Houston, we have a series

Young at LF I am assuming. Not sure why Torre insists on taking Kemp out just because Repko is playing?

It's official for Pierre!!!
Now I want to see Conte working with Pierre constantly to get him recovered - that would possibly stretch the DL right out to the end of the season.
We can always be hopeful!
Also, send a few kudos to Aybar.
I do see that we're at least trying Maza at shortstop; otherwise I would have suggested that Repko play as aggresively as he can when it comes to short popups beyond shortstop.

This is a case where I'm looking forward to Conte working some of his magic on Pierre and keeping him out for 60 days like everyone else.

Sorry you're caught in the middle of this Josh, but most Dodger fans are ecstatic about Pierre being out even if it had to happen this way.

Good to see Kemp on the bench for a game. Oswalt would make him look like a little biatch with those sliders down and away!

Torre thought bubble: “With Pierre out these kids are going to score a ton of runs and then I’ll have to play them. I know, I’ll sit down my my most potent offensive weapon. That ought to hold them down a bit.”

Why can't Pierre get hurt moving pillows like Brandon Inge?

I refuse to (outwardly) celebrate Pierre's injury. The last time I did that, LaRoche went down minutes later.

For those of you that think Matt Holliday would make a good trade. Here is some stats that would say otherwise. Don't trade our young players. Let them develop as a team - don't split them up. Also, Holliday has had 30 extra PAs than Ethier and their numbers are very similar.
.
***Matt Holliday - last 28 days
PA: 109
R: 8
HR: 2
RBI: 13
.
10 Homeruns total
6 at coors
4 away (Arizona, KC- 2, Petco)
.
***Matt Kemp - last 28 days
PA: 97
R: 13
HR: 4
RBI: 13
.
7 Homeruns total
6 at Dodger Stadium
1 away (CIN)
.
***Andre Ethier - last 28 days
PA: 78
R: 8
RBI: 12
HR: 3
.
7 homeruns total
3 at Dodger Stadium
4 away (COL, DET, ANA,SD)

I would never trade within the division.

i like the lineup. i think kemp could use a day off, and i think we need to see repko in center. matt will be back tomorrow. PLEASE get some hits, and score some runs! :)

I hear you MLK. I'm a little hesitant myself. I'm celebrating him being OUT, and not so much being hurt. It's a kind of tough love for the Dodgers. It's what's best for the team, Ned, and Joe so that they can maybe see what a difference it will make since they won't do it on their own.

scurtis - it was brought up on previous thread a couple of times. I just wanted to be able to justify the same reason you are stating, but with statistics to back it up. I didn't want my comment to be unjustified - thanks :)

scurtis, I wouldn't trade for Holliday. Yes, I've always liked him but again, I don't want to see any of our young players (see dnel, I used the term correctly!) coming back to bury us.

Well, I have to say I would rather see Kemp in there tonight. Kent is the odd man out. Let's hope the kids catch fire tonight and Repko has a start that keeps him here for ever. I like Repko and glad to see him healthy. I don't care if Pierre ever comes back to the team. I wonder if the FAT*** has lost any pounds while on the DL. He probably has gained a few more.

Look for a good game tonight and lets start a winning streak..

No Slappy or Berroa! At least we don't have easy outs batting 8-9-1. Well we still do. Nevermind. :(

and sara, Matty could definitely use a day off. I don't have any problems him sitting tonight...

I take back what I said about having easy outs batting 8-9-1. Eric Stults can rake!

Cool, sorry I missed that convo in the other thread.

you guys want to read a ridiculous article? yeah, giants reporters aren't biased at all~ (rolling my eyes) i particularly love the part about how we're horrible, and the giants could win the division. =P

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2008/06/29/the-great-2008-nl-west-the-giants-could-win-it-by-going-71-91/

and Max, Repko's no slouch either, IMHO...

I read this blog everyday and here is my first post. When I watched Pierre go down at the stadium yesterday I was not happy. As a Dodger fan I was happy to see Jones go down, but I will openly say that I do like Juan and I will miss him ( please don't beast me up for saying it) even if he does have a noodle arm! He gets on base and he can run one he gets there. He is a good contact hitter and is consistent, which is very hard to find on this team. My little Piernas!
But the fact that they feel that Kemp can easily be taken out to make room for others, esp. for Repko? that is not cool. nobody remembers Repko anyway! I am ok with a rest for Kemp, but they always take him out like he is worthless- which is not true.

