost there.
I think Furcal is really a disappointment this season, and he just should be moved way down and out of the leadoff spot.
nice to see we’re working the count. ugh. jeez. i understand kent not playing since he’s ancient, but if he has good numbers against marquis we need him.
Furcal is not contributing…
just let him rest!
we have Hu there…
we are not losing anything if Furcal sits!
i have nothing against Furcal but he is just not contributing…
and now Marmol could be coming in next inning…wish we had taken our chances when we had them with Marquis.
Great hitting Gonzo…thanks
Loney 🙂
on a sprained knee our hero scores on Loney’s hit..way to go Russell…love him too
Da hustle of russel!!! Nice job kids
L O N E Y ****AGAIN. 2-1, Great clutch hit.
No more Nomar! Loney is the real deal!
Van you hate Furcal. Admit it.
just kidding..
Nice one Loney.
Bear, don’t say it we know. Everyone knows.
Come on LaRuche you got to hit your 1st mlb homerun.
YOUTH!
Andy not swinging at good pitches..
If we can have this team in 2 years and acquire another arm, we will be set for a 4-5 year stretch of dominating the NL. Great job by the farm system.
had to tun off my speakers, I didnt want to listen to a tone deaf ***** make a fool of himself. I’d rather have Vinny doing it.
Logan White knows how to evaluate talent.
Omg they must fear Abreu.
gonzo is a waste of a roster spot he comtributes nothing and complains about playing time.
I’m not watching the game but did Lowe bat? You guys wouldn’t pinch hit to try to gives us some breathing room.
I don’t even want to think of Martin health, just ignore it.
I think SF would be a good time to rest raffy and allow Hu to come in and get some PT. But what do i know, Grady is not going to do it, and Martinez is #2 on the depth chart anyways.
I hope Lowe can hold it long enough to get to JB and Saito.
Go Lowe one more inning you can do it.
diehard, they had lowe bat, and I was kinda surprised by it too. But the way he’s pitching and the beating the bullpen took last night, they could use a rest and give Broxton the ball in the eighth to shut em down.
Pray….please don’t give up the lead Lowe..pleassseee
Beimel did the job last night plus I’ll be suprised if Lowe makes it out of the inning. Grady never takes a vantage of a pinch hitter. We had Marquis on the ropes make the cubs wate a pitcher, don’t just give them an out when Marquis was batting second the next inning.
Oh Oh was afraid about that one.
double sigh
bring in Brox he is fresh he can go two!!!
Of course we should have pinch hit for Lowe..get an extra run…what kind of manager is he??
Come on Big Boy! Do your thing!
Lot of pithes for LOWE today. he struggled early. COM’ON BROX.
Nice managing Grittle.
I guess Lowe letting the first two guys on answers my question. Little is sloooow.
not pinch hitting for lowe seems stupid in hindsight.lowe’s pitch count was fairly high and brox and sammy were rested.
Didn’t really get anything at all out of letting Lowe bat for himself. It’s a gamble, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Now Broxton gotta show he’s got closer of the future fortitude.
classic Grady.
1st and 2nd and a plethora of pinch hiters available and you let the pitcher bat?
cross your fingers people
ugh…………..
Oopsie, game over.
when does letting your pitcher bat with two guys on in the 7th of a 1 run ball game work? especially when the guy was pushing 90 pitches!!
stupid grady!!!
Brox tried his best!
but grady just ****!
he always put pressure on big John!!
When are they gonna learn not to pitch him low, and inside!*****!
Man I really don’t like Grady!
He is simply NOT giving our team the best shot to win.
TERRIBLE!
I think he set Sori up with all that breaking stuff.
GRADY’S FAULT!!!!!!!!!! You can’t blame Brox he should’ve started the inning!!!!
Oh ****
Grady makes the BIG mistake and we pay for it…What does that man think in his mind…? leaving Lowe in and not pinch hitting…and Broxton is better coming in with no one on base…
and now he takes him out for beimel. please retire grady.
**** JB! Who doesn’t know by know that Soriano is a low ball hitter and you can’t blow it by him?
Grady just killed our season right there.
sure could have used those insurance runs that Lowe gave up. What a complete retard we have on the bench managing this team. He doesnt deserve to get the credit if we make the playoffs.
Sorry guys I have to disagree with you on that one. JB has to do a better job of not falling behind in the count. You have to preform everytime your number is called and he didn’t today.
agree manny and fezzik..
Grady is the worst manager in the league….thanks for the season Grady…now go ride your motorcycle.
Lowe had pitched well the previous innings and was OK on the pitch count. There isn’t anybody very reliable in the pen to pitch the 7th anyways. Broxton is a big leaguer. He can’t always expect to enter the game in the 8th with nobody on. Both failed to do their job.
**** it!
what kind of manager is he?
he makes bad decisions over bad decisions!
i hate him!!!
yesterday is a throw away game! first of all becoz of the F*cking lineup!
now another mistake by giving his struggling pitcher another inning!
stupid stupid stupid!!!
Stick to cruising down the 101 Grady!
cameronwalden24,
i agree, JB should have made the pitches he could make and get soriano out in that situation. That’s his job, and when he’s called on to do it, he needs to get the job done just like any other player out in the field. Normally, he’s done a fantastic job of getting tough outs in tough situations, but just not today.
Grittle needs to put his team in the best position to WIN and he NEVER does that. From making retarded line ups to not pinch hitting when you should. He is the worst manager I’ve seen since Davey Johnson!!!!
