Blue Crew vs. Brew Crew
Read a very interesting article today on Andruw Jones, lest anyone believe that his horrible start to the season isn’t bothering him. I know that a lot of people would like for him to snap and run renegade on a Powerade container a la Carlos Perez, but I think we all know that it probably won’t help him raise his batting average.
I’m as bummed about it as any fan out there and I’m guessing the only person who feels worse is Andruw himself.
In any event, he’s out of the lineup for tonight and here’s who is in it…
Pierre, LF
Ethier, RF
Kemp, CF
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Martin, C
DeWitt, 3B
Hu, SS
Penny, P
Inside the Dodgers 
YES! Dre in the lineup.
Time to sweep the Brew Crew!
At least we got Ethier in the lineup, and NO, I don’t feel bad for Andruw no matter how Josh wants to spin it. He’s getting a very undeserved $18 million per season that’s got to be the laughing stock in the clubhouse – probably not to his face at this point. To me he’s not a real Dodger until he starts earning some of it, and I wish he didn’t wear and disgrace the Dodger blue.
For me, the most important player in the line-up today is Penny. Time for him to STEP UP!
While it’s defintiely encouraging to see Andruw express a little emotion, it would be great to hear him say what he’s doing to try and fix the problem (like trying to lose a few pounds). Here’s a thought: what about bringing in Don Mattingly to work with Jones on his swing and mental approach to the game? Seems like the ideal “special assignment” for Donny Baseball.
I’ve posted a few other thoughts on how to get Andruw back on track over at http://www.dodgerfan.net for whoever is interested.
Chris
http://www.dodgerfan.net
I just read that article and I do support Andruw and hope for the best for him and for our Dodgers, I just hope he is really putting in all the work he can put in to get his batting back to where it can and should be. However, as Torre put it, the one thing he needs to do for his own good later in the season is drop some pounds.
in the last thread, spanner said:
“JP actualy has a better OBP right now than both Loney and Kemp and he has been doing a much better job of drawing walks this season.”
well you know who has a better OBP than pierre? ETHIER (and russ, blake, and raffy)… andre is a better in so many ways..
not saying you shouldn’t select pierre over jones right now, but you should NEVER select pierre over ethier
I just read it too, and while as a Dodger fan I am pulling for him to get it together ASAP, I would have liked the article to have addressed his remarks about the fans in Simer’s article. Until I hear that he was incorrectly quoted (highly unlikely) or just giving Simers some grief (very likely), I’m finding it very hard to root for the guy.
Penny’s remarks at the end are nice to read. He seems like a good team player, a good clubhouse guy. Let’s hope he has something in the tank tonight.
I have a buddy who played with Penny in the minors while they were both with Arizona. He said Brad was an arrogant *** to many, but not to him. Also said he had god given talent and really didn’t push himself as hard as others had too.
Pierre has more speed than Blake, Russ and Andre… so he should be the one leading off where his speed can do some good.
I’m not saying to sit Ethier.. I’m saying to sit Jones…
Still no word on the roster moves to go with Furcal going on the DL….? Maza up, Loiaza released? That would be my guess..
I would suspect that most Dodger fans would be more patient with Jones if it wasn’t costing Ethier (or Kemp) playing time. We really didn’t need Jones to begin with, but if Ned wanted to waste $36 million like that he should have traded Pierre in the off-season. Ned got two CFs, but only one is needed, and now Torre insists on playing both of them. Ned created the problem, so he should correct it and trade one of them. Four outfielders is bad for team chemistry and is the major reason for fan discontentment. But if either Ethier or Kemp is traded, the fans will be justifiably outraged!!
spanner, Abreu to the 60 day DL. Either this guy’s body is in tatters or he just can’t game it.
THANK YOU, JOE!!!!
GO DODGERS BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
right on the mark, redfox…
Well at least Jones is riding the pine tonight. That’s a good start, but I see Slappy’s in his usual out making position leading off. At best he’s an 8 hitter, and with Penny pitching, he should be hitting 9. You’d think Joe would’ve seen enough of him up top the last 4-5 games. All in all though, not a bad line-up.
Article from the Vegas paper on our lost but not forgotten Jason Repko:
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/18312869.html
Following the Beatles theme. Lady Pierre love your smiling face, wonder if you’ll ever get on base. Friday night you wore your stockings way up, sunday morrn you’re playing in the sun, Thursday night you slid past second base , see how you run.
Good one Fliegel.. LOL I can live with this lineup. Need Penny to show up. GO DODGERS!!
Pierre is the only leadoff hitter other then Furcal.
Lets see if Penny can impersonate a number 1 and stop a losing streak.
Good one fliegel !!
Russ would be a better lead off. Pierre is a pinch runner. Remember during the course of a game the lead off guy often comes up with men on base, and a guy with some power is preferable. Also left field is a power position, something Pierre does not have.
This lineup IMO is as close to perfect as you can get.
It’s just missing Furcal.
COM’ ON FERKY GET WELL SOON.
great lineup…lets get some runs today, heaven knows penny’s gonna need them the way he’s been pitching
I can’t believe you people are still hating on JP…he’s playing great this year
Yeah Im not a fan of JP with RISP, but leading off an inning is perfectly fine with me. Martin could hit leadoff, but I don’t think anyone would like to see there catcher hitting leadoff. I know Pudge does, but still, not a great idea.
WTF? as a leadoff man Pierre is hitting..
.091 /.167 /.091/.258
so cool there you go, great year. play him we need him. buy the hype, buy the rhetoric, buy the old school ways all the way to 4th place.
good its about time we start playing our best outfield… get well soon furcal
In 29 games playes he is responsible for 22 runs. He is playing great for Juan Pierre, but on a team that leads the NL in one thing and one thing only, Payroll, it’s not good enough. Obviously. He cant play much better and we still suck. Of course it’s everyone else, not him, like last year.
I’d rather Joe Torre hit lead off than Pierre. Also I’d rather see them play Druw even though he’s been terrible. At least Andruw used to be good, and he’s only one swing away from changing a game, if he doesn’t strike out.
Doesn’t really matter who leads off for us if our damn rotation doesn’t start stepping up. Chan Ho is probably our best starter right now if indeed he is the 5th man.
true that Scurtis for sure.
If our pitching was at 2003 levels we would be fine. But there again without a true ace it’s hard to get streaks stopped and started. Let’s hope for the good Penny. By Ace I mean a guy you know will give you 7 or 8 with 3 runs or less pretty much for sure…like kevin brown did when healthy.
Did they really put Abreu on the 60 Day DL? Is he still that injured? What the heck is wrong with him anyways? Too much steroids?
I have a good feeling about this series in Milwaukee. Gotta stop 3 and 4 for them though. Braun Braun is starting to get hot and Prince can do damage too. It would be nice to see Penny step up and be the horse to stop the slide. Hope Sammy is back tonight too.
Brewers are 3-7 in their last 10 games. Dodgers have obviouusly lost 4 in a row. Who will be worse? Inquiring minds want to know!
Sorry to be negative here, but I haven’t seen enough from our starters this season to make me believe they’re anything special, and the constant lineup juggling is a recipe for inconsistency. Those Astros pitchers stank and yet we got swept.
