Homestand kicks off...

Wow...what a shock...ANOTHER new Joe line-up. I feel very tried trying to understand Joe. Is it next year yet? Joe would make a very nice bench coach--knowledgeable, even-headed, grandfatherly. Just keep him away from the line-up card and the bullpen phone.

Who cares about the lineup at least Martin is not batting ahead of Kemp for now and I knew Ausmus was going to start. I knew Hudson should bat 2nd again.

Kahli ~ at least Matt is batting 6th instead of his usual 7th. But, that is only because Russell isn't in there!

Sounds like Hiroki isn't the only one with a headache!

Gosh damn Mets.

I thought Giants fans were suppose to hate Renteria and Rowand but seeing them 2 producing tonight.

ROCK US BABY!!!!! LETS GO BOY'S!!!!!
.
BRING THE RING TO L.A. IN 2009!!!!!!

How are you doing everybody,
Brilliant is a good word to describe Randy Wolf performance last night.
But tonight I think it will take a little more brilliancy from our guys because they are facing a team that always seems to bring out the worse in them, even at home.
Chris Carpenter will try to chop them up and we got a new knuckleballer who will show what he can do..

LET'S GO DODGERS, LET'S GO!!!!!

Glad we get a little lead for Haegar. Let's get him a few more!

Here in LA it appears as scheduled on ESPN2, but we're getting ESPNNews. I guess it's blacked out, which is fine since Vin is the best anyway!

Certainly not showing any nervousness so far.

This time warp is getting extremely old!!

I'm watching MLB.TV because I'd rather here Vin's voice than ESPN's commenters.
Although I didn't see much of the top of the first, who cares?

I just love how team walk Manny ibb in the first innings lol. Let's just see how many more ibb Manny would get.

ATTA WAY BLAKE
We draw fist blood.

oldbrooklynfan ~ I'm having trouble loading MLB.TV. How about you?

I got it on, but it's not working to good.
Do you know it's on ESPN tonight?

I wanted another 123 innings.

I got it working now and it seems normal.

Can someone please anesthetize me until Joe protects Manny with Kemp. How many intentional passes to Manny does Joe need to see until the light bulb clicks and he discovers NO ONE is afraid to pitch to Casey Blake.

urgh give up a hit to the pitcher now back to back.

We worried all winter about F U R C A L's back, but his glove looks fine.

Why Manny still would get the ibb? Kemp is not a clean up hitter.

Don't get another double Ethier

I mean Odog but don't mean another double had the wrong guy up.

I'm getting a lot of freezed frames but Vin's broadcast is coming in without interruption.

I mean Odog but don't mean another double had the wrong guy up.

There goes the lead thanks god no one was on base.

blah at the double post.

Where exactly does it say, "Kemp is not a clean-up hitter?" Besides, Blake is in the 5 hole, anyway.

Let's get that run back.

Look at his career number and this year number he should be batting 3rd.

He strikeout to much anyway you must hate Blake alot?

I'm not talking about today game I'm talking about when Blake was in the 4th hole and Kemp was batting 5th.

Blake is many nice little things, but he is NOT the man to protect Manny...and he'd probably be the first to admit it. He prefers to do his damage away from the limelight, and has gone on record as saying something close to that.

Tell that to Torre than.

Come on Haeger put up another big 0 this inning.

I don't believe what I'm watching..

ROCK ME BABY!!!! LETS GO DODGERS LETS GO!!!!

I am not a Manny fan, but I agree with Kahli. If you are going to fully protect Manny, then you need to have Andre and Matt on either side of him, preferrable Andre in front of and Matt behind him. It is a nasty trio if you think about it.

Anytime Kemp bat 6th and Blake 5th I would swap them 2 right now.

It can also be Kemp 2nd, Ethier, Manny and Blake that even better lol.

About time Kemp now steal lol

That's L O N E Y 's 70th RBI
nice steal.

Yeah it is compare with Pujols, Holliday and Ludwick

Nice steal Loney after your 70 rbi's wish Brad could had advance you Loney.

Haeger looks a little like J.D. Drew, to me.

Quiz: Which two Dodgers lead the team in striking out? Kemp and Blake. Not counting walks, Kemp strikes out every 4.2 ABs...with Blake and Manny, every 4.3 ABs. So Kemp is NOT the strikeout machine many Dodger fans are led to believe.

Not good to start every count behind Haegar but you do pretty damn well so far couldn't ask for a better start than this. I hope he can keep it up for the next few innings.

So far so good Charlie! Also, now that James is in the 70's in RBI, let's hope James, Dre and Matty race for first to 100! Let's hope they ALL get there this season!

WTG Haeger on bouncing back from the 3-0 count on Pujols.

Unbelievable.........CHARLIE WHO?

Damn Ethier 3-0 count I would make Carpenter throw you 2 more pitches first.

