Tonight's lineup

lets get em!

With a lefty on the mound I figured they'd give DeWitt another day off for his back. But, this feels a lot like Furcal. And if he is hurt we should option Maza for LaRoche.

If LaRoche is batting over .400 and has a on basepercentage of .450 or better, then yes let's get him up here. Other then that Let's go Maza get's a shot.

I have been behind DeWitt all along, and I personally hope that he can continue to be the regular third baseman. However, it seems to me like we're passing up a good opportunity to get LaRoche up here to show what he could do in the few games that DeWitt is sitting out. He could have been brought up instead of Maza, or better yet we could simply DFA Sweeney or Loaiza (heaven forbid, even Nomore) to make the room for him. It's going to be ridiculous if we're keeping a third base option open for Nomore and that's going to block LaRoche, same as was the case with Loney last year.

LaRoche should def be up instead of Maza if DeWitt is hurt longterm.

But, if DeWitt is out tomorrow, that's when I'll seriously make the case for LaRoche to be up. I think with the lefty Torre figured one more day to be safe. We have a day game tomorrow so it makes sense.

A long long time ago
I can still remember
How they used to play
I knew if they got the chance
The kids could make the bathpaths dance
And we would all be happy for awhile

But Ned Colletti made me shiver
With every signing he'd deliver
Bad news in the clubhouse
A fat guy and a door mouse

I can't remember if I cried
But I took the line-ups all in stride
The hurt in Kemp and Andre's pride
The day Joe Torre lied...

So bye-bye Andy LaRoche good-bye
Hurt your thumb and got the finger
Makes the rest of us cry
When Nomore comes back
They say they’ll give him a try
Sayin’ this will be the day that we fly
Torre don’t realize his tank’s dryyyy…

(insert your own next 200 lines here)

I was thinking, DeWitt was originally drafted as a 2B. Let's say LaRoche comes up and shows his potential at the major league level... How does a homegrown infield of Loney, DeWitt, Hu, LaRoche sound?

beat the angels... think blue... red is dead... good lineup for tonights game... dodgers will win it I know it...

Sweet E. Gives us all a project. Dodgerdude, I would like to see what DeWitt can do at 2nd. They really are missing a great opportunity to get LaRoche up here and see what he can do.

Ugh awful, awful lineup. What is the deal with DeWitt? If he is hurt what now? Not that Stan conte could correctly disgnose anyone within an inch of his life. Secondly, Torres goes with the best offensively outfield but then uses pierre as dh?!? Pierre as a DH is like a microcosm of Ne'ds htinking: pure stupidity. How bout using Sweeney or god forbid getting Young some at bats. As for Maza, he's AWFUL> Anyone see the defense the last two games. Look I know Hu is strugging with the bat but his defense is MILES ahead of Maza. And Bennett... great game the other day, but he has one of those every two years or so. Bring up LaRoche! This game seems like a throwaway.

So bye, bye Mr San Fran guy,
Signs outfielders who are heavy,
But their bat has gone dry,
And good young boys, catch and hit line drives,
But they'll sit while playoff hopes die.

**************************WE NEED LAROCHE*************************

jhall - that's what Ned's all about - missed opportunities.

What does Maza bring to the table that LaRoche wouldn't be far superior at? Certainly would've been nice that he could've stepped right into DeWitt's spot.

I know Maza's ths sacraficial lamb when Nomore gets back, but the personnel decisions on this team are beyond horrendous.

It's a mystery to me E.

People who are unlikely to get us to the playoffs and who have no future with the Dodgers, like Nomore, are overshadowing all of the personnel decisions. I have to assume that LaRoche will be waiting in AAA while Nomore gets a month or so to show how he can play third base, once he's off the DL. We fans already know how - INADEQUATELY. In the meantime, the management is wasting what would have been an opportunity to let LaRoche show himself on the major league level. But I don't know why we rant. It doesn't make any difference to Ned or Torre, and they will always cloud their vision with an overdone veteran when it comes to team considerations.

