Today's game…
Hope you snuck out of the office for today’s game…Furcal still out with a stiff back, but hopefully tomorrow’s off day will do some good. The same goes for Andruw, who will hopefully get to clear his head and start from scratch on Friday.
Pierre, LF
Ethier, RF
Kemp, CF
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B (happy 24th birthday)
Martin, C
DeWitt, 3B
Hu, SS
Penny, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Just think if Ethier goes 0-4 he can play tomorrow too!!
I hope Ethier does well. But then they will sit Kemp.
Last night was incredible. DeWitt! SWEEP THE METS!
THANK YOU!!
ANDRE – YOU GO!!! (No pressure, mind you)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!
I hope Furcal is okay:(
Glad to see Jones get a couple days off today and tomorrow.
Hope Furcal gets better soon.
And hope he doesn’t rush coming back.
And Martin is playing. He was supposed to get today off as of a few days ago, not that I’m upset he’s playing. Hopefully, Furcal will be ready to go Friday.
Lets hope Ferc is just getting an extra day to get 100%
I also would like to see AJ get his head on straight the next couple of days and come back strong….I don’t think he is done I think he just needs a breather. (I hope)
Nice to see Ethier getting a start…
DeWitt and Kuo, two man Met wrecking crew last night.
Yep Carcyn, I’m with you. Don’t rush Ferk back until he is 100%. Glad to see Jones out of the lineup. That guys a mess.
jnv, when Andruw got than hit, it looked like something was finally coming back, but then the two strikeouts were just awful. I hope you are right, maybe it’s just a breather he needs.
Also, it was reported last night that Zito is pitching today. The Gnat fans are squirming right now!! (my family just rolled their eyes and are preparing for the worst – lol!)
If I was making 18 Mil a year, doing something I loved, I would not need a breather. If Furcal was in line-up today i place of Hu, now that would be a great line-up.
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We need a sweep today.
LOL Nelson.
I hate that Pierre is doing well. I mean it’s good I guess, but that leaves Ethier on the bench. Only if Pierre had a decent arm out in left. Then we can have Jones as the most expensive back up outfielder in the league. It really looks like Jones has never swung a bat before.
DeWitt is fast becoming a fan favorite. Gotta feel for laRoche, though — off to a solid spring and then the injury happens. I agree w/ messagebear from the last string — since LaRoche is in AAA anyway, how about trying him out at 2nd base? I like Hu’s attitude and hard work, but not sure he can be our starting 2B next yr.
Is it just me, or was Jones pretty lazy picking up that single to center, allowing sr citizen Moises Aleu to get to third?
your right dnelson,
At times it looks like AJ is coming out of it and then goes hacking at balls low and outside?? I don’t think it has anything to do with justifing his contract I think it has more to do with his work ethic. I don’t hear alot about him working hard (I could be wrong) and if he is, he sure didn’t in the off season.
As for Zito, my friend here at work is squirming also. I read were Zito said he worked out his flaws in his bullpen sessions and that he can’t wait to get in the game and use his new mechanics!!!! I say he gets shelled for about 8 runs.
How about them Dodgers? Going for their 3rd sweep in two weeks. The Mets are supposed to be good, right? Let’s make it 11 wins in the last 12. If only Joe learned how to manage it could have been 12 out of the last 12. Go Dodgers!
One thing the Dodgers picked up in New York, these last two days, is RESPECT.
Hoping Furcal heals as quick as possible and it’s good to see Ethier in the lineup.
GO DODGERS:::BRING OUT THE BROOMS
Take a look at Blake’s stats with runners in scoring position, 2 outs and bases loaded.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8209/situational;_ylt=AjE3isD5Yi.gk73IElzXVyqFCLcF
jnv,
KNBR (local bay area station for those not living up here) is hoping for only 3 runs by Zito (they will consider that a good outing for him) – yeah, right!! lol!
GO DODGERS!! ALMOST GAME TIME, AND IT’S LUNCH TIME SO I WILL GET TO WATCH SOME OF THE GAME THANKS TO MLB.TV.
Three runs?!!! Yeah right, in the first inning maybe! Gotta love KNBR, home of some of the best comedy in baseball.
Can’t wait to see the look on Jim Crandell’s (FOX40 Sacramento) face when Zito’s ERA hits 5 digits.
Great game last night. I was there with my brother MartinLoneyKemp as he mentioned.
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DeWitt came up with the bases loaded, and DodgerVision said that DeWitt was 4-4 with the bases loaded. He got a hit, and is now 5-5. Wow!
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And, instead of singing “Happy Birthday” for James Loney, here’s another song for him:
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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!
If Ned Colleti did nod sign AJ, this would be our outfield this year with Young or Repko backing up. I feel sorry for Joe, the pressure is going to be great in the future if AJ does not perform and Dodgers go into a slump. But as they say “Winning is a great deodorant and covers up all problems.” The AJ signing has the potential to be a stink that no deodorant can cover up.
