First-half finale
I’m just logging in to post the lineup and saw all the comments that refer to one particular fan’s comments that were out of line. I can’t find them, so I’m assuming that MLB went through and pulled them out.
But, I have to say, I continue to be amazed at how much profanity some of you use on the boards and it’s actually a lot of you who are the regular posters. I just don’t think it’s that hard to get your point across without swearing. We all get upset at losses and it’s fair game to disagree with moves that are made in game, signings, trades, etc. But it’s easy to say in a manner that doesn’t ruin the site for others. And that goes for asterisks, too. We all know what you’re trying to say and it’s not any better when you do it that way, but I simply don’t have the time to police you all. There’s too much other work to be done during the day and the few who ruin it for many can hopefully learn to be a little more mature. I, for one, would greatly appreciate it.
That’s about all I can say on that topic…
Here’s today’s lineup…
Kemp, RF
Ethier, LF
Martin, C
Nomar, SS
Jones, CF
Loney, 1B
LaRoche, 3B
Maza, 2B
Billingsley, P
Inside the Dodgers 
So the Nomore leadoff experiment lasted a game…typical of Torre.
It would be nice to not have to check this site for the lineup everyday…
Oh, and hi guys, long time reader 1st time poster!
Drop Jones to 7th, and move Loney up and it would not be a bad lineup. Putting Jones at 5 with a sub .200 BA and coming from a 5 strikeout game is ridiculous. I just don’t understand the method behind the madness. If Matt Kemp was batting .170 and had a 5 strikeout game he would be back in AAA.
LMAO!!!! I am so glad you were the first one to post 🙂
As seen by the first comment, Josh, sometimes it doesn’t matter if you ask nice or not, some folks just don’t get it.
But thanks for trying, anyway.
Get a clue guys and try respecting each other for a chnage.
Uh, if anyone but Jones was hitting .170 and coming off a 5 strike out game they would at least be riding pine…
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! With this lineup but Joe T doesn’t have much to work with.
Enchanted I see you respond well to others. When asked to remove profanity you get a first post with it huh? I guess you would prefer hey remove the blog and everyone lose out.
Welcome rgardnerv!
Don’t worry erik, this blog will be here long after I’ve come and gone.
How did Dejesus do in the futures game???? I saw him out there, but didn’t really have a chance to watch it…
Jeff Francuer from the Braves had a 230 something average and they sent him down to AA to figure things out. So, it can be done or has it already and it just didn’t work for Andruw? One must wonder where he was this whole time because as much as I am not a JP supporter, I have seen him more in the dugout than I ever did with Andruw. Even after Ethier’s homerun last night, who do you see Andre talking to, non other than JP himself. I don’t care what Torre says, Andruw is not helping this team right now.
Welcome RG!! Jones batting 5th is simply wrong. Geez!!!!
It’s the power of anonymity, Josh. I doubt many posters would say most of their comments to the people that they actually direct them to! I’m all on board for sometimes not feeling like I am still sitting in the left pavilion when I come one here! 🙂 I’m just sayin!
Today’s lineup makes about as much sense as last night’s. Gains points for replacing Nomar at leadoff with Kemp. Loses points for having Maza anywhere near a major league field. Basically, I’m looking forward to the Curacao Cow (sorry, don’t know how to create the copyrights symbol) destroy rallies again.
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Josh, for my part I will try to cut down on my ***, but as E points out with JoJo the Clown running the show and the Sith Lord Colletti behind the scenes it ain’t easy refraining.
I worry not, this is not the only place in the www like it. However, I think it is nice to respect things that are not yours. This is not your blog, you would not walk into someones house and urinate on the floor would you?
if it was Jone’s house….yes
BTW – welcome rgardnerv!!!
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DeJesus was 2 for 3 last time I checked.
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Also, the lineups usually show up on Dodger Thoughts first.
Oh, yeah, jhail. In keeping with new board standards all I can say is, “Golly, Joe Torre, I surely am baffled by Andruw Jones batting 5th. Jeepers, don’t you think he should bat lower in the order? Heavens to Betsy!!
For those of you ready to pipe in concerning our manner of expression, rarely if ever do I find our regular bloggers using profanity openly or disguised to each other. We reserve those pithy comments strictly for the a**h*** management of this team, and the higher up the more appropriate they seem to be. So, if you can’t put up with that, Fu Q too, Josh included.
Jones 5 K’s last night. Is that the platinum? After the golden sombero?
When I look at Jones in the 5th spot wouldn’t it work out better? It’s kind of like he’s lost in the mix.
Maybe the diamond sombero?
Josh,
You have to realize that people use profanity for two reasons: (1.) to compensate for their lack of ability to articulate a position by the normal use of proper English; and (2.) to mask their lack of intelligence through the use of bombastic words.
On my blog, I simply delete their posts.
biddyboo, I think it would be better if Jones was lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
mark@ladodgertalk. Just visited your site. Noticed not a lot of comments.
Just think of Jones as the comic relief. Thats what I do.
The whole world knows he’s going to get a breaking ball low and away…except him…
I know I know, MLK, but obviously there is no other way around Jones! They’re going to play him regardless if Pierre is in there or not. We have to find a spot for him unless us bloggers have the money to pay off the guy to go away!
Actually for all those concerned, the blog itself asterisks (censors if you will) what it deems inappropriate language. The fact that it lets certain words through must therefore be assumed to be acceptable to MLBlog.
There you go, Rgard! Make some spanking lemonade with that sour lemon!
This whole team is comic relief except for Russ!
I really thought his knee was the issue and after his return we would see improvement but nothing yet. Maybe Mattingly can help.
In addition, I must also assume that the concept of sardonic humor escapes certain readers.
rgardnerv, Welcome!! I’d like to think of Not-as-Fat Andruw as the comic relief, but JoJo the Clown is already filling that role.
Trust me the hitting coach can only help to a certain point. Donnie Baseball can’t even help this team. We just need to upgrade at many positions except catcher!
Jones is keeping me watching the Dodgers. Not quite for the reasons Ned was hoping for though.
Can he strike out 6 times?????? If everyone else gets hot, I think he can pull it off.
Scurtis, I agree upgrades are needed. I think the team needs to realize that not all of the young players on this team are allstar capable or hall of famers. Trades are part of the game, some players are home grown but teams need trades if they want to be competitive. Unfortunately not all trades have worked our for this team. And it might mean a change at the top is needed.
Erik, I agree, change at the top is necessary. NED must GO!
Don’t get me wrong, I like the players, they are quality, but just don’t fit together well on one team. Too many singles hitters.
So who should we trade??? And for what?
I liked the idea of trading Laroche, but not for a Sabbathia rental…
Obviously we need a shortstop, but who’s to be had? Do you really want Jack Wilson or Eckstein before even trying Dejesus? I mean, Dewitt made the jump, why can’t he?
If we could dump payroll and support our young guys with a competent manager and Veterans that aren’t Jeff Kent, we may have a shot…next year…
right on messagebear!!!!!!!
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mlk – didn’t we have this happen to us a while back when we were said to be too negative, too?
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josh – with all due respect, there’s nothing positive about this team right now other than the core young players (Martin, Loney, Kemp,Ethier, DeWitt and LaRoche) who are continuallly put down for not being the professional players that we all here know they are (stats are NOT lying). Not only that, but the veterans are being paraded around like they are the best thing that has happened to this team. Once again, stats don’t lie. There is something completely wrong with this thinking, and the frustration in the idiotic decisions is just getting worse. Language or not, this is not what the true fans have envisioned for this team. There is too much young talent at stake for the sake of a few veterans to prove they can be the worse than they can be, which in that regard, the vets are doing an outstanding job in justifying how awful they can be at the present time.
Trading for temporary use of players is not an answer unless we were on the verge of greatness, and frankly we are not there. I like the idea of trading a package that has the expiring contract of D Lowe. I don’t think we plan on re-signing him and we might as well get something for a post season capable starter. We need to decide if we want DeWitt or LaRoche, and then the other one is expendable. I was not convinced by Hu, and any other pitching prospect other than Kershaw.
Well, erikooms, since two of your three first post on this site were to lecture all us foulmouthed hooligans (and in particular our most creative poster), perhaps you could enlighten us as to which of our young players is not “allstar (sp.) capable”? Not saying there aren’t any candidates. But you seem to know all, so please do enlighten us.
From the last thread: I, for one, have never seen as precipitous a decline as the one we are witnessing in Jones. Granted, the man’s numbers had declined the past couple of seasons but noone could have predicted this. The players mentioned earlier, Rob Deer (a poor man’s Dave Kingman) and Dave Nicholson, were never at the talent or achievement level as Jones. Mcgwire’s performance problems were injury-related, as I recall. Clearly, the man is a total mess, athletically, and, I’m sure, emotionally. He’s of no help to us from an offensive standpoint. Even if we offered to pay all of his salary, no GM with any brains would take him in a trade. Given these circumstances, management needs to give him a reality check : you will accept a demotion to the minors in order to see if you can get your stroke back or we pay you off and release you. Caveat: this is what SHOULD happen. But, eventually, as Andruw’s failures and the boos increase, even the clueless JoJo & the Nedster will not be able to ignore the problem forever. I could almost feel sorry for the guy if he didn’t have such an obscenely large paycheck and actually looked like he gave a damn. I mean, throw a batting helmet, break a bat, destroy a Gatorade cooler, anything. IMO, he’s always been able to rely on his immense talent all during his career and has never had to deal with long-term adversity. Facing it now, he doesn’t have the skills to deal with it.
By seeskybout2rain@comcast.net on July 13, 2008 11:53 AM
I never professed to know all, I simply expressed my opinion like all of you. I just don’t attack people at random. More of my thoughts… LaRoche needs more playing time, Martin needs more real days off. I think he is our best player and we need to protect him from himself. Hu, LaRoche, DeWitt, Abreu, and even Either are not AllStars. I am a huge fan of Either, but I don’t think he will be an Allstar. Kemp has potential, are we willing to wait for it to happen or do we want to spin it into something now? I say we wait on him as we are not a contender now anyway.
RG, great point. All these self absorbed a**holes come on wanting to trade for players that will make this a winning team. However, they’re either too stupid to realize that Ned has made a bigger mess than 1 or 2 players is going to fix; and/or they think these great players just grow on trees. The players your trying to trade for are just not available. Teams don’t let them get away. Duh!!!!
if Stats are what you are looking at, you can erase Laroche and Dewitt off your list there. Dewitt has what, 10 rbi’s in two months? if that? and he’s hitting .250…not really lighting it up. And how many shots have we given Laroche since the end of last year?
I would like to see him play everyday for awhile though, so he can actually find a groove…
Oh, I see the very wise erikooms has anticipated my question with his enlightened us with his magic wisdom.
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Dude, ever heard of a “Second Louie”? That’s a guy who is about ten seconds out of Officer Candidate School (boot camp for officers) and doesn’t know that he doesn’t know anything. He barges onto the scene and starts bossing people around, and acting all high and mighty. “Second Louie” is not a very popular guy.
Oh and I think Loney needs to remain the future of our 1st base. He is already showing what he is capable of and he should not be traded for anyone.
