Today's game in Arizona
My apologies for not posting yesterday. We actually had a very productive series of meetings all afternoon and evening yesterday with the Marketing and Public Relations Departments and for what it’s worth, I can’t even begin to tell you how often the theme of “taking care of the fans” came up over the course of about five hours. Over and over, those of us involved in these areas talked about ways that we can improve the fan experience and ways to take the fans’ opinions into account when creating a memorable day or night at Dodger Stadium.
To that point, I’m hoping to get some clarity today for all of you regarding the new autograph policy and center field BP experience that we’ve started, so please bear with me while I do. In the meantime, here’s today’s lineup:
Furcal, SS
Kemp, CF
Ethier, LF
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
DeWitt, 3B
Pierre, LF
Kuroda, P
Inside the Dodgers 
I’d still rather have Druw in there in center. He has as much of a chance at getting on as Pierre and he’s way better defensively.
Josh,
Glad to hear that management is talking about “taking care of the fans”. Nevertheless, I’ll be much happier when talk turns into meaningful, and not half-hearted, action.
As to Jones sitting for Pierre: Makes little if any sense.
I’d agree as to Andruw better than Pierre, but it’s time somebody sent Andruw a message that he better stop flailing around and get his act together – he is supposed to be the ten year veteran instead of the fat washed-up piece of crap he’s shown so far.
I really do think that they needed to give Andruw Jones a day off though, he’s been struggling like no other.
I think Torre is sitting Druw to send him a message, basically letting him know that he needs to push himself to perform at an optimal level and if he doesn’t, he’ll find himself on the bench. Torre is not gonna tolerate repeat mistakes, especially mental ones (Druw’s poor approach at the plate).
completely agree messagebear.
or what messagebear said. ha
I’ve got a feeling today’s going to be an offensive explosion and a dominating performance by Kuroda. I really do feel like he’s much better than a number 4 starter, and if he can keep up the way he pitched in that first game it’d be a welcome addition to a rotation that has floundered the last couple of outings. It’s the weekend pitching match ups that are scary.
Josh,
I’m looking forward to seeing what information you can gather. Also, I don’t think that many of us believe that the Dodgers don’t listen to the fans, but rather aren’t sure if they tend to listen more to fans that have the means to spend more money than others. I, for one, don’t want to believe that, but this decision definitely makes me wonder whether I should believe that or not.
bear, I agree with sitting Jones, but not with Pierre being the replacement. How about Young? or my dead grandma?
or any random tee-baller…oh wait Juan’s already out there.
I like the lineup today, sans the hole in the 8 spot.
I was hoping Andruw was sitting, too for the same reasons as everyone else, but it would have been nice to see Young out there instead of Pierre. Somebody mentioned it a couple of days ago, but it is scary that I am actually hoping he does bad to keep proving our point. On a different not, since I live with Giants fans, I was tortured last night. However, I must say, I was glad the Giants won because now, the Dodgers are not the only team that has lost to them.
GO DODGERS – LET’S GET THIS ONE!!
If things were right based on performance, it would be Repko here with the big club and able to sub at CF and be a pinchitter.
poor jp is not even a back up cf anymore
Right, Bear. If DY is worth holding on to enough keeping Repko in the minors, why not give him a shot? Can he do worse than Pierre? Hardly.
Josh,
it would be nice to have some sort of access to other concourses other than the one we sit in, as i’d like to have access to other food choices other than Dodger Dogs and pizza. I guess its now new policy to not allow access between level regardless of the reason which really limits the fans sitting in the Top Deck. We used to be able to go down to the Reserve and get our food there and come back up. I guess from now on we will purchase our food outside the stadium and bring it in since we can’t have Panda Express or Camachos. We like choices too in the Top Deck.
Is there one person in our lineup that scares any opposing ptcher?
I mean, I know there are several that scare the HELL out of us… but seriously, who scares other teams? NOONE
I think a strong case can be made for Loney, Martin and Kemp. If they don’t scare anybody now, they will soon. I really don’t care if the opposition respects our hitters or not, if they don’t, we’ll obviously get better pitches to hit.
brandon,
I’m sure the Dodgers weren’t scared of Mark Reynolds, but he is the difference in the first 2 games.
I predict Kemp and Martin going deep today and JP going 0-4.
I agree, fans should have access to all levels, especially the new field level concourse. On Opening Day, my wife and I were sitting in the lodge level and she’s pregnant, so she wanted to see what other new food choices were available downstairs. We went by the escalators and the two ushers standing there were so rude, they would not let us go down and just told us to get out of the way as we were blocking the area. Something needs to be done about the ushers, many of them are rude or of no help at all. As a season seat holder I find myself helping people find their seat more often than ushers do. Another suggestion would be to have ushers at each aisle stop people from going down the aisle during play, have people go down once an out has been made or between batters. They do this in most of the new ballparks and it makes it so nice for those of us sitting down watching the game. Too many people constantly go up and down the aisles, it’s very distracting. Hire more ushers with good attitudes.
Why is there a picture of Peavy on the sidebar right now with the Padres logo? Thats like having a portrait of satan in a catholic church. Are we seriously selling advertising space to the pads?
Why not let Delywn play left today and get some at bats. Or Sweeney. Or Let Hu play left. Or…
Let me start this post by saying I hope Colletti owns up to his mistake and trades Pierre so that Delwyn Young can move up the 4th outfielder slot. That being said, Pierre’s career batting average of .301 suggests that he has been unlucky so far this season in terms of his batting average for balls hit in play (.071: 1 hit in 14 non-K at-bats).
Josh, I too am looking forward to McCourt’s decision regarding the autograph situation. As it stands, it is a total embarrassment.
martinloneykemp, thank you, thank you and thank you again for that Buckner link on the previous thread! As I mentioned a few days ago, he is in my top 3 of favorite all-time Dodgers (Vinnie and Sandy being the others). It’s wonderful to see that the Boston fans cheered him. I’ve been sick and tired for years of listening to people unfairly blame him for that Series loss. And that’s about all anyone remembers him for. It’s ridiculous. This guy was a great player. But for that bum leg, he would have had 3500 hits and a plaque in the Hall of Fame.
amen, dodgereric!
I hope McCourt can turn the tide on the public relations front. Being a Dodger fan in Orange County gives me the opportunity to attend some Angels’ games and it saddens me to say that the fan experience at Angel Stadium trumps Chavez Ravine.
Josh, thanks for addressing the autograph issue. Sorry I was a bit angry with my post last night, but I have good reason. One of the main reasons I became a Dodgers fan as a kid was the fact that I felt that the Dodgers were great to their fans. I won a drawing as a kid and my family got to go on the field, meet Orel Hershiser and other Dodgers, get autographs and other perks.
I think kids should have the oppurtunity to meet the players, it fosters a feeling that the Dodgers care about their fans, and being in the Blue Crew, they feel like they’re a part of the team. And if what TJ was writing is true, there’s future baseball fans that are gonna be wearing red hats instead of blue hats after being not only priced out of player interaction, but the parking lots and concession stands as well.
After all, a year before my parents started taking me to Dodger Stadium (and won the drawing), I was a 4 year old Angels fan whose favorite player was Reggie Jackson. The great treatment we received every visit to the Stadium, regardless of whether we were siting in the Pavillion, Reserve Level, Top Deck or Loge, was what kept bringing us back, making sure to catch at least 2 games a season, driving from 120 miles away. Hopefully the staff and the front office doesn’t take the acheivements of the past for granted.
http://northstateblues.mlblogs.com
Brandon – that would be Pierre for the ridicule he’d face if he gave up a hit to him.
