No way!

No use talking about Pierre leading off - Torre won't bend on that until hell freezes over or Furcal comes back, whichever happens first. The encouraging part about last night was that Torre didn't pinch hit with Sweeney, but used DY instead. Somebody on another forum suggested that Sweeney would make a great hitting coach; seems like an oxymoron, but I'd settle for it if it gets him off the roster.

Now, GO, DODGERS, and let's sweep!!! Wouldn't that be grand for a change.

From Mr. Negative's (Simers) column...

"But the Dodgers also thought they were getting someone to command respect in the clubhouse, something they believe they had lost with Grady Little on the job. As results go, the Dodgers are worse off so far, and it's shocking, while refreshingly honest to hear Torre talk about his ineffectiveness to win over the Dodgers' youngsters so far."

Duh. You think playing Pierre ad nauseum after crying publicly has anything to do with it...or constantly shipping the kids in and out of the starting line-up at the expense of worse-producing vets?

Good morning boys and girls...
I'm not sure if I would've really wanted to see last night's game. I guess I've gotta be glad that we won and won the series against the Angels. Now we can talk about sweep!!! We heard about what happened on the way home and I had to see it on Sportscenter, so we put the TV on ESPN when we got home. That Kemp/Weaver play was some crazy play! Let's get the sweep!!! I would love that!!! My Angels-loving husband has been quiet all weekend; hmmmm I wonder why?

how is angel berroa on this team? This better be his last game, he has done absolutely nothing. He could'nt even cut it in KC, the dodgers need to bring back Hu, at least he can play an amazing short stop, berroa sucks on both sides of the ball.

Torre can win over the kids by playing them the next day when they have a good game and not sitting them on the bench. Until shown otherwise, Dewitt should be playing everyday and Laroche will get his turn possibly at 2nd when Kent retires. Dewitt has earned the right to play everyday.
Pierre hasn't earned the right to even carry Delwyn Young's jockstrap and should be sitting out every game as DY will outhit him everyday of the week.

We need to sweep today. let's go Dodgers.

day game after night game.. and russell and jeff are both in the lineup. and they're flying to houston for a game tomorrow.. interesting..

demmotor, I'm afraid we're stuck with berroa at least until the break. We need to see where Raffy is on his rehab stint to see if he'll be able to play effectively once he returns. As far as Hu, I think his earlier stint with the Dodgers probably messed the kid up and he needs time in the minors to figure it out. That's just my opinion. I hear you that berroa has don't nothing since he's here. But if Raffy isn't able to come back after his rehab stint, then I'm sure we're going to go after a longer-term solution at SS; berroa isn't doing anything and Hu just isn't ready yet from the minors... sigh...

I'd rather have Maza at ss than Berroa. Maza has made some great defensive plays and he's hit better too.

sara, I'm not surprised that Martin is in there but I was very surprised to see Kent in there in a day game after a night game...

yeah bluecrewgirl, I forgot about Maza. You're right, he has done better in the hitting department than Berroa...

I think dodger fans should be outraged out how this furcal this has been handled. My personal opinion is he wants to come back to have a solid 2 months just so he could get that a nice new contract after the season, i mean...a sore back? Cal Ripken never had a sore back? Players are babied so much these days, what happened to popping a few motrins and get back in the lineup. I think boras is behind this. Missing this much time for a stiff back is ridiculous.

Cpompe, I'm sure the Dodgers were hoping that Berroa would come back to form since he was rookie of the year in the American League his first year and he's not that old, but so far he hasn't shown much.

Agreed demmotor! and your name's not familiar, so welcome also!!

The clue for Ned should've been that Berroa COULDN'T EVEN MAKE THE ROYALS but then, it is Ned. I had some hopes for him when Bob Schaefer recommended him (in otherwords, it wasn't an original Ned thought), but Berroa has far exceeded the worst case scenario I imagined.

demmotor, I feel your pain and frustration but with a player of Raffy's caliber, you don't want to risk hurting him to where he can never come back. I'm sure Boras is having fun seeing his client and himself get paid for doing nothing. But I for one don't want to see Raffy or anyone else for that matter get hurt so bad by bringing him back too early. If Raffy was 38 years old and this was happening, then I'd agree with you but he's only 30 years old with a lot his career ahead of him.

demmotor... remember, the Dodgers know how valuable Furcal is to their team. You certainly don't need to remind them. They have their best doctors all over it.

