Brrr...

Me first? OK...bat Kemp third....forever.

Roy Orbison...........

We were all right for a while
Our lineup hit for a while
But when you hit the first pitch
I said, “That little b…h!”
And I sent you to the pine
You slammed your bat
And told me that…
I've been out of the game for too long,
Working with old guys and that I’m wrong
Well you said so long
Left me standing all alone,
Alone and lying, lying, lying, lying
So I went to the press
and I said that this mess is all the kid’s fault

I think the vets can do no wrong
And it's true, so true
How else can you explain my
Using Sweeney this way
But darling what can I do
He’s got all the stats
and he can’t possibly be
Finished, all done and finished

All right yes, I see you’re done
and from this moment on,
I'll be lying, lying, lying, lying
Yeah, lying, lying over you

I don't think I'd want Kemp third.. he strikes out way too much for a #3 guy... Ethier seems much better suited for that spot.. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind having Kemp bat fourth.. he could develop better there.

I do like Maza in the #2 spot and am glad he is playing instead of Hu. When Furcal comes back they should send Hu down and keep Maza as the utility guy...

And when Nomar is back (hopefully) he should become our top pinch hitter/backup first baseman and Sweeney should be released.

Eric, good one. LOL.

About a week ago, in the good old days, when Sweeney was still batting .114, I half-jokingly posted that the three Stooges were waiting for him to get to .100 before they would DFA Sweeney. Apparently our management has no limit to their patience, otherwise WHY IS SWEENEY STILL HERE? You, bunch of really dumb bast****!!!

You tell'em Bear!! I second your opinion.

Kemp's speed is wasted in the six hole. He's the prototype of a three-hole guy. Speed...power...batting average. Like we've been saying, this "probably" won't be a championship season...so I say bat the kids where they might reside for the next decade. They learn fast. I still believe in a set batting order. I assume we can still all recite the Dodgers order from the late 70's, early 80's, can't we? Can Torre recite his from last year?

Torre probably can't recite the lineup from 3 nights ago.

Who can?

Kahli - can Torre recite his from last week...

Good one eric.

Bear - I keep telling you its not good to hold in - gives you ulcers. LOL

Torre's probably regressing back to his childhood -
playing eenie, meenie, maanie, mo with the daily lineup;
however, one thing has been ingrained in his remaining mind - Pierre is a leadoff man, and Kent is the old reliable clutch cleanup hitter. Oh, yes - a guy named Sweeney is the all time pinch hitter, wheneverr the game is on the line. Everything else is kind of a blur.

I agree that Kemp should hit 3rd. He strikes out too often, but I think that with time that too will improve.
.
I disagree with kpookie that this probably won't be the championship season--depending on how you define "championship." The World Series is tough, but there is no reason that the Dodgers cannot win the National League West. I agree with kpookie that we're better off in batting the kids where they might reside for the next decade, but not because this is a throw-away year, but for just the opposite reason--that this is NOT a throw-away year. For the most part, our best chance is putting our kids in the positions where they should hit for a decade because they are the best option in those slots, and with just a slight improvement (on either more timely hitting, or more realistically, more power), we can win like that.
.
The one possible exception to that rule is Jeff Kent. I really do not think that he's a .220 hitter, and there is reason to believe that he can and will hit .280+ with 25 home runs. That's probably not a true clean-up hitter (he once was), but it would justify him hitting there for now. That being said, he's not hitting there now and should be moved for the time being.

"I'm ready for my closeup, Mr DeVille!"

Ooops.

"I'm ready for my closeup, Mr DeMille!"

Yep, we just need 3 more pianos.

leekfink, by championship I did mean World Championship...not the Western Division. Heck, I'll settle for a playoff series win....which, of course, also coincides with 1988.

I want to go on record that anytime JoJo wants to PH Marty for anyone tonight, its OK by me.

I've been to Fenway but never to Wrigley.
.
Leekfink,
My friend Eirk and I sang Loney the song during photo day. We then moved 'cause we missed Kemp and Ethier so when we saw Loney, I asked him if we embarassed him by singing (we had sang to him also in Colorado when he was being interviewed in the postgame). He smiled and said "no, I like it. it sounded good".
.
That was a tough and frustrating loss yesterday. Here is to starting a winning streak today!
.
Oh, I had a great time at the 60's luncheon on Saturday. I was the only one dressed like in the 60's

When are we going to start hitting some of these pitchers that are good but not superstars. We have the guys that can hit, but they never seem to get it started at the same time.