We don’t have enough games left to melt down like this…
bullpen a mess the last 2 games
I will say that ever since Grady stop using Beimel, Broxton, and Saito for the 7th, 8th and 9th in that order the bullpen hasn’t been as consistant as it was to start the season.
lath19
grady is the one who failed everyone! the dodgers the fans coz of his bad decisions!
Lowe might have just given 1 run in 6+ innings!
but he struggled!
brox did his job!
but that’s too much for him!!
stupid grady!
nice try, but we’re done in my mind…now Beimel pitching to right handers..GREAT
hindsight is 20/20, and if grady had such a luxury, he should have put saito in to begin the 7th inning for the 3 inning save. Now that puts the dodgers in the “best position to win”.
I realize Brox is not Superman, but by now they should know to get him out low, and away. He should have come in sooner. I don’t know what Grady was thinking letting him bat last inning, and come back in to pitch. Bad Move!!!
I hope Grady gets to ride his bike full time and permanently very soon.
watch Beimel get us in more trouble…maybe we can bring in Browberto….so we can really lose
and Marmol probably comes in now….another blown opportunity…
van JB didn’t do his job. His job is to come out of the pen and hold the other team to nothing. He fell behind in the count and made a bad pitch to a good hitter.
Cameron/Lath:
I agree that Lowe and Brox failed to do their jobs.
BUT, Grady UNNECESSARILY made their jobs much harder. Grady could have taken the ball – and bat – from Lowe and given the team a shot at increasing their lead. This would have allowed Brox to start the inning without men on base and perhaps with a bigger lead. There was NO NEED to squeeze an extra inning out Lowe. Especially if Grady was going to be so quick to bring Brox in in the 7th. Just Stupid!
Like I said, Grady’s primary role is to give the team the best shot to win. At that, he has failed miserably.
You know the difference between it being a good decision and a bad decision? Broxton giving up the HR after falling behind 3-1. If Lowe pitches a solid inning, nobody would bat an eye. This stinks, but this sure fuels the Fire Grady chants. Whatever…it’s all about execution, Lowe and Broxton flat out failed in the seventh inning. You know who I blame as well? LaRoche who didn’t do anything productive with a runner at 2nd and one out. There are a lot of reasons why that all just happened aside, from ‘Grady is horrible!’ creative by the way.
is ethier on the game?
they need to take gonzo out!!
get furcal he is a mess!!!
i would love to see valdez or Hu at SS right now!!!
Furcal and gonzo not contributing in this game!!!
Furcal and Pierre will get on, and Kemp will hit a 3 run bomb.
A lot of experience major league power hitters seem to hit balls out that are out of the strike zone. Don’t worry Martin , Loney, Kemp will do it more often.
actually casinod I was second guessing Grady and really surprised that Lowe came up to bat. Refer to my comment at 1:08.
hindsight is 20/20, and if grady had such a luxury, he should have put saito in to begin the 7th inning for the 3 inning save. Now that puts the dodgers in the “best position to win”.
Posted by: casinod383@yahoo.com | September 6, 2007 01:24 PM
Quite possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on this blog.
you bring in a young fastball pitcher to a dead red fastball hitter who is HOT right now what do we expect?
Casino keep defending grady’s decisions this team is too good to not be in the playoffs. Gonzo in the clean up hole with Kent out of the line up when he owns Marquis. We are in SEPT. every game is must win a nd grittle cost us three out of our last four losses.
Bench Furcal please..He is just awful
now, it’s all grady’s fault for the play on the field. Subconsciously, he may have influenced broxton to throw that pitch to soriano. He has that kind of jedi power to control the on-field play of his players. Same thing with laroche’s at-bats and all the other failed opportunities we had with runners on.
But then again, grady *****, is the worse manager in the history of baseball, and always fails to put us in the “best position to win”. That line is great when we lose, it’s like a slogan.
We could probably go 160-2 next year and if grady is on the helm, he would be solely responsible for those 2 loses regardless.
Now, we got 2 innings to try to get the lead back..go blue!!
and furcal is useless. great that this guy gets the most ab’s on the team.
Grady always screws up the pitcher’s spot on desk situation or the pitcher’s spot coming up next inning. American League idiot!
manny that’s not the first time JB has come into a situation like that. His job is tough everyday because it’s his job to give up nothing and get it to Saito. The only thing I can blame Grady on is running Lowe out there for another inning. Like I said he should have kept Beimel,Broxton and Saito in that order to close out games all year and maybe the pen wouldn’t be such a mess now.
No Hitter… there i jinxed it… get a freakin hit!
diehard..
absolutely right…this is just ridiculous…another STUPID loss coming..
something tells me Grady won’t be back next year. Mr. McCourt take action, this guy isn’t the answer!!!!!!
cameronwalden
i understand what u mean!
but u don’t always put guys in those situation! 2 on 0 out
we all know Lowe is struggling with his control!
and besides it is Soriano he is pitching! u need to be careful when pitching with a guy like him! coz he swings every pitches! when u made one mistake its out of here!!!
he did make one! but that’s just too much for Brox…
Furcal **** it!!! why can’t we sit him?
he is a big map of a Mess…
I thought about the decision in the car on my way home from class. I agree you could have PH for Lowe. You lose either way if your players don’t execute. That’s it. Grady pulls Lowe, the pinch hitter fails. Beimel comes in and gives up the lead. Or Grady pulls Lowe, the pinch hitter delivers, Beimel pitches a perfect seventh inning, etc… it’s all about execution, nobody executed in that seventh inning.
Good things our speedsters love hitting fly balls.
Quite possibly the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on this blog.
