Road Trip #2 to Atlanta and Cincinnati – Scott Akasaki
One month ago, there was a hurricane that struck Atlanta and in particular, the Georgia Dome, CNN headquarters, and also, our team hotel. When we arrived on Thursday night, our team hotel was surrounded by scaffolding, tarps, and wooden boards that covered damaged windows. During the day, I would look out my room window and I often saw swaying ropes — apparently, windows were being replaced on the floors below. I found out later that the entire process of replacing the damaged windows might take a better part of a year. Since it was the weekend, there were also two high school proms so when we returned back to the hotel at night from Turner Field, the lobby was filled with prom goers. Sometimes you just cannot win. A lot of times, things are out of your control and you cannot plan on storms or high school proms. My guess is that if there was no hurricane a month before or if there were not any special meetings or events in our lobby (maybe if we came during the week rather than a weekend), our choice in hotels would have been a lot better.
Meanwhile in Cincinnati, there were no hurricanes nor were there any proms. After all, it was a Monday and Tuesday stay in Cincinnati with the loudest noise coming from the lunch crowd around noon in the lobby area way below our rooms. (Cincinnati sidebar – it was nice to catch up with former-Dodgers David Ross and Paul Bako — two good guys in the game. Troy from West Virginia of YouTube fame was here and his legend grows. Montgomery Inn restaurant still has one of the best BBQ sauces in the country.)
Although our travel methods and accomodations may be different than the everyday traveler, we are still subject to inclimate weather and special events. I have my fingers crossed that we do not run into anything unexpected in August or September. In actuality, a good lesson was learned. Tomorrow, I am going to contact our remaining road hotels and ask if there is anything out-of-the-ordinary going on when we visit later this season.
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Thanks to Scott for the post and don’t forget that you can still ask your questions of Ned Colletti here. We’ll try to get some answers posted in the next week.
Tonight’s lineup vs. Dan Haren:
Furcal, SS
Jones, CF
Ethier, LF
Nomar, 3B
Martin, C
Loney, 1B
Kemp, RF
Hu, 2B
Lowe, P
And a big announcement coming in the morning about “The Next 50 Years” at Dodger Stadium so be sure to check out dodgers.com at 9:30 a.m. PT.
Inside the Dodgers 
Ned,
In my opinion, Clayton Kershaw is the best young pitcher the Dodgers have developed in a generation. As far as calling him up, do you anticipate he’ll jump straight from Double-A or will there be a quick stop in Vegas? Thanks.
AnDRUW in the 2-hole? Ewww.
i predict a dodgers loss
Nomar in the cleanup spot?! LOL. Joe is hillarious!! Joe Torre = Jerry Seinfeld.
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Washington Mutual Field where the Los Angeles Dodgers will host ….
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OK, too snarky. I hope.
Here’s a thought. The lineup changes everyday. While I don’t understand why Andruw Jones is batting 2nd I wish he does well and we win tonight. My point is the following, what’s the point in having such radical changes to the lineup when even if we win we wont have the same lineup the next day?
Nomar in the cleanup spot has to be a typo, right?
Watch him go out and homer like he did the other night after I bad-mouthed him!
This lineup clearly shows me that Torre is getting desperate and does not know how to handle this club. We already had Ned the dunce, now we have to add Torre to the list of incompetents?
Dear Mr. Colletti,
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Do you believe there is any value in having a more-or-less settled batting order?
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Thank you.
Joe had to draw names out of a hat today?
That is a most interesting lineup to say the least, but I’m encouraged by the fact that Torre is playing Kemp vs. a very tough righty Dan Haren. Jones really has no excuses anymore as he should get balls to hit tonight batting in the two spot. If we lose the next two we will be 9 games back which even though we still are in April will be a very daunting task to try and overcome. We need to find a way to take these two games from the Snakes.
A slumping Jones 2nd and likely still affected by injury Nomar 4th against DAN HAREN and his 1.80 ERA and 0.880 WHIP in his four starts this season.
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Lowe will at least like his up-the-middle defense.
Also, with Lowe on the mound having Hu at second base is a very good decision.
Krvinsky was fired today because of his love for mediocre veteran talent:
Josh Fogg, Juan Castro, Eddie Guardado, Bronson Arroyo, Royce Clayton, Rheal Cormier, Mike Stanton, David Whethers, Gary Majewski.
Colleti should suffer the same fate because of his love for mediocre veteran talent.
Fire Ned!
Logan 2008
I have to admit, I think I have seen everything now.
Question to NED:
A very simple one at that, does the management of this team know what they are doing, or better yet do you care?
