Pretty Big Game
A win today and we’re 1 1/2 games out of the Wild Card…a loss and it’s 3 1/2.
Once again, a big game that finds David Wells on the mound…here’s the lineup:
Furcal, SS
Pierre, CF
Loney, 1B
Kent, 2B
Gonzo, LF
Martin, C
Kemp, RF
Abreu, 3B
Wells, P
UPDATE: For those who keep wondering, yes, it is Andy LaRoche’s bad back that continues to keep him out of the lineup. Grady told the media before the game today that while he’s able to swing, they want to make sure he’s able to field ground balls without pain/problems before he is back in there.
Also, Derek Lowe appears to be ready to go for Saturday’s game. He played catch today without incident.
And finally, Jason Schmidt saw the doctor in Los Angeles today and was in the clubhouse during batting practice and before the game. He remains optimistic, as does the team, about his chances for complete recovery next season. He hasn’t started throwing yet but obviously there are still five months before we break camp in Vero Beach.
Inside the Dodgers 
Boo-Yaa !!!!!!!!
Once again, Gonzo is in there to ruin it.
Pretty nice lineup. But, where’s LaRoche?! LaRoche can go 0 for 4 too like Abreau, but at least he has better defense
I figure we’re all moving over to this post now. Same question…what happened during the Loney interview?
Grady playing the hot hand, Loney pushes Kemp out of the three spot for tonight. But, that’s the eight guys for this game. Loney is WHITE HOT and deserves the three spot. Kemp doesn’t deserve the seventh spot, but he’s never faced Maddux, so he’s protecting him.
The bet of the night is this:
Juan Pierre vs Greg Maddux
Maddux never walks anyone and Pierre never walks. Take the under on 3 pitches in each at bat! HA!
I see Grittle changed his line up from last night. What a surprise! Lets hope they can win anyway ,without one of their most productive hitters. I hear that the clubhouse is not all rosy, what happened? Aren’t these washed up vets happy, or is it the kids think they should play everyday? And they’d be right.
Pretty big game? If so why is LuGo batting 4? If we must play him, why not at least flip-flop him and Kemp.
great players in the lineup!
but i think this is wrong!
Kemp hitting on the 7th spot becoz he doesn’t hit a ton for 2 days!
and JP should be hitting leadoff by now!
JP
Martin
Loney
Kent
Kemp
gonzo
Furcal
Abreu
What’s so wrong about giving the line up from last night another chance?
It was a given Gonzo would be in the lineup. I hope it pays off.
Go Dodgers!
Fire Grady!
oops I meant 5
I think we all know that the only constant thing this season is that the lineup will never be the same after a win and Gonzo will always play the day after Ethier plays.
The Dodgers impatient lineup is the very line up Grad Maddux and any stage in his career can easily dominate.
I really wish we would have resigned Mad Dog but we didn’t. Soooooooo STUPID!
were ok this lineup is decent.
I know every1 want Ethier in instead of Gonzo but Gonzo prolly has the most experience against Maddux so I can see why we made this decision.
THIS IS A MAKE OR BREAK GAME.
WE WIN WERE STILL IN.
WE LOSE AND I BELIEVE WE ARE DONE BECAUSE OF THE SCHEDUAL.
GOOD LUCK TO US!.
Hey LADodgerbluefan, what do you mean what happened during the Loney interview? Are you talking about the interview with Adrian Garcia?
Loney is freaking locked in batting fifth…so tonight he bats third. Whatever. Players just love a line-up that changes daily.
Gonzo, goes 0 for tonite, any bets? Amazing, Grady just can’t stand to see the team win a game. “MMM, how can I keep the other team in it tonite..hey, I’ll start Gonzo.”
FIRE GRADY!!!!!
Gonzo better do something and not screw up LF which Grady keeps forgetting is also part of baseball.
Give Ethier experience if you are going to play him fine but don’t bat him ahead of kemp!!!!pathetic I’m off to the game!!!!!!
LET’S GO DODGERS
FIRE EGRADY LITTLE!!!!!
alex, since kemp is “the best hitter on the team” like everyone says, why does he need to be protected? Protected from what exactly? Once 20 years ago…gonzo got a hit off of maddux, and thus he starts.
Hey thunder, yea with Adrian Garcia, I just heard about it from a few posts back but have no idea what happened.
go get em diehard!
Adrian Garcia asked if Loney was wearing “X-Ray contact lenses” and Loney was like “What’s that?”
Then Garcia finished the interview asking if people can call him “Big Game James.” Loney said “call me whatever you want.”
GONZO’S PAST NUMBERS MEAN JACK SHIRT!! He’s a shell of his once roided outself. I hope his legs fall off. Kemp in the 7 spot is ridiculous.
Kemp’s hitting .371 in his last 10 games. Gonzo is hitting .267 and Ethier is hitting .276.
haha what a *********, Garcia that is.
Gonzo 34 for 108 10 HR’s against Maddux. This is so blatantly obvious you play him tonight. Who would sit those numbers? Don’t give me the in his prime junk. Maddux is far from his prime today as well. Also, as written in yesterday’s blog by somebody else, Gonzo has better numbers than Ethier during this month.
BTW, With the DBacks in town tomorrow, Gonzo will get at least 2 starts against them. Maybe he should have sat him tonite and let him rest up for all the at bats he’ll get during the weekend. Sorry Andre, but hey, only 16 games of the Gonzo era left, hang in there buddy!!!
I wish they had kept Maddux too, but some feel he wanted too much $ for too long. Having a crafty old dude like that around could have really helped out the young pitching prospects.
Career vs. Maddux
2. PIERRE,CF .344
4. KENT,2B .321 5 HR
5. GONZO,LF .315 10 HR
“protecting” Kemp is the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard. Grady’s a retard.
LADodgerbluefan. It seems like Loney was a little annoyed with Garcia’s dumb questions. I would be too.
jjriley, Penny, Lowe, Schmidt, Bomko… how many more veteran pitchers did you want? Although none of these guys are what you would call “mentors” like a Maddux… I see your point.