Torre needs to be fired. Ned needs to be fired.
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Mattingly has a hell of a job before him. If he could get Jones to hitting again and this team as a whole cut down on their swings with runners in scoring position and just make contact we could score a lot more runs.
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I’m tired of watching Matt back away from pitches inside that are strikes. Stay in there and pill the ball down the left field line. He backs away like a 10 year old kid at bat for the first time.
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I’m sick of watching this team underperform and the kids are not playing up to their potential in my opinion, even though it’s early. Management has a hell of a job before them.
seesky – so true – I just wish he would show some emotion, but the fact that he clearly has nothing to worry about gives him no motivation to be upset, unlike Kemp or Ethier who clearly show that emotion through their broken bats and thrown helmets. They both, as much as we’ve been told, that Jones and JP will be in the lineup, so what do they truly have to compete with than each other. It should be the other way around – Jones and JP should be bowing to Kemp and Ethier for helping them win the games they have because they certainly haven’t won any games because of them.
Who have I bossed around? What have I done? I seem to be the one getting attacked. Apparently my point of view is not popular with you. Maybe we should take your method and wave all vets and promote all of the Vegas team?
To say Kemp is better than Ethier just boggles my mind too! Kemp has how many strikeouts? Ethier has more dingers and constantly puts up great 10+ pitch at-bats and can go opposite field for power…
Ethier is Kemps equal if anything…trade speed for patience at the plate…and he’s left handed to boot!
I never said Ethier was less than Kemp I said Kemp has a better shot at being an AllStar. Do you see Ethier hitting 30+ homers or stealing 50+ bases. Stats get you into the AllStar. He is an extreally good ballplayer and should be our LF pierre or no pierre.
I say sit the Vets who are not performing. Send Jones to Vegas. He’ll pass waivers. Who the hell would want his salary. We wouldn’t lose anything anyway. JP is not performing. Jones is not performing. Kent performs now and then. Does Torre ever talk to his players. All I ever see is him leaning on the railing like he could care less.
DeWitt and LaRoche are on that list because the last time I checked, they are still doing pretty well considering how are PVLs are performing right now. I agree, LaRoche needs playing time 🙂
Yep ML, a butter bar. Need some good non-coms to show them the ropes since they still have mama’s milk on their breath and don’t even know it.
No great manager in the history of baseball could lead this Dodgers team anywhere.
boblee, I agree. I think Torre needs to get more energy into the team and he needs to lead by example. I never see him emotional.
Quite frankly, outside of Saito, Biemel, Kuroda (who really is a veteran) and maybe Kent, there isn’t one veteran on this squad worth keeping.
Lets take up a collection to get a plane ticket for Torre to go back to New York. ( A one way ticket)
Nomar has done well since returning, but the question is for how long until he breaks down again. But I agree enchanted, the vets are holding the team back, but it is also are they put in a position to succeed?
erikooms,
“Enchanted I see you respond well to others. When asked to remove profanity you get a first post with it huh? I guess you would prefer hey remove the blog and everyone lose out.” — erikooms
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When I referred to “our most creative poster” above, I meant (with all due respect to our many other very creative posters) Enchantedsunset. I don’t know how long you’ve been reading this blog, but it has been incredibly creative over the last several months particularly in the area of song parodies. Among the songwriters enchanted has been, I believe, the most prolific. See here: http://comment.mlblogs.com/search?tag=enchanted&IncludeBlogs=1821
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I guess I get a little defensive when some newbie comes on and makes sarcastic remarks to someone who has contributed so much.
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That said, Welcome to the Board! I will be looking forward to your future contributions. If you have any songwriting talent, or even if you don’t, join us in our songwriting insanity. It’s fun!
Hello all. I used to post alot in this blog. But like what Josh just said, some of you guys can get rude. It’s just not fun coming here. Well I come to check out the lineup or thoughts by Josh and leave.
Don’t let the door hit you Roberto.
I have been reading this blog for a while and I agree enchanted is a great contributor to this list but when someone is asked in a professional way by the moderator of this here blog and chooses to use the first post to counter act the request of the blogs owner is this a good example for the others?
I could see Ethier hitting 30+…he’s never had consistent enough playing time to judge how many he could hit in a year… When he first came up he played half a season, then the next year he was platooned with kemp, now this year he’s being platooned again yet still has 10?
Ethier can be an all-star if they let him play.
That said, Kemp can be too. It’ll be much easier for him as well.
As for JP, hes pretty much put up his career numbers…can’t knock him for being who he is, he just doesn’t fit in our outfield until Jones gets shipped off.
nelly– Even if a secure position is a given, personal pride in his performance should make him upset, if nothing else does. The fact that Ethier & Kemp are the better players and should be playing is not in dispute. All I’m suggesting is a way to get some resolution for a bad situation. Jones needs a kick in the A** (there I go with the asterisks again) to convince him that his career is on the line instead of leaving him in the lineup and killing this team’s ability to compete.
Hey jhall It never hits me. It happens often to you huh ?
Lighten up Erik. If you’ve been around for any length of time, you’d recognize E’s creative humor. We may use a few curse words, but they are generally very mild and not sexual and vulgar in nature. Geez, you’d think somebody just p*ssed on your leg.
Wow, MartinLoneyKemp breaking out his army days.
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Josh is probably right, that there is quite a bit of profanity here. It gets *’d out by the censors, which is fine too, but it’s usually not necessary.
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But like I said yesterday, there are times when things are so bad, that it’s the only way to express the profanity we see from the team.
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Everyone–everyone!–from boneheads liike Plashke, to hard-heads like Simers, to good guys like Tony Jackson; from coaches, old guys, young guys; everyone says that we lack consistency. Wouldn’t the same line-up three days in a row go toward some consistency. How many different line-ups 1-8 has Torre used this year? Has anyone kept track? How many times has he used the saem 1-8? I am pretty sure that there has not been more than 3 days in a row.
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Yes, going back to Kemp leading off and not Nomar is good, but why, why, is Loney hitting behind a strikeout machine like Andruw Jones.
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Kemp
Ethier
Martin
Kent
Loney
Nomar
Jones
LaRoche/DeWitt
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Why not use that line-up for like 2 weeks and see how it goes? And when Kent gets a rest, Maza can hit 8th and everyone moves up a notch (or Andy plays second). When Russell gets a rest, Ardoin hits 8th, and everyone moves up a notch. It’s actually not the line-up card I would make out (Andruw would be hitting 8th, if at all), but it at least makes sense.
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You want the kids to be consistent–then you need to be consistent to start.
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It’s called leadership.
True, I believe if Ethier plays 162 games he has the ability of 30 homers. I like his game more than Kemp.
Very well said MLK!! enchanted is one of the cornerstones of this blog, and he deserves better respect than that.
When I saw the re-activeness of our lineups I cannot understand how a manager thinks. If Kemp was too inconsistent yesterday to be our leadoff hitter, him hitting one HR makes him more consistent today. Its like me playing MLB08 the show, altering the line up cuz of one hit. Kemp should have been leadoff yesterday as well.
Side note, notice most of our HR are solos? I cannot remember the last HR we hit with a man on base.
That’s the lineup I wish we can use for the rest of the year leekfink.
Yep Berto. Cause I don’t just pop in, make a snide comment, and run off. Seek help self absorbed one. Your issues obviously go deeper than the way we blog here.
Wow did I miss something on here? What’s the fighting about?
What needs to happen with Jones (and Sweeney too) is that Ned needs to swallow some pride and DFA the guy. If he can’t do that, then it falls to Jojo’s common sense not to play him. The fact that neither can perform their jobs means Jones makes a mockery out of the whole organization.
I already stated that E is a great addition to this blog, and the thoughts he shares more often than not echo my own. I was just put off by the lack of respect for the blog’s operators requests. And that is where I will leave this topic.
hey jhall, I’m here.
And we thought Phew was lousy!!! Jones is a wreck.
Profanity doesn’t bother me on this blog as it gets bleeped out but the posts last night from the 2 gay Sombreros made me exit out of the blog and find something else to do. Sorry, but we don’t need that on this great Blog..
enchanted I agree. And I think when Pierre returns his name should be on that short list as well. Why pay these guys to hurt the team. I would send Jones to AAA and then bring him up for one last shot before he hits waivers. That would let him know he is guarantied a job.
Decided to hang around, eh? Must not be such a bad bunch afterall.
“What needs to happen with Jones (and Sweeney too) is that Ned needs to swallow some pride and DFA the guy”
Oh you live in a fantasy world huh ? That will never happen.
Kemp may have struck out over a 100 times but is still hitting .280 with a solid RBI clip. If Jones numbers were the same I think none of use would have issue with him in the 5 hole.
scurtis1999 said:
“Wow did I miss something on here? What’s the fighting about?”
NEWSFLASH!!! The Dodgers are losing (not that Ned and Joe are making matters any better by continually repeating their insane ways)… that’s what the fighting is about.
No, it’s not a bad bunch but it used to be better.
Again, erikooms, welcome to the blog! ‘Nuff said about that.
“What needs to happen with Jones (and Sweeney too) is that Ned needs to swallow some pride and DFA the guy”
Oh you live in a fantasy world huh ? That will never happen.
By Roberto on July 13, 2008 12:49 PM
Stating a fact is not living in a fantasy world #1 and he never stated that it would happen #2. Get off your high horse.
seesky – I totally agree with you on everything you said. I just had the chance to sit up close during the Braves series and paid attention to reaction, and you are right, Andruw has no reaction to him having bad at bats, and it does need to change.
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I am one of the biggest Ethier supporters on this board, and I can even say that he will make an excellent ball player, but I am also realistic in the all-star status. However, my fandom of him is more of the ultimate underdog syndrome. Yes, I am a girl and I like what he looks like,too (every regular here knows I think that), but I also think of him as the utltimate underdog on this team. He has been the underdog for most of his baseball career, even dating back to his college days, and he has always proved coaches and management wrong and come out better because of it, and he will tell that to anyone who asks him. So, to say he’s an all-star – probably not, but I have no doubts that he will do something to prove all of us wrong once again, not that he has to prove anything to me personally because I know he is a tremendous athlete and will always be a spectacular ball player.
Thanks MartinLK… I hope we can put that behind us.. I too wish for the best for the team. I hope we can go into the all star break with a win. Though the sour taste of a four game losing streak might add some drive to the guys.
dnelly, well said about Jones as he walks away. He almost smirks and it gets to me at times. Though he did make two catches yesterday that others might not have made.
I was actually talking about the profanity issue.
The Ned thing has been going on for 2 years now.
Seriously jhall, how can someone even make a dumb statement like that ? It will never happen ! I wish we can get rid of Jones but it won’t happen. Why do you ask ? 36 million dollars. It’s not fantasy baseball.
Is anyone watching the Reds/Brewers? I want to know how far CC hit his 2nd homerun of the year?
There’s profanity and then there’s the crude, vulgar garbage that was spewed all over this blog last night. That offended me much more than any of the mild profanity that the regular bloggers, myself included, have employed from time to time. But what do I know? According to Jon, I have a low vocabulary.