Bring back Repko. For once the guy is healthy and doesn’t get a chance to play for the big club and show what he can do playing everyday. I think he would be one of our most productive hitters. He started off bad @ Las Vegas, but who wouldn’t be a little downhearted in his situation.
WE NEED A WIN BIG TIME TODAY AND GET SOME MOMENTUM GOING BEFORE WE FACE SD AND ARIZONA AGAIN.
BRING UP KERSHAW.
Re JP starting over Jones today–Do I like it? No. But everyone is going to get a day off every now and then, and while I don’t think he needs the rest, Jones could use a day just to break out of the funk. If this happens Friday, it’s a problem.
I agree with alejanseren that it would make sense to allow access between levels–particularly for Top Deck, because there are so few options (not that I care–its Dodger Dogs or nothing for me!). But, I’ve been sitting on the Top Deck for 27 seasons now, and the only way we’ve ever been able to get down is by sneaking down (actually–I have found another good way too–which is trying to get my firm’s season tickets down on the baseline and Dugout Club, but I can’t always pull that off).
Supposedly, the rennovations over the next couple of years will revamp the concession stands and concourses on all the levels. I’ve been to the Field level once this year (lucked into firm seats for the rainy game) and it looks and operates well. So, let’s bring that level of service to the other levels.
I have no problem with giving priority to rennovations and amenities to the people who pay a lot of money for tickets–admittedly, in part because I sometimes benefit from that, but also because at $9 (even if it has gone up) is still a pretty good baseball bargain. But, let’s be honest–the real fans are the ones sitting in the upper levels–who are going for the love of the game and the love of the team. They’re the ones who show up not just in 2004 and 2006 when we make the playoffs, but even in 2005 as we were on the road to losing 91 games. The team has to take care of us too.
leek,
What’s the atmosphere like in the top deck these days as far as hoodlums go, etc.?
Thanks for the new thread,
Hi Josh,
2 comments about the fan experience:
(1) It would be nice to be able to go down to field level for batting practice and for autographs. I’ve entered early in previous seasons with my family and we always head back to our seats. The ushers can help facilitate that once the national anthem starts.
(2) A more pressing issue is the amount of obscenities and threats made to fans of opposing teams during games. It seems to have escalated quite a bit over the last few seasons. I’ve talked to many people with families and this has discouraged them from taking their kids to the game. I’d like to see security take more measures to prevent such bad activity. Right now, the ushers and some security do not do much and in some cases seem afraid to confront belligerent fans. Maybe get more LAPD in the stands and have a more strict fan ejection policy?
I went to 2 games last year and the Dodger batting practice was finished before they opened the gates to the seats. We were only able to see the visiting team’s BP. Is that the norm these days?
Good move benching Jones.
I hope they told him to pay attention to some of the more patient hitters.
He has been swinging for the fences.
I hope he settles down and starts thinking of meeting the ball and go for some base hits.
He should try hitting some to right field.
I agree jjlacs,
My friend is a big Braves fan and is afraid to go to Dodger stadium for that reason. We have tickets for that series in July. She is a true baseball fan. She watches a bunch of teams, but grew up watching the Braves and is a huge Tom Glavine fan. I hoping this issue gets better real soon.
It’s good to see Kemp getting those hits.
The power will come.
Colletti can be a fool for sure, but it looks so far like he hit the jackpot with Kuroda….
Would you guys move Kuroda up in the rotation if he continues to show us his pitching is strong? Hell, he’s already done something amazing….. not allow a run in the 1st.
I’d move him up in the batting order as well…
Ok, what just happened, I swear I just saw Pierre miss a HR by a few feet! GO DODGERS!
Look at Pierre!! I’ve never been opposed to him IF he performs… it’s when he’s OFF, which is usually most of the time.
Pierre playing well is bad for the team because it means less ab’s for Kemp/Ethier. Sorry guys, but Pierre doesn’t hit many doubles.
Are the Dodgers wearing white today?
Don’t be foolish and think the team would be better off with Pierre playing over Jones, brandon.
What’s this? I have to work for awhile and next thing I know, Juan’s got an RBI?
Told ya Brandon – Juan’s the most feared hitter in the line-up. Now Owings has to go back and explain how he allowed Juan to get a hit! LOL
no tbooklv, they are wearing the road grays.
Woh, I thought we’d have to bring out the RED Carpet.
Pierre HAS to to hit .280-.300
HAS to bring up that OBP.
Do something once he’s on base.
Don’t hit it in the air
or else he’s wasted whenever he plays.
It’s tough on him and everybody else
I never said that scott. I just said I was not opposed to him if he is playing well. Which so far today he’s got a double and an RBI, I’ll take it. Kuroda is doing nothing but throwing bb’s by the way!! Nice!
I realize they’re wearing the road grays…It was a sad attempt at humor on my part (failed)…2 runners on in the 1st and scoring the 1st run…I wasn’t sure which team I was watching…
I’d be fine if Pierre was just a fill in guy once a week for someone as long as he’s not taking routine starts away from the 3 best guys. I just don’t trust Ned on this matter. I’m afraid Ned’s eyes get all big when Pierre does something good and starts plotting ways to get him into the lineup.
BTW, so far I’ve got JP taking away 6ABs from Kemp, 0 from Ethier. He’s 0 for 6 in those ABs, 0 R, 0 RBI, 0 BB.
It looks like the bats are starting to wake up a bit…Hitting the ball hard the last couple of games, unfortunately right at people. That will change soon enough…
We’re hitting Owings pretty well.
ETHIER came close but know Cigar.
So, do we move Kuroda up in the rotation?
Like swap him with Billz?
Kuroda is looking like our #1 or #2 so far. Penny’s game against the Gnats’ AAA team doesn’t really count.
I wouldn’t move him yet… He is still going to get the same amount of starts at #4 and Billingsley had one bad outing. Kuroda has good stuff, but I think the advantage he has is that he pitches extremely smart
Ethier’s double was close once again to a homer!
Keep it up boys!!!
IMO, I don’t think so Brandon. I think Billz will come around. Meanwhile, Kuroda’s going to be outclassing 99% of other teams 3-4-5 starters and picking up a lot of wins in the process.
Anybody curious as to why AZ bats C. Young leadoff?? This guy might set the record for SO in a season. His OBP was terrible last season.
I hope it’s not Colletti, that’s making the decision on whether Juanpy plays or not.
Scott, I wouldn’t venture to call the San Francisco Giants a AAA team… they’ve proven they can’t compete at that level, either.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/26/SPCBVQS63.DTL
http://northstateblues.mlblogs.com
Damn, I think Juan wants off the bench!!!
pierre with another hit, wow now hes going to start for the next week… great
Maybe the 8 spot is best suited for Pierre.
I think Torre is making the lineups, but Ned is dropping hints about promising JP playing time.
Joe: (phone rings) “Hello?”
Ned: “Yeah, hi, Ned here. Uh, when is Juan going to play, because I kind of promised him a starting job last year?”
Joe: “Look, Ned. I’ll get him in when I can, but we’re trying to win the FREAKING WORLD SERIES HERE!”
Ned: “It’s just that I promised Juan…”
Joe: (dial tone)
Again I ask, What’s the LOGIC of Pierre batting in front of a pitcher?
Man, Pierre is really trying to screw with Joe Torre isn’t he?
Last inning was a perfect case in point why Juan should bat 9th rather than 8th. Two outs, pitcher up and it anchors JP to first, thus taking away his only weapon. He bat’s ninth in that same situation he can try and steal with Ferk up. He makes it and he’s in scoring position. He’s out and Ferk still leads off.
We are not going to win this game 1-0… we need more runs
This is not good…. Let’s see how Kuroda handles the pressure here.
