A tough day in Dodgertown...

You have got to be kidding me?

This will be a good night to add more entries into the Caption Contest. DodgerLyrics is going to race to #1 tonight.

OH-oh NO ETHIER in the line-up...damn! And JP still playing
!#$@#$
*
GOOOOO DODGERS!
*
Best wishes to Tony Jackson, I hope that he finds something fast, something that will keep him happy. He will be missed!

Sorry Josh - got caught up in the lineup thing. It's an ethieraholic thing as you so very well know.

I really enjoy reading Tony Jackson's articles. He will be missed by this reader who looks forward to his take on things.

Do you have any plans to communicate via Twitter? I see some other teams have started.

Kahli - you got your wish. He's starting for the slug Ethier instead. Be careful what you wish for :)

Un-Freakin-Believeable.

One of the best right handers in the game goes against you, and you freaking play Pierre instead of the best lefthand bat you've got. Looks like this is another one of Joe's giveaway games.

I'm so pissed right now I could kick the cat that I haven't got.

I think I'm gonna have an aneurysm.

Why do this to Kershaw again? This is twice you have put him in centerfield when he has pitched, and this is just defense I am talking about. I am so with you enchanted....................just unacceptable on so many levels.

E, I still have some of that Kosher wine.

I'm very sorry to read about the layoff of Tony Jackson, I enjoyed reading his columns. I wish him luck, in landing a new job.
Pierre batting ninth again, IMO, is an excellent idea, this way they can't pitch around Blake, or anybody else, and they'll see better pitches.
Pierre also gives us 3 speedsters in consecutive order in Juan, Raffy and O dawg.
Just a suggestion but, why don't Torre bat Russel behind Blake, until he comes out of his funk? Maybe he'll do better if his feelings are hurt.

Chill out everyone Ethier needs a day off at some point and tonight seems as good as any considering Peavy has absolutely owned him throughout his career.

The only good thing I can say is that we have a good bench for pinch hitting tonight. Sheesh!!!

Ibirken ~ Could you pass the Kosher wine to me! I'm with all, of you who are **********!

Enchanted ~ they let you msay the P word but not me! Maybe because I added "off" to it!

Red pen *say

Shoulda left Phew on the wall at AT&T . . . . .

I don't care if Dre goes 0 for 5 with 5Ks, JP has no business being in centerfield in a game where a run or two could make a difference. I GUARANTEE his defense (or lack thereof) costs us 2 runs. It always costs us two runs.

I'm coming to see you Elizabeth!!! This is the big one...

Burn in he11 Juan Pierre and take Joe Torre with you.
,
,
Torre, you are a tool and a fool. How many times did you rest Jeter so Luis Sojo could get in the lineup?
,
,
Trade Ethier and Kemp to real team that's trying to win by playing the best players. Playing JP this often is malpractice.

LMAO!!!!!

Vinny kept repeating how many runs he felt Kemp saved the Dodgers last night because of his defense in centerfield.

F'ing Torre! He's just enchanted with the idea of playing alternating four outfielders. Theoretically it may be a great idea, provided they all hit and field about equally well. Unbeknowst to Joe, it doesn't work a damn when one of the four can't do much of either.

Dodgers have their best start at home (7-0) in 62 years and now Joe's giving that up to appease Juanypoo? I don't know what's causing the up-chucks? This situation or the swine flu?

Hey, if Joe wants to rest Dre - fine, but let him do it against some noname, not Peavy.

I have the same affinity for JoJo that I do for Andruw.

Hey, you just said what I was going to say enchanted.............perfect!!! Kersh needs all the support he can get, and why do this to him two games in a row? He needs the best DEFENSE out there, and I don't care if Andre is 0-100 against Peavy, he still has a better shot of hitting a homerun off of him than JP does. Mack's confidence is already shot, and we don't need Kersh's shot too.

I'm glad that Pierre will not be playing everynight, I don't think I can stand this much longer.
All this writing.
.
I finally got a copy of the picture of Juan coming off the wall after his try for Bengie Molina's triple, although it came out in the wrong colors.
I tried to do it from your links yesterday but it didn't take.
It's O.K. though because it's unmistakably him.
.
Ahh my name sake.
.
.
Although Ethier has trouble hitting Peavy (who doesn't?), I'll miss him in the lineup, but I have a feeling he may pinchhit later in the game, if needed.

WOW. Sitting Either in this game baffles me. Either has been the rock of this lineup, and against another teams #1 pitcher you rest him... I hate to think that Pierre is again pulling time away from the youngsters...