Let's kick some Bear Butt tonight.

Nice going with the song dodgereric.
All we have to do now is get an eraser and just wipe yesterday's game out(at least mentally) and let's hope we can outguess, outthink or hope this Sean Gallahger makes some mistakes.
Maybe that will help with the RBI when there's RISP.
Also let's hope Kuroda brings his A game and we can give him some support.
LET"UM HAV"IT DODGERS!!!!!!!.

Nelly,
I'm honored to be included in your insidethedodgers.mlblogs.com poem. Thank you.
.
Songwriters. You are all cracking me up.
.
But my favorite line of the day is dodger eric's "Who can?" in response to jhail's suggestion that Torre can't remember his lineup from three days ago.
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Today's lineup would be pretty darn good if you inserted Martin for Ardoin and reversed the 1-8 order.

crzblue, glad Loney enjoyed your singing.

I hope that the weather Brrrrr won't cause any problems for Kuroda or anyone else. Really cold weather can cause pulled and tight muscle injuries. Kuroda pitched very well in his last game. He went into the 8th inning I think. Keep warm Kuroda we need you to stay healthy. Pitch a good game and do your very best not to give up to many runs. Go Dodgers

Kent is not playing..the slow march to the DL begins.

I'll be watching the game on ESPN on my 36in. screen.
But I got to make sure my PC doesn't go out because then I have to pull the plug out of the monitor and place it back in again, sometimes a few times, to get it back up again.

I have to watchout when there is a long inning and make sure I touch the mouse every so often.
I have a feeling it will be a good game win or lose.
But it would be great to beat this team.

crzblue--That is fantastic! I see that MartinLoneyKemp is also happy. I was actually there and tried to get over to him, but couldn't figure out where he was until he was done. But it's spreading. Awesome!
.
Well, folks, it looks like the Piano may have just fallen on Jeff Kent. Tony Jackson says that it is probably not serious, but we'll see. http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2008/05/kent-explanatio.html.
.
If he goes down, I feel very strongly that we have to try DeWitt at 2B adn call up LaRoche.

Too cold for Jeffy?

patience, patience, patience - that word sure is getting used a lot lately. Joe thinks the kids aren't using enough "patience" at the plate. Joe has been using too much "patience" in waiting for the PVLs to come around. Let's not forgot about us fans for losing our "patience" when "they" do stupid things. How much "patience" do we have to have before another piano falls?
.

Almost game time - let's hope we don't lose our "patience" like most of us did yesterday

.
GO DODGER BLUE!!!

I am sacrificing HD on ESPN for regular on Prime. There is no way i can take 3 hrs of Berman and Sutcliffe.

They keep talking about all the big guys we have on the DL.
Who else is there besides Furcal?
The rest? who needs them.

Did another piano just fall on Kent? I read the recent posts and just found out he is not in the game.

Since our HOF manager seems bound and determined to use Sweeney in the face of all logic, I've decided to accept that fact, stopped hitting my head against the wall and started researching his stats in order to help us use him at his best. Here we go:

vs RHP .091
vs LHP .143
Remarks: Go against the grain and bat him against lefties

at home .118
on road .087
Remarks: Don't use him for away games

April .118
May .087
Remarks: Better hurry

In wins .105
In losses .095
Remarks: Only use him when we're winning

As starter .000
As sub .138
Remarks: Duh, he's one of the best PHs EVER!

RISP .000
Remarks: Don't use him w/RISP

Leading off an inning .000
Remarks: Don't use him to lead off

No outs .000
1 out .083
2 outs .111
Remarks: Remarkable consistancy

Day games .105
Night games .095
Remarks: Old people see better at night

Recommendation: For optimum performance, use Sweeney against left-handers at home soon only when we're ahead and as a pinch-hitter but not with runners in scoring position or when leading off but with two outs in day games.

You're welcome.

the game is on espn... national telecast... woo hoo

LMAO Eric!! He's freaking worthless in a nutshell. HaHa.

