WBC, Eric Collins, KCAL 9 and lots more…a busy day
I hope that many of you made it out here last night for the game between Korea and Venezuela…while it was not the closest of games, the atmosphere was really, really cool and I’d expect tonight to be even better, with the US squaring off against Japan for the right to play Korea for the title tomorrow night. They’re practicing the Opening Ceremony of tomorrow night’s game right now on the field outside my office and it gave me chills just watching it without the stadium full. I can only imagine how exciting it’ll be tomorrow.
As many of you noted in the comments yesterday, we hired Eric Collins from ESPN to join Steve Lyons on the 38 games or so that Vin doesn’t do. Eric did the Olympics for NBC and impressed every person in came in contact with throughout the process and we’re excited to have him on board. We hope you’ll all enjoy listening to him and Steve and you’ll even get the chance to interact with them, as they plan to host a blog. More details on that to follow…
Back in Arizona, lots still going on. Today’s game can be seen on KCAL 9 with Vin calling the game from Camelback Ranch at 1 p.m. It’s his last game of the spring (from Arizona, that is) so be sure to tune in. And if you’re not in front of your TV, KABC 790 has the game, too (and the great Sunday night show with Ken Levine and Josh Suchon).
If you’re up for it, you can watch/listen to baseball all day long! Hope to see you all here tonight or tomorrow for the final…let’s get behind the U.S. and bring the trophy back home.
Inside the Dodgers 
Wow!! This is definitely a first!!!!! GO USA!!!!
USA!!!! USA!!!! USA!!!!! GO USA!!!!
Good Afternoon ITD readers and writers!!! I will repost the line up.
Thank’s to Kenny G’s Around the Horn, here is today’s lineup…..
Sunday’s Dodgers Lineup
15 Rafael Furcal (S) SS
30 Orlando Hudson (S) 2B
16 Andre Ethier (L) RF
7 James Loney (L) 1B
23 Casey Blake 3B
27 Matt Kemp CF
9 Juan Pierre (L) LF
12 Brad Ausmus C
21 Randy Wolf (L) LHP
For us non-California residents, I wonder if mlb.com will carry the game??
GO TEAM USA!!! Though as a Red Sox fan – it will be strange to see Dice-K on the mound!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
Josh~ I can’t wait to be back at the stadium! The atmosphere last night was fantastic!
I posted a couple of pics in my blog. Will take more tonight!
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
I believe it’s on mlb.com today seesky!! At least that’s what it is listing on the media center page. So, you should be good to go!!!
Josh – thanks for the updates. I would have to assume tonight’s going to be a little bit more fun than last night, being the USA playing and all, but it’s great to hear that everything is going well at both Dodger Stadium and Camelback Ranch.
GO DODGERS!!!
GO U.S.A.!!!!!
Thanks, nelly.
With all this baseball I don’t have time to clean house! I need a maid!!lol but I did make banana corn wafles, bacon with red onions, yellow bell peppers, jalapenos & eggs this morning.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
Just picked this up from the homepage.
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Estes is gone.
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http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090322&content_id=4047242&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
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Just a quick hit & run for me.
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Take care.
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Go Blue!!!
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Bring the Ring to LA in 2009!!!
I also posted pictures from the Korea/Venezuela game. Check it out:
http://tinyurl.com/dhmaw4
Hey Josh, I greeted you while you were going up in the escalators.
Wolf’s looking good!! 4 k’s through 2.
Nice inning Dodgers!!!! 2-0
Wolf is definitely looking good, seesky.
Hi Nelly, I am very excited I am going to the opening game in San Diego. A guy that I work with that is also a big Dodger fan and is taking me to the game. I’ve been to a lot of games at Dodger Stadium over the years, but never one in enemy territory, so it should be interesting. I would think Petco would be a better place to be on the opposing side as a fan compared to the Giants. By the way, have you gotten any issues of the Dodger magazine yet? I haven’t.
Wolf’s doing it all; 4 scoreless innings, 2 rbi’s, and a pickoff….Kemp just went yard!!!! So far, a good day for the good guys!!!!
bluecrewgirl – I got my first copy of Dodgers Magazine a few days ago. That’s great you are going to the opening game. Eventhough it’s at Petco, it should still be fun. I was at Petco last year, but it was for a Braves/Padres game so I had no reason to be worried. It is a very nice ballpark. I can’t imagine it being worse than AT&T as far as the fans, but I am sure you will give us a full report.
Good, then I should get the first issue this week. Andre hit it hard his first 2 at bats with nothing to show for it. I think he might be pressing a bit to catch up because he got slowed down a bit by the ankle bruise early in spring training. I’m sure he’ be fine once he gets in a groove. Spring training results don’t mean anything anyway.
If you’re an established player, like Andre, ST results don’t mean anything. If you’re a marginal player, like Estes, they mean everything.
I keep telling myself that because last spring training it was a much different story for Andre. He was trying to compete for a position and it seemed at the time all of his at-bats did mean something. Other than that day with the 3 strikeouts against Oakland, he has been making good contact, and most of the contact has been opposite field, which is always great. When they played Kansas City, he had two shots to left field, one caught at the warning track and the other one caught in the corner of foul territory. So, like you said, he will be there come April 6th no doubt about that.
6 1-hit shutout innings for Wolf. He looks season-ready!!