As to your comment about a "sore back", you can't treat a slipped disc like a minor injury. They can be debilitating and can lead to the end of a career if not treated correctly. They did the right thing in doing "core strengthening" first and getting the area to heal. It's not something you come back from in only 10 days. Let's hope he's okay.

.293 veteran leadoff hitter on base %
.696 veteran clean up mans OPS.

General Manager Ned Colletti is under fire, though, and Manager Joe Torre said again, "it's still a work in progress" getting through to the team's young players.

you get thru to them by showing them you will not put S-H-I-T around them (both bad defensive players as well) every night and then blame them in the press. And then say in the press that as soon as other vets get back we will win again...Chad is 23..does he get it? yes Martin is 23..does he get it? yes...ok so maybe James and Matt and Ethier and DY and the others need a bit more time..but maybe and maybe the numbers do lie...but i dont see it. I see the way Pierre(Not Kent) plays way more selfish than any kid we have.

I think the problem lies not so much that Ferk has a bad back, which I'm sure he does - he was on fire and well on the way to a fantastic walk year where he could've written his own ticket for salary, its how Conte handles the diagnosis (or misdiagnosis in most cases) and rehab. Ferk, Jones, Nomore, Schmidt, Penny, Kuroda... I don't know what it is that Conte does, but he sure doesn't keep players healthy, nor does he communicate with management on their conditions.

Ok Im back. Haven't seen the last 2 games. Thank god I didn't see last nights but nice win nonetheless.

GO BLUE!

Snakes up 3-1 in the 8th

Shoot me.

Juan Pierre will be everyday LF even AFTER Andruw Jones returns.

Torre just told us this morning, although he said Rafael Furcal would probably go back into the leadoff spot when he comes back, with Pierre dropping to second.

``(Pierre) has been that consistent guy for us every day, and he refuses to acknowledge any bumps or bruises, even though you know he has them,'' Torre said. ``He has been great. Juan is going to be our left fielder, and Andruw will be our center fielder.''

That means, of course, that Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp will compete for playing time in RF. Although Torre wouldn't acknowledge that was part of the plan, it is apparent that those two benefitted from pushing each other early in the season. Ned Colletti is a big proponent in the value of having players compete, his thinking being that it brings out the best in the players doing the competing.

Yeah jungar, and his overall OBP's even worse than last year's - .326 with a humongous .317 slg. pct. Don't ya wish our management had the cajones to do the right thing with JP an all the rest of the PVLs?

Predictions:
JP 2009 OBP .300-.310
JP 2010 OBP .290-.295
JP 2011 OBP .280-.290

Thanks Ned!!!

I think I read on a site that last nights game does not qualify as a official 'no hitter' because the Dodgers did not bat in the 9th.

Anyways, still an amazing feat. Lets hope the Dodgers can turn the tables today...but walk out of the game with a win.

According to Tony Jackson Pierre will remain the LF'er after Andruw comes back to play CF. That will not change unless either Pierre of Andruw play themselves out of the starting lineup. Torre also thinks that Pierre is a great stabilizing influence that he needs in there all the time. So, screw the fans, but he's the manager, and what are we going to do about it. He obviously likes his veterans, and the youngsters mostly still "don't get it", meaning Torre's system. That's what we get for having a Torre type of manager. If he takes us to the playoffs, he'll probably get the credit no matter how he treats the youngsters, or whether he puts the best team on the field or not. I'm wondering whether it's worth getting into the playoffs, if we're not going to advance. I've totally had it with Torre, and I've had it with Ned for the last two years now. So, it will be interesting to see where Frank stands in all of this.
That probably depends on how much ridicule he can stand from the mainstream press.

Who do JP and 'Druw have to compete with for playing time? Answer: No one. What a crock of ****.

A bunch of crap, but no surprise. And Andre no doubt will be the one to get the shaft, once again.

I was hoping Josh would start a new thread, so I could use my phone (once the thread gets past 100, it gets too long ). Blogging from Oakland Coliseum and wearing my "Got Ethier" shirt - life is good :) Have fun watching the Dodgers; I will be cheering from here every step of the way . I will blog you when I get home- GO DODGERS - SWEEP THE ANGELS BACK TO ANAHEIM !!
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CP - hope you had fun at the concert :)
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Bluecrewgirl - cool story about the Ethier shirt - the funny thing is I can't spell "either" correctly anymore - I always have to check to make sure it doesn't spell "ethier" lol !