Matt Kemp showed last night why he is the staple in the outfield making two catches that saved runs. Would Pierre make those catches?

Loney with no HR's behind Manny, look for a lot of walks to Manram...

Go Dodgers, Kershaw will be big tonight I can feel it...

Freaking unbelievable. I am so tired of this crap. Matt and Andre are in their twenties for God's sake and the season is barely a month old. They don't need to rest. How many of the top performers in the league on other teams have to put up with this ridiculous crap? None, I would think. I thought we were finally done with this nonsense after last season. I had a long crappy day at work, so I was already annoyed and then to come home and see this bs double sucks. I am sorry to hear about Tony Jackson. That is sad news.

Even Vin is not convinced Andre should be sitting. "If he's going to get a rest, this would be a night to do it I guess" - I guess is right.

LMAO!!!!!!!!! You are obviously not the only one bluecrewgirl!!! I am one pissed Ethieraholic!!!

Nice job in the 1st Kersh! Keep it up!

Nelly, I was already in a pissy mood to begin with and it just pushed me over the edge, lol.

Nelly, resting Ethier today is part of the 12 step program to help you with your addiction to all things Ethier! :)

Hey Piano Man!!!

We have only won 2 games against Peavy in his career. Nobody hits well against him obviously. We need Andre's defense. I could care less if he hits off of him.

It's not helping!!!

Is anyone else having trouble accessing MLB.TV

I'm listening to the Padres Audio

This must be one big step than because this just sucks. If you really want to know, it sucked just as much when Matt sat, and I think it was only because I knew Andre's turn would soon be coming.

JOE TORRE IS AN IDIOT !!!!!!!!!!!!

Juanypoo should never start a game, period! We want to win, not appease some egotistical jerk!

What's wrong with mlb.tv. Can't pick up the game

Boblee - they don't want to scare you by seeing JP in centerfield - LOL!!!

I called MLB.TV they said they'll correct the problem shortly.
Whatever that means.
I'm listening to the Padre broadcast.
No score bottom of the second.

After this inning I'll try MLB.TV again.

This guy is so happy with about his Jakey.

I talked to mlb.tv. No idea when this will be fixed. She said to just keep trying. Yeah.

Just keep trying Yeah,

Nice Job Kersh!!!! Keep it up!!! Come on Dodgers..........get some runs for Kersh!!!!

Lol, Vin was just talking about having Pierre bat 9th and the theory behind it and he said, "Didn't work too well in Colorado, we'll se how it works tonight."

Pierre broke up the no-hitter

Well, he got his one hit. That will guarantee him another start.

....but he still can't throw the ball people!!!!!

Come on Kersh, finish off this inning right now!!

Anybody have any luck with MLB.TV?

Kersh struggled there.

no luck with mlb.tv. Can only get dodger broadcast

I am watching on Direct TV in my bedroom ( I have to share with gnat fans in the other room), plus mlb.com audio in the kitchen.

snakes won 5-2

O.K. I got the game MLB.TV>>>>YIPPEEE

The audio is ahead of the video but who cares?
I'd rather watch and listen to VInny.

Notice without Dre in there Peavy's pitch count is only in the 50s.

This Padre announcer over on the audio side said the Dodgers were a terrible team in the 40s.
Yeah, they only won 3 pennants, 1941,1947 & 1949
and they finished tied for first in 1946.

Kemp Again

You're right Enchanted>>Ethier would be up there fouling ball off and tiring him out.

Batting Pierre 9th says it all about the senselessness of that move. We need ALL of our best in the lineup in order to beat this guy....I'm on MLB audio. I'm still battling to get a decent reception on video. From what I've read here and elsewhere, I'm not alone.

That does say alot seesky!!!!!

there's our juan

Notice how Peavy threw 4 pitches to JP - all strikes because he knows he doesn't have to waste pitches to get him out.

I had trouble accessing MLB.TV but I'm on now.

I'd sell anybody's first born for a Manram Bomb!!!!

Seesky ~ you are not alone with the problems with mlb.tv. I end up listening to the audio because the game is always a half an inning behind the actual game.

That's the problem enchanted - There is no secret with him. He does the same thing everytime he comes up to bat and on occasion it gets passed the infield like his first hit tonight. Even his defense, every single player, manager and announcer in the league knows he can't throw worth sh*t, and they outright say it on the air, including our beloved Vin Scully.

Yeah but he did the same to Manny, Ench.

