Lunch, moves, lineup

It's great how this move happened on a day when Nedorino gets ripped in the paper for his poor trade making! Gotta love how the world works don't you.

Well, no piano for JP today :) kind of wonder why the move between Ethier and Kemp in the lineup - hmmmm!

Hi Josh, thanks for all the updates. Quick question, why hasn't the Dodgers promote Russell Martin for the All-Star game like last year ?

Thanks!
http://baseballislife.mlblogs.com/

More about batting and "patience". I think patience means not swinging at pitcher's pitches (balls, corner strikes) and swinging at hitter's pitches (fat strikes - fastball down the middle, hanging breaking balls). So among the regulars, who swings at the most balls? Only 20% of Martin's swing are at balls. Not surprising that Kemp is at 1/3; he is raw and fooled a lot. But check out where the veterans stand. It always looked to me that JP made a lot of weak contact on bad pitches to hit; here's some evidence.
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Stolen from the Dodger Thoughts comments:
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21. StolenMonkey86 2008-06-25 16:34:26
To be fair, "Swinging at Bad Pitches" may be better measured by out-of-zone swing percentage than with P/PA.
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O-Swing% from Fangraphs, 2008
Martin: 20.26%
Furcal: 23.78%
Loney: 25.87%
Ethier: 26.28%
Kent: 27.74%
DeWitt: 27.87%
Pierre: 29.19%
Kemp: 33.65%

westernmost (from previous thread) - what's still telling about both lists is that Kent and Pierre are still on the bottom half. I can take Kemp being at the bottom because with his potential, he will make up for it in homeruns and RBIs, unlike Pierre and Kent.
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enchanted - LMAO!! Mrs. P and the spatula is just too hilarious!!

I read elsewhere that Proctor was going on the DL. But the option seems official. That's an impressively bold move with a guy who has been in the majors for several years.
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But I was posting because we have a problem. A few people mentioned the Simers article, and usually he screws around with people--this time, he let Joe and Ned talk. And there is a real problem:
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According to the article, "Torre says he likes the approach Juan Pierre and JeffKent take, and Russell Martin does well at times, but the rest of the Dodgers' lineup is too impatient and swings at too many bad pitches."
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Name the only players on the active roster with lower on-base percentages than Juan Pierre? Jeff Kent, Angel Berroa, Luis Maza, Mark Sweeney, and Danny Ardoin. And all the pitchers except Eric Stults.
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Name all the players on the active roster with worse OPS than Jeff Kent? Juan Pierre, Luis Maza, Angel Berroa, Danny Ardoin, and Mark Sweeney. And all the pitchers except Eric Stults and Hong Chih Kuo.
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Let me repeat that--Hong Chih Kuo has a better OPS than Jeff Kent.
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In other words, except for emergency players recently called up from AAA because of injuries, and the horrible Mark Sweeney, Jeff Kent and Juan Pierre are the two worst hitters on the team. As someone pointed out earlier, no one takes fewer pitches than Jeff Kent per at-bat, and only Kent and Matt Kemp (a .290 hitter and the team RBI leader) take fewer than the LEAD-OFF hitter Juan Pierre. Put aside the fact that Kent and Pierre are continually inserted into the top of the line-up--once again today, first and third, there is a larger problem.
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Our manager most likes our worst hitters.
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That's it. There's nothing more to say.
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Our manager most likes our worst hitters.
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We could joke that if Ethier wanted to earn more playing time he could be less patient at teh plate, hit fewer long balls, and get out more, but that's not really funny.
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Our manager most likes our worst hitters.
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We're doomed if that does not change. I would like to believe that this is Joe Torre simply not looking at statistics. And as bad as that would be, it's far worse than the alternative explanations. But I think that the reality is taht you're not going to change a guy who has been a manager for 23 years, and whose success is apparently more related to the unlimited payroll his Yankee teams had.
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It's a real problem, and those who think that Torre's managerial skills were better demonstrated by his losing records witht he Mets and Cardinals, and just barely ahead with the Braves, have a much better argument.
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Our manager most likes our worst hitters.
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We need a new manager.