Think how much better this team would be if we still had Werth with his 7 HRs and Edwin Jackson. Ned you haven't been good!

I don't know if any of the rest of you feel this way, but its hard to feel good about this team even after a win because you know the next day its still going to be more of the inane line-up BS.

Its obvious after two months that contract plays over talent. So no matter who's playing third, that'll be Nomore's spot when he gets back. LaRoche languishes in Vegas. Slappy still bats lead-off... Torre and Ned make such a dysfunctional pair it boggles the mind.

Our outfield tonight is line up with Jupiter & Mars and the stars in heaven, how often can we expect that? I hope it's not only when we play with a DH.
I hope DeWitt doesn't follow in the foot steps of Furcal.
First it's just one night, then two, three, four and next the thing you read is he's on the DL.
Hope Kuroda can follow up his last start, the same way only he gets better support and our usually fantastic bullpen doesn't let him down.
It's another rainy night here in Brooklyn and the Mets & Yankee subway series has been postponed, I was going to watch a few innings.
LET'S GO BLUE CREW.

I know Maza is only meant as a temp replacement while Furcal is out, and I guess I prefer that to them making a dumb trade for a quick fix (Julio Lugo, anyone?), but I don't get starting him again. Did the coaches not watch him throw on Thursday? I could throw harder than that. But I don't want to get down on a guy so instead I'll agree with those who are wondering about LaRoche. He's clearly ready. There can be room for him AND DeWitt because if DeWitt can't play 2nd I'm sure LaRoche can do it, as a sub for Kent.

It's just head-scratching sometimes.
But on the bright side! Hey, we have Ethier, Kemp and Jones in the outfield for once.

Anyway, go Dodgers.

at the end of the previous thread, someone was talking about orel hershiser.. and i just wanted to comment.. i actually got to meet him this year, and he was very pleasant. i work at USC and his son jordan, pitches for our baseball team. orel came out to watch jordan one weekend.. more randoms, but eddie murray was here that weekend too. and obviously with chad kreuter as our head coach, there are plenty of random dodger related people around.. hideo nomo has been around a couple times, chan ho park too.. and nomar and mia came to a soccer game once.. they were all nice people =)

back to this team.. i wish they would have called up laroche instead of maza too.. but i really think that they feel this is only a fill in call up, because i would assume they believe that furcal will be back soon.. and if you're only going to have a spot for a week or so, it's really unfair to bring up someone like laroche.. you bring up someone you have no problem sending down immediately. i believe when they call up someone like laroche, they would want to bring him up to stay.. it's kind of like when they brought up eric hull for a few days last year, and everyone wanted jon meloan.. some guys who are legit prospects, they don't want to jerk around.. at least that's my two cents..

I would guess LaRoche is not up because thay feel they have to keep both Hu and Maza as they are the only ones that can play short. If Maza went down and Hu wasn't around, who would play SS. Perhaps, Marty could fill in in an emergency. I don't know. There is no room on the roster to bring up LaRoche with Hu and Maza both on the roster unless someone is sent down or DFA'ed.

Jayson Werth has gone crazy 3 at bats and 3 HR's with eight RBI's and they're only in the fifth. Good for him, I always felt bad when he got hit during spring training for the Dodgers and he was a victim of numbers because he missed the entire 2006 season.

Very cool Sara. I met Orel at spring training a couple of times. He and Brett Butler were very nice and actually talked to you. I guess that and their excellent performance is why they will always be two of my favorite Dodgers.

I like the HR's last night. We need to continue or it time or a major trade. 8 or 9 hrs from the outfield this time a year is plain pitiful. I know you all luv Either but 12 to 14 hrs a year simply don't cut it. He one guy that either starts producing more hr and rbi or give Young some starts. As i said last week Dewitt can play 2nd and well. The infield is fine.LaRoche will be back.

Losing Werth was/is tragic. Very bad luck and timing on his injury. Ned wasn't patient or confident enough to wait for him.