Alex – excellent point. Seeing Kemp and not JP is a very good sign. Carpe diem Matthew.
Hopefully Andruw’s allergies are better and I hope he took some Nasacort or Allegra. Maybe that will work like a steroid for him or a diet pill. Let’s hope they’re not banned substances. Tonight is the start of a major turn around for the Dodgers. How about a sweep of Arizona.
Mr. Colletti,
With the lack of a true fifth starter and a lefty in the rotation right now and Clayton Kershaw tearing up AA, do you think we will see him anytime soon? It seems to me he is too good not to be playing with the big club.
Just on the slim chance that the Castro item isn’t a figment of Jackson’s imagination – –
Please Ned, please, please, please STOP GOING THROUGH EVERYONE’S GARBAGE!!! For Pete’s sake, when was the last time you got anyone worth a damned that way? If you’re looking for ways to improve this team, read the last bazillion posts on this blog. They are, for the most part, well thought out and submitted by fans who want nothing other than to WIN!
It doesn’t matter to us, the real fans, if you use the dreaded “rebuilding” word. We’d welcome it. The only people who are afraid of this word are the non-fans who never buy a seat anyway, or you clowns in management who think it’s a dirty word. You know what dirty words are? Mediocre. Competitive without actually winning anything. Second place. Third place. Fourth place. Watching other teams let their kids play while you scour the waiver wire thinking someone is going to let the next Ted Williams get away.
This boat is sinking. Do nothing and we’ll go down. Continue to add dead weight and we’ll go down faster. Toss out the crap that can’t help row anymore. If someone wants to help you by taking some of your crap and actually give you some youngster that can row, fine. But get rid of the crap. Give the oars to the fine young men that you already have and let them get us moving.
DITCH THE HAS-BEENS!
PLAY THE KIDS!
GET THAT COUPON!
haha. andruw in the 2 spot?? thats a freakin good hell of a joke. and as for nomar, psshh.
is this like a joke? im hoping its april fools day.
ok that was dumb but this it a bad lineup. joe knows better. i still have faith in him.
Hey jhall, you feelin’ OK? I know Nomore in the 4 hole makes me want to hurl.
Be at least a 10K night for Haren…
lol dodgereric, you are so right on.
NOW, Let’s get that Coupon!
Enchanted, where is jhall? did this line up give him a heart attack?
Nomar in the 4th spot….he of the whole 9 hrs he hit last year and now he has a bad wrist…This line up is silly enough, that maybe Haren will be laughing and not take it serious and we rock him…if you cannot beat them make them laugh!!! I do not know but what the hell it cannot be worse than the results we have gotten so far…
How can anyone even watch a game or two and keep trotting Nomore out, let alone batting him clean-up with a below the Mendoza line avg.? Jones in the 2-hole can’t be any worse than Jones in the 3-4-5-6-7-8 hole – a Boog by any other name…
How many months of spring training does Joe need to evaluate?? Nomore’s got nothing left, JP and Andruw suck. Its not brain surgery (though a few labotomies wouldn’t hurt [mis]management.)
Worse than becomming laughing stocks to other teams and their fans, the Ds are now becomming a laughing stock to their own fans.
Maybe we all got transported to the Bizarro World.
Scott,
Thanks for the updates!
quote “sometimes you cannot win” Don’t we Dodger fans know it!
Last time I was in Cinci, I got some of that Mongomery Inn BBQ. Good stuff!
For the longest time I could not post here. I kept getting a message about cleaning up the board and 7th inning stretch. Glad to be back.
I am heading to the stadium shortly but my brother is threatening to wear a brown bag on his head. I hope D.Lowe gets a win and the D’backs don’t use him as a shooting target.
Scott: So when does the team take the train? I imagine maybe from/to Phillie to N.Y.
Hey I am doing well (so far) in the Insidethedodgers FB league. Could it be because I don’t have any Dodgers in my team :-)? Doing lousy on the league where I did draft Dodgers.
Welcome back Emma!!! You’re our ray of sunshine in the dark cloud over the Dodgers!!
Grady Little batted Nomar 4th three times in ’06 (4/26, 7/21 and 8/28) , never in ’07.
Alex has a good point about Kemp. Let’s hope he smacks one tonight.
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At this point, it almost feels like Ned is going to try every combination possible, except leaving Furcal in the lead-off spot (although, he had Pierre hit lead-off once), and leaving the pitcher in the 9th position. Unfortunately, if you count DeWitt, Hu, and JP as starting possibilities, that’s 10! or 3,628,800 different variations. Perhaps we can have a challenge–have every fan who attends a Dodger game this year guess the line-up–and if each one gives a different line-up, we would see all the possibilities.
