Tonight's game

Let's hope that Lowe is extra sharp for this one, because the lineup does not bode well for a lot of runs on our side.

okay, I am officially upset, now - not the lineup I wanted to see. I hope pitching is there tonight.

We might be able to find out how Matt is at lead off - lol!

Pitching, pitching, pitching...without it we have no chance.

I hope a better performance by the Dodgers than what we've been getting lately. Speaking of performances, today is the 30 year anniversary of Kingman's Performance. -Emma

i'm really pulling for andruw today. he's currently on pace for 6 homers and 30 ribbies. he's gotta snap out of it some time......hopefully.

I have no confidence in D Lowe tonight, but hopefully he can get us back on the winning side of things. Lineup is ok, it is what it is with the injury to Furcal. Hopefully Druw can get it going against Parra.

so when torre said yesterday, that he planned to give jones a FEW days off... he really meant, none. geez, that 9th inning walk by jones with the 0-fer yesterday from andre must have made joe's decision the easiest ever... who am i kidding, i bet he knew today's lineup before watching a single at-bat from yesterday =P

Manny Parra, Brewers starter.
2008 - 7 starts, 5.79 ERA, 1.867 WHIP, batters hitting .311 .403 .455 against him.
Career - 9 starts (16 games), 4.88 ERA, 1.661 WHIP, batters hitting .287 .375 .404 against him.
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I smell trouble.

Parra's stats are typical of the kind of pitchers that have been looking like CY Youngs against the Dodgers lately.

Why does Torre feel the need to play Pierre. Didn't he watch last nights at bats by little Juan? Where's Ethier? It really doesn't matter if Lowe is like he has been. Hey Derek, pitch like you have been and watch the money slip away.

Let's hope we can make Parra live up to his stats. I predict a homerun for Russ tonight.

Sweet lineup.

As a leadoff hitter Pierre is getting on base at at .172 clip

bolsterd by our 2 hole guy who has gotten on at a .282 clip for the year.

Of course this follows the pitcher and another guy who has gotten on base at a .281 clip on the year.

Yep Jungar, and Kent hasn't done squat in a couple of weeks.

imagine how grea we would be if we had the lowest payroll in the NL, not the highest.

Imagine how good we would be if Ned used all that money wisely. If you don't waste around $60M on Phew, Jones, Nomore, Schidt, and Bloaiza then you can sign the Santana's and Torii Hunters.

Got a little time to kill. Drpdedblnd was lamenting on the last thread "...and I'm sooo tired of not having any power....". Me too. For such a storied franchise, our career HR leader is a bit embarrasing:
ATL - Henry Aaron - 733
NYY - Babe Ruth - 659
SF - Willie Mays - 646
MIN - Harmon Killebrew - 559
PHI - Mike Schmidt - 548
CHI Cubs - Sammy Sosa - 545
BOS - Ted Williams - 521
STL - Stan Musial - 475
PIT - Willie Stargell - 475
HOU - Jeff Bagwell - 449
CHI WS - Frank Thomas - 448
BAL - Cal Ripkin - 431
DET - Al Kaline - 399
SEA - Ken Griffey - 398
LAD - Duke Snider - 389 (Karros, LAD leader at 270)
CIN - Johnny Bench - 389
TEX - Juan Gonzales - 372
OAK - Mark McGuire - 363
TOR - Carlos Delgado - 336
CLE - Jim Thome - 334
KC - George Brett - 317
COL - Todd Helton - 306
Angels - Tim Salmon - 299
NY Mets - Darrell Strawberry - 252
MIL - Robin Yount - 251
WAS/MON - Vladimir Guerrero - 234
AZ - Luis Gonzales - 224
SD - Nate Colbert - 163
FLA - Mike Lowell - 143
TB - Aubrey Huff - 128

Thirteenth out of the "original" 16 teams. If you consider that the Dodgers moved to LA in 1958 and the first expansion year was 1961, it puts the list in a little more perspective. Move Karros' mark into position and the 7 teams below him are expansion teams. Seven of the teams above are also expansion teams. Dead center in the expansion teams. If Guerrero wasn't moved out of Montreal at such an early age, we'd be below the middle of the expansion teams. The only good thing about it is that the Padres are worse.

I've never thought of Karros as a real power hitter. Certainly Piazza would have passed him if he had stayed, but he didn't. It would be nice to have a Dodger up higher on that list someday. Perhaps Kemp, if we can hold onto him. I know that someone might say that in today's game, you can't hang onto someone very long anymore. But there are an awful lot of modern players on that list.