And, NellyJune and Enchanted, that's why a single turns into a double with him in the game. The runners just keep going because they know he can't throw the ball!

Am I the only one that is finding this game painfully boring? I have been spoiled by the offensive production, but we all knew that wasn't going to happen tonight when we saw the lineup. I like a good pitching duel, but this game just has no energy tonight.

It's about time Peavy makes a couple of mistakes.

LET'S GO DODGERS
LET'S GO DODGERS
LET'S GO DODGERS

It's going to be a matter of which pitcher makes a mistake first.

Well, Matt has stuck out 3 times tonight. Matt ....you will sit next time buddy. JP got his hit tonight so far.

BCG ~ I'm bored too....I like lots of runs.

LET'S GO DODGERS
LET'S GO DODGERS
LET'S GO DODGERS

When Peavy's on, everybody looks bad!!!

Kemp needs to get that damn bat off his shoulders. I'd rather see a player strike out swin ing any day, than take a called strike.

At least Marty went with it that time...

Jeez give him his Skoal back, he's fast approaching the Andruw line.

KERSH is putting up a good fight.
WOW Russell gave that ball a ride.

I like offense, too, but pitching duels have their attraction as well. I like to see who will make the first mistake.

KERSH gave us a nice seven inning gem.
LET KEEP IT BELI

Oh please! Not another bullpen blunder!

Our BP is Ickypoo!

COM'ON OHMAN

Ohman to the rescue!! Good job, Will!!!!!

WTG, Ohman!!!!!!!!!

It looks like pitching is working tonight. Now, we just need a run or two or three and then all should be good :)

Whew! Glad that got taken care of.

Come on, offense!!!!! Now, pick up the pen!!!!!

Andre's on deck :)

OHMAN that was good.

Here's Andre!

Juan Pierre doesn't get those kinds of cheers, does he?

Andre should stay in the game for defense!

Even if Andre gets out, his outs are productive.............doesn't Joe get that? No, he doesn't :)

2 pitches and he is out.

If we're lucky, that's the end of Peavy's night.

I love Vin, but he sometimes goes overboard on fly balls. I thought Andre's ball was hit deeper than it was at first because of his reaction, but at least he hit it pretty far. I would like to see what he could have done in 4 at bats. I don't think you can judge too many of the young guys vs Peavy to date with the sample sizes. At least Andre stayed in, Nelly. Trublu, I agree, I want some offense too.

That ball's not carrying.

Charlie and Rick said Peavy was done.

Yes, that is good bluecrewgirl.

The wind seems to be contributing heavily to this pitching duel.

I does seem like balls are dying out there, seesky. They must be hitting against the wind.

Nice job by Brox! Let's hope they do it with a walk off here.

good start, ferk

Alright Raffy!!!!!

Top of the order and all we need is one!!!!! a baserunner, any baserunner!!!!!

This game is more like we're use to, down through the years.
Pitching dominated

Well, that didn't work

LET'S GO MANNY!!!!

Come on James!!!!!

C;mon James!!!

They walked Manny. No surprise there.

Ok, Matty, it's up to you.

Okay............it Matt's turn.

It's down to you, Matty K!!!

If ever we need Russell to come through, it's now. Let's go Dodgers!

C'mon Russ! You're due!

I thought that might happen actually. If you were pitching, wouldn't you rather pitch to Russell than Matt? I would :)

Come on Russell!!!!

A walk or a wild pitch could do it.

He's hanging tough.

foul ball by "this much"

Russell is way over due.

Talk about a nail biter!
We know drama as Dodger fans!

A real walk-off!

This is excruciating!!!!!!!

Walk off walk for Russell - We will take that one!!!!! Just fabulous!!!!!

Cheap, but we'll take it!

EXTRA! EXATRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!! DODGERS WIN 8TH IN A ROW AT HOME!!! CAPTAIN RUSSELL "Please don't trade me messagebear" MARTIN WITH THE WALK OFF WALK!!! ORLANDO HUDSON SCORES THE GAME'S ONLY RUN!! Huge pitching effort by Clayton Kershaw. Ohman getting us out of trouble in the 8th. BIG BAD JOHN. Solid TEAM EFFORT by the Blue Crew that will carry them to the WORLD SERIES VICTORY!!!

very good enchanted - you must have gotten your refill from seesky :)

It wasn't pretty but we'll take it!!!! Sort of like winning a game without a hit.

Fantastic at bat by Russell! That was a strange game, but a victory is a victory.

WALK OFF WALK BEAUTIFUL.