Good point, seesky, they do matter for players fighting for jobs, I meant they don’t matter more in terms results don’t count in a player’s regular season stats and that a player could hit .400 in spring training and have a crappy season or hit .175 in spring training and have a great regular season.
I know what you meant. I just had a different mind set last spring training than I do this time around. Not as worried about numbers at all…..looking at pitching more than anything.
….it’s okay…..it’s just spring training – LOL!!! 🙂
I knew what you meant, too, blue crew, but just think of the difference it might have made if Andre was hitting like this last ST?
Being able to look back now, other than Opening Day last season and spot starts, do you think Andre’s ST numbers really mattered to Joe. He ended up putting JP in the lineup anyway after the opening weeks. If JP hadn’t gotten hurt and Andruw wasn’t sucking and getting hurt (supposedly), don’t you think it would have stayed that way all season….Andre getting spot starts and being the bench player?
True, it could have made a big difference for him last year, considering he had to fight really hard to stay in the lineup even with his great ST #s. I still want to see him get off to a fast start once the season starts so he won’t have to be looking over his shoulder all the time. At least he’s not the only starter off to a slow start in ST. Raffy and Hudson have been off to slow starts too.
Nelly, I think his #s in ST mattered in terms of getting him the opening day nod, but not in terms of keeping him there. I think Joe wanted to play the vets from day one and finally had his had forced as the season wore on as far as Andre was concerned.
Did you see the “30 Clubs in 30 Days” on mlb.tv? They had a lot of great things to say about both Andre and Matt. It was nice to see them get some recognition for being great outfielders, Manny or not. Manny may have given them an edge on offense, but they still did awesome on the defensive end too, and Manny had nothing to do with that.
“…He has an 8.44 ERA in five Major League exhibition games, allowing 19 hits in 10 2/3 innings and a .380 opponents batting average.”
And Estes is surprised he got cut??
C-Ya!!!
Hey enchanted!!!!! Are you back in New Mexico now? I thought you might be happy with that news.
No, I didn’t see that program, but that’s great to hear. I expect great things from both of them this season.
I dont think JP can do that!!! Repko just hit a 3-run shot and won’t have a shot at the 4th spot.
bluecrewgirl – they are going to be great this year.
If AJ hadn’t sucked and JP hadn’t gotten hurt, it may well have stayed the same last year. That’s something, fortunately, we never had to find out. I guess what I’m saying, bottom line, is that good stats, although they are only one factor in who plays and who doesn’t, will never hurt you and bad stats can’t help you.
…that is very well understood.
uh oh!! Cory isn’t looking so good 😦
Got back ’bout and hour and 45 mins ago. Fortunately just about all of West Texas is 80 mph speed limit.
Wade’s sure getting rocked!!!! By guys in the back of the Ranger media guide.
Well, I am glad you got back home safely, and I am sure you are glad to be back home as well.
Cory got through it!! A good spring training win!!! Fantastic pitching by Wolf today, what I saw of it. I was going back and forth between the game and the finish of the NASCAR race, watching my boys finish 1 and 2 today.
Wade’s probably a bit rusty as he hasn’t pitched much due to his sore shoulder. Hopefully, he’ll be back to where he was last season soon.
That is very true about Cory. Hopefully he gets all the kinks out during the rest of ST.
Wolf couldn’t have pitched any better. He got more hits and rbi’s than he gave up…you’re right on Wade, bluecrew. With a big lead, he was just trying to throw strikes and the Rangers were up there hacking away.
Wolf looks totally ready to start the season. That was Wade’s only rough outing so far, which just about every pitcher has to suffer through at least one. The one that concerns me is Kuo. He’s not looking too sharp.
With the bullpen in a state of flux, that’s probably why they’re taking a look at Lindblom to see what he can do.
I’m all for Lindblom making the pen.
How’s Brox doing in the WBC?
Good afternoon everybody. I hope all is well with all of you.
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I’m ready to enjoy a little WBC right about now! Go USA!!!
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Just saw the play by play results of the game on my phone, looks like Wolf did great! That is a good sign. My only concern with him is his health.
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So far I would be getting killed by all of you here if I was the GM as I also wanted Garland and he’s had a horrible ST and got rocked again today.
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It will be nice to get Broxton back and Manny in the lineup and have a week or so of seeing our actual team before the season starts.
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Enchanted — I saw the quote that you posted from Estes and I thought the same thing when I read it on the homepage. I was like Huh???!! LMKO! How could he be surprised!
Nelly, you did such a great job analyzing J.P.’s swing and hitch , I’ve got another one for you.
As you know I have been one of Andre’s biggest fans, but his footwork and balance at the plate look awful. I think maybe he needs to get some instruction from Don because he’s falling all over the place on almost every swing. Balance. Balance. Balance. I’d also like to see him get more coverage on outside strikes. He takes all of them with less than two strikes and seems shocked at the call. What’s your take?
WHIPs aside (1.96 and 1.81 respectively), another reason you don’t want Milton or Vargas starting – Milton 3 HRA in 14.2 IP and Vargas 4 HRA in 14.1 IP.
I know we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, but how could you still be seriously considering either of these two?
We have a streaky leadoff hitter availble!
. sthttp://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/96451-yankees-still-interested-in-cameron
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Make the call Ned. You never know!
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/96451-yankees-still-interested-in-cameron
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Sorry, that link was off!