Going to the game tonight so you guys take it from here.

In case anyone missed on the old thread, I've lost more confidence in Ned:

It's almost July, why is Ned still GM? He'd be happier than a pig in s*!t if Ng or White left to Seattle... then we'd have no choice as loyal Dodger fans but to abide by his longing to have all the successful components of the 1997 All-Star team.

"WOW!!! Mike Mussina!!! That guy works wonders for the Orioles! And all I have to do is give up Looney, Del Witt and... what's his name?... Peyton Kershaw? WHERE DO I SIGN?!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

By northstateblues on June 25, 2008 4:41 PM

"Hey Ned, I'll give you 4 shiny nickels for that measley quarter you're holding"

"I'LL TAKE IT!!! heh heh heh, sucker."

By northstateblues on June 25, 2008 4:44 PM

I have a new song coming up, just gotta run a quick errand. I'll give you a hint, they're pronounced Len-Nerd Skin-Nerd.

As for tonight's lineup, here it is...

Pierre, LF

Ethier, RF

Kent, 2B

Martin, C

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

DeWitt, 3B

Berroa, SS

Stults, P

Joe: They say we're old and we can’t see
Anything good about walks or OBP.
Juan: Well I don't care if all that's true
'Cause you got me, and baby I got you

Juan: Babe
Both: I got you babe I got you babe

Joe: They say our love won't win no games
But I don’t care if we go down in flames.
Juan: I guess that's so, I don’t care either
as long as I get to start instead of Ethier

Juan: Babe
Both: I got you babe I got you babe

Juan: I got 8....point 8 mil, and I put you…. in my will.
Joe: And when I'm sad, you're a clown
And if I get scared, you're always around
Joe: So let them say your hat’s too big
'Cause I don't care, let them call me pig
Juan: Then put your little hand in mine
There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb

Juan: Babe
Both: I got you babe I got you babe

Juan: I got you to write my name
Joe: I got you to lead the game
Juan: I got you to pull up my socks
Joe: I got you to take me on walks

Both: I got you babe

Again...............For goodness sake Joe, bench him once. Bat him eighth once. I'm getting tired of hearing this song.

I've gotten up to June 15th in the Song Blog. Enchanted's Bohemian Rhapsody is the last one at the moment. I hope to catch up tonight.

C'mon Dodger Blue!!!!!

leefink - very sad, but unfortunately true - if something doesn't happen this young group is doomed.

Have a great time birken!

Eric - thanks for the Groundhog Day song again. LMAO!!!

What's the unnatural attraction between JoJo and his pet PVLs?

It ain't healthy.

It ain't right.

It's good to see most of our heavy artillary in there tonight.
The next thing to do is to use some of it against Gavin Floyd.
Eric Stults is like having nine position batters in the lineup.
LET'S PUT IT TO WORK!!!!

THE DODGER LYRICS BLOG IS LOOKING FANTASTIC!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!

gosh i knew it. damnit i knew it. It's not even fun making fun anymore. Were a laughingstock.

Darn, that piano I had programmed for Pierre got Proctor. I'll have to check out the systems to get the right P guy next time. Either way, I think we have benefitted from that piano.

That's good perumike - the wrong P - LMAO!!! The right P's mom is chasing down enchanted as we speak. Either that or she's in Ned's office insisted Juanpy play everyday. LMAO!!!

I must repost this from the previous thread... such great points... hopefully someone up top may read them.

Required reading, reposted from Jon Weisman's "DodgerThoughts" column today... but this is from response #144... Eric Enders... who basically puts this Simers thing into CLARITY BEYOND BELIEF!

Management (Colletti, Torre, et al.)... ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION???

Class Is In Session:

""144. Eric Enders
The following is long and rambling and may not have much of a point.

One thing about the Simers column is that it aptly illustrates the two main problems with the Colletti-era Dodgers.

--1. They refuse to acknowledge -- and often refuse to repair -- even the most obvious mistakes.

"You're looking in hindsight, so your vision is perfect," says Colletti, who apparently works with blinders on, the only logical explanation for some of these deals. "Who has come back to haunt us?"