8 in a row! Home sweet home!
WE KNOW DRAMA!!!

I sure hope the helps Marty get his mojo back.

http://markpknowles.com/wp-content/uploads/jcash.jpg

Jonathan's ERA right now is .050 - just fantastic!!!!!

WELL WE GOT PAST PEAVY
.
.
WHATA THRILLER.

Way to go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!

WALLY!!!!

Maybe we should just take a victory nip instead of a swig from the flask tonight, seeksy, lol.

jhall is in the ITD house and right on time too!!!!! LMAO!!!!!

I Fedexed it during the 8th inning!!!!!

Good for you seesky. I am sure he needed it after seeing the lineup tonight - LOL!!!

BEEEEAV!!!!!!!! NELLLLLLLLLLY!!!!!!
Puck the Fuds!!!!!! What a nail biter!!!! Whew!!!!!

Happily I was wrong about JP costing us 2 runs.

I hope Russell gets back on track offensively after tonight. Great job again on the recap, enchanted.

Sorry it was at the expense of old Dodger Duane Sanchez.
and EX-Met too.

I believe we have gotten past Peavy twice this year already.

Maybe a nip is appropriate for a "nip and tuck" game!!!!

It was a good win all around enchanted. Everyone did their part, even JP.

I'm runnin' on empty though BCG. I'm gonna need whatever it is that JoJo's smokin' when he pencils JPs name into the line-up.

Definitely a little somethin' in that green tea ):

Still haven't been shutout and still haven't gone extra innings so far this year.

Nothing like spiked green tea :)

That is true. We do have some line up, and when pitching is on, there isn't anything that can't happen.

I'm not sure did anyone read what I wrote in the last thread.

Pitching a dramatic script in Los Angeles.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=ArlQZVejuuknSJdAosX0MuU5nYcB?slug=ti-dodgerspitching050109&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

By spit111 on May 1, 2009 11:50 AM
Report any abuse or spam
Damn RIP Danny Gans to bad I never seen any of his performance.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090501/ap_en_ot/us_obit_danny_gans

Good thing I gave my laptop the night off yesterday - now I'm ready to go!

The bad thing is he did put Pierre but the good thing he's not batting in the top 2 spots but don't think you can put him there if Furcal and Hudson in the lineup together.

Another day and no badge bragging something might be wrong here.

Hey!!! How was the movie?

DodgerLyrics has 38 comments from today's posting you know :) Many came from the usuals................ :)

Not bad. I was entertained. I'd like to know if the plotline was true to the comics or if it's something the screenwriters made up. Guess the 'Net might tell me.

Boy, the Kid came up big for us tonight, didn't he?

Oh, one more thing..........Fire Joe.

Kersh did a fabulous job!! I was very impressed. I was worried in the 4th inning and 5th innings, but he got through it. It is great to get one on Peavy too, even if it was without my favorite lefty.

What was the name of the show?

As for the movie, I am no help when it comes to that story. I have seen the first one, and I believe that is it for me.....maybe portions of the others.

We better get used to two things this year:

1) We won't be out of many games, but no lead of ours will be safe either

2) Our regular CF and RF will continue to get more rest than they need. "Juan Pierre started in center field and batted ninth for the second time in three days. "If he's going to be of use to us off the bench, we have to keep him involved," said Torre........."
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-fyi2-2009may02,0,3458456.story

My son and I went to see "X-men Origins" Shad.

It was said again tonight by Charlie and Rick that Joe plans on playing him 2 or 3 times a week. It's just so unacceptable on so many levels. Like seesky said tonight, If you have to bat him 9th, that should say it all right there. Also, like Tru says, if he wasn't making the kind of money he is, this would be a non-issue.

I wonder if Tony LaRussa knows he is making a terrible mistake. Albert Pujols has played in every game so far.

There are 4 Toronto players that have played in 25 games. Pujols has played in 24, along with Andre and along with 4 others, including Loney and Hudson.

It's look like we released Tanyon Sturtze can we do that with Pierre.

...and then there are a slew of players (about 30) who have played 23. However, wouldn't that number depend on days off and such too.

At least we haven't had the OF of Pierre, Kemp and Ethier yet and I hope we never will. I see it been along time since I've see the Xmen.

I wouldn't be surprised if on a road trip, we didn't see that outfield. I don't think we will see Manny out of the lineup in Mannywood, but I can see him taking a day off during a road trip.