This one’s dedicated to Andre and any other of the boys in blue throughout the year who may come up with a less than stellar performance. Daniel Powter – You Had A Bad Day:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoptZMcJpUY
YOU HAD A JUAN DAY
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Where was the hit when you needed it most?
Just missed you the chalk, the next pitch you were toast.
They tell you your blue skies gone away
They tell you your game has gone astray
And you don’t need Joe dronin’ on.
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You stand in the box just to hit a new low.
You’re smilin’ like ‘Druw, but beginning to blow.
They tell you to play way off the line…
It goes in the corner ev’ry time
And you don’t want Joe dronin’ on.
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Cuz you had a Juan day,
You hit a pop fly,
A couple ground balls and you’re wonderin’ why.
You made a bad throw.
What was the deal?
You got you one hit then got caught in a steal.
You had a Juan day,
Missed a squeeze sign,
Sat in the dugout and you started to whine
You had a Juan day.
You had a Juan day.
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When you need a high sky double day
A windblown ball fall into play
And don’t need Joe a-dronin’ on…
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You had a Juan day,
You hit a pop fly,
A couple ground balls and you’re wonderin’ why.
You made a bad throw.
What was the deal?
You got you one hit then got caught in a steal.
You had a Juan day,
Missed a squeeze sign,
Sat in the dugout and you started to whine
You had a Juan day.
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(a Juanpy day)
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Sometimes your timin’ gets out of sync
And your whole game turns out wrong.
You might get sent back that’s what you think
And that you’re starting days are gone
Days are long (yeah)
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So where was that hit when you needed it most?
Oh why oh why?
Just missed you the chalk, the next pitch you were toast.
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Cuz you had a Juan day,
you hit a pop fly,
a couple ground balls and you’re wonderin’ why.
You made a bad throw.
What was the deal?
You got you one hit then got caught in a steal.
You’ve had a Juan day
You really don’t like
And how does it feel for Juan more time?
You had a Juan day.
You had a Juan day.
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Had a Juan day
Had a Juan day
Had a Juan day
[fade]
©NedCo Broken Records 2009
Too funny, enchanted. Let’s hope there are no more Juan days for him from this point forward.
rintinjim ~ I am not sure I am the one that should be analizing anthing. However, something certainly seems off. I remember reading a couple articles at the beginning of the season (maybe it was even spring training) that Andre worked on just that, balance, and you are right, it seems he has lost some of that balance. When he does make contact, out or not, he seems good….alot of opposite field fly balls, line drives, etc. The strikeouts are what’s different, and I am not sure where that is coming from. Is somebody trying to change the way he approaches the plate now in hopes to gain more power for the season. I keep reading on here and other places that the coaches are making the players work on different skills so maybe there is something there we are just not aware of. If this were last year, I think I would be alot more worried about how he is batting, and I think somebody here pointed out earlier, Raffy and Hudson aren’t exactly having a great spring either. His position doesn’t seem to be in jeopardy yet, and I think he will find that swing and patience he is known for before the season begins.
I have a question for those of you who know how spring training works outside of the facility. When the team reports to spring training, are they staying as a team? For instance, Andre lives in a city very near there, so does he just go home every night to his family or is he staying with the team somewhere? Is it possible that is just plain focus on Andre’s part. Unlike the rest of the Dodgers, he can go home at the end of the day and still be dad, husband, and at times son and brother too. Could that be an issue? ….it’s just me thinking like a girl perhaps.
enchanted – you just blow me away sometimes!!!! That is just awesome as always. When the Master writes songs, he writes them well 🙂
rintinjim – big red pen – I was reading article last season. I left the word “last” out of that sentence – sorry 🙂
Nelly — That has got to be one of your longest posts! 🙂
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I haven’t seen Dre this ST other than the one game he had 3 K’s and a GIDP. & yes he looked bad.
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I think he might be working on something. I read one article or maybe it was on the 30 & 30 show, that Mattingly was working with the lefthanded hitters on gowing more gap to gap and getting more power. But that is DRe’s strenght so I don’t think he needs to change his approach.
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I didn’t think about where he’s staying as having an affect but you never know! That might be a valid point. If he lives fairly close he probably is staying there. Some guys rent condos nearby and room together. Some stay at hotels. Usually the minor leaguers do that.
Nelly, he should be more relaxed going home at night. At the end of the day, we can take comfort in the fact that he is an enormous talent, he works hard and he will work through this. It’s just a little painful watching because I always drop everything I am doing so I don’t miss one of his at-bats. I think if he was ever traded or left the Dodgers through free agency, I would describe to MLB and watch his games. Thank you for your insights.
dcollins – that’s what I’m thinking…of the few players not to change, one would be Andre. I am going to believe they are working on something until I hear or read otherwise. And, yes, he lives in Chandler, which is outside of Phoenix, about 45 minutes away. So, I am thinking he is going home then, yes?
I agree with you both. It does kind of seem like he’s approaching things a bit differently right now. I say if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. I think he will gain more power this year just because he’s coming into that age where guys hit their power stride. Improvements can always be made, but I don’t think he needs to change anything dramatic in his approach.
rintinjim – LOL!! – I do the same things 🙂 I think he will be outstanding just like he always has been.
bluecrewgirl – so if Andre is working on trying to gain more power that might be the reason for the increase in strikeouts perhaps. However, if they are placing him in the 3-slot in front of Manny, which is where he has batted almost every game he has played, patience is one of his strongest attributes so why would a coach be taking that away from him. You want him on base whether he hits it or walks. At times, it looks like he is swinging at pitches that are not for him and letting ones that have Andre written all over them go by. Then again, what do I know, I am just a fan, right?
