Another transaction

Kemp in the middle of the line up is a beautiful thing. But, I think it would be more fitting if he was 5th or 6th. Loney is great for the 3rd spot. Anyhow, No Nomar, Gonzo, that's what I'm talkin' about.

kemp, as much as i like him should not be batting third, especially against a right hander...whatever, grady's obviously just going to keep changhing the lineup around and nothing is going to work anyways. it doesn't matter what the order is.

Wow, now I can understand the move. I wonder if Nomar has been battling a ton of injuries this year that we have not known about which would explain his very sub-par performance.

As for the lineup, pathetic as usual... I thought Pierre hitting 7th was something that would last? Oh well, at least Ethier is hitting higher... 7th, but it works.

On the plus side, at least Kemp is hitting third.

Somebody actually did a great song parody on this entire situation on http://mikesciosciastragicillness.com/

The line-up is getting better but i'd still like to see Ethier batting 4ourth. Too bad Nomar went down.....hopefully he'll be back soon.

Lets hope Tomko gets a win tonight cause we really need 1

LaRoche's back needs to get better in a HURRY.

Nomar Garciaparra, who has been dealing with a strained left calf for a while, has finally had to go on the disabled list and knowing that he was hurting, adding a third baseman made the most sense.

How long is awhile since July 2006? makes the Wilson trade that much more ridicoulous.

ok i just checked for my own sake: against Albers Loney had a triple (remember he never scored on it) Kemp had no hits, and Kent has two, and Furcal had one. Make of it what you will.

how many more days before andy gets off the dl

I'd prefer they flop Kemp and Ethier.. Kemp cant hit his way out of a paper bag right now and Ethier is on fire!

oh yeah and why is pierre back hitting second? gee i guess that three hit night last night suddenly makes him a useful player again, huh grady?!?

Betemit would look a whole lot better in the lineup than Hillenbrand. I'm at a loss to explain how Proctor/Hillenbrand makes more sense than Meloan/Betemit.

Who do you guys think will make the start Friday?

Its official Little has something against Ethier. I like Kemp but why is he hitting ahead of Loney, Martin, and Ethier. I don't get it. Pierre has one good game and shoots to the top, yet Ethier has been our most consistent hitter for 2 months and barely moved to the 7th spot. We wonder why we have offensive woes.

I think Andy will come off the DL in a few days.

hey diehardblu, I would also really like to see Ethier in the 3 hole, but I think this is an interesting experiment with Kemp there. If Kemp does well there I think it will definately lead to less playing time for Gonzo and maybe Pierre.

its very possible that grady has something against ethier. nothing else would really explain it at this point considering i dont even remember the last time kemp had a hit.

Flip Either and Pierre and it might work. Hopefully it works anyway. So Nomar's injured? Has this been since the All Star break last year?

Do we not agree that you put your best hitter in three hole. I like Kemp I would love to see him play over gonzo, but why bat him three? You have to bat Ethier or Loney ahead of Kemp. I would even bat Martin ahead of Kemp until they earn there way up the line up.

I hope that stults makes the start Friday.

So far in August Pierre is hitting .341 with a .396 OBP

Kemp is hitting .158

JP is one of the few guys on the team getting on base right now.. He SHOULD be at the top of the order.

i would prefer Loney on the 3rd spot...
that is where he belong...

why not go with Valdez!

LaRoche is not healthy so i want to see valdez at 3B again!

Maybe Grady thinks that Kent will give protection to Kemp, so Kemp will see some decent pitches to hit.

Valdez can't hit.

You know diehardblu I don't know why Grady is batting Kemp in the three hole. Maybe he's seen something that we haven't. like in batting practice or something. I'm sure Grady has a good reason to bat Kemp there.

Ok bat Loney,Kemp,Kent I like Kemp as a clean up better than three.

Valdez is hitting .330 with Vegas

We all have our own personal ideal lineup, but the batting order really makes a minimal difference in the total number of runs scored by a team over a 162-game season.

A lot of people, including myself, have complained, for example, about Pierre's placement in the batting order. The major problem isn't where Pierre bats, though. The real problem is the fact that we signed Pierre.

Swood are you defending Little. Are you telling me what he sees in batting practice is more important than we see in games?