Manny (Fire Joe) is the only one (Fire Joe) that I can (Fire Joe) see who would (Fire Joe) NEED a (Fire Joe)rest, due (Fire Joe) to his (Fire Joe) age.

good suggestion dodgereric

Well there is a better option but I really doubt that would put a 35 years old Blake in RF and they can put Loretta at 3rd. Blake has played 258 games in RF and the last time he played there was 2 yrs ago.

I think the only time you would see Blake in the outfield is if an injury happened to one of the three starters, and if there wasn't room to bring up Paul or Repko.

With their current roster, Pierre is the only outfield replacement. But that's not the point. Torre has NO business "playing him 2 or 3 times a week". Why is he doing it? It's not to rest Kemp or Ethier. He said it himself today.

"If he's going to be of use to us off the bench, we have to keep him involved."

Since when? What manager in Big League history has cared so much about keeping his fourth outfielder "involved"? I could see the reasoning if Ramirez, Kemp, Ethier and Pierre were like the '68 Tigers of Horton, Stanley, Northrup and Kaline. But they're not. If Xavier Paul were on this team, Pierre would be the FIFTH outfielder. So why is he so damned important to Torre? Why is he so in love with this one-trick pony?

And maybe more importantly (if I'm not stretching things too much) is this: you want your starters to stay in a groove, especially players with long swings like Kemp and Ethier. They should only be rested if they're slumping or injured. If they're going good, never EVER bench them.

I am trying to see an upside in all this and the only upside is to benefit JP. Ethier had a multiple hit day yesterday and he and Manny have had 11 multiple hit games a piece. Plus he wasn't such a slouch in the outfield yesterday either. That fly ball hit into foul territory (in the stands) wasn't a piece of cake and he had his fair of run downs to get his outs. They weren't as dramatic as Matt's but important none the less.

I forgot the word "share" in there...... "fair share" of run downs......

That's kind of what I'm getting at here. Torre sees Pierre sitting down there at the end of the bench and feels sorry for him. "Poor Juan, it's not his fault that we have 3 OFs that are better than him whether it's hitting or fielding. I need to get him some playing time to ease my conscience."

By the way, I saw up top where Ethier's numbers against Peavy were pretty anemic. What is so dramatically better about Pierre's .243? Especially, as you said, when you factor in Ethier's defense?

Dear every other team in baseball. Have the Dodgers got a deal for you! I know pitching is at a premium right now and there's nothing really out there...still, I'll bet most all of you could use a great lead-off hitter. And get this--the Dodgers have an extra one hitting .391!!!!! See, he can't crack the line-up over here unless a regular needs a breather. And please don't let his contract scare you off. Just raise beer prices. Besides, have you got anyone else to lead-off hitting .391 and a threat to steal bases? I thought not. You'd be doing the Dodgers a big favor and, well, you know, one hand washes the other, as they say. All interested teams please contact the Dodgers ITD blog as we fans don't trust Ned or Joe to get this thing done. Those two will thank us later.

It's not like we have done well against Peavy as a team. This was only our 3rd win against him, and it wasn't like the hits came in this game either. He pitched 8 solid innings himself.

LMAO!!!!! very good Kahli!!!!!

Nice one kahli! I see the ChiSox are still looking for a leadoff-hitting centerfielder, but Pierre is never mentioned as a solution.

Well, I'm falling asleep at the switch here. Good night and God Bless all of you. And especially you and your family Shad.

Good night Dodgereric/Ward Dear - Have a wonderful Saturday....Good night and God Bless to you as well.

"Hello Dodger ITD? Yes, this is Kevin Towers. That lead-off hitter thing you were talking about? I think I might be able to take that problem off your hands, I mean, if you don't want him. Why? Um, I'll have two pests at the top of the line-up instead of one. Eckstein's better in the 2-hole, anyway. Wait a minute, you say what, you say you want Peavy? Right. That's a good one. Really. But let's talk serious............................"

Good Night ITD readers and writers!!!!!

Great win tonight by our Dodgers, and let's keep this undefeated streak at Dodger Stadium going. The bright side is at least we should see our real outfielders on the field tomorrow. So, let's get ready to rock and roll and get win #17, and go 9-0 at Dodger Stadium. That would be fabulous!!!!

Good night and God Bless everyone!!!