Wow Im glad I wasnt here last night, I was too busy at one hell of a bar party having a good time and then just laughed when I saw the low lites on baseball tonight.
So DeJesus went 2-3 with a walk. Nice.
There are two (relatively) good things about the Andruw contract:
1) It’s “only” $36 million.
2) It’s only two years.
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This is relatively good because the Nedster could easily have saddled the team with a 5-year contract for up to $90 million for guys who will be almost as bad as Andruw in three years from now and still clogging up their teams roster (see Torii Hunter and especially Aaron Rowand).
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P.S. If anybody wants one free slug, come on over. I strongly advocated for the acquisition of Andruw, and I’ve got it coming.
What’s dumb about it? It is just a statement of what he believes, as well as many others, should happen. He never professed that it would occur.
That’s the lineup I wish we can use for the rest of the year leekfink.
By Roberto on July 13, 2008 12:43 PM
Its like this statement by you earlier. Since it is not going to happen, does that make it dumb?
I mean, mark@dodger talk.
Martin I agree and tell the same thing to a friend at work. It’s only a two year deal.
I didn’t think it was a good trade for Brewers in getting CC. I think it’s going to haunt them for trading LaPorta. Plus I think it’s the Cubs division.
erik – that’s what any Braves fan will tell you, and believe me, I heard it all three days “He’s got the golden gloves to prove it, and we didn’t love him for his hitting, but for his glove” blah,blah, blah – well he wasn’t hitting .170 with you ethier (either).
Of course we want Jones out, but you know you can’t dfa him, why say it ?
dnelly this is true, if he would have hit .170 in Atlanta he would not be here now. I love how the fans cheer him with the catches and boo the at bats.
ARI down 6-2 in the ninth.
ML, the Jones deal was actually a pretty good risk. The guys only 31 or 32 and at worst, we figured to get a .225 BA, 25 HR, and 90 RBI. No one thought he would or could be this bad.
DeJesus!!
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Last year’s Futures Game MVP was Hu?
I don’t know.
I just told you.
Who?
That’s right.
What?
No, Hu.
nelly– if Jones had been hitting .170 in Atlanta, Bobby Cox would have had him in the minors even faster than he did Francoeur.
That was a nice game by DeJesus today. The kid looked good.
Why not say it? It’s the same as you stating that you’d like to see a lineup everyday that won’t happen. Wishful thinking. And by the way, they can DFA anyone they want.
Wow.
I hope the Marlins win the World Series because we surely aren’t.
Wow Nomar! Nice play
seesky/erik – no kidding!! I thought Francoeur had went on the DL, and when I found out he went to AA, the first person I thought of was Andruw lol!!
It must be frustrating to pitch for the dodgers, you know after 2 runs you are probably going to lose.
Of course they can DFA anyone they want, but it won’t happen. McCourt is not going to eat 36 million dollars.
dnelly, I just wonder how long they can employ the “he will work out of it” approach. After two 11 inning games I am surprised to see Martin out there.
that was a nice play by nomar.. i think his range is improving day by day.. which is good.. i don’t like him in the cleanup spot.. but i want him to stay healthy and keep doing well so the kids don’t get traded for a shortstop..
things like this scare me:
“FWIW, Mitch Poole was in the process of putting together a Dodgers jersey with the last name “Wilson” on the back. He made a Clemens one last year with the trading deadline coming up.”
mitch poole is one of the dodger equipment guys.. and the fact that he’s getting a jack wilson jersey ready scares the crap out of me.. that’s from the PE blog..
A week or so ago, I was pushing DeJesus so much, I was thinking I was his agent.LOL….great play by Nomar. Just like 200l. LOL.
I’m with you Scurtis. I’m rooting for a Marlins/Rays world series matchup. Has anyone watched the Rays this year ? Man those guys have fun. Even when they lose they look like they are having fun. Too bad, the Dodgers don’t have fun out there.
Wow, that’s scary. Wilson coming folks lol
Agreed Roberto. They won’t DFA him. However, you stated that; they can’t DFA him.
I don’t know if wilson is the answer, though we do need to think about **** for this year and beyond. I don’t know if they will give Furcal a contract with DL stints this year and last.
Roberto, yup that would be awesome, but I doubt those 2 teams will be in contention in September. They will end up with good records but won’t have the firepower down the stretch.
why did it mark out SS
erik – hopefully it only lasts until JP gets back or things will get very interesting to say the least. Unless Kemp and E
now that’s an actual infield hit.. not that generous scoring crap that nomar got last night..
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Promote DeJesus and alternate him with Nomar, keeping Nomar fresh & lessening the pressure on DeJesus. Why trade for **** now when you can get the same guys for less during the FA period?
I’d like to see what DeJesus can do in the majors.
Wow chill Sara lol haha
Why do they bleep out the abbreviation for shortstop?
Oh I did ? Sorry about that. Yeah you can dfa him but it won’t happen. lol
sorry – was trying to watch game and post at the same time. What I meant to say is the Unless Kemp and Ethier take a major slump before then, it will look pretty ridiculous to have Andruw out there with Kemp or Ethier sitting, but I do realize at this point much of it is wishful thinking.
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nice at bat Andre!!! Way to battle back and get the walk.
That’s one of the great falacies that our management constantly plays – once you pay the big bucks to someone like Andruw, he’s locked into playing no matter how inadequate that may be. Essentially you compund a mistake of signing him in the first place by insisting that his renewed stroke is just around the corner, thereby not only paying out the huge bucks, but by letting him ruin the season as well. If Andruw is going to get paid $36 million anyway, which is better – that he be in the lineup every day striking out at an unprecedented rate and producing nothing, or replacing him with someone who might hit even a modest .240, knock in some runs along the way, and win a few games for you. Seems like simple logic to me, but I know it rarely happens that way when you have the big contract. Just ask the Mariners and the couple of years wasted in a similar manner with Sexton.
I’m sorry about mentioning Sexton. I just might be bringing him to Ned’s attention, and then where will we all be.
Nice AB by Martin to work a walk.
SS
erik – this thing is very strange. I have had words bleeped out that mean nothing.
see what nomar does with the clean up spot and the bases loaded.
bases loaded, no out.. just like yesterday.. i guess we’ll be seeing jones again with runners on.. unless nomar hits a slam (doubt it).. we shall see..
i can only think that torre is trying to protect jones with loney.. but no one can protect jones.. because he can’t protect himself from himself..
Nomore with bases loaded…oh boy
haha.. vinny called miller “the stringbean”.. vinny is so funny sometimes..
nice! a run on uggla’s mistake!
I just got it. an “a” followed by two” s’s”
Nomore is not a clean up hitter. Error by marlins.
It only bleeps SS if you an “a” before it even with the space.
What an error that was – nice luck Nomar, but we will take it:)
3-1… I bet he rips hard.
Andruw with bases loaded…oh boy lol
nice RBI.. Sarcastically said.
wow andruw took some pitches!! i will take it.. nice job andruw!
that’s weird erik
Nice swing.. I love watching Loney Hit.
Okay – he got a walk 🙂
nice loney!
nomar and jones got gift RBIs.. but loney earned his!
Loney time !
Say it, MLK.
My Loney has a first name,
It’s J-A-M-E-S
My Loney has a second name,
It’s L-O-N-E-Y
I love to watch him every day
And if you ask me why I’ll say
‘Cause James Loney has a way
With H-I-T-T-I-N-G!
By leefink and martinloneykemp
Now LaRoche has more RBIs then HRs
boy that’s a great bunt! way to get in the run anyway you can maza..
6 runs in the first inning ! The end of the world !
sorry MLK!! I had already to go lol!!!
Playing the team with the most HRs does anyone feel safe at 6-1?
CC has the same homerun than Jones lol.
That’s got to be the weirdest squeeze play I’ve ever seen.
forgot the word “it” – sorry 🙂
OMG 6 run inning. Im at a loss for words.
VERY NICE INNING BOYS!! COME ON BILLZ!!!!!
I gotta run to work. Keep it up Blue.
Nice catch…
Wow, we needed that.
We were overdue for a couple of breaks.
when russell tried to catch that foul popup right now.. i was reminded of the hitmatrix commercial with andre ethier.. “the sun is your friend.. you may think you’re going blind.. but you’re not!” haha.. has everyone seen that?
Where those runs in the last 2 games esp when we need only 1 run in the botton of the 9 the last 2 games. I’m still piss odd that Marmol going to the all star game as Wood replacement and I think Kuo should’ve been picked but I guess is because the Cubs have a better record.
No, I haven’t
The one game that is not on Kcal today and they scored 6 runs. I watch them on Kcal the last 2 night.
Wow, pretty funny in here today! As for Josh’s post, there’s a big difference between a few sh**s with an asterisk and the tripe those idiots were posting last night, with references to the male anatomy and the “fun” they’d like to have with same. My ten-year-old son wanted to post last night–for the first time, I might add–and I wouldn’t even let him see the blog.
There seems to be a lot of talk about DeWitt vs. La Roche. I remember back in ’72 or ’73 the Dodgers had this guy named Garvey who couldn’t field third base to save his life. But EVERY time he was called on to pinch hit, he crushed the ball. Alston soon found a place for him. DeWitt grabbed his chance, too. LaRoche, however, can’t seem to find it. The Dodgers DO NOT owe him two weeks in the starting line-up. If LaRoche can’t grab the brass ring in limited opportunites, well, too bad for him. Sorry, LaRoche lovers…
Yeah I hate to say this but I am safe but only if Bills doesn’t explode in the 5th innings again.
Kemp = fantasy stud
How come piss didn’t get **?
terrible day when the dodgers score 6 runs in an inning.
these guys need to lose to go to 45-50 before the break. enter the second half on a bad note..then hopefully get swept by the d backs and then good bye ned!!!
this is rediculous…the DODGERS used to be a MODEL FRANCHISE…the angels have taken our way of building through the system and winning with pitching and defense and of course timely hitting. and not only have the angels used this method…that team in florida..the rays…anyone ever heard of them?? well their manager joe maddon worked for years with mike scioscia and the angels system and now he has taken the angels philosophy..which used to be THE DODGERS..and now the rays are winning…with what you ask?? pitching and defense…and of course timely hitting.
THE DODGER WAY is all but dead…i fear that it will never return..20 years of this and counting. i hope on day someone will make a movie about the dodgers and their fall from being one of the greatest sports franchises of all time to what they are now…a team that has a GM who is a giant…and manager who is a yankee and a money driven owner who is from boston…you know there is a reason why there are more and more articles about how the dodgers are not what they used to be…and they keep coming in bunches more every year that goes by.
Who needs JP?
scurtis, from above.. what do i need to chill about?
I sense a Lurch sighting soon!
I guess Detriot knew what they was traded to get Miggy/Willis to bad it didn’t work out yet. I guess all Kemp need was to take a day off in that lead off spot.
This guy is still allowed to post.
sara, oh laying off the 1st inning single of Nomar’s last night! That was a hit! lol
enchanted – we definitely don’t need JP, but unfortunately we are stuck with him for, what – another 3 years -ugghh!!
JoJo needs Phew E!!! Precious and few are the moments they can share. LOL!!!!
