The rubber match

I think it must be from bridge, where you need to win two games to win the "rubber". If each team has won one game each, the third one by definition is the game that wins the rubber.

Dang it, got new posted!!!

jhall - let's hope Ned's learned anyway!

That had to be a great conversation:

JP to Agent - find out what my status is on the team.

Agent to Ned - What's my client's role on the team?

Ned to Agent - the better your client performs in the opportunities he has, the more playing time he's likely to earn.

Agent to JP - You're scre wed.

Next Day:

JP to Agent - Tell Ned I want to be traded to a team that appreciates my talent and where I can start.

Agent to Ned - My client would like an opportunity to play elesewhere. We'll waive any no-trade clauses and accept a trade to any team.

Ned to Agent - I've tried, but nobody wants him even if we pick-up half the cost.

Agent to JP - Well its like this Juan, Mom's on the roof and we can't get her down...

This lineup is absolutely unacceptable. It's bad enough that JP takes AB's away from Kemp and anyone else. But now he is leading off??. What an insult to Furcal. I'm sick looking at this. Over/Under on how many times JP gets the ball out of the infield? One? Get this guy outta here.

any idea what pierres splits are against young? thats the only explanation i can figure out for this one.

Pierre is 4 for 16 lifetime against Young
Kemp is 0 for 3 lifetime against Young

hmmm well hopefully he can get on, and pierre and furcal can run all over them.

i actually have no problem with JP playing over kemp today. kemp's had some terrible at-bats to start the season and chris young isn't gonna help that at all. young is also terrible at preventing stolen bases, so if pierre can find a way to get on, he'll run wild. a win today would be incredible.

JP 4 for 16, 1RBI, 1BB, 1SO
MK 1 for 5, 4 SO
Kent 2 for 18, 1RBI, 2BB 3SO

I don't have a problem with Kemp sitting out one more game - he needs to just relax and get it back together. Somewhat of a Grady-esque line-up, but I guess Torre's trying to keep Kent fresh by giving him the day off against a pitcher he's had no success against.

Barf.

I'm so sick of seeing that stupid photo of JP with his hat on crooked - I'd feel a little better if they just made him go have his picture redone with his hat straightened. Maybe then he'd at least look like a ballplayer.

Where is Kent today?

What a crappy line-up today. Where's the beef?

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!

I guess if you cry, you get your way.

Juan strikes again!!

Of course, if you are trying to deal her, it is probably better to play her.

Always nice playing the first inning with only two outs.

why is furcal not going

I can't tell you all how unimpressed I am with Jones.

Can any of these guys even make contact?

He better be on his game or its gonna be another long day for Lowe...

Joe is rolling over. We're still getting the Grady lineups. Unbelievable.

Pierre?????

That was a good job to get out of the jam.

ok lets go boys

Way to go Lowe!!

That was very Dodger-esque of the Puds.

Yeah, I'm really worried about Andruw Jones too Enchanted. He seems to be the same player that the Braves let go, and not the one who was around a couple of years ago. I'd like his silly grin a whole lot more if he could just get a few RBI

Ethier!

Way to go Ethier!!!! This guy is going to have a HUGE year, you can just feel it!! GO BLUE!!

Andre!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to set Martin down for a game or two.

And that's why Jones can grin all he wants.

Yeah, I agree enchanted, he needs a game off. He's pressing big time. Did Jones flash some leather on the liner to center? I'm watching on line, so, I didnt get to see it.

Yea he flashed a little leather. Nice grab.

DeWitt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What did Dewitt do?

I think Kemp and Martin are trying to impress Joe and trying to do too much. Ethier is just playing flat out good baseball. Ans DeWitt's too young to know that he's supposed to be nervous.

Did Greene just make a diving catch? or did Loney hit it right at him?

I just saw the video of it.... that was a pretty decent catch. If you're watching the game online, MLB gives in game highlights, it's pretty cool.

Hu, heads up play.

Nice job by Hu, way to save a run!

Nice 10 pitch AB for Andre even if he did make out. Nice AB by Martin too.

I'm sorry, but if that's all we get for $18Mil, we might as well have let Repko play center.

We need to figure out some consistency. We either score 8 runs or we score 1. We need to try not to put as much pressure on the pitchers. It's one thing for them to pitch a good game and hold teams to a run or 2, but our offense has got to get it going soon.