There’s a blurb in the “Tidbit” section of the preview for today’s game: “… Although the Dodgers have considered sending Double-A pitching sensation Clayton Kershaw to the bullpen to conserve innings, assistant general manager DeJon Watson said Kershaw is still in the Jacksonville rotation. … ”
Kershaw has been following James McDonald in the rotation all season and McDonald pitched yesterday, but the Suns’ game is in progress as I write this and Kershaw is not pitching. Perhaps they decided to “conserve” his innings by pitching him every six or seven days or something, but I’m not sure how that’s supposed to strengthen his arm. He went 6 2/3 on May 2, five days ago when Coletti et al watched. Curious.
What was the line from “Network”? Something like “YOU HAVE MEDDLED WITH THE PRIME FORCES OF NATURE MR BEALE, AND YOU……MUST………..ATONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Very nice catch by Angel Pagan.
From http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080507&content_id=2656626&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
“Furcal missed his second consecutive start, but said with Thursday’s scheduled off-day that he anticipated returning to the lineup for Friday night’s series opener with the Astros. Furcal missed the last 12 games of last season with lower back spasms, but this injury is said to be in a different area and not considered by club officials as serious. “
I really appreciate how Vin talks about Andre and his professionalism toward the issue in the outfield.
Think Kuo’s ready for another few innings today?
Nope. We’ll get Chan Ho today. Penny struggling.
This is not looking good.
Stop’em here Brad. We’ll come back.
This feels just like last night, but then again, we pulled it off – hopefully we can do the same today —
GO DODGERS!
Our ace.
Way to get Wright! Let’s get a couple runs back in our half of the inning!
C’mon, boys! Let’s get a couple of those back right away!
Hope we start scoring as soon as possible and not let Maine put up a 0 on us after a bad inning by Penny.
Have any of you guys felt like Penny is really more of a 2 guy? Is there anyone we could get to push the rotation back a couple. Like make Penny a 2, Lowe a 3 and Kuroda a 4?
I don’t know who said it a few days ago, but we never EVER seem to do very well during the day games.
It would be nice if our rotation had Kuroda or Billz as our #5 starter! Wow!!!
Penny has to show that the 2nd was just a bad inning and start pitching better right away.
Gotta hold ’em. We’ll score enough today.
Was it me or did DY look funny in that catchers mask?
The Dodgers showed a little miscommunication and anger at each other. Maybe that’s not a bad sign.
I’m going to call this a good series, taking 2 of 3 every series is great. But Penny has got to start pitching better. He has yet to look dominant in any game so far this year.
A healthy Schmidt and a Kershaw would be nice additions to the rotation….
David Wright’s slump so far is helping our two days in a row of shakey starts.
I honestly think we could greatly improve our rotation with the addition of Kershaw. He would suddenly give a big jolt and help to stable a kind of shaky rotation. If it was not for our bullpen the last few games would have gotten ut of hand. Our starters are not going deep enough into the games, and we really do not have a big time stopper.
We’re stil at least a month away from Schmidt, it’d be nice to see Kershaw at least get to give it a shot.
It would good, needless to say, if Maine would show some weakness today.
Yeah PMW…. He’s way outpitching Penny today. But like I said, I’ll take 2 out of 3 forever. I just don’t like the way that Penny, Lowe and Kuroda have been looking… We need a bonafide ace.
Ridiculous play by Loney
Not to hurt anyone’s feelings but the more I watch Hu, the more I miss Ferky.
After that excuse me hit by Maine I can’t help but think about that D’Back – Philley game tonight.
What happened? I left the game thinking it was going to be okay only to come back to a 7-0 game – yikes!
There’s still time – a few innings, anyway
Oh well, I guess we were due for one of these.
Nice series victory for the Blue. It’s just one game. We begin again Friday night.
Well, maybe not! Now it’s 10-0
However, stranger things have happened this year already, so I guess nothing is impossible at this point.
It’d be nice to plate a few runs though.
Penny was off but Proctor should’ve took off.
Not to beat up on Pierre (though it is our favorite past time and Maine is killing everybody today) but with Furcal sidelined and the spotlight on little Juan these past two games, he’s 1-7 with no runs scored. Better extend Furcal’s contract right now and pray his back is just tweaked for a mere moment in time…
yeah Alex, 2 of 3 will get you a good season!
Anybody worried about our starting pitching?….Lowe, Penny and now Kuroda have really not been good so far this year….and now Penny today looked like he was throwing batting practice….I hope this isn’t going to become a habit….I wish we had a left handed starter because our pitchers look like they have alot of trouble with left handers, except maybe Bills….and of course Kuo…..but even though we have been winning, I don’t like what I see from most of the starters….Brad wouldn’t even have won his last game if we didn’t get him alot of runs when he went out of the game…He has not been as good as his record…and now I’m sure his ERA and our team ERA will balloon..