Honeycutt needs to go, and Pierre as well now that he’s back to his sucky leadoff ways.
Yuck!
I see this just happend or did earlier.
Dodgers purchased the contract of infielder Luis Maza from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Maza, who spent eight years in the Twins system before joining the Dodgers last year, will be making his major league debut as a 27-year-old. He’s usually posted weak offensive numbers in the minors, but he was hitting .402/.465/.528 for Triple-A Las Vegas this year. He’ll serve as a backup at shortstop and second until Rafael Furcal returns.
Jason Kendall has 455 career starts in the leadoff position (most of them when he was a good hitter) and has a career .370 OBP in that slot in the batting order. I don’t see why Russell Martin *IN FURCAL’S ABSENCE ONLY* couldn’t lead off sometimes with his currently .425 OBP. (Plus, I like my speed guys at the bottom of the order, right in front of all the good hitters at the top: Pierre 9th, Furcal 1st, Ethier 2nd, Kemp 3rd, etc. sounds good to me – bat the pitcher 8th.)
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Juan Pierre’s numbers this year are:
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.281 / .360 / .326 / .686 OPS, 80 OPS+
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The .360 OBP is minimum acceptability IMHO and he’s showing even less extra-base capability than ever before. Yes, he is still a great baserunner. JP on the last homestand however:
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.143 / .250 / .143 / .393 OPS
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which is colder than Jones on the same homestand! –
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.214 / .294 / .357 / .651 OPS
signed,
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the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la.
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(and I agree, it’s probably just a glitch that we got banned. And yes, it is banned; when I try to log in as old_fogey_la I get a “you are prohibited” message.)
Abreu to the 60-day DL is retroactive to the day he went on the 15-day, which was opening day, so he would be eligible to come off the 60-day on May 31 or June 1 or so, if he is ever again healthy.
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Furcal appears to be more injury-prone than LaRoche.
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(the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la)
LaRoche will be back by June 1st. Just a hunch. DeWitt is solid though, but I can see him cooling off in the next few weeks. Hopefully he doesn’t but I would love to see LaRoche in there.
I would like to clarify something for randyisrad. I really don’t think anyone here “hates” Juan Pierre. Hate is a strong word. Personally, the only thing I hate is that he’s a starter. I hate that the left fielder plays him to dump the ball into short left field and he tries to do it anyway. All the time. I hate that people say how great he’s doing when it was a 5-game stretch that has made his season so far:
He’s started 22 of games.
He’s 25 of 89 (.281) overall.
In those 5 games he was 10 of 19 (.526). Batting behind Ferc, I might add.
The balance is 15 for 70 (.214)
The last 5, (the 5 that Ferc’s missed) he’s 2 for 18 (.111)
A great leadoff hitter? 2008 splits:
Batting leadoff – .091 (22 ABs)
Quote from Baseball-reference.com: “Bill Plaschke’s unsavory fetish notwithstanding, Juan Pierre is probably the worst regular in baseball. ”
Of course, that’s his opinion.
I can’t understand what some people are mad about.
Yes Pierre’s in the lineup.
But so is Ethier.
What Do you want?
The worst regular in baseball? That’s an awfully harsh opinion of a guy who has had decent numbers through his career.
He puts the ball in play, he seldom strikes out… those are good qualities.
He scores a lot of runs, steals a lot of bases….
Some anonymous blogger on baseball-reference is certainly not worth quoting here.
Hopefully the rest will serve Andruw Jones good.
let’s go get em today boys
spanner – your point is right although I don’t buy your argument. Of the 162 players to qualify for the batting title (reasonable definition of regular, I guess), JP had the 13th worst OPS+, 75. That doesn’t account for his great baserunning and high SB success, nor his average range and lousy arm. As long as Nick Punto and numerous SF Giant starters (e.g. Ray Durham) are still regulars, JP won’t be the worst, just amongst the more overpaid.
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-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la
I think we still should have had AJ in the tonight and not Slappy
PierreEMW, what do I want? I want an outfield of Ethier, Jones and Kemp. It’s very solid defensively, as good as most OFs. You say Jones is in a horrible slump and is killing us offensively?
Juan Pierre on the homestand:
.143 / .250 / .143 / .393 OPS
Andruw Jones on the same homestand:
.214 / .294 / .357 / .651 OPS
They way I see it, if we have to let one of these guys play so that he reaches his potential, I vote for Jones’ potential. And Jones in center is lightyears better than Pierre in left.
juan pierre might “put the ball in play” but those sad little pop-ups he calls making contact isn’t doing the team much good. if he was constantly hitting the ball on the ground, that might be a better statement, but he’s NOT. “he scores a lot of runs” might mean more if his OBP was higher (not counting the 5 games this year when he went ballistic). and “steals a lot of bases”, but he also gets caught, A LOT.
I wouldn’t expect to see Pierre sitting with Furcal out.
I Like power coming from the outfield, but I’m sure people must have noticed a dimension that Pierre brings to the game.
In the absense of Furcal, he becomes a strenght with his speed and knowledge on the base paths
that’s not even putting into account his sad defense..
pierreeastmeetswest is right here guys–But for the fact that Furcal is injured, this is probably our best line-up. Right now, Pierre, rather than Jones, should be in the line-up. I don’t think that will be the case for too long, but it certainly is today.
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Yes, Martin could hit lead-off too, but this makes as much sense as anything else.
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We really need a healthy Furcal.
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And Kpookie is right that Penny needs to step up.
spanner, it’s not determinable if that quote is from an anonymous blogger or a knowledgable stat guy that works for that outfit. You can judge for yourself if you like:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/pierrju01.shtml
Either way, aren’t we all anonymous bloggers here? We’re all merely stating our opinions. Like them or not, the vast majority of you people are very well informed and I am enjoying this immensely. The one thing we all seem to have very much in common is a love for Dodger Blue and a great desire to see them get back to those World Series rings!
Go Dodgers!
His defense is average and enough.
Dodgeric, you base your stats on one homestand.. For the season, Pierre is ahead of Jones in EVERY category including amazingly sugging percentage. The only thing Jones leads in his strikeouts. I don’t want him anywhere near the plate.
Sara, you say Pierre gets caught stealing a lot.. so far this season he has stolen 12 bases and been caught only once.
I want Pierre starting alongside Ethier and Kemp.
48 hour break is over and it’s game time
Well said Eric and Sara and Western.
Need Kent to get hot also. He has been stinking it up lately.
steiner is such an idiot why do we have to put up with him
spanner – one could also use those numbers to back a claim that Jones is improving and beginning to snap out of it while Pierre is slumping and regressing to his normal levels.
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That said, this lineup, while more creative things could be tried, is certainly not outrageous. What will be outrageous is JP starting every day that Furcal is out, while Ethier plays part-time, especially if Jones continues to be terrible.
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-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la
Alright Jeffy, that’ll work.
KENT!!
Kemp can continue to drive in runs.
jhall, you ain’t kidding about Kent, he went 0 FOR THE HOMESTAND, with one walk in 19 PAs. OUCH!