Grady probably wants to keep the lack of run production going... He figures once JP gets on and steals a base he needs to have someone that is a sure strikeout up so we have a couple of outs before Kent comes up.

A line up makes a HUGE difference!!!!!

Hitting Kemp 3rd is a joke. Maybe in 3 years yes, but Ethier should be hitting there right now or Loney if that's what Mr Little is doing.

Good to see Martin moved down.

i do think grady saw something in Kemp yesterday...
coz i myself saw something last night...

i think Kemp got his swing back...

i was at the game yesterday and i saw him as a pinch hitter, the kid has got good swing...

he didn't get a hit but he almost hit an opposite field HR...

but yeah i would still prefer Loney batting 3rd...

No, Grady is using the opposite logic. if it ain't broke don't fix it. Ethier is hitting well at the bottom of the lineup so lets not mess with it. it's the same sort of logic that has us in 4th place.

I bet he (grady) is hoping that with Kent behind Kemp, maybe he will get some good pitches to hit. But I don't think he has a thing against ethier, I mean after all he is the only dodger actually hitting.

Spanner-don't really disagree with you about Pieree but disagree that those (really good) August numbers are the reason. If so, then why is Furcal at the top of the order with his .269 August OBP.

This management just bugs. all of it. It seems to be all by the gut instead of the brain.

drew drops out, well i gotta sign nomar, he can drive in 90 is a gut reaction, as example..

Batting Pierre 2nd instead of 7th or 8th is unlikely to cause a significant difference in the total number of runs the Dodgers score over a full season.

Now if only Juan Pierre would go on the DL. vr, Xei

It doesn't matter what Valdez is hitting in Vegas - he's a career minor leaguer and close to 30.

Pierre was the only one that got on base last night by the way.

valdez can't hit.

interesting theory that kent buys kemp some protection, but how much protection does kent really provide these days anyways?

last night i was frustrated...
coz i think that if JP gets on base he should always steal base... i don't care if he is caught... we need to take some chances...

he only got 1 steal in 3 base hits...

he should be there stealing 2nd and 3rd...

Van, at this point I'd have him try to steal home also...

Kim is struggling for AZ...
Marlins are leading 3-1 and not yet done in the 1st inning...

who's fault is that van 19

Hi Josh-----It must be pretty hard these days to come up with a positive blog everyday. And it's not a good sign when I find myself memorizing the player HRs & RBI. I can see now why NOMAR was so agrivated. What with the losing and the pain in his calf. Everybody knows what there job is and they just have to go out there and do it. It's not a good time to be scoreboard watching, they don't tell very much these days. I don't think we'll see PIERRE batting 7th, I'm sure everyone noticed his steal took the bat out of ETHIER'S hand when they pitched around him to get to BILLZ. My condolences to the PHIL RIZZUTO family who'll never be forgotten, especially in New York. Well it's another night. LET'S JUST ENJOY THE GAME.

So Nomar has known about this injury and just kept quiet while our team trades away a viable replacement at 3rd. Great...that Nomar sure is a team guy isn't he?

His injury could have happened since that trade.. that was a couple of weeks ago now...

Hillenbrand is our 3rd baseman. I really hate the Scott Proctor trade now.

Boo Ned Colletti. Boo. Were you wearing your Giants ring when you made that deal?

spanner, the move is still stupid given how replaceable a middle reliever is compared to a power hitting third baseman. And besides, nobody thought Nomar was gonna play 162, and LaRoche has had a few injury problems. I don't think anyone saw Abreu getting hurt, but still, I'm in shock.

Yeah Nomar has been hurt since 2003. Don't blame him, he is just trying to make a living..

Trading Betemit has really left us in the lurch at 3B, although the way our offense has been producing, it doesn't really make much of a difference at this point.

What's more, Betemit should have been playing over Nomar in the first place.

Kemp in the lineup today is way better than a lineup with out Kemp

I KNEW IT! I KNEW NOMAS WAS HURT FROM DAY 1!

anyways...I like Kemp batting 3rd He doesn't get any protection batting 8th. This will help him get better pitches. We may finally get to see what he's really capable of.

This is a great lineup.

I will guarantee a win tonight

Why is everyone surprised Kemp is batting 3rd? Did we all forget the 2nd rule of Grady Club?