Oh well, we took the series. Rest up tomorrow and whip some Houston b*tt. Go Phillies!!
This is the kind of game that I used to use a vacation for. Glad I didn’t today!
Geez, it’s only half over…
I totally agree with you drpdedblnd. The starting pitching has been really bad. Our offense and bullpen have been whats been winning us games. Let’s just hope it’s a rough patch, we could really use a nice dominant run from our starters, or our pen is going to be all used up by June.
I see Phew is back!!!!
Maine showing his human side in that 5th inning.
Maybe Maybe
But Proctor is digging a bigger hole.
DeWitt’s smooth swing even looks good when he misses.
pierreseastmeetswest–I don’t think that can be considered a knock on Hu. Furcal has just been brilliant this year–much like he was when healthy in 2006. Hu’s good, and maybe should be the starting second-baseman in the future, but Furcal is critical offensively and defensively. And we’re missing him today.
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The Dodgers started the season where it seemed that if they got behind, they seemed to have no chance. But they have turned it around, and last night down 4-1, I still thought we were very much in the game. And they turned it around and won.
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Of course, today, not so much. This is just taking our lumps. Bad outing by Penny, but I think people are being hard on him. Not a great outing last time in Colorado, but he was doing well and could have kept going, but needed to come out for a hitter. And he came in with an ERA of 3.19–not the stuff he started off with last year, but still pretty good. Lowe and Kuroda both also entered the day with ERAs of less than 4.00, and Billingsley will be there soon too. So while it’s not the lights out starting that we had hoped for, it’s been pretty effective.
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So, we chalk up a bad game, but take 2 out of 3 from a tough Mets team. Put it behind us, get Furcal back in the line-up, and get going again on Friday.
Not to knock Torre but Ethier looks different up there.
Even with this loss we have either won or tied in our last six series, and our overall series record so far is 7-3-2.
Agree…just keep winning series…and don’t look at the standings until July 1.
When did Tom Seaver return to the mound?
Isn’t Parks 1-2-3 inning releiving?
PierreEW,
From what I have gotten to see, I think it’s just the game. It’s not very exciting on our side, and hopefully, it’s just a reflection of the game and not Ethier looking different.
I haven’t watched the entire game, so I could be wrong – let’s hope not.
I always ask this but I don’t remember if I ever saw the answer.
What is the Dodger record in day games?
If it wasn’t for Penny & Maine’s performance this wasn’t a bad day.
We’re doing O.K.
I’ve got plenty of hope.
We took 2 of 3 from them and anyone could see what happened today.
That was another outstanding outing from Chan-Ho Park.
pierreeast, don’t know their record, but BEFORE today, in 10 day games, they were last in batting average (.217) and last in runs scored (24). So you indeed sensed something rotten!
IT’S TIME FOR A 13 RUN WALK OFF HOMER!
The RBI by KEMP not only keeps his hitting streak alive, it spoils Maine’s complete game and ties him with LONEY for team’s top with 25.
everytime ethier starts we lose
you need to put down the crack pipe magicofhesoul13…. LOL
LOL
Even though it was against us we have to admit that was quite a game pitched by John Maine.
Anybody who pitches into the ninth, let alone a complete game, is very rare these days.
Congrats to him.
I agree!! Nice game by John Maine
What I saw out of Penny in his Friday start at the Rockes, I didn’t like at all. His velocity is down; could he have some sort of a shoulder injury they’re trying to keep quiet?
And all I can say is damnit, why did I allow Penny to start on my fantasy team today after his last outing?
I would also like to add that I’m happy for our old buddy Duaner Sanchez’s recovery from the car accident.
I’ll be at Shea on Saturday May31th & Sunday June 1st to root on my Dodgers against the Mets again.
GO BLUE.
I hope this once a week or so starts by Ethier doesn’t effect his hitting. He seemed to be first ball swinging again , I hope he hasn’t lost his patients at the plate.
This is the only thing I can’t understand that Torre— (who I think is doing an overall good job)— is doing.
I am just reading play by play and noticed Andruw got a double today (good). I am trying to remain positive for him, but I am still very much upset about Ethier and what is happening to him. It concerns me that this is going to mess with his head, and that nobody’s going to be looking out for him like they are for Andruw (and Pierre for that matter.)
dcollins said last night that Torre knows what he is doing – I surely hope so.
Gotta go to staff meeting – just wanted to check in, and I guess, whine/b*tch some more.
I really hope Furcal is okay 😦
Well, it’s going to get interesting for Torre if Jones begins to hit and he keeps playing Slappy over Ethier and God forbid – Kemp.