If JP hits another pop up today, I'm gonna freak out.

Keep it up D-Lowe

Take heart - at least we don't have the gnats offense - looks like they got Zito zero runs again today.

We are starting to scare me as far as offense goes. Chris Young is a good pitcher, but 3 hits. Not to mention, we're not running on him, and we're getting picked off!

gnats offense isnt that much worse---this is frustrating

The Dodgers were the biggest disappointment in the NL West last season when they finished two games above .500. I am afraid the Dodgers will not fair much better because of the constraints that Ned Colletti has put on the team. Dodgers are roughly paying 50 million or half their salary to four players this year. These are all players that were signed or traded for by Ned Colleti. What do you get for your 50 million?

44 million over five years a year ago to sign center fielder Juan Pierre
$36.2 million over two years for center fielder Andruw Jones, who's coming off a season in which he hit a career-low .220, strikes out too much and his OBP is horrible.
$47 million over three years two winters ago for free-agent right hander Jason Schmidt which after six starts for the Dodgers he has a 1-4 record, 6.31 ERA and 25.2 innings pitched. And yes, let’s not forget the season-ending shoulder surgery.
$6.5 million contract for 2008 for Esteban Loaiza who for the Dodgers last year started five games and had a 1-4 record, 8.34 ERA, 9 HR and 22.2 innings pitched. He is a career 4.64 ERA pitcher.

I think the Dodgers still lack power again and will have fewer home runs than any NL team. This is especially true if they have Juan Pierre in the line up and have Andruw Jones striking out all of the time. If the Dodgers have another .500 year for 2008, Ned Colleti needs to go. He simply is a bad evaluator of talent.

Dere Lowe has got to be getting frustrated with things. I mean, last year the run support was terrible, and now this year things are going no better for him. What's this guy got to do to get a freakin' win......

This sounds bad, but I'm going to say this game's over. We can't SCORE!

Won't get any better tomorrow either - the D'Backs held back Haren today for their home opener.

man, Ethier is on... even when he gets out he's causing havoc on the pitchers.

Come on Martin!!!!

Boy Ethier's putting together some good ABs today.

I would almost be tempted to have Martin sacrafice Ethier over. I mean, we need every run we can get.

Way to go Martin!!! That a boy!! He has got to get going, and that will certainly help!

Rookie mistake there by Dewitt, he's got to get that runner to 3rd.

Terrible AB by DeWitt - first pitch swinging and doesn't get the runner over. When's someone gonna teach these guys how to play ML baseball??

They totally pitched around Sweeney to get to Pierre.... @#$#!$#@$!!!

Pierre wants more playing time.... he is showing NOTHING!!

Can Pierre do anything??? Christ I'd have batted DY - at least you'd had a chance for a run.

What a joke...I don't think I have ever seen someone pitch around a pinch hitter to get to the lead off guy...if this was any other team i would be laughing my balls off...

4 mother freakin pop ups?????
JP is showing that he's good enough to be a pinch runner and that's it.

Mr Speed, with another pop up. Geez!!!!!

There is absolutely NOTHING that JP can do that Repko, DY or anyone else can't do 100 times better. I want him gone NOW. Jeez Ned, just release the guy.

Torre should have pinch hit Kemp for Phew. I couldn't believe it when I was sitting here. Well, Phew, better call your Mom now.

ok great for ethier and martin tying up the game however this was a super super wasted opportunity to give lowe a W and hand it to the pen. Dewitt should have been a lot more patient with Youngs pitch count high. in addition both dewitt and hu couldve have played small ball and bunted to move the runners over something torre should have done. another mistake by torre putting kemp to run for sweeney. what should have been done is bat kemp for pierre since hes coming out of the game anyways. furthermore, pierre is a worthless to the dodgers. his first 2 ABS he got the counts both full and couldve have walked on both but did his trademark pu$$$$$iyy swing to pop out. and thats the story of whiney P. it is what it is.....wowww

If I was Mom, I'd be hiding from him.

Basically what it amounts to also is that I HATE the Padres.

DeWitt had a horrible AB, im sure the guy knows he has to at least move the runner over, maybe the info on Young and his first pitch tendancies are something that fits DeWitt, he just didn't execute---maybe he should have sacrificed and leave it up to Hu and Sweeney (yes Pierre doesn't count anymore) or a WP or a PB.