Sorry, I meant Kent
A little rest helps KENT after a nice long hit by Kemp.
And as I was posting…..Kent is klutch. And nice double by The Bison.
I actually like the lineup today.. with the exception of Hu… If they have Maza up they should give him a shot… Hopefully Nomar can be activated soon.. though I don’t know if he can play short anymore….
maybe he’s only been caught once so far this year, but in his career, he’s only about 75% successful. that’s not enough for a guy who’s speed is his best quality.
Nomore can’t even play 3rd decently much less SS. Hu can handle short just fine and with regular playing time his bat should come around.
Way to go Brad!
Sara’s right. In his career Phew does get caught alot. He can steal bases, but is not a premiere base stealer.
Nomar was hitting decently… would still be good to have him as a pinch hitter.. maybe they can bring him back before interleague starts so he can DH
spanner, not for one second do claim that Jones is having anything but a horribly embarrasing year at the plate. I’m still very upset with what he said in the Simers article two days ago and I haven’t heard any retraction or explanation. It would appear that he’s been given a pass on that.
There’s no sense in repeating what I said above about why I’d rather have Jones than Pierre. Hopefully it’s only one of them so that Andre and Matt play every day as they have earned. That’s the biggest thing that I’m upset about. We have to live with one of them starting. One or the other. I choose Jones. You choose Pierre. So be it. Let’s put on our Dodger caps and cheer them all on! I gotta get home to get ready for 108 Boy Scouts. God Bless America!
it’s kind of funny how torre is constantly preaching about working counts, and ethier is one of the best dodgers at that (more often than not) and yet, he’s been the one to get the short end of the stick…
uh oh!!!
Rock Raines, one of the best stealers ever, was 84% career, which is excellent. Rickey Henderson was 80%, same as Vince Coleman. Lou Brock 75%. Maury Wills 73%. Juan Pierre 75% (81% last season). JP is a very, very, very good basestealer.
Good point WesternFogey..
Right time for the strikeout by Penny on Hall.
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-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la
Just to throw my two cents in, I’d like to have them be addressed as Juam Pierre and Andruw Jones, formerly know as Dodgers.
Damn shift on Ethier and Loney.
WRITE IN MATT KEMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
USE ALL YOUR E-MAILS
LETS GET ON IT GUYS
Thats Pierre’s game there.. his speed forces the infielder to hurry a throw.. he winds up on second and then he scores..
2 for 2 for the Bison.
Nice to finally get hits with runners in scoring position!!!
KEMP is really building a home RF or even CF.
CF will be be hard since Jones has that.
Kemp is better in RF
Or maybe the infielder merely stinks. I would hate to count on the lapses of others for my success.
Kemp’s got a bad attitude…he’s a clubhouse cancer…guy should be traded.
In keeping with today’s music theme…”where have all the naysayers gone…long time passing…where have all the naysayers gone…long time ago…where have all the naysayers gone…gone to cheer him every one…”
Go Kahli!! LOL
NO excuse on giving up that run. 2 out rally.
LOL! Is the second verse:
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where have all the trashcans gone? Long time passing.
where have all the trashcans gone? Long time ago.
where have all the trashcans gone? Gone with Gonzo to Florida!
when will Plaschke ever learn? when will Ned ever learn?
Rallys happen. I’m just surprised they’d run on Pierre????
Late bloggers…welcome to the midday music festival…
Only 1 run, that ain’t bad.
Sweet baby James!!!
My Loney has a first name ….
Gee, these kids are pretty good, eh?
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-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la
It’s J-A-M-E-S!
DeWitt!!!
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!
Dear Ned Colletti,
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Please buy out Russell Martin’s arbitration years and a year or two of free agency immediately.
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Thank you,
westernmost_in_flavor
-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la
typical pierre with risp
What’s the chance Slappy can get a hit?????????????
Nice triple by LONEY making it easy for MARTIN to drive him in and DeWitt is making a strong case for rookie of the year.
When will management learn Slappy does not fit into the Dodger’s plans. We can’t win a division or World series with him.
DeWitt is just ridiculous at the moment.
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And that’s what we see just too much of from JP, rolled over an easy grounder to 2B. And on the first pitch yet.
LaRoche might be tradeable if DeWitt keeps this up, or vice versa.
The biggest challenge to DeWitt becoming ROY is Nomore coming back to screw him out of the lineup. Before they let Nomore off the DL they should make him agree to become the utility guy/ pinch hitter, if he can stay healthy enough to do that for more than a week.
this is going to be a long hard fought game. good thing Russ threw out C Hart.
It’s going to be interesting when Nomar gets back.
Penny can be so maddening sometimes. Walked the pitcher.
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If you trade LaRoche, and DeWitt gets hurt, you are stuck with Nomar, Maza, etc. at 3B. No thanks. There is no rush to trade LaRoche or DeWitt. LaRoche might be that power bat so many people think the Dodgers still need. LaRoche still has an option year left! DeWitt has two!
You think we need a power hitter westernmost. I definately think we need one. We don’t seem to have one at this time.
. Way to go Penny. walk the pitcher and that’s what happens. Rats.
And Penny pays a big price, unlike his name. Ouch.
Freaking Penny!!
Billingsley-Kershaw 1-2 punch next year. Penny and Lowe are not capable aces or hell even a good 2 man.
Well, Slappy just cost us another run. Totally unacceptable.
Here we go again.
Now if our offense can strike back……
Penny and Lowe both need to find other teams nest year.
!. Billingsley
2. Kershaw
3. Meloan
4. Kuroda
Three things we have not been able to do this year.
!. Hold a lead
2. Come from behind win.
3. Hit timely home runs when they mean something.
Maybe they’ll bring in Gagne. Then we have a chance.
Lowe will be a free agent, his agent is Scott Boras, and he will want more years than Ned will want to give. He will likely be gone.
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LA has a team option on Penny for ’09 at $8.75M, the buyout is $2M – he’ll be back unless he completely, absolutely tanks out the rest of the season. At the current market rate, that’s a reasonable salary for a #4. And you left out McDonald as an option. Maybe Kuo.
I know we discuss lack of power, bad defence and poor situational hitting all the time, but the GLARING need on this team is starting pitching. Its becomming more and more apparent everyday.
Why is it the D’s can pitch like hell one year, and hit like hell another, but they can never put the two together at the same time?
In watching this game the problem is Furcal.
Hu has left 3 guys on and Pierre two guys and either would(should be) be playing if Furcal was healthy.
Pierre is a master of the terrible AB and I am so sick of it. He sucks the life out of me. It takes multiple hits to score him and he cant drive in runs to save his life.
Jhall–I think you have a word for Penny’s performance tonight.
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The only good news is that it looks like the Brewers next pitcher will be Salomon Torres, child of scorn.
Our best young pitcher throwing in the majors right now is 25 year old Edwin Jackson.
We needed those 2 plays as Pierre isn’t playing his position well tonight.
Lets come back this inning.
UNACCEPTABLE!!!!
With Penny getting through the 6th trailing by 2 means we’re still in this game.
Maybe the Breweres new pitcher might help.
In the meantime, what’s Honeycutt doing about this pitching staff?