You said it oldbrooklynfan, He's certainly been a pleasant surprise so far.

This is an unbelievable job, but it looks like its about over.
Great job nontheless.

Urgh so much for that

We got a good game from the new guy!!!!! Time for some THUNDER!!!.....
.
LETS GO DODGERS, LETS GO!!!! THIS ONE IS OURS!!!!!

This team continues to roll over for good pitching. Now is the time to prove to themselves they can beat an ace.

3 ER in 7 IP is about all we could ask for from Haeger. We just need to score more runs Carpenter or no Carpenter.

Nice job Charlie! Now we just need to piece together a run or two more.

I like the pitch count.

80 pitches through 7th innings to bad he couldn't get out of that innings with a 2-1 still.

The Dodgers looked bad that inning, I'm going to bed.

What a start by Charlie! That was a great quality bullpen-saving start.

IMO He pitched a dandy of a game.
Against the Cardinals of all teams.
You could say he was unfamiliar to them, that's the excuse the Yankees usually use.
But it was a great job.
A GEM.

wohooooooooooooooooo Kuo k's Pujols

run Pierre run let's go Martin no dp

Urgh should had ask kuo to bunt lol

That was a good sac bunt by Martin, but ya'right Mota could've done the same thing.

LETS GO DODGERS, LETS GO!!!
.
THUNDER!!!!! THUNDER!!!!.......
.
COME ON BOY'S!!!!!

Crap who the ******* throwing up from Martin

Opps I mean throwing error.

Good Job BROX.
THE MAILMAN
THE RAMMAN
THE BEARDED ONE
THE BISON

OH HOW I WISH WE COULD BEAT THIS TEAM.

**** Manny I want Pierre back I think Manny is missing up Chemistry.

POP GUN POWER!!!!!!

Blah!

Blake missed it by that much! :(

WHERE'S MANNY?????

Manny is sucking right now. That is where he is.

I hate the Cardinals. I wish they hadn't been quite so aggresive at the plate in the bottom of the 9th. Their lead is shrinking. I have faith they'll come back and take the series though.

Someone needs to rip a 9 off his jersey......BIG GUN= 99!!!
.
UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!

UNFREAKENACCEPTABLE!!!!!!

There was plenty of sucking to go around in the bottom of the 9th, with Andre and Manny's one pitch wonders. At least Blake waited two pitches before fly-ball futility.

Looks like it's gonna be a LOOOOOOOOOOOONG series. At least the Knuckler did well tonight. now we know how long he can last.

If Ned's still trash bin hunting... Boston's trash just got a little fuller.

What a start by Charlie! That's a good quality, bull-pen saving start.

Look like rx posted came in 1 hrs later

Bigger than Hollywood its Mannywood......Mannywood has been way out in the woods lately......
.
COME ON MAN...NY!!!!

I was talking about Manny in general, but yes, I agree, the 9th inning sucked for all three of them.

Good for BOMKO.

What a start by Charlie! That's a good quality, bull-pen saving start.

Sorry for the repeat posts, I have no idea what's going on. So who will start Thursday, that's the big question.

YEAH HEAGERMIESTER WAS OUTSTANDING!!!!

Dang how did the A's get Tomko?

Former Yankee Tomko wins A's debut
Three-run fourth off Burnett backs righty's five sharp frames
fan comments (5)print this pagee-mail this pagepost on facebookBy Adam Loberstein / MLB.com

08/18/09 12:22 AM ET

Box >
OAKLAND -- Brett Tomko went five innings in his A's debut, setting the tone for a 3-0 series-opening win over the Yankees on Monday.

Tomko allowed five hits, walked one and struck out one. New York's A.J. Burnett, meanwhile, allowed three runs on six hits in eight innings.

Oakland struck for all three runs in the fourth. Rajai Davis got things started, delivering a one-out double before swiping third. Kurt Suzuki brought him home with a single up the middle against a drawn-in Yankees infield.

Scott Hairston followed Suzuki with a single of his own, then both moved up on Ryan Sweeney's groundout to first. Burnett balked in Suzuki before Mark Ellis plated Hairston with a double to right.

I LOOVVEE THE DODGERS!!!!!!
.
GO DODGERS !!!
BRING THE RING TO L.A. IN 2009!!!!!!
.
Good Night and God Bless Everyone!!!!!!
.
Good Job Mr Haeger....We will get them tomorrow!!!!

I hope that Stults gets a start for the start Kuroda will miss. For some reason Torre doesn't seem to want to give him much of a chance.

I think Stults deserves a chance too. I would think either him or Weaver, yes?

Great article about Andre and what the Fantasy League world thinks of him...............................and still no bobblehead..................shame :)

http://fantasybaseball.fanhouse.com/2009/08/17/andre-ethier-increasing-power-stroke/

I think so and if not one of them, maybe Elbert since he was held out of his last start. I read that article earlier. Great to see him getting the respect he deserves around the league.