#s don't mean a thing if you ain't got that L,R,L,R,L,R swing! (except Kent must always bat 4th, cause we can never insult a vet - even when they are in a 1-25 slump)

If Little must alternate L,R,L,R despite who's hitting well, it's simple:

Pierre

Furcal

Ethier

"Kent" (s/b Martin)

Loney

Martin (s/b Kent)

Kemp

Hillenbrand

Batting Pierre 2nd instead of 7th or 8th is unlikely to cause a significant difference in the total number of runs the Dodgers score over a full season.

Posted by: naiye@conncoll.edu | August 14, 2007 04:53 PM

I'd like to know your logic in making this statement or is this just talking out of your you know what?? If it is just talk then keep going, roll with it, belive it etc..

If you think it's true i'd like to hear your reasoning. This kind of thing interests me...I am not saying you are wrong at all..

To be simple I would say putting a guy who leads baseball in outs in front of your top RBI guys is flawed.

However, you are right as well..Having a guy with 0 HR and and 21 total base hits in your 7 hole is meaningless too.

No place to hide him huh?

It's always a stretch to guarantee a win when Tomko's pitching, but at least his ERA is less than the Astro's starter.

i blame LaRoche's injuries to the organization...
the guy deserves to be in the bigs!

he is working his *** off, working like there is no tom.

yet he is still there in the minors...

he is killing himself just to be here and the organization can't see that...!

THIS IS INSANE!

Look, I've been pretty calm--even calling some people nattering nabobs of negativity. I've never been too down on Pierre. I've defended Ned and Grady. But now, I just think there is insanity in the management.

This post makes 2 things make sense (the Hillebrand move and the move od Hendy to the Pen [poor Eric Hull will be optioned back to Las Vegas on Friday for his roommate Eric Stults to get recalled to make the start {unless the team has a supersecret move involving David Wells, Jose Contreras, Hong-Chih Kuo, or Randy Wolf--but I bet its Stults]).

But there are like four things that become confusing. Why move Loney down when he is hitting? This is by and far the strangest move I have seen. Loney has hit the ball hard all the time, has been hitting well at the big league level for a year, and finally works into the 3-spot (going 6-16, or .375, with a walk, a double, and a home run), and is as Grady even says likely a long-term number 3 hitter. And now he moves down? If you are going to move Loney down, why not move up Ethier who is scorching the ball? Why hit Kemp third when it seems that his biggest problem right now is (in my opinion) that he's pressing too hard (in part for the dropped ball)?

Why short-cut the Pierre at the bottom of the order experiment? Three hits one night is not enough--but maybe it's a good spot for him. And if you want him at the top of the order because he is producing, don't forget that Raffy is struggling.

If Nomar was hurt 2 weeks ago, why deal Betemit? Were we really about to call up LaRoche but he got hurt??? (I always privately questioned you posters who were pushing for an Andy call-up because I did not think that they would displace Nomar, but now I feel bad for doubting you.) Will we call up LaRoche when he is eligible to be activated in two days so that he can play 3B? DodgerThoughts reports that Tony Abreu has been moved off the inactive list and will be in the Las Vegas lineup--that whole drama raises dozens of questions, but the real interesting one is will we call him up to paly 3B (considering he was hitting .289 in the big leagues)?

If Nomar was secretly hurt, is Gonzo too? Is Kent? Is Raffy? (I guess those are not secrets, since we know they are.) Is Martin? (He is, but I don't think dropping him down will heal him.)

Finally, are all of these lineup moves just pure shake-up efforts by Grady? Did he follow Billy Martin's old trick of drawing the line-up out of a hat (and if so--what luck that Furcal and Pierre came up 1-2, and Kent 4th, but everyone else in a seemingly random order).

I've been supportive of the team and management, even when others have called for heads. I have disagreed, but understood. I've been frustrated at the recent play. I wish I were angry, but I just moved right past that stage to absolutely baffled.

This is stupid that Ethiers batting 7th and Kemp is batting 3rd In August heres
the comparison.

Ethier:10-32,4 runs,8xbh

Kemp:3-19,1 run,0xbh

I agree with think blue on the lineup just switch pierre and furcal.