A better question, I said is, "who did you acquire who really improved the team?"

"Ethier helped us," he says. "Maddux helped us, Lugo gave us some support, Anderson certainly helped us in September of '06, and Hendrickson pitched. You do have to have players who pitch and play in the games."

- - - - -

First of all, when you're asked what good deals you've made and the third one that comes to mind is Julio Lugo, that's bad. What's worse is that Colletti insists that the trade helped the team. This is a guy who was allowed to bat 164 times and posted a 41 OPS+. This is a guy whose acquisition was an unmitigated disaster.

This is a guy who was almost completely redundant in terms of the Dodgers' needs: He started two games at his natural position of shortstop, 13 at his secondary position of second base, and every other game he played was at a position where he was in over his head offense-wise (3B, LF, RF).

Even allowing for the fact that Colletti was being harassed by a buffoon of a columnist, the fact that he could make such a quote is pretty damning of his qualifications to be a general manager. It indicates that either (1) He is clueless beyond the pale where player evaluation is concerned, or (2) He resolutely refuses to acknowledge even the most egregious and obvious mistakes.

You could say that he's trying to avoid becoming a Ricciardi, trying to avoid running down a player in public. But he's the one who brought up the subject of Lugo. He could have simply said nothing. He has no reason to want to placate Lugo. This is not a player who's under contract to the Dodgers, or who conceivably could be in the future. This is a guy who is in the process of playing his way out of the majors, and whose defining moment in the major leagues was the time he smashed his wife's head into the hood of her car. The point is, there's no reason for Colletti to avoid the truth just to spare Lugo's feelings.

One could reasonably argue that the Lugo trade benefited the Dodgers not because of Lugo himself, but because of the draft picks they reaped when he departed. I myself would make this argument, actually. But Colletti specifically avoids this interpretation, and given the indifference he's shown toward the draft with both the Dodgers and Giants, it's not plausible that Withrow and Adkins were the reasons he made the trade, or the reasons he thinks it's successful.

On to the next problem raised by the Simers column....

--2. The Dodgers' player evaluation is so incompetent that they have shown a near-complete inability to distinguish the players who help them win from those who don't.

If you give the Dodgers a choice between two baseball players, a good one and a bad one, there's at least a 50/50 chance they'll pick the bad one.

Moreover, the things management says publicly are often provably false, even comically false. The main failing of the Dodgers' beat writers, who I think generally do a good job, is their complete refusal to question the hokum the Dodgers spew forth. Even when the Dodgers say something about player performance that's provably false, the writers will unquestioningly regurgitate it as fact. Perhaps this is because they are in awe of Torre, or afraid of incurring his wrath. But then again, it was the same way under Grady Little.

"Torre says he likes the approach Juan Pierre and Jeff Kent take, and Russell Martin does well at times, but the rest of the Dodgers' lineup is too impatient and swings at too many bad pitches."

Perhaps Torre is engaging in motivational psychology here that's specifically directed toward Matt Kemp, in which case you can ignore the following. But if we take the statement at face value, it's hard to believe a person who's been around baseball for 50 years could actually believe it's true. Perhaps it's simply a case of being too close to the situation -- not being able to see the forest for the trees.

Here are the players on the current roster, ranked by pitches per plate appearance (50 or more ABs):

1. Andre Ethier
2. Russell Martin
3. Delwyn Young
4. James Loney
5. Blake DeWitt
6. Mark Sweeney
7. Juan Pierre
8. Matt Kemp
9. Jeff Kent

So the five most disciplined hitters on the team are young players. Moreover, the guys whose approach Torre goes out of his way to praise are two of the worst three hitters on the team in terms of plate discipline. Torre's comment, with all due respect to his experience, is completely, laughably false. It shows either (a) a complete disregard for whether the things he says are actually true, or (b) a fundamental inability to analyze the game of baseball. Neither option reflects well on him.

This inability to accurately evaluate players is the main thing that's plagued the Dodgers under Torre. I'm not saying this would be a great team if Torre had deployed his players in a manner that made sense. But it would be somewhat better, and I think it's reasonable of fans to expect the team to field the best lineup at its disposal.