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Tony Jackson’s Blog has some comments about the rennovations that are coming. I have some reservations about this. Restaurants beyond centerfield??? What are they going to do about parking? Are those suppsoed to be open year-round? How is this going to affect the picture perfect vistas from within the stadium? I am curious to see the plans, and I don’t discount the possibility that these may be really nice, and frankly the stadium rennovations that McCourt has done have been mostly very good. But I hope that these are meant to be put out for comments first, because big changes like these should be open to input from the fans first. And, I hope that they work on the concourses on the upper levels before adding more goodies for the corporate elites (even if that’s where I will be tonight).
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Go Blue!
How soon before people stop coming to see this joke of a team? IF Nomore is the best we got, we’re in big trouble. Nomore and Kent, two old past their prime vets batting 3 and 4 yesterday, and management can’t figure out why this team can’t win. Right now they haven’t won more than 2 games a week, and I don’t see it changing anytime soon. Cut your losses Ned get rid of these past their prime players.
wow. i mean….wow.
grady is back.
Does anyone here think that Joe is giving Nomore enough rope to hang himself. I mean he did drop A-rod to the 8th spot in the playoffs when he was stinking up the place. Maybe he is getting him in a postion to lose???
And he did run Bernie out also.
“Troy from West Virginia of YouTube fame was here and his legend grows.”
Yeah, he even has his own radio show & stuff now…
Who is that “Troy from West Virginia” character anyway?
Hey JNV, Enchanted,
LOL. Been busy all day and just got the lineup. Holy Cow!! I can see Jones in the 2 hole to try and get him some better pitches to hit. If Ferk is on and with Ethier coming up behind him, it may work out. He still needs to stop pulling off the ball and trying to pull everything for a home run. Nomore in the cleanup spot is a bit of a surprise. He can’t stink it up any worse than Kent.
You know, nothing surprises me anymore with Ned and Joe.
Hope it works out tonight. I guess it is worth a shot although I’m not terribly optimistic about it.
At least Kemp is in there and Phew is sitting.
*****Hey Josh****
*****Hey Josh****
*****Hey Josh****
are they gonna have a radar gun thing in CF also or what man!!??
That is the bright spot jhall, that Kemp is playing. He needs to be in there night after night to get into a groove, and once he does he can carry the team on his back for a stretch.
Bombko pitching against the Indians tonight. Ought to be entertaining to watch the probable shelling. LOL
The CF thing sounds like the best out of all the renovations things, I really mean it, with the restaurants & mini-museum & HOPEFULLY RADAR GUN fun & batting cages, it really sounds like you guys are going all out, I really dig it man…
Doesn’t really mean much, but…
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Dodger pinch-hitters:
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.176 / .222 / .176 / .399 OPS, 6 H (all singles), 2 walks, 36 PAs, 2 R, 2 RBIs – with professional PH Mark Sweeney 1 for 13 with a walk.
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Dodger pitchers:
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.250 / .270 / .306 / .576, 9 H (two doubles), 1 BB, 44 PAs, 7 R, 5 RBIs
Old Fogey those stat lines make me want to cry in my scotch!!! Not that I don’t every night after a Dodger loss!! LOL
Kemp’s not likely to see anything good to hit with Hu behind him. Its like they want Kemp to fail. As for DY, what could he have possibly done to never get a start?
Well, maybe when spring training ends in on May 31st we’ll start to see a regular line-up. Of course we’ll be 20 games back, but its nice of Ned and Joke to spot our competition a handicap.
Ned’s the driver of the little yellow bus…
The wheels on the bus spin round and round
round and round
round and round
the wheels on the bus spin round and round
right into the ground
The pitchers in the pen get up and down
up and down
up and down
the pitchers in the pen get up and down
the managers a clown
Andruws on the bus going swing swing swing
swing swing swing
swing swing swing
Andruws on the bus going swing swing swing
then he go sits down
Triggers on the bus going whah whah whah
whah whah whah
whah whah whah
Trigers on the bus going whah whah whah
and wears a pouty frown
Need I go on?????
LOL E!! Frank is driving, Ned is a passenger. HAHA
LMAO enchanted!
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Nomar’s on the bus going ouch ouch ouch
ouch ouch ouch
ouch ouch ouch
Nomar’s on the bus going ouch ouch ouch
with injury he’s down
fogey’s now of the dark side!!! LOL
Welcome to the dark side Old Fogey.!!!!
Go Fogey!!