TJ Simers article - Article about the team remaining calm and cool. Andre has only broken 3 helmets this year, as opposed to 9.

TJ actually hasn't been as obnoxious as usual this year. I thought it was funny when Andre said they didn't do a background check in him and when TJ told Manny he shouldn't even be taking Flintstone vitamins. I'd better hit the hay. Hope school is starting off well for you this year. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for our Dodgers. I think it will. I have a feeling they will hit in tomorrow's game. Boggs doesn't have that great of an era.

Thanks, and well, nobody cried, including me, so that's always a good sign it might be a good year. Good Night, and I am always positive going into a game we will win, even though it doesn't always turn out that way.

Blah I still think these Cards get lucky that we can't hit jack with risp but seriously I think we curse the only game that wasn't close was that 10-0 game. These games are winnable we just can't seem to get a hit with risp against this team to save our life.

So this is how d-back fans must have felt last year as they watched their season long division lead slip away. We either score 9 or 1, such inconsistency doesnt get you into the playoffs, sit Manny and bring back Pierre, we were playing better then

Well, I went to bed after the 2nd Cardinal homer as I knew what the outcome was going to be.
.
If,!!!!!!. we get lucky enough to win the division, we will have to face the Cards and they are going to do what they do best and that is to kick our butts in the playoffs, and I am getting tired of the same old show. Where the hell is our hits and long ball when we need them. We hit home runs in games that don't count or with no one on base. We are starting to stink big time.
.
Torre needs to go.

Good Job Haeger! But in the end , the result was predictable. Someone did predict our score. We'll know on the 1st of Sept.

Stults can't be recalled until he has spent 10 days in the Minors (barring a Kuroda move to the DL) which wouldn't make him available until 8/21. I vote to give Elbert his chance as he should've had it a few weeks ago and then he was sent back down, has to be hard to be told your making your Major League starting debut and then a few hours later your sent back down to AAA.

F*** the Cardinals and the bus they rode in on.

I was working my School crossing this morning and wearing my LA Dodger Cap and was harrassed by a couple of cars with high schoolers because we lost last night and I'm getting sick of it. Time to kick the Cardinals A** tonight.

GO, DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Anybody notice that Manny*roid is producing diddly for the pennant drive? I hope Frank chokes on his contract and the second edition of the upcoming bobblehead.

Actually rather than choking on the bobblehead, I hope he sticks it up his other end, and maybe saves another few for Jamie, Ned and Joe.

I think everyone including the opposing pitchers have noticed. I am still in Manny's corner, he is part of this club a big part also. Not that this is'nt one heck of a ballclub with out him it is and will be for years to come. However we want what we are paying for and that is a feared slugger at the plate, that is his main job (bobbleheading comes second ) and lately, production has been down.
.
GO DODGERS!!!!
BRING THE RING TO L.A. IN 2009!!!!!
BRING IT TONIGHT GANG!!!!!

It's easy to blame Manny or the bullpen or Ned but the real glaring problem for me is Furcal. He's LAST in OBP for starting players, with O-Dog not far behind. This team is NOT scoring runs and hasn't been for some time now. If there is a shred on the table, opposing managers walk Manny (protected by the menacing Casey Blake) and if the bases are empty Manny is trying to hit it to the moon. In April and May this team jumped on starters early...now they're lucky to have any lead at all. And when they do lately, Jonathon comes in and coughs it up. I'll cut Furcal a break, given his major surgery. And I'll cut Broxton a break, given his early dominance. But I won't cut Joe a break. His job is to win games, not soothe egos (Russell Martin being his personal poster-boy on that front). Maybe Kemp needs to lead off. But SOMEONE needs to start getting on base, and it hasn't been Furcal or Hudson.

This was posted by JOSH back on August 29th, 2008

Whatever it takes...
Obviously losing seven in a row in the middle of the pennant race isn't really what we needed to do going back East. But, at least there's still time to recover. With a month left in the season and six games against Arizona, all hope is not lost. At least I don't think it is...

That said, Joe is mixing it up tonight in the desert. For the first time in his career, Russ is atop the order. Hope to see some of you at the sleepover tonight.

Martin, C

Ethier, RF

Manny, LF

Kent, 2B

Kemp, CF

Loney, 1B

Nomar, SS

Blake, 3B

Kuroda, P

Recommend this? [?]