I think we are seeing the real JP the last 2 games, we all know that he is not a 340 hitter with a 400 OP%. I hope Torre looks at what he has and figures out that Kemp and Ethier along with AJ is the best outfield he could put out there. If the Dodgers were trying to showcase JP then they waited to long because the last 2 games shows us what JP has done for his career. And any possible bidders are gonna shy away now.
The only good thing about today’s game was none of us was there to see it in person and as far as we know, no Dodger player got hurt. Hopefully this is just a burp and after a day off the Dodgers will get back on track. Go Dodgers!
The D’s won the series and that is most important. This loss is just another loss in a long season. Nothing more and nothing less.
One thing that was evident today is that Proctor is a freaking gas can. It was 6-0 with 2 outs when he came in to “relieve”.
moments later, it was, what, 11-0?
I say Joe Torre better find a new “Favorite Reliever” before he starts adding his gas can to too many more fires.
Kershaw pitched in relief for Jacksonville today. He came in for the fifth inning and faced 3 batters. A strikeout (looking), a flyout and a groundout. His ERA is now 1.08.
I know there is strong sentiment to get Kershaw to the big league club as soon as possible but I would rather see him brought along slowly than to rush his development. I will agree that I am disappointed in Penny and Lowe with regards to pitch counts and how deep they go into games.
Well sometimes it just is not meant to be….Penny is not an ace, we really do not have a number 1. I feel that Bills will develop into one and maybe someday Kershaw. Lowe and Penny are great number 2/3 but not Aces….but we have a very good staff….and it will only get better when Mr Kershaw comes aboard….
Lets see what happens Friday in relation to Ethier. I am hoping he gets to start and they leave Jones on the bench, I know it is wishful thinking, but we can always dream…..
I agree dodgerboy. I think we’ve got a good staff that has several 2s and 3s. It should work out ok in the long run. Billz looks as if he could be a #1 by the end of the season if he’d just trust his stuff and stop trying to be too fine.
As far as our outfield is concerned, I don’t really know if rotating guys around has ever really worked. Most of the good teams have starters and subs. Period. I hope that Torre settles on 8 starters soon.
Here’s an interesting article on LaRoche if you haven’t already seen it. Ethier isn’t the only one having to deal with unfairness.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-dodrep7-2008may07,0,3091928.story
Phils beat Snakes we’re still just 3 back.
Loaiza hits the 15 day DL and the drum roll may have started for the call up of Kershaw in 10 days:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodrep8-2008may08,0,6815588.story
Here is another article that was posted about 20 minutes ago. It pretty much states that Torre plans on sticking with Jones for as long as it takes.
http://www.presstelegram.com/moresports/ci_9188660
I took a vacation day to be at the game today. Oh well, at least we took the series. Sat in the field level this time aisle 19, the first row. Don’t regret going to the game. I rather be at OLOCR (Our Lady of Chavez Ravine) than at work. Oh, BTW, I have D.Lowe on my fantasy team (Lady Diamonds) and before the game at Colorado, I left him on the bench. We all know he does not do well there.
Who will get the call with Loaiza on the 15DL? Might be brazo.
Oh also why was Nancy Bea playing the theme song from “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” in the top of the seventh inning? Because the Mets’ offense was cruising? Because the Dodgers’ was stalled?
Did you know that Angel Pagan had to get an MRI done on his shoulder after falling over that wall? I just read that, and it didn’t sound good. I don’t like to see players get hurt like that, regardless of what team they are on. That play has been all over the tv tonight – Top 5 Web Gem for the week worthy perhaps (sorry, Andre, but it was a good catch)
Can’t sleep so I’m looking up stats against houston by our beloved outfielders:
I wasn’t looking for anything specific, but this is what I found 🙂
Against Friday’s Pitcher – Moehler (RHP)
Ethier – 3 for 3 2B /2RBIs/ 0 SOs
Jones – 3 for 11 1 HR/ 3 RBIs/ 1 SB/
Kemp – 0 for 2
Pierre – 0 for 3 BB/SO
Career against Astros:
AVE/OBP/OPS
Ethier – 7 for 23 .304/.407/.799
Jones – 71 for 273 .260/.357/.903
Kemp – 6 for 16 .313/.294/.857
Pierre – 66 for 212 .311/.357/.767
Good stuff dnelson.
Hopefully we’ll get an outfield on Friday that will be E J K!
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I think Torre knows what he’s doing…I ALSO HOPE SO 🙂 !!!
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I just think that he has been doing his job for a number of years and is a bit of an expert. I was worried how he would handle the Managing in the NL & for the most part he’s done ok. A couple of errors that I’ve seen. But nothing like Grady.