BTW, Biemel suucks.

Is there any chance that this was the last straw for Pierre?

If not Eric, then I have no idea what would be. He's not had any form of success this season... at ANYTHING!

Well, I know it's wishful thinking. All I know is that I'm tired of seeing his name in the lineup. I'd rather have Kemp in there with the chance of something good happening.

I like our chances in a battle of bullpens. Raffy has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that even if Pierre ever gets another shot, it will NOT be as leadoff man.

2 cracks to get Furcal in...

I am seriously getting really worn thin with Andruw Jones!!! All he had to do was make some damn contact!!

0-4 with 3 k.... no homeruns or even extra base hits on the season.... real freakin' nice!

Unacceptable!!!!

$36.2 million over two years for center fielder Andruw Jones, who's coming off a season in which he hit a career-low .220, strikes out too much and his OBP is horrible.

if we lose this game because of wasted oppourtunities..... It's going to be a LONG year if we keep this up, that's how we lost to the Giants too.

44 million over five years a year ago to sign center fielder Juan Pierre

$36.2 million over two years for center fielder Andruw Jones, who's coming off a season in which he hit a career-low .220, strikes out too much and his OBP is horrible.

$47 million over three years two winters ago for free-agent right hander Jason Schmidt which after six starts for the Dodgers he has a 1-4 record, 6.31 ERA and 25.2 innings pitched. And yes, let’s not forget the season-ending shoulder surgery.

$6.5 million contract for 2008 for Esteban Loaiza who for the Dodgers last year started five games and had a 1-4 record, 8.34 ERA, 9 HR and 22.2 innings pitched. He is a career 4.64 ERA pitcher.

andruw jones is single handedly killing this teams chances at scoring... this is real bad... and why play pierre over kemp... ide rather kemp go 0-4 that pierre.

Big John is keeping us in it. Not much else you can hope for.

Got to pull this one out gang.

Its beginning to look like Boras put one over on Ol' Ned - again!! At this point I'd rather we had princess Drew.

Only because DY had such a dreadful ST is why JP is even 4th OFer. Honestly, on the depth chart JP should be 6th behind Repko (who should be 4th OFer) and DY.

whoa... San Diego going for the hold and the hold and the win in the bottom of the ninth.... Whether or not the Dodgers score here, I think I go to Saito in the 9th.

HUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HU ARE YOU!! HU HU.. HU HU!!!!

Hu's da man.

Matt Kemp is really not helping the get rid of Pierre cause!!

Gang it guys - Kemp couldn't hit water right now if he fell out of a boat.

Sorry, was still on high from Hu's hit - that should say Dang it guys.

Kemp is struggling but I would rather have him struggle everyday then have Pierre...i have no faith in him getting anything done....

Saito Time!! Think they'll play "Bad to the Bone" at PETCO?

I think Saito should come out to "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting" That would be awesome!

SAMMY TIME !!!

Two out of three. On Friday morning, I would have said GREAT!

Huge win today....it sure didnt look good in the early stages...but the pitching has been lights out so far this season...2 series victories...on to AZ

Nice series win.

This team is going to test my blood pressure this year. But good win, especially nice to keep winning 2 out of 3. I just hope our bats start to come alive soon. Another good day for Ethier, I'll talk to you guys later, on to Arizona a place we've fared much better than PETCO.

http://www.tombell.net/sammy.png

jhall, you're a riot...............

Good one jhall!

It this what it was like being a Dodger fan in the mid 60s? All pitch, no hit. Gonna wreck my nerves...

http://faithdalakerfan.wordpress.com/

Can't take credit for it. It is MTI's on this blog. Good bunch. Check them out.

I think this is something we need to get used to with the pitching in the division how about facing a pitcher with these numbers:

3.26 ERA 1.16 WHIP
that's the avg of Cain, Lincecum, Peavy and Young

4 out of the first 6 games

What do Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre, Jason Schmidt and Esteben Loiaza have in common?...TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE SIGNINGS BY NED COLETTI...not to mention the $$$$$ amounts spent on them.....I think Andruw is a good center fielder, but he has lost it hitting....and I don't think it changes....praying I'm wrong, but right now he looks like a veteran version of Matt Kemp....not good.....and Pierre has so much speed that doesn't matter because he never gets on base....Imagine how good this team could be if Ned didn't think Andruw Jones was the answer...I'd rather have a normal center fielder that has a more consistent bat...it's not ANDRUW......Love that we won today...a very good win, but the hitting is the same as always...pretty awful, except Ethier....and sometimes Loney...hopefully the guys get it going.....I thought Andruw Jones signing was bad in the off season...nothing so far has changed my mind....a rally killer every time he's at bat.....