Lee.....You don't know the power of the Darkside of the Force.

LOL

OK--Max has something of a point about Kemp's place in the line-up, and actually, I understand this line-up only in terms of how this one spot works. If Pierre gets on base, the pitcher is distracted and is more likely to throw fastballs to try to catch Pierre stealing. With Kent batting behind Kemp, the pitcher really wants to throw strikes to Kemp to avoid more baserunners for a guy who is still a dangerous hitter (slumping the last week, yes, but also just coming off a 37 game consecutive on-base streak, so a HOFer who might turn it back on). So Kemp could get a steady diet of fastballs which he eats up like Pacman eating the little dots. But that also requires that he does not chase a first pitch fastball out of the zone (a semi-pitch-out), and requires Pierre to get on. And I still don't get the rest of the moves.

leek--management has been doing insane things all year (and last year too, when lugo was allowed to play). don't understand your shock. the lineup is screwy, i agree with that. now i am more upset than ever that laroche is hurt. i hope he is up the second he is well enough to play. i dont know if i can watch this team with shea starting.

good point Max.

Lee if once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny,
consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice.

(at least thats what happened to me)

I think we should go after Contreras from the White Sox. I would love to see him pitch on Friday and have Stults take Tomko's starting spot.

yes Cabrera. Good News. Marlins lead D'backs 7-1 in the 2nd.

AZ are losing 5-1 ...

7 - 1

Max I remember the good old days in May when you were one of the death eaters, sith or one of the Orcs. Now your like a voice of reason...

max

i totally agree with you. kemp should get some great pitches to hit and hopefully he will come out of his slump. he did put a really nice swing on the ball last night, so we'll see. and i bet grady was thinking the same thing with kemp and thats why he put him 3rd. and loney and ethier reaally have nowhere else to be put. so i like this line up tonite...cept for hillenbrand. i think he is a terrible ball player

jungar, I've noticed that you and I have both become much more cynical lately, maybe max is rubbing off on us...or maybe it has something to do with the total dump the team has made in the past 2 weeks. Either way I think heads need to roll...cough Grady...cough Ned

Hey jungar,

To illustrate my point, I'll refer you to this post at Catfish Stew, an excellent Oakland Athletics-related blog at Baseball Toaster. The post is from February 2006 and discusses the ideal configuration for their lineup.

http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/322075.html

In the post, you'll see that minor tweaks to the batting order lead to virtually no impact on the total runs scored by the entire team over the course of a full season.

For example, switching Nick Swisher and Bobby Crosby in the lineup (while keeping everything else the same) leads to a projected difference of 0.01 runs over the course of an entire season!

Furthermore, the difference between the best possible lineup with Frank Thomas and the worst possible lineup with Frank Thomas (total possible lineups: 362,800!) is 36 runs over the course of a full season.

You're right that having one of baseball's top out-makers at the top of any lineup doesn't make sense. Indeed, I believe that every at bat that Pierre gets at the expense of, say, Matt Kemp, causes the Dodgers' total offensive production to drop.

However, if you assume that Pierre is going to play every day, his actual place in the lineup is probably relatively meaningless over the course of a full season.

My endorsing Pierre 1st and Raffy 2nd is no way to justify the little logic of L,R,L,R.

Just simply, since the AS break:

Raffy - .289 AVG / .333 OB% / .405 SLG% / 2 SB

Pierre - .288 AVG / .347 OB% / .333 SLG / 12 SB

If JP can get on base and steal 2nd, then Raffy's "power" might be put to good use batting 2nd and maybe he even gets some more fastballs.

Plus, good batters like Ethier and Loney (who prove they hit lefties very good) negate the whole L,R,L,R concept. I'd rather put the best 4 hitters 1-4 and hope they can string together some hits rather than "balance" a L,R,L,R,L,R lineup and hope that the slump hitters happen to get a hit before Ethier at 8th can smoke the ball like he does.

They can cry that the "nature of the game" is the excuse for our lack of runs, but if you space out our best hitters with the slumpy ones in between - it's no wonder we can't score.