From Tony Jackson:

Three days after receiving his injection, Rafael Furcal said his back feels much better, and both he and club officials remain hopeful he will be able to come off the DL as soon as he becomes eligible on Wednesday. He hasn't started baseball activity yet, but he hopes to do so either Sunday or Monday at the latest. Probably won't need a rehab because he hasn't missed enough time to warrant one.

Here's the lineup. DeWitt feels better, but Joe sat him for one more game against the lefty Joe Saunders.

As I said in a previous thread, timing in this game can be so important to a player. The timing for Jayson Werth just was not there. He was hurt too often so he became expendable. I am afraid the same thing might happen to Jason Repko, and it could happen to Abreu because once the label is put on a player that he is injury prone it is hard to shake. (Just ask Nomar.) Werth, Repko, Abreu and now possibly LaRoche all had a chance but injuries prevented them from really getting started. Hopefully DeWitt's injury is not the start of something similar.

In reality I think it could be argued that Werth, Repko and to some extent Ethier are more or less the same player. Sure, one may have a bit more speed than the other but none of them came through the ranks as the traditional power hitting outfielder type prospect the Dodgers have lacked for so long. Maybe that will happen for one of these players. However, how much risk should a club take with a player who has been injured? (Again, please don't bring up Nomar; we all agree that was a big risk but at least he had a track record as an established player.) We all seem to agree that the Dodgers made the right decision not to make a big play for Gagne based on what he has done since he left the Dodgers. I suspect there would be some serious moaning and groaning had he been able to get back to the same level after he left as he had attained prior to getting hurt.

Someone mentioned Dionar Navarro a while back. I would agree he might be a better choice as a backup to Bennett but isn't he the guy Martin replaced due to injury? I have seen a number of comments critical of Bennett as a choice for backup catcher. Who was available and willing to take on that role that would have been a better choice?

By dodgerdude17@yahoo.com on May 16, 2008 4:29 PM
"How does a homegrown infield of Loney, DeWitt, Hu, LaRoche sound?"
************************************************************************ It sounds like a bad Abbott and Costello routine.

I mentioned Navarro earlier. I wasn't mentioning it in terms of him still being on the team. Clearly there is no room for him as Russ is way better, and Navarro deserves to be a starter somewhere. I mentioned him along with Edwin Jackson because of how successful they are now, and how little we got in return for trading them away. I was illustrating how bad Ned is at getting value back in any trade. The latest illustration of this was the Betimit for Proctor trade. Infielder with tons of power potential for a mid level to below average middle reliever.

Yep Dodgerdude, Betemit can also play all the infield positions and some outfield in an emergency. Another bonehead move for Ned. Proctor is a freaking waste. I wouldn't let him near a close game. We could have done better with Seanez.

I'd rather have and infield of Loney, DeWitt, healthy Ferk, and LaRoche. I could live with the aforementioned infield with Hu. It will just be nice next year when Nomore and Kent are gone. Along with Bloaiza and Lowe.

Dodgerdude, I think the key is what the worth of those players were at the time and what the Dodgers were hoping to get.

Speaking of Edwin Jackson, he is the exact reason the Dodgers do not want to rush Kershaw.

Good point lbirken, at the time Navarro was very inconsistant and hurt, and Jackson was a couple of years away and struggling badly. Baez had been up to the trade a lights out closer. Carter and Baez sure stunk it up here. Geez!! I guess at the time we were pretty desperate for relievers.

Damn I can't believe I missed Werth 3 homerun today. This is why I always wanted a lineup of Werth in LF Kemp in CF Ethier in RF and Repko #4 OF's.

Well OK, Navarro was inconsistent and hurt at the time he was traded. His stock was low. But it was clear he has talent at the time. What's the number one rule of trading stocks... Buy low, sell high. Ned violated that rule here and numerous other times. He practically gave away Navvaro, Jackson, Betimit, Joel Guzman(huge bust, but still has more value that what we got back) Chuck Tiffany, Sergio Pedroza, (those last thwo are former prospects with decent upside, now TB prospects) and many many more. Its not like he was forced to trade those guys, they could have spent more time in our minor league system. Ned just doesn't get it on so many levels.