Jones will get it together. Pierre, Schmidt, and Loaiza, probably not.

Couple things..

I like the idea of "Kung Fu Fighting" for Sammy, but i think kung fu is Chinese martial arts while sammy is japanese.. Could be a problem, but otherwise a great idea.

Are we really ready to give up on Jones after 6 games? Give me a fing break. The guy had a solid spring, baseball is a game of spurts, he had a hell of a bad game today but it happens in this sport where failing is the norm. The guy is not going to hit .270, and if you expected that than its your fault. He of course should of knocked Raffy in after Loney moved him over but it happens. It doesnt epitomize his season, not after 20 something AB's...

And WHO CARES ABOUT THE MONEY??? Until we need to let a good player go because we have money invested in those 4 guys it really means nothing. We are not on any kind of limited payroll and play in the 3 biggest baseball market with top-2 annual attendance. Its such a tired argument that means nothing.

Wonderful,Amazing,Gutsy 3 to 2 Victory for our Los Angeles Dodgers over the San Diego Padres. Joe Torre is proving that he is a great Manager!Not only for managing superbly, but also giving Superman Jeff Kent the last at bat! A classy move for a classy player by a classy manager! Derek Lowe never leaves anything on the field.He will always give you everything he's got! Rafael Furcal,Russel Martin and Andre Ethier are courageus and they wear their Los Angeles Dodger uniform with Tremendous Integrity!What can you say about Jonathan Broxton and Takashi Saito! They are the best set up man and closer in Baseball. You guys are Inredible! All the rest of the Los Angeles Dodgers, are all worthy of praise! There is much joy in Dodegrtown Tonight, for greatness has returned to our Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers!

I think the point about the money is not the amount, but rather the quality of player....In a perfect world, if three of those contracts dont happen maybe we sign Santana..but with so much tied up it hinders you in getting the once every 10-year player....and it will trickle down to the fan eventually...and I'm not giving up on Andruw after 6 games..

Sorry ewk - not giving up on ol' Andruw yet, just totally unimpressed by both his spring and 8Ks in 22AB so far.

Pierre on the otherhand is a lost cause.

PEAVY IS A fuklng cheater!!! i was watching yesterdays game on fox from my dvr andddddddddddd at the end of the game after peavy got the last out at first he went over to iguchi to give high fives and his pitching hand was all black...looked like some type of sticky material.....maybe pine tar or something but Bltc..hhhh Black said it was dirt and that the hand gets dirty...can you say bulllllllllllllshllllltttttttttt! wow!

as for andruw jones expect his k's to happen all season long! im not suprised from jones he'll hit some out though just wait...

Josh,

Tow comments about our broadcasters (before my next post, which will address the popular topics of the day):

1) Friday night I was driving home and thought I would miss the first inning on TV. No problem, I figured--with Vin Scully calling the game, I could watch in on radio. But, when game time came, it was Rick and Charley. Vin was on the TV when I came home, but there was no simulcast. What's going on?

2) No offense to Rick and Charley, because the Saturday game on big Fox showed that they are still very good. No one is a biger Eric Karros fan than I am, but when Bard made the sliding catch, he and Matt Vasgergian did not know what the rule was. Meanwhile, Rick and Charley (who I was listening to on the radio at the same time) kneew the rule as soon as Joe Torre came out. They had it explained before the umires waved in Furcal. Kudos to them. (And a note--I would much rather NOT have our games on bog Fox, and would rather have Vinny, or Rick and Charley, doing the call. What happened to the days when the networks understood the concept of broadcasting a national game so you could see other teams--not just a bunch of regional coverage that you would get anyway, but now with lesser broadcasters).

If only Santana was a free agent than maybe I could see your point...