I know, I think a lot of Dodger fans have made that typo since he came onto the team. I've done it a few times myself.

yeah i have so much to say I am overloaded and shutting down. i am over it. lets hope this is Torre's way of saying ok fine Ned we will play your team this year and see what happens but soon were looking at:

Furcal
Pierre
Nomar
Kent
Jones
Martin
Loney
Kemp/Ethier

3-3 snakes. Han Ram HR bot 9th man on 2nd 1 out.

But I still root for the players o0n the field as they play the game...so nice HAN RAM...Lackey should be tough today and sweeping the angels should be hard.

4-3 Marlins defeat snakes!

nice job, juan.

Messagebear, I live in St Louis area so watched Torre manage the Cardinals, and I thought he was a terrible manager then and I haven't changed my mind since. He had a losing record with the Mets and did a lousy job with the Cards

We can't seem to stay out of the double play. and is killing us.

I believe you, boblee. He did great for those many years with the Yanks, but only because he had all of the best veteran players available with the highest payroll in the game. Even then in the past years he really underachieved, which is why the Yanks needed to make a change. I think Torre was past his prime as a manager in those last years, and he's clearly out of touch with the younger players' generation now. That's really to our detriment, if we're going to stick with the youth movement.

Well with the news of Pierre being our everyday Left Fielder when Fat *** gets back I think it is time to give up on this team as a whole, especially management.

well, that was gay. nice job walking gary "no bat speed" matthews, lowe. jesus, something stupid always happens when he pitches.

We can only hope the Pierre hype is a precursor to a trade. Otherwise Torre and Ned are buffoons. I mean, they really are. I may be some anonymous blogger, but sorry, Joe, baseball isn't rocket science. It's a GAME...a game played by pampered men and "managed" by the same.

Actually the most frightening thing to me is, is that JoJo actually believes JP (and soon AJ) are the better ballplayers.

kpoookie... we've been spewing that "showcasing JP for a trade" crap all season long... and I'm afraid it's not going to materialize. Colletti and Torre are way out of touch with reality. If not for the justification of the JP contract, there'd be no reason not to sit the "smallest hat size in baseball" and the "hardest worker in baseball".

I can't fathom how Berroa is playing over Maza, Hu and even a dogturd.

And how can JoJo expect to win when he regularly gives up 10 outs a game between JP, Berroa and the pitcher/pitcher's spot counting Sweeney? Not to mention batting them back to back to back.

Yawn to this game too!

This certainly doesn't look like our game today. This team is just not hitting. We need a good hitting coach. Who's available?

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Berroa isn't our answer for ss either. Maza is a much better fielder that Berroe. Berroa can't hit worth S***.

Bring back Hu only because his defense is way better then Berroa.

Hu is on the DL in Vegas with blurred vision. He has this problem before and last time it was corrected he went on to hit over .300 in Vegas. It's not like it matters though. We've got 3 guys who are hitting over .400 at Vegas and they won't even smell a call up because we've got Sweeiner.

this is a joke, no hits yesterday, 1 hit today.... im sick of this ****.

Damn Hu is? Oh yeah I forgot.

With Lackey's era, I was kind of worried this game was going to be a tough one.

Good Morning/Afternoon ... The more I watch this years team the more I'm convinced that we're just one week of consistent hitting away from being a tough team to beat. To date we've never been able to hit more than 1 day a week and this stretch of hittingless (sic) is now part of the Dodger mentality.

How is Lackey shutting down this potent offense?

If Arizona hadn't fallen on their collective faces, the Dodgers would be buried and all this "to-the-rescue" talk of Nomar, Furcal, Andruw, Pierre, Sweeney, et al, would be moot. We'd be playing the all kids with an eye on 2009, allowing them their growing pains without the passive/aggresive glare of Joe. You know, walking into Dodger Stadium last night, buying a $5 hot dog and a $5 coke, looking at the "luxury" boxes that have encroached into the field, I really began to resent McCourt, as well as his two hired hands, Joe and Ned. I may have to change my e-mail address again when they read this, but I have REALLY HAD IT with this regime. Whoever called them the Three Clowns on this blog was a genius.

ned sucks.

Is because Lackey is that damn good. Wow nice played Dewiit remind me of Beltre.

Wonder if Hu and Furcal would made that play.

Lackey is getting surgical on this lineup. This reminds me of when Maddux was in his prime.

lmao at the dp nice.

I don't think you have to worry, kpookiemon, about being cut off. By latest count, if they were looking for people on this blog to support this ludicrous management team, they would have no entries, except for maybe joeyp and the cable guy.

More like the 3 stooges. Joe, Ned and Mc.