Alex, Gonzo’s past numbers don’t mean ****.
thunderbolt, what was the question?
Colleti didn’t want a 5+ inning pitcher like Maddux to constantly tax his bullpen That’s why he opted for Schmidt…and Tomko and Henrdickson??!?!?!?!?!?!
Old Guys Rule tonight!
Can’t wait to get to the stadium. Got my scorecard ready! Go David! Go Dodgers! -emma
I would like to see Kemp bat 3rd and Loney cleanup with Kent 5th and Eithier 6th.
GONZO SHOULD NOT BE BATTING IN FRONT OF MARTIN OR KEMP!!!! If he has to play fine but don’t bat him in the five hole!!!
thanks scott I’m all over grady tonight!!!!!
FIRE GRADY LITTLE
Yea I agree thunder. As much as I’d rather see Ethier in left instead of Gonzo (mostly because of the defense Ethier brings) I’m just hoping Gonzo doesn’t go 0-4. We’ll see Ethier in there tomorrow. Lasorda Bobblehead!
Loney’s been doing just fine in the five hole, thank you…
Gonzo’s past numbers do mean alot, we are talking about proffesor Maddux here. Your not going to beat him with braun, you beat him with brains. Gonzo knows how to approach him…
But let’s go with recent numbers then.
September splits:
.242/.286/.364/.649 ethier
.278/.409/.500/.909 gonzo
kiper,
LAdodgerbluefan asked what happened during the post game interview with James Loney.
(From momaracci:
Adrian Garcia asked if Loney was wearing “X-Ray contact lenses” and Loney was like “What’s that?”
Then Garcia finished the interview asking if people can call him “Big Game James.” Loney said “call me whatever you want.”)
“Alex, Gonzo’s past numbers don’t mean ****.”
Count the number of times anybody brings up his numbers against Maddux tonight and you tell me they mean nothing. Ignorance is bliss!
Maddux brings a lot to a baseball team. Peavy and Chris Young give me soo much credit for their numbesr this year. Derek Lowe improved so much last year after we traded for maddux. Can you imagine Billingsley if he got to spend a year or two with MAddux just picking his brain.
Alex why bat him fifth in front of Kemp???or Martin???
Lineups don’t matter to me other than giving your most AB’s to your two worst offensive players.
If it were me I would flip flop Kemp and Furcal tonight, just for the sake of it.
“Count the number of times anybody brings up his numbers against Maddux tonight and you tell me they mean nothing. Ignorance is bliss!”
i’ll make sure to bring Gonzo’s numbers back up to you when he goes 0-4.
Thanks thunderbolt. I would of been upset to, they seem like pretty stupid questions.
Maddux also had the “Boras” baggage to consider…
Get ’em Wells!!!
Fire Grady Little!
Gonzo in front of Martin is normal, it happens all the time. That doesn’t make it right, it’s just not a surprise. In front of Kemp, yes you have a point. But, Loney’s ridiculous bat moved Kemp tonight and Grady didn’t want to move Gonzo to seventh because has monster numbers that are must play numbers against Maddux, that are being swiped under the rug by some, which is ridiculous.
Screw Boras. It’s laughable Ned doesn’t want to work with him. It just shows immaturity and stupidity.
Don’t mind Gonzo in there but he should be further down in the lineup. I thought Ethier had turned the corner a few weeks back but it was only a hot streak. He hasn’t been very good except for that stretch and his HR in Chicago. Too bad there was nothing to be had at the trade deadline. Would have been a perfect opportunity to sell high.
maddux low & away change up and cutter inside is going to eat up gonzo ALL night.
we’ll see who hits the ball harder Kemp or gonzo?
my money is on Kemp.
Let’s see how long Ned lasts at the job if he continues to refuse dealing with Boras. You know that there will be a player that the Dodgers need at some point that will be a Boras agent. Good luck Ned, too bad Grady isn’t represented by Boras..
FIRE GRADY!!!!!
“i’ll make sure to bring Gonzo’s numbers back up to you when he goes 0-4”
You do that…and in turn if Ethier had started instead of Gonzo and had gone 0 for 4. Do you know what a lot of people would be asking? Why didn’t you play a guy who has dominated Greg Maddux and has 10 HR’s in his career against him. If Gonzo goes 0 for 4, so be it. But, it’s the right move.
3-0 colorado in the first.
The only problem in this lineup are
1)Furcal… JP should be our leadoff hitter rayt now!
2) Kemp hitting on the 7th spot!!!
I don’t like obsessing about past peformance for a guy who will be gone in 18 days.
Funny, kiper!
I looked at a list of Boras clients. Miguel Cabrerra is a FORMER client. Think he’d fit in as a Dodger???????????
personally, I feel that they need to give Ethier a lot of at bats so they can assess where he’s at. I hate to say it but he hasn’t improved his power (HRs per AB) at all from last year. I know he’s been playing off and on lately but Im not totally sold on him long term. It would be nice better power numbers out of him and he’s getting close to his peak years already.
Gonzo can go over to the AL after he leaves here. Adios!
Fire Grady!
Maddux could throw a CG tonight and have like 60 pitches with our impatient team.
Play Ethier in center…he’s got plenty of pop for that spot. Kemp might be a tad too…shall we say “reckless” for center.
i can’t understand u people!
why all gonzo?
why can’t u blame Furcal?
i know he is not 100%!
but u can see when he plays he doesn’t put much effort!
he should be the one out in the lineup with the way he is playing!!!
i just hope he will do good next season!
i honestly think this lineup is going to screw the dodgers…
but i hope not
the lineup yesterday was perfect..
and if grady wanted to play gonzalez, just put him in ethiers spot.. thats all that needed to be done
Go Dodgers!
i agree, Ethier’s numbers would look fine in CF. Little problem there though, lol.