Joe is really destroying Ethier's confidence and putting tremendous pressure on him for every at bat by the way he's benching him. Andre will be a mental case pretty soon, but then I doubt that Joe really cares. It will just give him a better excuse not to play him. I guess we all have to face the fact that Pierre is Ned and Joe's boy and he's going to play regardless of his performance or the affect on the team. This is going to be a long and wasted season for the real Dodger fans.

Interesting info Eric.....

Dodger Stadium greatly depressed home runs until very recently.
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The Dodger all-time HR leader would be different if the evil Fox regime hadn't cobbled together one of the worst trades in history. Curse you Chase Carey!
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-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la

Good point fogey.

Gotta get to my son's hockey game. Hope to join you after the Dodger's win tonight. Can't help but think that Andre would produce more runs in the leadoff spot than Pierre.

Go BLUE!!!!!!

It seems like Andruw is under a microscope.
Every little accomplishment gives Torre confidence in him.
I guess that's how it is when barring injury, you threat the guy who you know is diffenitely your starting CF.
Let me say that Jones will have to do an awful lot of accomplishing to make most of us forget Ethier.

I've nothing to say... or too much - I can't decide which.

I completely agree redfox. I think Ned and Torre had it in their minds from the beginning that Pierre would be the leftfielder and that Kemp and Andre would share duties in right field. A self fulfilling prophesy to start Pierre. This really stinks for Andre and the team.

After Joe sees a couple of weeks of Phew in the lead off spot, I think when Ferk gets back, Phew will see more pine time. Phew's hitting will continue to decline and it will be a no brainer. I think by the time Ferk gets back Phew's OBP will be below .330. Maybe well below.

Need Lowe to pick us up tonight. Badly.

The GIDP by Kemp was LA's 41st, tying the Cardinals for the league lead. This is game 39.

I'd like to think that you're right, jhall, but that assumes that Joe is thinking clearly and using common sense. So far we haven't seen any evidence of that occurring. In all probability, it will just give Torre the opportunity to say that he needs to play Pierre to give him a chance to work though the slump. After Pierre's AB in the 9th inning last night, he should be sitting tonight. You don't hit the first pitch you see after a 10 pitch walk - especially when a walk in that situation would have put the tying runs in scoring position and given Ethier a chance to provide Gagne with another blown save.

The Cards led the NL last year with 154 GIDP. LA was 12th at 116. The current pace of 41 in 39 games would project to 170. 158 is the highest NL team total in the 2000s - the 2003 Brewers.

I understand the basic logic behind batting "first ball pop-up" in the leadoff role, he's a rabbit for sure. Behind the same logic, maybe we can get Carl Lewis to come out of retirement and bat lead off for us. Afterall, speed is the name of the game as it applies to being a good and productive lead off hitter; right? Getting on base is over rated anyway when you're a speed demon like Pierre. He does lead the Dodgers in "speed back to the dugout." Does anybody remember that cat down in the minors last year who went crazy and started lobbing the rosin bag like a grenade? That's how Torre's/Colletti's/McCourt's managing philosophy makes me feel on a daily basis. Even though on some days a blind squirrel can find a nut, today's line-up features four automatic outs in a row. Hu, Lowe, Pierre and Jones. In fact, the sad part about it is that Lowe may be the most productive hitter in that group. I love Hu, but his bat just isn't ready for big league pitching. I hear a lot of people (Torre included) talk about letting Jones play through his slump. Jones' slump started at the beginning of the 2007 season. The way I see it his slump has lasted for nearly 200 games. That my friends is not a slump. I guess it'll take Torre another 200 games to figure it out. His excuse last year was an injured wrist. The wrist seemed to work just fine getting the fork from the plate into his mouth. Colletti, if you're listening, please do me a favor; ammend Jones' contract to include a free tripp to the Hometown Buffet for every homerun he hits. Maybe a Big Mac for every double and a Moon Pie for every RBI. I was against his signing from the start. I wanted Rowand. I thought Jones was a Cadillac when he was with the Braves and he's proving me right. I bet if the catering truck was parked at first he'd hustle his fat*** down the line. Un frickin' believeable! We have All-Star caliber outfielders who are sitting to watch million dollar babies suck the life out of my beloved team. Winning isn't the only thing, in fact, it's seems to me as though it doesn't even matter. Frank McCourt has become the Donald Sterling of MLB. Everybody stand back, I've go a sack full of rosin bags, and I'm not afraid to use 'em!

