Dodgers go to Hollywood…
This morning’s visit to Tinseltown was pretty cool and I hope a few of you were able to make it out there. We had tons of current and former Dodger players, coaches, broadcasters and other luminaries and despite the heat, I think it was a pretty special event.
Over at DodgerThoughts, Jon Weisman married his career with his passion, as we worked together to create a special section of Daily Variety that honored the Dodgers for their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles. There are a ton of stories in today’s edition, many of which are written by Jon and his DT readers, so be sure to take a look. It’s easily the most extensive coverage of the Dodgers’ Hollywood history as I’ve ever seen and arguably the best that exists.
I’m a day late, but congrats go out to former Dodger coach Jim Riggleman, who is now the manager of the Mariners. While I’m sure he isn’t happy with the way it came to be, I know that he had always wanted to manage again and that’s mainly why he left here as Jim Tracy’s bench coach. Riggs is a solid person and a longtime baseball veteran and it’s nice to see good things happen to good people.
As a reminder, Ned Colletti will take some calls tonight on DodgerTalk on KABC 790 after the game, so tune in to the show with Ken Levine and Josh Suchon.
Lineup to be posted shortly…once it’s up in the clubhouse (Troncoso is here, by the way, in place of Hiroki).
UPDATE: TONIGHT’S LINEUP
Pierre, LF
Kemp, CF
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
LaRoche, 3B
Ethier, RF
Berroa, SS
Ardoin, C
Kershaw, P
Inside the Dodgers 
Any chance Ned is next?
Josh,
Those of us without Prime Ticket would love to see today’s Hollywood Star ceremony. Can you see if there is a way Dodgers.com can get us video as well. Thanks!!
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This is a repost from the previous thread – thanks for the picture Josh – looks great!!!
i posted this at the end of the last thread:
all i’m saying is that maybe the vets need to be embarassed a bit before they’ll respond. with all the comments and articles on their side, they have nothing to be ashamed of, so they’ll just go about their business. if no one tells me i’m doing anything wrong, i won’t fix it. they seem to have no trouble embarassing or criticizing the kids.. they should shift and try it on the vets
Question for Ned. Now that Furcal is gone, any chance you’ll be looking for a lead off hitter?
I got new threaded so I’ll repost…
I was thinking about scary Joey this morning, and had the epiphany that he isn’t wishing anything upon the Dodgers that JoJo and Ned aren’t already doing…
i think some of the current guys are hiding in the picture! i think blake and andy are in the front =/
sara – I know – where is Russell and Andre in the picture,not that I don’t want to see Blake and Andy, but you know , come on now…. lol!
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enchanted – that’s why joey is scary because he does think like them – maybe he is them – hmmmmmm.
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Love the question fliegel. Are you going to ask it tonight?
Someone just needs to flat out ask Ned if he’s staying with the youth movement and becomming a seller at the deadline, or if we have more PVLs and seasons of frustration to look forward to during his tenure.
Doesn’t the embarassement have to come from the media/management? The media/management right now is focused on embarrassing the poor kids. How can a .111 average be more embarrassing all in itself, but if Joe keeps putting him out there instead of Andy or Delwyn, then you are probably right, sara, why should they worry at all. They’re getting paid and playing without any consequences right now because Joe likes them better, I guess.
But nells, the vets have a good idea what they’re doing at the plate.
Unfortunately, so do we, and it ain’t much.
I submit that Torre and our selection of veterans have so much in common that it’s only natural that they all play together. Torre has had some very good years and presumably will make the HOF. He came to California for three years of pre-retirement duty being adored for all that he’s accomplished by the local media, the Dodgers’ owner, and probably pretty much Hollywood which likes that type of a “star” and the attendant publicity. Compare that pre-retirement duty with Kent, Nomar and even Sweeney – they’ve all had outstanding careers in their own right (somewhere else), and there’s really no pressure in being a Dodger, considering their reputations and how much Torre regards all of them regardless of how their luster has faded. It’s like a good old veterans club reminiscing with all of the battles really behind them.
That’s all together different from a bunch of young guys trying to compete and establish careers of their own. Torre is not the right manager for this group. He may be forced into playing them, because everybody else is failing or on the DL, but you get the feeling that he doesn’t like it. With another two seasons to go, we’ll just be lucky that if he doesn’t support a wholesale trade-off of the youngsters for a couple more veterans that he can feel comfortable with. That’s just my take on it.
It’s the revenge of the Giants!!! I’m telling you, Ned is hell bent on spending all of Franks money till he goes broke and Conte is hinding the physical ailments from everybody until it is to late and they are in the hospital, and Joe is just pissed that the Yankees found a better manager than him!! It has nothing to do with using common sense and it has everything to do with destroying the Dodgers franchise!!!
Ya I know it’s a little far fetched!!! LOL 🙂 But it made me smile for once when I thought about the Dodgers….
I know they know what they are doing, but Joe doesn’t seem to care – does he? That’s who has to start caring, either Joe, Ned or Frank, but what gives? I guess money and entitlement.
dnelson@mcsd I wish I could ask it , but I won’t get the interview I’m not in California. Feel free to ask it for me .
Also I was just over at the Dodger thoughts blog that Josh keeps talking about, I would say it is pretty tame and nobody really bashing on the real problem with the Dodgers management, but then again I was only spot reading the posts. No wonder Josh pushes it…. Not much controversy over there.
As long as Frank is making money, nothing will change. They haven’t convinced me that they’re serious about winning. Any team that’s serious about winning doesn’t keep trotting out a 115 hitter to pinch hit, or play a one armed pinch runner in left field when they have better options on the bench, or keep bringing in a relief pitcher who has an ERA of almost 6. That’s not to mention keeping around a 40 year old 248 hitting clean up hitter.
jnv – I am still very much considering your wife’s theory because it is the only thing that makes any sense why these PVLs are playing everyday. I am not seeing any other team that I watch doing these things. There are outfield issues, young vs. vet issues, and we seem like the only team that is screwing things up. Something has got to give eventually – right?
DNEL,
I think the only thing that is going to give is the fans patients and then Frank is screwed because his cash cow will finally be dry and we will all be Angel fans!! Or A’s fans in yours and my world!! LOL
I guess we don’t work and play well with others on this blog. Heaven know’s we aren’t constructive…
Owner from Boston. GM from San Francisco. Manager from New York. For a we know, we may be at the pinnacle of Dodger success for years to come.
Of all the bonehead moves though, JoJo’s got to be the worst.
I would have to disagree with you enchanted, I think the biggest boneheaded move was NERD. Without him we wouldn’t have all these worthless PVL’s.
fliegel – I think eric should ask. He’s probably got the best chance to get through the screening since he gets through for live chats. I know this is KABC, but Ned may have somebody screening for himself. If not eric, it would have to be somebody who has KABC radio, that is not delayed. Mlb.tv is on delay.
Even if someone did get through, do we really think Ned would answer a serious question like that, I mean the man has created this mess and is trying to lie his way out of it. And is lies are about the young guns or better yet the future of this team!!! There is no way he responds to a question like that. It would be career suicide. Oh wait, his personel moves should have been career suicide so I guess he could answer the question!!! He is just like the PVL’s on this team no matter what they do nothing happens.
jnv – like I was telling westernmost earlier, I read Dodger Thoughts usually daily(some of it anyway), but they tend to argue a lot, and when they are not doing baseball, they are talking tv scripts and such. I know we do songs over here, but it is still relating to the Dodgers. Yes, every once in a while, we go off and talk about cars, movies, music and such, but it usually comes back to a story started with a Dodger story. However, they do have a pretty good group of people who keep an eye on stats, and occasionally you will see jungar in there mixing it up in total jungar fashion no-less. We are probably considered the “bad kids” and they are the “good kids” who follow the rules because they do have rules – called rule violations (have no clue of what the violations are, but you will see them mention them on occasion.) Jungar probably has insight into that issue.
jnv – sadly, we all know that to be true – Ned’s an idiot 😦
Hey gang, just got in and caught up. No can do for the Nederview. I’m off in the boonies all weekend with the family. We’re dragging our trailer out camping for the first time in a year or so and ‘no electronic entertainment’ is one of my rules. Books, cards and board games only. We’re heading out in an hour or so and finishing up with a graduation party on Sunday PM. If I have any energy left, I’ll fire up the laptop in the evening and see what hath transpireth.
enchanted, you brought up scary joey. nellie, you mentioned that Coletti or Torre might be joey. Hold on to your hats. I looked up Joe Torre on Wikipedia. His name is Joseph Paul Torre…… JoeyP………Oh…..my………God…….”I hate the Dodgers”……….”They should trade Ethier”……..AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rule violations??? We don’t need no stink`n Rules!!! 🙂 We play just fine together. 🙂
Josh- Are we the red headed step children of the Dodgers fan base??????