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That last month (September) Grady killed me with in about 3 different games in a short span of time. You probably remember them. There was one in Chicago where he had Lowe bat in the late innings with 2 outs, runners on, and a 1 run lead. As I remember it I think it was the 8th. Then in the bottom of the 8th Lowe faced 1 or 2 hitters and was gone as they took the lead. We came back and won that one, but that Friday he did the same with Penny in San Francisco. They scored in the bottom of the 8th and Penny was gone. I remember that one pretty well because I was there and just dumbfounded! Loney actually homered in the top of the 9th, but we lost that one in the bottom of the 9th on a walk off homerun.
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Anyway time to hit the hay!
Go Blue…
In my personal observation Penny was ineffective as he went deep into counts by not locating the ball early then had to throw over the plate late and had to confer ALOT with Martin in the later innings… someone wasn’t firing on all braincells…and/or we all know the D’s don’t play well at home during the day….But worse yet and as we all know that Penny will implode when he does not get solid infield support and Hu and Kent today both did not get to plays that Better infielders would have. Penny got good support from Loney and Dewitt did his job Kent did make a couple of plays close to him but the middle defense was pretty lame especially the shot over Kemps head that we all know AJ or even JP would have made the out that one took me back to the days of K-Lo misplaying CF everyday Kemp is fast but has problems judging balls off the bat during the day everytime I see him.That wasn’t called an error but better fielders would make that play 9/10 times.AS for our bats……MIA all the way around JP? I think he needs to be rested to hit at the .330 clip he is able to hit but doesn’t know that.All JP has ever known is play everyday whereas he is most likely much better getting some rest and building aggression to hit the ball rather then everyday looking to touch the ball.
Thats my observations for that game…. and I’m sticking to em.
Is Proctor a waste or what?
A big YEAH, Proctor is a drag on this team. Trade him for anything.
My opinion on Dewitt VS Laroche
Games…AB…RUNS…HITS…2B…3B…HR…RBI…AVG…OBP…
DEW 29…85…15………26……4…..2…..2…..18….306…385
LAR 35…93….16……..21……5……0…..1…..10….226…365
I know Laroche has been a much more touted prospect than Dewitt, bur Dewitt has impressed me much more than Laroche has. I hope the third base battle is between these 2 and give Nomore a broom to clean up around the stadium.
It’s really simple. DeWitt has done nothing to lose the starting 3rd base job. He has performed excellently and we are winning with him in there. If it ain’t broke, don’t mess with it.
Of course in the current scheme, big name, big salary, and big ego overshadow performance on the field.
I know I’m a bit ignorant, but perhaps someone can enlighten me. I understand that DeWitt played a lot of 2B. Is there a reason he switched to 3rd? I remember when his name surfaced in ST when Nomar and Andy went down that someone on this blog said they watched him playing 3rd in A ball and he was a butcher. He’s had his moments there so far, but he’s also done very well too.
I love Ferc. Who’s his agent? If it’s Boreass, or even if it’s not, we could be faced with a 5-6 year contract demand to retain him. If we can’t sign him, what about a 2009 IF of Loney, DeWitt, Hu and LaRoche?
IMO Nomore will be a real complicating factor if he’s ready to return soon. First of all, DeWitt has performed in a manner beyond what Nomore could bring to the lineup. I don’t know why this should be so surprising, because he was one of our first round picks, and some people can just rise to the occasion when given the opportunity. LaRoche is certainly deserving of a shot, and he could be brought up to contend with DeWitt, except that Nomore has apparently been promised his starting role by Torre whenever he’s healthy again. Let’s remember that Nomore should not be with us past this season, and unless he can definitely contribute more to our winning than DeWitt has shown, he should be relegated to a supporting role. I think that role should basically be as a pinch-hitter. With the poor results that Sweeney has provided, Sweeney should be DFA’d in order to provide that slot for Nomore. DY is still available to pinch hit from the left side.
I’m disappointed in both Penny and Lowe, considering they were both considered our ace starters. Lowe has only been a .500 pitcher, and Penny has not been able to win more than 16 games a season. I contend that we should move Lowe by trade deadline time and get ourselves a strong AAA starting contender in the bargain. I expect that we’ll exercise Penny’s option after next season, if for no other reason than because the price is right compared to the escalating norms for FA pitchers. Considering that neither is going to be an All-Star caliber this year, we need to get Kershaw up here quickly to see whether he’s for real in helping this contending team. Proctor is another guy who needs to go, and I’m hoping that Brazo is healthy and ready to take over that assignment. I would also get Furcal signed – would offer four years at $72 – $75 million.
Showed my class daily highlights (not much to show on Dodger side), but Angel Pagan’s catch got the most cheers (and well deserved). I hope he is doing okay?
Does anyone know what that phrase that Vin Scully uses after a strikeout pitcher strikes out when he’s batting? It’s something like, “…… by his own escutcheon” Also, is he making reference to any book, opera or Play when he says that? Thanks, very much appreciated.
Nomar’s bat was hot before he got hurt.
Why not put him in, Dewitt would be his back up.