Posted by: manny3vee@yahoo.com | September 6, 2007 01:29 PM
exactly my point..if something fails, people will say we should have done this, that, and the other, just because hindsight shows us what happened failed, and thus, any hypothetical situation that one can conjure up will “100% work and put us in the best position to win”
hindsight is great.
* on deck
whats so hard about agreeing with Manny. Do you guys really disagree with him? It’s level headed. It’s not as if we have not seen Grady do this before?
no one on and Matty hits it out..!!! way to go Furcal and Pierre
We got one back on that BOMB!
nice Kemp!
if furcal and JP is on base that should have been a 3 run bomb!!!***** it!!!
tell the Marlins Jack McKeon didn’t make a difference, or the Halos about Sciocia, or the Tigers without Leyland, or Fracona beating the Yankees with the same team grittle had.
i wouldn’t have been comfortable with beimal trying to come in to start the 7th. IF anything, broxton should have come in to start the 7th, but then we’re stuck with who could pitch the 8th inning. That might be why lowe was given the chance to start the 7th since he had a low pitch count, and as a last resort, broxton was waiting in the wings to come into the 7th in an emergency situation.
K E M P We’ll see more that Count on it.
well i least i called the bomb, except the two guys in front of him were not on.***** it!!!!!
Cameron:
My point is that JB did not HAVE TO come in under those circumstances. It was perfectly logical to hit for Lowe and bring JB in with the bases empty the next inning.
what is Gonzo doing in the lineup?…what a joke
ALLRIGHT KEMP! All of a sudden, it gets interesting……..
Grady had no problem bringing in Broxton and Saito the other day with a 4 run lead… Why on earth would he wait till the go ahead run was on first. Why would he let his pitcher bat with 2 men on base in a one run game in the 7th inn, with expanded rosters.
how many pop ups can one team hit?…what bad at bats the 1, 2, 4 hitters…just terrible when you’re trying to win..!!!
Is harder to execute after 90 pitches? Yes.
Is it harder to execute with runners on first and second and a guy who hit 46 homeruns up to bat, yes.
Is it harder to hit if you are Derek Lowe or if you are the all time pinch hitter in baseball.
Sure exceution matters. It’s fair to say the players, along with the manager did not execute.
great job by KEMP….we need 1 more run to tie this thing up…let’s break out the bats!!!!
Well at least Kemp homerun
Gonzalez, Grady, Hernandez, Hendrickson, Olmedo will be in the next movie Rod Hawgs 2
**** grady!!!
gonzo?
Kent should be batting there and if he get on base ethier should pinch run for the defense next inning!
i can’t take this f*cking bad decisions!
Wasn’t the same team diehardblu, also the Red Sox were one inning from being swept in 04, before Roberts’ steal and the amazing comeback, also Pedro blew it in Game 7, but that’s another story.
so it’s settled, manager grady little made bad decisions, and the players out on the field didn’t execute.
Casino:
Its not about hindsight. I, and others on this blog thought it was a stupid move before everything played out. Even Lowe sat them down 1-2-3 it wasn’t a high-percentage move.
Its just like going for an inside-straight in poker. Its great when it works out, but in the long run it’ll kill you.
Grady Little loves inside-straights!!!
Nice productive day by gonzo!! who would’ve of thunk it ofer 4
good thing martin will bat leadoff followed by our power hitter today james LONEY!!! lol
The worst thing is Kent and Garciaparra were sitting there waiting to hit!!!!1
Gut-shot Grittle draw!!!!
Grady folded, big time.
good thing gonzo was playing today…
I have a feeling Kent is going to put his boot in grady’s grittle.
manny I’m not disagreeing with that. What I’m saying is that when your number is called, no matter what the situation is, it’s your job to get it done. Maybe I’m a little bias because he’s family but I’m not making any excuses for him. I know he can’t be perfect but he can keep from falling behind hitters and he know Soriano is a low ball hitter. You get him out up and away.
i will be surprise if still see Furcal playing at SS tom at the bay!
we have 2 options at SS…
HU or VALDEZ!!!
both have range! both can hit!
so all in all! we are not losing anything!!!
make up ur mind grady! stop loving struggling players!!!
we are on a pennant race here!!!
Nice job by Beimel! He’s got good stuff today. Too bad he didn’t come in earlier. Now let’s bomb Dempster!!!
what about the marlins,halos,tigers?
great manny, if you called it, then if you were the manager, you’re moves would have worked out. Unfortunately, Grady is the manager and his decision didn’t work out. There’s no dispute about that.
I cant, however, help but wonder what would have happened if Beimal came in to start the 7th inning and gave up the lead with the top of the order coming up for the cubbies. If we would have lost the lead, i’m sure some here would be questioning the decision to take lowe out with only 90 pitches pitched and 1 earned run given up on a homer. But see, there’s the problem…
Different people/fans would make different decisions about certain situations that arise in a game. There’s no clear cut right or wrong move when the decision has to be made, only hindsight would be able to shed light on what would have been good or bad.
At best, there can only be a debate about what decision/move should be made and it hindsight certainly helps a person argue one way or another. What’s important to understand is that not every Fan will agree with a move that is made. There’s risk involved in every decision, and reward as well. When things fail or falter, then you live with it and deal with the consequences.
Ok guys….getting your positive thinking caps on..
Go Dodgers..get even or ahead…
Let’s hear for BEIMEL. It was unusual for Big Jon to give up a homer. He hasn’t given up many.
WOW BEIMEL 1-2-3 that’s what would’ve happened in the 7th!!!!!!
very unusual for big john to give up the homer indeed.
Poll, how many think Grady will take the blame for this loss????
maybe stults can be our ankiel!!!
he has a good swing!! boy he can hit!!