Interestinng game today. First I drove to work so I made early to the stadium sothat I could make it in time to batting practice. There were two kids by themselves (I asked them while I waited for the 5:10 time to open) they said their parents work at the stadium so they were dropped there. I don'think that is a good idea but ....anyway so I saw Tony Jackson on the field so I called his name. He came over and I gave him a hug wishing him good luck. He said he read what I posted and the email I sent him and that he really appreciated it.
No disrepct Josh, but I think we still need a type of reporting like Tony Jackson where is more non-bias. I always clicked on his blog first thing in the morning.
.
Signed my name on a few auction items but I did not go back to so I don't know if I got them.
.
I bought the Dodger magazine and you know what? I am in two pictures. The first one is the one that some have seen here where I am in the first row of the movie premiere Bluetopia and the second one was a picture that Jon Soohoo took of the 70's celebration. Kewl.

My friend Erik called me and we spent the game time watching the game from the club level bar. Interesting watching it from there. At the end we sang "I Love LA" from there. We were the only one singing but the rest of the fans ther seemed to appreciate it.
.
Not cool of my friend Erik to throw my key into the grass where I could not find it so that I would not drive home yet. Did not get home until well passed midnight. My keys are there somewhere.....I do have extra keysl
.

Actually we still only have 2 losses against him so basically we only won twice against him. Thx Eric I missed the whole game yesterday and went to bed and woke up like around 10 pm here in California because I didn't want to here the bad news. My mother have mention to me yet what happen if it good news or bad news.

You guys won't believe this but guess who have the better bench in the league but it shouldn't really be no surprise and the Indians and the Blue Jays doesn't count because so far both team only have 2 AB's and are 1 for 2 for the season.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggregate?sort=avg&split=87&group=9&season=2009&seasonType=2&statType=batting&type=reg

What a difference a year make and we had the 18th best batting average off the bench but it suck because we had Jones and Sweeney there. Gosh I really love our bench now.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggregate?sort=avg&split=87&group=9&season=2008&seasonType=2&statType=batting&type=reg

This is the stats I like to see at home in term of home batting average is just to bad the road batting average stink and we're trailing the Blue Jays in overall batting average by .02. Toronto batting .292 and we're batting .290(we need to get the road average up some because the .253 is not going to cut it especially when you look at our home average so one sided there.)

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/aggregate?sort=avg&split=33&group=9&season=2009&seasonType=2&statType=batting&type=reg

I don't think espn updated the main page but the team page have Toronto batting at .296. I guess that was before all of yesterday games and it seem we would dropped alot because of Peavy masterpiece. We batting as a team at .283 and I know that seem right and the Cardinals at .285.

I think Juan would be be better off elsewhere myself, but in the meantime I'll support him. Like it or not he's ours. The only way he is going anywhere is if Blue eats a bunch of his salary. I keep thinking he could be traded for a pitcher that does not fit/work for another team, but we would no doubt have shoulder some of his paycheck.
Getting the pitching sorted out is a bigger concern to me.

I see Kuo finally admitted his elbows been hurt. Guess we can write him off for the season. I don't think Elbert's the answer though, and quite frankly, we need another guy on the bench more than a 13th pitcher.

Can't do it this week, but we've got a couple off days this month. Go with a 4-man rotation when those days roll around - it'll help some.

Good afternoon all, Knouff I agree. Pierre has been contributing, and I like the fact that we are playing well as a team and enjoying the ride. I beleive it will be a long season and resting certain players may prevent the unspeakable from happening to our everyday players. We need to keep everyone healthy, physically and mentally.
Kuo, Wade, Kuroda, Mienkewitz, all in the first month of baseball is enough. We are on a roll in spite of this.
.
I would like to see the positive side of baseball and this team continue.

Unfortunate as it is, at least we now know what's with Kuo. In my mind, unless it's really something minor, that is probably the end of his career, period. How many times can you do that operation, for what purpose, with minimal expectations and apparently just repeated down times. So, I'm figuring that Kuo's time has run out. I'm not sure that Elbert isn't somewhat in the same position, because he's also had an operation as a very young man. Makes it even more evident that Ned should have signed Juan Cruz when he was available on really the buyer's terms. Hate to be shopping for a bullpen guy along with a starting pitcher, but it may come to that before the season is over.

I thought Kuo already admitted that a couple of week ago?

Yup Bear -- It would of been nice to of had Cruz. I also wanted Garland. Oh well.
.
We were saying in ST our bully is going to be a mess by August if the starting pitching doesn't get long into games.
.
We were wrong... Make it May.
.
Nice game last night. It was an old school pitchers duel and really enjoyable to watch. Kersh did what we needed him to do for this team.
.
As far as Dre sitting, I was thinking that we are basically sitting a #4 hitter for a #9 hitter. That doesn't make sense to me. I get that Dre hasn't hit Peavy well in the past but it's a small sample size.