To funny Eric,
Have fun camping it sounds like a lot of fun!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Torre
eric – have a great time this weekend with your family! We don’t have a trailer,but we go up to cabins all the time in the mountains, up in enchanted’s old neighborhood. Sounds like so much fun!!!!!!
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Also, eric, you know I don’t like to hear trade and Ethier in the same sentence LOL!!!!
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Let me cherry pick a few lines from that article before I go. There’s not much we don’t already know, but we might as well have some fun with it:
Joseph Paul Torre, born July 18, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) is the current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a former Major League Baseball player.
Although he had a fairly unimpressive managerial record with the Mets, Braves, and Cardinals, it was during Torre’s tenure as manager of the New York Yankees that he achieved his greatest managerial success to date.
In May 1977, Mets manager Joe Frazier, who had been the team’s manager since the beginning of 1976, was fired, and Torre, who was playing third base for the Mets (he came over from the Cardinals before the 1975 season) was chosen as the replacement………Torre managed the Mets through the 1981 season, but was unable to post a winning season.
He then took over as manager of the Braves, leading them to the NL Western Division title in his first season (1982) (the Braves, however, wound up being swept, 3-0 in the NLCS against the Cardinals), before slipping to second place in 1983, and third place in 1984.
In 1990, Torre was hired to replace the popular Whitey Herzog as Cardinals manager. Despite being an MVP with the Cardinals he posted a 351-354 record as manager in St. Louis. Though the Cardinals were unable to reach the playoffs during Torre’s tenure, they posted winning records in each of the three full seasons he spent with the club.
Torre got off to a rough start with the Yankees. The New York City press (and fans) thought his hiring was a colossal mistake and greeted him with headlines such as “Clueless Joe”.
And finally, this:
Torre and his wife Ali created the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, inspired by Torre’s experiences growing up as a witness to domestic violence in his household in Brooklyn. The Foundation operates domestic violence resource centers called Margaret House, which was named after Torre’s mother. The Foundation operates approximately a dozen Margaret House locations across New York City and Westchester County, New York. In October 2007, the Joe Torre Foundation partnered with Union City, New Jersey’s Board of Education and the North Hudson Community Action Corporation (NHCAC) to create New Jersey’s first Margaret House, at Union City’s Jose Marti Middle School. Aspects of Union City’s Margaret House will include a peer counseling program and an antiviolence campaign within the school, in order to encourage children to discuss family problems more freely, and training for teachers and counselors. The haven, which is housed in its own secure room at the school, was funded by a $325,000 grant from Verizon, and is administered by health care professionals from North Hudson Community Action Corp.
I didn’t know this. Good for you, Joseph……..
it’s SO frustrating because no one knows what direction they want to go in.. all these mixed signals are just confusing everyone and making every angry. pick a direction! either keep going with the free agents and overpriced veterans and blow up the farm (which would be terrible and accomplish many more years of nothingness) or go full-scale with the youth movement and get rid of EVERYONE old and terrible. you can’t have it both ways, and you can’t keep treading water and half-assing it. it’s not fair to the players, it’s not fair to the fans, it’s just not fair.
If I remember nells, Dodger Talk’s rule violations are listed if you scroll all the way down to the bottom on the righthand side. As I recall, one of them is you can’t keep making the same point over and over again. LOL
How’s this nellie?
Newsflash:
Today, Ned Coletti traded Juan Pierre to the Toledo Mud Hens for a dozen of their cool caps. Asked why he would do such a thing, Coletti said, “Well, since Andruw came back, I just couldn’t stomach it anymore. We had to make room Ethier. He’s too talented to sit and besides, he has such bea-u-ti-ful eyes……….”
we can only wish dodgereric 🙂
There you go with the common sense Sara!! LOL
But you are right it is not fair, the only ones that this current management is helping is NED, Torre and Franks pocket book. Which is why we should all ban the spending of our hard earned money until Frank gets it right.
Hi guys, sorry, but a quick question on ordering tickets: Is there a way to contact the Dodgers to buy tickets over the phone? I want to add 2 tickets to the area where I already bought 10 tickets. All the options I’ve found are automated and don’t let me choose where I want to buy the tickets from..
There you go again Sara… making sense.
Jeez, now I’m jnv’s twin!!
LMAO!!! Thank you for making my day – much better!!!
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However, if a trade is needed then he is more than welcome to come back to Oakland. At least there, they will appreciate him much better and he would definitely be playing everyday, no question – gorgeous eyes or not. Seriously – I think he is horribly under rated and needs to be given a chance to prove he can be up there with the rest of them. He is determined to prove it to himself anyway, whether it is with the Dodgers or not. I would stomach (sadly) a trade, and I would eventually forgive the Dodger organization, but it would take a very long time. I like all of our young players and really want all them to stay together – a dynasty was mentioned this morning – has a very nice ring to it – don’t you think?
so does this mean we are all in violation of saying the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over again. And then over and over and over and over again. LMAO!!! Maybe if we keep saying the same thing over and over and over and over and over again, somebody will eventually listen. Then again – probably not because we are the “bad kids” and people don’t listen to “bad kids” . They just tell them to shut up and go to their room LOL!!!
xuniquexjyx,
i think the phone ticketing number is 1-866-dodgers, but i don’t know if that’s all automated too, or if you can actually speak to someone. i would think the only real way to get tickets where you want, would be to go to the stadium box office and talk to the people there..
yeah, sorry everyone about trying to practice common sense.. sadly, that was the way i was brought up. my darn parents.. haha
dynasty has an AMAZING ring to it.. and i hope that we keep the kids together to give ourselves a chance to get there..
i would like to point out that the blog let me say half-assed, but wouldn’t let dnelson say *****+ing
enchanted, I don’t think I’ve ever made it to the bottom of one of their threads, but I will look next time. I think we are a better group at multi-tasking, we can carry on several conversations without all the numbers – how confusing is that – lol!!
haha dnelson.. it really doesn’t like your word
Great minds think alike Enchanted! 🙂
I am with you DNEL, if they trade Ethier let it be to the A’s that way when I drop the current Dodger regime like a bad habit I will at least get to watch one of my favorite players play everyday!
Here ya go nells:
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing “no-hitter” or “perfect game” to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn’t allowed when it’s just being disagreed with
I can see we regularly violate 1, 7, and especially 8.
Reprinted without permission.
sara -is that funny or what – How can a sandwich from Burger King be in violation of being a bad word. LMAO!!
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I think northstateblues mentioned the dynasty thing this morning, but it could have been enchanted too.
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maybe “common sense” needs to be a bad word LMAO!!
Nah, I never mention dynasty – that’s asking a lot.
Perhaps if we all just substitute “Burger King Sandwich” for ********, we can have it our way.
dnelson@mcsd.k12.ca.us I hope somebody asks it. It is a valid question, we really don’t have a lead off hitter .
I don’t mean to stir the pot but the idea that Frank and Ned don’t care about winning and all they care about is money just does not make sense. If the only interest is money, that is taking in as much as possible while spending as little as possible, then why sign established players (Nomar, A. Jones, JP, etc.) to such high paying contracts? Certainly the younger players come at a much lower price.
so what you are saying, enchanted, is we are in violation of every rule that is stated in some way or another – LMAO!!
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jnv – I hate mentioning Andre and trade in the same sentence because I feel like I am accepting that it would be okay and it really isn’t in my book. He has been brought up several times in the rumormill too. He and James packaged together was brought up this morning along with Matt. I am trying to think positive and listen to sara, enchanted, etc. and assume it is just rumors.
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A young gun dynasty of martin,loney, kemp, ethier, dewitt, billingsly, kershaw, and broxton (hopefully Andy and DY, too) sounds wonderful for the future.
lbirken- I think what you are misinterpreting is that we don’t understand why Dodgers management is doing the things they are doing and leaving us all frustrated with the end result.
Enchanted- How else would you use sarcasm??? I know you didn’t write the rules for them but it still makes me laugh.
I don’t get the psychology behind it birken. From a purely fiscal money standpoint your right – cheaper team = better bottom line. Its almost like Frank “collects” big names (or once big names anyway like you or I would collect a baseball card – they’re king of living baseball cards. Plus I think Frank looks at the name and equates it to more box office. For Ned on the otherhand, it either justifies his existance, or he’s doing what he thinks Frank wants. Bottom line is neither know what they’re doing.