Well, bloop slappy did his usual contribution
Leave Pierre alone they were all solid hits by the Brewers.
When Pierre goes to another team, I won’t talk about him at all.
I didn’t note any glaring fielding issue with Pierre today. Penny got rocked and some of the runners were advancing on anyone in those situations.
Another nice inning for Corey Wade.
If we only can hit.
Good job Kent
I can’t wait to play SD and SF again. Maybe we can beat them without Furcal.
Rats!!!
We’re going through hard time and things are not getting any easier.
Keep LaRoach , They need to focus on the future. Like to see him at third and Dewitt at second. Hu is a good backup at short and second. We need **** and a homerun outfilder now! It’s time for a trade. Somebody has to go.
GAGNE’S warming up.
How can a team win 8 in a row and 10 of 12 and then be on the verge of losing 5 in a row.
I’m going to bed. I’ll sleep better not knowing the outcome.
Last call!!!
Hope we rip Gagne a new rear end!!
WHAT __Are we going to face our old bullpen?
MOTA warming up too?
What happened to Pierre’s patience at the plate? At the start of the game Steiner and Lyons were talking about his patience, and he swung early in the count, and now this?
Obviously the coach told Gagne to just throw it down the middle to this guy Pierre, and guess what.
BOY the Brewers really sweated that out.
Well, goognight all, I can’t stand to talk about baseball anymore for today, so hopefully tomorrow will be a more positive day.
UgggggggggggggggH!!!!!!
Marty, 3 for 4. Would have looked sweet in the leadoff spot.
Gosh we need Furcal back.
I had to laugh listening to the Brewer commentators referring to Penny as our ACE. Geez, we are so screwed!!
Wow. As bad as Jones has been I still had more confidence in him to do something than Pierre and that’s saying something.
10 pitches to a .170 htter right in front of you and you popup the first pitch? Unacceptable.
Dodgers recipe for success has ALWAYS been to grow the starting pitching and trade for sticks…and not necessarily using pitchers as bait. Koufax, Drysdale, Sutton, Hershiser, Fernando…who’s it been since then? Ramon Martinez? We all know the farm went into the abyss for two decades, but there’s finally a light. Dodgers won’t find many #1 starters (what team does?) but Kershaw could be. McDonald may be an answer, too. As for power, given time, Loney, Kemp and Martin seem OK. But there must be a YOUNG stick somewhere down the line (2009?…2010?) who Dodgers can acquire to compliment them. Sorry, but I just don’t trust Ned to find it. Fasten the seatbelts, ride out 2008, hope for the best…and await the arrival of the young Dodger arms to lead us out of the 20-year wilderness.
I agree Jungar, totally. Phew, 1 for 5 with 4 LOB. Marty went 3 for 4 tonight. Sure would have better to have him leading off.. He’s our hottest hitter right now. Bat him leadoff Joe. Sit Phew and bat Jones 8th.
What the heck? Damn Brew put Gagne face in there bullpen where there bullpen at. That’s is so lame. I wonder if they used gun and rose as his theme song too.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/recap?gid=280513108
Dear Ned, you know how people say that Pierre is not wanted in a trade, well I have a solution. You can trade him to Milwaukee, they can use him in the sausage race. You know he’s fast and he’ll always win the sausage race. It’s true they might not want to pay 45 million for a sausage, but then again you did.
By the way where’s Edwin Jackson when we need him? Oh that’s right he was traded for those hall of famers Carter and Baez.
Apparently we have been focused on bitching about the wrong thing (myself included). The starting pitching is hurting us much worse than Jones and Pierre. We can’t get good quality starts from Penny, Lowe, and Billz (supposedly our numbers 1,2, and 3). We are way behind the D’Backs and the Padres on this count. It’s going to be a long season unless the starting pitching comes around. Check out the comparison to the rest of the division. Penny has 3 quality starts, Lowe has 3, Billz has 5, for a grand total of 13.
Meanwhile, for the D’Backs, Webb has 7, Haren has 7, Owings has 5, four others with 1 each, a total of 23 quality starts. The Padres? Peavy has 6, Maddux 5, Young 5, Wolf (remember him?) 4, Germano 3, for a total of 23. Even the G’nats have more quality starts (18) than the Dodgers.
Somebody needs to tell Torre that Pierre is a leadoff guy in name only, and starting him in that position will only lead us down to fourth place sooner or later. You would think that anybody who’s hot and carries a decent average would fit that role better regardless of having less speed on the basepads than Pierre. Pierre doesn’t show much speed when he’s not on base and when he keeps hacking away at the first pitch with men on base.
As far as our pitching goes, it’s time for Honeycutt to stand up and make some difference. I think he’s been useless for at least three years running, and I don’t know why we still keep him there. I see where Mazzone wants to come back from his early retirement. He of course was with the Braves and people like Maddux and Glavine.
I also think that we’re trying to mess around with Kershaw too much with this idea of how to limit his innings pitched. We certainly need to protect him from throwing out his arm at his young age, but this idea of shifting him between starting and then putting him in a relief role seems to be confusing the picture. He’s not going build up and maintain the arm strength with this micro-managing. Nobody ever did that in the days of Drysdale and Koufax, much less with Fernando, but that’s just my take on it.
I can live with the sticks the way they are now. With all the youngins in the line-up like last night, scoring in bunches or not scoring much at all is part of the learning curve and the maturation process that needs to take place this year. I WOULD find a way to swap LaRoche for Hu though. I think Hu needs another year in the minors whereas LaRoche is this year’s Loney and is just languishing in Vegas.
The current offensive struggles are where Ned’s veterans of course are supposed to bridge the gap and carry the team while the young guys mature, but with the likes of Slappy, Elsie and Grumpy, that ain’t going to happen. Ergo, play the kids as a group, admit this is a rebuilding year, and do what you need to do to make them ready for the future.
The starting pitching is in shambles. I agree with the rest of you that Penny’s no ace. Lowe I’m sure is hiding an injury so that he can keep on pitching and Boras can point to this year as an Andruw type aberration and get him millions more than he deserves. Fortunately that will be on another team. Billz isn’t being taught how to pitch at all. Kuroda will turn out to be a decent 3-4 man, and 5 is a black hole from which no light escapes. Rather than groom Kersh for what will be a nonexistant stretch run, let him pay his dues in Jax and build up innings. Another 4-5 inning starter is not what we need. I also agree that since you can’t fire the whole staff, the axe has to fall on the coach. I don’t think Mazzone’s the answer, but why not try Howell? Can’t be any worse. He doesn’t improve the situation you can fire him too at the end of the year.
Somebody, be it Joe, or be it Ned having had an epiphany, has got to take this organization by the nose and lead it in one direction with a common goal. Average just isn’t good enough with the talent this team possesses.
My guess is that today, Jones will be back in the line up and Ethier will sit, but hey, Pierre is back in the lead off spot.
I really respect Joe Torre, and I still believe he’s going to get the Dodgers over the hump, there’s alot of baseball left to play, but at what point does he realize what Pierre is? As poorly as Jones is hitting, my opinion is, you have to let him play through this SLUMP that he is in. I really believe that if we see Ethier, Jones and Kemp in the line up and in the outfield together for an extended period, 5 – 6 games, the Dodgers will see some positive results.