A message especially to MESSAGEBEARER I know it’s been 20 years, and it’s hard for us to bare. But you seem to fear to face defeat again. Face it and MAYBE, just MAYBE it will turn it’s ugly face away.______IF NOT, We’ll wake up on OPENING DAY and see LONEY standing near first base and over his shoulder will be KEMP in right field, the rest of the team will be there too, including one or two more youngsters, than there were this year, but most of all there will be a whole new season ahead of us, a BRAND NEW START.***But this year WE STILL CAN MAKE.
“Play Ethier in center…”
Lol. You’re funny.
I have no doubt we would be winning this division if the OF was Ethier in CF, Kemp in RF and Gonzo in LF platoon with Young. And Loney starting from day 1.
Ethier in center is funny? He probably leads the team in outfield assists.
jspelk, thats why I have been petitioning to sell high on Ethier too. We should sign Hunter next year and trade Ethier and Delwyn Young with a decent prospect to a team with a good young starter. My wish list:
Blanton, Gorzelanny, Snell, to a lesser extent Shawn Hill or somebody along those lines to shore-up the back-end of our rotation (we can’t bank on Schmidt or we might find the same predicament we got into this year). If we get Hunter in CF Pierre in LF and Kemp in RF, I would love it (considering we’re stuck with Pierre).
The reason Colletti can’t deal with Boras is because Colletti is intimidated by him. Hate to say this, but Colletti is nowhere in Boras’ class. Boras may go way overboard for his clients, but Colletti is a shmuck who doesn’t know what he’s doing at any stage of being a GM.
Oh, and don’t forget to FIRE GRADY!!!
Funny is way better than disaster which is what our current CF is on defense. If he scored 90 runs this year he let in 50 with his rag arm and bad reads on balls.
4-3 Phils, bottom 1st
using schumuck on rosh hashana..oy vey. lol
The lineup debate rages–I am certain that Grady gets a share of the advertising revenue for the site, which must be driven by hits to the website. I mean, would so many people check back here every night if we knew who would be playing and where they were hitting? It’s a constant adventure.
I think they should just leave Kemp and Kent locked in and alone. With Kent batting behind him, and if Pierre is on base, Kemp has the best chance of seeing fastballs, which he eats like a beast. Loney is a little more patient and seasoned, and (despite the recent power surge) not as likely to use a good fastball to go yard as Kemp.
(Note–I am not, and never was, a guy who thinks Loney would not have power to play 1B–he can easily hit 25 HRs, maybe more. It’s just that I think Kemp can hit more. Also, I love Kemp hitting third, because it’s great speed 1-3 in the order.) Either way, we’re in good shape with those guys.
Anyway, the key is executing. We have 8 guys in there who have the ability to win on any given day against any given pitcher, and this lineup could play all year and win the division. Unfortunately, we don’t have all year–just 17 games–and we play tonight against the Smartest Pitcher in History, and one of the top 10 of all time. So let’s execute, manufacture runs, and win.
Did you know Kemp has ONE outfield assist this season? Ethier has ten, Gonzo has three, Pierre has two. That is just weird.
Pivotal game tonight. It’s do, or die, with lots of pressure on Wells. He’s been there before. I hope he has it working this evening.
Fire Grady!
The “managers” are at it again. At least the loser LaRoche isn’t in there. Any bets on how the good “ole-ole guys” will do? Enjoy the game!!!!
alex,
no one wants to challenge Kemp’s arm!!!
I actually think Ethier has 11. Didn’t he hose somebody at third Monday night?
Mhm, that makes sense, his reputation proceeds him. I just thought it’s weird. Even Vlad only has 5 assists this season. Vlad has a bigger rep than Kemp and he still has 5 assists.
Can anyone explain why Kemp and Loney are good enough to bat 3rd, except when Gonzo starts, then one of them has to go 7th or 8th?
DROP GONZO to 7th!!!!
Kemp or Loney 3rd and the other one 5th. I say Kemp 3rd ’cause he has speed and Loney after Kent – but flipping them works too.
Nomar can go bat 8th but Gonzo can’t go lower than 5th?
Yeah, because Grady says the hitters make the batting order. I KNEW Gonzo was moonlighting.
Ethier does lead the team in outfield assists. As far as Ethier in center? I don’t think he has enough speed to cover all that ground.
next year it should be a 3-4-5 of Loney-Kemp-Kent. Think Grady has the gnads NOT to bat Kent cleanup?
is it full moon tonight?
why is gonzo batting 5th?
gonzo is a werewolf so he got his power when it is full moon! LOL
Grady is so inconsistant with that saying, because he’ll follow that saying in one instance like moving Loney up from 7th to 5th and now tonight to 3rd and then the next will bench Kemp or Ethier who hit a HR or had a good day earlier. Though lately he’s been pretty much going by the splits when it comes to the starting OF. Which is why I can pick up on his lineup habits so well. When I can’t understand Grady, that’s when we truly have a problem, like last weekend.
If Gonzo’s weak arm costs us in LF I am really going to be ^&%$@#%! His bat doesn’t make up for the fact everyone runs on him.
Too late to change it, so I am hoping Gonzo goes 4-4 with 10 grand slams or something equally impossible – cause we’re stuck with him.
I hope Wells continues his good pitching!
alex,
no one wants to challenge Kemp’s arm!!!
Posted by: van_19_cute@yahoo.com | September 13, 2007 04:55 PM
It’s not the arm strength, it’s his accuracy that’s in question.
JJriley, agreed. He has the arm but has no idea where the ball is going at times when it leaves his hand. I would be inclined to send my runner home because I don’t think Kemp can make a great throw from the outfield to home plate. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. Now, he can work on that, but right now he has the arm but no direction.
jjriley22
It’s not the arm strength, it’s his accuracy that’s in question.
got that right!
but the point that im trying to tell alex is Kemp has 1 assist coz no one really wants to run with him!!!
like he said, vlad has only 5 assist! why? coz no one dares to run with him!!!
I hope Kemps throwing accuracy improves. I would surely hope the coaching staff is working with him. Hopefully it’s sooner, rather than later.