MARTIN GETS US STARTED!
GRADY’S FAULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
anyone thinkg martin can steal 2nd? with his bum knee, i doubt it, but it would be big though!
Nice hit Russ. We’re in business. Now bring him home James……..
I can’t completely blame Grady on this one. Yes he did have Gonzo hitting 4th but our young guys didn’t hit when we needed them to. Then JB gives up the go ahead long ball.
Casino:
Points well taken. My biggest problem with Little is that I question his moves far too often. I am just a fan, but I think there’s something seriously wrong when so many of his decisions seem to completely defy logic.
YES! WAY TO GO LONEY! LETS GET THEM IN ETHIER!
nice!!!
nice LONEY!!! whew!
now let’s get this rally going!!!
casinod, I agree with what you are saying but unfortunately for Grady, managers are evaluated on their successes and failures. So when they don’t make the right decision, it is essentially their fault–its their job to take the blame and to make the tough calls. Their is nothing wrong with the fans that criticize Grady because Grady ultimately makes the decisions that effect the outcome on the field. I really hope that our front office takes note of these little gaffs (no pun intended) throughout the season and makes the appropriate decision once the year ends.
Lets get it goin guys!!!
BTW, Grady is playing this inning perfectly
Maybe Grady can still mess this up!!!!LOL
manny, i agree, a lot of fans questions his moves, especially on this blog, with myself included.
nobody was thinking Valdez with a SAC bunt?
okay…rally time!!!!!!!!!!
nice Ethier!!!!!!!!! wohooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!wohoooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOLY SHVNDSJOV NJDFNVJSDNVNSOVOSVNo!
ETHIER!!!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Andre the gigante!
ETHIER!!!! Second time this year he’s done that to the cubbies!!! Clutch!
Andre hit ball hard, ball meet wayland Ave.
PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!PAYBACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NICE!!!
Andre the GRADY-SAVIOR!!!
WAY TO GO ETHIER….THE KIDS COME THROUGH..NOW PLAY THEM ALL THE TIME GRADY!!
Andre delivers! woooo hooooo!!!!!!!!
IOT’s a HOMERUN< HOMERUN HOME RUN E T I H E R
Grady just won the game for us, not to mention that bomb by ETHIER!
we have a nomar moment here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NICE!!!
Andre the GRADY-SAVIOR!!!
Now that’s EXCITING..!
ETHIER SHOUL”VE BEEN PLAYING!!!!
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!
Ethier!!
Andre way of saying, Grady let me play everyday, and let Gonzo sit everyday.
ETHIER!!!
our KIDS are ALL AMAZING!!!
grady is a genious for bringing in ETHIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
j/k, don’t bash me for my blasphemous post 😉
Somebody who hates Grady, tell me that wasn’t a great decision to PH Ethier????
Glad we got our GREAT pinch hitter….wonder where Marlon Anderson is??
A rare opposite field HR from Andre. You gotta love it!!!!
EEEEEEEEETHIER!!!!!
LONEY, KEMP, ETHIER!!! HR!!!
Sorry Sweeney comes through..nice
OMG! OMG! I hope I can watch the game replay when I get home! Woohoo! Back fromt he dead baby! Get ready Saito-San. -Emma(crzblue)
alex –
I think Grady got lucky…
Let’s see who contributed to our runs today, Loney, Kemp, Ethier…Is there any logical reason why the 3 of them plus Martin shouldn’t be hitting back 2 back in our line-up and playing everyday? Who takes the blame for that one?
grady made up for his dumb decision. The only way he can totally screw it up is if he brings in Hernandez in the 9th if we have a lead of more then 3.
Somebody who hates Grady, tell me that wasn’t a great decision to PH Ethier????
Posted by: alex41592@aol.com | September 6, 2007 01:51 PM
not every decision is gonna be a complete failure.
Somebody who hates Grady, tell me that wasn’t a great decision to PH Ethier????
Posted by: alex41592@aol.com | September 6, 2007 01:51 PM
my guess is that someone will call it a “lucky move”..or to discredit grady more, someone will say that Ethier was tired of Grady’s BS of sitting him down, picked up a bat, and told laroche to sit down because he was subbing himself in 😉
alex
that’s what u called luck for grady!!!
grady *****! lol
grady made up for his dumb decision. The only way he can totally screw it up is if he brings in Hernandez in the 9th if we have a lead of more then 3.
Posted by: exit_music_4afilm@yahoo.com | September 6, 2007 01:53 PM
lol..that would be classic..
My fav was watching Ethier round the bases with his smile and big fist pump…Loved that….we HAVE to win now.!!..
Alex, I had a broken watch once. It was right 2 times a day… doesnt make it a good watch.
alex
that’s what u called luck for grady!!!
grady ****! lol
Posted by: van_19_cute@yahoo.com | September 6, 2007 01:54 PM
alex, i called it didn’t i? see my post above van’s 😉
Fezzik you need to fix your watch, Adrian great line BTW
sweeney with the PH single..man, grady is on fire this inning…!!!!!
lol
seriously that was luck!!!
u can’t deny that!!!
this game is almost an L!!!
it’a good thing we have those kind of players!!!
if ethier is in the game we might have blown this game away!!!
I’m glad grady knew gonzo will not get a hit batting clean up. Be down one run with two runners on that is the best time to bring Ethier in.
Furcals struggle with the bat continues. Maybe they’ll star Hu tomorrow, or move Abreu over to short..
Let’s get another run..Soriano will be up in the bottom of the inning.