DNEL,
I hear ya, and if the A’s did get him they would use him for a year or two and then trade him away. But at least he would be appreciated. And no I do not want them to trade them either. I really do not want to go root for another team as this is the only team I have trully cared about since I first picked up a ball when I was 7 years old. But I hate to sit back and watch what they are doing to the franchise. It just makes me sick to my stomach, Oh how I wish O’Malley never sold the team!! He didn’t need the $550,000,000.00!! LOL
enchanted – take that back – we don’t argue like they do – they need rule #4.
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Joey (the bad one)violates alot of those rules.
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our songs definitely violate #7
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I do enjoy a good sarcastic tirade once in awhile. Rules 1, 7 and 8 are why I’ve never posted on that blog. LOL!!
I also really wish I’d proofed my last post. King should be kind, spelling, parenthesis – Aghhhh.
We would definitely violate the DT rules. Oh well.
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But, while I don’t think that the DT crowd is as rabid, I think that they have the same philosophy in general as us.
I’m watching a replay of the ceremony in Hollywood, and Tommy said that we fans, who have supported the team year after year, deserve a championship. I agree, but we just need some important moves made, and we all know what those moves are. 🙂
so true jnv, so very true 🙂
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I find myself thinking that the A’s are really trying to make this youth movement work, and so far it is paying off. The kids aren’t playing everyday, but there is no question in their value for the team. I think that’s where alot of our frustration lies is in their perceived value on this team is not even close to the value of our veterans. I don’t see any of our young players looking up to any of our vets like the young players on the A’s are looking up to Ellis and Chavez. And, yes, their numbers aren’t great either and Eric has had his issues being on DL, but there is a chemistry there that is not with the Dodgers right now between the youth and the vets.
That chemistry it seems nells lies with Furcal – old enough to be a vet, young enough to relate to the kids. Andruw might be another, but he’s so worthless in the line-up it just makes you sick. Pierre’s a rival, not a leader. And Jeffy K, well…
Stop the presses – Ethier is in the lineup against a lefty! LaRoche is in and Martin and DeWitt have the day off. With lefties back to back, I would hope DY will be in the lineup tomorrow even if Andre gets the day off. DY needs to have some love too. Then again, giving Pierre the day off wouldn’t have hurted much seeing how Grady Sizemore will be able to hit a homerun given the chance, and he is the Indians lead off man with 17 homeruns and 14 stolen bases. I think there should be a match up between Matt and Grady both leading off.
I mentioned that our youth could’ve been ROY’s if given playing time, but the credit for the “dynasty” comment goes to kpookiemon. It seems that’d be the desired end result to a youth movement, but we all know McCourt’s capacity for patience, and it’s been a while since someone’s gotten canned on Elysian Ave (unless you don’t buy that Grady really wanted to retire).
eric, I used to post as drinkinmercury79, but got a blog account when they became free, and in confusion, it changed my name to the title of my blog. I haven’t really kept up the blogging during the school semester. And it’s much more fun just to put my energy into reading and posting comments here.
I wish I had tonight’s game on TV, I want to see the looks on Cleveland’s faces when they become acquainted with “Public Enemy No. 1”. Hopefully our offense has got his back today.
enchanted – Furcal is truly missed and I think we forget about that because it has been such a long, long time now. Thanks for reminding me that he is a very big factor in all of this, and I think of him as one of the young ones because of how awesome he played before getting hurt. 😦
thanks northstateblues – I knew it was a very early morning person, but I couldn’t think of the other person. It’s probably the two-name thing (formerly known as Kahli).
I think the problem with our vets is
1. Jeff Kent (I do like him, he is just not a #3 or 4 hitter anymore) is not the kind of guy that will take a player under his wing and show him the way.
2. Pierre should never give out any advice.
3. I do believe Andruw has information to share, I just hope it isn’t how to hide an injury right before a big deal goes down.
4. Sweeny’s only advice would be watch what I do and do the exact opposite- Don’t need him on the team to do that.
5. Furcal- It’s hard to say what he brings to the table teaching wise so I am going to pass on him for now.
6. Penny can’t get his own head screwed on straight and we don’t want our guys thinking 5 innings is all that is needed in a game.
7. Kuroda hasn’t been here long enough
8. Saito is good for the bullpen I believe, he brings a positive attitude and winning attitude.
9. lowe was taking advice from Maddux so it’s hard to say with him ( I can’t imagine someone not taking Maddux’s advice)
I think what I am trying to say is the VET presense that NERD and Joe always talks about is fine when you have a player that is not only willing, but also able to help out the young guys. I think Ned has failed in this department big time.
If they would play Andre every day, they would see why they shouldn’t trade him. This kid would be leading the team in HR’S, RBI’S if he played every day against all pitchers. What the Hell is wrong with Torre and why can’t he see that. Oh, I forgot, he’s not a good manager and he’ll never see that.
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Get the Hell rid of the albatross hanging around in left field everyday and ship him to Japan or somewhere far away from us. Be gone with him. Where’s my magic wand?
Enchanted once again we have the same view point just worded a little different.
JNV, believe me, I get the frustration. Enchanted, I think there could be something to what you are saying in that Dodger management is looking for the big name hoping for instant results while still holding on to a core of younger players. That does not explain the signing of JP but it does explain the signing of Nomar and A. Jones. I think management places a lot of value on the younger players but is reluctant to commit completely unless a player takes quick advantage of the situation such as Russell and James have done. The bottom line is that if the Dodgers were winning and competing for championships most of us would not complain about line ups and such as much as we do now. At least I would like to think so.
lbirken,
I don’t think any of us would be complaining at all if they were playing the “BEST” players on the team. I don’t care so much if we win a championship as much as I want to see the best players on the team play.
I think Ferk led by doing. If Kent would keep his trap shut, he’d be… nah. Can’t lead by example when you’re a first pitch hack. 9 walks in 235 PAs – awesome Jeffy, nice patience. Sweeney might be good for sitting around a campfire with a couple beers telling scary baseball stories, but as anykind of leader, please… Lowe’s too wrapped up trying to hit one more big payday. Penny as you pointed out is a head case. Pierre has a hard enough time finding first base let alone being a leader. Nomar – hahahahaha. ‘Druw still has potential, but he has to comeback with something more than he went on the DL with. Procto – I wouldn’t want any advice from Proctor on anything related to baseball. Kuroda, as you say not here long enough. The only one I see having any worth as a proven veteran leader is Saito.
Pretty sad batch you got us there Ned.
lbirken@aol. I’d rather think they just don’t care about winning .The only other way to explain some of their decisions is that they’re just plain stupid.
I forgot Nomore in my list Enchanted, I guess it was wishful thinking!!! But it also looks like he is down for good with his calf.
I don’t care who plays if we win. I don’t think that gets management off the hook for questionable moves but it sure makes me feel better. But I am curious how the meetings went when Ned proposes signing both JP and Gonzo. Did anyone raise his (or her) hand and just ask if Ned considered each player’s defensive weaknesses and was he the least bit concerned?
I doubt that it was put up for discusion, that was at the beginning of NERDS failures.
birken – you’re right, I don’t really think Ned and Frank and JoJo aren’t trying to win, they just don’t know what they’re doing.
Frank to me seems glitz and photo ops, which is why I think he allows Ned to go after big $$ FA’s. That and his limited perception of once a good ballplayer, always a good ballplayer. Well, Andruw Jones will help us win. Jason Schmidt will help us win. Nomar – he was great in Boston, he’ll help us win. I just don’t see him as being that involved on a in depth hands-on level.
Ned is in way over his head, and learned his trade from probably the worst GM in baseball. His signings are a result of a player’s past pedigree and a lack of statistical knowledge. Had he kicked a few tires before he bought, maybe we wouldn’t have some of the mess we do. Pierre is harder to explain – part panic move, but the bigger reason I’ve always felt he signed JP is that he wanted to one-up Sabean by outbidding him. I think he saw that as a feather in his cap.
JoJo is a mediocre magager at best when not surrounded by the best players money can buy. He’s completely lost without his veterans and it shows in the totally bizarre line-ups we see on a near daily basis. Probably the worst choice ever as a manager of a young team, he’ll even stunt the growth of youth by using a .111 hitter.
As an organization, the D’s are about as dysfunctional as you can get.
Enchanted, I agree with you on all parts except the most dysfunctional team, But they are right there near the top of the list.
may I even ask ~ who is more dysfunctional?
I was hoping to see DeWitt hit his 6th HR tonight.
Well maybe in a PH role.
On the other hand I’m glad to see LaRouche get a start.
I have to say that the offense seems to be coming around slowly but surely.