Kemp needs constant playing time to be productive I really hope Grady penciles him in more often. by the way the D-Backs are getting clobbered in Florida8-1 with back to back bombs

geez... this is horrible. Not the lineup, all the **** comments. Yesterday you all were nailing Grady on not doing anything and not trying anymore. Now that Grady shakes up the lineup, you're all second guessing and complaining more. I've been reading the blogs now for a couple months and it just seems that all it is is a vocal minority of people. I know there are a lot of people frustrated / disappointed with this years team. Thats the way baseball goes. We are all aware of the fact that no team has ever gone undefeated. We all know that ALL teams face these types of issues. I know the Dodgers are a story franchise and we expect more from them, deservedly so. But the Betemit/Proctor trade is not what caused this collapse. I'm sure that Grady and Ned are looking out for what's in the best interest of the franchise. Sure Pierre is having a disappointing year. First year in a new city, lets see how things get going after that. I've stopped wanting to settle for the wild card, I want the west or nothing. I think we can all agree that it is looking like it will be the Mets and Red Sox/Angels in the World Series this year. Thats fine. I didnt think we had the caliber of team this year to make the world series. To all the people who I've been hearing on KFWB talk about trading away the future to get better now are simply foolish. Why trade away something for a chance, small one at that, to salvage a season and give up on hopes of establishing a yearly presence within the West. We finally have the Farm stocked and its time to allow these players to season before our eyes. I know that the vets are blocking them. But the kids are getting enough playing time to allow them to season though. Give it time, be patient, and watch this team over the next couple years.

There may not be the presence of a power hitter in the line up, but honestly, how many legitimate power hitters are left in baseball these days. Its seems that those days are gone and we're coming into another small ball era. That, for me, is more exciting. Small ball is fundamental baseball at its finest. It takes finesse to execute, not some roiding ogre up there with a club trying to put the ball out to Malibu. This is looking like a small ball team, and it is looking like we need that kind of mentality in management. Lets go out and find a couple hitters that can hit for average and that have some speed. We may not have someone who is going to hit 40 - 50 homeruns a years, but it sure would be nice to have 8 people in the lineup who can all execute a hit and run and possibly salvage a stolen base if the batter swings through. It would be nice to have everyone in the lineup all hitting above .280. with OBP of above .375. That is what it would take to win a world series (Especially with the current pitching staff). I know im kinda rambling on, but this is stuff that I've been mulling around in my head over the last couple days, and it finally came out in this form. Anyways, this franchise can be great in a couple years, but it may take a couple sacrifices, it may take a couple changes in management's eyes, but come on, be honest. Due you think that the suits are really out to sabotage the franchise and put their jobs at risk. Even though they are getting paid nicely, they've adapted their lifestyles to that payscale and I doubt they want anything less.

Grady has been doing everything he can to get us out of this funk. I'v said it over the past couple of days i'll say it again. ITS NOT GRADYS FAULT!!!!!!

fezzik, most of our lineup is hitting above .280 so why aren't we playing more small ball? Some of that blame has to go Grady's way doesn't it?

no matter what...

LET'S GO BLUE!

haha lol jungar. Shea Hillenbrand really puts the icing on the cake for me. Id take my chances with Betemit and Meloan ( or Hull )
any day over Proctor and Hillenbrand. It is pretty obvious to me that Ned has done nothing but hurt this team since the deadline last year. From batting Lugo third last year to starting Loney at AAA to signing Juan Pierre to putting Bills in the pen this year it has been pretty hard to support Ned.

take a look at the OBP, the inability to get quality outs, the inability to hit with runners in scoring position, that is why we arent scoring runs. That one little stat is meaningless if all of the above arent happening. Guess I should have added in slugging %.

I think you guys should stop second guessing Grady on everything. I mean he managed like 17 years in the minors before his years in Boston. I think he knows what to do in about any on field situation.

^^ although I have no clue how much say Ned has in where Lugo should bat, but i would bet he had a Little. get it. ( i know it was bad )

Even when we get guys on early in innings we don't play small ball and I blame that squarely on Little, the team is in a funk and can't score runs and its a manager's job to find ways to create runs (hit n run, sac bunt, steal etc.) You can't just shuffle up the lineup and say swing away boys let's hope this batting order works.