I love our kids!
look, it was a good move. But he’s supposed to make good moves on a consistent basis, he’s the manager! That’s what he gets paid for. A lot of ppl question many of his moves. I personally think he makes far too many bad moves, and i know i am not alone.
Andre! Grady did his best to give the game away, but the kids wouldn’t let him.
JB owes his young buddies dinner.
Dempster’s in the dumpster!!lol
Nasty stop by De Rosa.
van..ask ethier if that pitch he smoked was luck…there’s not too much luck involved when you hit a clutch HR like that.
man, Raffy is really struggling, but you have to remember his defense his outstanding – something JP can’t offer when he’s struggling with the bat.
yep, raffy has a gun for an arm, and hits the hole as good, if not better than anyone. He’s saved a few runs this year and with the way we score runs, him saving them are very important.
Well Saito’s got plenty of time to get ready & warmed up.
Nice gift…a little more breathing room.
I think the luck part of it was that the ball rode the wind. That is a standard fly ball short of the warning track in any other ball park. That Wrigley wind helped us out a lot there.
casino
i don’t know what ur trying to say…
seriously…
that game is almost an L! coz of a bad decision from grady…
he did the right thing there but that was pure luck! who would think that ethier will hit that out?
ethier saved him!!
ANOTHER RUN that’ll help.
NICE
dont score 1 more run. PLEASE! Grady will bring in Hernandez and we’ll lose.
I did not agree with Grady’s decision to bring in Meloan in the 8th last night and I did not agree with his decision to let Lowe hit in the 7th. I presume both moves were made in an effort to rest his bullpen. I think Grady has become a little too obsessed with resting his players. I know it’s important to rest players but this is the month you keep them rested for. Down 3 and 4 games in the wild-card and division, the Dodgers can ill afford to give away ballgames. But as I’m writing this, the Dodgers have regained the lead. Looks like Grady may get away with it today.
Any of you Grady supporters care to address the question I posed above???
Let’s see who contributed to our runs today, Loney, Kemp, Ethier…Is there any logical reason why the 3 of them plus Martin shouldn’t be hitting back 2 back in our line-up and playing everyday? Who takes the blame for that one?
van..okay, if you think that, that’s cool too.
Phew.
Wow, somebody’s buying someone dinner, I wonder what’s going through Gonzalez head at this time!!!! Grady don’t put me in anymore please!!!!!
CHARRIS you are brilliant!
Exit music aren’t you at school????
wow..4 runs that inning…sweet!!!
SILENCE as we go to the SAITO Sactum.
guys grady already has his line ups made out for all three games vs. frisco we know that.
Why isn’t our best defensive first basemen out there?
casino
i don’t have nothing against you..
but grady made alot of bad decisions! we saw alot of it in this game!
no one thinks that ethier will hit it out…
it was a luck! luck happens when a player plays hard!!!
No Gonzo is probably sitting by Grady saying he had a bad game but if he doesn’t play tomorrow he’ll wreck the clubhouse.
wait nevermind. I forgot he got pinch ran for.
van,
okay.
I think the key to the game besides the obvious HR is Biemel’s relief work today.
casino,
do u use yahoo messenger?
van, nope.
yeah!
beimel did a great job…
I would pay money to be on the plane with these guys heading to SF.
Saito knows how to pitch Soriano for an out..Low & away.
I agree, Beimel killed their momentum. He gave us a chance and we took it.
GAME OVER!!!!!!!!!
3 out of 4 at wrigley is not too shabby. Now, we gotta take care of business in SF…a sweep would be nice just like last time 🙂
WE DID IT…SAITO FOR PRESIDENT AND ETHIER FOR VICE PRESIDENT..
WAY TO GO BLUE..! GREAT WIN
Beimel did a great job two days in a row!! The guy ‘grady supporters’ didn’t trust to pitch the 7th.
Beautiful work, TEAM!!!
And I still want Grady and Colletti GONE!!!
oh ok…
i was using yahoo messenger…
chatting with my friends…
i thought u have one…
W__O__T__T__A ___G__A__M__E
Breaking News, Pinella beats the **** out of Dempster.
BRING ON THE GNATS
I agree guys. Beimel stopped the bleeding, and held them in check. He was like that earlier in the year all the time.
Huge win, period, would’ve been a huge painful loss, but instead it was a huge uplifting emotional 4 game road series victory against a first place team. 2 1/2 games back in the W.C heading to the Giants.
Well lets just be happy for taking the series against the Cubbies. It was a big series and taking 3 out of 4 is big. Lets hope management sees the bad moves made by Grady and does not try to grant him immunity by saying HE took the team to the playoffs. Imagine how good this team would be with a coach that stopped platooning people and knew how to put a lineup together.
Yeah Pinella will destroy that clubhouse in a few minutes. No food for the Cubbies.
BIG TIME!!!
Me of little faith 🙂
Indeed, what alex41592 said. I had to go to a meeting just after Broxton gave up the home run and I felt slightly ill with disappointment.
Then I walk out the meeting to this 🙂
That spread sure will be spread out, all over the lockers.
Well said Fezz
We should not be satisfied with nothing less than a World Series trip
Well, the young guys pulled us out of Grady’s **** hole today!
How about that LaRoche-Abreu-Loney DP to end the 7th?
A little helpful hint for Grady:
Gonzo – BAD
Ethier – GOOD
Piniella’s got to be loosing his mind right now!!
On the other hand, what a great see saw battle, and come from behind win. I love the way the youngsters stepped up. 3 out of 4 in Chi-town is great. Now I hope they go into the *** Bay, and sweep the Gnats.
GO DODGERS!!!!!
lol scott… way to break it down into tiny words.