Damn wasn't this game suppose to be on kcal? The Lakers game was suppose to be on ESPN.

Laker game is on KCAL and ESPN. Dodger game is only on FSN West and the Angel feed. Also, Pierre will be in left, Kemp in center. Jones will DH. Everything else is the same.

hmmmmmmm@yahoo I hope that wrong they have Pierre in LF Jones DH.

I believe the Navarro/Jackson trade came when Gagne was injured and we needed an emergency closer very badly. Baez had a pretty good track record up till that time.

I grew up watching Sandy Koufax
Maury Wills and Wally Moon
I cheered when I saw Tommy Davis
Juan Marichal was such a goon

And Vin, you're always there to soothe my ears
In every game you do
There’s no wonder
I love Dodger Blue

I fell in love with Valenzuela
Whose eyes would roll back in his head
And now we’ve moved to Russell Martin
Ethier, Kemp and dumb ol’ Ned

I'll guess I'll never know the reason why
I love you as I do
It drives me crazy that
I love Dodger Blue

Just walked in and see that JP's in left and Jones is DH.

All I can say is, Torre is no HOF manager. At this point in the season with all we've seen, he's not even a good one. Our only hope is that he's an idiot savant.

Eric is a musical savant. Good job Eric. LOL

cant andruw do anythign right? geeze... this game is close.

A lot of good points being made regarding trades. Trades aren't made in a vacuum. You have to look at what the situation was and how the player was performing at the time instead of judging them on the basis of 20/20 hindsight.

Well isn't that just freaking lovely!! Crap!!!

wtf, somebody get Bennett a playboy mag

You would think Russell had been playing there for years. Great play!!

torre is an idiot... why is our gold glove winning catcher playing third? he should be behind hte plate... if dewitt cant go get LaRoche up... this is ridiculous

Contrary to most of us, Torre would rather have Pierre in LF, than Andruw in CF.
Or maybe he fiqures that Jones could concentrate more as a DH.

if I was manager of the dodgers... first thing I would do is send maza down back to 3a and bring up LaRoche... my lineup would look like this

c. martin
lf. ethier
rf. kemp
1b. loney
2b. kent
3b. LaRoche
cf. Jones
ss. Hu
dh. young

anyone else like that lineup?

That's O.K. with me as long as all 4 outfielders are playing at the same time.

De Witt, hopefully, will be back tomorrow. If he has to be disabled, La Roche is a good possibility. In the meantime, it gives Russell a break from catching. It just might make the difference in his performance in September.His numbers dropped at the end of last year.

dodge torre isn't no idiot.

Kuroda's getting his usual run support (probably wondering why he left Japan), but when you've got Pierre, Jones, Kent, Bennett and Maza, it doesn' leave much in the line of offense...

Ah yes, the comic genius of Charley McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. A pair of real dummies running the show.

The angels' announces are the worst in baseball. THE WORST. I never want to hear their extremely biased Angel crap again

Look like you an idiot for having Martin batting leadoff.

Hey E, you can't even see Ned's mouth move when Torre talks. LOL

Martin would be good leadoff hitter by the way!!!!

The lineup's ok except it's missing DeWitt & Ferc. Hu, right now, would be better off getting to play everyday in Vegas. He looks overmatched at the plate right now.

OMG did they chant Back to Gasol in that Lakers game. hahahaha what a bunch of Jazz loser.

This guy Saunders isn't showing any signs of weakening.

Martin batting leadoff is actually a reasonably good idea with Furcal out because he gets on base a lot, and he can run if you think the speedy leadoff man helps. You might as well give your good hitters more PAs.

But seriously, why is the organization so against Andy LaRoche? The only reason his rehab assignment ended when it did (he still hat a week left on it) was so that he didn't have to get a major league minimum salary for another week. He's off the DL, so we know he's healthy.