Blue crew rocks.
I think we both watch him enough to know that he does seem like he’s trying to be more aggressive. I agree with you that patience is the best approach for him. He was getting a lot of walks the last part of the 2008 season in addition to hitting really well, so all the sudden striking out so much in a short period of time seems odd. He’ll get it figured out. Hopefully by opening day so I can witness it ):
yea – it’s not the contact outs that are worrisome. He seems to be doing alot of opposite field hitting which is good, and both contacts today were shots, just one was caught and the other one wasn’t (error instead). It’s the strikeouts that are very unEthierlike. If we were talking about Matt Kemp, it would be understood, but Andre doesn’t strike out like that – LOL!! However, he doesn’t seem to be walking off upset so maybe they are working on some things to give him more range and power. I am sure it will all be figured out before it’s all said and done, so you can see it for real.
I did notice that he wasn’t mumbling to himself like he normally does when he strikes out or has an at bat he’s not happy with, so that is a good sign.
LOL!!! That is very true, so maybe there is some reason he is doing what he is doing. I have to admit, some of best pictures of him are when he’s broken a few of his bats after a bad at bat…… pure frustration at its finest.
Yes, when he hit himself on the head with his bat in frustration was another classic moment, lol.
LOL!!! That was a definite moment 🙂
I can’t believe we let the WBC game get away from us. When we got it to 6-4, I thought we had a chance, but 9-4 is going to be pretty much impossible to overcome with only 3 at bats left.
I think when the season starts, Andre will hit the ball the way he always does, hard and it will find the holes. Some of the other players don’t look great right now, either.
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Great song, once again, Enchanted.
Hi ITD, just got back from the WBC game. I left in the 8th inning cuz it seemed that USA would lose. I just don’t do that if it’s a Dodger game. I love to sing “I Love LA” too much to leave early. I have divided loyalties I have to confess when it comes to Team USA or Team Japan. I simply could not bring myself to cheer Shane Victorino. I know it’s a different time and situation but I had such a strong dislike for him this past season. I’ve always liked Ichiro and Daisuke. What can I say??
So between Korea and Japan, it has to be Japan. I am so confused with the Korean names. The whole team was 2 Lees, 2 Kims and 2 Parks. They must not have very many last names.
Blue crew…I have been to Petco Stadium. It’s a really nice stadium. There is structure parking closeby and many nice restaurants. San Diego is absolutely beautiful.
Hello everyone. Cpompe1, you didn’t look for me!! I am in Section 47 row A seat 1 on the aisle. That was last season’s seat before I changed it to row AA. Is anyone going tomorrow or has everyone given up? How are you Nellyjune, trublu, Dodger4life, Dcollins-how is your mom?
http://catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
Heartruss, San Diego is a beautiful city. I’ve always enjoyed the ride up there. I’ve heard that Petco is a nice stadium, so it should be fun. I hope we’ll be celebrating a Dodger victory on the way home.
bluecrewgirl – It is a very nice stadium. Very comfortable seats, and we happened to be sitting next to some nice people and we weren’t Padres fans.
Heartruss – I am doing great!!!! I had a very relaxing weekend, just watching my favorite sports ……Dodger baseball and NASCAR, with some basketball and WBC thrown in there.
bluecrewgirl – maybe he isn’t taking things so well……..
As for the regular position players, Torre said he spoke Saturday with outfielder Andre Ethier, who went 0-for-5 and is hitting .188, asking him to dial down his Spring Training self-criticism.
“He’s beating himself up,” Torre said. “He’s wearing himself out too much. You love the passion, but you don’t need to do that. He’s in that punishment mode. He’s too good a hitter. He’ll get it straightened out. It’s Spring Training. He’s putting unnecessary pressure on himself. It’s his personality, but it takes its toll.”
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090322&content_id=4049156&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
Yes, it’s me again. Guess who is doing Carne Asada Sundays this year…………yep, it’s Andre!! Well, he’s doing the first one on May 3rd. I won’t be there, but it’s good to see that he is Nomar’s replacement.
correction – the title even says “Andre’s Carne Asada Sundays” so it is just him – cool!! So, there’s June, July and August and September to make on of them then.
Hi everyone!
Nelly, yes, I already knew Andre is doing carne asada. We got tickets a few days ago.
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Heart, I will be there tomorrow. I am a Dodger fan first and a baseball fan second. I like the enthusiam that Japan and especially Korea brings.
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Disapointed that USA got eliminated but I still stayed until the end.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
Nelly, I dozed off for a bit, but just read the blurp you posted about Andre. At least it’s good to see that Torre appears to be supportive. He does need to chill if that’s the case. It’s only spring training for God’s sake. Take care and talk to you later.
Emma, that’s a bummer that they lost. I thought they had a chance when it was 6-4.
Good Morning ITD, Dodgerfaithful
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The Dodgers take on the team from Anaheim of L.A. of Orange County today, you know the California Angels.
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Chad Billingsley is scheduled to get the nod, Go get em Billz!!! Manny Ramirez is penciled in (???) as the DH, like George Jones says ” I Dont Need Your Rocking Chair. ” Manny’s Back Again!! Go Get em Manny!!! The team is taking shape and soon will be heading home.