You might be interested in:
Kicking off the homestand (This MLBlog)
Tonight's tussle in Texas (This MLBlog)
Manny's ripple effect (The Pulse)
DCFS (This MLBlog)

Posted on August 29, 2008 at 3:47 PMPermalinkComments (789)
Report any abuse or spam

Well I've been a Dodger's fan for life, but I have been following for the past 2 years. And it seems that the same thing is happening. As I recall around this time last year we were in a losing streak, then out of the BLUE we went on a big winning streak were we past the D-backs. We got out of the losing streak at the beginning of Sept. I do hope our boys can get out of this BIG SLUMP. I think the players we have are great, but somehow they are not playing to their potential. Who knows why, but I’m just going to pray for the best. So I have not lost hope yet. GOOOOO DODGER’S.

Here is a video that you guys might want to see. It has some Blue in it...
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWuhg3lpICA

Who is starting Thursday, the suspense is killing me...

COLLIE....that was awsome...did not know KEMP was a VIDEO STAR....and he looks HOT!

BLUB.
BLUB.
BLUB.

Another sign that this team's going nowhere fast - Since their 13-0 start, they're playing .500 AT HOME. Not exactly what I would consider championship caliber.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4408083

hahaha Cust said the mitchell report is a joke

Well... if we do make the playoffs, at least we likely won't have the 100-win target over our heads. But it looks like instead of finishing the season strong, we might be collapsing over the finish line instead, and with the Cards or Phils in October, it might be the 90's all over again.

Hopefully the Sept 1st roster expansion does something to boost our team. I'll remain hopeful but realistic... as it stands at this point, we've played our best baseball.

And I welcome any opportunity to be proven wrong.

in other sports news, It's official:

Brett Farve is the Rickey Henderson of the NFL.

I am not normally a negative person when it comes to sports; as a fan I always believe my team can win any game it plays regardless of the sport. Baseball is particularily for optomists because each team has the same chances, the clock cannot be milked and anything can happen. However, I find myself in a difficult state now watching this Dodger team struggle. Perhaps the big lead was an aberation but seeing it dwindle is causing a lot of concern. But what is the reason for all this?

Many blame Torre for his ever changing lineups and pitching changes. Others think the Dodger pitching is not good enough. Perhaps all of this is true. However, the pitching has not been that bad that some decent hitting could not overcome. For years we have watched different Dodger teams struggle to score runs. Why does this team and many prior teams leave so many runners in scoring position? Why does this year's team trade so many outs for runs? Yes, they score but by trading outs for runs big innings are that much more difficult. Andre Ethier aside, where are the key hits, especially home runs, that would make Andre's heroics not as necessary? Why are opposing pitchers so successful making adjustments while Dodger hitters are not? And have the Dodgers beaten a "quality" pitcher yet this season? Look at many of the recent losses. The opposition is not outhitting the Dodgers in quantity but they sure are in quality of those hits. Why is that?

I guess my point is rather than pointing at one or two players, point at the entire system. I don't believe a team has to hit a lot of home runs to win but they have to hit a few now and then with runners on base to win games. Why have the Dodgers not been able to draft and develope a legitimate power hitter since Piazza? And to think about it, Piazza was pretty much an afterthought and a favor to Tommy, only to be traded away by a management team far worse than the one running this organization now. The Dodgers have tried to import power and we all know how successful that has been, and with Manny's power outage that trend continues. Just some thoughts by a frustrated fan on a Tuesday afternoon.

I, just like the rest of you, am a little frustrated with our team's performance lately. However, we are still in first place. I'd rather be in our position than one of the teams trying to catch us or playing for a Wild Card slot. I do believe things will get better soon and, all of us can rejoice when our Dodgers are in the playoffs and on to the World Series. know, it's a little pollyannaish (new term) but, I BELIEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boy lbirken - Those thoughts were worth at least a dollar. Very well said, and I think you are not alone in your thinking either.

Nelly, as the team struggles my thoughts go up in value. I could use some thought devaluation right about now. Come to think of it, I am going to the game tonight and I expect the Dodgers to win. They are going against the Cards 5th starter and from what I see he has struggled a bit as most 5th starters do. This is the perfect time to get well against a team that has given the Dodgers a hard time for a while.

Very nice posts, lbirken, and I hope you enjoy the game tonight with a nice win. I suppose that will depend on how strong Billz is in his comeback. The major difference to me is that Pujols, Holliday, Ludwik, and Ankiel back to back are much more matured and therefore capable than Andre, Manny, Blake and Matt, plus there may be nobody to compare to Pujols. I think that Manny has been overrated since his return, Blake is doing about the best he can do, and Andre and Matt are great as far as young talent goes, but they're both somewhat inconsistent as one could expect. At the present time, I'm not surprised that the Cards are streaking in a favorable sense at our expense.

I hope tonight is the time for us to salvage one.
GO, DODGERS!!!

Bear, that puts things in perspective. I am not down on our players (except for Manny) for the reasons you mention; I am disappointed they may just not be good enough yet. Let's hope they get there soon. The good news is that while the Dodgers may not be winning, they are not exactly laying down either. I think the effort is there, perhaps the talent level is not.