Like you said Bear, we won’t be around next season.
So it only makes sense to play Nomar now.
Nomar was hot?? In his last 4 games he had 2 bad and 2 good games. I wouldn’t call that “hot”. Not to mention his crappy defense.
Nomar, once upon a time was one of the best players in all of baseball, but those days are long gone. Long gone.
It makes sense to let the young kid gain experience, especially since Nomore will not be around next year.
Nomore is not in the teams future. DeWitt is. He will benefit from playing and become better for it. Then, next year he doesn’t start off as a green kid.
Are you kidding me, I can;t wait to get that 226 hitter with a 314obp guy back in the lineup and move the guy with the .306 avg and .385obp down. it’s dodger baseball….where the real numbers that matters are the contract ones
Although it does look like the phantom DL move means bye bye estaban….
will torree be able to clean up all of Ned’s mistakes and get us to the postseason? stay tuned. so far, so-so.
If the same logic is used for playing Nomar now because he will not be there next year and that logic is applied it to the outfield, we are really screwed for more than just this year. Play the kids now!!!! The best team needs to be on the field at all times unless it is an honest day off or an injury. This goes for all positions, not just 3rd base and outfield. 🙂
With the exception of Furcal not being on the field yesterday(due to injury) and even though we got killed, I still enjoyed watching the team that should be out there.
I do like both LaRoche and DeWitt so I am a little bit on the fence with that one.
back to teaching 🙂
I can’t wait for LaRoche to prove people wrong who doubt him. He was everybit as good as Loney, Kemp, Martin and Kent for 5 years together in the minors. That’s alot of data and we think those guys maybe all stars one day. LaRoche Power/Patience numbers were the best of all of them. That’s all i know and sticking to it.
Kemp. Didnt mean to confuse a trashcan with an oilcan lol
jungar, Dodgers are in a nice spot with DeWitt and LaRoche. Reminds me of Ferguson/Yeager. Somewhere down the line one of them will prove a bit more worthy and then maybe we can trade for the equivalent of a Reggie Smith.
hey, has anyone posted this article yet? it’s an interesting read about how you can split the dodgers into three different teams… obviously, i’m a fan of the logan white dodgers… i would say the majority probably is…
https://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7478
Boy, the Dodgers have sure had some awesome catchers, and look what we have now in Martin. I had the awesome pleasure of sitting near Yeager on a flight to Jamaica for my honeymoon. What an experience! I was much younger and in total awe that I was sitting near an actual Dodger catcher, I couldn’t think of anything good to say. There were people around us doing the talking for me – lol!!
I did manage to get an autograph, but then I gave it to my mom since back then, she was the Dodger maniac. This Dodger obsession is in the blood.
also, i would say that the last paragraph of the article sums up everything pretty well…
“Many newly-hired GMs benefit from the work done by the men who came before them. Paul DePodesta won a division title with Dan Evans’ players, and Ned Colletti’s first team went to the playoffs thanks to DePodesta’s guys. As his own players come to populate the roster, though, Ned Colletti seems more and more like someone promoted past his level, the Peter Bavasi Principle in action. That the Dodgers may continue to succeed has little do with his efforts and more to do with the base laid by his assistant, White, and his predecessor, DePodesta. The more the players those two men brought to the Dodgers get to play, and the less Colletti’s signings do, the better chance the Dodgers will have of getting back to October.”
Thanks Sara, awesome article!!!
It is cool to see what we have known and been saying for over a year in black and white.
Outstanding article cited above. I’ve always contended that Colletti is not a GM, but just a public relations guy, who should be gotten rid off as soon as possible.
LOGAN WHITE or anybody but Colletti in 2009, OR SOONER!!
Personally, my favorite quote from that article is this one:
“I’ve said this before, but I don’t think I’ve ever written it: had the Dodgers sent Colletti on a six-month cruise starting November 1, 2006, they would have won the NL West in 2007.”
Hopefully they will send Ned on summer vacation when school lets out so he is not around at the trade deadline.
He could take Nomore, Procto, Bloaiza, Jones, and Pierre with him as his posse.
Colletti is not worth a cruise. Give him a scooter and send him out to cruise the parking lot.
Good One – jhall – lol!!
That is classic!!
Good News: Gnats lost! 5-4 🙂
I could live with DY/Kemp/Ethier and Repko backing up. Glad you enjoyed that Nelson.
Sure hope the Phillies find a way to beat the D-Backs and Webb today. It’s 2-1 DB’s, middle of 4th now. Go Phillies!!
Puds and G’nats have both lost today. Rocks up 7-1 on the Cards in the 5th.
Someone made the wish a few days that maybe the Padres would take Pierre for us. Well, can we wish some more? – Padres just lost again – lol!
If management disdains the young talent, why then you ask does Ned hang onto them? Wouldn’t it be better if you just traded them and got something?