Do we have something against Jackson that I am not aware of? lol That hurts!!
Andre would have held him at first.
If we don’t pull this game out… It’ll drive me a little nuts
We barely got through that inning! Thank goodness it was Kuroda pitching!
We can not afford to have errors like that either!! This is starting to suck how much we have to rely on our starting pitching. Even in games where the pitching is great, we still don’t guarantee wins… our offense has GOT to get going!!
Great to get out of there with only 2 runs scoring.
Loney’s Throw could have been better.
Poor 0 and 2 pitching. HBP and solid single, especially when he just about had himself out of it. Still though, got out of it cheap enough. Now all the guys actually have to do is score some runs.
Nice job Andre – way to hit that ball!!
ETHIER ATTA WAY TO GO.
That something that’s good to see.
Getting that run in from third.
Let’s hope Kuroda got a long enough rest.
I still think Martin will do something good today.
NOW if Loney can make up for that poor offline throw that I think Furcal should have handled.
YES! LONEY! LEEKFINK HIT IT!
By popular demand!
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!
Nice job James!!
LONEY baby HE DID IT.
First of ’08
Many more****GREAT SHOT.
Now we have to put a big 0 up there.
Probably Hiro’s last inning unless he uses minimal pitches, but he’s leading off.
Joe Torre: “Proctor – UP!”
JAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMESSSSS LLLLOOOOOOOONNNNEEEEEEEEEEYYYY!!!!
Proctor: Yes, master.
hmph. could have seen that coming.
yyyyyyyyup!!! Why not pitching change there?
The Tireing Kuroda did a good job against IMO one of the best lineups in baseball.
Kuroda will be all right.
They left Kruda in too long! But Park walks the first man he faces. These guyes are going to blow another one.
I think he did great, only problem is run support, three runs is like an explosion for us. It’s just not enough to win games against lineups like the DBacks. Also we should have taken Kuroda out when the bases got loaded…. oh well…. LET’S GET SOME RUNS!!!
I hope that single to left was down the line for 2 runs to come in.
Just to respond to scott@whittiermailing.com about the atmosphere in the Top Deck–I’ve only been to one game this season at Dodger Stadium (I was also at the Coliseum game), but I was down in my firm’s seats for that game.
But last season, the atmosphere in the Top Deck was pretty reasonable (I also cashed in some vouchers in the Reserve level which is rare, but my brother and I got those for having joined the Dodgers Rewards Club in 2006, which we did in order to get pre-sale rights for playoff tickets–so I did not have as many Top Deck games). It’s certainly a little more rowdy than some of the lower decks, and certainly you see police ejecting fans once in a while, but I would not be worried about bringing my nephews or nieces (no kids for me). But, I’ll be up there Saturday night, so I will have more comments after that.
I’ve always thought of the pavillion (left field in particular) as the most questionable. But even then, unless it’s a Dodger/Giant game and someone gets on a Giant fan, it’s not bad. They need to be careful to make sure that it’s not a problem, but I don’t recall anything bad. Compare it to SF. I went to college in the Bay area, and went to some Dodger/Giants games at Candlestick, and would never sit in the bleachers out there–that could have been dangerous. But, I went to a Giants game at the new Telecom Park and wore a Dodger hat in left field, and only got razzed after the Giants fell behind (it was not a Dodger/Giant game though).
The Coliseum game, however, was VERY different. There were a LOT of people getting thrown out–both for stealing the flags and other things–and there were a couple of pretty serious fights (partly because the aisles were such that security could not break it up soon enough). But, frankly, even there I was OK–though I think that it legitimately rubbed some people the wrong way.
Overall, I think that hte “hoodlum” factor at Dodger Stadium is OK, but it’s worth the team reiterating the fan code of conduct and making sure to have good ushers who can keep things in check and calm down people if they start getting out of hand. A few years ago, I was on the Top Deck during a pretty heated game (maybe during the stretch run in 2004 against the Giants), and the crowd was going. But we had this usher–a woman probably 5’2″–and if anyone looked like they were going to get out of hand, she’d point them out and have them cut it out. By game’s end, there were no problems, everyone had a good time, and everyone liked the usher.
Nice going Chan Ho.
We’re still in the game.
This is a good battle.
We’re giving it all we got.
LET’S GO DODGERS.
Thanks leek! I had problems by the RF foul pole Field Level last year with f-bombs and fight picking (not with me at least), but fill me in about the TD when you go, thanks.
You guys realize, this series we’re getting out EVERYTHING’D. Pitching, Hitting, Fielding, EVERYTHING… WHAT THE HECK DID KEMP JUST SWING AT!?!?!? ERRRRRR!!
OH GOD Please give them patience.
If only Kemp knew what to do at the plate.
They got to learn to hit.
Scott–one other comment. I was on the Field level on the first base side during the rainy game. After the rain delay, there were a few people down in the box seats who had clearly been imbued with what one usher called “liquid courage” during the 1 hour+ rain delay. But I chalked that up to the rain delay.
We have to get some runs and pull this game out.
Kemp just went 3-5 last night, guys and hit .342 last year in well over 200 ab’s. Relax.
I still think we’re going to get the big hit today somehow.
Let’s go Dodgers, find a way. Still within reach.
Let’s go Dodgers, find a way. Still within reach.
The D’Backs are going to be tough to beat this year.
As a Dodger fan for 61 years, I got to say that even though I’m rooting against the D’Backs I really enjoy watching them hit.
Come on now Kent, Loney & Martin.
Marty really struggling. Rats!!!!
Who was it who said that Martin would have a big hit today!?!?!? GREAT JOB!!! He’s in a really bad slump!! We’ve got to get out of this right!?!?
Martin’s slump just continues. I hope he breaks out soon. He had a good pitch to hit and grounded into a double play. Bottom of the lineup coming up in the ninth we are in trouble again.
brandon, I had Martin with the HR today…:(
Maybe Jones can earn that 18 mil next inning, uh?
RATS!
JON WAS GOOD & BAD AGAIN TODAY.
He’s ALL RIGHT.
Now if we can only hit.
Just another K for Jones. Another loss.
Very disappointing series. Got to get home and play some better ball. That error really hurt. Can’t give a team as good as the D-Backs any extra outs. Crap!!!
Boy that was some clouth by Dewitt. I hope that’s not all he’s got. LOL
Well we have the Padres & Pirates coming up.
We might do better against the Pirates.
The Padres are always tough.
Kuroda, Park & Broxton all pitch very good today.
We just got to improve our hitting.
They have to learn to take pitches.
We were beaten by a team that knows how to hit.
The Dodgers have to learn that walks count.
9 Games into the season, and we’re 3 games behind already. Time to make some definite changes. When you are paying a guy 18 million a year, at the very least he should be able to put the bat on the ball. We need Repko and Kershaw
Kuroda deserved a better fate. He pitched well.
D-Backs only had one extra base hit. A double. We had three doubles and a HR. Errors and singles killed us.
The Snakes can hit. The Dodgers obviously can’t right now. I sure hoped to avoid the sweep. I am truly disappointed, but ALWAYS hopeful! It’s a loooong season and it’s only April. Boy! Do I sound like a Cubs fan or what?? (but I’m not) Go Blue!!
I feel like we were beaten by a superior team.
The Dodgers still have to learn patience at the plate.
They have to learn the difference between a ball and a strike.
If you watched these games and you didn’t watch the DiamondBacks hitter you missed it all.
I only wish that our team watched them closely.
Pierre, I think you’re right on it.
I agree PierreEW. They are a clearly superior team right now. I hope our guys were also taking notes. Their hitters work the counts and don’t try to do too much.