Was there ever a doubt as to what Andruw would do this time?
dnelly, go to http://www.hitmatrix.com.. scroll to the bottom and click on hardball made easy w/ ron stilanovich.. there are links for the commercials.. they are all hilarious.. andre made one, and matt kemp has one too.. you should watch them..
You’re right, kpookie. Dewitt got his opportunity and made the most of it. Nobody is owed anything in this game.
Miller’s biggest mistake was walking Andruw. He should have tossed it underhand right over the plate.
Oh, I don’t think we need Andruw ethier (either), but there is love for him, too LOL!!!
oh haha.. alright scurtis.. i was at the game last night so i didn’t get replays.. but we in the stands all thought it was very generous scoring..
LURRRCH!!!!!
Different joey shad.
sara- I’ve seen those commercials and they are all hilarious.
How does Florida win with Lurch and Gonzo? We couldn’t…
btw, jhall, boy are you super irritated and argumentative today.. haha 🙂
It’s official. A Lurch sighting.
How badly do you guys want to see us unload on LURCH!!!
I’d rather see Bills come inside on Gonzo.
LOL Sara!! Nobody messes with E!!!
sara – I have seen those – I thought those were different – they are very funny!! 🙂
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shad – there’s a big difference between the two joey’s.
yeah, the commercials are funny.. i thought you would have seen them dnelly.. i was surprised that you may not have..
way to defend jhall.. you’re like the protective brother.. and the bullies won’t mess with any of ya’ll anymore.. haha
sara – the new ones don’t know how valued enchanted is around here so they need to be careful about who they are talking about. We would do the same for you. 🙂
LOL!!!!
Definately Nelly.
i know you would. thanks guys.
yay maza~!
WAY TO GO BILLZ!!!!!! KEEP IT UP, YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!
See, we have no problems staying positive for those doing positive things. Billz is a definite positive around here. 🙂
If the dodgers respected us as fans and maybe one more than one playoff game in 20 years it’s possible that that people wouldn’t be so annoyed.
Josh Andruw Jones was paid more yesterday for striking out 5 times than 95% of us here make in a year. Should we swear? No. Should we be upset. Yes. Were the highest payroll in the NL, have one all star and keep hearing about how were gonna bring back the winning tradition and it is all talk meanwhile I have been priced out of Dodger Stadium. 15 bucks to park. at least 30 for a decent seat…But I promise on my end, no more swear words.
BTW, I’d like to see LaRoche get some real playing time, but I do agree he’s not been able to seize upon any opportunities he has had.
Yep, god help them if they mess with our ITD gals.
Id like to see Kemp and LaRoche go bye bye
You have to laugh at the title of an article on Dodgers.com
” Jones working out the kinks”……Is that a joke or what?
Working out the kinks while striking out almost every at bat.
If this acquisition along with so many others doesn’t fianlly get Ned fired, I don’t know what will….Among other things, signing Andruw has HURT the Dodgers more than anything else…and now we may lose Saito…
At least Andruw is batting 5th…where he can really help the team..!!!….
The real obscenity here is this management team’s performance.
Hi everyone! I didn’t turn on the game until the top of the 2nd, looks like I missed a lot (in more ways than one) but seems like everything’s smoothed out. Winning will do that.
About the profanity, I apologize if I offend with my bluer statements (pun intended). Perhaps I should monitor my language better, I mean, I’m an English major, I should find better ways to express my frustration with our below-.500 status than to use asterisk’d out words of the four-letter Saxon variety.
As I understand it, though, Dodgers fans have always been a bit of a mouthy bunch. I’m sure much of what was said in the stands in Ebbets when the Dodgers weren’t winning wasn’t courteous (maybe with less four-lettered words, but sometimes it hurts more when something is in plain english, i.e. when Duke Snider told Hilda “Why don’t you go home and shave?”). Doesn’t excuse anything, but just a point of reference.
Didn’t mean any disrespect towards you, Josh. It’s just that us Dodgers fans are extremely passionate about our team, and the franchise has the blessing of turning out consistent 3 million attendance years regardless of the production of the team on the field. We see the Dodgers script on the jersey, and we see everyone from Cookie Lavagetto (yeah, I looked on baseball-reference.com to see who was on the team in ’40) to Mike Piazza. And when I read what is said disparingly in the media about the youth movement, and I look at the stats and what they say about their performance, compared to established players, I have to scratch my head.
And if I’m in the heat-of-the-moment, I might say things that might get astrisked. I apologize for the execution of my vocabulary in those instances, but I can’t apologize for my opinion of how this team is doing, compared to how well we might be doing if certain players played more often. Or at least, what the stats say about how well we should be doing. But isn’t that why you and the front office started this blog, to get in touch with how Dodgers fans feel about the team?
btw, wecome eriklooms. Glad to see more posters here, the more the merrier.
Thank you for your support everyone!! Right or wrong I may cuss a bit, but its never directed at anyone on here, not even JoeyP and his friends. It was also meant as sardonic humor and not as a dig or dis to Josh.
“How does Florida win with Lurch and Gonzo? We couldn’t…
By kpookiemon@aol.com on July 13, 2008 2:06 PM”
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Easy kpookiemon–Gonzo sits on the bench most of the time and Hendrickson comes out of the bullpen for mop-up work. If we had done that with Gonzo and Hendy last year, we might have won the pennant.
Well said Sky.
Good morning from Down Under .. It was great to wake up and find us way out in front for a change and “the good Bills” on the mound. It was not good news about Sammy I hope it’s not serious.
Hey Rod!! Got you a wake up lead. LOL!!!
Cy Lurch
Looks like we’re doing our best to get Lurch back in the Florida rotation.
so from this (TJ’s blog) am i to assume that after the allstar break when kent is back in the lineup, nomar will be back at the top of the lineup?
Matt Kemp is back in the leadoff spot, but only because Jeff Kent isn’t starting and Joe wanted Nomar’s bat in the middle of the lineup.
i hope not.. matty’s doing well in the leadoff spot today.. hopefully someone is taking notice..
wow, andre just made an amazing play!!
leekfink, Gonzo whined in the L.A. Times today that he’s accepted his part-time role this year because “he knew what his job would be when he signed.” He said last year he didn’t know if he’d be playing until the line-up was posted. Poor dear.
enchanted – all the regulars here know the difference between what our language is and what was happening last night. Last night’s language had nothing to do with the involvement of the game, players or management. It was just meant to get a rise out of us, in which it did, therefore, they suffered the consequences.
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Very Nice Catch Andre Ethier!!!!!!
BILLZ IS DEFINITELY GOOD BILLZ TODAY!!!!
It’s a crying shame that as well as Ethier is playing he’s going to have to fight Kemp for playing time after the break because we all know that JP comes straight back into the leadoff spot as soon as he comes off the DL. Josh will have to use all his PR skills to spin THAT as a good thing for the team.
I was stoic and even keeled when I wrote this
Forgive me if the lineup goes astray
But when I woke up this mornin’
Coulda sworn it was Nomar’s day
The sky was dodger blue
There were Bison runnin’ everywhere
Tryin’ 2 run from the destruction that Ned has built
U know I didn’t even care
‘Cuz they say two thousand zero zero party over
Oops out of time
So today I’m gonna write out a lineup like it’s 1999
I was sleeping on the top rail of the dugout when I wrote this
So sue me the kids are last
But the line-up is just a party
And line-ups weren’t meant 2 last
PVL’s are all around us
My mind says prepare 2 loose
So if I gotta die
I’m gonna watch Jones strike out 5 times tonight
Yeah, they say two thousand zero zero party over
Oops out of time
So tonight I’m gonna build a team full of players that were good in 1999
Yeah………..
Hey dnelly, are those Skins ready for the season? Cowboys can’t wait and neither can I.
maza swinging the bat well today
Outstanding Jungar!!! LOL!!!
yeah matty! 51 ribbies on the year
Wow!!! jungar – that is AMAZING!!!!!!!!
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boblee – the Skins are always ready. I may get to go see them play the 49er’s in November – they don’t come out to California too often.
I wasn’t enthralled with Kemp’s approach in that at bat. LOL!!!!
Gonzo’s a cancer disguised as a nice guy with a wide stance.
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When you sign, you know what your role is. To be part of the team. If the manager says your sitting, you sit. If he says you’re pitching, you pitch. If he says you’re going to play a different position every inning, so be it. You don’t demand closed-doormeetings with your manager and your agent, particularly if you play poorly. Do you think that Matt Kemp ever demanded that he, Dave Stewart, and the Dodger management sat down for Kemp and Stewart to point out the Kemp was a much better player.
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And there’s a great at-bat by the Bison.
amazing how Kemp at 23 gets bashed by everyone but Vinny. He makes 500k (or 450k more for the year than Jones made last night) and has 51rbi to Jones 9.
I feel the same way about Pierre Lee.
Good one jungar!!
dnelly
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I’m saving my $$$ to go see the Cowboys in 2009 in the new stadium. It’s going to be awesome.
jungar i don’t even think matty makes 500k. i’m pretty sure that russell makes 500k to lead the young guns.. andre makes like 420k.. and then everyone else was under 400k..
Nice Job Matthew!!
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Andre – nice at-bat once again 🙂
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sara – he doesn’t like walking too much ethier (either). The look on his face says “I really wanted to hit the heck out of the ball instead.” And I am sure he would have used a different word other than “heck”
Agreed Jungar, Phew is cut in the same cloth as Gonzo. Good point.
you would think with hanley out the marlins would be sad.. but amezaga has picked up right where hanley left off.. yesterday and today, he’s had some nice hits.. including backbreaking hits yesterday
Spot on jungar .. and who is one of the more prominent Kemp bashers, albeit very carefully, is our own manager. If Joe took as much time carefully analising people like Jones and Sweeney as he does Matt then I could understand his approach. As it is I can honestly say I have no idea what message Joe is trying to sell.
dnelly, who doesn’t like walking too much?
nice berroa! defensive sub? haha..
Nice play by Berroa!!
oh you may be right Sara. For some reason I thought all players on MLB rosters make 500k. Like minimum wage! rough huh! What bugs most of us Josh is we saw this last year. If it werent for the Kemps, Ethiers, Martin’s Loneys and we let Ned replace them with anyone he chooses over the age of 30 our team would be absolutley terrible and a 200 million payroll and 20 for parking. and I just don’t see how anyone can spin that with anything but mis-direction. Its like for me anyways, the whole terror alert crap from a few years ago. Are we on alert level orange right now? or yellow or do we not need the misdirection anymore (i don’t mean to get political)
Another great inning by Billz!!!!
some torre quotes about jones’ offensive performance last night.. incased in commentary by AK:
“And speaking of things goofy, Andruw Jones’ 0-5, five strikeout performance during last night’s 5-3 loss would likely qualify, but only in a “laugh to keep from crying” kinda way. Even by the .167 CF’s whiffing standard, this was a doozy. Joe Torre chalks up the flailing night as the results of a bad pregame approach. “His plan yesterday certainly didn’t work. He looked like he was jumping at everything. Hopefully that goes away today.” I asked what specifically was bad about the plan and while not much was revealed about the blueprint itself, Torre pointed out what ultimately brought on the struggles. “He never made an adjustment. That’s the one thing that all hitters need to do.” Torre reminded that, in fairness to Jones, he wasn’t supposed to be ready until after the All-Star break, so to some degree, we’re operating on bonus tune up time. But that being said, there’s only so much slack the Skip is cutting his star. “Five strikeouts in a game. I know he strikes out a lot, but that certainly wasn’t a good night.”