I have no gripes whatsoever on his hitting skills though. I don’t want to come across like I’m bashing him. Far from it.
I hear you, Pierre, and you always make good sense. I’m just so frustrated, because we have a much better team than the two ahead of us in the standings. I don’t want to get to the point where I’m adopting the Cubs’ mentality and willingness to wait for that next year. So, if we can’t have it all on the field, I say:
FIRE COLLETTI AND FIRE LITTLE!
“but the point that im trying to tell alex is Kemp has 1 assist coz no one really wants to run with him!!!
like he said, vlad has only 5 assist! why? coz no one dares to run with him!!!”
then if Pierre only has 2 assists…lol
You have to be able to throw it all the way to the infield to get an assist, which pretty much knocks Pierre out of any assist situation. It could be like Hockey, where they give two assist and maybe Pierre would have some.
In my lifetime of watching baseball, the best OF arms I ever saw were Clemente in the NL, and Old Yaz from Beantown in the AL.
maybe it’s all the times he throws the ball to the other OF to throw it back in…they must be confused and counted a couple of those
Jungar, they do. Pierre has an assist with help from Furcal. 8-6-2 and one on his own at third base, 8-5. It’s just like hockey.
You know it’s a rare occasion when I can remember each of Pierre’s assists. But, he’d be the first to tell you that.
The best RF arm the Dodgers ever had was “The Rifle”-Carl Furillo. Does that go back too far for you?
With Pierre’s arm, or lack thereof, don’t you think someone may have tried to convert him to an infield position before?
Just a thought.
Fire Grady!
JJriley, he’s a lefty, he can only play defensively in the outfield or first base. Otherwise, yes I’m sure they would have when he was younger.
i’d love to see him with all the catcher gear on just once…
cable30 I was just a rugrat in diapers the last time Furillo suited up. lol
The reason having Ethier play center is laughable is not because of his arm.
Come to think of it, I think the last cannon this team had in the OF was Mondesi. The 1st 30-30 man the Dodgers ever had.
jjriley: I’ve been a Dodger fan since 1947, how’s that for an oldie! Heard Erskines no hitter on the radio, as well as Podres 1955 games. “The Shot Heard Round the World”, and saw Larson’s no-no in 1956. Also a couple of Koufax’s no-nos. Koufax/Drysdale were the greatest combo ever. So I heard Furillo nail a bunch that tried to run on him. They didn’t call him “The Rifle” for nothing. Never been to a Dodger game though. Maybe some day!
cable30 No argument on the best 1-2 punch ever in a staring rotation with Koufax, and Drysdale. They dominated for years. The 1-2 the Dbacks had the year they beat the Yanks was good (Johnson & Schilling), but fall waaay short in comparison.
terrible day wen you have some 40 year old has been starting in left and hitting 5th in the middle of a playoff race. might as well put grady out there. but i guess the lineup that played yesterday has to win by more than 5 to have that same lineup go in two straight games.
Betemit, 0 for 3, 3 strikeouts tonight.
alex One can only wonder what Betemit’s numbers would be now if he stayed here….
Fire Grady!
ya betemits numbers would be even worse lol
Just as bad, if not worse. There’s one who just wondered. BTW, total overkill on the fire grady stuff. It’s lost all it’s meaning and you’re devaluing it each time you say it.
.
.
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the series or bust!
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.
.
I apologize, but I’ve come to the dark side after the last road trip. This is still my team through thick, and thin. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I’m not a fair weather fan. I just finally got fed up with Grady’s decision making. Nuff said.
GO DODGERS!
They can get a lead off Maddux in the 1st then I think we will roll!
Y’know, the team’s going to be kinda danged if they do and danged if they don’t against Maddux. On the plus side, the notorious first pitch swingers will have their best chance that way – the batting average off Maddux is higher off the first pitch to a batter than any other pitch he throws. On the other hand, if he has their number, he’s going to wrap them up for seven or so innings despite seldom going more than 70 pitches.
I hope like heck that tonight is a night where their trademark limp singles fall in for the Dodgers, but I don’t give them better odds than one in four to win this game. This isn’t a team that plays hard when it matters. They follow the lead of their laid-back manager and flat veterans. Once those are gone and some fire is brought into the clubhouse and the team, the Blue will be awesome. But until then, this is what you get – your third or fourth place, also ran L.A. Dodgers.
A pathetic lineup. Absolutely no reason to sit Ethier and put one of your best hitters, Matt Kemp, down to 7.
http://mikesciosciastragicillness.com/
Unless Loney gets a home run, or one of him or Kent gets an extra base hit and they both get hits, there probably won’t be any lead off Maddux in the first. Furcal is a virtually guaranteed out, and Pierre can at most slap to second base, now that his little hot streak is over.
Little brother Marcus is in the lineup tonight.
matthew: Alex has provided reason in spite of your “absolutely no reason…”. Are you too rude to read before you post or do you just post to give a link to your blog?
Actually, I’m interested for somebody to give me a logical reason BEFORE the game begins as to why Gonzo should not play tonight…anybody?
I wish Martin would have jacked Marcus in the face after last night.
I have to say, that is one of the most useless plays in baseball. Runner at 2nd with no outs and you bunt him over to third. Is that one base really worth an out?
It maybe helps your chances of getting that run in, but it kills the chances of a bigger inning.
My Loney has a first name,
It’s J-A-M-E-S
My Loney has a second name,
It’s L-O-N-E-Y
I love to watch him every day
And if you ask me why I’ll say
‘Cause James Loney has a way
With H-I-T-T-I-N-G!
unbelievable
Players wish they could be as locked in as Loney is right now!
James has been money lately!
OKAY LONEY Keep it going kid.
atta boy Kent!
This was something brought up on Dodgers Live, Angel Hernandez has a VERY tight strike zone. If Maddux doesn’t get the corners, he can be had. Tonight, he’s not getting the corners.
im still mad about that bunt… madduz hasn’t had to work for any outs yet.
lets see what he can do
only the dodgers score 1 out of this type inning.