First of all that was a great win. I was listening to the Cubs bradcast and when Martin hit the leadoff single the commentator said “Martin’s a catcher so he’s not a threat to ste-…. Oh Jesus! I’m sorry this kid can run.”
We’ve seen the young guys a little more the last couple of days. If Grady does have a brain then he obviously sees that our only road to the postseason is through our young guys. Gonzo should be done except for a pinch hitting role.
Cameron, this is Mr. Gonzalez, I’m not a bench player I should be in there everyday!!!!!!
thats classic foot in mouth Brown.
I agree. Gonzo, and Nomar should be restricted to PH duties.
Maybe Gonzo could be a late inning defensive replacement, um, check that.
I’m sorry Mr.Gonzo. If you aren’t a bench player then I guess you’re now a softball coach because you sure aren’t an everyday player.
lol
Gonzo, there’s no crying in baseball.
There is if I don’t start. My mama said that I was still the best outfielder in baseball. No matter what they say on the espn.
LOL!!!!!
Alright guys I’ve gotta run. Great win today. Hopefully we’ll carry it to the *** bay.
You take good care of those triplets now Gonzo, you hear?
Gonzo, there’s no crying in baseball.
Posted by: californiaautorebuilder@hotmail.com | September 6, 2007 02:25 PM
Good one! LOL Touche!
How good is Saito. We take him for granted. It’s like Gagne all over again.
For Ethier, coming up with clutch HRs against the cubs is nothing new… http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/gameday_recap.jsp?ymd=20070526&content_id=1987991&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
Nice one calauto. Good win today for blue. 3 out of 4 is good against anybody, particularly on the road. We have got to start beating the Pads every once in a while. They have killed us the last few years. The last 9 games vs. the D’Backs and Pads could decide whether we make the playoffs or not.
jungar You are SO right! Saito has been money for this team. He’s between 90 to 95% on save conversions so far this year. He hardly ever gives up a walk, and doesn’t waste time. He doesn’t seem to get phased by the pressure. Sometimes I think he has ice running through his veins.
Let’s go beat up the gnats!
I want to see these names in the lineup and that’s final:
Kemp
Ethier
Loney
Martin
LaRoche
Fill in the rest.
I would personally love to see this line-up right now:
Pierre
Loney
Kemp
Ethier
Martin
Kent
Furcal
LaRoche
Egos be damned put the hottest guys all at the top of the order. Plus Kent, Furcal and LaRoche might be the best 6-8 hitters in the game.
LOL charris
“Egos Be Damned” should be our slogan for the rest of the year like “Yes We Can” or something.
SI SE PUEDE!!!!
Or better yet “NO MORE GONZO”
I don’t know how many know that the Dodgers have the exact same won & lost record as they did last year after 140 games. 74-66, But last year they went 14-8 the rest of the way, for the wild card. I actually think they can do it again and they have a better team right now. This year our bullpen is at 22-14, (Beimal brought his ERA back under 4.)while our starters are breaking even at 52-52, according to my calculations. Matt kemp join the DODGER’S HOME RUN double diget club. He joins Kent, Martin, daGONZ, and Ethier. Betemet was also in that club. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GUY’S. *******On my Broken Lineup I decided I’d bat Furcal 5th since he does have HR power, rather than Pierre, but I’d use Furcal just as though he was leading off. We have the 1st half lead by Pierre and the 2nd half lead by Furcal. Anyone who feels there is something wrong here let me know.
*Read this post AGAIN*
exactly my point..if something fails, people will say we should have done this, that, and the other, just because hindsight shows us what happened failed, and thus, any hypothetical situation that one can conjure up will “100% work and put us in the best position to win”
hindsight is great.
Posted by: casinod383@yahoo.com | September 6, 2007 01:32 PM
That is a GREAT post. Now the Bad news. I’m a Bum’s fan for 71 yrs. my dad took me to Ebbetts Field, when I was 5yrs
He and I have seen Many, many
SUPER rookie Phenom’s, in our farm Systems. From the Ft.Worth Cats; The Spokane Indians & The DUKES of N.Mex.
GREAT stats, BUT total busts, with the Big Club. This, I’m sorry to say is Our LaRoche.
He has absolutely NO CLUE, while, in the batters box.Zero knowledge of what to do with his bat. Great Minor #’s, but he is and will continue to be a TOTAL Flob.Believe me, it hurts to say this, but i’ve seen it oodles of times and I’m seeing it now. HUGE diff. bet AAA & the big leagues . I’m sorry, I’m hurting, too….
Be Back later, Aligators.
scott, how about “bench the vets except for Kent”
Charris, I still think you need Raffy in there, and the only other vet is Gonzo, so yes bench everyone else. I would like to see at least once this season is
Kemp cf
Andre rf
Young lf
pat25rod
LaRoche don’t know what to do at the plate?
he is trying to adjust things!
in the minors its all fastballs!!!
and in the minors he is not hitting in the 8th spot! in which a pitcher would try to pitch around him coz the pitcher is the next hitter!!
matt Kemp looks awful at first too… but after working on his mechanics he adjust pretty well rayt now!!!
it’s too early to judge a player…
Pat give the kid some time, he has great discipline and comes from a baseball family. (Dad and big brother) He’s no A-rod, granted, but he can at least be as good as Beltre was.
and besides LaRoche can hit the other way with power…
he will be a good player…
I wonder if LaRoche will play winter ball this year????