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U.S.A. vs Japan ~ First off congrat’s to Japan… The announcers were saying that the U.S.A. team plays for October and the rest of the world plays for the WBC. They were making a lot of comments as to why we did’nt win. I agree things could be different, but they were’nt. We just got beat. Plain and simple.
Good Luck to both team’s tonight!!!
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Relax and have fun everyone it’s baseball season 🙂
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Enjoy the day…Life is good today!!!
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GO DODGERS!!!!!
Enchanted ~ Props to another notch on the billboard 🙂
Good morning Dodger4life and the rest of ITDland ~ hope everyone has a great week.
Good Morning ITD readers and writers!!!
It will be great to see Manny DHing today. We might see a true lineup today hopefully. That will be nice!!!
Thank you D4 and all on the song. When you’re traveling through West Texas, you can’t always get a radio station you want to listen to, so your mind tends to Juander and well, you know…
I think Dre just needs Manny hitting behind him and he’ll be fine. I’d rather he slump now than during the season anyway. Even as bad as things are for him right now, he’s still hitting 2 points above JP.
Good morning, Enchanted. After reading the homepage today, I got the feeling that even Joe was wishing that JP would have been traded. I don’t really think he wants to send some of the more deserving players down. He reluctantly says JP will have to be the 4th outfielder.
Good morning ITD boys and girls!
I honestly didn’t think that Team USA would get past Japan last night. And now that we know its Japan vs. Korea tonight, I’m thinking that Japan will win again. Yeah, I saw Korea “slaughter” Venezuela Saturday night, but Venezuela made A LOT of mistakes and their pitching was non-existent. No, when I see Korea is going to play Japan, I am fairly certain that Japan will win. Anything can happen of course, but I don’t see Korea beating Japan tonight.
Emma – It was GREAT to meet you on Saturday! I found you because you told me where you were. And since I knew what you looked like (your picture on your blog), it was easy. Have fun tonight!
Cat – I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you. I was sitting up in the Top Deck (that’s where Emma was). We got there well before the game started, but it was getting very cold (I know I don’t have to tell you about that!) and just sitting with my nephew to my left and my mom and other nephew to my right was feeling very cozy. Are your seats in Row AA season seats too? And are you still in Section 47? If so, I’ll make a point of coming to see you during a regular season game. I promise! I usually go to the home opener with my mom’s season seats, but as much as I WANT to go this year, I don’t know if I’ll be able to go. It depends on a job. If I have one by then, I’m not going to be asking for that day off, so soon after I get hired somewhere. But if I still don’t have a job by April 13, then I probably will go. But in either way, whenever I go to a game (and if not opening day, sometime soon I’m sure) then I will find you! Have fun tonight!
I sure can’t see cutting (and therefore losing) DY in favor of Monkeywitz. DY plays (OK not the best) 2 IF and 2 OF positions, but more importantly he’s a switch hitter so no matter what they can never match-up on him as a PH.
There’s no excuse for keeping JP. How many games are you truely going to win because of a pinch runner? If he’s the 4th OF, he defense is atrocious at best, so he’s useless late in a game. He can’t get the ball out of the infield, so he’s useless as a PH with runners on.
NOBODY else wants him. You’re paying the guy regardless of if or how he plays anyway, so why not just release him and put a better (less-than $500K a year) man in his place? This is the typical BS that we’ve come to expect out of Joe and Ned, and exactly the type thing that keeps this club from taking the next step.
Enchanted ~ I think Joe is finally getting the picture of what JP really is……and, he would really like to cut him loose. XPaul or Repko could fill in that spot quite well and could provide some “pop” off the bench. As we saw yesterday, all of our regular players are capable of stealing a base….even Loney tried yesterday!
I know I said that Mientkiewicz will likely be kept and MAY push DY off the team. But that doesn’t mean that I have to like that scenario. I don’t. But it’s only ST and we’ve got a long season ahead of us, so for me, I’m going to try my hardest to stay upbeat and see what happens during the season. And I said that I thought DeWitt would STAY with the big club and not be sent down. But IF he doesn’t stay with the big club, then perhaps both Mientkiewicz and DY will stay. Who knows?
As far as JP, I am so done with him. I have been for a LONG time…
So Enchanted, are you NOW back in NM??? And Tru, how are you??? 🙂
Oh, and I forgot to say – Randy Wolf, you did GREAT yesterday!!! I’m just so thrilled to have you back!!!
CP ~ I’m doing great! And, Randy did look good yesterday.
Yup CP, made it back yesterday.
Tru – Yes, I saw Randy yesterday and boy, he was spot on, great! I was thoroughly impressed that he made it thru 6 innings yesterday! Now, let’s hope that our other starters follow suit. I know the 5th starter is still a mystery, but I’m still hopeful. I’m just glad that I’m not the one that’s in charge of deciding that and who’s going to round out our active roster. I may like it, I may not. But I’ll support my Dodgers no matter what! (I know everyone else here will too!!!)