Another fine article on Bill Buckner on the Dodger site written by Fred Claire:
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20080409&content_id=2508226&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp
We will probably be fighting for third place with the Rockies with little chance of making the playoffs. If that is the case, what’s the good of playing Pierre, and even Kent and Nomar. Kent and Nomar won’t be around next year – at least I hope not. Pierre hopefully can find another team somewhere, and we should be giving Repko and even DY a chance to show what they can do in the majors. We’ll have to bite the bullet for this season and probably the next while our younger guys mature the way that AZ’s did last year. What we need is to set the direction and keep at it. Pierre, Kent and Nomar won’t bring us to the playoffs this year, and we should write them off our plans and let the young guys just play – that means Hu, Repko, DY, and DeWitt/LaRoche. Bring up Kershaw after the All-Star break and see what we’ve got.
I sort of agree with PierreEW. The D-Backs are playing better and doing things better–taking pitches (like we did the first 6 games) and hitting for power. But I’m still hesitant to call them a better team.
There’s no reason that we should not be doing much better. We need to work counts better, we need guys who we expect to hit for power to do it (only 4 Home Runs this year???). We need Martin and Jones to start hitting. But there is no reason we should not be doing much better.
Except for Furcal (hitting .382) and DeWitt (who had low expectations), no one on the team is playing way above what you would expect. It would not shock me to see Loney, who is now hitting .364, hit in that neighborhood for the whole season. He’s a(n admittedly still short) career .324 hitter, and he hit .380 in AAA in 2006.
Other than those two, Ethier is doing well at .281, but has a homer and is knocking some doubles. Kemp obviously has been struggling, but may be coming out of it, but still not the power yet. Kent’s had some power but is still playing less than what we would expect. Jones and Marting are really struggling. The pitching is overall about at expectations (though, a couple of bad starts the last few days, but mostly good from the bullpen).
Right now, we just don’t have a lot of guys playing up to their basic expectations. It’s early, we have faced some really tough pitching, and ran into the Diamondbacks who have turned on the power early in the season, so I am not really worried that we won’t turn it around, but I’m not happy about it.
And, even though we’re coming home, we start off with 3 games against the Padres top 3 pitchers. I wish we were playing Pittsburgh first–when the Pirates come to town we will really have a chance to get fat and get into a groove.
I do believe, as some have already blogged, that the Dodgers’ three-city, two-continent Spring training was a detriment to a fast start. Nine games in, it’s disappointing to be under .500, but with an entire season left I can’t get too excited about their misadventures. The bench, though, is certainly not a championship bench–not yet, anyway. D. Young being out of options doesn’t exactly translate to an earned spot. He really offers very little. You can’t keep EVERYBODY. Repko offers more. And in the continuing saga of JP, I’ll agree with Torre–he has little value as a role player. When Nomar gets healthy (???) he figures to take a spot, but how can anyone justify keeping both LaRoche AND Abreu in due time? If so, the bench will continue to suffer. Eventually I think you’ll see the Dodgers get a veteran right-handed stick for the beloved bench. Nomar?
Other than Loney, Ethier, and Furcal….can anyone hit on this team?…This is a joke….and I’m so glad Ned went after Andruw Jones instead of doing everything he possibly could to get Tori Hunter….Wouldn’t you rather have a really good center fielder who can REALLY hit for 5 years, than a fat washed up one for 2 years with $18 mill per…???….Instead of giving the Dodgers the power they so desperately need, Jones is a huge rally killer….notice how he really goes all out to get to first base too?……What made the Dodgers think he would have a bounce back year??…Oh, I know…he put on weight and feels better…LOL…
Again, the management and owner of the Dodgers don’t have a clue….another off season disaster ( and I know it’s early) I would much rather have a “normal” good hitting center fielder than him….Jones, Schmidt, Pierre( he’s looking like the best mistake at this point), Loaiza, etc etc…
What will they do if Jones is like this all year?…anyone have any thoughts..?..other than that the Dodgers certainly don’t look like the team to beat…..
What are the pitching matchups this weekend?
jhall
It won’t get better Friday night…could be 4 losses coming…
Peavy and Penny on Friday nite
Young and Lowe on Sat
Maddux and Billingsley on Sun…
so the hitting won’t look pretty on Friday either!!!
We should have Lowe and Penny for 2 of the 3 games.
I believe 1 vs 1 (Penny/Peavy), 2 vs 2, etc.
Well, at least we’ve got our top 3 going. Penny and Billz need to rebound. We are going to have to work those counts, get those starters out of there as soon as possible. Gonna be a tough set of games.
Come on messagebear–too much pessimism for the first 9 games of the season! A couple of lucky breaks and we are 6-3 rather than 4-5. A couple of timely hits by Jones and Martin and we’re right in there. Far too early to give up.
Martin and Jones gonna have to step it up for us to have a good chance. Ferk, Ethier, Loney, and Kent have been solid so far. DeWitt is holding his own. Kemp looked good last night. Pierre got a couple of hits today, so you know what that means. Martin and Jones are the keys.
James McDonald is pitching right now for Jacksonville. Click on this link for the box score:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2008_04_09_jaxaax_tenaax_1&did=t564&sid=t564
You have to refresh it yourself and it only updates between innings. You can click on the audio link and listen live. You have to register with an email address and password, but it’s free. Kershaw pitches for them tomorrow.
I don’t care if Jones hits .230, but we need him to hit 30 bombs.
Cool, thanks DodgerEric.
Could be worse. Detroit is really laying an egg right now.
You’re welcome jhall. I’m headed home from work and will pick them up from there.
Minor league baseball is a lot of fun.
Andruw has historically feast or famine, he usually hits his HR’s in bunches and carries a team for an extended period of time. That said, I’m really getting nervous about his current lousy approach.
leekfink…
Maybe too much pessimism, but I just don’t like Coletti’s offseasons….I do think Kuroda will be good, but signing Andruw Jones was a big mistake in my mind…He had an awful year and he’s starting this year the same way…He looks like he doesn’t have a clue at the plate, and he’s a veteran….I would rather have spent that money differently…If this is a year long thing with him, the Dodgers are in big trouble…I just don’t get why the Dodgers were so convinced he would bounce back…A player that is less a star would have been better….I’m just not pleased by the moves Coletti makes…..and I think the team will be worse if Nomar comes back….I hate to be so down, but the errors are still there…..not a sharp team….Hopefully Russell will bounce back…never seen him look like this too…
I guess there was lots of optimism about Jones because he did hit 26 HR and drove in 96 I believe. And, he is only 30-31 years old. Coming into Spring Training overweight and out of shape after his worst season does not bode well for a great rebound season or his attitude.
At least Ned only gave him a 2 year deal. Not like the black hole of a contract he gave Pierre for far less potential upside.
I think if Ned had not panicked and signed Pierre to that long term contract, we would have gotten Tori Hunter instead. He didn’t want to do another long term deal.
LOGAN WHITE, or anybody but Colletti in 2009!!!
I’m not gonna hop on the base Colletti train just yet because I was very pleased with our off-season. Kuroda is an arm we need, no question. Jones, while not a savior, is much better than Pierre in center. If he replaces Pierre in center throughout the year, it will prove to make us a better team. Jones has more power and gets on base at about the same rate. Factor in defense and its not even close. As far as the coming into camp out of shape thing, that’s complete crap and Jones needs to shape up.
Colletti didn’t trade our prospects for Cabrera or Johan and he didn’t give up on the youth movement. Give this team some time to get on a roll… Russ isn’t gonna bat .100 all year, nor will Jones for that matter.
bash*
drpdedblnd–I thought most people were happy with the off-season. I was. The biggest mistake we could have made was dealing away a bunch of young talent. Ned succeeded there. Will Andruw Jones be the answer? Defensively, he’s already a huge improvement. Offensively, not good so far, but it’s a 2-year deal and he was the best thing available on the market. We could have stood pat and played an outfield of Ethier, Pierre, and Kemp, but I guarantee that would have been much more highly criticized, and our chances would be much worse.