LaRoche is tearing it up in AAA, and not in a flukish good luck way or a well that's Vegas, not the majors way. DeWitt has back pain, and that's 2 games out now. Russell Martin is our catcher, not our 3b. If you can't plug in DeWitt off the bench at all, put him on the DL so he can recover properly, instead of risking poor performance and the chance of hurting yourself worse, possibly even permanently hindering your performance.

Yep it would look good but we know Torre won't do it.

seeskybout2rain... that lineup is for this series... with furcal healthy I would rather have him in anyday batting leadoff... and shad, shut up

You shut up if you think any manager would put a catcher leading off.

Kuroda going through 6 without a pitchers spot, has a chance to pitch further and improve his innings pitched per game.

Someone please tell me why in the world in a game with the DH, you would put your absolute worst outfielder in left and one of the best centerfielders in the game as the DH?

I've been watching the Lakers and writing emails. How did the Angels get 3? These bonehead Angel clowns aren't telling me much.

Well, we're circling the drain.

Hey shad, it's not unheard of to bat a catcher in the leadoff spot. They're not all slug runners.

Our only chance is to get into their pen. It hasn't been very good so far this year.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDREEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just put the Ethier plug in the drain. Way to go Andre!!!

YEAH ETHIER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'd rather have May catching, Martin at 3rd and Dejesus at SS and why did Mata get the called up and how is Dejesus doing down there? I know we have some better SS than Mata.

E_T_H_I_E_R'S****** 4HR

DAMMIT JOE, THAT KID NEEDS TO PLAY EVERY DAY! STOP THE MADNESS!

GOT ETHIER!! WE'RE BACK IN IT!!

E-T-H-I-E-R !!!
Take that, Torre and shove it right up your A**.

LOVE IT!!!!!

Dodgers need to come back so Nelson won't have to take the smack from family and friends!! LOL

Yeah Dodgers, Do it for Nelson!

Ethier becomes only the 2nd left handed batter to hit a home run off of Saunders. Also, I remember Tracy putting LoDuca in the leadoff spot at times. If Torre chooses to bench Pierre with Furcal out then Martin seems like the most logical candidate to leadoff.

Martin
Ethier
Kemp
Kent
Loney
Jones
DeWitt
Hu

I know those were WPs, but I think Russ might have stopped them. He's pretty good at those.

That sure looked fair, but there's nothing they can do about it now.

Caught a break there!!!

Rat crap!! Terrible throw by Marty!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again, it seems that every walk costs the Ds. Walking a .217 hitter is a crime.

Right or wrong I can't believe that Scoscia wasn't thrown out.
Kuroda 6.1 not bad.

Unacceptable™

We should be DLing DeWitt to let him recover all the way and recalling LaRoche to play third and let Russ go back behind the plate. This is a poor fielding lineup tonight.

LMAO, jhall! Trademarked? HAAARRRRR!!!

LOL

4-2, interesting, at least it's not 4-0.
Ethier's HR made my night.
I hope it sends a message.
These Angels are pretty good.
Good inning for Proctor
We're still in this game anything could happen.

Yeah, Pierre, they are a well-balanced club. They do a lot of the little things right. Scioscia.

C'mon Jelly Roll!

Man that Saunders finally look tired out but I hope it isn't too late.

Is anyone else annoyed with their Angels' announcers? Comments?

Jelly don't roll!!!

"Unacceptable" (used by permission)

I thought that was Andruw's time.

Rats!!!

savestheday, I can't stand them either, but I know I'm spoiled. That could have something to do with it. Vinny is so great.

All these opponent announcers stink they are cheer leaders.
We just have to take it.
It's fun when we're winning.

LOL Eric.

To them the Angels can do no wrong. Either's homerun.... because of the warm air? ****! lol I know i love vinny, no one is better :) glad he's a dodger

Man if we can only start some trouble here in the 9th.
This would be some kind of win.
Nice job by Proctor.