Hit that one hard, Maddux is a wizard on the mound. Most of the time that’s up the middle for a base hit. Tough luck, he’ll get him.
geez gonzo… even had maddux not touched that ball it was a DP… ehh… Why is Kemp batting 7th? Fire Grady.
Hitting Maddux hard that should be a good sign EH?
The bunt thing?!! Appears Grady’s Cranial Rectal Inversion has returned…….
wow Gonzo grounded into a double play…who saw that coming?
Rally- Kill- er
clap clap, clap clap clap
Gozo should not have been playing in April and he shouldn’t be playing tonight.
Rally Killer indeed
Kevin Kouzmanoff… great example of what sticking with a young kid in your lineup can produce. The Padres sure know how to bring along a good 3B prospect.
Wait a second here folks. You can’t gripe that Pierre is a lousy hitter and then complain that he is ordered to bunt. After all–isn’t that what you are supposed to do with a lousy hitter with no out and a runner on second? Assure that the runner moves over???
I am not harping on Pierre, because he is playing well of late, but it’s still a good move to get the guy to third with one out. A ball in play gives us an early lead. And from the way Vinny describes it on the radio, Maddux robbed Gonzo of a hit and another run.
Martin with the pickoff!
nice russ! b*tch about that M Giles!
Nice baserunning Hairston!
Nice going Russ!
It’s a good play to move the guy to third if its a tie game or 1-run game in the ninth inning. In the first inning, it’s a rally killer.
good post leek..i totally agree with your assessment.
Problem is, with the flip-flopping, double standards, and highsight 20/20 vision that most seem to have, it will still considered a “bad move”..go figure š
Nothing would make me happier than for Martin to take Maddux deep after that pickoff
I wasn’t getting on Pierre for it, I was getting on Grady for it. But I am sure that if Pierre was a power hitter, he wouldn’t be bunting, so Pierre isn’t entirely blameless.
ATTA WAY TO GO MARTIN. ____I must say these Pards take pitches that are a hair off the plate. This is all series. And tonight they seem to have the right ump.
HAHAHA KEMP!!!!
Yeah, Kemp did real good there
Little also said Chad Billingsley and David Wells will be the starters for Tuesday’s doubleheader at Colorado and that Wells then will start on Sept. 22 at Arizona on short rest.
“Wells has gone on three days’ rest a lot in the past, so he should be fine,” Little said.
— Tony Jackson’s blog
I think I’d go with Billingsley on the short rest; he’s young and strong and he’s the one that will pitch in the doubleheader with the extra days rest, since the day before is an off-day. Wells is a creaky old man, and you can get burned if you go the Wells once too often.
casino… don’t indirectly call me a flip-flopper. If you want to address me directly, by all means please do. I posted my disagreement with the move before we scored that run.
God that was typical Maddux
wow..that strike out pitch by maddux on KEMP was nasty! They showed it on slo-motion here in the SD broadcast and it had some wicked movement.
Let hope kemp adjust’s next at-bats and blast one into the seats
lol scurtis, I was wondering if anyone was as pissed off about that last night as I was.
Leekfink, I wouldnt call a hard hit grounder back to the box on Maddux a robbery. He’s got 16 gold gloves, you kinda expect that out of him.
One final note, for now, they announced the cy young candidates today, Martin should be a cinch for Gold Glove at Catcher.
Dodgerdude:
Don’t talk to Casino, he’s an idiot.
What the **** was Kemp looking for? 95 instead of 85? lol
casino… don’t indirectly call me a flip-flopper. If you want to address me directly, by all means please do. I posted my disagreement with the move before we scored that run.
Posted by: dodgerdude17@yahoo.com | September 13, 2007 07:41 PM
don’t worry, i’ll adress directly if i need to. Why would i be afraid to? It’s the internet, i can say whatever i want, to whomever i want, however i want.
I don’t know what your position on the pierre thing is, because, quite frankly, i didn’t read your posts on the topic yet. I just read leek’s post because i’m flipping from watching the game and reading posts here, and leek’s post was rather long and caught my eye.
Dodgerdude:
Don’t talk to Casino, he’s an idiot.
Posted by: manny3vee@yahoo.com | September 13, 2007 07:43 PM
thanks!
LOL!
manny, go ahead and resort to name calling all you want.Josh doesn’t tolerate it here, and if you want to continue it, see what happens.
At least other posters who don’t agree with me don’t resort to such childish comments like “idiot” “stupid”, etc..
What next? Are you going to throw crayons at me?
Casino:
“It’s the internet, i can say whatever i want, to whomever i want, however i want.”
Posted by: casinod383@yahoo.com | September 13, 2007 07:44 PM
BTW, I was just kidding. š
so far, wells is through 3 innings unscatched..let’s hope he can give us 5-6 strong, and give it over to our bullpen…1 1/2 games out sounds a **** of a lot better than 3 1/2! š
Kouzmanoff after 52 ABs: .132 BA, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 run, .207 OBP, .226 SLG.
LaRoche after 51: .196 BA, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 10 runs, .400 OBP, .275 SLG.
Not saying that Kouz is great or anything, but his current numbers (.262 BA, 16 HR, 63 RBI, 49 runs, .316 OBP, .440 SLG over 408 ABs) are respectable and have helped the Padres lead the wild card till this point. I think we’d all agree that LaRoche is more talented than Kouz too.
ok manny.
5-6 strong from Wells would be wonderful…lets just hope we can get a couple more runs on the board. In my view, that the more important thing.
LOL! I was hoping Tubby Wells would go for 3…
The difference LaRoche has been dealing with a back issue all season. A healthy LaRoche comes around then we can talk.
Boomer with a leg double! š
casino… no one said u’re afraid to address me. I’m just saying if you want to, please do so i can explain my position to you.
You responded the leek’s post which was in response to something I said. So please, read what I write before you respond to it.