I think we’ll be better off if Nomar comes back. DeWitt is doing an admirable job, and he may end up being the answer. But the thinking on him has been that he’s probably a a year away, and you can see that he has a big upside, but still a lot to learn. Also, for better or worse, I don’t think that Nomar will be the third-baseman all season long. First, I think it likely that he will get hurt again, and I think there is a decent chance that when Andy LaRoche gets back, he’ll be given a chance.
Our best hope at 3B is LaRoche. Coming up, he was usually thought of as a better prospect than Loney, Kemp, and Martin, and he has some of the best power and plate discipline.
Gents, even if things start clicking I fear we are still that legit middle of the order hitter away. Someone who hits for power and has patience.
I don’t see Nomar being much better than Dewitt, to be honest. And we know the defense will be worse. You’re right, our best hope is that LaRoche comes back strong and claims the job, but who knows with his injury how he will be. And yeah, Andruw isn’t exactly the ultimately middle of the order bat. And we still need to rid ourselves of Pierre.
Actually Jungar, Ethier and Loney are developing into that player. I believe that Kemp and LaRoche have the ability and talent to exceed them eventually, but they are not as far along at this time. That said, we can’t let players like Nomar and Pierre impede their progress. I am not willing to concede the season at this very early time, but from what I have seen, with all due respect, we are at least a year away. Arizona is there. They made the commitment to their young players and let them develope and went thru the growing pains. I see this year as growing pains. I think we could surprise and even stay in contention. If we don’t give the kids a chance to grow, we will start next year in the same place and perhaps even further behind. We have to commit one way or the other. I can take it if we don’t make the playoffs this year, but make progress in the development of our young talent. If, however, we continue to wallow in the mire with the old approach and finish 3rd or 4th with no apparent advancement of the kids. We wasted a year.
Money is replaceable, time is not.
I’d like to leave with this thought tonight. The D’Backs, for example, have good hitters, because they seem to know what pitches to swing at. Maybe they’re just hot right now but they are making correct decisions on what balls to hit and what ones to take.
It seems almost uncanny how they take pitches so close to being a strike and they are not and after they hit a ball it always seems that they hit a good “hittable” pitch. They seem to be waiting for the ball to be right where they want it.
I’ve often wondered, can this be thought or is it a natural talent.
The Mets, Yankees & Redsox in recent years seemed to also possess it.
(an opposite would be: Didn’t Kemp take 2 good pitches that it looked like he should’ve swung at and then strike out swinging at a pitch over his head?)
The Dodgers even when they are doing well don’t seem to have it for long periods of time.
Couple of years ago, those D-Back kids were probably doing what we are seeing now. You can’t learn if you don’t get a chance. There will be growing pains. There was about 5 years of growing pains with Koufax. He was signed in 55 and didn’t emerge till 60-61. Not saying it will take that long, but they have to be given the opportunity or we will never know.
I agree with you jhall. really. I see this soon (next year)
Hu
Abreu
Loney
Kemp
Ethier
LaRoache
Martin
Jones
So questions…
is that good enough?
is the ss/2b offense enough or can we/should we package players for a superstar at ss/2b? I love Furcal, but lets avoid that trap, we got his good years so let’s move on. thats my gut feeling
is there a young stud MVP type OF we can trade for and dump Jones? Or will Jones rebound from last season (and so far this year)?
I have Hu in leadoff, but who would hit leadoff?
(I’m not even really worried about the Pitching side)
Hmm.. how many SS/2B superstars are there….that are actually available? I think this team has had it with Abreu. Somebody the other day mentioned Mark Ellis who I really like and he wouldn’t demand a huge contract the O-Dog apparently is. Man I wish we could put DeWitt back at second but apparently he can’t play there. Hu’s defense prowess is really wasted at second. Furcal looks fantastic this season but Im not down with paying him 13M/per year for another 5 or so he’ll want. I think its too soon to give up on Jones (and lets face it on his worst days he’s still more usefull than Pierre). The best part about his contract is its only for two years.
I think the worst thing is if the the “excess” outfield stunts Ethier and Kemp AGAIN. They both deserve and need to play a full season. No more of this half season stuff. Its their third year in the league for chrissakes. Ned is doing the team a tremendous disservice by not letting these guys play everyday by keeping his BF Pierre around.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDRE! Ethier turns 26 today. I am a stat junkie and for some reason I remember birthdays very easily. It’s the first grade teacher in me I think. Have a great day off from Dodger baseball. I think we need the day off as much as the players do. It has been a stressful few days watching the boys in blue (or gray). I am heading down to Anaheim tomorrow for my daughter’s volleyball tournament, and I get to go to the Friday and Saturday Dodger games for sure and maybe Sunday depending on the outcome of the tournament. I can’t wait!!
Jones-bashers (and those who bash Colletti for signing him),
Obviously Andruw has not played well this season, and he clearly played relatively poorly last season. Taking a guy who hit .222 the previous year is clearly something of a gamble. I thought it was a darn good gamble — especially since it was a gamble limited to 2 years and $36 million.
The only reasonable alternative, as has been pointed out, was Torii Hunter. With all due respect to Hunter, he has not had nearly the career that Andruw Jones has had. In the six years since Hunter became a full-time player, Jones has had more RBI than Hunter five times, Hunter more than Jones once, and once they tied. http://tinyurl.com/5zlarf
Hunter got $80 million for 5 years from the Angels. He’s off to a terrific start this year. (4 HR, 8 RBI) But Hunter’s career thus far suggests that, like the vast majority of good but not great players, he will begin to decline soon. Hunter will turn 33 this year, 34 next … and 37 in the final year of his contract. It’s not unlikely that Angels fans will be bemoaning his contract in its last 2 or 3 years. Meanwhile Jones will have either moved on from the Dodgers or returned to the HOF-level play he has displayed for almost the entire last decade.
In short, Torii Hunter is a very good player — comparable for instance to Jimmy Wynn. The question surrounding Andruw Jones at this point is if his career will more closely track that of Dale Murphy (whose 1988 season is eerily similar to Jones’ 2007 campaign), or that of Frank Robinson who stat-wise Jones most resembles up to this point in his career.
I think that a 2-year-gamble on Andruw Jones is an excellent gamble. If it doesn’t work out, you won’t read me complaining about Ned making a poor decision on this one.
An update on the autograph saga from TJ Simers in the Times:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-simers10apr10,1,2062773,full.column
I also will ask for patience with Andruw Jones. No one is asking for Russell Martin’s head yet, right? And remember back when we signed Dusty Baker? He wasn’t too good that first season and he turned out OK, at least until he put that lowsy hat with the SF on his head.
I think that a 2-year-gamble on Andruw Jones is an excellent gamble. If it doesn’t work out, you won’t read me complaining about Ned making a poor decision on this one.