Enchanted you are a very multitalented individual!!! Is there anything you can’t do? Yes we know you can hit better than Nomore and throw better than Slappy, but other than that??? 🙂
I have a lot of time on my hands here in the desert…
You know what they say about idle hands……
Hey Joe, where you going with that line-up in your hand? Anyway, I just tossed the names into a pile and pulled this batting order:
Jones,
Kemp,
Furcal,
Hu,
Loney,
Martin,
Lowe,
Nomar and
Ethier.
Feel free to use it, Joe.
kahli,
I was thinking of something like this;
Nomore
Jones
sweeney
Slappy
Kent
Lowe
Penny
Proctor
Hell, you never know it might work!!!!
I got this
ethier
lowe
kemp
furcal
hu
nomore
martin
loney
jones
I think that line up is to promising Dodge16, that might produce a run or two and then Joe would have to use it a second night!! 🙂
come on jnv, no matter how a lineup does you know joe doesnt use it two nights in a row.
I like the fact the center field thing is finally getting done. They will probably remain open long after the games are over, which will allow more people to remain out of the traffic lines and taking some of the burden out of the exits. Also, the “top of the park” gift shop is open all year long, so I don’t see any reason why the new promenade will have to close down just because the baseball season is over. Also, I predict that stadium way and surrounding streets may get an uplift to help with traffic concerns as well. This should be really cool for the fans…
Well, I grabbed some extra barf-bags from the airplane and have them handy near the computer and TV remote.
THis lineup has the right parts but is otherwise retarded.
this lineup is funnier than watching pierre try to hit a baseball
Trying to get my MLB-TV MOSAIC up.
They’re trying to assist me but to know avail.
Apparently they will send my case to their senior support
and I will attempt to get back on the regular non-premium MLB-TV.
pierres I had the misaic last year and it didnt work at all. they wouldnt give me the difference back… didnt even subscribe this year to it.
Tremendous at-bat by Garciaparra!
Stomp on em Hard and Fast Keep it Goin KEMP!
Total BS call no way Kemp swung!
kemp was robbed…..
Hey there, anyone having trouble with MLB.TV. I can’t get any of the games
Congrats guys, we on a high note
Let’s keep it that way.
Dear Ned Colletti,
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When is Joe Torre, or perhaps better yet his surrogate bulldog Larry Bowa, going to get in an umpire’s face and get run arguing balls and strikes in protection of Matt Kemp? I know it’s just old school bovine excrement that it actually matters, but perhaps Kemp would appreciate a demonstration from the coaching staff that they have his back?
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And it might be entertaining.
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Thank you.
rglynn, I’m having trouble with it too, my Gameday Audio isn’t working, it doesn’t bring up the media player or even have me log in.
northstateblues, I though it was just me. I can’t even get audio on any stations.
I quite fooling with the Premium as it did not work as consistantly and I couldn’t really see a big difference. Just get the basic. Mine has cut out a couple of times tonight, but I got it back pretty quickly.
I finally got it on. Took me about 5 times before could get it.
Way to go big blue
LONEY now leads Dodgers with 13 RBI
Man D Stadium really gave Boog the Razz for that half hearted swing and an out. Don’t remember Slappy getting that bad of a razz lastyear from the ‘fans’ wonder how much longer its gonna be before they boo him when he steps into the batters box.
Jones just looks pathetic at the dish right now. He needs to get his head out of his arrse!! Or the dinner plate.
Jones needs to push himself away from the table and join weight watchers. Maybe the Dodgers need to send him to Las Vegas for a couple of weeks.
Jones swings at everything, no matter where it is.
Jones should change his name to sound more like Hu.
AJones, another Ned’s superdeal. What an ******** no matter what position in the lineup. Please just keep him on the bench and give DY a try.
Jelly Roll still plays a good centerfield. You know he is not going to sit. We will sink or swim with him.
Sooner or Later you get your lumps…Haren.
Why would you pitch to Hu with first base open and Lowe up next?
Hu drives in two. Sweet!!!
Chin Lung Hu now has 3 RBI.
Is something wrong with Lowe, or doesn’t Torre want his starting pitchers to go more innings?
Hope Lowe is O.K.
What Ho!!?
You gotta be kiddin’ me Jelly Roll.
And I thought J-Roll looked bad on his first three AB’s. Unbelievable. He’s a mess!!!
what doesnt make sense to me is this. torre says he needs 12 pitchers to take the stress of innings off of beimel and proctor(which please sit him). yet lowe is cruising through 5 innings having only pitched 67 pitches. he could have gone 2-3 more. just doesnt make a whole lot of sense. am I alone in this thinking?
Stiffness in the right elbow for Lowe, hence the short outing.