Boomer with a double?!
lets go JP!
the injury thing is valid alex, but this management has a track record of blocking or being extra slow in playing their young guys. ****, Kemp doesn’t even play everyday yet. So it’s not just about LaRoche.
fezzik031–I was just saying how Vinny called it. Obviously, you cannot be offended by the following statement, since I would say it to anyone in the world: I’m going to take Vinny’s word over yours.
They should have bunted Wells to third–same thing. Just a drip drop of runs.
But Loney’s up now in a big situation. 6 home runs in 7 games???
Great hit PIERRE
man… Marcus Giles chews a big wad of tobacco.
woooooooooohooo!! 3 runs batted in by loney!!
our table-setters get it done, and loney delivers!!
Wow. Loney’s really losing it. Only a 2-run single.
When you’re hot you’re HOT! Loney is the hottest thing in baseball right now!
that ball had some eyes.
L_O_N_E_Y*****L_O_N_E_Y
Loney delivers again!
loney is becoming a padre killer!!!
Here comes GOZO for is customary inning-ending DP.
NICE GOZO!!!
Mhm…that’s more like it.
The balls must look like big juicy grapefruits to Loney these days!
The man is in the zone!!
Luis Francisco Gonzalez does it again!
IT’S ABOUT TIME G_O_N_Z_O
Stupid!
Would it help if I said Kent should’ve been out at third on the Gonzo single before he got thrown out on Martin’s fly ball? Big risk, didn’t work out.
On the Wells play: It’s lousy when you can’t run. I was thrown out on that play many times, when I was playing. I know how he felt.
Great catch Gonzo
not gonna blame kent for being overly aggressive in a four to nothing game with the way Wells is pitching. Its the way we need to play with no legitimate power hitter in the lineup.
It was probably a bad decision for Kent to go, but I would rather us make mistakes of aggression, espescially with a 4-0 lead.
did wells only throw 3 pitches that inning? Vin just said that it was a minimum number of pitches, but it seemed like more than three pitches.
Kent was just trying to get us another run. BUT he was cought.
Second time around, Kemp hit it good.
WELLS is a hitting machine!!!!! LOL!!!!
Close one for KEMP!! he would have been out by a mile at home. Luckily his speed got hit back to third. But that aggressiveness is what i like to see š
Maddux gone before the end of the 4th, tremendous job!
There is nothing like Kemp’s baserunning*****How about that Wells?
Boomer 2 for 2!
Whodathunk it?!!! I hope he doesn’t wear himself out on the basepads! LOL
Wells K.O.’s Maddux
Love the aggressiveness tonight!
hahah did you see wells
before you can be aggressive on the bases, you have to get on base.
Good SWEEZE by FURCAL ***ATTA WAY ****FURCAL is not showing his ANKEL is he?
DD17, brilliant observation lol
FURCAL looookiiig Good
its simple, yet so difficult to do sometimes… get on base and all is well. OBP is king.
Loney for KING!!!
I’m done talking about Loney, wow, wow…just wow
CAN’T STOP that L_O_N_E_Y
Ladies, and Gentleman;
Welcome to the Loney Show!
Dodgerdude–you’re right, it’s the old adage “you can’t steal first.”
Who are these Dodger imposters????
One Gonzo just robbed another, that was quite the play.
Does Kemp stay in the 3 spot next year or do you slide Loney in the 3 spot and put Kemp clean up?
Loney for president!
Isn’t it about tme for Khalil Greene to wreck a finger?
3-hole is tough call. Kemp has more speed and pop, Loney a classic textbook swing.
Just so we’re clear…
AB’s
Nomar: 407
Gonzo: 433
Loney: 279
RBIs
Nomar: 57
Gonzo: 60
Loney 52
Boomer’s got a good one going here….
Kouzmanoff ran into the LAW.
Can Delwyn Young play 3rd?
3-hole is tough call. Kemp has more speed and pop, Loney a classic textbook swing.
Posted by: kahliforni@aol.com | September 13, 2007 08:35 PM
Don’t you just HATE decisions like that.
I know the Pards are easy to steal on but that has nothing to do with FURCAL. Just the fact that he’s running around and sliding.
Only Martin, and Abreu on the outside looking in on the hit parade so far.
how many pitches has wells thrown?
okay get someone up. make this his last inning we cannot afford a pedro martinez here.
you knew it was a matter of time with those fly balls
Looks like 70 pitches for Wells through 6 innings. A little shaky in the 6th, but a Quality Start nonetheless.
No need to risk it here. A great job by Boomer–now put in a hitter, see if Loney can’t drive in another run or two, and turn this thing over to Bullpen and close it out.
Two bad pitchers****I felt Cameron’s before he hit it. I just knew it.
i was about to say good job grady then i realized it was saenz…at least we don’t have to wory about him PH in the 8th or ninth in a close game
If the Dodgers are done hitting, it’s up to Grady’s genius in handling the bully.
Another Good start for Wells.*****Forget about Saenz even when he hits good now somebody either robs him or he hits right at somebody***Bad times for him. LET’S GO PROCTOR,
kahliforni–The bullpen does not take a genius to figure out at this point. Proctor goes, and Beimel if there is any critical lefty in the 7th. Broxton in the 8th. Saito in the 9th. It literally manages itself.
BTW–no reason to think we’re done scoring. The Padres won’t run their top guys out there down by three runs, so we might be able to put a couple more on the board.
OK Which Proctor shows up tonight?
dodgerdude:I assume you are among what I call the mob- who not only never have anything positive to say about Little but fill up this board with insults and infantile sarcasm everyday. Yet you are so quick to praise the Padres.
First of all La Roche never put up numbers like Kouzmanoff did in 2006 maybe because Kouzmanoff played 2 years of junior college and 1 year of college and thus is older. He was traded from Cleveland to SD for SD’s starting 2B man of last year Josh Barfield. He had a terrible April then started to hit beginning May 10. You transform this into “The Padres sure know how to bring along a good third base prospect.” As if they did anything special. Teams usually show 5 weeks of patience with a player that they traded a starting position player for.