I like the fact that Ethier, Kemp & Loney are having some longer ABs.
We still need to walk more often.
No use telling that to Kent, it probably would go into one ear and out the other.
Although most of us want to keep seeing Ethier in there everyday even after Andruw gets back, I have to admit that, my name sake, Pierre is playing some exciting baseball.
The Dodgers lost to the Cleveland Indians in the 1920 World Series but that’s another story.
LET’S GO DODGERS MAKE IT 4 IN A ROW.
Mariners, Mets, Pirates, Royals are a few off the top of my head.
Good Evening PierreEW – I guess since the Dodgers are back home, you will have some late nights of watching baseball ahead of you. Always great to hear your insights on things. 🙂
Enchanted, that is what frustrates me the most and that is the appearance, whether real or imagined, that this organization is dysfunctional. Tommy is right, the fans deserve a championship caliber team.
I have to agree with those teams jnv – 2 of them have fired their manager – hmmmm!
lbirken, we might be deserve a championship team but I would settle for a logical explanation for managements decisions.
Look at the Mets. Does anyone recall the flowering article in Sports Illustrated in July of last year about the Mets and their GM so brilliantly put together such a wonderful team?
DNEL, at least they are addressing their problems, I even heard a rumor that the Mets GM was on his way out as well as Randolph….. HMMMMMMM
I dont remember the article lbirken but I do remember all the sportswriters saying how the Mets were the team to beat.
jnv – wouldn’t we all 🙂 LMAO
the word “logical” needs to be part of the bad word list, along with common sense, because this organization right now doesn’t recognize them, just like the word ******* isn’t recognized LOL!!!
Mariners at least cleaned house, so they got that going for them. Pittsburgh has been pretty screwed for a long time, as has KC. I tend to not even regard them as ML franchises though because they’re so small market. You’ve got a point with the Mets. Minaya vs. Ned – there’s a scary debate. The loons running the show in the Bronx are interesting as well.
JNV, I doubt you will get a “straight” answer or any answers that will satisfy you but it will be interesting to see what questions get through to Ned tonight after the game and how he answers them. It should make for some interesting discussion on these pages.
The Enigma that is Kemp:
There is a “valid” reason why Torre and others have had perhaps not the most positive things to say about Kemp. We all hear the term “grinder” used often when talking about veterans, and also consistency. Take Albert Pujols. The guy has the same numbers home or away, day or night, righty or lefty, etc., because he comes to play everyday. Baseball-reference.com has an interesting statistic to look at. In games that the Dodgers have won, Kemp’s line looks like this:
Wins: .359/.381/.595/.977 37rbi’s, 6/29 bb/so
He’s has the most rbi’s in games won, and great #’s. But in losses, he has the worst OPS of any Dodger regular (the 7 players with over 200pa’s)
Losses .220/.287/.280/.566 5rbi’s, 10/40 bb/so
Pierre in losses .248/.287/.287/.574 7rbi’s 7/8 bb/so
Kemp also has the lowest contact % of pitches swung at (69%) and the most 1st pitches swung at (35%) of any Dodger regular. This is why Torre and the other coaches are frustrated with Kemp. He has all the tools the be a team leader/all-star, but he doesn’t come to play everyday. Here’s Loney’s #’s:
Wins .341/.432/.496/.928 27rbi’s 21/12 bb/so
Losses .277/.297/.440/.736 8rbi’s 4/25 bb/so
A drop off, .192 in OPS, but not nearly as large as Kemp’s .411 OPS drop. Loney is much more of a grinder than Kemp, ergo the complaints. His bat is perhaps the biggest difference maker on the team. He needs to mature a bit more, and get his head in the game, day in, day out. When he does that, the Dodgers will be much more successful.
Enchanted that made me laugh!!!! “the loons running the show in the bronx” It just hit me right I guess….. LMAO
And you are right KC and Pit are small market teams.
Also it could be worse, how do you think the marlins fans felt after they won the world series and the team was dismantled the next season??? That would put me over the edge.
I can see the kind of tough questions they’ll let filter through to Ned:
Mr. Colletti, I’ve always wondered – what’s your favorite color?
Mr. Colletti, how do you like the summers in L.A. vs. the summers in S.F.?
I got one for ya Ned – Do you still think the Dodgers have a storied history – almost as storied as the Giants?
atomikkid- good stuff there. I think it is fair to say in our losses all of the guys are struggling and trying to find their way, that is why we give so much lattitude to the young guys and their growing pains. Not to say your stats don’t tell a troubling tale that does need to be fixed.
Good one Enchanted!!!!
Or something like this-
Mr. Colletti you are such an inspiration, how can I become a great GM just like you when I grow up?
I still believe Kemp is worth the growing pains but will he become an Adrian Beltre, meaning a player with all sorts of upside potential that just never quite developes?
Not sure what to make of Atomics numbers other than to say it does not surprise me that the Dodgers lose games when players don’t get hits and drive in runs.
Lest you think I jest, here’s the direct quote:
— Q: Did it take you a long time to get comfortable?
— A: I jumped right in because of the opportunity and because of what I want to accomplish in my own career. … The chance to be a general manager in major-league baseball and for a franchise as storied as this one, probably as storied as the Giants, is great. It’s something you aspire to and I’m blessed to have the opportunity.
Scripps/Sacramento Bee 4/14/2008 (interview was from an earlier date.)
I know every time I hear that quote I feel sick to my stomach. But I am sure Frank could care less where his loyalties lie as long as the money at the gate is gushing in.
Everyone have a great night and lets go DODGERS!!! I am finally off work and going home!!! woo hoo I did such a good job this week my boss told me to take the next 2 days off!! LOL
“probably as storied as the Giants” Are you kidding me!!!
I remember that quote. The Giants are such a storied franchise they are trying to exorcise the memory of one of their most notable players this side of Willie Mays.
Have a great evening jnv!!!!!! 🙂
fire ned… we had our fire grady rally cry last year we can have fire ned this year… sure do hope we win tonight…
Here’s a question for Ned since he’s not going to answer anything serious; Why is the word ******* blocked from the ITD blog? LMAO
Don’t know what to make of atoms numbers. They’re interesting, but it also shows that no one else picked up for Kemp when he wasn’t hitting. There have been several games where the lead wasn’t held or if we’d scored at all we would’ve won, then those games would’ve been in the win column for Kemp and evened out those numbers a bit more.
I think Kemp’s just a work in progress. He’s only 23, is still learning the game, and has tremendous upside. I guess I’d be more concerned with those numbers if we didn’t have the likes of Slappy, Sweeney and Druw to compare them to.
It would have been cool to attend the ceremony in Hollywood in person. I was at work while the tv coverage was on, so hopefully they’ll replay it at some point.
I am really hoping that the Dodgers don’t trade any of the young players. I think they are all getting ready to come in to their own. They just needed to figure some things out. I am pretty sure that back during the early 70’s youth movement that most of the young players were about 27 and above and Ethier is the oldest of the current lot and he just turned 26 in April. I think it will pay off big time if the Dodgers are just patient a little longer.
I was happily surprised to see Ethier in the lineup against a lefty tonight.
By the way, what do you need to do to get spaces between paragraphs on this blog. I am putting spaces in between, but they are not showing up when I post.
Later jnv. Have a good one!!
bluecrewgirl – use periods in between statements/paragraphs or 3 spaces works also (for some)
Also another earlier quote from that same interview:
— Q: Tommy Lasorda said he always has a pep talk with former Giants who become Dodgers to make sure they understand where their loyalties now reside. He said when he saw you wearing your 2002 N.L. championship ring, he said, “Ned, either the ring or the finger, but one of them is coming off.”
— A: That’s true (laugh). That’s very true.
I have no words. No words will come out to comment on why you’d be wearing that ring around Dodgerland.
Dback are losing 3-0 in the 4th against the twins 🙂
Gnats losing 4-0 in the 4th against KC 🙂
Thanks DNelson. I will try that next time.
Your welcome – sometimes spaces work for me, sometimes they don’t. I use periods for sure when I do the songs or I’m talking to different people at the same time so that way it breaks for sure. If I am talking in general about different things then I will try the 3 space thing – this morning it did not work. 🙂
blewcrew are you new? If so welcome – you’ll find most of us in the deep end. If not, I’m obviously getting old and senile. That’s the beauty of Altzheimers – you get to meet so many new people!