The power hitters that the Dodgers need are ALREADY ON THE TEAM – Kemp, Either, Loney – JUST LET THEM PLAY and watch them develop!!!! And give Delwyn Young a chance, too. If these guys were in the lineup everyday from the start of the season we’d probably be in FIRST place now! The stupidity of sending Loney to the minors instead of to First Base has been VERY COSTLY to the Dodgers. If they don’t make the playoffs, management should be held accountable for that, and many other, blunders!!!
I feel some of your concern for LaRoche, pat25rod, and I’m hoping that your conclusion is premature. I hope that he can turn it around. In the meantime, I do think that Abreu is better prepared as a major league hitter than is LaRoche, and if there is to be a substitution at third, I hope they use Abreu rather than Hillenbrand or Nomar. LaRoche ought to go an play some winter ball and show that he can be healthy enough, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s left behind again at Vegas to start the next season. He does still need some seasoning. A sub .200 average just does not cut it, as much as all of us would like to root for him.
According to PE.com Dodgers Blog:
The Dodgers decided to do their rookie hazing after the game, and it wasn’t limited to the rookies since the second-year players never got to dress up in funky costumes last year. The youngsters who helped win today’s games were not spared nor was an aging closer. Here’s a rundown of the various get-ups:
Chad Billingsley – Robin Hood
Jonathan Broxton – monk
Eric Hull – devilette
Jonathan Meloan – something Tarzan-like
Takashi Saito – Samurai
Eric Stults – pirate
Russell Martin – Nacho Libre
Tony Abreu – Native American
Chin-lung Hu – Prince of Persia?
Andy LaRoche – clown
James Loney – Popeye
Delwyn Young – Snow White
Andre Ethier – pink disco-wear
Matt Kemp – Let’s just say his pecs and gluts were overly accentuated.
LOL
Great win. The best Dodger win since September 18 last year–and hopefully enough to propel us to the playoffs. Pierreseatmeetswest is right that we can do as well this year as last year–and maybe better (last year we went 14-8 to close, but in reality, we went 7-8, and then won 7 in a row to end the season, so if we don’t get in the dulldrums and stay hot, we can go 16-6).
In light of the victory, I think we need a sober re-examination of Grady’s moves. He’s not always perfect, but in the 7th inning, you have the option of bringing in Proctor or Beimel, or make Broxton pitch two innings, or make Saito pitch two innings. Making Saito or Broxton pitch two innings is not out of the question, but you would rather not do that–in fact, that might have been Grady’s plan, since he did bring in Broxton, but it’s not an attractive option. The question was not trying to rest the bullpen, it was simply a question of whether you would rather have Derek Lowe who had settled in, or Proctor or Beimel, who have not been as lights out we would hope. You could go either way, but it’s not a bad decision to think that Lowe can be more effective for one more inning than Proctor or Beimel.
Grady was also working against a decent enough back-up plan. Broxton has been so lights out this year that what happened was incredibly improbable. Even if Lowe lets two hitters on (which he did), you can figure that Broxton will not give up a home run (it was only the second time in like 13 months that he gave up a home run), is likely to get a DP, and has a good chance of getting out of the inning without any runs, but probably one at the worst. Then, we match up bullpen to bullpen and we should win.
In the end, my point is in decideing between Proctor or Beimel or Lowe, you can hardly say that choosing Lowe for one more inning was obviously bad. Grady has been imperfect, but as people for and against him say, it’s his job to put us in the best possible position to win. Putting Lowe out there to start the 7th, and lifting him for Broxton, put us in at least as good a position as his alternatives. It did not work out, and that’s Lowe’s fault and Broxton’s fault, not Grady’s. He makes mistakes, but this was not really one of them.
(Just to note, which picks up on Casinod’s comments from the last thread–Lowe and Broxton did not deliver today, and nearly cost us the game. But Lowe was solid for six innings, and has had another solid year. Broxton has been remarkable for two years, and through 71 games, he has only blown it 4 times, and has delivered in huge situations far more often. So even while they had a bad day, I don’t want to be too critical of players who have been so important. It’s just the example of a good double-standard–sometimes even Casey strikes out. The good news is that Loney, Martin, Kemp, and Ethier picked them up.)
**** no pics of that… too funny.
Super,Super,Season Saving Fabulous 7-4 victory For Our Wonderful,Mighty Los Angeles Dodgers over the Chicago Cubs!Super Hero Andre Ethier in dramatic Los Angeles Dodger style!Absolutely Incredible!Grady Little,since I call a spade a spade, you did a superb job in managing the team today!The question is?Did we learn anything from yesterday’s ridiculous blunder!Yes we did!We have got to have the killer instinct to finish the season with the pennant!Grady,read that again, killer instinct!Not with arrogance or cockiness, but with just full out out hard nosed championship Los Angeles Dodger baseball with great character!The seven guys that should always start from here on in,if we want the World Series Ring Bad enough are Super Heroes,Furcal,Pierre,Kemp,Superman Jeff Kent,Ethier,Martin & of course Super hero Andy Laroche.All the Super Hero Dodgers play a part,and everybody will contribute,but those are the starting chosen seven to lead us to the promised land and with like I said,all the other super hero Dodgers playing a key role!Let’not forget,we were in first place,until Superman Jeff got hurt, so we have had to do this twice!I’m convinced that that adversity combined with us coming back for the pennant,is making us into a Championship Team!But Grady,don’t forget,Killer Instinct!Once Again,for Super Hero Andre Ethier absolutely fantastic display of clutch hitting,courageous Los Angeles Dodger character and super dramtic style!Andre, you displayed what a super hero is by walking in the footsteps of one of the greatest of all time,your teammate,Superman Jeff Kent!
Definitely,ain’t no stopping us now!