So, as the question always goes, how much longer can Torre afford to keep AJ in the lineup (a query, which to some degree, almost answers itself, with Juan Pierre out and Delwyn Young unproven as an everyday player, much less outfielder). “He’s going to have to perform in order for us to succeed, so we’re going to have to find a way to get him going.”
Not to sound to cynical, but good luck with that.”
We may be winning the last game before the break in the season, but, Frank
PLEASE Fire Ned,
and while you’re at it have a few words with JoJo and tell him to change his outlook with the younger players if he wants to be around for another two. PLEASE.
That’s as civil as I know how to be under sometimes very trying circumstances.
sara – I know – it was just fun watching expressions up close, and trying to figure out what they are thinking.
Minimum salary for a major leaguer is $ 390,000.
yeah jungar, i think league minimum is like 380k. i don’t think colletti or torre or the media care that the kids make league minimum.. nor does the average fan.. i think most of the chalk it up to every ballplayer has to put in his time before he can get paid.. but i care. money should be a direct correlation to performance.. and it’s not in baseball in general, but most definitely not with this team in general. it almost seems like the less you get paid, the better you are
I mean 2 runs, 3 hits, 2rbi, a steal…
That’s like a week for Juan Pierre. Ok to be fair, let’s try it. I’ll just take Pierre last 10 games:
3 runs
10 hits
2rbi
9 steals
Jungar, rockin’ the Prince. Awesome! Not one asterisk, either
dnelly, i’m confused =/
I care only when say Ethier won’t play because JP will and the reason is the contract. I have said this before but there is no way I believe that Torre believes that JP is better than Ethier.
Ace Bill!
Yep Sara, Torre’s explanation of Jones last night was freaking gibberish. C’mon, bonus tune up time. If he isn’t ready, leave him in rehab and play DY. Another load of excrement from our HOF manager.
sara – I just read those comments. He keeps referring to the fact that Andruw came back early to help with Pierre being gone. I’m sorry, but how is he helping? DY could easily do what he is doing, and we all know he could do better. So, I guess if he is not really ready to come back then maybe, like Nomar in many cases, he might go back onthe DL when JP comes back because he needs some serious help somewhere,and it’s not at this level, veteran or not. Maybe Torre needs to talk to Cox to see how he sent Francouer down to AA.
jhall, torre says so many things that make no sense.. he says whatever is convenient.. i would think that if he went back and read all his own quotes he would confuse himself.. “when did i say that? what did i even mean??”
IMO, its time for Torre to start HURTING some feelings instead of being so jiminy gosh darn (how was that??) apologetic about poor performances by PVLs.
Torre has made an excuse for Jones
Torre has made an excuse for Pierre
Torre has made a excuse for Nomar
Torre has made an excuse for Kent.
Torre is my least favorite dodger manager since Davey Johnson.
jungar was that kemp’s line for today? he actually has 2 steals, not just one.. he stole second.. and later in another at bat he stole third..
bills with 13 Ks.. i LOVE it!!
For sure Sara. I’d rather have a manager like Ozzie Guillen who would come out and say how bad he was performing, get in his fat face, and bench him regardless of what upper management wanted. I can hear him now; “the expletive guy is stinking up the expletive joint and I’m here to win expletive ball games expletive”.
yay jhall and enchanted! you guys are making your points without offending anyone! 🙂
sara – I don’t know what I was trying to say either. I think what I was trying to say was when I was at the Braves series, it was just fun seeing expressions when they either struck out, flied out or walked. I have always been somewhere on baseline by rightfield and leftfield and never really got to see all of them up close while batting. It was just fun to see the batting side of things versus the defensive part of their game.
I’ve got an excellent person to sign…. he’s old so Coletti will love him, he’s still got some speed, his glove is just so-so, and he can bat lead off….. RICKEY HENDERSON!!! hahaha
okae dnelly.. i couldn’t tell if you were just saying things to me, or responding to something i said.. and i didn’t think it could be a response to something i said.. haha 🙂 it’s always great to be close to homeplate. a better perspective of the game..
maza is really hitting the ball hard today.. i’m impressed
Give it up for Bills. The moment I first saw him pitch I knew he would be our ace soon enough. It’s here. Enjoy it. To accomplish what he is doing before turning 24 is amazing. Same with Kemp and Martin. Go find me another player at age 23 who has 50rbi, 20 steals and 20 doubles going into the all star break…are there any? How old is Grady Sizemore, he certainly comes to mind. Nah he is 25. How old is Hanley, he is 24 now and turning 25 this year. Anybody else come to mind?
My bad again Sara. Typo.
brandon – that’s funny!!! LOL!!!! At this point anybody would be better than some of these PVLs we have playing now.
i think torre should consider giving russell a couple innings off with this lead.. russell hasn’t had a legit day off in a while (playing 3rd is not a day off).. and he’s also the only one not getting an actual all-star break. he’s still going to be doing baseball stuff (which is a good thing). but he could use a couple innings. two extra inning games, and a day game after a night game. i don’t want him to regress or break down..
1 game back at all star break with all our injuries and struggles in the 1st half. I will take that. Still an average team though!
it’s cool jungar. i understand the messages you are trying to convey. well said. about everything.
Jason Schmidt today.
Today for Vegas:
2.1 IP 5 H 5 R 4 ER 3 BB 2 SO 2 HR
scurtis. we will all take it. lots of work to do still, but it’s a much better situation than we could have been in..
i do not want schmidt anywhere near my ballclub
Yup totally agree Sara 🙂
Pierre I don’t think is so bad. I know he did complain, and we had some fun with that, but, I think it was just once. Also, Pierre’s skills have not noticeably degraded like Gonzo’s. Piere is pretty much the same player he has always been. It’s just that he never was really as good as his contract and his playing time would suggest. But, in Pierre’s defense, if I signed a 5 year contract for almost $9 million per year, continued to play at near the same level, and was unquestionably one of the hardest working guys in the league, I might be confused about what just happened to me too. Expectations were just set too high for him, and in many ways, it’s not his fault.
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And Pierre was signed to play (for better or worse). Gonzo was signed to be a clubhouse leader.
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2001 Gonzo should have played every day. 2007 Gonzo should have retired.
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A note–Russell makes $500K. Matt is at $406K, Loney at $411K, Andre at $454K. Until the are eligible for arbitration, they can be paid anything, of course, but I imagine there are “slots” like there are for draft bonuses. Anyway, you can see all contract terms here:
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/2005/01/los-angeles-dodgers.html\
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Also, we can’t really demote Jones. As a veteran (5 years ML service) he has a right to reject any minor league assignment (Francouer did not). I don’t support DFA’ing him. It’s a very different situation to think that someone who played 9 great years and then really slumped would not rebound somewhat. I just would: a) have let rehab; and b) hit him 8th until he proves otherwise. I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that the injury was the cause of his disaster, and if I’m management, I am sorting betting $18 million on it. If it does not turn around, who knows.
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Also, someone mentioned Russell playing today after the marathon. Remember, 1) you want him to catch Bills (he can come out now), and we’re about to get a bunch of days off. Russell won’t play tomorrow–maybe some BP and some catch, and press, all depending on when he gets to New York tonight. Tuesday, he’ll probably squat for only three innings, and then he has Wednesday and Thursday off with the rest of the team.
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He should come out for Ardoin after he hits this inning. No need to wear him out when we don’t need his bat.
leekfink.. i commented on russell’s playing time.. i’m not saying he shouldn’t have played today. we needed a win and he needed to catch bills.. i just said he should be taken out in the later innings.. and he has yet to come out.. hopefully torre will pull him for the 9th. 1 inning of rest is better than no innings of rest.
You guys remember a guy named McKay Christensen, he was called up for us back in 2001, he only played in 28 games, but he had 16 hits in 49AB, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 7 rbi and 3 stolen bases and a 400 OBP…. Those are pretty good numbers, and he was a young guy. It stinks when you remember guys like that who played well, but just never really got the shot they deserved…. it’s weird what could happen given the right oppourtunity.
That is not good news about what Vin said about Sammy – not good at all 😦
what’d he say dnelly? i must have missed it..
I don’t like Gonzo either Lee but to be fair he was hitting
.294 /.384 /.471 /.855 the first half last year and then was benched basically…
Jungar–I was about to say that Torre is my least favorite Dodger manager, period, but you’re right, Davey Johnson was just awful. But right now, Torre is #2 with a bullet.
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Any idea how many pitches Schmid threw. Seems like a lot. Lots of walks and 2 HR suggests not much command, and not much zip.
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He does not have long left on his rehab stint (20 days is the limit) unless he conveniently suffers a new injury like he did before. But he’s clearly not ready (and not sure he evr will be).
Great Now Ned will trade Lucas May for Todd Jones.
Last night Vinny was bemoaning Kemp’s strike-outs but still amazed that he was batting .280 in spite of it. So I did a little math. If you discount Kemp’s strikeouts (and those ABs), he’s hitting .410!!! That means if he hits the ball SOMEWHERE he’s hitting over .400. Now, I’m not discounting the Ks. All I’m saying is when this 23-year-old learns to make consistent contact–and he will–the Dodgers will have a major star. But hey, I know some of you would rather have Jack Wilson or Matt Holiday…??!?!
leefink- I mentioned Francouer, and my thinking is Andruw should have stayed at his rehab assignment. If he’s not ready, he’s not ready – it can’t be any more easy than that. Our team wasn’t falling apart when JP went on the DL, and even if it did, why would you risk further injury to any player. We had Repko up here too. I guess it just goes back to the fact that we really don’t know what Torre/Ned are thinking.
More to the point nells, I believe it shows Ned and Joe aren’t.
i switched the tv over to the angels-As game for a minute because the As had basesloaded, 1 out down 1 in the bottom of the 9th.. and i needed an As victory for my fantasy team.. and i have two thoughts..
1. k-rod (who i hate) gets the benefit of more borderline calls than ANYONE
2. hudler and physioc (the angels commentators) are the biggest homers and say stupid things, and i’m glad i get to listen to vinny and not those clowns
Hud is funny!
i’m glad we salvaged one game of the series and end the 1st half only one game back. the first series back with the d’backs will be fun. that’s what baseball is about.. playing head to head games within your division with a close race going on.. fun fun fun
LOL!! yes, enchanted LOL!!!! It that logical thinking creeping in again – sorry. I keep forgetting who we are talking about.
scurtis.. sometimes he’s funny.. and sometimes he’s ridiculous
Agreed Sara. Nice to at least salvage a win in this series and go out on a high note. Billz is super. I think he is now officially our ace.
What did Vinny say about Sammy?
Boy when Billz is on, he’s devastating. Looks like we’ll end up with at least one starter with 10 wins.
gnats won, but I’m sure you all know that. Pods lost too 🙂
scurtis – I was reported by Vin that Sammy couldn’t even hold his toothbrush this morning. Not a good sign – ugh!