Okay, I am really feeling sick - why does everybody love Pierre so much? It's really sickening!

That one had me laughing out loud eric - good research!!!

These TV baffoons and other teams commentators don't have to watch Phew everyday. They're just going on his past history. Freaking 5 years ago when he was with the Marlins and they won the WS. It is sickening Nelly, to hear and to have to watch him play.

Nice long AB by Andre.

Whassa da matter dnel - you no lika my leetle Juana P?

It seems like Andre has found his "patience" - lol!!
That was great work on the count, regardless of the outcome - which happened to be good - yeah!!!

Back spasms for old Jeffy. I think he should take a few months off to recover.

Probably a fart crossways due to the cold. Next warm day he'll miraculously recover.

PierreEW,
He has been doing pretty good, I must say (for Pierre)!! It's just that Berman said "I love this guy," and I don't think I can go that far. As long as he bats like Pierre and catches like Pierre and doesn't have to throw like Pierre, he will be fine in my book, for now.

Jelly Roll, Sweeney, Bennett, and Kant have taken a lot of the stink off of Phew.

P.S PierreEW,
When Furcal comes back and when and if Jones come back, then I might have to re-evaluate my position depending on what happens to Ethier and Kemp because of Jones' return. I stick to my opinion that Andre and Matt are the two best outfielders, after that, Pierre and Jones can fight for the last one (along with DY).

Of course you all know we would be better off with He Sop Choi playing 1st. LOL!!

I'm listening to Rick Monday and Jerry Reuss on the radio, and they just said that Matt Kemp has gone 9 games without an extra base-hit. Didn't he double yesterday? Twice?
.
[Checking the Box Score. . .]
.
Yes.
.
What the heck?

Dam'n!! Hu's defense is OK but he is killing us at the plate.

lol!! jhall !!
Don't tempt them!!

You're right Nelly, Ned may see that and think it is a good idea.

The Beverly Nedbilly...

Come and listen to a story
'Bout a man named Ned
Who came from the Gints
And put Frank in the red

Signin' worthless FAs
And rustlin' up some fools
As a major league GM
He just don't have the tools

Dumb as a rock
Bad judge of talent he

Well the next thing you know
We got JP
Nomore, Gonzo,
Schmidt and Double C®*

Gotta go with the vets
Its the place I wanna be
So he screwed all the kids
That we all would like to see

Andre that is
Kemp, Loney, Andy too
(fade into banjo...)

*The Curacao Cow®, CC® and Double C® are registered trademarks of Nedco..

Nedco,. Makers of such fun games Schmidt For Brains, Chinese Chokers, and I’ve Fallen And I Can’t Comeback. Nedco, where the past is the future.

© Nedco 2006, 2007, 2008. Nedco, bringing you less for more.

Don't know much about Ethier,
don't know much about Kemp either.
Don't know much about Billingsley,
don't know much about James Loney.
But I do know that I love you,
and I know that if you love me, too,
what a wonderful world this would be.

Don't know much about hit-and-run,
don't know much about Delmon Young.
Don't know much about Russell Martin,
don't know much except sittin’and fartin’.
But I know that one and one is two,
and if this one could be with you,
what a wonderful world this would be.

I don't claim to be a baseball student,
but I'm tryin' to be.
For maybe by being an “A” student, baby,
I can win your love for me.

Don't know much about Juan Pierre,
‘cept he has a cute derriere.
Don't know much about Blake DeWitt,
‘cept I need more rhymes for this bit.
But I do know that you love me,
and I know that your name’s Mark Sweeney,
what a wonderful world this would be. ©

I can't forget that it was Ardoin that knocked out LaRoche.

enchanted, jhall, and dogereric,
the boys of verse and rhymes
creating songs and poems
to help us through these times.
.
JHALL, ERIC AND ENCHANTED - HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS AND WATCHING THE GAME AT THE SAME TIME? - INCREDIBLE!!!!!

The Reds called up Jay Bruce and DFA'd Scott Hatteberg. Whatever you do, DO NOT TELL NED!

dnellie, it's divine inspiration. Or jhall was right when he called me a savant. Lord knows I'm not good at anything else.