Lowe had stiffness in his elbow, that is why he was taken out.
Arizona finds ways to win and I’m a little nervous right now
Big John coming up HUGE!
oh ok totally makes sense to me now… thanks guys
Whew!!!
Leave it to Scully with his “High Wire Act” and it was.
Good going Big Bad Jon.
Right now if you’re not scared you’re a lucky person.
Or you’re not on our side.
This is making me nervous. Come on Saito
This is making me nervous. Come on Saito
Just when you thought your arrse couldn’t get any tighter.
Geez!!
We’re still not out of it, but nobody can say anything bad about our bullpen. YES.
everyone here ripping nomar, but has making good contact.
saito will a fly ball
saito is batting this is to funny.
Furcal was safe.
saito’s fist atbat isnt that well. but he did better at it than jones…
Wow, what a break!!!
Well should i just save my self the trouble of not watching the game. I have a good idea of what tommorow’s outcome might be. Let’s see we scored 8 runs and have 13 base hits. So for tommorows game, let’s just hope we score 1 run. It seems to be a pattern for the dodgers , score alot runs one night come back the next and can’t hit.
Formidable 8 to 3 Victory by Our Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers over the Arizona Diamondbacks! All you guys were Great! This Team will dazzle us with It’s Heart, Ability and Courage as The Boys Begin to Jell and make their March to October Glory!
Is anyone else annoyed by the blonde that did that “interview” on FSN with James Loney? Those are some of the stupidest questions I have ever seen in a postgame interview.
W O N Game at a time.
Big win as they will all be now.
It’s a long way to go.
Big Win. It’s a start.
Great win for the Dodgers, now they just need to come back and take the other one tomorrow.
Got to beat the teams in your division. Especially the front runner.
Ethier’s a stud…. Loney getting it going again. Nomore looking like he has a little more. Good night for the blue. Taxed the bullpen however. Billz needs to give us his A-game tomorrow.
has max been on here lately?
Nomar OK, Jones is a mess!!
The boys did great tonight!! I was a little worried at times with the pitching (bullpen), but they pulled through. Furcal and Ethier we their usual greatness, and it was nice to see Loney and Kemp get some action tonight too!! Then there is Martin – just his presence is good enough for me. I also have to give credit to Nomar and Hu as well, and as much as I hate to see Jones struggle, he does his part in the outfield. It is comforting to know that Ethier, Jones, and Kemp are out there. GO DODGER BLUE!!!
Max has been around–he started a campaign to re-sign Furcal and give Hu the Second Base job. he should be around soon to exult Bills with his start tomorrow.
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I was at the game tonight, field level on the first base side, (once in a while I can get in on my firm’s seats when no one else wants them–otherwise, I’m Top Deck). Kemp was completely robbed on that strikeout call in the first. There were about 3 times when the first-base umpire rung up someone on a check swing, and I thought that this was more than any I have seen before. Very active.
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Of course, it turns out, that the first base umpire was interested in the Lakers/Nuggest game, as he came over to me and asked if I was listening to it on the radio (naturally, I had Vinny–and later Rick and Charley–on, but to try to get in his good graces, I tuned in from time-to-time). Unfortunately, he was from Denver, and just wanted the Nuggets to win one game. I gave him a couple of updates, and when the final was flashed on DodgerVision, he gave me a shrug. He’ll be behind the plate tomorrow, so I hope he does not squeeze Bills in retailiation. (In fairness, although the umpire is stinking and unshaven, he was a pretty neat guy–but I think he got the Kemp call wrong.)
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One final note, for the Loney song fans–we had a number of people singing along. Feel free to use it yourself at the games!
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Good win tonight. Let’s see what tomorrow’s line-up will do!
The boys nicely took advantage of Haren on an off night – see Joe, Kemp can hit the good pitchers when they make mistakes, JP can’t. Kemp good. JP bad.
Can’t say that Nomore’s got much left, even with a hit last night he’s only batting .182, plus because he makes contact it usually translates into a DP. And with the range of a moai at third, I’d still play DeWitt. No way Nomar can expect anykind of real payday after this season. I think he goes back to the AL with an incentive laden contract as a DH and part time 1B.
Bullpen was shaky last night, and I fear with the way Billz has been going that we’d better get Jellybelly back from Jax for tonight’s game unless you can get a couple innings out of both Kuo and Loaiza. Despite his ERA, there’s not much left in Park’s tank either. Not a bad time to DFA him either and give Meloan a shot at long relief.
That brings us to Boog. How can a guys hitting skills deteriorate that much in 2 seasons? I think its time to give DY 3-4 starts and see what he can do… certainly no worse than druw.