Ah, but you’re all failing to comprehend the brilliance of Ned’s genius. Ned is trying to prevent the young guys from coming back on another team and haunting us in the future. To achieve this goal, he’s bring in the Pierre’s, Jones’ and Nomars’ as a blocking mechanism to retard their growth and learning curve. Most insidiously, Ned’s using an ingenious two pronged attack: 1. Cleverly writing a clause into the above said player’s contracts so that they play everyday and/or not at 100%. Of course, this costs a few extra million, but its worth it in the long run, and that’s what Ned’s all about – the longterm security of the vets. 2. Those untold millions are like ringing the subliminal dinner bell for all the other old-timers who want to buck it up and come to L.A. They not only get a retirement plan to be envied, they get to live out their days in the California sun and still provide the valuable service of keeping a youngster from getting a chance.
Perhaps the most astute move of all though (and I still don’t know how he pulled this one off other than by guile, the likes of which we have never seen before), he duped the Yankees into letting their manager go, then lured him out of retirement with a few cool million, and brought the veteran’s best friend, Joe Torre, who’s motto is, “I never met a vet I didn’t like… and play… over and over and over again”, here to manage our team.
This Ned is one shrewd customer…
That Ned is the Furter!!
Wow!! Enchanted – that was beautiful!!
Not only are you outstanding in poetry, you are just as fabulous in prose – 🙂
Crap!! DB’s kicking Phillies butt.
Maybe someday this will come to pass:
There once was a man named Coletti
Whose head was filled with spaghetti
McCourt finally got bright
And hired Kevin White
Now Ned’s contract is only confetti
Good one Eric!! LOL
Inspiration by Enchanted.
Wow, enchanted! Here all along I was thinking that Ned was plain stupid or just in over his head in being matched up against some genuine GM’s. You have certainly put a different twist on it.
Aw crap, make that LOGAN White. I have a friend named Kevin White. Let’s try that again:
There once was a man named Coletti
Whose head was filled with spaghetti
McCourt finally got bright
And hired Logan White
Now Ned’s contract is only confetti
I was excited with Colletti’s hire, mainly because I ‘d never heard of him and figured the Dodgers knew what they were doing. Silly me. He doesn’t seem hesitant to the pull the trigger (we all love hyper traders when the waters need stirring)…he just seems hesitant to do thorough homework. And he seems very leery of trusting kids, a bad personality trait if one is GM of Dodgers, circa 2008. Gonzo, Pierre, and Jones were all signed with Repko, Kemp, and Ethier already on board. Even discounting Repko because of health concerns, why would Colletti continue having two vets on board to take time away from Kemp and Ethier? How many teams would LOVE to start these two guys? Answer: A lot
Nice poem dodgereric!!
I have told some of you before – you should publish 🙂
Between the songs, poems and stories, this is the most well-rounded group I have ever read.
I am also just as impressed with those of you with the baseball knowledge and ways of finding out information for those of us who are still learning about how all this works.
For all those who have not read it yet, Joe Sheehan has a piece on SI.com about the Dodgers under Logan White, Paul Depodesta, and Ned Colletti (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/05/08/bp.dodgers/index.html). While Ned has made some good moves it’s eye-opening to see the resources and playing time that has been allocated to poor performers. I’m hoping that Colletti can still show us all that he is not a disciple of Brian Sabean.
You need to get a publisher, or publish them online for an affordable price. I’d buy it!
http://dodgersblog.mlblogs.com
Its all perspective bear, its all perspective.
dodgereric has now stepped into the unknown world that is the dark side… filled with wonderous inspiration and an unqualified need to display it to the public…
Thank you Enchanted. You, jhall, MLK, messagebear, et al are true inspirations. It’s an honor to be welcomed into such distinguished company. However, to quote Woody Allen, who I think was quoting Groucho Marx, “I’m not sure I want to belong to a group that would have someone like me for a member.” 🙂
Thanks, greenie17, for sharing that SI article. That really lays it on the line convincingly with the stats to back it up. His ending comments really do sum up where we’re at now:
“As his own players come to populate the roster, though, Colletti seems more and more like someone promoted past his level, the Peter Bavasi Principle in action. That the Dodgers may continue to succeed has little do with his efforts and more to do with the base laid by his assistant, White, and his predecessor, DePodesta. The more the players those two men brought to the Dodgers get to play, and the less Colletti’s signings do, the better chance the Dodgers will have of getting back to October.”
Joe Torre, please take note!
That the Dodgers may continue to succeed has little do with his efforts and more to do with the base laid by his assistant, White, and his predecessor, DePodesta. The more the players those two men brought to the Dodgers get to play, and the less Colletti’s signings do, the better chance the Dodgers will have of getting back to October.
—
I have been saying this since he was hired practically.