I AGREE. We need a real CF and now we have one, lets hope he hits a little…
Jones came to camp 10 pounds overweight (and $36 million richer) and this speaks volumes about his attitude toward the Dodgers and their fans. He has really looked pathetic at the plate. He can’t hit the fastball, curve, or slider and has shown a poor judgment of the strikes zone. I don’t think I’ve seen him hit a solid line drive yet. I know we are early in the season, but he sure looks ugly.
rintin,
I agree that his coming to camp out of shape was a poor thing to do. Anyone who signs with a new team should really try harder to make that first impression. But having said that, we all need to reign in our expectations a little and stop throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Sure, I’m disappointed with the way we’re hitting as a team so far. I’m sure that Andruw, Russell and all the rest of the guys are trying their best. Anyone who has reached such a high level of accomplishment as making a major league roster has tremendous pride and expectations in themselves. They are almost always their own harshest critics. I also cringe every time I see one of them wave at that low and outside curve for strike three. I also know that if I could do it, I’d be out there. But I can’t. Neither can you or any of the rest of us. It’s so extremely difficult that the greatest of them are only successful 30% of the time. If you’re only successful 20% of the time, you’re washing cars for a living. Sometimes I think we forget that.
I will live and die with each win or loss all season long. We all do. It’s a prerequisite of being a loyal fan. But no matter what happens today, the sun comes up again and we have another chance to win or lose and complain or celebrate. What a great game this is! I’ve loved it for over 50 years and it will always be so. As long-time Dodger fans, we’re all dying to celebrate another World Series Championship and it can’t come fast enough. That’s how we as Dodger fans measure success, not with making the playoffs or division or National League pennants. It sets us apart from those up north or south, doesn’t it?
Sit back, relax and enjoy Vin describe a new season for us. Let the players and the coaches do their jobs. Sorry for the long post. I’ve got to get some work done sometime today.
Here are some thoughts about the direction we should be taking.
We’re not headed for the playoffs with Pierre, Kent, Nomar, and Jones playing a prominent role; otherwise, with the exception of Jones being in the lineup, we could have done it last year. If they all continue playing throughout this season, we will essentially be treading water and will face another building year next season, when some of the playing positions are necessarily replaced by youngsters or someone we trade for. In addition, next year we likely need to replace Lowe and Furcal, unless we want to expend huge sums that both will be looking for in long term contracts.
I think we have a good core of capable younger players: Loney, Ethier, Martin, and Kemp. Loney and Ethier are ready to hit their stride with little to be desired. Martin is an excellent handler of the pitching staff, but his productivity really declined after last year’s All-Star game and has never untracked yet this season. Let’s say that offensively he may be a .270 hitter with 10-15 HR, and that would be OK. Kemp has still a lot of adjusting to do, and there may be some question as to how coachable he is, but we all know the upside potential. The main thing for his development is that he needs to play instead of being juggled around. That, of course, leaves Pierre as the expendable OF, and, unless we’re somehow holding him for the leadoff hitter next season, his being in the mix really just confuses the picture. He needs to be gone before too long into the season. The reason is that we need to find out what DY and Repko can do at the major league level before we get into next year, when we really might be able to contend. It’s not sufficient to just have DY on the roster because he’s out of options, nor Repko filling in the whole season at AAA. That just sets them and us as a team back for another year.
While Kent has given us two HR’s, it could hardly be expected that he would be more productive this year than last, and the same could be said for Nomar. I think that Kent should be used to play for two or three AB’s per game, but then should be relegated to tutor his likely replacement for next year, be it Abreu when he recovers or Hu, who could switch to the ss position next year. Either replacement would be far better defensively than Kent can be at this stage. If LaRoche is able to come back from his injury successfully, he should get every chance to take over 3rd base – fight it out with DeWitt, so to speak. I wouldn’t give Nomar the same advantage, because I don’t see him back for another season, and I see his performance and value no better than what even DeWitt can do.
When the trade deadline comes, and if we’re in third or fourth position in the division as I see likely, I would explore giving up Furcal and Lowe, and maybe even Jones to a contending team for some good prospects.
I think it is time already to determine whether Kuo can handle a starting role. Presumably there will be no reason for either Loaiza or Park on the team next year, if they even last that long with us. We need to find out if Kuo can be a legitimate starter and if his health will hold up. Around mid-season I would also bring up Kershaw. If we have to limit his starts to four and five innings in the beginning, it would be worth seeing him for the fans and to get him more development at the major league level.
In my mind it’s past time to really commit to the youth movement, and anything that management lets get in the way of that just prolongs our agony for no good purpose.
bear,
We definitely have to bail on those veterans if we are out of it come July, no question. Furcal is great, but I wouldn’t want to sign him to the same or more money as he’s making now which is outrageous even when he’s productive.
messagebear,
Your post is very well thought out and I agree with just about everything you say. I think it’s too early to say that we’re destined for only 3rd or 4th. Injuries for every team, or lack of them, will always have an effect on races and are obviously impossible to predict. Also, players who end up with ‘career years’. Without looking it up, didn’t Arizona start off badly last year? If so, that’s more ammunition for our argument to just LET THE KIDS PLAY. Dumping salaries will also be a good idea, because if we intend to keep these kids, we’re gonna need some salary room as they become eligible for free agency.
I have no problem using the phrase ‘rebuilding’, but management does. Probably because it’s harder to sell those expensive seats that way.
dodgereric,
I think you’re absolutely correct with the “rebuilding” stigma that the McCourts are avoiding. Can’t raise parking 50% and double the top deck from $6 to $12 if you’re “rebuilding”, right?
Wouldn’t want “rebuilding” to give the Dodgers a bad name, regardless of the fact that they haven’t really shown up in post-season competition for 20 years. I submit to you that we have so much public relations talent in the upper management ranks (maybe the only talent they have) that they should be able to develop a good feel catch phrase in place of that rebuilding concept.
“Generation Blue- Bringing back the winning tradition”
Hi Josh
It is nice to hear that your talking about creating a better experience for the fans for the staduim. This new rule not allowing anyone other then baseline ticket holders to get autographs and a chance to meet the players is sad. I have been going to Dodgers games since a child and loved going to the ballpark early just to see the players. Now I have my daughter, who last season, loved to call out to the players she knew and they were always happy to hear a child voice calling out to them. Then after their streches they come over and give her and others atugraphs. It is a great expericence for them to go watch BP and wait to see there heros. Also the baseline ticket holders hardly ever come early enough anyway, and the ushers down there gladly told those to move out of the section if the ticket holders did show up. I was looking foward to taking my duaghter to games early enough to see the players ( I have to be a lilttle lucky her favorite player NOMAR is hurt right now b/c that is the one player she didnt get a chance to meet last season) and who now she is dying to see this season once he is better. I have to ask my father to help pay for baseline seats this seaons if this rule continues only to make my child have a great experince meeting the players and getting an atuograph from them.
Ohhh ..
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHIER!!!!!!!!!
From espn chat:
Dennis (Santa Clarita, CA): How hard is it for a GM (Ned Coletti) to get rid of a bad contract he signed (Juan Pierre)? The Dodgers are going to eat the contract anyway, so why not eat less than the whole thing and at least get something? I mean is there anyone who really thinks that Pierre is even the 5th best outfielder (counting Repko currently exiled in AAA)?
SportsNation Jerry Crasnick: (2:04 PM ET ) Dennis, Hey, the Red Sox didn’t find a huge market for Coco Crisp, and he’s got two years and $11 million left on his deal. So it’s no surprise that the Dodgers have found zero interest in Pierre (who has four years and $36.5 million left on his deal). Problem is, as long as they keep him, somebody is going to be unhappy. They’ll have to pick up a huge chunk of the contract to find a landing spot for him.
I spoke out strongly against signing Jones last year and I am even more convinced that it was a bad move now. The problem isn’t just that his offensive production doesn’t warrant that kind of money, it’s more that he is blocking the youth movement, too. With Either, Kemp, Young, and Repko, we had a good outfield without him. We needed to play those kids and see if they could do the job. The Jones signing wouldn’t have been so bad, though, if Colletti would have immediately traded Pierre while his value could still be judged by his fairly decent (for him) performance last year. But by hanging on to him, he created a much worse problem because now he has not only blocked one outfield position but has essentially blocked one and a half positions at best, not to mention that Pierre’s performance has lowered his trade value to next to nothing.