*And not like I need to point this out. We all are aware of it, but come on yesterday Sweeny officially went down to at .098 batting average. Really Sweeny? Aye*

sara/cp - I wouldn't mind seeing all four of them share the outfield. This is what I wanted to see all along. Matt, Andre, Delwyn and Jason are the four best outfielders in my opinion. At least this way if one of them sits out a night, I am confident that the 3 out there will do a great job :)

Welcome Amy! While I both agree and disagree with you, I definitely welcome you to the insanity that is Inside the Dodgers!

Maybe in triple A CP. He hasn't hit major league pitching at all in his career. In 406 career ABs he is batting .232/.302/.382. So you can see why im not too excited. I'd much rather see Pee Wee leading off tonight. Apparently the only quality JoJo cares about for a lead off guy is speed not getting on base.

exactly dnelly.. kemp tonight, someone else tomorrow. but at least i have some confidence in all of them so i can be happy with any mix as long as it's not the same person sitting every night.

same amy. i welcome you. and although i do not agree with you about pierre, you are definitely entitled to your opinion, and i'm glad you decided to post! hope to hear more from you soon..

Welcome Amy!!

Welcome amymwalton!! We feel the same way when Ethier sits for no reason too. That is definitely a common thread here about Matt and Andre and the fair treatment they are receiving about their playing time.

Tony Jackson is reporting Slappy is out 4-6 weeks.

Tony Jackson is reporting Slappy is out 4-6 weeks.

For more stats that support dnelly, here are Matt Holliday's lifetime splits:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/bsplit.cgi?n1=hollima01&year=00
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When you look at his away numbers, you'll see that outside of Colorado Holliday is a good player -- but far from a great one.
.
And of course playing half his game in pitcher-friendly Dodger Stadium would drive his numbers down a little bit more.
.
I would rank Holliday in the same class with Ethier, somewhat better than DY, and totally outclassed by Kemp.
.
Maybe the Rocks need Juan Pierre to go with Willy Taveras to cover their huge outfield. Yeah, that's the ticket.

perumike - I'm guessing you called for a keyboard, but whatever you did - thanks!! LOL!!

Repko's been hot of late in AAA, so I don't have a problem with him leading off for a few games to see how he does - anything's better than what we had.

Thank you guys for the welcome! It's funny, I do stop by and read this everyday, but today I decided the comment :) and I am glad that I did. I've been bleeding Blue for over 20 years. I'm a little obsessed, but i don't think you all mind!

Meanwhile, Matt Kemp is out tonight, and possibly tomorrow as well, with an infection in his right eye. He couldn't get his contact lens in this morning.

that's from Tony Jackson. Nice to see there's actually a method to the madness this time.

amy, i did that too. i used to just read, and i never commented. but one day i just decided to. and now i always comment. i'm sure you will comment more frequently. the first time is always the most intimidating! haha..

sara - okay, I was thinking he came in the clubhouse in a bad mood - much better reason LOL!!! :)

i hope kemp's eye gets better soon!

haha, yeah dnelly..

joe: matty, you seem a bit moody today. so you can't play.

matt: no, joe, i'm really fine.

joe: no, my gut tells me you're not ready to play. and my gut is ALWAYS right..

PEE WEE!!

Amy -- welcome to the board. The more the merrier! I respect your love for Juan, but I would have a lot more problems with it if you were the manager.
.
Aw heck, I like Juan. He seems like a good guy who is doing all he can with his God-given talents. I have an issue with him to the extent that he is whining for playing time.
.
Mostly I blame Ned and JoJo for our Pierre-related problems.

Matty should wear his glasses for a game. Greg Maddux like!

amy -we are all obsessed! That's why most of us are here LOL!!!

Hope Kemp isn't letting Conte treat him...

Damnit Matt! Use the daily disposables or sanitize your lenses. I admit I don't because of the expense, but you're making about $400 K/yr.

and Max, I just love Repko's energy. I just want to make sure he doesn't take out any of our other OFers...

dnel,
there you go again, sounding like me! :) I'm just excited that we get OFers where one of them I don't dread coming in. Again, like I told Max, my only hesitation with Repko is that he doesn't take out any of our other OFers...

sara - that article about playing time baffles my mind - I think Torre is a lunatic to play a player based on how he is feeling that day.