Gee E, that was a swell win today. Gosh, I bet Nelly was happy. Golly, I sure hope Josh isn’t sore at us or anything.
Leave It To Enchanted!!
With Josh as Ward,
Nelly as June,
JHall as Wally,
and Enchanted,
as….. The Beaver!!!
ugh thanks DNell for the bad news 😦
yeah, there’s an article up on dodgers.com about saito.. you can read about how he couldn’t brush his teeth this morning without feeling it in his elbow.. NOT good.
I meant to say “it”. I really do hate when I do that – (don’t you dare keep track) LMAO!!!
Hey W-w-w-w-ally. Why was everyone so sore at me today?
jhall!!! LMAO!!! who’s Eddie?
Gee E, I dunno, grown-ups are just like that sometimes.
Practically all announcers,regardless of team, are blatant homers these days, with the notable exception of Vin and a few others. We’re well aware of who signs your paycheck but do you have to be so obvious about it? Like journalists, they surrender their own objectivity in order to retain their access.
Probably Scurtis Nelly.
Ned is Lumpy.
Don’t worry Beav – you are a good little boy LOL!!!
Jeepers W-w-w-w-w-ally, I bet mom will make me go to bed without my supper. And I was hoping that Whitey and I could go down to the ice cream parlor too.
So, who plays Whitey? LOL.
Shucks E, mom’s pretty OK for a grown up.
LMAO!!! I’m trying to maintain composure at the moment.
Gosh E, grown ups have to do stuff like that sometimes even if they don’t want to. It’s how they show they care.
dnelly, are you sure you’re allowed to keep saying lmao? maybe that’s profanity too. you’re going to have to stick to lol.
haha 🙂
Just stay away from Eddie from now on, please. You know what kind of mischief Eddie gets himself into. He is a charmer,but he is always up to no good.
Just a couple of things
1.Great game Bills & Co.
2. Today is the anniversity date of Al Campey’s dumb commet of NIghtLife… I really like the guy, but why he said what he did is a pure mystery.
3. I don’t think i ever used foul language on this blog, but if i did, it will not happen.
4. Finally, some of you are figuring out that some of these baby Dodgers just may never be like the Boys of Summer of 1970’s. Good, lets make some trades.
LOL!!! okay sara 🙂 LOL!!! how about LMBO!! (B=behind/butt)
Guess the morale of the story is W-w-w-w-ally that no matter what kinda friggin morons Ned & Joe are, censorship and intolerance still abound in this neo-facist capitalistic society, and that the proletariat’s sense of humor has been oppressed by constant losing and covering-up by the administration in the forth estate. And that when society as a whole breaksdown, the masses turn on themselves, much like that Twilight Zone episode that hasn’t been made yet. Is that it W-w-w-w-ally?
Couldn’t have put it better myself, enchanted 🙂
Yeah E, I guess that really it, but grown ups don’t say it like that. They always treat you like a kid, even when you get older.
Aw Gee Whiz. Oops, am I allowed to say whiz? Gosh W-w-w-w-ally, grown-ups sure are funny.
Yep E, but they can’t help it. That’s what they’re supposed to do..
LOL!! well, it you didn’t get **** then I guess you are okay. Still can’t figure out ******* – hmmmmm lol!! I guess Big Mac is the preferred choice of this system.
Guess I’ll just stay a kid then W-w-w-w-ally. An overweight, goofy-looking grown-up kid who clings to his past glory like it was yesterday, but who hasn’t had a real accomplishment in years. You know, kinda like Joe and Andruw.
Shucks E, even for a kid, your not that goofy!!!
The sad, funny thing is, boys, in today’s little kid world, it’s all about the kids and nothing else matters (not all mind you). For the amount of money I paid to sit in the seats I did, on Wednesday night, in our section we had two sets of the bratiest kids ever, and the parents did absolutely nothing to stop their behavior other than to give them more cotton candy and soda to quiet them down so they could watch the game. The only fortunate thing is that they kept having to leave to get them their snacks and goodies. Unbelieveable!!!
enchanted – you’ve got to give yourself more credit than that – Andruw and Joe, please!!!
Bratty kids can sure be annoying at the ballpark or anywhere else. But you can often tell it is the parents lack of interest or just plain laziness that is the underlying cause.
I kid (no pun intended) you not nells, there’s a preschool I drive by in El Paso called All About Me – not that I find that pretentious or anything.
BTW, I hope I wasn’t being too bombastic trying to compensate for my obvious illiterate useage of the English language in my original post, for I find it cumbersome to express my feelings and thoughts in overbearing essays and satirical prose when a simple line or two with a slightly more earthy interjection will suffice, as well as convey my truer thoughts.
BTW, I was speaking as the Beaver – I personally, though a few pounds overweight, have actually had and continue to have many fine accomplishments. 🙂
That’s the only thing at Petco that bothered me, especially about the beach area. It gave the parents the out of not having to pay attention to their kids and explain the game of baseball. I wouldn’t have cared so much if it was just for kids 5 and under, but there were kids of all ages down there. Ethier (either) that or I probably wouldn’t have had any problem with it if they would have closed it once the game started. It was very distracting for us and we were sitting opposite of it on the 3rd base side so I could only imagine what it was like for a ball player, batting or defending that area. And as much as I am an advocate for kids and their learning and personal growth, there is a time and place for adult fun too (whether it’s Las Vegas or just a ball game). That’s what makes places like Dodger Stadium special for now – it’s just about baseball and nothing else. It appears that it will change too in the years to come, but for now, it’s nice to know there is such a thing as just watching a baseball game and that should be enough.
enchanted – you are doing just fine- remember, I teach 1st grade (5,6 and 7 year olds). I always deal with simple. 🙂
enchanted – I believe the name, no doubt. I worked for a preschool in Las Vegas called “Creative Kids.” I think that is much more appropriate titled – sounds like a place you and many of our creative song writers would start out.
great win to a end a pretty forgetable first half.
ned takes a lot of heat on this blog, and some of it is deserved, however GMs can’t control injuries and unfortunately a lot of it is just bad luck. imagine if we mortgaged the future to get d. willis and cabrera from the marlins only to have to send willis to single A ball to get his form back ?!?
the marlins and rays this year and the rockies last year do it with youth. even the d-backs are pretty much a youthful group. my concern is that torre is 67 and not hired to groom a team. the whole plan is out of whack. are we a young team with veteran leadership or a veteran team with youthful players making plays and mistakes along the way…
i just can’t believe the crzy non-stop lineup juggling by torre though. i believe someone said he was the same way with the yankees back in 1996. i don’t remember him obviously being that way in recent years. plus his frank comments about his players to the press is something that really annoys me…
is this team really that much worse than grady’s team of 2007?
with hendrickson and tomko in the rotation? it just doesn’t add up
Garvey at Kemps age totals
63 runs
26 2b
16hr
56rbi
.249 avg
.300 OBP
2 years later he was the NL MVP
Cey at Kemps age totals
2 at bats. no hits.
Lopes at Kemps age totals
0 AB..would not make big club until age 27
Russell at Kemps age: nevermind on him he was so bad on offense.
Baker:
67runs
29 2b
17hr
84rbi
.320/.380
Smith
156runs
61doubles
30hr
130rbi
.250/.330
Monday
165runs
56doubles
34hr
163rbi
.260..380
In 1977 when They broke thru..here were the ages..
Yeager28
Garvey28
Lopes32
Cey29
Russell28
Baker28
Monday31
Smith32
Kemp at 23:
122runs
39 2b
26hr
114rbi
.297/.338
In 1977 when They broke thru..here were the ages..
Yeager28
Garvey28
Lopes32
Cey29
Russell28
Baker28
Monday31
Smith32
everyone of them in their prime.
Now that we’re at the break, we can expect the L.A. papers to write a mid-season analysis. Allow me some bullet points for them, knowing ijn advance what they’re going to say:
• Injuries
• The kids
The injuries angle will serve as a free pass for Andruw, Nomar, Kent, Pierre, Penny and especially Ned The kids angle will serve as a free pass for Joe. But the TRUE story will be Joe’s myopic stubborness in playing vets with eroding skills, Ned’s complete failure in assembling a major league roster (guess what…injuries happen to every team), and Frank’s absolute lack of baseball knowledge, savvy, or whatever else you want to call it.
My headline would read: “Young Dodgers save Front Office from complete embarassment.”
kpookiemon that was the 2007 line. Gotta think of another.
I just noticed that E’s “controversial” post that was first on this thread is gone. (Shakes head in bemusement).
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Okay, boys and girls, cultists, sitepests, Beaver and the whole Cleaver family, I’m going into a Bar Prep cave. Will not emerge until at least sometime after the All-Star break.
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Enjoy Russell’s All-Star MVP performance!!
Hmmmmmmmm, how about, “PVLs lead struggling youngsters to within one game of the lead!”
Dnelly–A couple of people had mentioned sending Jones down to the minors, like the Braves did with Francoeur. I kind of thought it was the wrong move for Francouer, but was pointing out that it’s just not allowed (unless we want Jones to become a Free Agent) with a veteran.
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But, I agree that it was just plain stupid to accelerate his return and not properly rehab. To Andruw’s credit, he did it when Pierre went down, but it should have been Ned and Joe who said, “no, you get ready first, then come back. We’re better struggling through with a questionable player (or, in the case of DY, a not so questionable player), than a guy who we know is just not ready.”
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PaDodgers, I really think you’re off the mark. Will these Dodgers be like the teams of the 70’s? It’s still unclear. But there’s a good chance. I think it was Junar (but not sure) who pointed out the breakout years for all of those guys. And they were mostly older than the young core we have now. There is no doubt that Martin is an All-Star (2 years running now). There is no doubt that Loney, Kemp, Ethier, Billingsley, Broxton, and Kershaw are legitimately good every-day major league players. The only question with them is are they going to be stars and superstars? And, with their performance to date (Billingsley the top ERA guy on the team, Loney and Kemp 1 and 2 in RBI, Ethier tops in Home runs, Kemp with 22 stolen bases at the break, and a likely 20-30 or even 20-40 guy THIS year, and 30-30 and 40-40 strong possibilities in the future), I’d say there are good chances.There is very little doubt that DeWitt and Delwyn Young can be legitimate every day players, and possibly Hu and LaRoche too. So, what’s NOT to like about these guys, none of whom make more than $500,000 per year? Why wouldn’t we try to make this work?
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It always boggles my mind when teams disregard their own prospects–every hall of famer was once a rookie, and had to come up through someone’s organization as a draft pick or an international free agent. Why do teams never bother to think that their own system might just produce 25 guys who will do it? I’m not against trading, but let’s trade guys who are prospects (not the aforementioned actual legitimate major leaguers, who not only do I like, but if we lost would create big holes) for areas where we have holes on the team? (Actually, the only real hole we have on the team is sort of shortstop–and as long as Nomar can play there competently, there’s no hole. The rest of the time we’re just playing the wrong players. We have a power hole because our power-hitting centerfielder strikes out all the time, and we won’t fill that with DY instead. So, we can’t expect to fill the holes if we’re going to insist on playing the problems).