I know that Jones is hitting .170 and has 38 strikeouts, but what is the purpose of Pierre in the line up? I don’t get it, here is a guy who Dodger management so overpaid that they had to go out and OVERPAY another CF because they couldn’t trade him, and yet a Hall of Fame manager like Joe Torre has him in the line up every day, and all he’s doing is taking at bats away from Kemp and Ethier, 2007 anyone?
Let’s play the big dogs and see what they can do as a pack for a few games in a row. Go Dodgers!!!
Management is confused so it doesn’t surprise me that the team has no direction either. You either go with the youth movement, or go with vets. Management can’t make up it’s mind which way to go. I personally would get rid of the vets and play all the kids, including bringing up some of the young pitchers. You may not win this way, but I doubt they’ll do anything special their way. At least by playing all the kids they get experience and they have an upside where as the vets are mostly well past their sell by date.
Ned has to figure out that the game has changed. It no longer belongs to the vets, with a few exceptions, Pujols, Manny , Ortiz, etc. Baseball has been moving in the direction of the young players for the last 5 years or so. It’s the young players who are the most desired and usually productive. Most teams I imagine are unwilling to part with their good young players. To pick up older vets you’re always taking a risk that they’re due for a downward spiral. With younger players there can be an upside. Case in point Dewitt, we don’t know if he’ll continue to produce, but he might, and if he doesn’t you just go in another direction, where as someone like Sweeney, he’s traveling the same route as Olmedo did last year, and there is no upside . To continue in this direction the Dodgers are just spinning their wheels, and nothing will change until management changes their thinking.
I watched most of the game last night, and I would have to say that starting pitching was definitely the issue. I, however, would have to wonder, if anybody else was in Left Field, if some of those plays would have changed based on Ethier over Pierre. Pierre seemed like a magnet out there for a while, and I realize most of them were quality hits, but even the Brewers announcers knew the runners would get the extra base based on Pierre’s arm. There were a few balls that got to the warning track and when Pierre came up to throw, Hu was in shallow left field to retrieve the ball for the relay.
Like most of you have said over and over again, I just prefer to have Jones out there, even if it is just for defense right now. If they don’t want Martin at lead off, maybe should lead off. The way he ran for that triple last night, who cares if he can’t steal a base if he could get the automatic double or triple.
I meant to say Loney in there – sorry! I lost my train of thought.
kiper, I could have written your post. Every word. I’m clinging to the hope that Torre is sticking to his 2-month plan of observing the team and taking stock of what he has. We’re what, 8-9 weeks into the season?
I also agree with enchanted and jhall and everyone else that the OF problem is not nearly as bad as the starters. I never thought our 1 – 3 guys would struggle this badly. Penny and Billz have such good stuff, it kills me to see them nibble on the corners to .230 hitters when they should just blow them away. If Torre’s hitting technique is to elevate the pitching counts of the opposition, why is his pitching staff consistently at the 100 pitch count by the 5th inning?
dnelson, I didn’t get to watch the game last night but if Pierre was a ball magnet, it was probably no accident. If the hitters have sufficient bat control, why not hit it to the guy with the worst arm and take advantage of it? I would. I thought that the other teams used to hit them to Jimmy Wynn more than normal when he was a Dodger and his arm had gone away, but it could have just been my own paranoia. It’s just smart baseball.
Glad to see Andruw is working with Mattingly on his swing! Hopefully he can turn it around still.
Part of the problem dnel (IMO) is that they have a backwards thinking (read that old old school if you want)manager. Because Pierre’s fast and makes contact, he’s automatically the leadoff man. Nevermind he can’t get on at a proficient rate, nor that he can’t field his position. He’s in there because he’s SUPPOSED to be a lead-off man.
IMO Torre’s part of the total problem, not part the total solution. Don’t get me wrong, he has his strong points as a calming influence and a bridge between young and old, and he’s trying to instill patience at the plate (though we see Pierre regressing to his old ways there as well.) BUT, he’s not progressive enough to manage a mostly youthful team. This is where Frank and Furter have blundered yet again. First Little, now Torre. Who next Methuselah? As fliegel pointed out, its not an aged vets game anymore. The sooner management realizes that and reponds accordingly, the sooner we are to having a respectable if not successful franchise again.
Martin should have been leading off last night. Pure and simple. I would much rather see Jones playing than Phew. Phew is a one trick pony and that trick isn’t cute anymore. Never was in my book. However, until our aces (haha) Panty and Blow get their heads out of their behinds, we are screwed.
If I were a cynic, I might think that without steroid use being so prevalent because of testing, that the old vets are finding it harder to get their older bodies to compete with the up-and-coming young players.
.
-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la
test
I also have to comment of the first pitch swinging. There was a great deal of that last night. I don’t even have to mention Pierre’s last at bat – lol! I am one of Ethier’s biggest, biggest fans, but boy, he sure was swinging at first pitches, and he normally doesn’t do that. Granted, the one long one to left field almost went out and the ground ball up the middle did advance the runner to 3rd, but that was so uncharacteristic of him to swing at the first pitch. However, his last at-bat was his best as far as working the count, but then that called strike happened and I died with him. He would have never swung at that ball – to low and inside for him, but the umpire had a pretty wide strike zone last night so I wasn’t surprised. I feel for Andre, he must be feeling the pressure something awful right now, knowing if it isn’t producing, his butt is sitting.
Old fogey and Kahlifornia I was reading that you were being denied….me too…does anyone have any idea why?
Lord knows I have not been too critical, if anything I have been one of management supporters….if you find out anything let me know
dodgerboy55
I am glad to hear Andruw says it bothers him and I understand that he handles it differently than others. The problem is that his reaction (not here to judge him) and body language sent messages to the fans that it was not a bother…I am sure as competitive and successful as he has been, it has to kill him that he is not able to do what probably to him was as easy as riding a bike….and that is to hit a baseball….My biggest fault with him was the artice that TJ simers wrote and he said the hecht with the fans…I hope as the PR rep Josh you have spoken to him and let him know that was the wrong move…The booing will be even worse….you want the fans on your side produce and k… our B…we are very forgiving when we are appreciated!
Is power on the decline? Do we need to re-think how we define a “big stick”, the big bat some claim the team still needs? (Note: here every game played counts as two “team-games”, one for each offensive squad. Normally there are 2430 games played in a season. In 2006, one wasn’t made up; in 2007, the Padres-Rockies “playoff” game counted as a regular season game.)
.
2006: 4858 team-games, 5386 HR, 1.11 HR/G
2007: 4862 team-games, 4957 HR, 1.02 HR/G
2008: 1186 team-games, 1061 HR, 0.89 HR/G
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At this rate, 4348 HR will be hit in 2008, or over 1000 less than in 2006. Perhaps we need to be adjusting our home run expectations accordingly, and consider that a 25-HR guy might be quite the asset, rather than just a medium power guy.