Instead, Torre seems to have picked his favorites and not wavered from those favorites, even when the player is a washed-up relic hitting .100.

We're less than halfway through the season, but Torre and Colletti have already, at various points during the year, made the following misallocations of playing time:

Sweeney over Young
Proctor over Kuo
Proctor over Wade
Loaiza over Kuo
Pierre over Kemp
Pierre over Ethier
Pierre over Young
Bennett over LaRoche
Maza over Hu
Maza over Young/DeWitt
Tiffee over LaRoche
Garciaparra over LaRoche
Garciaparra over DeWitt

It's hard to win when you don't know who your best players are.""

I'm very impressed with all the time and effort put into the parody songs. You guys should put together a compilation CD.

I'm really hoping that Stults has a great night. I've always liked the way he's pitched when he's been called up. I would love to see Ethier have a big night tonight and get back on track. It's really unbelievable the comments that are made about the young players by management and the media without any regard to what the hard facts bear out. I totally agree with Garvey's comments about being patient for things to develop.

im pumped i just got tickets for the dodger angel game on friday. i hope there are as much fights as there were at angel stadium earlier in the year. i went to the sat. game and i couldnt believe how many fights there were at angel stadium more than in years past...but they were great!!!

10 dollars to watch my favorite team beat up on the team i hate the most...and your gonna promise me that there will be at least 10 fights in my area?? lol. all i can is that it is gonna be a great night...ill have 911 on speed dial :]

bluecrewgirl - all the kids need to have a good night so maybe they can start shutting their management up for good, not that they have to prove anything to us - we know the real score so-to-speak :)

i was going to post about the O% but westernmost beat me to it. i think those numbers, just like the other ones say more than enough.. and yet the only people with actual votes refuse to see them.

i saw that proctor was placed on the DL.. i think what's interesting about this situation is that he actually accepted the assignment to triple-A. i've been riding proctor all season, and i've really been hating him lately, but i have to give him some credit today. for him to agree to accept a triple-A assignment with his service time, etc. says a lot about him. it means he understands he's been terrible and that he will do what's best for the team. apparently, even when they found out about his elbow and said they'd place him on the DL, he said that he would go to triple-A and pitch hurt if he needed to (so that we wouldn't all think he was going to the DL to stay on the major league payroll). Obviously, they wouldn't do something so stupid as to let him further injure himself, but it's good to know he's not a terrible person.

i think the main point of this is, WHY IS HE AND EVERYONE ELSE PITCHING HURT??? and why did joe torre not know that proctor's elbow was bothering him until today?? and why did stan conte just not tell him!!! this constant miscommunication is really bothersome. conte is an idiot and needs to go, and torre needs to pay better attention or he will further ruin our team! imagine if they let a nagging injury to someone like Russell go unnoticed and it turned into a bigger problem!!! they CANNOT keep ignoring the players problems! again, conte is an idiot, and needs to go!

kssparkuhl, that was an excellent post. I felt a little queasy reading Ned say that he considered Lugo a good pickup. I attended a game in September 06 (SD@LA, Wells vs. Maddux, 3 days before the 4 consecutive HRs), and all the chatter I heard around me when they brought in Lugo was of how much of a crybaby he was. Picked up from the Devil Rays into a team with October within grasp, all he could do is complain he wasn't the starter. and he wasn't half as good as Furcal. I don't remember who we traded for him in particular (I kinda don't want to), but he was a bad rental, barely worth his trouble for utility insurance.