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There is one other thing–I don’t know where we are going this year. I think that we could win it all, because I think one of these days, the young core is going to really start clicking, and that might well be in the second half. And if we’re just a game out of first now, the division is ours, and we can win in the playoffs. But it might not happen. And if not, then we know there are only a few holes to fill. We might, instead of decimating our prospects to get Sabathia for half a year, simply sign him in the off-season. Or Jack Wilson, or anyone else if we think we have a hole.
Wow, I’m away from the blog helping the boy scouts and it all goes down the tubes! Hopefully we can have some peace! Maybe I will work on a song sung to Michael Jackson’s “Heal the World”.
Different joey shad.
By enchantedsunset@hotmail.com on July 13, 2008 2:05 PM
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So Joey_Rock27 is not joeyp@dodgerthought.com?
Oh I see
leefink – always love to read what you have to say – great posts as always 🙂
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perumike – this board (not the regulars) has been screwed up for about 24 hours now. What is on the board now, is nothing compared to what was on it last night. It’s been clean up considerably. Let’s just say joey(not joey_rock) and some of his friends paid a not-so-friendly visit last night, which seemed to have some lingering affects this morning, but I think it’s mostly cleared up now. Also, we have some new posters as well.
shad – the joeys are two different people. It does get confusing sometimes, I know. Don’t worry joey_rock is on the good side 🙂
I just got back a little while ago from the game. I had a great time, but man my arms are so sunburned. I put on suncreen, but the sun was really beating down today until near the end of the game. Bills pitched a real gem. I was bummed Andre didn’t get a hit, but he got 2 walks and he made a spectacular catch. I’m surprised there wasn’t a hole in his glove with smoke coming out of it after that one. He also really tagged it on one of his at bats, but it came up a little short. The air was so humid today and there was no wind until near the end of the game, so in a tough park to hit a home run in like Dodger Stadium, it was even tougher today. Matt had a great catch too, so they might both be on ESPN web gems tonight.
It was just nice to see a game where everything seems to click and I’m not feeling like I’m going to have a heart attack the entire game. I am still of the hope we don’t trade away any of our core. They are just starting to show what they can do. Andre already has almost as many home runs as he had all season last year and leads the team in slugging percentage. Matt leads the team in rbi’s, Loney leads them in doubles, Russ is having another great season, Bills pitched great today, etc. The best is yet to come as far as I’m concerned. Hoping for more games like today after the break, but my neves could use a few days rest.
BlueGirl, Glad you had a good time and got to see a win and nice performance by Billz.
One heck of a day, eh Nelly. LOL!!!
Well, I guess I’m glad I missed it all Nelly! Great win for the guys today going into the break!
bluecrewgirl – sounds like you had a great time!! Andre’s catch was terrific, and his plate discipline paid off as usual, and yes, I thought the one he hit was going out too, but now that you explained the weather, it makes sense. Billz was awesome, even on tv,and it was a great baseball day to go into the All star break with a win. Take care of you sun burn – ouch!!
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yes, jhall – it’s definitely been one of those days, once again, but I think it all worked out in the end. Hopefully, it will remain peaceful for a while (in that respect). Not that I expect anything different than the usual back and forth between you and enchanted, and all the other fun stuff we get all caught up in for the Dodger team we all so desperately envision, language or not.
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perumike – It’s been quite an experience these last 24 hours,and I like you, was away from the board and came home to a board that did not resemble the one I was talking to before leaving from San Diego. It seems to be back to normal, but like I said, only time will tell – LOL!!
Super, Super, Super 9 to1 Victory By our Beloveds!Everybody were Super Heroes And World Series Champions!Kryptonite will Be Disintegrated in the Second Half by all The Super Powers of Our Los Angeles Dodger Players, Management & Fans!
Sara–by the way, I did not see your post earlier, but I agreed that Martin should have come out later in the game. He hit in the 8th, so let Ardoin catch the 8th and 9th, at least.
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But Russell always wants to play. We’ll see if he can talk Clint Hurdle into letting him play 3B on Tuesday.
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Ardoin, however, needs some work. When was the last time he played?
I think what’s most telling about our young guns, is that despite JoJo’s inane line-ups and benchings, despite the terrible performance level from the PVLs, and despite the criticism in the media, our kids are still only a game out of first. The obsticals they’re overcoming to be even in a position to still have a chance speaks volumes about their ability and dedication to improvement.
Now it appears Brox is going to have to be the closer. Well, he’s had 2 1/2 years to wean his way into the roll. Let’s hope he takes the bull by the horns and runs with it. If he can step into that roll, and Biemel/Kuo/Wade can pick-up the set-up roll, the starters right now appear capable of going the stretch. Let’s see if the kids can start clicking now enough to overcome the rest of the PVLs downslide. I for one want to see what Mattingly can do with them also. Maybe he can even perform a miracle or two with Jones (though I won’t hold my breath.)
Yep, time for Brox to step up.
Its been obvious Sammy is showing some signs of age and decline. He’s not been as dominate as he was the last 2 years. Still effective, but you can start to see the writing on the wall.
Great stats earlier Jungar. People keep forgetting how young our core group really is.
Due to some deletage, I am batting leadoff today!
Good game blue crew, shame I was too busy doing chores to catch any of it.
I think Wade has looked good at times this year and he pitched really well in the top of the 9th today.
jhall/enchanted – this means no Sammy time for a while ethier (either). I really do type ethier first, it’s funny but bad at the same time, but don’t count it against me (lol!). I am just glad it’s not a first grade spelling word, not that they don’t know how to spell Ethier, Martin, Loney and Kemp by the end of the year anyway. Anyhow, We need to think of something for Brox since he is the new closer for now.
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jungar – I second the great job on the stats gathering once again. Thank you!
I must say, I am looking forward to Mattingly to come in and help, especially for Andruw. If he can’t help, then what?
http://sportsblogs.latimes.com/sports_baseball_dodgers/
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Here is the article from AK and BK – good stuff about how are young players did, and the not so good Andruw.
Thanks for the props on the post guys and gals but it was not a good post. You see I didn’t have a plan before I went up there to post. And you would think that after my 5 post strike out performance yesterday when Josh the manager came down on me about my execution that i’d have a plan today. I also rushed my post because enchanted was feeling a little queeasy and i wanted to help the board out.
leekfink, i know that russell ALWAYS wants to play.. but they’re going to have to start saving him from himself.. i am the last person in the world who wants to watch a russell-free inning, but even i know that he’s going to need some actual days off so that he doesn’t weardown towards the end of the season.. torre made such a big deal during spring training about how he would force rest upon russell, but i think he’s been realizing just how difficult it is to ever take russell’s bat out of this lineup (just like grady). i’m so glad that our d’backs series doesn’t start until friday, because then russell will actually get 2 whole days off.. i just read the article about how russell’s family will be in NY and how excited he is.. he is one of those guys you can tell truly plays baseball for the love of the game.. I LOVE RUSSELL MARTIN! 🙂
“I feel like a kid every day I get to play baseball”
– Russell Martin
more players should feel this way, it would make the game better.. i just don’t think the majority has the mentality that they’re lucky to be where they are.. a lot of hardwork is in there too.. but every player needs to really appreciate their status.. too many people are envious of pro-players for some of them to be unappreciative..
General Manager Ned Colletti says he is trying to trade for a starting shortstop. DeJesus, batting .307 with a .412 on-base percentage, said he believes he would be ready for the major leagues should the Dodgers call.
“I can’t say 100%, but in my mind, I’m ready,” he said. “I’m confident in myself.”
I know this is a long post, but this is the type of Dodger Fan wack job that we are up against. This came from a blog titled “Dodger Addiction” I found it on the mlblogs main page, and it is the opening remarks, not a post, and it was posted today, so it’s not old. Unbelieveable!!!
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Trade Deadline Idea
The scenario I’m about to present may seem blasphemous in some Dodger fan’s eyes but keep in mind… the Dodgers clubhouse was identified in the George Mitchell Report about steroids in baseball as being plagued by rampant steroid use. Fan favorites such as Eric Gagne and Paul Lo Duca were specifically targeted in the report and publicly shamed for their steroid use and pushing. Now here me out…
IF the Dodgers were to trade James Loney and Andre Ethier for a premiere 1B like Mark Teixeira or Lance Berkman it would leave a hole to fill in the OF. Andruw Jones has been a major disappointment and although injured, Juan Pierre is pretty much a non-factor. IF we were to bring in a big slugging 1B… a hole would likely open up in the OF and there is an excellent hitter available and ready to play who could come in at a very low price and wouldn’t cost us a single player in a trade… Barry Bonds.
As many of you already know, the former hated Giant is now a free agent still in search of a contract to play for the year. Sure, he has some serious legal problems hanging over his head but there’s no question as to whether or not he can still hit. He hit 28 HRs last year in limited time. His on base percentage is thru the roof due to his ability to draw walks and his contact rate is one of the best the game has ever seen. If the Dodgers were to sign him for the rest of the year and plug him into left field after sending Ethier to ATL (along with Loney) for Mark Teixeira, we’d suddenly have an incredibly formidable lineup.
Of course, the shortstop question would still need to be answered after acquiring Tex from ATL and signing Bonds to play LF. The Tigers have all but fallen out of contention already and will likely throw in the towel before the trade deadline. If that’s the case, they may make Edgar Renteria available via trade. Renteria would be the perfect candidate to replace Furcal for the season at shortstop. His price likely wouldn’t be too high due to his lacking production this season and the Tigers’ desire to start getting younger players in the mix. If we were to offer up Chin-Lung Hu and perhaps a pitching prospect like Chris Withrow, the Tigers would have to listen.
So lets say in this scenario, the Dodgers make 2 trades and sign a free agent:
1st Trade
LAD trades 1B James Loney, LF Andre Ethier
ATL trades 1B Mark Teixeira
2nd Trade
LAD trades SS Chin-Lung Hu, 2B Tony Abreu, RHP Chris Withrow
DET trades SS Edgar Renteria, RHP Fernando Rodney
Free Agent
LAD signs LF Barry Bonds
New Lineup
1. Matt Kemp, RF
2. Russell Martin, C
3. Barry Bonds, LF
4. Mark Teixeira, 1B
5. Jeff Kent, 2B
6. Edgar Renteria, SS
7. Andruw Jones, CF
8. Andy LaRoche, 3B
No matter what your feelings are towards Bonds… he’d look pretty damned good hitting in the middle of that lineup. It wouldn’t be fun trading away a homegrown talent like James Loney and a budding hitter like Andre Ethier but it would be worth it for an elite young power hitter like Mark Teixeira. Put a lineup like that behind this Dodgers pitching staff and we’d go from being a pretender to a contender over night. Our biggest problem as a team is our inability to produce runs. Surely putting Tex, Bonds and Martin (or Kemp) in the middle of the lineup would generate a ton of runs.