I am surprised Tommy did not bite off Ned’s finger.
i’m sure ned has loyalties to the giants and will always.. it sickens me.. it’s like when derek lowe first got signed.. my co-worker saw him out and he asked dodgers/red sox? and derek told him the red sox were the best and that he would always be a red sox guy.. and he had his WS ring.. i was like REALLY? you JUST got here and took a lot of our money, and you can’t even pretend to like being a dodger?
birken – you don’t know where that finger’s been!!!
bluecrew – don’t let enchanted frighten you – he is one of the masters on this site. He will have you in stitches, along with his buddies, and then you will never be the same again. We have all managed to find our way into the deep end and most of us are doing just fine. A little crazy, but we certainly have our fun moments. Welcome!!!!
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I am assuming by your name that you are female – yes?
Enchanted – I have posted a few times before, but I was having a problem where I changed my email and it still showed the email address I didn’t want to use, so I created a new account. I’ve been a Dodger fan since the early 70’s, so I guess I’m right there with you on the deep end. lol.
DNelson – Yes, I am female. My name’s Joan, easier to type the blewcrew.
d’backs losing 6-0
🙂
7-0
sara- was russell at the ceremony today? I didn’t see any pictures of him in the photo gallery for today’s event. 🙂
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bluecrewgirl – great – more girl power is always nice. However, the boys on here have been very respectful of us even when we go off on our girl things. LOL!
In some pasta?
I didn’t see Russ in the picture either, just Andre and Blake of the current players. Maybe he’s behind someone.
With Ned you never know…
The scoreboard shows the snakes losing 7-1, but it doesn’t show when the Twins scored the 7th run.
this is from the press-enterprise and it’s disturbing:
More on this in the morning paper, but it appears that RHP Hiroki Kuroda, on the DL with shoulder tendonitis, has been dealing with the issue for 3 weeks, which not coincidentely is how long he has been struggling.
What makes this a major issue is the fact that he has been seeing the trainers for three weeks to get treatment and get medication but somehow there was a lack of communication to Joe Torre and Ned Colletti that this may have been a serious issue. He hasn’t made it out of the third inning twice in three starts and has a 7.71 ERA since this issue popped up.
Torre, who gets daily medical reports, said he should have realized that Kuroda’s name was on the list more often lately than it was early in the season and that the blame fell on him. Trainer Stan Conte, who is not allowed to talk to the media, apparently failed to tell Torre that Kuroda had a shoulder issue.
“If I had paid more attention or inquired a little more I would have known sooner,” Torre said. “I don’t usually pay attention to guys who go in there on a regular basis. That’s my wrongdoing in this case. I probably could have asked more questions, not of him, but from the trainers.
“There are a lot of things where I wasn’t diligent enough in going to ask more questions. I’m not trying to find a reason why I wasn’t. It’s my responsibility because the trainers did their job and documented it.”
And to make the lack of communication even worse, neither Torre or Colletti told Kuroda he was going on the DL. The player said he heard it from someone else not involved in the decision making process.
it really bothers me that there is a lack of communication and that torre basically wasn’t paying attention. it also really bothers me that no one informed kuroda that he was going on the DL. seriously? tell the guy what’s going on.. ugh.. more reasons to doubt that management knows what they’re doing..
What I’ve said all along. TORRE is not a good manager. Torre is a good manager when he has superstars that don’t need managing on a day to day basis. He is not a manager that can build a good team and make them contenders.
Torre, leave, and take Pierre and Andruw and Kent with you before closing the door.
Also goes to point that Conte is incompetent. If you know a $33 million dollar pitcher is having shoulder problems, don’t ya think you should let your GM and manager know it? Yet another millions dollars bust…
You’re right Sara, NO ONE in management has a clue as to what’s going on at any level.
News Update: Mark Sweeney is still dead…Interesting stuff about Joe’s foundation. Nice to know that he has the social conscience to use his money and name for such a great cause. But, as a manager, well… I agree with the comments made that Torre doesn’t feel comfortable with playing a lot of young players. It was something he never had to do much in the Bronx. There would have been better managerial choices for a rebuilding team like the D’s. As I’ve said before, this management is intimidated by the media and feel they have to have “names” on their roster and as their manager. Hollywood likes names. IMO, stay the course with the kids. I just hope that management doesn’t get deluded by the notion that,because we are in a close race in a bad division, that we have a chance of going deep into the playoffs. We need to be sellers not buyers in the upcoming trading period. We need to be looking long-term… 2 good innings by Kersh…GO BLUE!!
We can’t beat these Amer League teams. We are always playing behind. Against a good pitcher we are dead in the water.
Is there any way we can keep Sizemore from getting on the plane when the Tribe leaves town.
here’s another thing from the press-enterprise.. this is something that we have been discussing here, and it’s nice to see a beat writer recognize it too..
The Dodgers took the field on Friday night with this absolutely staggering statistic…
The club had $56.2 million worth of salary on the DL (Brad Penny, Hiroki Kuroda, Andruw Jones, Jason Schmidt, Rafael Furcal, Gary Bennett, Tony Abreu, Nomar Garciaparra).
The starting lineup had a salary of about $19 million this season and only Jeff Kent ($9 million) and Juan Pierre ($8 million) were owed more than $425,000 this year. That does not include Angel Berroa, who is being paid by Kansas City and is owed basically nothing by the Dodgers.
Maybe we can put Pierre on the plane in place of Sizemore and they won’t know the difference. Ha Ha
Kershaw has great stuff. He just needs to learn how throw that big round house curve on the dirt or inside to a hitter.
Practically everytime he throws that curve ball, it is for a strike and it is in a hitable location. All the batters have to do is wait back and explode through the strike zone. Some one like Gregg Maddux would be a good mentor. Maddux is the best when it comes to location and technique.
The leauge is going to catch on to that pitch soon.
carcyn – If the hitter “waits back” and gets the 95 mph heat, he’s got problems. That said, Kershaw is barely 20 and obviously a work in progress.
Can we trade Juan Pierre for Grady? I see Boblee agrees 🙂
I know he is work in progress. And beleive me i love what i see. I just hate to see that pitch over the plate over and over.
The problem with Kershaw developing is who’s coaching him – Honeycutt? Lot of luck with that. That’s where having a guy like Maddux on the team could have been of great value. Who do we have that can help a youngster?
A Grady for Pierre trade? Only if the Cleveland GM has a death wish…No Cy Lee s#$%t tonight. (guess I violated rule #!) He’s 10-1. This guy is a left handed Greg Maddux with more heat.
sara -those articles up above are just giving us an even bleaker picture of our management, and it really is starting to look like they are idiots, to say the least..
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Grady in exchange for Pierre 🙂
Back to our old crap. Can’t get a hit with runners in scoring position. What is this crap.
Cliff Lee is doing what they say opposing pitchers have to do against the Dodgers***Throw strikes.
If we could score a few runs for Kershaw, he could very well be 3-0.
Hope he doesn’t get discouraged, as I know he has a ways to go yet before he’s going to be a great player.
i
boblee – LaRoche’s ball WAS stung.
Hoping Lee tires or throws a few mistake pitchers.
Like making the pitches fatter.
Sky you’re echoing my thoughts exactly:
“I just hope that management doesn’t get deluded by the notion that,because we are in a close race in a bad division, that we have a chance of going deep into the playoffs. We need to be sellers not buyers in the upcoming trading period. We need to be looking long-term.”
The worst thing that could happen to this team is if Ned and JoJo decide we have a chance. Then its going to be PVLs R Us.
It’s a warm night, ball will carry much better. Sure would be nice for the boys to hit a few up and out.
Going from 0-2 to a walk to Jamey Carroll is not a good thing. Bear down Clayton.
Lee’s only been behind in the count 3 times all night. Amazing!!
Starting the sixth with back-to-back walks is not going to keep Kershaw on the mound.
Good outing for Kershaw.
way to make me look bad everyone else. My whipping boys (Kent and Pierre) have our only 2 hits.
Mr. Kershaw would probably find it easier to pitch if they actually scored him some runs once in awhile.
Bend over, its Procto time.
Runs scored by the Dodgers in Kershaw’s other five starts:
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4, 9, 1, 7, 4
How many fogey when he was actually on the mound?
enchanted – Less. 😉
I know that last 4 was in the ninth 🙂
Someday he might even get a win!!
Who can take gasoline and pour it on the fire? The Proctor Man, The Proctor Man can.
hey lets look on the bright side…that one hop throw to the cut off man by pierre was right on the money :]
enchanted – too lazy to look them all up, but I know that they scored five late in the nine run game, and six late in the seven run game, so at least 11 less, or 14 or less instead of 25. So the average goes from 5/game to 2.8 or less / game.
Oooo the Proctornator.
Does Torre bring in this loser just to make the kids ERA look that much worse??