To the tune of "Gimme Three Steps" by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Well it was Cashman and Ned in the Dodger

bullpen
The Yankees have some shopping to do
Kershaw's was throwing, Cashman's eyes were glowing
He was looking at you-know-who
He said, "How much for the fella with the hair

darkened yella,
Throw in the Bison too
I need Hank off my back, a universe restored back
And I could do it with some help from you"
Ned said, "Won't you

Gimme three vets, gimme three vets mister
Gimme three vets, maybe two
Gimme three vets, gimme three vets mister
And I'll wrap 'em up pretty for you"

The fans were scared and fearing for their team
They were shaking like leaves on a tree
"We jest him in fun, but he can't be so dumb
To clean out the future Chavez Ravine"
And Ned says "Wait a minute Cashman, that trade won't

be fair, man
Don't wanna cause trouble for you
We have lots of third basemen, I don't want 'em to

waste, man
Take DeWitt and LaRoche too"

Ned said, "Just Gimme three vets, gimme three vets mister,
Gimme three vets, maybe two
Gimme three vets, gimme three vets mister,
And I'll wrap 'em up pretty for you"

On an August day, there's no joy in L.A.
As the tears fall on the floor
And I'm telling you son, it hasn't been fun
Wishing we were relevant once more
The kids we had hyped are in the Bronx, pinstriped
Winning with a youthful core
We're suiting Mussina, Pettite and Abreu, forget it,
Tardy Frank's showing Colletti the door
And Colletti begs

Gimme three steps, gimme three steps mister,
Gimme three steps towards the door
Gimme three steps, gimme three steps mister
And you won't hear from me anymore

apologies to Lynyrd Skynyrd

Aaaaurgh! Kuroda is still not ready either!
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From Diamond Leung's Press-Enterprise blog:
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Hiroki Kuroda (shoulder) will pitch in a simulated game Friday and not make his Saturday start, with Chan Ho Park going instead.

bluecrewgirl - dodgereric began a blog titled Dodger Lyrics that has all the songs and lyrics listed. He is still working on it, but the work in progress so far is awesome. The link is below :)
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http://dodgereric.mlblogs.com/
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As far as a cd - I can't sing - LOL Well, I can sing 1st grade songs when I have to, but that's the extent of my singing abilities.

The Dodgers are struggling for runs. Young hit a HR yesterday for the total run production of the game. Pierre went 0-4. Yet today Young is on the bench and Pierre continues to play. This is absolute lunacy! The total reason that the Dodgers are not in First Place today given Arizona's problems is JOE TORRE (with able assistance from Ned Colletti). If he had played an outfield of Young, Kemp, and Ethier consistently with a stable batting order, the Dodgers WOULD BE IN FIRST PLACE TODAY. Instead, he constantly moves the players with the most run production potential in and out of the lineup or in different batting positions. It is extremely hard for young players to adjust to constantly changing lineups and to become comfortable and confident. Add to that his continual hypocritical criticism of the younger players and you have an environment for failure. Simply put, TORRE IS A TERRIBLE MANAGER FOR THE DODGERS REBUILDING PROGRAM. Despite "his" success in New York, he is way over his head here. And rather than face his own shortcomings, he constantly tries to place the blame on the younger players and justify his playing less productive veteran players and constantly changing lineups. He is arrogant and stubborn and refuses to recognize the reality of the situation. The Dodgers are wasting a great opportunity to succeed in the NL West despite rebuilding, and the blame rests with MANAGEMENT.

Northstateblues - AWESOME SONG!!!!
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sara - the team would definitely be done without Russell!! As much as Joe loves his vets, without Russell, there is no pitching, there is no hitting, and most of all, there is no team captain. No slight to Andre, of course, but Russell is the team captain, and I know Andre knows that too :)
FIRE CONTE!!

Bravo North!!!!!!

northstateblues - HILARIOUS! I love that Skynryd song - great fun to sing along with.

sara - I see I left out catching, but that is kind of a given if Russell ever gets hurt. I was thinking more in lines of pitchers having a more difficult time because Russell would not be catching.

btw, boston up 5-0 in the 8th. it would really help my fantasy team if they held on to the shutout, and it would really help the dodgers!

and dnelson, fresno state up 6-0 in the 8th! :)

Go Fresno!!!!

dnelson, i knew what you meant.. russell is this team's everything, and obviously, knock on wood that nothing happens to him.. but i was merely trying to make a point about stan conte's incompetence =/

Go Bulldogs :)
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So the two teams are the Bulldogs and ESPN's analyst is Orel "Bulldog" Hershiser.

We need Orel as our pitching coach or manager.