It is the pitching. But when you have a chance so many times to go from 3-2 to 5-3 or even 6-3 with one swing and you can’t get it done let alone come thru when were behind (we haven’t all year)
We have a 40 year old clean up man. 2 years ago I complained that we had a 38 year old clean up man.
Pierre is a bad leadoff hitter. Has been for 3 years now and is horrible THIS YEAR as a leadoff man. End it. Since he has been up there with his outs and non clutch hitting we have lost every game. DY can leadoff.
I am not ripping on Kent, or Pierre really( its more GM bashing…. )just saying when does it end. We have the highest payroll and I just see so many holes. I see it will be blamed on youth again when nothing could be further from truth. I like Kent, but to build a team to where he is 4 hole is absurd, he just cant get it done like he used to. As good as he is, maybe you guys are too young to recall the 2002 Jeff Kent. But **** its 2008 now.
our worst hitters per what they are being asked to accomplish (role)
Kent
Pierre
Jones
Kent should have stayed on the ranch.
From a Dodger Thoughts commenter. “yesterday” would mean “before last night’s game”.
.
395. El Lay Dave 2008-05-13 19:05:16
James Loney and Matt Kemp now have about a season’s worth of MLB PAs each under their respective belts. Through yesterday, they have the following career numbers:
Name PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS+
Loney 642 77 183 33 10 23 112 48 76 .312 .364 .520 123
Kemp 614 96 179 27 8 20 90 31 153 .312 .343 .491 110
No I like Kent, glad we have him. It’s just to need him as a clean up guy, instead of 6 hole guy is the problem. To need his bat in there badly because otherwise our offense struggles at this stage in his career is a problem and not his problem. He still gets it done, but I see him miss pitches that he used to crush.
“Nobody ever did that in the days of Drysdale and Koufax, much less with Fernando, but that’s just my take on it.”
By messagebear@yahoo.com on May 14, 2008 6:28 AM
.
-Koufax retired at age 31, his elbow shot.
-Drysdale was barely 33 when he retired mid-1969, after having only 5 of 12 quality starts, arm worn out – essentially more or less done at 32.
-Valenzuela was injured at age 27 in the 1988 season, missed almost all the last two months of the season (part of the reason for the Guerrero/Tudor trade), didn’t pitch in the postseason and was completely average or worse for the rest of his career.
.
I’d like to see Kershaw have a long, long and effective career.
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-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la
Regarding swinging on the first pitch, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If word is getting around that the Ds are being ordered by Torre to stretch the counts, it makes sense that they’ll be winging in some straight fastballs on the first pitch to get ahead. If you know it’s coming, what’s easier for a big league hitter to hit than a fastball down the pipe? That’s got to be in constant flux. They hit a few first pitches to keep everyone honest and can go back to stretching the count. It seems to me that they’ve been looking at a lot of easy pitches lately just to get deeper in the count. Before you know it, you’re down 0-2 and swinging at those darned low-and-outside curves for strike three protecting the plate.
The banning issue – I have a guess. Every now and then in posts we’ll see some ***** in there. Perhaps after a certain amount of censored words, you’re banned. It might even be an automatic trigger for the system. Has anyone ever gone on the “Report any abuse or spam” link they have after every post? Perhaps you can get someone banned. That’s kind of scary.
From a Dodger Thoughts commenter:
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724. Ken Noe 2008-05-14 09:15:51
.
There once was a Dodger named Kent
That DePo decided to rent
His batting was noble
His fielding immobile
His talent now seems all but spent
I will be happy next year when Kent, Lowe, Bloaiza, Sweeny, and Nomore are gone. I want Ferk back, but it depends on the length of the contract and what happens with his back problem. Signing him to anything longer than 4 years would not be wise. If his back is a recurring problem this year, it might be wiser to just let him go.
Josh,
This has been bugging me the last couple of games I’ve been to. On the Dodger Vision, whenever Juan Pierre bats, it is mentioned that he is the first Dodger since Davey Lopes to steal over 50 bases in a year. That is completely false. Steve Sax stole 56 bases in 83. If possible please pass this on to the person in charge of this stat. Should be changed to either over 60 steals or Steve Sax.
Thanks
Kent is a gamer and I agree with you Jungar he is misplaced in the lineup….Everyone wants the Kent of 2-5 years ago and it is not going to happen….I would move Loney up and Kent down….
This team is Jekyll and Hyde…just when we thought we had turned the corner we revert back to the non hitting/pitching Dodgers….the starting staff cannot have an 8.73 era over the last five games….if that stays the same we are in for a long year….
My petition
1. Pierre traded and eat the money(I know old news)..he is like a stock we bought high and it is de valuing …soon to be a penny stock and delisted. He may have some value at 3 mil a year, so we get a savings….
2. trade lowe at the deadline for prospects…should be attractive to Yankees if they are still in it…Kershaw will have already been up and hopefully kicking some b…! Mcdonald and or Meloan will be ready by July…
3. Cut Nomar…love him but he breaks down….it is like your old car sooner or later it is just going to die on you…
4. Give DY 2 weeks in the outfield…with Kemp and Ethier…Jones as a defensive replacement (I know it is not going to happen, but what can it hurt).
thanks
Formerly known as Dodgerboy55
I believe DY’s future is at 2nd…
Dodgereric I have been trying to figure out why I was not allowed to post….I am hoping it was a computer glitch, but it is disconcerting that if I was banned that I was not informed…I try to be very careful as to what I say….I have emailed the Dodgers thru the website so hopefully I will get a response….
Thanks Dodgereric,
I guess I was looking for an explanation more than anything. It just seemed the first pitch swing happened a lot last night, and maybe your explanation fits why Ethier did just that. In most of his ABs, I didn’t blame him for swinging ( I definitely would have loved to see the one leave the park), it was just uncharacteristic of the way he normally approaches the plate in most circumstances. I guess, however, if that is the explanation, maybe Pierre was thinking (or told) the same thing, or not.
Unless we get rid of Phew then DY would have more opportunity as perhaps a 4th outfielder until Jones is gone after next year.
I’m pretty sure DeWitt originally played 2nd. I would like to see him get some reps there. Next year and infield of Loney, DeWitt, LaRoche, and Ferk (if he is healthy and resigned) would look pretty good.
You know Marty could play 2nd. If we signed a stud catcher we could move Marty to 2nd ala Biggio. We would have to sign a really good catcher to justify the move however. But the flexibility would be great. You wouldn’t have to carry a worthless backup catcher like Bennet as you have a built in backup. Opens up a roster spot.
Don’t mind me, I’m just thinking out loud and tossing out some thoughts about replacing Kent next year.
If you put Marty at 2nd, then maybe he can lead off, too.
Jhall I know what you are saying, but it is hard to find an all star catcher….Martin is too valuable behind the plate in my opinion, but I have no doubt that he could play a great 2B.
Yep Nelson. If Ferk is not back he would be my choice to leadoff. I wonder if there are any good catchers available in this years free agent class?
Yep, right now he is too valuable behind the dish.
jhall, we all know we can’t lose him as a catcher, but it was clever thinking in order to maybe make people think that he could lead off if his position were to change.