*The only way I’d trade for Tex would be if he agreed to sign an extension rather than test free agency. The idea of trading away two quality players for a one year wonder just doesn’t do it for me. I believe Renteria is signed for a couple more years and Bonds would cost us nothing (in terms of talent) since he’s a free agent. If Tex is not available (or we are unable to get him for whatever reason) attention should be turned Lance Berkman of the Astros. The Astros are going nowhere fast and Berkman is burning a hole in their pockets. Considering the year he’s having we’d probably have to throw in Clayton Kershaw along with Loney and Ethier in order to get him but it might just be worth it if it means that the Dodgers would have a chance to bring another World Series Title to Los Angeles once again.
I was at the game today as well and thought Bills performance was awesome. He seems to get better and better each time he pitches. I decided after the first inning to find a seat in the shade..so did many others. My seat is in row B in the field section so I decided early on that the sun was too oppressive. I felt sorry for the guys out there in the field who didn’t have any shade. I saw Saito before the game greeting some school children and although he wasn’t pitching any balls, he didn’t look any worse for wear. I was lucky enough to get Cory Wade to autograph a ball for me and lo and behold, he pitched the ninth. He is a very sweet guy. Also saw Brad Penny out there in the field. So Russell has ditched the faux hawk and Andre has shaved. Everyone looks very cleancut. Even Joe had a trim. I guess Russy wanted to look neat for his mum.
Wouldn’t Jeff Kent just love that idea. Maybe we should forward that idea to Mr. Kent, and see how he feels to have to share a lineup with Barry once again. I know this isn’t going to happen, but you have to wonder people’s thinking sometimes, and this right here beats them all so far.
okae, dnelly, until the end of that post, i was wondering what the hell he was talking about.. getting teixeira is not going to be possible. the braves did not trade for him and give up everything just to ship him back out. plus, the braves are not considering themselves out of contention or sellers. and if we really wanted mark teixeira we would have tried harder last year. then at the end he said to get berkman if teixeira was unavailable.. which also is next to impossible. i just don’t understand how people think that all players are available just because they want them. well then i say we trade angel berroa and someone for derek jeter or hanley ramirez to plug up the shortstop hole. you just can’t do things because you want to. silly people.
i’m not even going to touch the barry bonds thing. and nor would any GM in their right mind. and as much as i give ned colletti ZERO credit. i know he would NEVER go there..
oh and btw, dnelly. i picked up andre for my fantasy team 🙂
all my outfielders have been injured or are slumping.. so i picked up randy winn.. but then i realized he’s hurting too and has been limited the last couple days with a bruised shoulder.. so i picked up andre. since he’s finally getting consistent playing time i’m not afraid to pick him up anymore. before he was always being jerked around.. so i was reluctant. hopefully when we get back from the break, andre will have a BIG series against the d’backs because our dodgers need it, and so does my fantasy team.. haha
sara – that commentary was right on the homepage of the mlblongs page. I didn’t have to dig for it so whoever posted it, was just working on it because it lists the top blogs by the most activitiy. ITD is always in the group, but tonight it was us and this one, and I opened it and this is what I came across. I understand that none of it is going to take place, but what on earth are some people thinking before posting it. As much as I worry about Ned’s decisions, I know this is one he won’t do.
.
Good luck with Andre on your fantasy team. Every since he came out of that slump he was having, he’s been doing pretty good for me. I have Matt too so they balance each other out pretty nicely most of the time. I am need of a catcher – both Josh Bard (SD) and Chris Snyder (ARZ) are on the DL, and there is nobody right now who gets enough playing time. I am just holding out hoping one of them will come back sooner than the other.
Nice game today. The offense was clicking today and Bills was on top of his game. I was remarking today how have AJ in the lineup is like having two pitchers in the lineup, but at least Bills advanced a runner with a SAC bunt today. AJ looks so lost, and I almost feel bad for the guy. It almost seems like Dodger fans dislike him more now then when he played in the ATL. I hope he comes around because it seems like Mr. Torre is going to keep running him out there no matter what (and then it will be like having three pitchers in the lineup once JP comes back). At any rate, that was a nice win to go into the break with…bring on the Snakes!
BTW Josh…while I agree with your small rant on the folks that can’t keep it clean here, it should be noted that none of them have ever called Dodger Talk off the air and put the host on blast (I’m sure that was a very mature and professional conversation, wasn’t it?)
dnelly, who are the catchers that are available in your league that have the most points earned? i started off the year with jason varitek, but he was so awful i had to cut him. i picked up bengie molina early in the season just in case varitek got injured, or struggled, and it turns out bengie was a great pickup.. so i dropped varitek and bengie’s been starting for me virtually all season. he’s been great.
oh and guess what? a friend of mine works for the angels.. and he’s been saying he had a gift for me for over a month, but he wouldn’t tell me what it was.. i just saw him today, and it turns out he had russell sign a baseball for me when the dodgers played at angels stadium earlier this season! so now i have a baseball from russell 🙂
Just to put things in perspective once again on the language issue. JoeyP is a frequent poster on DT as well. Josh, if you can, you need to try and pull up what was deleted on last night’s thread (7/12). There is a big difference between the occasion asterisks word from the usuals around here than what JoeyP and company were asterisking during that game on Saturday. It was vulgar and had absolutely nothing to do with baseball. It’s intent was to purely make the usuals here unravel and we did. I am not sure why joeyp and friends decided to come over here from DT, but one of the names itself had a reference to the host of DT himself – Jon Weisman. The name itself should have gotten that blogger banned. Josh, I’m not trying to make your life difficult, but now that all the language from Saturday night’s game is no longer in it’s proper spot, everything is now being taken out of context. The true offenders of the language issue are joeyp and friends, not the usuals around here. If you are able to see what they were saying (which I hope you are) then you would see the difference.
Wow, sara – that’s great!!!! I haven’t gotten anything personally signed yet. I do have a ball that my mother got for me, but not the same. The other day I did get another rookie card of Andre in a Dodger uniform this time and wearing number 16. I still have the other two 2007 cards that have 61, which is still a mystery. We are trying to figure out how that happened. So, now I have two Ethier rookie cards – one as an Athletic and one as a Dodger. I also got a Matthew Kemp rookie card as well.
Dnelly and en-chant-ed post together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my ‘puter keyboard, oh lord, why don’t we?
We all know that D fans are the same where ever we go
There is good and bad in everyone,
We learn to live, we learn to give
Each other what we need to survive together alive.
MLK and that jhall post together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my ‘puter keyboard, oh lord why don’t we?
Dodgerboy, northstateblues living in perfect harmony
lee-k-fink, bluecrewgirl, ooh
We all know that bloggers aren’t the same where ever we go
There is good and bad in everyone,
We learn to curse, we try to nurse
Each other through Joe’s horrible mind, however maligned.
Messagebear and perumike post together in perfect harmony
Side by side on my ‘puter keyboard, oh lord why don’t we?
I apologize to all the other posters with 3-syllable names that I didn’t include, but I just had to get my good friend jhall in there somehow.
Although it would appear that there is no one left to converse with at this late hour, after catching up with our wonderful blog, I would like to make a few comments.
First, Josh, I want to echo what dnelly said (I think it was her) about looking at what the true obscenity was earlier. Even the sign-on name, for one of the little darlings. And to characterize some of us as immature merely because of some asterisks is painting with a very wide brush. Not to pick on enchanted, but I’ll use him as an example anyway. If you were to run some statistics on his posts, I’m sure that you’ll find that they are most likely along the lines of 50% inspired, 49.5% hilarious and 0.5% profane. Sometimes you have to make allowances for genius. Bill Cosby manages to be funny without profanity, but George Carlin was both. No one would say that he had “(1.) to compensate for their lack of ability to articulate a position by the normal use of proper English; and (2.) to mask their lack of intelligence through the use of bombastic words.” There is a time and a place for everything and sometimes, when presented with some of the tripe that oozes out of Dodger management, a few asterisks can do wonders for the soul of a life-long Dodger fan. As someone earlier said, that is one of the reasons for this blogs’ existence. And the sanctimonious among us that claim to be intelligent should be smart enough to understand that. I myself am somewhere inbetween. Being a product of the construction industry for a quarter-century and now a Boy Scout leader, I have to be somewhat of a hypocrite, “Do as I say, not as I do.” It can be a struggle for some of us imperfect people.
Turning to baseball and the impending trade rumors, trading for help would seem a good idea normally, but Ned isn’t shrewd enough to not get taken. (Sorry for the double negative.) For anyone getting ready to rebute this claim, for every good trade he’s made, and I’m still waiting for the second one, I can name 10 or 20 stinkeroos.
Goodness, I just looked at the clock and I need to sleep sometime. Unfortunately, I see this in my sleep and wake up screaming:
Pierre LF
Nomar SS
Jones CF
Kent 2B
Sweeney 1B
Maza 3B
Bennett C
Berroa RF
Schmidt P
Ok, Berroa’s no outfielder, but he don’t look like much of a shortstop either.
Fire Joe
Fire the guy who hired Joe
Fire the guy who hired the guy who hired Joe
Go Dodgers!!!!
Goodnight, and God Bless!
Ouch I just woke up and seen dneilly lineup. Eric blah that lineup look scarey. How about bring back the killer tomato putting him at 2nd bases lol? It would look weird to have him at 2nd bases when he only played 1st and 3rd we can removed Pierre name and put the speedy Saenz to lead off at 1st and Sweeney in LF.
lol that was a joke.
shad – that is NOT my lineup – someone from another blog posted it last night, and I just wanted to point out how some claimed Dodger Fans are thinking. Please, I live with gnat fans – why in the world would I want Barry on this team. And as for my family who are gnat fans, they couldn’t stand him either towards the end. It’s the one thing that keeps me and Jeff Kent on good terms, he did not like (an understatement) Barry at all.
eric – FABULOUS SONG!! and welcome back, once again, to this wonderful board 🙂
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Why doest thou frowneth upon Mr. Bonds? Perhaps thee could help Mr. Jones with his body building secrets. For thou Jones is in needeth of grandiose assistance that I pray tell that Mr. Mattingly doth provide, but fear is beyondeth his reach. I do also prayeth that Mr. Mattingly will speaketh to the young lads and conveyeth upon them the wisdom of his age, and not that of the curmudgeony villian which siteth on the bench in judgement of all…
Outstanding Eric!!!! Great open letters Eric and Nelly. I do hope that Josh can take a look at those deleted posts to see for himself what a huge difference we are talking about here. We basically chat here using “water cooler” language. Sure there will be an occaisional mild oath but nothing sexual and vulgar in nature. Lumping the regular and faithful bloggers on this site with that vile group from Saturday night is insulting.
LOL E!! Good morning.
BTW,eric – great post, too!!!!
Good Morning – yes, after the DT blogger came on and made reference to the language issue again, I had to say something because everything is now being taken out of context of the real situation (joeyP and friends). Anybody who has been on this board for a length of time knows who JoeyP is,and they are aware he is NOT here for the purpose of a Dodger fan. So, I think just the mention of his name should at least make our regulars understand somewhat about what happened on Saturday night.
Mornin’ all.
Good Morning, enchanted – I am very glad to see that you are on as enchanted this morning and not as a “formerly known as name.” BTW – did Kahli and Old Fogey ever figure that one out – hmmmm!