I have not been able to catch many games so far this because i am studying in europe but what a treat of a day game today. I too was very impressed with the way Torre managed, the Kent pinch hit was one example. The steal with Ethier was another. Letting Brox pitch 1.1 innings was great. Beimel to turn around Clark. Of course i dont want Pierre in the lineup, but as someone said earlier, i think today was the final straw. I totally get why Torre lets JP have that ab with RISP in game 6-- he is a veteran and you need to figure it out sometime. You let JP fail so that way he cant really be a problem, because he is clearly being outplayed. At the same time, Joe showed him some respect by letting him keep his AB even though he was obviously coming out of the game for kemp. And most importantly, we got the W--something i definitely doubted after Jones failed to score Raffy.

Did Pierre drive four more nails in his coffin? Hehe, I think Joe might have seen enough.

As to the line-ups. What the heck??? I was sanguine about Kemp sitting yesterday against Peavy. He is clearly pressing, and Peavy is not exactly the right guy to get better off of. But why Pierre today? And why lead him off when Furcal is hitting and Pierre is not??? This makes zero sense.

As a team, we really need to start hitting. Only 2 home runs so far. DeWitt did not get on, which snapped his 5-game streak. Loney's been on base in all 6 games, and Furcal is doing well, but everyone else is hitting poorly. Even if the offense does not live up to our hopes, it is better than this. If it can get going, we'll be unbeatable--but Kempt, not Pierre--is a big part of that.

What a joke...I don't think I have ever seen someone pitch around a pinch hitter to get to the lead off guy...if this was any other team i would be laughing my balls off...

lol

I hope Loaiza pitches well tomorrow but im not optimistic... Our offense really needs to get it going

Swood, I thought that was also very funny. I was watching the game and thought to myself, why pitch to Sweeny, Pierre is up next. It was obvious they unintentionally intentionally walked him to get to Phew. LOL

It is so funny, when Pierre gets a hitters count, they just bring the fastball and he can't do anything with it. When it was 3-2, you knew the fastball was coming right down the middle. Sure enough, pop up.

Ringo Starr is considered the luckiest musician on the face of the earth because he landed with the Beatles because John didn't like Pete Best. Pierre should consider himself the luckiest ballplayer on earth for getting his current contract. Unbelievable.

Does anybody here think we wouldn't be better off with Repko as the fourth OFer?

From ST to now I've got to think that even Joe realizes that Pierre isn't the same guy who helped beat his Yankees in '03. Can't bunt. What he do today - 4 freakin' pop-ups? I agree jhall, you could've put up a ham sandwich and they'd have pitched around it to get to JP.

Enough is enough. JP parks his rear end on the bench and let's all hope like hell that somebody will take him for 1/3 his contract. Unfortunately even $3M a year's way too much for somebody to take him off our hands. Hell put him on waivers and hope somebody's dumb enough to claim him - kinda like Loaiza.

LMAO Enchanted. Totally agree.

Bad part is, he will get worse. He is on the backside of his prime years. LOL

I'd take Repko in a heartbeat over Pierre.

Dodgers have to look at Pierre's contract like Driefort's. Wasted money and move on.

Agreed.

Possible solutions for JP:

1. Platoon Pierre with the ballboy. He's fast, a hard worker, and can chase down those foul balls quickly so as not to interrupt the flow of the game.

2. Peanut vendor. With JP tossing you a bag or two you don't have to worry about it hurting someone even when the throw is errant.

3. Special assistant to Ned when he's out on his keister for wasting $125M+ of Frank's money.

4. Groundskeeper. He shows up early for the game, and because he's so fast, he can unroll the tarp singlehandedly to keep the infield from getting mushy when it rains.

5. Start an exchange program with China. They're starting to form leagues (and they haven't seen JP play yet.)

6. Start an all "go for the green" team. Charter members include Gonzo, Nomore, Schidt, Blowiza, Bombko and Jones, with an honorable mention to Princess Drew for helping to get things really rolliing.

7. Politics. This ones a natural because he already has a PR man singing his virtues and deflecting the bad as being other peoples fault.

8. [Insert your idea(s) here]

Vote now and vote often for your solution for JP.

I like #2

#2 for Phew, no pun intended.

I hope Pierre reads this blog. LOL

If you do Juan, please e-mail me and I will give you some tips. Here's #1, watch lots of tapes of Brett Butler.

The rest are 29.95 + Shipping and Handling.

Reasons for playing JP:

1. [insert your idea here]

E: None of the above.