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Getting a little sick of this team not hitting. We were hitting much better the first of the year

Down here I don't get all the media input that you guys and girls get in your part of the world but if what you report is true that Joe will play JP everyday in LF even after Jones returns shows me that perhaps Joe isn't the answer to what the Dodger's need. To sit either Kemp or Ethier slows up their progress and considering how well they've been playing (Kemp's hot & cold hitting excepted) will be a detriment to the Dodgers not a positive. BUT I suppose if Joe and Ned are right then Jones will come back and hit .300 with 20 HR's, Nomar will catch fire and DeWitt will sit, Furcal will play like he has a contract coming up and Sweeney will have a 7-8 stretch as a PH Plus I'll wake up to find I'm a multi-millionaire. To be Honest I can't see any of it happening.

Berroa looks lilke S*** swinging at pitches in the dirt. Another lousy deal of Ned's

Oh btw message I live in Compton Calif.

if berroa is still on the team tomorrow im buring my dodgers gear and picking up an angel hat.

Holy crap said it not so.

I know JP has had a lot of hits this year but I can honestly say I've never seen him hit the ball hard. His hit just then was nothing more than a mis-hit by anyone else.

i swear we can put honeycutt up at the plate and he can swing the stick better than berroa.

You better start burying it right now.

Maybe Aybar solved our problem for us.

JP just got hurt. Don't like to see that. Didn't look bad.

Come on Pierre fight it off.

Here come Young

nice hack andre, shi-tty *** dribbler to 2nd.

i know we all make jokes about why juan never gets injured like other guys.. but you had to feel for the guy right there.. looked nasty when aybar landed on him..

We suck at hitting. We suck at Home runs. Our pitching is getting much better, Our defense could be a lot better. I still can't believe we're 2 games out of first. If we can catch fire with our hitting we can take this division going away...

I would never wish injury on him or anyone else, regardless of who my favorite players are. Hope he's okay.

Me too but he killing me in my fantasy league with his stolen bases and I'm losing 8 to 5 and Pierre have 6 on his own.

After reading Tony Jackson's blog this morning about Pierre being our everyday left fielder, I said to my dear spouse that I've never wished an injury to a Dodger player in my life until today. I feel like crap right about now. Juan Pierre, I hope you're okay. I want Andre Ethier to kick your butt fair and square... get well quick.

Oh gosh this doesn't look good.

if lowe's injured, i hope he's not making it worse by being hard headed..

Get someone up.

4 months of rest for pierre then she should be fine

Can we put Pierre on the 3 year DL?

Good to see Lowe get out of that jam. Now if the bats could only wake up........

Wow Lowe is tough

I am in Gnat h*ll right now in Oakland, and I think what I have been reading about JP and Andruw taking over in the outfield is in a way a much worse h*ll. I didn't think things could get much worse than sitting around a bunch of Gnat fans and wearing Dodger blue - LMAO!!! The only reason I am laughing is because Joe and Ned are out of their f*cking minds! The only thing to do is laugh at the idiots if they think Pierre and Andruw are the answers for the outfield. Sorry if I'm being negative - LMAO!!! roland just hit homerun 11-1 giants uugghh!

Don't be silly trade him and than put him on the DL for 3 yrs.

that ball didnt even get to the warning track are you kidding me?

loney is just late on everything today.

All right!!! Which one of you guys paid Aybar to fall on Pierre? LOL

This game sucks. Dodgers can't hit their way out of a wet paper bag at this point. Really getting tire of these hitless games.

i was just catching up on all the things joe said today about pierre and jones and how ethier and kemp will be sharing a spot.. i ask, WHAT IS HE SEEING THAT WE ALL AREN'T??? how can he be so enamored with pierre? even if i try to step back and see it from a different perspective, i can't. i just don't see it joe..

"About half the month of April and right through the month of June he's been really great, and I can't ignore what a difference he's made," Torre said.

I feel bad for Pierre. No one deserves to get hurt (besides Andruw), especially someone who is as solid as Pierre. The guy never gets hurt

i find it ironic, that on the day that joe says pierre will never sit and will have the LF job forever.. he's forced to remove him due to injury.

Kemp has no idea how good he's going to be. If he can just start getting his hits, he'll be a superstar...