That's out at Dodger Stadium.

martin as our leadoff hitter is not a crazy idea... boston used drew as there leadoff hitter for a couple games last season... crazier things have happened.

Defense let us down tonight!!

Rats.........

Hard to win when the top 4 batters in the lineup go 0 for 15.
Pathetic!!!

That K-Rod was a too much, but Russell really hit that ball square.
They simply out played us tonight and we were a little sloppy to booth.
Nothing to do but comeback to the park Tomorrow and give it another try.
Good clouth by Andre, it made us all feel good.

Poor Nelson got to be taking major crap the way we looked tonight...

I'm telling ya, if DeWitt isn't 100%, DL him retro to the injury. Don't rush him back at 90%. Let him get healthy. Get LaRoche on a plane and field this tomorrow:
Pierre DH
Ethier LF
Kemp RF
Kent 2B
Loney 1B
Martin C
LaRoche 3B
Jones CF
Hu SS

Nelson's a school teacher. She's worn the colors in the Bay. She's tough.

Looks good to me!!

Would have been great for her to be rubbing their nose in it.

Plus Anaheim ain't exactly Oakland.

I've got to congratulate the guy who should be playing center field for the Dodgers; Jayson Werth. What a game! Speaking of what a game; what a game for Garry Bennett. Is it me or is this guy the worst catcher ever. We need Russell behind the plate, he's way too valuable not to be back there. Don't get me wrong, I think he could be a gold glove third baseman if he played there full time. He saves us so many runs by digging balls out and giving up his body to block a wild pitch. Case in point, tonight with Bennett back there. He's got a case of the yips anyway. He reminds me of the catcher in Major League 2 with the centerfolds. The way he lollipops the ball back to the pitcher (add first base to the list as well) is absolute comedy. I know Martin needs a rest every once in a while, and DeWitt's injured; I'm just being bitter. But if Martin was behind the plate we'd've won tonight (or so I like to tell myself). You can add Garry Bennett to the list of abortion signings by Ned Colletti. It kills me to see Scioscia sitting in the other dugout wearing red. We should've hired him instead of Bill Russell; damn!

I am really dissapointed. Were like one of only five teams to not make it to the WS in the last 20 years.

Baseball is going young (look at who won last year and who is winning this year) and we have young as good as anyone and it's all being waysted away.

if DeWitt is hurt, then call up LaRoche. LaRoche is a better hitter than Bennett, better 3b than Martin and Martin is a better catcher than Bennett. -duh.

And then there Ethier not playing. Are you kidding me already. I am so sick of it. He is 26 and us dodger fans have not seen a full year of what he can do and can anyone say it's his fault? jeez. But to not play him for Pierre is the out machine? why is it so hard, are we really gonna go down in flames with him? Look at our offense and his numbers since taking over at leadoff..here are last 5 teams he has been on and where they fall in runs scored vs baseball...

dodgers 21st
cubs 28th
florida 19th, 23rd ,17th

Nice! It's not his fault though. But it's also not a coincedence.

How much poof does anyone here need for me to show you? I have all night. Belive me there is nothing you can show me to prove stats wise he is good. I can show you it from all angles. He is killing us. No matter how flashy he looks at times or how likeable he is.

And then to have Jones and Kent in the top 4 with OBP below .291. DUDES..Jones has a better OBP than KENT. Now how bad is that. Seriously.

It's a broken record.

Would anyone argue with me if I said that this time last year we on this board werent arguing about how we werent playing our best young players, we had line ups that were changing all the time and we were lacking power? And here we are again. Actually worse because right now Gonzo is an upgrade over both LF and CF (with the stick)

2 of our best young hitters sit while our offense struggles...

---

Imagine if this was 2004. Ned and Joe do.

Schmidt------18wins/251 ks/3.20/1.08
Pierre--------.326/.374/.407/.781
Kent---------.289 /.348 /.531 /.880 (27/107)
Jones--------.261/.345/.488/.833 (29/91)

The angels' announces are the worst in baseball. THE WORST. I never want to hear their extremely biased Angel crap again

By savesthedayajb@yahoo.com on May 16, 2008 8:37 PM

well if you must have never head the padres radio guys. leitner and coleman are absolute mor ons. talk about being biased. they are the sole reason why i hate the padres more than the angels and the giants.