Important K for Lowe against Hall.

Game over, good night, IM not watching this crap for the rest of the evening.

Counsell 7-20 vs. Lowe, career. 350 .423 .450 .873

This pitcher hitting 8th thing seems to work. Crud.

And finally the GIDP. Better late than never, but geez.

CY Parra

When somebody hits our starters, everybody hits our starters, even ninth place defensive catcher Kendall.
I don'texpect Torre to do anything for a while.

I was actually going to say nice hit for Pierre, and then he got caught stealing - classic!!!!
Sara - there's another tally mark for Pierre getting caught stealing.

Anybody who doesn't like long running games must surely appreciate the Dodger offense.

Ya know, I try to be optomistic about this team (after all, it's only May), but the way they're playing so far, it's almost an exercise in futility.

Look at it this way, JP's CS saved Jones from the GIDP.

We need to get at least one or two runs this inning in order to have a shot at this game.

Look at it this way, JP's CS saved Jones from the GIDP.
By westernmost_in_flavor@yahoo.com

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Now THAT'S optimism!

Well said Kace!!!!

LOL, I love the rosin bag thing.

BORING

BORING

BORING

What hurts the most is that anyone can see we have the talent. It's just not being used properly, and frustration is an understatement.

Maybe they should start laying some thin cardboard on the field at the Stadium, because we all know the Dodgers play best on paper.

Where's Ethier, Joe!!! We want Andre to come out and play, Joe!!! Please, can he come out and play now, Joe - please, please, please!!!!!!!!
Spoken like a teacher, who has been brainwashed by her students - lol!!

Feel free to put Ned's name in place of Joe's - I'm not sure who's to blame anymore.

Kemp just missed the the right field foul pole.

No patience at all. Out in front of changeups all night long.

How can he play Ethier if Jones is in CF & Pierre's in LF?

All I can say is, if Torre's waiting on the vets wake up May/June like he did with the Yanks and become saviors, leading the team to the promised land, Joe's gonna be wandering the wasteland for a VERY LONG TIME.

Pierre's not even capable of doing what it is he's supposed to be good at. The starters stink. Nomore, Sweeney, Pierre and Jones - you know, Ned's vets, emit a most profound foulness from having been reclaimed from the dung heap, and the kids will never get any experience with Torre managing.

There's a new song for this organization - Crying time again.

Did I miss something. The Brewer announcers were talking about signing Martin to a 6 year deal before the season after the Braves gave McCann a long contract. I don't recall that happening. Actually quite the opposite. That's what we want them to do, and of course they don't have the foresight to get it done.

Another 1-2-3 inning served up by the Pride of Sacramento, What's-his-face Parra.

Manny "Garcia" Parra
lol

Welcome to opening day 2088 and all the festivities surrounding the 100th anniversary of the Dodgers last World Championship...

LOL!!!

Ho hum...boy, does that winning streak seem long ago. This is SO like the past few seasons. Up/down/up/down/up/down. That said, let's free the innocent. Grady, you weren't the answer, but in hindsight, you probably weren't the problem, either. Joe? Andruw? DeWitt? Hu? Kuroda? You weren't even here the last couple seasons. Kemp? Andre? Loney? They wouldn't play you, so you're off the hook. Martin? Please...one of our FEW bright spots. The guilty? I'm too weary to total up the carnage.

BLAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO BLAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DeWitt!! Rookie of the year candidate so far. Oh wait, they'll bench him when Nomore comes back. Fools.

NUMBER 3 for DEWITT wecome him to the club.

Nice job Blake! Did I predict Russ would get a homerun today? I meant Blake! :)

Brewer announcers are talking about possible dh's for this weekend. I'm going to game in Anaheim on Friday - who will be DH for us? I would think with the way the line ups are going, it's anybody's guess at this point.

DeWitt is insane. Unbelievable.
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-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la

That's right Rick, yes the green chastity belt surrounding the stadium looks just the same as when it was installed way back in the early 2000s.
Yup Charlie, and the team hasn't changed much either since then, heh heh...

DEWITT now joins KENT, KEMP, ETHIER & MARTIN with 3 HRs.

DH in Anaheim will be Pierre. Granted, he's not a great defender, but we gotta have that hitting machine with blazing speed in the line-up.