Idiot quote by Slimers: “ .. the kids still rule here.”
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What a maroon!! If the kids ruled, they’d be playing every day in a consistent lineup with the best hitters in the top part of the lineup. Duh. Obviously, the ruling class is the old guys. The older and more useless, the more favored. JoJo himself is the oldest and most favored. If a young manager was as clueless about his own players as JoJo he would have been fired by now.
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Idiot quote by JoJo/Slimers: "it's still a work in progress" getting through to the team's young players.
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No. It’s still a work in progress getting through to JoJo ... and the media. More than 200 songs have been written here trying to get through to them, and so far I haven’t seen JoJo try a lineup without Juanpy, or even heard a question asked by the media about that obviously failed strategy.
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The media is almost as pathetic as JoJo and The Nedster.
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Update on Popgun while batting first in the order:
Batting 1st 49 games, .255 BA, .293 OBP, 20 Runs
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I gotta agree with JoJo; Juan is consistent.

hmmmmmmmm Sweeney over Berroa I wonder.

Did you have to say that Vin?

Sweeney on deck... Torre wants to lose again!!

sweeney for berroa? is there a difference? what the hell is this?

Get the Sweeney party started.

The Sweeney line is about to be breeched yet again...

Sweeney batting for Berroa? Now, there's a classic zero-sum game.

Here's the Sweiner coming to bat. 3rd out of the inning

6 for 61... .098!! Hooray!! Sweeney did it!! Sweeney did it!!

It's got to be official now doesn't it? .. Sweeney is under .100 and still is our No1 PH .. and we were so happy to get the Great Joe as our manager.

Joe Torre, nice man, wrong manager for this team. If he wants to play Pierre over Andre or Kemp , then either he knows something that all the fans don't know, or we all live in a bizzaro world where bad is good and good is bad.

Well KS we wasn't going to win anyway with 2 hits.

i don't understand joe at all.. it boggles my mind.. consistently bad is a good thing? yeah juan is consistent, but consistenly bad.. and apparently it's better to expect 1 or 0 singles a game, than not knowing whether you'd get more from someone else..

guess we are staying 2.5 back

The Dodgers are the only team I know that can give up 1 run in three games and still lose one...

If JoJo isn't getting through to the kids, its just more fuel to the fire that he isn't the right man for the job.

And the pitchers' spot due to lead off the ninth... oh man. Nothing like having Delwyn Young come in to save the game in the ninth. Now that would be classic.

Has a team ever been no hit 2 games in a row? It's amazing how close we came today!! I can't believe even with losing today, we're still only 2.5 games back!!

We haven't lost yet. We're still in this

Do you think that maybe the hitting coach needs to be replaced??? I like Mike Easler... great guy... but I never thought of him as a hitting coach even when he was a player. Maybe it's time for a change.

Yeah, kss, I think you might be on to something... last year, same players, much different results. It's interestnig how much we're like the A's in the regard that we've got no power, but look at the records... We need a power bat like never before.

Steve Garvey should be the hitting coach! Great motivational speaker!

I would love to see a game tying homerun.

great at bat delwyn!!

Come on Ethier walk off homerun would be nice.

Stay tough Ethier don't make an out..

kpookie, you're exactly right. If the D-backs hadn't fallen flat on their faces, the kids would all be playing and we'd be determining what we have for next year. Now those of us who are hoping for the long-term success of this team are going to have to endure every rumor and half truth regarding every overpriced, worn out, unwanted veteran that may be headed our way up to the trading deadline and praying that the Nedster doesn't do something unbelievably stupid and bring one or more of them here. Stay strong and stay tuned.

ugh, it was outside!!!

Gosh Ethier got screw.

Things are going south. Great pitching and now we can't hit at all. Now with JP out, we have no major league experinece on the b paths. What a pitiful bunch of losers. Hitting coach can't change these morons. The West the weakest and we will probably win it and be wiped out in the first round of hte playoffs. And, most of you will think ... oh what a great team. This team would be booed out of PHilly or Boston.

That was a terrible call on strike three for Ethier. That pitch was definitely out of the strike zone. Screwed up what could have been a good at bat. He was making good contact on the pitches he fouled off.

no question, ethier got screwed.. changed the whole inning..

ugh, i HATE k-rod..

hope jeff takes a good at-bat..

Agreed bluecrew... Ethier gave the ump an earfull on his way back though. That was good to see... a little more assertiveness from a third-year player.

amazing... a base hit wins it!!

ooops... Martin still on first???

martin's still on first..

come on jeff! 3-0 count!

we could be going into extra inning.... =)
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if Pierre is injured badly and ends up on the DL, we'd have no more songs to do and no more jokes... oh no what are we going to do with our lives now?? haha jk.
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Sitting Andre & Kemp would be the worst mistake Torre is going to make for this team.