We are watching the game - pretty exciting!!! If they win, at least we can say it was a California team (which happens to be from the central valley). It is really, really big news here, even if they don't win - really good for the school and the WAC division they are in. The local news even asked my father what he thought "If he thought Fresno could win" and he said - they are the underdogs - they have already won back when they beat Arizona State (sorry Andre!)

jhall - I'd even settle for Orel getting Steve Lyons' or Rick Monday's jobs!

Great one northstate!!

sara - I know what you were saying too, but maybe somebody will read it and maybe think for a change and fire Conte's dumb ***. :) Maybe we need to make them think about things like that - then again the word "think" has left their vocabulary lately.

clayton Allison (future Dodger) is pitching the last inning for Fresno - wow!!!!

Just an Aussie's 2 cents worth. This team simply can't win the division with JP playing everyday. It worries me that the Dodgers never play their best team. I've never seen our best yet. A number of us yesterday commented that you could bet your house on DY being on the bench today and so it is. I've joined the group that believes that Joe is really only a mediocre manager. This is no Yankee team. There is no quick fix by cheque book. His pre-Yankee record is coming back to bite us.

If Mark Sweeney deserves his place on the roster because of past exploits then we're not in this to win. If Joe believes that JP is the answer at lead-off because of his speed (but speed is worthless if you don't get on base) then we're not in it to win. AND if Joe thinks a 40 year old future HOFer is the backbone of our sluggers then we're not in this to win.

Once again I'll sit in front of my computer and cheer as hard as I know how but also realising that today our best team is once again not on the field.

Sorry for the rant but there are times that I feel we're being continuously mislead by those who profess to be telling us the truth about our team.

Thanks DNelly. I will definitely check out Eric's site. For any one that's interested, someome made a great post that echos many of our sentiments on the Dodger Blue Notes blog on the latimes.com. It's the top post on the entry titled This Slump is Really Stretching Our Headline Writing Skills. By the way, has anyone else had problems watching the video highlights on mlb.com since they updated the website? I never had a problem before and now I can only watch the small ones on the web pages and not the ones that are in the video highlights page. I downloaded Silverlight, so I'm not sure what the problem is. I apologize if this post comes out in one paragraph. I am still working on trying to get spaces in between paragraphs.

FRESNO STATE BULLDOGS ARE THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS!!!!! FRESNO, CALIFORNIA

I hesitate to intrude into this bizarre cult. Now by claiming it's a cult, I don't wish to imply that everything you believe is wrong-even those "Mormon" ladies in Texas probably know George Washinton was the first President; but, I have seen one of the best minds of your generation destroyed in front of my eyes by yout cult and now the only contributor left on this blog with anything interesting to say seems to be in danger.
First let's get to Torre's " the moron" comments; he claimed (if I can read English) that the less experienced players on the Dodgers are swinging a bad pitches-in a hundred or so comments on this blog that claim is "refuted" by looking at NP/PA which says nothing about swinging at bad pitches. (but it does have the positive outcome of making Ethier (who I like too) look good). Finally after many,many comments westernmost (see above) mildly points out the flaw in the cult's reasoning and gives us a stat with which I am not familiar namely "O-swings from fangraphs 2008" which at least shows Kemp swings at a lot of bad balls. While I don't know how this stat is defined so I can't discuss it in depth, I have noticed that many Dodger hitters greatly expand their strike zone with 2 strikes on them so they are very hard to walk. Pierre is one who does this. Kemp strikes out a lot-even more than last year-this, in case you don't know, is not good. dnelly (above) forgives him but I don't.
Juan Pierre has an OBP against LHP of .427 this season (in spite of his lack of walks) which is best on the team among regular position players while Andre Ethier has an OBP against LHP of .254 (and a BA of .170). I pointed this sort of thing out many weeks ago but leekfink told me not to worry. I admit I didn't take his advise so maybe it's my fault. Ethier can't hit LHP this year and by the "reasoning' of this cult should sit against them but that "moron" Torre keeps hauling him out there even as Ethier's BA against LHP sinks and sinks. (Of course JoJo is smart enough to bat Ethier down in the order against LHP and up in the order against RHP which explains the "mysterious" switch of Kemp and Ethier that dnelly mused about.)
Kent got off to a very bad start this year then hit the ball hard but at fielders. He doesn't swing at bad pitches so what is wrong with Torre praising him for that? I know why this cult hates Kent but that doesn't make him our worst hitter or even one of them as leekfink claims. Kent is SLG .500 over the last 30 days for example.
Pierre's OBP leading off a game is .400. Should he sit for Delwyn Young against RHP? Maybe, but last year Pierre couldn't hit LHP in the first half and hit RHP very well.
It is so dishonest to say we are 17-27 with Pierre leading off when we are 17-27 without Furcal. BA's for June Kemp .263, Ethier .200, DeWitt .185 but what's the point of talking to a cult.