Has anyone noticed that our lineup is full of young players (except for Kuroda and maybe Ardion, I don't know his age)?
During spring training we all wanted the young players to play. It may not be

Please disregard my last comment. I accidentaly punched the wrong key and it entered.

B_L_A_K_E_Y BABY

NED: "Hmmm, Hatteberg, Hatteberg. With an e or a u? Wait! There he is! (ANDRE 2 for 2!) Hmmm, 38 years old? A little young, but not bad. (My Loney has a first name....) Released by 3 teams - goooooood!!! Currently hitting .173? Who cares? LIFETIME .273!!!!! GET HIS AGENT ON THE PHONE!!!!!!!!!!!(my man DeWitt!!!!!!!!!!!)

The young boys are kickin' butt right now - Andre 2 for 2 (good throw from catcher on that attempted steal), Matt , James and Blake getting it done, too - Keep it up boys!!!!

Watching Hu's latest flailing strikeout, it struck me (no pun intended) that he seemed heavier than I remember when he came up last September. So I researche and, now I don't know if the stats are right or wrong, but he was listed at 150 lbs. last year and 190 this year. Ned, or should I say Conte! Keep Hu away from Jones and the buffet table, get a little weight off him, and maybe the bat will come around. Holy cheese cakes!

My GM has a first name
Its L-O-G-A-N
My GM has a second name
Its W-H-I-T-E
Oh I want him to be it bad-i-ly
And if you don't know why you'll see
Cuz our current GM stinks
Spelled C-O-LL-ET-TI

Had to step out for a sec. LMAO again E and Eric. You're inspiring. Kids gettin' it done baby!!

Beautiful throw!!!!

clearly ardoin is a vast defensive upgrade over bennett..

Strike em out throw em out. Great play guys. Saved a run

Sweet throw by Ardoin. Kuroda is cookin'!!!

Pierre being Pierre - sorry PierreEW!
I'm trying!! :)

You know The Fool™ signed Bennett with a team option for 2009...

Okay, why does Maza do that? That is the third time he has went out to get a ball that Andre could have clearly gotten himself. It worked out both times yesterday, fortunately, but it obviously didn't work out today.

Maybe running the bases will wear out their pitcher.

Our guys are looking good.
Like to see some runs though.

Great hit by Andre, nice catch by Fukidome - damn!!

Kemp - so close!!

sorry - that was James that hit that last one - trying to multitask, and it's getting confusing - sorry

That was a beautiful swing and follow through by Ethier.

Loney swinging the bat much much better today.

When does Pierre get a rest??... or a piano??

Okay - Nice catch by Pierre :)

Another nice catch by Pierre - Thank heavens for wind!

Piano's been lifted from Pierre for now :)

That first catch by Pierre brought flashes to me of Amoros.
On to the 7th.

Nice plays by Phew.

I was wondering if Torre would've hit for Kuroda if Ardoin would've gotten on.
Also thinking Kurodo is not an easy out.

What does "Piano" mean, I mean besides being a musical instrument?

The piano falling on someone means they got injured. The piano fell on Nomore, Jones, and Bennett. Now we need piano's for Kent and Sweeney.

Need a whole truckload to fall on Ned.

One of the hardest jobs in baseball has to be a Dodger pitcher.
Kuroda had a great night, LET'S GO BROXTON.

enchanted started the piano thing - right?
He, jhall and eric have done so many creative things, but I believe it was a story enchanted told about Pierre walking underneath a piano someday, and then it became an everyday thing with many of our PVLs (pathetic veteran losers - which should be trademarked BTW)
I am sure enchanted will enlighten you if he hasn't already by the time a type this post.

I like the way Ardoin handles himself behind the plate.

Nice catch Andre!!!!!!!!

Thank you for answering me.

That was supposed to be past tense - handled. I thought he did a good job. When can we activate Bennett so we can DFA him??

Jegi = Piano refers to a post I made a few threads ago regarding all the freak injuries that seemed to mysteriously happen all at once to the worst players. The image was of Ned luring JP to walk under his 5th story window while a piano was being hoisted up.