Great, if nerve-wracking game last night.
Is it me, or are our pitchers giving the hitters too much credit? It seems that every hitter gets to a 3-ball count. I did hear Vin mention it a couple of times last night, but it wasn’t just last night. I wonder if it’s Hunnicutt’s philosophy to run that count full even when you get ahead 0-2. I know about trying to get the hitters to swing at pitches out of the zone, but it seems to be getting the starters to that crappy 100 pitch limit by the 5th inning. Jeez, even a guy with a 96 MPH heater like Brox is trying to nibble the corners.
DITCH THE HAS-BEENS!
PLAY THE KIDS!
GET THAT COUPON!
Seeing as how we hit and scored well last night, here’s my prediction for tonight’s lineup:
Slappy
Sneezy
Dopey
Doc
Grumpy
Happy
Sleepy
Bashful
Billz
So Dodge, you’ve got Ned batting third?
Good comments by dnelson.
I wish we could give Young some playing time.
He does not look comfortable when he pinch hits.
LOL enchanted, I didn’t think of that. Maybe we should move him down.
Hey Josh, I think you mean a tornado hit Atlanta, not a hurricane.
Sorry, Scott wrote that, not Josh.
Thanks, carcyn,
I agree with you that DY needs more ABs. It’s probably wishful thinking, but maybe Torre is seeing how it is benefiting Kemp in getting more ABs, and in time (hopefully shortly) he will see that Young needs the same thing. I know, I know – definitely wishful thinking – lol!
Thanks for the welcome E!
Hey Leek! I too sit at Top Deck. Have season tix there. Aisle 3 against the wall if anyone wants to stop by and say “HI”. Bunch of nice season ticket holders there. Oh, I do use your Loney song and sing it at every one of his at bats. Every once in a while I get the company’s field level seats but for a while they did not have me there just because I have season tickets. I convinced them to add me to the list.
Let’s hope the good Chad shows up tonight and that he gets run support. Our boys do like playing at home! -emma
dodgereric: doc and sneezy? Did we re-acquire Lo Duca (Mr. Syringe) and resurrect poor Steve Howe? (with apologies to George Carlin)
So dodge, you’re line-up is then:
JP
Jones
Ned
Nomore
Kent
Kemp
Sweeney
DeWitt
Billz
???
Dang it, don’t give Joe any ideas, we could see this one tonite!
I’ve read the whole Next 50 Years plan for Dodger Stadium. The plan sounds excellent and it will be interesting to see if it gets off the ground. However, I do think it is a bit interesting that the site talks about the fans and families, but I have a feeling that the cost of doing this makeover will be passed along to the fans (that seems to be the McCourt way). If prices are raised any more than they already are, I don’t see to many “families” being able to afford the great proposed changes. Let’s hope that that the McCourts find a creative way to keep the stadium affordable, but their track record would suggest otherwise.
World Series, here we come….ummmm, or not. Last night was a nice game, but if we lose tonight, the wheels are simply spinning round and round and round. I’m worried that Billingsley will give us his usual 4 inning/100 pitch game, and with the “good” relievers on fumes, that portends to a “relief” corp of Loiza and Proctor, with maybe a batter or two out of Beimal. Have mercy on us all.
As leekfink noted, the umpire is stinking and unshaven!
interesting that the D-backs were the first team in history to go to the playoffs with a minus offense (i.e. scored less than their opponent). so what did they do in the off-season??? added more pitching!
what are they now…the best team in the national league with the best offense and pitching. gee, all that without signing washed -up free agents, aging superstars and a 67-year old manager who appears way in over his head.
the point is – the d-backs have a plan and stuck with it. the dodgers have no plan – and are stuck with it!
clhuerth, I was thinking about that too, but I guess if they had revenue coming in year round, they wouldn’t have to raise prices as steep as they’ve had too, since probably the only way the Dodgers made money year round was through merchandising, whereas now, as a year-round operation, Dodger Stadium can make money off of concessions, parking (Which I hope would be cheaper if they’re expecting people to visit), and even renting out space in the concession area to other food service venues.
All in all, I’m happy with the plan. For me, any excuse to have a Dodger Dog is a good one, especially if it doesn’t cost a minnimum of $50 just to have the oppurtunity.
I’m happy with the plan too, as long as it doesn’t include renaming Dodger Stadium as Burger King Field.
crzblue–Excellent! We’ll see if I get out to the Stadium this weekend, but if not my brother and I have tickets to May 6 (more on the importance of that date later), and we will assuredly be loudly signing the Loney song. Keep it going!