I have to admit that I am envious of the D-Backs. They got rid of veterans who were blocking their younger players and set the right course, sticking with the kids and letting them learn and develop on the job. And now look at the result. The Dodgers, on the other hand, despite seeing the successful of that approach in several teams last year, continue on their merry way of signing veterans to block the kids. It doesn’t make any sense to me, and I think that approach will again fail this year when you look at the final standings. But it is the typical Hollywood approach. Sign big names, spend big bucks, make a big splash. It’s good for the egos of management. I remember when the Giants were offering Pierre a 4-year contract, so of course Colletti had to outdo them with a 5-year contract. It must have really stroked his ego to “win” one from his former employer. Now we have to suffer for it. Even the signing of Torre was probably an ego thing. Joe may prove to be a good manager for the Dodgers, but realistically we didn’t need him. What we needed was a commitment to play the kids and a manager who knew them and could develop them into the dynamite team that we all believe they could be.
Very well put, redfox. Seeing what Jones’ performance and his attitude is likely to be for this plus another year to come, can you imagine the kind of salary numbers that our really worthy players will want in order to sign with us for any length of time. $18 million will now become just a mediocre performance expectancy. I don’t expect that Colletti will be around to contend with that problem, even though he set the precedent. Boros just has to love him behind the scenes. Like I’ve asked before, when Colletti finally loses his job, do you think there will be anybody to offer him a GM job based on his experience?
Incidentally, has anybody noticed what Edwin Jackson has done so far for the Tampa Bay Rays? It has taken him two years to get it together at the major league level. I forget now, but who did we get for Jackson anyway?
re: Jackson
I’m guessing Joan Baez and Sgt. Carter.
Gentlemen the sky is not falling yet!! Yes Andruw is hitting like the 40 year old, wait he is 31, someone please verify his birth certificate. That is the scary part. He is not hitting the ball with any authority….Has he even hit a foul ball hard?
The bats will come around (at least I think they will) but the Diamondbacks swing the bats and make very good contact. Or was our pitching that hittable? Still, it is 9 of 162 and we will turn around.
Danys Baez and Lance Carter is who we got for Edwin jackson I believe…how sweet was that deal? Give up a million dollar arm for a middle reliever….
I really wanted to comment on the autograph situation at Dodger Stadium…I am on the East coast and I think Frank Mccourt is way off on this one…He says he is about the fan experience and if that is true have a kids only line to get autographs…I am a big collector but would gladly move over to let a kid get them…and it should not be for the Rich and Priveliged…I read a comment from one of the ticket holders in that section and agree that the fans can be rude and pushy to get autographs but come up with a system to combat that Frank….
without kids we have no future…turn enough off and you lose future fans…Wake up PR guy and Frank!!!
And Gomer says, “Ga ahall ly!” to scott. LOL
Meanwhile, we got the “Pile.”
Was that Depodesta or ned who made that brilliant move?
NED
BobbleNed.
Wow with his track record how does he keep his job? The only positive trade that I can remember is Ethier for Bradley…the Lugo/Hendrickson trade reeked, Jackson for Baeys/Carter reeked, the signings of Schmidt and Pierre should have been enough….Wow if Jones does not wake up can you imagine making 3 decisions that cost your boss 128 mil and get very little in return…I think it would not be a very long relationship…..Now we need to trade with the Rays because they actually have talent that we need!!!! Hell Bombko will be available at the deadline and Timber too!!! Go ned!!!
Just scroll the MLB rosters for average overpaid players and you could predict Ned’s next trade target.
Some examples from this year:
Wes Helms
Brandon Inge
Marcus Giles
I’m still of the opinion that Beane actually pulled one over on ol’ Ned with Bradley, it just backfired on him. Bradley as a ballplayer had a lot of upside at the time, and Andre was an unknown quantity, plus Beane got Antonio Perez (if memory serves) thrown in the deal.
Still, with the jury out on Kuroda and Jones, that trade was Ned’s best and only good deal to date.
He signed Saito.
Sorry, forgot about Saito. That one turned out all plus side for Ned, but that wasn’t looked upon as a major signing like Kuroda.
Overall, his body of work is abyssmal. He needs Kuroda and Jones to come thru just to get back to bad.
No, he lucked into Saito. Hey, even a blind squirrel will occaisionally find an acorn.
Remember, Ned was going with Gagne as the closer, then Brazobelly and Saito was in AAA, so that was all luck.
He got Maddux. That turned out to be a pretty good pickup. The Wolf deal was looking good for 1/2 a season.
Yes he does get credit for Saito, it would be interesting to research all of his trades and analyze them…one good, the rest bad….I would bet Logan White and his staff did most of the leg work on Saito and Kuroda. Go Logan Next Gm of the Dodgers!!!!!
I know I am breaking my own rule of rooting for Dodgers (ie Pierre bashing that I was against) but the front office is a different animal!!!
Maddux deal only helped for 2-3 months, so can’t be weighted very heavily.
Haha. Brazobelly…good one!
Haha. Brazobelly…now that’s funny!
I actually did that dodgerboy many many threads ago. At the time I think Ned came out to a “C” by the point system I assigned, though it weighed each transaction equally and not major tranny vs. minor. Weighted for impact, I think he’d have scored a D.
When you step back and look at the difference between AZ’s kids and ours, you can see the extra year or two they’ve had in the bigs. We’ll be in about that same position in 2010, maybe even somewhat in 2009.
Ethier and Martin are essentially in their 3rd big league season. Loney’s only had 1, and Kemp less than 1. Billz has had a good year and a half. Kersh 0. Hu 0. DeWitt 0. LaRoche 0.
That’s why I think that we’re (myself included) expecting too much from the Ds this year. Part of that expectation though is that we’ve bought into management’s “we can win now” hype.
maddux a check
Ethier check
Saito check, even though as Scott notes he lucked into,but he gets credit
Proctor….decent pick up
Schmidt……bummer
Pierre………bummer
Lugo………..why? bummer
Hendrickson….bummer
Edwin Jackson trade….bummer
Jones…..Jury still out but oh my ….
what am i missing?
Enchanted good point, they look like men and our boys are still boys…they smoke the ball and we look undecisive, not very confident! I still expect alot and hopefully they will grow up fast!
Well, that is what Kent, Nomar, Schmidt, Pierre, Gonzo, Bombko, and Jones were brought in to do. Win while we transition to the kids. Trouble is, with the exception of Kent to some degree, they have stunk and actually have hindered the transition.
dodgerboy,
Tomko?
Wells?
Hillenbrand?
Dessens?
R. Hernandez?
Players Traded:
Izturis
Betemit
Jackson
Aybar
A. Perez
Bradley
Guzman
Didn’t he do the Duaner Sanchez for Jay Sao deal.
He actually got a little mileage out of Seanez.
Roberto Hernandez was clutch last year wasn’t he?
Seanez is the classic semi washed up hit or miss player that Ned goes for.
Now we will probably get to watch Eric Hull become a decent #5 starter. And we trade him for an A level utility infielder. LOL
Agree with everyone about Ned and blocking the young guys from playing..I think the Dodgers think they have to have a combination of young and old because they need to COMPETE….What they don’t see I think is that the fans would rather have a team that is good that can grow together, rather than spending ridiculous sums of money on used up players…i.e. Schmidt, Pierre( not so used up but you know what I mean)…now Jones, and whoever else he brings in to block the young guys…I love the way Arizona plays and you don’t see any bridging of old and young, except maybe Brynseee….and he’s like one of them anyway..I just hate the way Ned spends the money…and you can put Proctor in there.too….never liked him…
I’m only hoping they can start to hit so it becomes contagious…let’s pray…..also think our middle relief is very suspect…..back end of the bullpen is good, but the rest, not so good…
I’ll give Ned a pass on Wells. We were in the throws of a death nell with only three good starters and still some hope of making the playoffs. Ned was trying to save an unsavable ship by then. Wells did better than I expected him to do.