Too bad about Kuo. My guess is Joe had an idea something was wrong which might explain his reluctance to use Kuo recently. Time to move on with him.

As for how last night's game ended, I think the Dodgers got a bit of a break on Russell's walk. It was close and he could have just as easily been called out on strikes. A "cheap" win? We will never know what would have happened had Martin been called out instead but I would prefer to look at things this way: good teams get some breaks along the way and all it does is build confidence. Bad teams wait for something bad to happen next. Draw your own conclusions.

I'm posting this separately as I didn't want it to get lost in my previous post.
.
Sorry to hear about your Grandmother Shad. I'll say some prayers for you & your family.
.
& I'm sorry to hear about Tony losing his job. I also enjoyed reading his reporting.

Also I didn't notice anyone post about it, but on that little dribbler that just went foul, did anyone notice Bowa & Manny's reactions?
.
Manny was laughing and Bowa turned and kicked the ball.
.
That was hilarious.

Yeah I think I seen it. Actually for Ethier I don't think it was a small sample size because he has 33 AB's and only has 5 hits with 3 walks and 10 k's. At least he's facing Young which he totally owned hitting at .391 with 4 homeruns 8 rbi's and 5 walks. Anyone took a look at that 1st link I posted?

We're the best PH teams in term of batting average in the league. Like I said what a different a year make without Sweeney and Jones.

Spit, what a difference a year can make. Still a long way to go.

Good afternoon everyone. I'm hoping we can keep our home winning streak alive tonight. I can't add anything more to the Juan situation that hasn't been said last night or today. I just wish we had a little more "pop" off the bench. I do think chemistry on a team makes for a winning season and, when the regular guys are in the game, you can feel the good vibes.

Yep a very long way to go.

Spit, what a difference a year can make. Still a long way to go.

Sorry about the double post. I think my computer had a checked swing.

Shad I hope everything works out for you and your family as well. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm taking a poll to see which inning everyone thinks Wolf will lose it tonight. I think it will be the third inning. I hope not, but we'll see.

My, my, such negativity Boblee! Look, we all knew the pitching would be a huge challenge for the Dodgers and just about every other team. For a change this Dodger team is built on offense and defense because of the lack of quality pitching. The injuries to Karoda and Kuo and McDonald's inability to step in make things that much worse.

Chris Young is also an Ace like pitcher. Spread the wealth Torre so we know the whole thing isn't a total farce-I dare. Sit Manny now for Pierre. When you consider the all around play of Kemp, Ethier and Manny. Manny might not be most valuable of the three.

Dodgers call up Brent Leach.....
.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Brent%20Leach&pos=P&sid=t498&t=p_pbp&pid=489052

The downgrade to me between not having Kemp in center and having Juan there is equal or if not more than not having one of our 3 starters get 4 at bats.

Sorry that is according to Dodgerthoughts and the Chattanooga press.

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2009/may/02/chattanoogas-leach-promoted-dodgers/

Jungar!! Long time no see!!

Sorry it took Pierre starting 2 out of the last 3 games to do it. :)

Oh wow I didn't know Martin and Schierholtz have the same bday together weird. I wonder how Nelly would like that since one played for different rival.

We better run wild on Young after he allowed Dexter Fowler to steal 5 bases.

I like some of the players on the Giants. I just don't like the team they represent. I enjoy watching Cain pitch very much so. Also, as far as Zito, even though he has had his issues on the mound, he is a pretty good all-around person off the field. Also, I, like many I am sure, are watching Randy Johnson pitch just because that is history in the making, and the Giants, as an organization, need that after the Bonds issues they have had to endure (much from their own doing IMO). I am not counting them out in the least bit as the team we may be fighting to the end with. They are building some awesome team chemistry of their own right now, and they pick up a bat at the trade deadline, they will be an even more dangerous team to play, rivals or not. If you haven't noticed, they are in 2nd place.

Nelly, we all know you have to play it safe with the Giants in your household but luckily, most of us don't have that problem. But seriously, without Bonds the Giants are not all that much fun to "hate" anymore but as they improve that could change. As for Randy Johnson, because he has been such a dominant pitcher for so long it is good to beat him no matter what uniform he wears.