Beautiful swing by Ethier! That's how it should be done

THAT'S MY ANDRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to Fresno State. Lowest seed ever to win a CWS!

Did you guys notice how Ethier and Kent both were in hitter's counts when they connected? Then Loney comes up and goes after the second pitch... =[

And Vin Scully is talking about the same thing!

YAY to Andre! and Russell!.... KEEP VOTING FOR RUSSELL, you dodger fans are falling behind on this voting business... i already wrote in a previous thread how to keep non stop voting.. just USE everyones email that you know haha :)

They're off to a good start... =) I'm so upset I didn't go to tonights game I wanted to have Ethier sign my ball at BP tonight too... I was on call for work & now I don't even need to go in :(

The Angels series this weekend is going to be very interesting & intense.. I wonder how the line-ups going to be... besides Pierre leading off every game... haha

miketink, I have a hard time believing that anyone would read that mini essay of yours, regardless of whether or not the content was worthy lol

Nice two runs to start off with.
Let's hope they get some more.

If there is no point in talking to a cult, then why do it Tink? Why take the time? Why bother? Doesn't make any sense!!!!!!

Unbelievable!!™

jhall - perhaps another joey :)

LOL Nelly. I'm having a hard time getting the words, Self Absorbed A**hole out of my head.

Can't figure it. LOL!!!

LMAO!!!!! you got that right!!!!

It's OK to come on and state your point of view, but when you feel the need to belittle others and be a condescending a**hole about it, it usually points to a low self esteem for some reason or other. Probably can't please his significant other is my guess.

I know it's early, but I'm for Stulz staying in the rotation :)

Yep Nelly, I agree. Stults has looked good.

Too bad the Dbacks won today... that usually means we're going to lose. Prove me wrong today!!

I'm glad you explained it Jhall .. I spent 5 minutes trying to find out about what cult was being discussed.

Smile when you say cult!!!

Proof positive that God does in fact, occaisionally have an off day. LOL!!!!

LMAO!! too funny rodmky ~ I stopped reading once Andre's name came because I could tell by the beginning it wasn't going to be good. And if we are considered a cult - I am okay with that - it's a pretty damn good one, and ingenious I might add. I bet leefink or jungar come on and set it straight. Then again - you don't want to mess around with "E" LMAO!!!

You know, I'd almost bet that Tink is really Ned. LOL!!!!!

I knew you would set it straight enchanted - nobody wants to mess with you ~LMAO!!! Are you still dreaming of spatulas? LMAO!!!

WTF does that make me - Jim Jones??

LOL!!!

LMAO!!!!

Way to get out of a rough inning - Go Dodgers - need more runs!!!

Nice play by DeWitt and Berroa!!!

PARTY TIME!!!! Kool Aid for everyone!!!!

I guess that would make you Tammy Faye Baker, Nelly. LOL!!!!

My Loney has a first name,
It's J-A-M-E-S
My Loney has a second name,
It's L-O-N-E-Y
I love to watch him every day
And if you ask me why I'll say
'Cause James Loney has a way
With H-I-T-T-I-N-G!

By leefink and martinloneykemp

Gotta get everyone some new sneakers.

NO PLEASE NO!!!!! LMAO!!!!! Then who are you and eric?