There’s no excuse however for Hernandez.
Scott, not a very impressive list….I do not know what kind of work you guys do but I wish I had that margin for error that he does…128 million down the drain….and you live to talk about it….wow! he must have pictures!
drp – I think that’s part of the bain of being in a “big market.” Ned and Frank think they have to compete every year, so rather than build a winner over the course of 2-4 years, they bring in the vets to win a few games now and in the process, become perennial also rans.
Wells was a lot better than Loaiza we forgot to list him….another screw up….what were you thinking….i think Ned gets nervous and makes a decision without thinking it thru…
Ned….Hello Billy I want blanton…
Beane…No ned!
Ned…Ok i will take Loiaza and do not worry about covering any of his money…ole parking lot boy is raising parking and tickets and screwing the peasant young kids out of autographs…
If they keep Ned around and he keeps wasting money like he has been, parking will be $25.00 in 2010. Not to mention $25.00 upper deck cheap seats.
LOL Dodgerboy, we’re thinking the same thing. He’ll have to start selling those autographs with Ned around for much longer.
lol…dodgerboy.
Hard to believe Juan Pierre makes roughly 9 million more than me!
Yeah, Ned really drives a hard bargain!
All I know is, is that if I lost $125M+ of my company’s money, I’d be out looking for a new job.
Scott Boras = snakeoil salesman? Sure looking like he sold some to Ned, and last year to Epstein. If I was a GM I’d sure look long and hard at any player he represented before I’d buy.
There’s a GM who knows,
All that glitters is old,
And he’s buying a ticket,
To 4th place,
When he gets there he knows,
If the pitchers can’t throw,
With a spin he can say,
We will soon win.
And It Makes Me Wonder!
Ahhhh…Stairway to 4th Place
Josh,
Once again, TJ Simmers is the only person to speak on the whole field level autograph situation. Why is it that the Dodgers are so silent on this situation? Usually, when this something like this happens (parking comes to mind), the Dodgers just hope and pray that the problem goes away, and then when it doesn’t, they put out some phamphlet to let us know how the decision that was made for the fan was made in their best interests. No amount of spin is going to make this sound any better. There is no way this is in the best interest of the majority of the fans. Please have Mr. McCourt address this issue and how it pertains to making the “fan experience” better.
Thank you
And as we wind on down the road,
Our payroll way out of control,
There stands a GM we all loathe,
Who spins glib words and wants to show,
How he wisely spends the dough,
But if he listened very hard,
The truth would come to him at last,
When he is done and all are old,
We’ve got a team that just won’t roll.
And he’s buying a stairway, to 4th place!!
I think you can hear Ned Colletti if you play Stairway to Heaven backword.
Actually I’d call it the chute to 4th place; a stairway you have to climb, but a chute is easy – you just hop on and slide down. But for the veterans, as long as they can grab $9 million here, $14 million there, and now even $18 million, and you don’t have to show anything for it, they can call it the “money chute”. They can also call Ned “Santa Claus” or Santa Ned.
LOL. Abbey Road, “PVL’s buried Ned”.
Could be a stairway when we have to climb out of 5th.
How about Ned Claus?
Stairways also go down.
Ned Kringle.
Kris Kolletti.
Colletti Claus
Actually, he is the Grinch that stole contention.
I’m not buying into management’s hype; I’m buying into my own hype.
Management cost us half-a-year to a year last season by blocking Kemp, Ethier, and Loney with Pierre, Gonzales and Nomar. Until now at least, we have only one blocker (Pierre) at work right now.
Entering 2007, I was looking for this team to emerge as an elite team in ’09 or ’10, but Loney and Kemp, despite efforts to hold them back, each progressed even faster than I expected. Ethier has proven to be better than I thought. It has been suggested here that Martin dropped off in the second half of last season. This is a misreading of his stats. Martin’s performance didn’t drop off until the beginning of September, and he really only stunk it up for the final week. http://tinyurl.com/4b2spq
In the off-season we needed to pick up one big bat and one above-average starting pitcher to become an elite team. Pending the continued success of Kuroda and an Andruw season that is at least marginally better than his very sub-par ’07, mission accomplished. On top of that, Saito and Kent came back for another year.
If we simply LET THE KIDS PLAY, this team has an outstanding chance to go to the World Series this year.
Q: Where is the weakness in this team?:
Furcal
Martin
Kemp
Kent
Loney
Jones
Ethier
DeWitt/LaRoche
Penny
Lowe
Bills
Kuroda
Kuo/Loaiza/Schmidt/Kershaw(?)
Beimel
Proctor
Broxton
Saito
Hu
Abreu
Nomar
Pierre
DYoung
Sweeney
The answer is there really are no big weaknesses (at least not ones that can’t be solved by Joe Torre telling Pierre to shut up, collect his $9 million and do what he’s told). There is a question mark in Andruw that is highly likely to be answered at least reasonably well. Third base is a mystery. The fifth starting spot — like virtually everybody’s fifth starter — needs somebody to step up.
We still have plenty of prospects to pick up another pitcher or a third baseman before the trading deadline if need be.
Or stole our Championship.
Yep, MLKemp, when Martin, Kemp and Jones get the bats going we will have a strong lineup. As you stated, alot/some of it hinges on putting Pierre where he belongs and letting the kids develope.
Consistent ab’s and a consistent lineup to get a rhythm going.
Ironic – New thread with “Ned’s responses”…
Yep, we can’t go into May juggling the line-up like Grady did all year.
Hey guys, there’s a new thread started. Either my memory is bad or it’s a rerun of Coletti Q & As.
I think everybody here is overrating the D-Backs. For them to continue their current pace:
Reynolds (less than a season of experience) will finish the year with 90 HR
Young (1 year experience) will finish with 72 HR
Justin Upton (less than 1 year experience) will finish with a .380 BA with 54 HR
Yes they have talented young players but so do we. Their kids are just hotter than ours right now. If Kemp, Loney and Andre came out swinging like that, you all would be comparing them to Murderer’s Row, it’s still really early in the season, let’s see what happens. The jury is still out on Connor Jackson he has put up Ethier-like numbers so far. Stephen Drew isn’t looking that good at all (he could be a total bust), Chris Young will hit the long ball but hover around the Mendoza line (similar to Andruw), Reynolds looks pretty good but he only hit .270 with 17 HR in 366 ABs last year (probably around the same talent level of Kemp and Loney), Justin Upton looks like a promising player but again he looks like someone on the Kemp/Loney level and he’s only 20 (not mature). So for all the “D-Backs are more seasoned than us” talk its really not true. Really their young players as a group don’t seem as promising as ours:
Martin
Ethier
Billingsley
Broxton
Loney
Kemp
LaRoche/DeWitt
Kershaw
I’ll take or chances this year, not only offensively but Owings, Davis, and Randy are< Bills, Kuroda, Loaiza/Kuo/Kershaw IMO.
MLK…weakness= gm = oh s…t I have to have a 5.00 era pitcher, that will take me to the top of the division…and an overweight Of coming off the worst year of his career…definitely worth 36k for 2 yrs…but Frank it is only 2years if he was in his prime it would be 120 for 7 years….I saved you 84 mil….
Frank…Thats rad Ned…do it!!!!