I miss the days when we actually had a true ace. Orel, Fernando, even Kevin Brown for a couple of years. Dodger teams traditionally always had one and sometimes two. I think it is imperative to winning a championship. Hopefully Billz and Kershaw will realize their full potential and become our stud 1 and 2 pitchers.
Hey, he can still leadoff as a catcher. Kendall did it for a few years when he was younger and could still hit. He was quite successful at it. I think Marty would do a fine job of leading off. Joe needs to start thinking more abstractly. That is the problem with our management from Frank on down. They are not capable of abstract thought.
Marty is a special talent. I think he would excel no matter what role we put him in.
That is true Jhall, he will go down as one of the greatest Dodgers if we do not do something stupid and trade him or let him go in FA…scary thought.
Last nights game has turned me into a blathering idiot. LOL
Don’t feel like singing. HAHA…..
The brewer announcers were talking about Kendall last night and his lead off success. I enjoyed watching him with the A’s. That was definitely a loss on their part (not that Suzuki is terrible or anything, but just not the same). Speaking of Suzuki – he’s batting lead off with the A’s right now, too and batting .248.
Phew is probably not even batting .248 since without his 5 game hot streak.
Brewer announcers last night were very candid and liked to mention that Phew had no arm.
They were hitting rockets to left last night. That is on Panty!!
Amen jhall…
You ain’t nuthin’ but a slap hitter.
Cry when you don’t play.
You ain’t nuthin’ but a slap hitter.
Cry when you don’t play.
Well, you rarely hit a homer.
Your butt should be riding pine.
Well they said you could lead off.
Well that is just a lie.
Well they said you could leadoff.
Well that is just a lie.
Your not a good outfielder.
And your a** should be riding pine.
One for Enchanted!!
OK, I’m better now.
You got that right, jhall – lol! I was listening to their announcers when we were on the field, our announcers when we were batting. Do our Dodger outfielder’s carry note cards like the Brewers do (knowing when and where to shift for each batter)? Or does it all come from the dugout? I am assuming it works either way, but the Brewer announcers sure were fascinated by the note card thing.
They were well positioned. Especially on Ethier.
the unsung heroes are the advanced scouts….and with todays technology there are no more secrets….that ball Andre hit un the middle in his 2nd at bat is a hit most days….but they were right there….which I thought was surprising considering how often he goes to left….
Yep, I thought he had a hit when it came off the bat. I couldn’t believe that guy was right there. Would have changed the game drastically. Hey, pitching and defense wins championships. No way around it. Right now our defense is acceptable but our starting pitching is in the toilet.
There’s the jhall we have been waiting for!
Let’s get this party back on the creative side.
Up next – enchanted (where are you?)
dodgerboy, old_fogey, not sure why they’re “purging” us. Again. I find it hard to believe it’s content…must be a glitch. MLB (who runs the blog) told me myb original account was valid until 2018…though it still doesn’t allow me in. Maybe Dodgers will be contenders by 2018! Ned will be hosting a call-in show with Fred Claire, Joe will be retired in Florida, and Frank will be in prison for dealing bad coins or something. Oooops…wait a minute! I DID NOT just say those things. All three are doing a FANTASTIC job.
pookie…i like that….thanks for the update….can they restore the original login or we just have to use an alias? they will never know who we are now!!
Verse 3 & 4:
You ainta nuthin but and slapper
Whine-in’ all the time
You an’t a nuthin’ but a dribbler
And your fielding’s just a crime
Well you used to cause some havoc
But now you ain’t no fave of mine
Well Ned said that your mom called
And now you’re playin’ everyday
And battin’ as the lead off
And you stink in evreyway
Your not worth 44 million
And I wish you’d go away.
The best thing about yesterday for me was learning that Clayton Kershaw could make his MLB debut by the end of the month, thus solving out 5th starter spot problem.
I read the news today, oh boy.
4000 holes in GM’s master plan.
And though the holes were all his fault,
Fans had to pout and bawl.
Now we know many players it’ll take to help us win it all.
I’d love to turn…you …OUT.
Last night’s game must’ve done enchanted in (where are you? Under an alias, perhaps – lol!)
There you are!! I was worried you were kicked off like the others, with no way of returning – lol!
Way to go Kahli!! LOL
Kahlikpookie has just crossed the point of no return…
Woke up, fell out of bed
Frank McCourt had just fired Ned
(…the rest of the song is just glorious celebration)
Ned was gone and I went into a dream.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, Ahhhhh!!!
I remember back in the day when callers would phone Dodger Talk and come up with the most bizarrre, one-sided trades imaginable. The host would then ask, “why would the OTHER team even want to make that trade?” And the caller would answer with some stuttering jibberish. So to help Ned out, here are some trade suggestions:
Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones for Jake Peavy and Chris Young. (hey, the Pods need outfielders???)
Esteban Loaiza and Scott Proctor for Grady Sizemore. (hey, everybody needs good pitching???)
Nomar Garciapara for Chase Utley (Nomar can play more positions???)
Feel free to inquire, Ned.
Just imagine we drafted Chase out of high school…he could have been ours!!!! Joakim Soria the closer for the Royals (lights out) was a Dodger farmhand that we released….If Ned could answer that, it would be interesting to see why we gave up on such a good arm….
Beatles, great stuff!
Russell
All-star, irreplaceable
catching, hitting, fielding
can play any position
Martin
(Hopefully, it posted correctly)
Attempting some cinquain poetry now- more to follow – I wanted to be an example to my students so we did something positve – Russell Martin is a favorite – We are working ones for the others (Ethier, Kemp, Loney and DeWitt and even Andruw (I don’t think I can write a positive one for Pierre at this time, so I will leave that topic up to the rest of you). Ethier and Martin are my personal favorites, so Pierre is really a sore spot in my book right now, regardless of how good or bad he does. I want Andre playing everyday!! (no surprise, I’m sure – lol)
There are 15 days left in my school year, and this is where we can be creative with our students. Before now, it was all about test scores. That is why the Beatles program, art projects and now, poetry. Also, this creativity leads to a great deal of down-time for me while the students are creating (hence the frequent posts during class time).
It’s a mistake to continue with Pierre in leadoff while Furcal is out. I would be for sitting Pierre and giving Andruw a chance down in the batting order. At least we would be improved in the outfield defense.
While Hu looks great on defense, I don’t see him making progress with the bat at the major league level. DeJesus might be worth a try, if Maza is too much of a let-down trying to play short. Hu has been too much of a weak spot offensively in our lineup.
Sweeney serves no useful purpose except in Ned’s and Torre’s hopes that he’ll recover his form – well, that form expired several years back, so just DFA him. When Nomore is ready to come back. just keep him for pinch hitting purposes or try to move him to some other team.
It’s also time to let Proctor go, as well as probably Loaiza when he comes back from the DL. If we’re not willing to bring up Kershaw, let’s try Meloan or McDonald and let one of them, or maybe even Cory Wade, fill the fifth starter slot. How can that be any worse than what Bloaiza has provided. At least we would be giving some major league experience to our younger pitchers, and it looks like we’ll need them. We might even be able to part with Lowe at trade deadline for a prospect of some value.