Other than my usual problems, I’m trying to spruce up the house. Yes, tidying up the inside is a pain in the b…, but I’m STILL trying to develop my dad’s green thumb. My dad was a gardener a long time ago (long before he met my mom) and while us kids were growing up, he always had tons of plants and flowers in our backyard. I always wanted to inherit his green thumb, but instead of inheriting that, I inherited his sweet tooth. Back some 13 years ago when we bought our house, my dad gave me an ivy geranium that I planted next to the garage; it’s still going strong! That’s ONE plant that I haven’t been able to kill! So when my husband put a small wishing well together and put at the edge of our front law, I bought a small ivy geranium to put inside the well (although it’s outside right now, until it gets long enough to “climb” out of the well. I just figured out that I need one of those tomato, oh, what’s the word, um, that thing that the plant climbs on! (See, I guess I still have a ways to go on my green thumb; I don’t even have the vocabulary right!) I also put the regular geraniums (the ones that grow straight up, instead of in an ivy fashion) in a couple of planter boxes outside the front of our house. Let’s see if I can keep these from dying on me!!!
Enchanted – It must be great being back home! So how long were you in TX? What were you doing there?
Hello my name is Ned Colletti. I’m calling to inquire about some relief pitching.
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I hear you have a need and we can replace that need for you. I’ve got a speedy leadoff hitter who has excellent coverage in CF. He is a threat on the base paths and we’ll even pay for 1/2 of his salary! All we ask is that we get some relief pitching or a pitching prospect. We hear you have a surplus of pitching so lets get a deal done that will work for both sides!!
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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/03/22/rays.perez.ap/index.html
CP — Impatients are really easy not to kill!!
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Try some of those. They grow like weeds!
The Rays now think that Upton won’t be ready until at least a week or 2 into the season.
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Perez who was their #4 and expected to start in the place of Upton is down for 4-5 months.
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With the season being 6 months long they will need someone.
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Make the call Ned!!!!!! Don’t wait for a call!!!
I am not one who likes to negative, I would just rather to take on my problems with a positive approach. So I will make this short. X Paul and others have out- performed JP again, knowing that Manny is the LF and Kemp and Andre are the other outfielders. JP doesnt fit and deserves to be shown other avenues, as well as the other players deserve to be rewarded for thier success. Hoping that JP will emerge has gone on long enough.
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GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tampa Bay Avenue…
Dcollins! If only Ned would make that trade!!! That would make my day!!! And I’ll try impatiens. The only problem is that where I’m planting my flowers, it gets VERY DIRECT morning and afternoon sun! The flowers I’ve tried in the past just don’t work. I’m not sure what kind of flowers they are, but we’ll see…
Well, I’ve gotta go for a bit. I’ve got work to do around the house. I’ll catch up with y’all later…
Dcollins ~ I wish that would happen. Maybe JP, himself will make it become a reality. He can tell his agent he’d take less money to play everyday!
The Nats have been hiring leftovers too… I still think its worth paying ALL of JPs salary to have him go contaminate, I mean play on somebody elses roster.
CP – I was visiting my mom and sister and calling on wineries (so that I could make it a write-off business trip.)
CP! I should have taken a pic of you, especially against the WBC logo that they placed on top of our logo! Why do I think of these things afterwards? When I look at our logo in the Top Deck I remember the fan Maurice (may he rest in peace) that Plaschke wrote about a few years back.
It was extremely freezing and windy last night.
Emma
http://crzblue.mlblogs.com/
So the Dodgers get rid of Estes, now he’ll be back in a week to try for the situational lefty position after a couple of minor league games out of the BP…
Ned can’t even get rid of crap without keeping it around to see it a second time. 10.2 innings, 19 hits, 2 HRs, ERA 8.44, WHIP of 1.97…
What exactly about those numbers screams situational lefty? Cut him and be done. He doesn’t want to go to the minors, let him try and find another team and hope he gets to pitch against us – A LOT.
Andre got a base hit – yeah!!!!!! opposite field too 🙂
I knew he could do it! Yeah, Andre!
Everyday Dre is back in the house!!!
LOL, dcollins!!!!
1-0 – Dodgers!!!
He has always been everyday Dre 🙂
…since you gave him that name dcollins 🙂
That is true Nelly. He always has been.
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I think even Torre knows that now.
You mentioned how they spoke highly of he & Matt on the 30 & 30 show. I think the x Rangers/Indians GM even said he had the potential to be a future Allstar.
Well that wasn’t good…
dcollins ~ I heard that too, and it was very nice to hear. 🙂
Is it still 2 to 1 Angels?
Nope… 4-1.
good afternoon ITD
I’m listening to the ST game and trying to do a few things at once since I have a game to go to later this afternoon. I have to go back to work tomorrow night so it’s back to the routine again. I did have a great vacation: Camelback Ranch for a few days and the WBC. I can’t complain. I am counting down the days until the first exhibition game at Dodger Stadium Apr 2. I have a few dugout seats already during the first couple of weeks. My regular season seat is in Section 49 Field row AA. My seat is right when the baseline seats end. I hate those baseline seats since they block my view. My new seat doesn’t have anything in front of me except the field. I’ll see how I like this seat. Please look for me CPompe1 or any other ITD folks.
I have done so much traveling that I think I don’t have the energy to go to PETCO. It is a gorgeous drive and actually I made the drive in a little over an hour from Long Beach if there isn’t too much traffic.
Nice view from your seats CRZ but I think it might make me too dizzy. I went up there before and felt nauseated. It woud probably be worse after a dodger dog. 🙂
Yeah, Dre 2 – 2!