I see Phil Gurnee did some kind of poll this morning.

http://www.truebluela.com/2009/5/2/862579/kuo-replacements?ref=yahoo

Kuo going on the DL is terrible news but not unexpected given his struggles and past health history. Without Kuo the bullpen dynamic changes as I'm looking at this with the possibility that we won't see Kuo again this year. This could be a big blow to the team as we had hoped that Kuo would solidify the shaky setup when he got back into the groove he displayed last year.

The left handed possibilities are Elbert, Leach, Garate, or possibly Estes. None will bring what Kuo brought us last year. Leach and Garate are doing good work but in AA while Estes is Estes and would cost someone a spot off the 40 man unless Kuo gets moved to the 60 Day if he is going to need season ending surgery. Do we eschew the left hander and bring up Lindblom ?

40 Man Roster Possibilities:
Elbert - has the stuff but not the command. Joe was reluctant to use him while he was here in leveraged situations. He was starting in AA when we brought him up. Maybe we should leave him in AA and concentrate on setup so he can be of use in a few weeks.

Leach - hottest LHP in organization, hasn't allowed a run in his last eight outing. Struggles with command but has been showing excellent dominance. This 26 year old would be my first choice.

Garate - Has been almost as effective as Leach with a little better control.

Non 40 Man Roster Possibilities:
Estes - Almost retired in spring training then said he wanted to give it a try as a LH relief pitcher but he's only been starting for the Isotopes with good results.

Josh Lindblom - he's scheduled to start today, if he makes the start then forget about it. He probably has the best chance for success of all the players mentioned but we'd be starting his clock early.

If you are Kuo it is easy to complain that he didn't tell anyone he was hurt but look at it from his point of view. He's already had the surgeries, he is not making any real money, one more surgery probably ends his career and what you have is a young pitcher with no future and probably very little financial cushion unless he invested his original bonus wisely. So he stubbornly hoped he could pitch through the pain and lost.

Who was that person that was doing good in ST?

Oh yeah it was Mazone. I wonder what his stats look like.

lbirken - yes, I do have to play it safe, and I certainly don't want Randy Johnson to win while the Dodgers are playing him. I was pretty happy when Andre hit that homerun off of him. That was very cool!!!

Oh yeah it was Mazone. I wonder what his stats look like.

Mazone hasn't played all that much because of a pain in his butt!

Mazone hasn't been feeiling all that cheeky!

Red pen -- feeling...

Oh yeah it was Mazone. I wonder what his stats look like.

Damn stupid double post. Thx alot

Mazone has had an abcess on his buttock.

Is amazing Leach suck in ST and so did Garate and Mazone pitcher way better than those 2 and got called up.

opps pitching

lbirken - just to add to my comment. I play it safe by keeping my mouth shut and let the scores and/or standings speak for themselves. Let's just hope we stay ahead of them all season, preferrably in first place :)

Kind of nice having teams chase us for a change.

I'm watching the Mets/Philly game and I can't believe the Mets send Santos home and Werth threw a strike to home plate but I really miss Werth.

Werth's situation is so typical of what happens in sports. He showed some potential with the Dodgers but injuries and circumstances just did not go his way. He became part of a numbers game and to his good fortune, another organization gave him an opportunity and Werth has made the most of that opportunity. The same thing could happen with Repko. Remember how Russell Martin got his start? The guy playing in front of him got hurt and the rest is history. Martin made the most of his opportunity and the other guy became expendable. Blake DeWitt is a great example of a player who found himself in the major leagues because of injuries to other players. He did well but could not sustain that level of play. He has struggled since. Will he become a good major league player someday? Stay tuned.

Giants lost 5-1.
.
If we win we would have a 4 1/2 game lead in the west!
.
Hopefully we'll get another tonight.
.
I saw tonight's lineup and they are resting Martin and having Pierre catch!!
.
That is weird. I didn't know that Pierre could catch.
.
I guess Torre wants to have the speed threat tonight against Young.

Ohhhhh. It's May 1st, not April!
.
I looked at the calendar wrong!!!
.
Not really. I'm just having fun.
.
Did I get you Nelly?????
.
Go Blue!!
.
Bring the Ring to LA in 2009!!!!

LOL!!! I saw Pierre and lineup in the same sentence and thought Matt......I knew it wouldn't have been Andre, but I would have been pissed just the same. I am with jungar, not that I ever want Manny, Andre or Matt sitting, but if they are going to give the lame *** excuse that they need to keep Pierre fresh and give the outfielders a rest, Manny needs to rest too. I dare them to do it because nobody wants that happening. As far as rest, out of the three of them, he, just based on age, should need the most rest, right?

Nelly & all there is a new thread.