I think the DH should help Torre with the outfield situation for a while.
If it doesn't.........?

This is looking like typical LOWE type of game.
Unless the offense wakes up.

Angels will take 2 out of 3 from us. No doubt about it. BDV will rip dodger pitching. I wish I could be more optimistic.

nice at bat JP

(Rick) And to throw out the first ball, its our current general manager Ned Colletti III. Listen to that crowd... I think the fans are a little mixed up, sounds like they're sayin Booooog.

And here's the ceremonial first batter Andruw Jones II...

(Charlie) You know Ned makes a lot of pitches to free agents...

(Rick cuts Charlies mike) And Here's the pitch...

SWUNG ON AND MISSED... heh heh, like father like son.

Somebody started this (wasn't me):
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/free-ethier/index.html
-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la

DRUW hitting the ball hard tonight.

Pierre with a craptastic bunt attempt, a liner to the pitcher! Then Jones with his SECOND single.

Okay, is it possible for Andruw to lead off the next game? (jk-I think). He is doing better than Pierre. Hell, everybody is doing better than Pierre right now.

Two strikeouts for Kemp isn't good, either.

OK, I'm losing it again watching this game:

People try to put him down.
Talkin' 'bout my Juan Pierre.
Just because Andre sits down.
Talkin' 'bout my Juan Pierre.
Things he do seem awful (well, just awful...sorry, no rhyme)
Hope he sits 'fore Andre gets old.
Talkin' 'bout my Juan Pierre.

This is Ned's acquisition, Ned's acquisition, baby...

Now let's see if Lowe can get his 6 in.

LOL!
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"(well, just awful...sorry, no rhyme)" - how about "weird" pronounced to rhyme?

Thanks for the petition link, westernmost. I really like your other name better. Will you ever get it back or is it gone for good?

This is the spot for the patented Lowe routine grounder.

westernmost, anything you'd like...I feel like Lennon and McCartney...

Well guys, I have to go hang with my Boy Scouts tonight, but I'll be checking my cell for the score in hopes of some kind of miracle. Have a great night.

kahliforni/kpookiemon-
"Things he do suck derriere"?

Well, out of all the sites, this is by far the most creative bunch.
Nice one - kpookimon!

DeWitt is now second on the team to Furcal in OPS - over .900.

Charley Steiner just blew a load over that DeWitt play lol

DeWitt is just rockin' tonight!!

Well Im looking towards tomorrow already with CBill vs Sheets.

That works, westernmost. Book it!
Don't mean to pick on Pierre...well, I guess I do. But at the end of the day--as always--the body lies at the feet of our fearless GM. He created the mess, we just slop around in it.

(Rick) You know, there are a lot of former Dodger's that reached Hall of Fame status AFTER leaving the Dodgers, and we're lucky enough to have several of the great and great great grandchildren here today.

(Charlie, mumbles something as he's not figured out how to turn his mike back on.)

(Rick) Why I see the Martins and Kemps out in the right field pavillion, and there are the Loney's, Martin's and Kershaw's out in the back of the third deck down the left side. Unfortunately the Ethier's wern't able to get in the stadium.

Really make you long for the old days eh Charlie?

(Charlie muffled) Um-Hum.

Super Kahli!!! Bravo!!!

"Yeah, Charlie, I still remember the trade that sent Martin, Loney and Kemp to the Mets for Carlos Delgado and a sore-armed Johan Santana back in 2010...right after Colletti signed that new 7-year contract of his..."

Wow, they didn't hit for the pitcher there, 2nd and 3rd, two out? Parra isn't going more than one more inning, should have hit for him, crappy pen or not. The Dodger offense better make Ned Yost pay for that poor choice.

If anyone said that Blake DeWitt is our brightest star right now, he'd get no argument from me.

The Brewer announces were joking about stealing the Dodger signs...
The way things are going...
I don't know.

Loney's gonna go yard here.

You go Enchanted. LMAO!!!

Those were the days Rick, but a lot of people thought that was a bad move at the time. However it was able to block the youngsters just long enough for reaquiring Lugo.

Of course Parra came in with an era over 5!!

Bah, DeWitt hit into a Pierre.

Remember when he let Furcal go and extended Pierre's contract?

Must be DY to PH here, right?
-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la

WTH???? Where is the RIGHT-HANDED BAT of Young to face the lefthander here?