Hope obody miss that, it’s a rare day when Proctor retires 3 out of 4 batters.
enchanted – I forgot about that Detroit game. Along with 0 tonight, that’s 10 or less in six starts = 1 2/3 or less / game.
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Of course with shorter starts, (a 3 2/3, a 4, two 5s), you are giving your teammates less opportunities to bat while you are in the game.
And DY is not playing in place of Pierre every day, WHY
Fogey – guess if we take the 4 from the ninth from the last game he’s down to 10, so actually 2 or less per start. That can’t be good…
Can we go ahead and schedule that other Ohio team somemore??
Proctor stuck out the first two and the fourth. Allowed a single. It’s pretty tough NOT to give up a run with 1st and 2nd and no out.
True Fogey, but we sure aren’t helping the kid much when he’s in there.
On the average, in a first and second, no out situation, teams score 1 and 1/2 runs. So Proctor gave LA a better than average results, by a third.
Oh man. Close, but not enough for Loney.
That was a good inning at least he worked a little harder.l
enchanted–I’d be happy if this ballclub would finish around or a little above .500 while showing positive improvement. I have little or no confidence that this management team will accomplish this. As the stories about the Kuroda situation indicate, these people are clueless. How can you forget to tell someone about an injury? This sounds like a bad Monty Python sketch.
sizemore for kemp…do it now!!
Where are “Our Cincy Cousins” when we need them?
Still though Fogey he’s allowing inherited runners to score. He got two, then gave up a run. Fortunately, he pitched better than his norm. Just saying he’s another one of JoJo’s favorite PVLs who isn’t worth a tinker’s damn.
Sky – I’d be very pleased if they show improvement as a whole by the end of the year regardless of record. I just think JoJo screws with the kids so much they don’t know if they’re coming or going.
Hmmm, how did Sizemore looking striking out against Troncoso? 😉
PierreEW–You’re right, given Proctor’s history, his appearance could’ve been worse. Damning him with faint praise. Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in awhile.
Weren’t they two long inning ? But at least we got 6 strikeouts from Proctor & Trancoso.
Here’s where we need to get to Lee
Might DeWitt have been a better choice??
Good Grief…
You’d think the first 50+ unsuccessful PH appearances might be a clue.
F***
Okay , he’s getting closer to the Sweeney line – .109, we will have to have a party in his honor if he reaches .100 🙂
Well said seekybout.
Torre should of sent up DeWiTT orrrStults instead of Sweeney this time,
How in the hell has Sweeney not been cut?? Any other team would have canned his *** by now. Is he dating Joe or Ned’s daughter or something? I am seriously having to equate this to some type of nepotism, because he really doesn’t belong in the Majors. Period.
Maybe this time.
Let’s go Pierre, Kemp & Kent & Loney
Let’s get him now.
You’d think that Ned or Frank would step in at some point and just DFA Sweeney so JoJo couldn’t use him.
Note to Ned – there’s a direct relationship between JoJo’s performance and you’re job. PVL Sweeney isn’t making your job position any stronger.
Proctor has allowed 9 of 21 inherited runners to score this year, 43%.
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Dodger pitchers not named Proctor: 18 of 79, 23%
Others = Good
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Proctor = Bad
You know when you actually look at stats, managing seems pretty basic.
I wonder what they have in the bullpen for us.
Even money says Kent hits into a DP.
Ha ha! Dodger Thought comment:
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33. 68elcamino427 2008-06-20 22:13:08
Headline:
Bison chases Indian off field.
Guess I missed on that one.
I’ve never seen a rosebush flip off an enchantedsunset before!
MLB-TV went out for a while I missed KENT’s BIG HIT
now LONEY
4-2 That’s better.
Cleveland has the 2nd worse bullpen era in MLB. Maybe a good omen,
That’s OK fogey, I’ll get him next time 🙂
Nice to see Loney extend his hitting streak.
I know this is way after the fact, but I can’t remember a bigger gas can than Scott Proctor. When I see him come into the game, the first thing that comes to my mind is JOE TORRE JUST QUIT. Last year I had contempt for Rudy Seanez; I couldn’t stand that guy. I would trade Scott Proctor for 2 Rudys! I really believe that he’s the worst player on the roster. Worse than Chubb Rock and his bum knee, worse than Nomore, worse that the other 24 guys. If he were DFA’d tomorrow I’d smile so hard my ears would touch.
We need some lightnin’ fellas…
BTW, Seanez is pitching well in Philly….Borowski is beatable.
Come on, Dewitt!!
ALL-RIGHT P I E R R E
OL RELIABLE K E N T
A brand new game.
Wow!! what an inning – good job boys!!! new ball game – here we go!!
EXTRA EXTRA read all about it.
We’re still breathing.
i dont know about this move…
saito has not done well in non save situations this year..:/
Let’s roll, Sammy!!
this game could be a turning point. Have we had a come from behind win late vs a winning team all year? Come on blue.
….then again…saito has not done well in actual save situations this year lol. what that tell ya?
The box of chocolates again…….
Damn!!
Now back to square two.
Saito; tendonitis?
saito is done! he is washed up!! i knew it was bad to bring him in…these 40 year old vets are messing everything up
Good night, drive home safely. At least, we made a game of it. It doesn’t get any easier with Sabathia & Byrd the next two days.
What killed us was that Cliff Lee, he was almost unhittable even after he tired.
This was just another game to chauk up to Experience.
The best thing was that everyone contributed OLD & YOUNG albeit in a losing cause.
PierreEW – Cliff Lee did have a great game. It was an exciting game there at the end, and everybody did their part. We just came up short tonight. They showed fight there in the end. I’m sure all Ethier could think about was the missed catch 😦 . I’m sure he went up to bat hoping to help Sammy out, and was just trying too hard to get things done. If that ball had been caught, it would have been a totally different story.
that game was a swift kick to the crotch.
Manager Joe Torre was often dealing with underachieving New York Yankees teams that started slow amid a ton of expectations and turned it on as the summer warmed. There is a big difference between those Yankees and these Dodgers, though.
“In New York, we had the same group get to the postseason so many years in a row and it was more about, let’s get the wins,” Torre said. “Right now, our goal is to get the same approach everyday. We don’t have the same history as what we had there. So what you want to talk about now is the three game (sweep at Cincinnati) and even the last game (Sunday) in Detroit: quality at-bats. It sounds simple.”
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http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_9655423
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Aren’t you tired of Torre comparing our Dodgers to his Yankees? – uuuggghhh!!
Forget Saito’s meltdown, he’s a vet. Kent and Pierre had big games, but all three will be gone inside two years. By then the kids will be starting their dynasty. I don’t know who will last but it won’t be a Colletti decision. Sooner or later the kids either figure it out or they won’t. They’ll sort it out. A core of MartinLoneyKemp, Dewitt and LaRoche is a pretty formidable bunch. And bring all the young power arms you got. Eithier is the kid from outside the organization. He’s not a Logan White sculpture. Good or bad, we can’t say yet. Delwyn Young has looked great in left field and he hits–a lot. I salute Juan Pierre, but he’s not the future of this team.
Jason Repko, for all his mediocre stats, leads the 51s in one huge category: at bats. Repko’s been an injury magnet. But after getting cut at the end of a great Spring, he wanted to prove to the Dodgers that he could stay healthy. He’s fast–second on the team in steals–and he’s finally hitting, raising his batting average 150 points in about a month. Repko would make Dodgers a better team.
http://www2.dailybulletin.com/ci_9655395
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More philosophies on why we are not like the Yankees. The young players must love this crap, always getting compared to the frickin Yankees everyday. This is really getting old. Joe, can you wake up out of your dream of managing the Yankees. You are in Los Angeles, California now – wake up and start managing THIS DODGER team!!! We don’t want to hear about the Yankees anymore – we are LOS ANGELES DODGER FANS. We could care less about the Yankees. 🙂
Well, the walks killed us last nite. Time to start Getting Broxton ready to be a closer. Saito not doing his job. Saito’s age catching up to him.
Wake up Torre………………..
Patience was mentioned again in the above article. Vin Scully himself kept saying that patience wasn’t going to help the Dodgers tonight because Lee was throwing strikes down the middle from the get go. The Dodgers fell behind in the count 0-2 (I believe Vin said 20+ times) going into the the 6th inning. At what point in a game do you decide when patience is only going to produce a strike out looking or after being down in the count 0-2, being forced to swing at pitches that are not yours to hit because you decided to sit back at watch the first two pitches go by because your manager prefers you to be patient?
Good Morning, Dodger Blue Fans!
It’s morning music time. Our Dodgers are on Fox today, and I’m sure we will be in for some usual Dodger bashing by the Fox game announcers once again. Can’t you just wait?