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I am reserving judgment on the rennovations. My first takes are:
1) Looks interesting;
2) This should not affect ticket prices or personnel decisions–unless it does so positively from a fan’s perspective. There would be very little point in undertaking this project if it did not pencil out to pay for itself and make money. If it makes money, that perhaps can reduce pressure on ticket prices or make more money available for players (or scouting, player development, etc.) While I suppose there is some view that this will make coming to the ballpark more attractive–and thus justifying higher ticket revenue–I doubt that is a major point. As it is, with 3.7 and 3.8 Million fans the last two years, we’re pretty much stuffing the stadium as it is, and it’s questionable if this will drive much additional game day revenue (see below).
3) $500 Million is A LOT of money. That’s more than the team cost. Surely, this will be amortized over time, but that’s massive investment. And while other teams basically blackmail cities into paying for them, this seems to be private investment, which is good.
4) It is VERY good that the McCourts are investing in the stadium for another 50 years. My biggest concern when they came is was whether they had their eye on the Dodger Stadium site for development of condos or some such nonsense.
5) So far, the improvements that the McCourts have made have been excellent–the new seats and repairing the seating bowl, the field level concourse, and even the parking plan–eventually–has worked out well. And, while some personnel moves have been questionable, they have proven to me that they really want to win–now and in the future. I like that the press release refers to them as the “stewards” of the Dodgers–rather than just owners. So, they have impressed me over the 4+ years and they have earned the benefit of the doubt, at least. After 6 years of FOX, I am a little gunshy about owners, but if they continue to do things well, they will continue to win me over.
6) I like the “Think Blue Act Green” motif.
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7) It’s obviously development intended to exploit the land-value on more than 81 (or, hopefully, 92) days a year, but that is not necessarily bad. As I mentioned above, that’s potentially good for the team, and at worse it is just good for the owners. I don’t think that these changes will do too much about game-day revenues. Weeknight games are too hard to come to early and stay late (work, school, etc.). If these turn into late-night club type of this, they may do well on Friday and Saturday nights after the game. Obviously, Saturday afternoon games are the best for this. You could easily see family picnics before the game followed by dinners and clubs for adults after the games. Sundays are good family days too. And there is some gameday revenues as surely the areas will drive new concession revenues, and the high-spenders will pay more for drinks and the like as they do in the Dugout Club and the new Baseline Clubs. But mostly, the game and the available amenities accomplish much of this for the games.
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That said, maybe I am underestimating this. I have been to Fenway only once, but there is a host of sports bars right outside that fans file right into after the game. The difference, of course, is public transportation. Red Sox fans who drown their sorrows (I went in 2001) could take the T home. Dodger fans have to drive.
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But still, the question is what will happen at the Stadium during the other 273 days a year. Some of this will be mostly baseball activities:the Freeways Series, of course; the team used to have winter workouts at Dodger Stadium, and had that prospects academy in LA this year; and I think the stadium still gets used for amatuer events such as the City High School championship.
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The restaurants will be open year-round, but will people go without baseball games? Chavez Ravine is nowhere near the “hip” parts like the Sunset Strip or the West Side. It’s not far from downtown, but it’s still close by and surrounded by residential neighborhoods. It remains ideal for a baseball stadium, but I wonder about how good it is for “nightlife.”
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I could imagine seeing more concerts at Dodger Stadium in the off-season (even on road trips, I suppose, but too much of that can wear the playing field, and I hope that they recognize that baseball is the top priority.
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This seems to put the last nail in the coffin of the idea of a football stadium on-site. That seemed dead with the O’Malleys, and the McCourts got into some hot water with folks for bringing it up again, but it was still a thought.
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Hopefully, Josh can get Frank McCourt to answer some questions from us about this.
MartinLoneyKemp–I did not get a whiff of the ump, but he was definitely scraggly.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Arqcubmo2pTllZvlmcyvv8oyNbgF?slug=ti-dodgersjones042308&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Good article gang.
Interesting, jhall. But I’d still like to have Jones in center and striking out than Pierre. At least we’d have a big leaguer in there for half the game anyway.
Yep Eric, I agree. At least he can still play defense better than average. The Ethier, Jones, Kemp outfield makes me feel much better than the Phew, Jones, Kemp/Ethier or Phew, Kemp, Ethier outfields. Jelly Roll has to stop trying to pull everything for a homerun. If he starts hitting, the homers will come.
FYI Scott, Atlanta, GA was hit with a tornado NOT a hurricane.
Most of the guys I read about will say that if they try to merely hit line drives, the dingers follow. I wonder if he needs contacts. I certainly could never do it, but they say that big leaguers can pick up the spin on the ball so that they can tell a slider from a fastball. I don’t think he can do that right now.