I think we need to get LaRoche up here with the big club, particularly once Nomore is not a consideration for playing third. We need some power, and let’s see what he can do. I have been more than pleased with DeWitt, and he may be our third baseman even the rest of this season, but we can’t have LaRoche just playing AAA ball all season as much as we need bats.
Above all, Ned needs to go. I don’t expect that Frank will make that happen until the end of the season, once we finish again in third or fourth place. In the meantime, keep the checkbook away from him, and keep our young prospects locked up and out of his sights.
I too was locked out from this site and had to mess around creating another account before I could post. Getting curious as to what is doing that to so many of us.
Good post Bear. I’m with you.
I guess I should be on pins and needles. I can’t imagine they are all that thrilled with me. LOL!!
Good stuff Nelson.
dnelson, share with your children that John Lennon was kicked out of every school he ever attended, was abandoned by both his mother and father, and ended up one of the great–if not greatest–musical geniuses of the 20th century. The tell them Ned probably was a good student, was loved by his parents, and helped wreck (granted he had LOTS of help in this arena) a once-proud sports franchise.
All the old vet-rans on the field
They do some sad things, don’cha know?
If they move too quick [snap] (Oh-Way-Oh)
Nomore falls down like a domino
And the Slappy man out in left
He got the money all from Ned
And the Andruw Jones (Oh-Way-Oh)
They boo him now and he’s veklempt
And the Frank says raise those prices:
Way-oh-way-ooo-waaa-up high…
Time for a de-fec-tion.
All the young guys hit; run so fast,
And then they come round to cross the plate
They’ve got the moves (Oh-Way-Oh)
But their youth’s what Ned seems to hate
All the fans think Joe’s line-ups suck
They like to gripe and make-up their own
When the gametime comes (Oh-Way-Oh)
We then see Joe’s and we start to moan
And the Frank says raise those prices:
Way-oh-way-oh-way-ooo-waaay up high…
Time for a de-fec-tion.
Sorry, I’ve had that stupid Bangles tune stuck in my head the last couple days and I thought this woudl help.
Lol! kpookiemon,
They are more fascinated with how he died, unfortunately! They all went home and told their parents, it was hilarious!! Some of them even knew about Paul McCartney’s divorce issues – sad. They are enjoying the music very much, and we are giving them a very valuable history lesson about the mid 1960’s.
This is fun watching the Beatles lyrics turned into songs about a “Dodger Revolution” so to speak. Too coincidental and funny at the same time. Thanks to all who have that talent.
The Dodger stuff (Poetry) is group writing – I model writing by letting kids pick the topic, and for some reason, they always pick the Dodgers (that brainwashing is really effective – lol,jk) – this is a really great group of students whom just happen to love sports, like their teacher.
Thanks, jhall!
Like I said, you and enchanted are inspiring. I know the others out there have contributed, too, but everybody has a different name now, and I am totally confused on who is who – thanks to whoever kicked them off.
enchanted – Beatles to Bangles – OMG!! lol!!
dnelson, my son, who is now 10, was REALLY into the Beatles when he was about six or seven…same age as your kids. He heard them on KRTH during the 40th anniversary of Ed Sullivan and became an instant groupie. Because I have all their stuff he was in nirvana. Trouble is, he “graduated” to Radio Disney with Hanna, et al. But he’s just recently turned the corner to Linkin Park and Guns ‘n Roses. Not that this has anything to do with baseball. So………………..go Dodgers, bench Pierre, fire Ned.
Good one E. The Bangles. Wow. Didn’t see that coming. Kahli, Nelson, great stuff. Love hearing about the kids.
Sure wish Ned and Joe were more into the kids.
My own kids are 14 and 16 (same issue), but mostly hip hop for music (I like Linkin’ Park, etc -though)
Ned, save the franchise…for our children’s children’s children. “I never thought I’d live to be a million,” (and still not see the Dodgers win another crown).
It’s so sad…I used to enjoy watching the Dodgers…now, especially without Furcal, I can’t bear it…same old thing every year…except this year we don’t have starting pitching to boot! I would much rather be bad for awhile ( aren’t we always?) and have a plan like the Rays….get great draft picks and young pitching and start from there…and I’m sooo tired of not having any power….and trying to get it with used up players that have seen better days…I love our young players, but the rest are boring…and Hu…can he hit ever?…..Our lineup is embarrassing most nights…How do we compare to the Astros?..not very well….that was a real shame…that series…and now Penny has really gone downhill.. 0 and 2 on several hitters and they slam him with hits….go figure…he throws batting practice lately…
Coletti has really hurt this team….and I’m tired of the same thing and more every year…McCourt and Coletti keep saying they want to build a championship team…I ask ” When does it start?”…they don’t know how to….sorry, but true…
Kahli, Ned is a Gypsy of a strange and ignorant time.
messagebear
As usual I agree with you…we need to clear out the riffraff on this team..I heard a rumor from someone saying they were thinking of trading Proctor for Ryan Freel…I was hoping it was true…haven’t heard anything more….But Ned absolutely needs to go…Since I know we won’t finish anywhere near the top, I hope it’s obvious to McCourt that Ned needs to go…but I fear that won’t be true, because remember McCourt courted Andruw along with Coletti…he wanted him too….Will we be swept by the Brewers?..I definitely think the Angels will sweep us this weekend…That really kills me…I’m already embarrassed thinking about it…but I feel it in my bones…The Angels are the kind of team that has everything you need…great starting pitching, power, speed, and alot of players that contribute…and a good closer….I hate that the Angels are always better than the Dodgers, but it will continue to be that way as long as Ned is in control….I love the Angels new GM who was with the organization a long time before he became GM….
jhall, I’m proud of you. Wasn’t sure if anyone would be moody enough or blue enough…
That’s too bad
Yep Kahli, my favorite group of all time. That album is great and it was/is one of the more overlooked in their catalog.
Colletti, dumb as a bird, signs veteran heaps, its so absurd.
drpdedblnd, I feel your pain. But as you can see by some of the posts these past two days, a few of us have gone beyond sadness into manic depression, resulting in hyper sensitivity. Try singing and humor…otherwise, all you’re left with is the radioactive nuclear sludge left in the wake by the Titanic co-captains Ned and Frank.
Breath deep the gathering gloom
Watch Ned botch his every move
All the fans look back and lament
Another free agent’s usefulness spent
Ethier wonders why Pierre’s number one
Andruw cries for love and gets none
Torre picks up from where Little was done
Senior citizens can’t hit nor can run
Cold hearted Ned who rules the roost
Gets us more old folks to give us a boost
Old and gray and have no fight
But he decides which is right
And the pennants an illusion…
enchanted…a work of genius………….
One of your best enchanted!! new thread – not an impressive line-up – beware!!
Outstanding!!!!
kpookie
This is the first time in so long that I can’t stand to watch them play…except for our young guys….Team is constructed all wrong, like every year….but at least I have my Lakers…hopefully for a lot longer so the Dodgers won’t bother me as much..lol!!!!The fact that management continues to say they are building a championship team is really laughable…
Pierre has some of the most feeble swings i’ve ever seen from a major leaguer… but we’ll take it.
Dodgers rock!