Btw,lately he has been hot 28 for 69 (406) and 7 for 8.
Not done hitting…in theory. But this team has a nasty habit of shutting down the presses. As for the bullpen, good thing it DOESN’T take a genius, ’cause we haven’t got one.
BOMBS AWAY***ALMOST
DOCTOR PROCTOR*****Good to get past that F&7. YEAH
We don’t have a bullpen****Thank God you’re wrong.
Don’t have a GENIUS…not talking about bullpen…
loney neds to be benched
Don’t give Grady any ideas.
Now let’s see Broxton make you eat your words KAHLI
Geez, Pierreseast, I like our bullpen…I was ripping Grady.
dodgerdude:I assume you are among what I call the mob- who not only never have anything positive to say about Little but fill up this board with insults and infantile sarcasm everyday. Yet you are so quick to praise the Padres.
First of all La Roche never put up numbers like Kouzmanoff did in 2006 maybe because Kouzmanoff played 2 years of junior college and 1 year of college and thus is older. He was traded from Cleveland to SD for SD’s starting 2B man of last year Josh Barfield. He had a terrible April then started to hit beginning May 10. You transform this into “The Padres sure know how to bring along a good third base prospect.” As if they did anything special. Teams usually show 5 weeks of patience with a player that they traded a starting position player for.
Btw,lately he has been hot 28 for 69 (406) and 7 for 8.
Posted by: miketink@gmail.com | September 13, 2007 08:59 PM
The point i was trying to make was that the Padres aren’t afraid to play their young guys, and the dodgers are hesitant to “hand” them any roles even if they lead the minors in BA (see James Loney). LaRoche was just an example of this.
BIG BAD JON ya did it man.
These they it hard to tell who you guys are rippin’
I think the Grady bashing is warranted because he isn’t a good manager. Period. And I am not the only one to think this. Grady’s made some very questionable moves all year, and it’s cost us games… don’t you agree? He’s not perfect because he’s human, sure. But to stick by Nomar, Bomko, Hendry, Gonzo, so on… And his management of starters, bullpen, crucial pinch hitting situations lately has been bad to say the least. To be fair, I don’t ALWAYS pick on Grady. I usually pick on Ned because I think he’s done more damage to the team than Grady.
Let me do that again: These days it’s hard to tell who you guys are rippin’
Like I said about our hitting, nine up, nine down since Pods made a game of it…
Another quick inning for our Dodgers.**** Is it SAITO?
I know Grady-ripping is the flavor of the month, but he sure makes it easy…much to my pain.
saito is incredible
For me at least, it isn’t just ripping on them for the sake of ripping on something, it’s just me voicing my displeasures with the ways that the team is being managed and run.
What a gigantic series victory against the hated Padres!
This team is maddening.
Great game and great effort, team – especially Loney and Wells.
KILLER TAKASHI**I KNOW HE’S GREAT. WHY DO I SUFFER SO?***************1 1/2.
i love to hate this team.
One last thing. No matter how much we bloggers ***** and whine, we ALL love the Dodgers…or we wouldn’t be on some goofy website–and watching the game with Vinny!
Saito-San is AWESOME!!
BTW, in the upcoming series with the Giants and the Padres. Zito/Young, Cain/Tomko, Lincecum/Peavy.
While we deal with the Snakes, Davis (Dodger Killer) vs. Penny, Hernandez/Lowe and Gonzalez/Loaiza.
Wells has come up pretty big for us. Can’t fault Ned for this one guys.
*****
Who hits 3 next year? Is it Kemp or Loney? Can Kemp handle clean-up next year? He looks good in the 3 hole but Loney is going to be a BEAST next year. Oh what do we do?
The wild card is within reach now. I sure hope they beat up on the Snakes to close out the homestand.
Yup, I love and hate this team at the same time.
all ino is that diamondback fans are pissed rite now!!
:]
I just got back from the game nothing better than a big victory at the Ravine!!!!! I LOVE LA!!!!!!!
GO DODGERS!!! sweep the snakes.
PS FIRE GRADY LITTLE
btw, the latest Plaschke columnn literally makes me want to tear my hair out. Read with caution.
Wow, were the Padres playing flat last night or what? They had errors in the field ( Kent to third, for instance! ), their hitters couldn’t wait to swing. Maddux had an off night, the loopy singles fell in, and all but two of the towering fly balls came back down inside the park and mostly into a glove, too. It was like watching what usually happens to us happen to another team š
Plaschkes’s column in the LA Times is probably very accurate concerning Grady. He won’t be fired no matter what the outcome this season if Colletti has the final word. That’s why I always say FIRE COLLETTI AND LITTLE. That’s the only way it’ll get done. Of course, if the Dodgers do make it to the playoffs and perform better than in the past few, both guys will stay and would deserve that chance, if they pull it off.
Bill Plaschke is the worst sports writer in america.
I like how he fails to mention that thanks to Ned and Grady’s horrible personnel decisions this season we ARE fighting for a playoff spot and we HAVE to play catch up.
I agree with you there totally, exit. Barring their messed up decisions in the off-season and during the season, we should be the ones comfortably in first place in the division. If it was my decision, I would still fire them both and start out with new management next year. I’m just saying that the change will not happen if we do make it into the playoffs after all.
If colletti can’t see grittle is the worst manager in baseball he needs to be fired too. That was worst article I’ve ever read. Totally killed my apetite.
FIRE GRADY LITTLE
FIRE NED COLLETTI
no one in the dodgers organization knows how to speak to the media…
how can Ned say those things?
oh well maybe becoz he admits that it is all his fault for not having a power bat in the lineup…
one thing i realize though…
this team needs a manager who is patient!
Grady did a great job with that… through all this up and downs he remain calm and easy! he trust his team!
he is a good guy!
and i think being so good affect his managerial job!!