Sometimes it looks like JRoll closes his eyes and just swings as hard as he can. Like the kids when they first start T-Ball. His front shoulder flies open, and his head pulls off the ball. If he cuts down the swing and stays closed and just makes contact the hits and homers will come.
Nice to see Loney getting back on track.
There’s a Jayson Stark article I just finished reading that Jones should read. From http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&page=rumblings
“Pat Burrell’s MLB ranks since July 1: First in slugging (.636), first in OPS (1.072), third in RBIs (87), fourth in on-base percentage (.436), sixth in homers (29).
But this year, he has been especially locked in, balanced and driving balls to right field that he used to wave at. It was that stroke that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the entire draft 10 years ago. But it’s been missing in action for a lonnggg time.
“I think I knew there was something there,” Burrell told Rumblings. “I just had gotten away from it, and it was hard to get back. When I came up here, I used to move the ball around a little bit. I was a pull-hitter, but I had the ability to hit the ball to right field — maybe not for as much power but I’d get some hits over there.
“I’ll tell you what: That’s a good feeling to have, when you can cover both sides. It’s one thing to hit the ball to right field. But it’s nice to hit it hard to right field.”
Tonight’s lineup:
Furcal, SS
Jones, CF
Garciaparra, 3B
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
Ethier, LF
Kemp, RF
Billingsley, P
Hope your right jhall but Loney’s 9/45 on the road with 10K and 1 BB – 15/36 with 3K and 5 BB at home difference worries me.
I can’t agree with putting one of your two most consistant and hottest hitters in the 7 spot. Ethier should be hitting 2nd or 3rd. At least no Phew.
Old up top, young on the back end. It’s like the mullet of lineups.
I know someone’s got to do it, but putting Kemp in the 8th slot just KILLS me. Better there than the bench, I guess.
THE MULLET OF LINEUPS!!!!!!!!!!!! HAAAARRRRR!!!!!!!!!
The same Stark article has this gem:
“Cold Cuts Award
The competition for this prestigious award can’t get any tighter. But we’re cutting some slack to Jim Edmonds (1 for his last 23, with 7 strikeouts), Andruw Jones (3 for his last 18, with 9 whiffs) and a guy who has already won this “honor” once, Adam LaRoche (2 for 21, with 7 K). Instead, this week’s Cold Cuts non-trophy goes to a man who has actually been a real, live Subway spokesman, Ryan Howard. He’s now 6 for his last 39, with 15 punchouts. Brrrrr.”
Nothing wrong with having those guys at the end of the lineup. Let’s just see it from a different angle.
Martin,Kemp,Looney is like having batters 1,2 and 3.
Just that it will be in another inning.
Having Jones in the second spot should give him some pitches to see, instead of having him in the 8th spot.
Good point MikeT.
Have you guys seen the picture of Mccourt with Antonio the Mayor about the renovation. I can only imagine what they are saying as they poin towards the replica stadium.
They are probably saying “this area here is were will concentrate on renovating. All the fights break out in this area all the drunken people and gang members sit here, we will be putting up a chainling fence to prevent people from throwing objects into the field and we will have strict security walking around with K-9 dogs. We will also take down all banners and flags in the pavillions. Since dodger fans can’t keep there hands to themselves. We are still missing flags in the Colosieum.”
I started to write a comment about the line-up tonite and things in general, but what can you say that hasn’t been said 100 times already? I think prepress pretty much sums things up in his post above.
Bright side – at least no Pierre.
Hitters 1-4 are Ned Colleti’s boys
Hitters 5-9 are Logan White’s boys.
Hitters 1-4 are a combined 49 million in salary (Not to mention another 8 million sitting in the bench)
Hitters 5-9 are a combined 2.1 million in salary.
Fire Colleti! There is no other GM in baseball that has gotten so little for so much!
FIRE COLLETTI is right on!!!
Let’s just platoon Pierre and Jones in the 8 hole until either wins the job…or neither. Too bad Repko got off to a slow start but he’s starting to perk up. Third on the team in hits.
I like this lineup… it would just be really nice to see them be able to put a few good games in a row…
GO BLUE!!
Remember APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY FLOWERS!!
It’s like not even fun to make fun anymore.
Furcal
Martin
Loney
Kemp
Ethier
Kent
Nomar
Jones
If Jones hits, fine move him up, other wise until LaRoche gets back just go with this.
DITCH THE HAS-BEENS!
PLAY THE KIDS!
GET THAT COUPON!
Just win, just win, just win. Go Blue!
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