OMG- you guys are respecting me for liking Juan. I really thought I would get tormented for it. Yes, noodle arm for sure- no doubt about it. To me he gets the job done, he's one of the hardest working guys on the team, has a good attitude even when he's benched, and he was nice in person when I met him!

But my all time favorite guy is Matthew. I am a Kemp supporter all the way. I hope is pink eye doesn't spread.

So without Kemp we're playing a man down tonight. Another reason I hate a 12 man pitching staff.

oh, and btw, welcome Amy! Like sara said, I started out just as a reader but now I can't stay off of ITD! :)

The torment comes tomorrow Amy !!! :)

Amy - I am a teacher and immediately thought pink eye and how it could spread like wild fire. However, with contacts, it could be MLK's reason too.

hey Amy, none of us has cookie-cutter the exact same opinions here. Most of us agree on most things, but not all things at all times...

Got any lryics-writing talent, Amy? If so, join in the fun. And if not, give it a shot anyway. It's good fun!

oh mlk, don't start scaring her off; she just joined in!

Good to see Repko made it back in one piece.
I know some of you groundhogs are going bananas over the way mother nature took care of Pierre.
But once he feels better he'll be back playing regular with Jones in center and Kemp & Ethier will be battling each other for playing time as Torre doesn't go to much by how good you're playing but by how much playing time you have in the big leagues.
Well I have to mention that the Dodgers got there own writeup in New York's Daily News after winning without a hit. GO DODGERS!!!

I feel honored!

enchanted - be nice!! your den mother is speaking to you LMAO!!! Notice how I am treading carefully LMAO!!!!

So that's Matt's excuse for swinging at everything lately?

Repko's major league stats should have an asterisk because he was always playing hurt, rushing back too soon, etc. He should be a lesson to Andruw and Juan to take LOTS of time to heal...in order to get right, you understand......

Ned, how does it feel to have die-hard Dodger fans rooting for your acquisitons to stay put on the DL and pleading for Logan White's draft picks to man the line-up?

Gee whiz Maw!!! I wuz just havin' fun.

enchanted,
Actually we're down two men. Sweeney is still on the roster.

PierreEW, I for one (and I know there are others here) that are not going "bananas" over Pierre getting hurt. Our excitement comes over the fact that Joe will play the younger players (see dnel!) and will really see what they can do together.

song writing skills, hmm, can't say that I do.

LOL MLK!!

Good evening PierreEW!! Thanks for letting us know we made New York news too. We were all over the Bay Area news.
.
Sara - the bay area radio station talked about how our division sucks and that the gnats could take the division. They want to get rid of all of their PVLs (sound familiar), but don't know if they can if they are close to Arizona by trade deadline.

Alright, cpompe.
.
Amy, you're always welcome here with whatever kind of contribution you choose to make.

amy, take your time. I've been a semi-regular poster here for a few months and I just posted only my 2nd song this morning.

Great to hear from you, Amy. I personally would like to see Pierre batting in the lower end of the batting order and not necessarily be an everyday fixture, and I wouldn't get as upset as I often do, but I like to see other opinions presented as long as they're well reasoned. Thank you for sharing yours. If you care to tell us where you're from, we'll gladly add you to our bloggers' list.

Mom? Can jhall and eric come over to play?

LMAO!!!!! enchanted LMAO!!!! LMAO!!!!! It's okay I know you are just being you and I am fine with that LMAO!!!!

Welcome Amy from an Aussie Dodger fan of over 40 years. This looks like a solid line-up tonight (this morning) even with Matt on the bench. My greatest fear is that it will play very well but to no avail when the "big boys" return from the DL. I can't for the like of me understand the thinking that if we payed you lots of money then you must be better than those cheap young guys mentality. Anyway lets sweep.

Where are they? Yes, if you can find them LMAO!!!!!
You miss them, don't you? LMAO!!!!

where am I from? I'm a little bit of a wonderer these days. would you like where I grew up? where I currently live? where I work?

I am in the process of moving in two months. I can give you the location of where I'll be blogging from everyday, which is where I work.

nutshell version: I have no home :(

hehehehe sucker!!!