Right on Mr Applewhite!!!

I vote Charles Manson, but...

Nice at bat Matthew Ryan Kemp :)

We're waiting for Ned Bop to fly over.

Way to go DeWitt !!!

WOW!!!!!!! FABULOUS JOB MR. DEWITT!!!!!

Another just missed by DE WITT, great shot though for 2 ribbys.

DeWiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ned would be more like the comet Kahoutec, and you know what a dud that was.

Nice timely hit by Dewitt! As well has he's done since being called up, I believe Laroche is expendable.

enchanted - so you are Charlie? LMAO!!!!!

i vote Stulz to take Sweeney's spot as DH :)

Can Stults be our lefthanded PH?

STULTS is like having a DH.

Pierre needs to go to bed. He needs to get up extra early because tomorrow it is a day game. Mrs P. Juanpy needs to bed now - he needs his sleep.

I'm Jim dammit!!! I was thinking Charles for Eric - he's got the charisma, though JoeyP's effin' nuts.

PierreEW - I am not referring to our beloved Pierreseastwest :) You can stay up as long as you wish.

BTW, nice bunt Pierre!!

I've got a special JP song for later.

Are we the Inside The Branch Dodgeridians now?

okay - where does jhall fit in all this
* you are jim
*eric is charles
*I am tammy
*jhall is .......

westernmost - you'd settle for Orel getting Steve Lyons' or Rick Monday's jobs! Well, I'd settle for Orel getting Charlie's job!

dnel, I second your vote to have Stulz take Sweeney's spot as DH!

tink thinks that we're a cult??? Don't see that.

Not here long; I just had to say hi to my ITD buddies! :)

jhall is on the SWAT team waiting outside. LOL!!!!

Jhall's Marshall Applewhite

Actually, the D-backs lost 5-0....Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the D's also have a 5-0 lead in the 5th. Stultz pitching well again.

Hey CP!!

Squeeky? Is that you??

Where's my dinner?

I must have missed that somewhere - thank you for keeping me informed LMAO!!!!!
* enchanted - jim
*eric - charles
*jhall - marshall applewhite
*nelly - tammy (ick!!) without the mascara please LOL!!

HEY CP - GLAD YOU COULD STOP BY!!! The boys are being crazy like usual - :)

hey there jhall!!! I still love to read up on ITD, even if I don't post. But I had to make a couple of comments! :) But I'm not here very much while the game plays; there's no TV in our computer room. Well, gotta go; I really don't want to miss watching anymore of the game. See y'all later!!!

dnel, yeah, I can tell the craziness!!! :)

Where's Bonnie Nettles?

maybe sara? or cp?

Josh Please thank Vin for recognizing the Fresno State Bulldogs. Dodger fans in the central valley thank him for that. It's good to represent the state of California too. One of the Fresno State Bulldogs is going to be pitching for the Dodgers someday soon. :)

Yes Dinelley I knew you didn't mean me.

Another nice at bat for Mr. Kemp :)

Too bad the Dbacks won today... that usually means we're going to lose. Prove me wrong today!!

By xuniquexjyx@hotmail.com on June 25, 2008 8:01 PM

They lost what game are you looking at?

Too bad the Dbacks won today... that usually means we're going to lose. Prove me wrong today!!

By xuniquexjyx@hotmail.com on June 25, 2008 8:01 PM

They lost what game are you looking at?

miketink, you DO bring up good points. I'm not much of a stats guy, more of a "gut feel" guy, though that philosophy hasn't done our nation too much good the past eight years...but I won't go there. My gut feel tells me the Dodgers are treading water. My big problem with Pierre and Kent and Nomar isn't their OBP or their strikeout numbers on a Tuesday. It's the fact they are NOT the future of this franschise and there's no point living in "today" with this team. I don't believe Ned's 2008 creation can compete in a pressure sereis with the likes of Boston, Anaheim (yeah, Anaheim, not L.A.) or any other AL power. The National League doesn't scare me but bad play by opponents doesn't make the Dodgers good or even a contender. If you want to call this blog a cult, then call it the "Youth Cult." Because within ev