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patrod… your comments about LaRoche are laughable. First of all, to make a fair assessment of a player you need more that just the roughly 50 ABs that he has gotten so far (thats about 1/14 of the 700 ABs that a guy like Pierre will get in a full season). Next, his OBP is above .400. His BA is not good, but it will not stay that bad either. Patience my friend, please have some patience. He was still hurting with the shoulder the first time he came up. He also doubled in each of the last two games before today’s game. Give the guy a fair shot before you call him a huge flop.
The question here is, how many more 0-4’s does Grady give Gonzo? It’s time to sit Gonzo for the rest of the season and go with the Ethier and Kemp in the outfield. Right now it’s about winning and who gives you the best chance. The series with the Giants is huge because if we can go into next week, 2 or 1 game out, we have 6 in a row against the Pads and Dbacks. We cannot afford to take a step back right now. The Dodgers are making a great run, that i didn’t think they would make, and I hope Grady gives them every opportunity to win.
Leek, the frustration was more on the point of not pinch hitting for Lowe in the top of the 7th with runners in scoring position and Lowe already at 90+ pitches. The most important thing is that we won the game, second most important thing is HOW we won the game. We won the game due to some clutch hitting by Andre, Loney, and Martin. The thing is that it shouldnt not have been a situation in which clutch hitting was needed. a 1 run lead is never a guaranteed thing in the top of the 7th, but putting Lowe out there was not the best move, and im not talking in hindsite either, I made the comment at 1:08 when the before lowe had thrown a pitch in the bottom of the 7th.
Its not even Gonzo’s performance that’s bad, its his approach. Not working the count, pulling pitches that are unhittable, something a “seasoned vet” shouldn’t do. Its so obvious who should be in the outfield and who shouldn’t, and only Grady the “player’s manager” refuses to admit it.
BELIEVE IN THE YOUTH MOVEMENT!!
Just got back from Wrigley!
HAHAHAH! What a comeback. Shut those awful cubby fans up.
I got lucky and got to sit 3 rows behind the on deck circle by the Dodgers dugout. It was awesome!
What a win!!!
GO BLUE!!
One doesn’t have to disparage Gonzo’s play or performance in order to relegate him now to the bench and occasional pinch hitting duties. He’s contributed better than I thought he might at the beginning of the season. His average is not terrible; he has hit a few dingers, and he probably has been a positive force on the ballclub. He’s not the fielder that one would want, and he can’t throw worth a **** anymore, but he’s been of value. The point is that Kemp and Ethier have now both proven to be more productive than Gonzo is with better fielding and throwing skills. If we’re in a fight for the playoffs, these two are the guys we expect to deliver, not Gonzo, and that’s why the two of them should be in the lineup consistently. Doing any less than that is a disservice to the club, and I can’t tolerate Grady for this reason and too many other reasons to mention.
the YOUTH MOVEMENT is whats saving the Dodgers these days, remember Billingsley HUGE pitching performance against our biggest riveal the Pads!!? I really hope Upper Management is looking at all of this, & stands PAT & let OUR YOUTH LEAD THE WAY FOR 2 0 0 8 ! !
Sorry I haven’t been able to post much lately you guys. School just started for me this week and I have been really busy. As I said earlier today was a good win for us and 3 out of 4 on the road is good period. The team is playing better right now and we have a legit shot at catching AZ. Grady said he was gonna let LaRoche play lets all hope he sticks to his word, LaRoche could be the September spark this team could use. If the offense stays consistent our pitching is good enough for us to win consistently.
this was a big win indeed.
by the way does anyone remember the discounted tickets we were supposed to receive for voting for russell (25+ times) in july? has anyone received that yet or know anything about it?
raulito, I don’t ever remember that being a deal, if so I think just about everyone on this blog would qualify for that discount.
I hope Grady continues to play the young guys. Someone pointed it out earlier that they are carrying us right now and they need to play and be put in positions in the lineup where they can do damage. I think/hope that Grady is slowly but surely starting to realize Kemp, Ethier and Loney are middle of the order guys.
http://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/
The latest blog entry discusses the topic which was a large part of today’s discussion.
Here are the tentative pitching matchups for the next six games:
@ S.F:
Billingsley vs. Sanchez (lefty)
Wells (lefty) vs. Zito (lefty)
Penny vs. Cain
vs. S.D
Loaiza vs. Peavy
Lowe vs. Germano
Billingsley vs. Maddux
If those matchups stay the same, I’ll be there for Bills vs. Maddux, that could be a fantastic game.
Heres hoping we sweet the Ladies up north this weekend. I’ll be in fresno so unfortunately i’ll have to watch them on the girls broadcast.
(posted for nostalgic reason.)
nice max…i know your name is Adrian but you’ll always be max as far as I’m concerned.
Rookie hazing: “I’m stepping on my dress,” Dodgers outfielder Delwyn Young said, as he lifted the hem of his Snow White costume off the clubhouse floor after the game.
Yes, it was time for that annual baseball tradition known as rookie hazing, and this time, because it wasn’t done last season, even the second-year guys had to do it. A few had it easy, because they got nothing worse than Disney character outfits to wear on the team charter to San Francisco. Others had it worse. Matt Kemp was given a fat suit resembling the torso of a large woman in a bra and panties and a few other details not fit for a family newspaper.
“It doesn’t bother me,” Kemp shouted to everyone in the room. “It’s San Francisco. I’m going to fit right in.”
The Houston Astros have asked the Dodgers for permission to interview assistant general manager Logan White for their vacant general manager position, according to a baseball source. White, promoted to his present position this season, spent five years as the Dodgers director of amateur scouting.