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One of yesterday’s many topics focused on our young players, from possible trade rumors to just plain mismanagement of our young players. While listening to the radio all day, this song came on during a few of the rampages we were on about our poor young boys who are just trying to play a game of baseball and not be analyzed for everything they do wrong by their management team. Look how frustrated we are from the circumstances they are put in, and I don’t think we can even imagine what is really going on in some of their heads right now. They are being pulled every which way with no particular guidance other than being told over and over again, you are not like the Yankee teams I have mangaged in the past. That alone has got to mess with confidence. How can you build a young group of players by repeatedly reminding them they are not the Yankees?
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This song was done to represent our hopefully “Young Guns Dynasty” group consisting of Martin, Loney, Kemp, Ethier, DeWitt, LaRoche, Young, Billingsly, Kershaw, and Broxton. The name “Young Guns” name is credited to enchanted and the term “Dynasty” is credited to “Kpookiemon formerly known as Kahli” Thanks, and you probably need to trademark the names as jhall would want you to do.
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song: “Torre’s Our Battlefield”
Original Song: “Love is a Battlefield”
by Pat Benetar
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We are young, Dodger to Dodger we stand
No promises, Joe’s demands
Torre’s our Battlefield
We are strong, but everyone tells us were wrong
Playing with heart for so long,
All of us knowing
Torre’s our battlefield
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Joe’s giving vets the go, he’s making us stay
Why does Joe hurt us so bad?
It would help us to know
Do we stand in his way
Or are we they best thing his had?
Believe us, believe us, we can’t tell him why,
But were trapped by our head,
And we’re chained to Joe’s side.
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We are young, Dodger to Dodger we stand
No promises, Joe’s demands
Torre’s our battlefield
We are strong, but everyone tells us were wrong
Playing with heart for so long,
All of us knowing
Torre’s our battlefield
.
We’re losing control
Will Joe turn us away or let us play instead?
And before we get old,
and it doesn’t seem the same,
There’s no way this will die
Cause if we gets much closer
We could lose control
And if our hearts surrender
Our team will be on hold
.
We are young, Dodger to Dodger we stand
No promises, Joe’s demands
Torre’s our battlefield
We are strong, but everyone tells us were wrong
Playing with heart for so long,
All of us knowing
Torre’s our battlefield
.
We are young, Dodger to Dodger we stand
No promises, Joe’s demands
Torres’ battlefield
We are strong, but everyone tells us were wrong
Playing with heart for so long,
All of us knowing
Torre’s our battlefield
.
I agree Dnel, patience is good in certain situations, if a pitcher is struggling with his command. I hate to see the guys take belt high fastballs down the middle, just to be patient. Most ML pitchers will give you 1 pitch to hit, you have to be agressive, when the situation warrants it.
I just caught up on the thread and the article Sara posted about the injury situation on Kuroda…is UNTHINKABLE…Torre you admit you have not paid attention to the medical report…I have been a supporter of you, but that comment alone should get you FIRED!!! Conte not getting your attention and making sure you realize how bad these guys were, is not acceptable….Where was Honeycutt, does he not pay attention to the reports?
Frank, you are a business man first and foremost. You would not allow this type of incompetence to happen in any of your other companies, why are you allowing a 10 mil a year manager, in public, admit that he is not paying attention to your most valuable assets. Torre, you need to wake the heck up and either love what you do or get out…
Dodgerboy,
Patience wasn’t their friend last night, but yet, Torre keeps bringing it up as a weakness the young players. Well, there were many ABs where the pitches went right down the middle. You kind of wonder since Torre doesn’t seem to pay attention to the real important stuff like medical reports, he probably isn’t interesting in scouting reports for visiting pitchers either. All of us sitting at home or at the game could have told the boys after the first time they were up, maybe you could swing at the first pitch since it’s going to be right down the middle. We all want them to have quality at bats, but not when the pitcher is getting them behind in the count with two pitches time and time again. Then again, Kent and Pierre did well enough, that I’m sure Torre thinks it’s a “young players problem” once again.
Morning Nells and DB. I think yarrum summed things up pretty well in the post above. Damn, thought Saito was goint to get out of it too. How often do you see a 6-2-5 DP? Then blam.
Good song nells! Pat Benatar was always one of my favs.
You’re rignt DB, in the real world Conte’d be out on his kiester and Torre would be either the same or severly reprimanded.
You notice the story on Lowe, Boras, Colletti and Torre “clearing the air”? I think we ought to clear Lowe from the team and send the SOB back to the east coast where he belongs. I gotta wonder if Jeffy’s had a talk with his agent about getting him to a contender?
Anyone think Park makes it past the third inning today? I think he’s the next one to go down with shoulder problems. And why did Ned bring up a reliever? You’re down a starter not a reliever. And Troncoso’s numbers in Vegas were pretty bad. That almost blew up in JoJo’s face last night as well.
And yes, JoJo needs to stop the references about the D’s not being the Yankees. This season is what happens when you have a clueless owner from Boston who doesn’t realize the two most hated organizations in Dodgers history are the Giants and Yankees.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/csp/sbc/hp/pcm/baseballs_silliest_salaries/*http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-overunder061808&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
.
an article that consist of an all-overpaid team (3 Dodger PVLs made it- not Pierre), and an all-underpaid team (no Dodgers made that list)
I also thought Torre was brought in to instill winning. He never instilled it in ST, he didn’t instill it in April or May, and he sure hasn’t instilled it in June. All he’s shown me is an unwillingness to work with the kids to get them to the next level while playing head games with them and favoring old washed up vets. Who didn’t know he’d bring up Sweeney with runners at 2nd and 3rd and, Surprise!, he didn’t get the job done. Also, the way JoJo blew through his bench last night he had no one left to use but Maza.
I obviously need to take some time off from Dodger baseball. Management from the top down does nothing but tick me off royally.
enchanted, I have no doubt pitching, on both sides (Sabathia is not going to be easy on us), will be our biggest issue to finish out the weekend. I know run support is an issue as well, but last night shouldn’t have happened. I realize things would have been different if Ethier had got that ball, but we never should have been in that situation to begin with. Sammy did take the credit for a job not-well done, which I was glad to read because I know Ethier was taking his missed catch pretty hard too.
.
Has anyone heard anything about the questions to Ned last night?
enchanted – don’t give up – the young players need you to be on their side. Just think of your enchanted sunsets and hope for a brighter future – LOL!! You need jhall to set you straight. Then again, he’s probably thinking the same thing you are – LOL!! I wonder who will step up and be your twin today? LOL!!
Just saw this on Rotoworld…who was excited and who did not know he was going to be injured?
Nomar Garciaparra said Friday he’ll take a week off from baseball to break up the scar tissue in his calf.
People got all excited when the Dodgers announced Nomar would head back to shortstop upon returning, but now there’s not even a timetable on the guy. Sometime in mid-July might be reasonable, but it’s just a guess.
Source: Dodgers.mlb.com
Ned, he is not going to be able to help the team. Do us and the team a favor and let him go….I appluad his effort, but he has not been healthy in over a year and really only 1-2 years in the last 5 years.
I haven’t read the Lowe story, but honestly ship him, Penny, Kent, Sweeney, all out.
I will root hard for Park but I think he is being put in a situation that he will fail in. He has been successful in 2-3 innings stretches, not a start.
I fell asleep and did not see the game. I know I am getting old, but I was tired.
A couple of positives from the box score.
It seems as if Wade pitched well, Martin was a spark off the bench. Kershaw, I have to go back and watch the tivo, but it seems as if he was decent….how did he look. Was he getting behind? Troncoso, maybe his sinker will work better and he will stay up and we can trade Proctor for a couple of maple bats….
Pretty gruesome list nells. 4 current Dodgers and 3 ex.
If Furcal’s back hurts after jogging, who realistically things he’ll be back? Just have the surgery Raffy and enjoy the rest of your life. I wouldn’t trust Conte to treat a rug burn.
Nomore – who cares? Another worthless carcass who will do nothing but take ABs away from more deserving players, though at SS I can’t imagine who they’d be.
Jones. If he comes back and can put up decent numbers I can accept that, but you know it’ll be at the expense of Ethier or Kemp because JoJo won’t take Pierre out of a game even defensively anymore.
Bennett – why hasn’t he been DFA’d already?
Schmidt – face facts Shidty, your career is over. Take the retirement package Ned gave you and schlep on back to SF.
Penny I pray to the good Lord above comes back and has a decent game or two so we can ship his butt somewhere at the trade deadline.