I really don't see how Gary Bennett can be in the major leagues and not have the confidence to throw the ball back to the pitcher the normal way. Is this a joke? I can throw the ball 60 feet 6 inches from my knees can I get a contract Ned? I may hit .000 and have no RBI's but I can sure as hell throw a mean 60 feet 6 inches.

not even 60 ft 6 in. he took like 5 steps forward before throwing the damn ball.

And likewise, if you have ever had a listen to Giants announcers Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper, they are among the most annoying, sophmoric, unabashed homers in MLB broadcasting.

I think we all know why. We are all spoiled rotten to have had one of baseball's best announcers calling the game for our team over the last 59 years. Scully's unbiased style makes the Dodger listener a student of the game, learning where bullpen journeymen playing for Pittsburgh went to High School, or which great pitcher he models his style after. You don't just get the game, you get an experience.

He uncovers so many facets of the game that, when you hear a couple of homers calling a ball game like Jerry the King Lawler and Good Ol' J.R., it makes you a little sick to your stomach. Almost like they want to tell the listener what to think, whereas I've always felt Vin gives you an objective observation, and lets the listeners put together the puzzle however they feel like it.

As baseball fans, having Vin Scully calling ballgames for your team is like theatre lovers getting to watch the best of Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare as they wrote the plays that formed the groundwork for entertainment in the Western world for centuries to come.

and yet, hackneyed homers look at that same empty canvas of a ballgame, and turn the game into a one-note joke you'd find in bathroom stall graffiti.

Thank God for Vin Scully.

How in the heck can you put Slumpy in the top two spots plus Kent in the 4-hole and expect to win? Is Tory out of his mind? Does he want to win? Is he hoping to get fired? (Not that Ned would do it) What the heck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
It's easy to imagine this game going very differently if a few things were different. Hey, Nedstachio and Joe-Joe, what do you two think about this lineup?:
.
Martin
Loney
Kemp
Ethier
Delwyn
LaRoche
Jones
Kent
Hu
.
You two clownsticks think maybe that would've worked a little better?
.
It makes me sad knowing that we have all the components of a championship team and instead we send out Popgun Pierre, Luis Freakin' Maza, Gary Bennet, and give away two of the top four spots in the order to Jones and Kent who despite their homeruns Thursday are batting a collective ... what? ... .150 over the last week-and-a-half.
.
I am not kidding when I say that I get a little naseous almost every day when I see the lineup/batting order Joe-Joe writes.

Nice to see the vets went a collective 0 for 14. You know, they're going to lead the way - to the cellar. This team has NO CHANCE with Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber calling the shots. I doubt anyone other than JoeJoe the Clown could come up with the absurd line-ups we see day after day and night after night. Does he even look at the stats and see who's performing and who's not? Vets given 1/4 of a season to break out of a "slump." Vets leading off who can't even get on at a ML proficient level. Vets batting clean-up who are so far in decline that they'd should be batting 7. But heaven forbid one of the kid's has an 0fer or two. Well young man, you can just go to the bench without your supper. JoeJoe - no idiot savant is he. Well, at least not the savant part.

As for Snidely Whiplash supplying the personnel, what else can be said that hasn't bee a million times before? Maza. MAZA? Hey Ned, there's a kid down in Vegas was going to be your thirdbaseman... remember him?

My only conclusion is that JoeJoe and Mustachio have advanced stages of dimentia. Frank and Cleopatra are evidently either in a state of denile or total apathy whilst the former two run the organization into the ground.

And have you ever asked yourself - why did you need a ventriloquist or even a dummy when you were on the radio?

Much like this team, it boggles the mind.

Who do you think are the most important players in Torre's mind when it comes to decisions about our 2008 team - it isn't Ethier (obviously), or even Kemp.