When does Young get a chance to play? Wasn't he the MVP or something like that at Las Vegas last year? The Dodgers need more hitting and that's his strong point, yet he wastes away on the bench. And LaRoche is wasting away in Vegas. These are two hitters who have proved themselves in the minor leagues, yet they have to take a back seat to the veterans and even other newcomers. Find a place for them in the lineup and let them play for a while and see what they can do. I'm tired of the hypocrisy that Torre demonstrates with the vets and Young - and the way LaRoche is treated. This sure isn't the Dodger way from the past.

Rat Sh*t!!!!®

Looks like another loss Kuroda didn't deserve.

Can the ESPN crew be any happier that the Cubs just went ahead?

We just don't have the wherewithal to compete with the better teams right now.

You can't get on Broxton he did the best he could against some of the best hitters in baseball.
If we had more offense, fewer of these situations would occur.

I thought ESPN was supposed to be equal and unbiased. I'm sick of listening to the fathead and the grinder monkey. Sutcliffe needs some "alone time" after that inning.

I'd say Pierre is long overdue for a HR.

Anyone think he'll ever get one as a Dodger?

Sutcliffe's man crush on *** U Dome is killing me.

Sorry FukUDome

Let's go Ethier hit one.

C'mon James...

This is getting exciting - bases loaded!! Go James!!!!

OH NO!!! JAMES!!

MAYBE IT WILL BE MATT'S TURN - COME ON MATT!!!

DAMN!! DAMN!! DAMN!!

UN-F'ING-ACCEPTABLE!!™

Growing pains...

Another bases loaded situation with less than 2 out. Zero runs scored. I'm so tired of being let down. It's the same old story.

The Dodgers are good at tablesetting........
I think they're just going to school.
Let just hope someday they will become better then just set the table.

My thoughts exactly, enchanted...

I guess the ESPN crew doesn't realize that the fans don't care that Kent, Nomore and Jones are not in the game. We rather have the growing pains - thank you very much!! It hurts to lose like this (not that it's over yet!), but I am willing to live with it if it means more playing time for the young guns.

Woo hoo! What're the odds that we get to see Sweeny bat? He's such a good hitter! I'm so glad he's not wasting a roster spot that could be taken up by a more talented player.

I got hope for this team they are putting up a wonderful fight against one of the best teams in the N.L.
OUR DAY WILL COME.

Also doesn't help when your professional lead-off "hitter" goes 0 for 4, and its a little chilly so your "veteran leader" 2B comes down with an acute case of Idon'twannaplayitis.

Still maybe a month or two from now the table setting turns into a few runs with the younins.

hahahah not that sweeeny was a suprise

aaaaaaaand the game ending double play

So predictable.

Must be about time for the "professional" PH.

Well gooooooo Lakerssssss

However, in the same situation with Kent/Nomar/Jones/ Sweeney coming up to bat with bases loaded, would anybody have felt any more certain that things would have been different? The young impatient batter will get blamed, once again, but there certainly isn't any guarantee that a vet wouldn't have done anything different.
.
point exactly, Sweeney!!

Sweeney - The Sultan of Sit™

Like I said, soooooo predictable. Let's see what you got Pierre.

oops, my bad

Yeah, Sweeney did no more than Loney or Kemp.
.
Game on the line, I would most like to have Russell at the plate. Like now.

Same result though. Damn.

Though, it doesn't always work . . . .

jhall...

this is a late post, but i really could care less to see a bases loaded, one out situation for a long while..

and sweeney is AWFUL. he's batting under .100 now.. and for a pinch "hitter" that's the second clutch situation in the past 3 games that he's struck out looking.. TAKE THE DAMN BAT OFF YOUR SHOULDER!!

Dam'n!! Heavy sigh!!!!!!!

Come on Ned send Hu and Sweeney down and called up LaRoche and Repko.

This might not make sence to some of you young ones but the Dodgers won tonight.
They fought hard and although some of you may not understand, they did the best they could.
Things might even get worse before they get better, but our guys are getting a lot of necessary experience.
Just hang in there.

Between Hu, Maza and Pierre, they couldn't open a bottle of aspirin. We need a power bat. No one on the Dodgers is stepping up. We get guys on base and there they stay. As much as I hate to say it, I think somebody needs to move. We have a lineup comprised of nothing but 6's, 7's and 8's. Great table setters, but no one to clean up.

I said it earlier E. When we choked with the bases loaded