Kuroda I would hope could actually rehab. Not that he’s going to help much this year, but possibly next.
Who’s next???
Outfielder Juan Pierre has driven in a run in four straight games and five of six after going 10 games without an RBI. Before this stretch, he had only driven in three runs in his previous 28 games.
.
The above statement came from the homepage about the match up today. It was totally out of place and didn’t have anything to do with the previous statements – looks like it was just thrown in. No other Dodger performances were mentioned. I realize he has been having good games ( for Pierre), but so have many others. Why does he need the uplift? Where’s the love for the rest of the team?
As someone expressed before, you go back to an owner from Boston, a GM from San Francisco, and a manager whose only success was in New York, and you wonder why nobody recognizes the Dodgers’ traditions or for that matter the true Dodger fans. Who among those three above really cares? We the fans may want to build something strong that we all care about, but those three idiots? One is concerned with his own self-aggrandizement; another only recognizes and deals in player names from his past and way past their prime, and the third is just enjoying his pre-retirement without showing the least bit of excitement, much less fire, in the adulation of the Hollywood hype and the local media.
A**H***s all three!!!
Someone posted this earlier (dodgerboy I believe) but I thought it deserved another mention. This is a Torre quote from the OC Register: “There were a lot of things that I wasn’t diligent enough in going to ask enough questions,” Torre said (about Kuroda’s injury). “he was pitching every 5 or 6 days and I DIDN’T PAY ATTENTION to it. It’s my responsibility because the trainers do their job and document it. We get documentation every night on guys.”
Let me get this right, Joe Torre has been getting detailed reports from the training staff regarding Kuroda (among others I’m sure) yet didn’t “pay attention?” That’s his one and only job; TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE TEAM THAT HE’S MANAGING. How many other DL’d players there are because Torre didn’t pay attention to the medical reports. Conte’s an idiot for sure, but what difference does it even make? If Torre’s not even paying attention to the reports then the reports, and those who generate them are completely useless. No one on the Dodgers even told Kuroda that he was placed on the DL, he found out “through people.” Talk about unacceptable™ (jhall, royalties should be arriving shortly). Communication in the clubhouse was supposed to be Torre’s strong suit; it doesn’t sound to me like the left hand knows what the right hand is doing. The Dodgers woes start at the top.
It’s sad, the Dodgers are the most expensive dog and pony show in SoCal. Every single member of the Dodgers brass should be fired, the GM, the manager, the coaches, the training staff, (the groundskeepers can stay) and everybody else who doesn’t wear a uniform. Purge the system and hire some baseball people for Christ’s sake.
Hey everyone. Been out of town for a couple of days. Went to Thursday’s game in Cincy. Nice win and a great time. Stults looked good. Nice songs Nelly. CP, way to go on your song and welcome to the deep end. Welcome BlueCrewGirl. Great posts/points everyone. Trade Lowe and DFA Sweeney now for god’s sake. Good to be back home and back on line.
As always, fire Ned!!! LOL!!!
Weekend Update: Mark Sweeney is STILL DEAD!!. I agree that, at some point, Torre needs to wake up and realize that he’s not managing the Yankees anymore. You adapt to your personnel, not the reverse. The most successful managers have won with different game philosphies. Off the top of my head, Tommy comes to mind. (the 70’s power teams and the late 80’s pitch and scratch out runs teams) Whether the light will come on or not, who knows? I really wish that Frank would either make a winning team his focus or sell the team to someone who will. Maybe somebody like Mark Cuban but he’s having enough trouble trying to buy the Cubs. MLB doesn’t like outspoken mavericks. Obviously, with his plans to turn Dodger Stadium into a strip mall, Frank’s not selling the team anytime soon. So, we can only hope another light will go on.
Welcome back, jhall. Being that the Indians are our opposition this weekend, you must have some unique feelings about this series.
Thanks Sky. Good to be back in the hunt. Yep, I like the Indians but I love the Dodgers so I’m rooting for our Blue all the way. Indians are fun to watch and I hope they go all the way if we don’t make it. LOL.
To Bigkace you listen. Here is a fun thought, imagine if Ned had not inherited Kemp, Loney, Martin, Bills, Lowe, Penny-I know there are more. But just those 6. Also if the dodgers hadn’t struck fools gold on Saito… Imagine the destruction and mayhem if we didn’t have the farm system maturing into big leaugers as Ned came aboard. We would have either a 200 million dollar team worse than the current one or we would have a 140 million team full of berroras, hillenbrands, nomars, muellers, hendericksons, tomkos, Baez
The only thing Frank should be thankful for are three things
1. The major league minimum salary. Most of our players who actually play or should be playing are making it. Schmidt, Nomar and Furcal alone this year is more than our roster minus a few guys.
2. really other than us diehards no one in LA cares anymore if the dodgers win. Most here have no idea what it was like to actually have the excitement of playoff baseball year after year. Someone said yesterday why would frank sign the Jones, Nomar etc if all he cared about was making money he could just play all kids for cheap..It’s sorta like there needs to be pretty bad movies and pretty bad TV for the masses…Or safe TV is the better word. Not everyone wants to watch arrested development, they need their comedy more straightforward so they watch everybody loves raymond? I don’t know. Not everyone watches The Wire but it was a much better drama than say CSI Miami and people watch that. It’s familar. It’s almost nostalgic. It’s Nomar and Jones and Kent and so and so…
3. that schumucks will drive say at least 30 miles each way (I’m just guessing for sake of argument on avg) to go to dodger stadium (cause it’s fun and great for family time, i love going) pay 15 bucks to park (8 more than angel stadium BTW-why, does the piss and beer I walk on to get to the seats not as pissy and beery at DS?) 30 for seats now (again on avg) and another $5+ per beverage and dogs…
Were all sick of it Frank. You must see just how bad for the Dodgers Ned and dare I say it, Joe are. They live in the past which is why you watch Frank, I know you do and say things like ooh Saito, non save situation, i don’t know about this…and then u pace and then like us you see it happen again and yell at drink server in your luarxy box “he always blows it there why not try something else, he needs to come in with the lead..” just like we yell at the blog. And then you see Sweeny pinch hit and you know he will make an out just like we do. Don’t you wonder why it’s done like that? Joe will tell you thats baseball, Saito is my best guy and plus if I don’t bring him it will shake his confidence. Sweeney needs ABs to get going and is the best all time pinch hitter in baseball and if i dont go to him before DY he will looose confidence. He trusts his guys and all the other old school nonsense you guys are selling these days. Oh my gosh look guys our lovable Kent was so old school last night, he is back man. he is the man, 3 hole hitter getting 3 hits in one game for the second time all year. to raise avg to . 256 woo hoo. almost on base now at .295…oh heck yeah, i knew he’d come around…look at that ops, look at it. creeping towards .715…oh man thats great..old school how he takes his ABs like a proffesional hitter…and Jones will be back soon and so will Furcal (were waiting, we have sent the memo LOUD and CLEAR out to fans and internal org-including players: we can win, but only with them and dont worry they will be back soon) which along with Schmidt will belive it when they are actually playing (ah, hem Nomar)
I dont know if anyone answered sarah’s comment about the picture but only Andre & Blake made it out, I’m guessing Russell didnt go because he was playing later on at night…
thanks for that info iheartaethier16- I can tell by your sign-in name that you are and Ethier fan – yes? I am a huge fan myself. Have you been on here before? If not, welcome!!! It gets a little crazy here at times, but it’s all in good fun and we have the same passion – Dodger Baseball 🙂
thank you dnelson, no I’ve never been on here before but I do read the blogs to get updated & to see the lineups for the day and everything else…. After reading everyones comments I decided to join in on the ned, torre, frank, pierre, proctor, disabled vets bashing… or rather the truth we fans see but torre n them choose to ignore.
Yes, Andre would be the love of my life haha… he is a great player along with the rest of the rookies but (as long as we have these old wrinkly men who think they know it all about baseball just cus they’re old and wise) I feel we’ll never get to see them prove that..
iheartaethier16 – well, you’ve come to the right place -that’s all we’ve been talking about is our management and their inability to do anything with a shread of common sense. We are pretty much all for the youth on this board, as you can tell by the frequent rampages many of them go on, including myself. There are about 5 females on this board (me being one of them) and we do a pretty good job of mixing baseball knowledge with girl stuff too (ie. shaved/unshaven, hair, eyes (Andre’s of course), etc. ) They boys on this board are pretty good about either ignoring or some prefer to play along with the idea that we feel some of them are cuties (and outright gorgeous, too). Speaking of – I am assuming you saw the picture of Andre and Blake at the ceremony – Andre was looking very, very good that day.