Nice job messagebear :)
.
enchanted- still laughing LMAO!!!!!!!
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I am referring Matt, Andre, Russell, Blake, and James as our young players rather than kids. One of those young players(Andre) is going to be a father by the end of the year.
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Amy - I was going to ask who you favorite was, but I see you answered that already - good!! Even though we talk alot of baseball, we do talk girl stuff too on occasion - eyes, facial hair, etc. so feel free when the topic arises.

Your blogging home, where you work, would be fine. We just kind of like to see where we are spread out geographically, amy.

good to know- we do have some beautiful men on this team!

Let Conte work on Pierre, this way he'll be out for the year.

DNEL,

You know you are not aloud to talk about girlie things!!!! :-)

Then that would be Glendale, CA

In retrospect, Torre's braindead quote about Pierre and Jone as his starters will now serve only to have alienated Ethier, Kemp and Young. Joe, I thought you were big on preaching patience? Couldn't you wait to rock the boat until Andruw actually got well? I would ask you, Mr. Torre, if you have seen any indication that this team will run through a brick wall for you? Or could it be these guys wallow like a ship without a rudder...or even a captain? Sorry, Torre's a disaster for this team.

CPOMPE1
I'm just quoting what Joe Torre said.
Pierre is his regular LF with Jones in CF
He said that Kemp & Ethier will be battling it out for playing time.
Just as it was before.

dnelly, I do the best I can. I guess I ordered a really good piano today.

Where did you come from, jnv? LMAO!!!!
People were asking the other night if you are being affected by the fires up in Roseville :)
.
amy - beautiful is right, along with being very talented ballplayers (which is the most important - lol) who have wonderful personalities as well.
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jnv - there!!! You can get beautiful and talented in the same sentence LOL!!

Then I will once again publish the list of bloggers and their city and state. As you can see, we still have some names for which we don't have that information. If you see your name at the end of the list, please provide, or if you are a new blogger whom we are missing on the list, feel free to give us your information also.

enchanted Las Cruces, NM
dodgerboy LaPlata, MD
dnelly Merced, CA
dodgereric Temecula, CA
jhall Columbus, OH
mlk Irvine, CA
pierreEW Brooklyn, NY
messagebear Wenatchee, WA
perumike Tujunga, CA
crzblue El Monte, CA
crash24now Ventura, CA
boblee Waterloo, IL
jungar San Juan Capistrano, CA
max_power Bakersfield, CA
leekfink Redondo Beach, CA
dcollins Novato, CA
kpookiemon Aliso Viejo, CA
scurtis Chicago, IL
bigkace La Habra, CA
Alex West LA, CA
westernmost... LA, CA
manfromchina Lompoc, CA
northstateblues Marysville, CA
saralovesrussell Toluca Lake, CA
fliegel Pocono Mountains, PA
seeskybout Salt Lake City, UT
scott Arcadia, CA
dodge16 Santa Cruz, CA
jnv Roseville, CA
ccompe Ventura, CA
lbirken Northridge, CA
kssparkuhl Nampa, ID
rodmky Mackay, Queensland, Australia
swood Fairfax, VA
brandond Las Vegas, NV
shad Compton, CA
bluecrewgirl Rancho Cucamonga, CA
iheartethier LA, CA
amymwalton Glendale, CA
demmotor
jjriley
redfox
dodgerdude17
carcyn
ndeschenes
jegiboney
drpdedblnd
patriotacts

amy, I'm in Tujunga, just 10 minutes from Glendale.

Is there any way Repko can run into Sweeney when he's batting? (Notice I didn't say hitting because that's something he NEVER does.)

Maybe Repko runs into Sweeney, banks off him into Aw-hell, and finally slides into Ned. :)

DNEL,
I was actually in the hospital last week, It seems NERD and JOJO have given me a heart attack!! LOL at least that is what my doctor thought when I was at her office and rushed me off to the hospital in an ambulance. Well it turns out I wasn't having a heart attack but they can't tell me what it was either!! anyway I am good to go now.

enchanted ~ Don't you think you have had enough wishes come true? LMAO!!!! I have to admit, it wasn't Andruw who sat on him, but it happened - LOL!!!

Dirty Deeds - I should've written that one about Repko.

Very cool. I'm getting to know Glendale. My dad lives here and it only takes us 15mins to get to Dodger Stadium. I love it!