As I’ve mentioned before, the biggest mistake of the McCourt era was not retaining Dan Evans as GM. He was the guy who hired and supported Logan White, and it was their decisions that laid the foundation for the success of the team now and for the foreseeable future. Those that came after him have in one way or another impeded and hindered the success that could have been for the Dodgers. As the SI article so aptly states:
“See, the Dodgers aren’t one team. They’re three teams, glued together by three men over a period of seven years. The first team, and the best one, is the Logan White Dodgers. White, the Dodgers’ assistant general manager in charge of scouting, is the man responsible for drafting and overseeing the development of stars Russell Martin and James Loney, as well as lower-profile, high-production players such as Chad Billingsley, Jonathon Broxton and Matt Kemp. Former Dodgers GM Dan Evans also deserves a share of credit for this group; it was Evans who hired White, and it was Evans who was in the GM’s chair for the team’s ridiculously productive 2002 and ’03 drafts.”
Unfortunately, that is all water under the bridge now and what Evans and White accomplished isn’t bearing the fruit that it would have under different leadership.
I agree RedFox. It seems sometimes at the time as if Evans didn’t have balls to pull off big moves, but in hindsight it was mostly smarts. He landed Vlade until they saw McCourts finances. Everything would have been different in dodgerland if 2 things didn’t happen even among all the various terrible things that have…
1. mike scioscia was never let go.
2. Dan Evans was allowed to build once his farm developed.
I wonder why McCourt let Dan Evans go? We all knew that management was inept and incompetent, but after reading this article, I see that they are even worse than I originally thought. Truely very sad indeed.
Letting Scioscia get away was criminal.
Maybe McCourt never real let Dan Evans go, persay. Maybe he gave him the Ross Porter/Joe Amalfatano treatment, and didn’t even make the effort to contact him.
To me, Porter and Amalfatano are 3. and 4. to Jungar’s 1. and 2.
Good point North!! Any way around it, they’ve screwed up royally.
Yeah jhall. All things considered, right now is the best I’ve felt about the team since the trades of July ’04 (before we all knew what Lo Duca was up to), but we lost a lot of the Dodger Way by getting rid of those two. And that’s not saying that we can’t do a lot better with the talent we have in L.A., Vegas and Jacksonville. I think everyone can agree with that.
In case anyone’s wondering what Ross Porter is up to, check out his website, Real Sports Heroes with Ross Porter. He focuses on feel-good stories from athletes and coaches/managers throughout sports, and the good they do for their communities.
http://www.realsportsheroes.com/
Cool North, thanks for the link. Sounds like we could have been where we are now or better 2 or 3 years ago.
Yeah I agree Northstate. Also, they let go of the guy who designed the Gagne game over shirt. Bad luck for all. The curse of the Gagne shirt.
Trouble with McCourt’s tenure so far is that he doesn’t have the patience to allow a philosophy to take root and reach fruition.
It also sounds like the only thread allowing any continuity through the McCourt era has been Logan White. With rare exception, the only players who have been worth their salt have been Logan’s Heros. The ones down on the farm who are ready for the show – LaRoche and Kersh, are Logan’s boys. Might I make a suggestion? Promote Logan White to GM and let him rule for a few years.
As far as Scioscia goes, I have absolutely no facts here, so tune me out if you want, but I’ve heard “innuendo” and “hearsay” that he was down on the drug use in the clubhouse when he managed at AAA Albuquerque in 1999…the same season LoDuca, Herges, et al, were doing “their thing.” Maybe Mike took a stand…chose to leave…whatever. Not that drugs weren’t everywhere else. Guess only Mike knows why he’s not a Dodger anymore.
We should have Scioscia as our manager, Hershiser as our pitching coach, and Gibson as the bench coach right now.
Oh well, what might have been. Luckily we are in very good shape right now if they play the right players.
jhall…shades of ’88. With our luck, Ned will bring in Franklin Stubbs, Jeff Hamilton, and Alejandro Pena…
LOL. I’d take Mickey Hatcher though. The new stuntmen.
You know, it DOES feel wrong to see Gibby in the D-Backs dugout. I feel somehow cheated.
Yep Kahli, something fundamentally wrong with that.
The comments about Gibby take me back to the most famous homer in Dodger history. My screaming must have woke up my entire neighborhood.
” Lisa rebukes her, saying, “Janey, school is not a waste of time” Immediately following, Ms. It has had a long time, but I discovered that relationships aren’t about supplying my very own needs. The studio then approached Cartoon Network, with creator Pendleton Ward delivering them a first storyboard for “The Enchiridion”, showing the premise may be expanded in to a sequence and elements with the original short: funny catchphrases and dances, a cumbersome kiss moment when using princess and an “Abe Lincoln moment”.
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Mostly a brief history of business was able to
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The most enjoyable element of Revenge with the Fallen is its sheer familiarity.
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