He listened to us and just relaxed 🙂
Tru — Huh? The game I’m listening to is 4-1.
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Bills is being the Bills I worry about. In the 1st inning, 2 out no one on & he walks Abreu. Then gives up a single and then Kemp & Ethier loose a fly ball in the sky and it drops for a 3 bagger.
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Then in the 2nd inning He walks 2. Then gives up a double & homerun.
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Now Bills is out of the game. He threw a ton of pitches & He went 2 innings gave up 4 runs walked 3 and gave up 4 hits, including a triple, double, and homerun. He struck out 2.
Oh… I get it Tru. You ment 2-2 in hitting. I thought it was a homerun. I’m doing taxes at the same time and ran to the other room to get some paperwork & when I came back you had posted 2-2. LOL…
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I need to focus on the taxes and not 4 different things!
Yes I know. I’m a dork!
Sorry, I meant Dre is batting 2 – 2! LOL
Sorry Tru… I was excited when I saw your post thinking he went deep. Ha Ha Ha!!!
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Bills left due to a mild groin strain.
If Billz is hurt then I just got really nervous about this year, we cannot by any means afford to lose him or any of the other 3 starters. Please be ok Chad!! GO DODGERS!!
Okay Cat. I thought you were on the Reserved section. I usually sit on the Reserved section. I didn’t think that I would be able to go down to the levels lower than Reserved. I don’t know.
I didn’t want to read this, but it’s not good news for Billz…
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090323&content_id=4053916&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
I thought you were in top deck section. I like reserve section because the view is great. When I sit with my friend we are in the back row by the concessions in reserve section 5. She is one of the stadium doctors so she gets 4 seats, parking and some money for food when she works. That’s how I started with my dodger obsession. I sit up there every once in a while when I get lonely or hungry. Let me know when you are at the game and I will look for you. I just have to go up the escalator and then the steps.
Are you going to the game tonight?
http:catlovesthedodgers.mlblogs.com
Boy, the Angels announcers are dull, dull, dull!
Okay Cat. I think we are “crossing” things up; or, at least, I am. On Saturday’s WBC game, yes, I was on the top deck. That’s where I met Emma. But during the year, I usually sit in the Reserved Section – closer to where my mom’s season seats are. I thought on Saturday, you were sitting either in the Reserved or Field Section. And during the regular season, I thought you were saying that your season seats were on the Field Section, close to the Base Line Box seats. Now, that’s what I understand. If I’m wrong, please forgive me. It’s not like I haven’t been wrong before. And no, I’m not going to the game tonight.
And Tru – You’re right; the Angel announcers are BORING…
Well, I’ve gotta go. Got some errands to run. I’ll catch up with y’all later…
It’s tough to tell with these bozos announcing as to whether Billz was going through the “dead arm” phase that all pitchers do during spring training. Hope the injury doesn’t slow him down too much. We really need him!!
sorry cpompe1, I think I mixed you up. I always sit in the field section except rarely in reserved with my friend or in the Dugout section maybe about 6 times a season. I treated myself on my birthday a couple of years ago to field tickets and decided I loved it, especially when I got Shawn Green’s autograph on my back pack. I didn’t even have a baseball. After talking to him, I decided I liked the close contact with the players on field level.
It does pay to sit down on field level because the players get to know you after a while. During ST I noticed that Andre, Matt, James, and Russell recognize me. How cool is that?
Hope Billz is OK.
I find Weaver and his 7.88 less than enthralling as Chan-ho’s replacement.
Good news… my taxes are done for the year!!
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Bad news… another dinger for the Angels for 2 more runs. This one off Threets. Going to the 7th it’s 8-4 Anaheim Angels.
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Also Loretta left the game during an inning and the announcers thought it might also be due to injury.
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We really need to keep DY.
Enchanted — we all know that a minor groin strain is only minor. The only problem is with Conte it will be “minor” & “day to day” only to end up in a month or 2 after 2 trips to the DL as “requiring surgery”!
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Hopefully he went back to Trainer School this offseason.
Oh and once again that is why they call you Tru… these announcers are a little dull.
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But then again I’ve been doing my taxes so only half way listening to them.
Okay I usually don’t like to leave games early but… it’s become ugly and I might as well get a work out in seeing as my season starts soon!!
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Take care all!!!
No matter who they assign to fill out the rotation and pen, Ned once again shows he has no idea how to build a winner. Torre’s mantra beginning the offseason was pitching, pitching, pitching, and Ned got him nothing, nothing, nothing. And you don’t have any idea how it pains me to take Torre’s side!!!
True about Billz DC – I was thinking the exact same thing.
The only positive thing about this horridly ugly game is that it looks like Andre’s gotten his hitting back on track.
Diggie ~ You are right…..as dcollins would say, “Everyday Dre” is back!
Good evening, ITD. Glad to see that Andre has started to get his stroke back. Maybe his meeting with Torre got him to relax a bit….even though Bills’ injury is probably not serious, it speaks volumes regarding our lack of pitching depth. Pedro is still out there, Ned…….like JuanP, Mientkewitz is not multi-dimensional enough of a player for a backup on this team and is not worth keeping over X-Paul or DY. Joe’s hauling out the old”great guy to have in the clubhouse” bull!@#t as a rationale for keeping him. Mientkewitz sounds like this year’s Sweeney.
Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!
seesky – It was great to hear Andre get his swing back today. 2 for 3 with a walk…….now that is definitely Ethier-like batting. As for the pvl issue, it’s just Joe being Joe, and very irritating.
Good evening, nelly. Extremely irritating; frustrating, too!!!!!!
seesky – as jhall would say as well……….UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!
Aren’t Loretta & Asmus good veteran clubhouse guys?
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Hey Joe that position on the team is taken!
Good Evening dcollins!!! You make a very good point!!
I say “amen” to that point!!!! Joe’s reasoning on Mientkewitz brings to mind the line of the Jeff Goldblum character in “The Big Chill” about never going a day without a rationalization.
Joe’s keeping Mientkewitz so Enchanted can call him Monkey Whiskers.
Our ITD friends are witnessing one whale of a ballgame tonight!!!! The Japanese and Koreans are playing with an intensity our boys couldn’t match. We’re going to have to kick it up a notch in the next Classic if we want to be competitive.
Joe’s keeping him so enchanted can have more material for song writing too.
We shall have a fine group………Monkey Whiskers; Huggy Bear; Milton te Toaster and of course, Yougnomewhodontwantmenomore (also known as Pile, JP, Slappy)
LMTO, tru!!!!!
Milton the Toaster!
I think we may have more song writing material than last year. At least with Andruw and Sweeney, we had the mindset at the beginning they might still be okay for a while, but some of these guys didn’t stand a chance once their names hit print on Dodger letterhead.
With this infamous cast of characters, we can start the D’s version of “Sesame Street”: “The Malibu Beach Gang”!!!!!
That would be great, Nellyjune!
Sorry, that was you Seesky!
The songs could all be taken from the Beach Boys’ greatest hits! I’ll bet a lot of wonderful lyrics will come this season!
LMAO!!!!
We are inching closer to 500 songs, and I would bet by the first few weeks of the season, it is easily surpassed. There is just too much good material if the roster ends up how we think it will.
So true, Nellyjune, so true!
“The Malibu Beach Gang” would probably be closer to “South Park” than “Sesame Street”!!!!!
LOL!!!! definitely seesky!!!!
The Classic: 3-3, top of the 10th.
Our ITD friends are getting their money’s worth out of this game.
We could use any one of their pitchers! Awesome game!
This game is more intense than a WS game.
It sure is, Seesky.
Ichiro is on fire!!!!! His 4th hit just put the Japanese ahead. Korea made a big mistake pitching to him.
Ichiro is doing awesome tonight!!!
They sure did!
LOL, we are all thinking the same!
Baseball wanted it’s equivalent of the World Cup and they definitely have got it!!!!
I think you are right seesky!! I went into this not knowing what to expect. It’s not Dodger baseball, but it’s still pretty exciting to watch.
You wonder, though, Seesky, if the Americans really care about it!
Korea
Y. Lee LF 0-3
K. Jeong DH 0-1
H. Kim LF 1-3
S. Choo RF 1-4
B. Lee 3B 2-4
Y. Ko 2B 1-4
K. Park C 0-2
Why do they always forget the other 2? Every Korea game there is always someone missing.
Japan wins in the 10th inning. 5-2
They always seem to messed up the pitchers to.
http://sports.yahoo.com/wbc/boxscore?gid=290323104
I truly can’t believe the WBC final game!! The noise was deafening. It was actually frightening. I left before the game was over because there was definitely more Koreans than Japanese.
Wow 54,846 and is not are boys playing.
If we don’t care more about the Classic, we won’t be able to compete at their level. Our individual players are as good or better but the Koreans and Japanese play better as a team and want it more. The Asian teams started preparing for it in January. The Comissioner and the broadcasters were talking during the game about how we could better prepare our players. If we don’t improve, you’re going to see more of the same results in 2012
WTF is this? Anyone see this article. they have Manny batting 2nd and the pitcher spot batting 8.
1. Russell Martin
2. Manny Ramirez
3. Orlando Hudson
4. Matt Kemp
5. Andre Ethier
6. Casey Blake
7. James Loney
8. Pitcher’s spot
9. Rafael Furcal
http://www.bugsandcranks.com/los-angeles-dodgers/steve-hulkower/what-the-dodgers-batting-order-should-look-like/
It’s definitely past this ITD camper’s bedtime. Good night, all!!! GO BLUE!!!!!
Good Night seesky!!!! GO DODGERS!!!
heartruss – be careful out there!!!
Shad – I don’t think that is a real lineup. We have already been told pretty much Manny is going to be batting 3rd for the most part.
Yeah it really stupid and made me laugh and heck they even got the worst lineup with the pitcher batting 1.
Player0=Rafael+Furcal&OBA0=+0.352&Slug0=+0.406&Player1=Orlando+Hudson&OBA1=+0.360&Slug1=+0.432&Player2=Manny+Ramirez&OBA2=+0.409&Slug2=+0.527&Player3=Andre+Ethier&OBA3=+0.368&Slug3=+0.476&Player4=Matt+Kemp&OBA4=+0.355&Slug4=+0.475&Player5=James+Loney&OBA5=+0.362&Slug5=+0.471&Player6=Russell+Martin&OBA6=+0.378&Slug6=+0.432&Player7=Casey+Blake&OBA7=+0.336&Slug7=+0.440&Player8=Pitchers&OBA8=+0.224&Slug8=+0.196&Model=0
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