I just read Plaschke’s article..MMMMM!! Well at least they are aware of the fact that the fans are not happy with the constant changing of the line up and Grady’s questionable in game moves. That the veteran players are complaining about playing time, Gonzo, well I think a manager has to go with who’s hot. Plaschke mentions that the projected 3-4-5 hitters in the line up have combined to hit as many home runs as Tampa Bay’s Carlos PeƱa (39), well I don’t think that’s fair to Jeff Kent who has 20 himself. You have to put that on Gonzo’s ineffectiveness and Nomar’s fragile body, things that the Dodgers were aware of before signing them, so to me that’s not a legite reason to give Grady kudos on. Grady has 1 year left on his contract and the Dodgers are not going to eat it, that’s why he’ll be back next year. If Colletti is so please with the job Grady has done why not offer him an extension? Because he’ll be gone after next season, if not during the season. Plaschke is just doing some PR for a battered Grady and Ned. Well at least that’s my take.
FIRE GRADY!!!!!!
FIRE GRADY!
FIRE NED!
FIRE PLASCKE!
good morning fellas, well good win last night we need three more this weekend.
Los Angeles sports writers are horrible!!!!
Geeze, according to Plashke and Colletti, we’re lucky to be in this thing and any winning the team is doing is thanks to Grady and we’re lucky those darned young guys aren’t ruining everything.
IDIOTS
Good game last night, expect the lineup to change!
You know, by saying that thanks to Grady’s terrific managerial abilities the Dodgers are still in this, Ned is basically admitting that he did a terrible job in putting this team together. If he was confident in the team that HE built, he would be disappointed that we’re only fighting for the wild card. So the real question here is, who is the actual genius, Grady or Ned? I say neither, and they can write all they want about how great Grady is, I’m not buying, I believe, as I said yesterday, he has cost us several victories this season, victories that should have the Dodgers in first place, albeit by a game or two, but in first place. Plaschke, Ned, nice try but it’s gonna take more than a few nice words and a positive spin on a season gone wrong to convince anybody that Grady is the man, sorry.
FIRE GRADY!!!!!
Kiper, are you going to the fiestas this weekend????
FIRE GRADY!!!!
all of Ned’s offseason acquisitions have done nothing but hurt this team. Ned will still have a job thanks to Logan White and his kids.
wow great win last night. a few thoughts…
1. Gonzo could have had 5rbi. I thought he hit the ball hard each time and really we can’t complain. They made 2 really good plays versus him.
2. I have not read this Plaschke article yet, i’ll go read it now. But I already agree with Kiper. I better read it though. It’s all PR.
3. The dodger baserunning is bad. Yesterday here many of you said the one veteran the kids look up to is Kent. Well no wonder Kemp can’t run the bases. Kent tried to ruin the inning by going to 3b and then did ruin the inning by trying to score at home. I do like the aggressiveness but….its team wide, not just Kemp. Although kemp is the worst of the bunch.
4. ****** if we could have just beaten the giants. Takeing 2 of 3 from Padres with the one loss being to Peavy is good stuff.
5. I taped what Vin said last night and want to write it for you guys…I am capitalizing his emphisis (u guys no how vin talks. Always positive but also if you read between the lines…)
“Were talking about James Loney standing on 2nd base, what kind of a series has James had, he is now 8 for 11 with 7 rbi. James Loney, he was the fella who had a GREAT last year in the minors, had a GREAT spring training, after hitting .380 the year before in Vegas and they STILL decided to send him back and when they FINALLY decided to bring him up, he has been and INCREDIBLE contributor. Don’t forget he is now hitting .322….”
This last good manager the dodgers had was Tommy, since then we’ve had,
Bill Russell
Glen Hoffman
Davey Johnson
Jim Tracy
Grady Little
and the best one we could have had went to the dark side. The Angels.
Kiper
i would put the blame more on Ned! it’s not a good year for him!
the only problem with grady is he is too good of a person for this job!
he wants to give everbody a chance to play even if the player is struggling! (which results to crazy lineups!!!)
he has pretty much done a good job with the dodgers! like i said this team needs a patient manager!
grady did good with that!
Plaschke is a *****. The Ds would be a lot better off without those 2 clowns Ned and Grittle running the show. This team would have been a lot better with a different manager.
van;
OK, let’s give Grady the benefit of the doubt for this season. Now let’s look ahead for next year and who he’ll have, barring the signing of any major free agents. Do you think that Grady will put out a consistent line up of: Furcal, Pierre, Loney, Kemp, Kent (assuming he returns), Martin, Ethier and LaRoche? I say that he’ll take at bats away from LaRoche to give Nomar some AB’s but then if Nomar has lost a step this year where else can you play him, at first? OK, let’s take away at bats from Loney, or do they just say to Nomar, you are our guy of the bench (assuming Saenz is gone!!) Then you factor in Repko, where does he get at bats, from Ethier and Kemp, and does Pierre get to go 162 games again. I am not sold on Grady, as much as I’d like to be, but I think this vicious circle just repeats itself. The only thing Grady can do is say, “hey this is my line up, the rest of you will be complimentary players” and if this cause a rift in the clubhouse is Grady a guy who can handle it? I don’t think so.
FIRE GRADY!!!!!!
Kiper well said, but I am hoping for a miracle, I hope some how or another the Dodgers could find a taker for Juan Pierre. I personally believe between him and Gonzo they have given up at the least about 25 runs with there weak arms in the outfield. And to me that is more frustrating then anything because defense and pitching wins games.
calauto, I agree, but the reality is that the Dodgers will not find a suitor for Pierre, even if they ate a bulk of his contract. If the Dodgers were able to find a suitor, it would open alot of avenues for them, sign Hunter or Jones, put Kemp in CF and let Repko platoon with Young in LF, there would be much more flexibility to the everday line up without Pierre. In the end, Pierre will be in CF or maybe they move him to LF, not a bad idea, but the Dodgers are stuck with this mistake for 4 more seasons.
the dodgers will finish the season in fourth place, they should all be ashamed of themselves.i love them all and will never turn my back on the dodger blue but once again they have broken my heart. what has happened to our on our once proud franchise? where have our heroes gone?godspeed