Pierre comes thru in the clutch with that RIP! lol

Rick) And here's this afternoon's line-up:

LF Juan Pierre V. Juan's a tireless worker who get's to the park at 3:00 AM to help sweep the parking lot. Juan's been in the league 12 years now and is hoping that this will be the year of he gets his first homerun. Nicknamed Pop-gun I assume for that wishful first dinger...

(Charlie) Juan's been working on an underhanded throw from the outfield in hopes it will improve his distance. The wind-up takes awhile though...

Pierre has some of the most feeble swings i've ever seen from a major leaguer... but we'll take it.

I guess Pierre will be in the line-up again tomorrow - the ruled that last one a hit, so on the books, he is 2 for 4.

We got a break here in the 7th but we're going to take it .
Right?
Maybe Andruw can help us out here.

Andruw showing signs of his old self - strikeout!

An ugly rally but we'll take it. Maybe our luck is starting to turn

Well we only trail by a run, we are still in the game.
LET'S GO YA BUMS!!!!

That inning was a mid 60's Dodger rally minus the stolen base and the sac fly.

(Rick) Batting second and in center, Andruw Jones V. One of the most consistant hitters on the team. He's mastered the art of swinging on the same plain for every pitch no matter where its thrown.

(Charlie) And those 7 RBI he had last season is one of the reasons Ned extended his contract. He's an imposing figure at the plate too - kinda reminds me of Refrigerator Perry.

ATTA WAY PROCTOR may have to go 2

Leadoff walk was bad, but Proctor got everyone else. First five up are Kemp, Kent, Martin, Loney, DeWitt. The time is NOW!
-the poster formerly known as old_fogey_la

I see Park is the starting pither on Saturday against the Halos.

The Dodgers will start Chan Ho Park over Hong-Chih Kuo against the Angels on Saturday.

Park has a 2.16 ERA in 25 innings out of the bullpen. He's expected to be available to throw 85-90 pitches on Saturday.

Oh, not deep enough!

I'm sure Pierre will remain in the lineup as long as Furcal is out.
But also you have to remember that Torre likes his play and Colletti bought him.

Kemp has to worry, if he slumps I think he sits.

(Rick) Batting 3, 4, 5 and 6 and playing all the infield positions, Nomar Garciaparra.

I spoke with Ned III earlier today and he said it was his great grandfather''s dream to one day have Nomar as a super infielder that could play all the infield stops and thankfully, he can fulfill those dreams now through cloning.

(Charlie) Yeah the cloning took awhile to perfect though. Back in the 2050's you'll remember the Nomars we went through because they all played like Nomar the first when he was in Boston. Boy Ned II realy had his hands full.

(Rick) No chance of that happening now Charlieboy, we've reached the pinacle of the technology. Now he goes calf, back and hammy on us and keeps coming back (or one of him does) for more.

Kemp just ripped that ball, unfortunately it was caught. And he went, what 2-4 with a double yesterday?

Go hit by Martin keeps us going at least.
Loney's due.

Dang - that was out in a stadium that doesn't have OF walls that belong in a pinball machine.

If we get through the 8th it will be DeWitt & probably two pinch hitters.
We may see Ethier.

Maybe we'll get another crack at Gagne.

I agree with you, Joe Pierre. It will be DeWitt, Young and Ethier. Then the "top" of the order.

O.K. Beimel
Let's go Broxton.
Keep us in the game.

Good god, if we get a runner on, it could come down to Phew again.

(Rick) Batting 7th and in RF, Jeff Kent.

Now entering his 97th season Jeff's still chasing that elusive World Series ring. He taken the move to right like you expect a true veteran performer (holds his hand over the mike - he hit me with his walker.) They say he doesn't have the mobility he did when he was 85, but he's still a gamer and a great guy in the clubhouse (covers the mike again - if you like Sam Kinison.)

Charlie. Anything to add?

(Charlie) Depends.

(Rick) On What?

(Charlie) No. I can see Jeff's Depends. He's worn them on the outside again.

THAT'S BETTER JON
Now it's MOTA.

Mota's in the game. Blast From The Past, Part II.

Mota is throwing strikes.

was

(Rick) Batting eigth and catching, Gary Bennett IV.

Tough choice here as it could've gone to so many deserving backstops, but Torre VI does favor the vets. Gary muscled down and hit a robust .133 this spring.

(Charlie) He's also working on his throw to second by running half way there before he lets go of the ball.

Good walk there by Young. Ethier time, right?

2-1, a hitter's count.....

DRE!!!!

JP TIME! lol