It's almost game time ... I hope all of you near those bush fires are safe and well. We certainly know all about the devistation they can inflict down here.

jnv - OMGosh!! I am sorry, but it sounds like you are okay now - very good. :)

did you just hear that - out a month!!!

Was that Pierre or Repko leading off? All i see is that we have one batter out already.

lol

ANDRE EVERETT ETHIER DOUBLE #18 !!!!

Ok- Repko just struck out! boo. I'm going home now. Have a good night. Thank you for the welcome and the Dodgers better shape it up now that we are back in the NL!

~Amy

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

WE SCORED
Thanks to L O N E Y

That's one more than we usually get in the first.

Hell that's one more than we usually get in the game.

most teams get 3 runs out of that lol

Amy - if you haven't noticed, Andre is my favorite :)

Mazza has good hands but his arm doen't look strong.

oops.

Damn. Now we're gonna have to score another run.

Not sure I like the announcing team on MLB.TV but after Vin everybody sounds second rate.

Maybe Torre should start showing this team Miracle on Ice before every game...

Here's today's lineup in Houston...

Repko, CF

Ethier, RF

Martin, C

Kent, 2B

Loney, 1B

Young, 2B

DeWitt, 3B

Maza, SS

Stults, P

With apologies to Lionel Ritchie:

Hello

I've been alone with you inside my mind
And in my dreams you’re leading off every time
I sometimes see you bunting for a hit
Hello, why do they say you are ****?

You’re the greatest in the game
The press can’t believe I’ve lied
You're all I've ever wanted
My arms are open wide
‘Cause you wear that hat just right
And you know just what to do
And I want to pencil you in, I love you

Hello
Is it me You're looking for?
Cos I wonder where you are
I hope I don’t start to pout
I hope we don’t start scoring
Then our secret will be out
I don’t know why that no one knows
You’re the greatest thing in clothes
But let me start by saying
I love you

I long to see you out there in left field
Oh, when will Conte say those words, “Pierre is healed!”
Sometimes I feel that I just have no shame
Hello? Erick Aybar is to blame
Cos I wonder where you are
And I don’t know what to do
Who in the world will lead off
How come Repko’s here, not you?
Tell me that your knee’s all right
For I haven't got a clue
But let me start by saying, I love you

enchanted - eric's here!!!! enchanted has missed you today!!!!!

Awwww, you're just sayin' that 'cause it's true..........

How was your weekend? We went to A's/Giants game - I'll leave it at that - enough said. :)

great song btw :)

ERIC!! LMAO!!

I have no idea why this line cracks me up:
.
"You’re the greatest thing in clothes"

Oh, full as usual. Yardwork, cars, movies, birthday parties, digging holes for flagpoles in 100 degree heat, the usual.

And thanks, it was just a quickie. I thought Joe would be a little lovesick today and I wanted to console him.

Thanks e, I needed a rhyme for 'knows', and it just popped into my perverted little head.

quick game. nice offense! geez this is boring!

After 81 games (half season)
2005....38 43
2006....41 40
2007....45 36
2008....38 43

It is going to be crying shame if all that James is remembered for is his ability to hit into DP's.

Its come to my attention that we need someone who can steal a base in front of Loney to keep him from hitting into so dang many DPs.

good for you! When are you putting in the flag up again?

If we were playing the blame game .. and we sometimes do .. then surely a major reason our hitting is sooooooo weak must be laid at the feet of Mike Easler. Yes/No?

Im looking forward to the 51s game tonight more then this game in Houston lol

I'm going to say a qualified yes rodmky, but Easler was a lot of these guys' hitting coach in the minors. I think a lot has to do with trying to teach them Torre's way rather than coaching to each players strength.

Too bad we don't have that last year record pierre.

game over, good night

Guess we'll have to start that win streak tomorrow night.

Well, that's the ball game. Roy Oswalt hasn't been doing well, but he's going to look fantastic against the Dodger bats.

Bummer, I thought we were going to get out of that with only giving up a run. Oh well, it's still early and the odds have to be in our favor to have a break out inning one of these games.

Stults was due for a bad inning.

Nelly, they're pouring the cement around the sleeve tomorrow and we're installing the pole on Thursday. When the initial flagraising happens, we don't know yet. There are arrangement to be made that are out of our control, but it probably won't be for a couple of weeks.

Hey, you might know - have those fires gotten anywhere near Lake Tahoe? We're supposed to be camping up there next week.