Allow me to draw a parallel to my own personal life. I work tech support in a call center. When a customer calls in, there are certain troubleshooting steps that I can go through before establishing what the real issue is. I've seen Grady doing this as of late, hence move JP down in the lineup, sitting JP after popping out on the first pitch. (Yes it is pure coincidence that the first two examples that popped into my head were of JP.) Hes shuffling the lineup and doing just about everything that he has done before to get things going again. Some problems are bigger than others in this world, the larger ones take longer to figure out.

Charris I have seen at least one hit and run almost every game since we've been in this funk (although most of them haven't worked out well) and with Furcal's ankle the only two everyday guys who can really steal a base are Martin and Pierre.

It's simple, no power in the lineup= a team that has to play small ball and manufacture runs. As much as it pains me to say it, look at what Sciocia is doing with the Angels.

The Angels put runners in motion almost every inning, 1 hit and run attempt a game isn't sufficient

I agree Charris, some of that coordination falls on Little. That is why I made the comment that there may have to be some changes to management, someone who knows how to play that kind of baseball and do it effectively. Lets get Scioscia out of Orange County and back into Dodger Blue. That would be an amazing feat for Ned to pull off. Will it happen? Depends on how big of a challenge Mike wants. He's done an amazing job rebuilding the Angels franchise. Maybe, just maybe, we can get him. But its all in the mindset of how the manager sees the game and knowing what style of ball best suits his team.

WHAT is with all the WHINING about the batting order? Kemp, Kent, Loney, Martin, Ethier are batting one after the other in some order - that's good. The slumping Gonzo is sitting - that's good.

The Angels survived giving Shea "Sinking Ship" Hillenbrand 204 PAs this season; let's hope the Dodger's can survive the few handfuls Hillenbrand gets before LaRoche or Abreu are healthy enough to take over.

(I agree that Pierre should hit "ahead" of Furcal - do the LaRussa thing, Pierre #9, Furcal #1 !)

i know that loney and ethier make the most sense in the 3-hole based on how they're playing,

but kemp in the 3 gets him more fastballs to see if RF or JP are on base.

and we all know what kemp can do with cheese...

i like this move.

Its hard to argue with that style of play charris when you're not hitting for power, but I do think that the Angels have more guys that can steal a base then do the Dodgers.

/agree swood, The angels do have more. But the purpose of a hit and run is to open up holes in the infield and then get the batter to put the ball through that hole. Its not to give someone a jump start.

I just said that I'v seen Grady do hit and runs almost every game that we've been in this slide( although most of them haven't been executed).

LOGAN WHITE IN 2008!!!
Tired already of the current management, and it will be good riddance. The reasons have already been discussed to death.

I have a feeling Tomko is going to win tonight!

With how many runs he gives up in the first few innings and how few runs we score. I bet we'll be out of it by the third inning.

I posted earlier today, that today was the d-backs would come back to reality. Go check the score.

sorry the day the d-backs.

ok now everyone be honest...*who* is it that wanted to pick up B. Kim?

time to pick up a game on the dbacks tonight

pierre back in the 2nd spot after a fluke game... nice

Better then having Martin there right now.

Wonder if the Yankees would trade Betemit back for Proctor, Hillenbrand, Hernandez and Grady?

ok *and* waiver wire favorite joe kennedy gave up 6 ER's in one third of an inning! So for all of you who wanted Kim/Kennedy, rest assured.

I like the lineup actually, what's the problem? Gonzo is sitting...and well Nomar... (lets just hope LaRoche gets healthy, the job is waiting for him). Kemp in the three spot is interesting. There is nothing at this point not worth trying. So, why not Kemp third? I actually praise Grady for trying anything at this point out of the box. Just be happy he didn't bat Hillenbrand 3rd. Arizona is getting absolutely destroyed!

Does anyone know when LaRoche is scheduled to come off the DL?

Good evening all. As of now, the Marlins are up on the Dbacks - 2 touchdowns to a field goal. Hoping Tomko has a good outing, so the boys in Blue can gain some ground.

Leave it to Scully: When it rains it pours. And it's poring losers.

Vin Scully is the master of words (of the truth)

here we go boys... make sure you have your sun glasses on to watch the laser show!

Tomko's pitching line is quite poor.

Im really upset that Nomar finally decides to go on the DL when LaRoche is still not able to play.

matt kemp needs to fix his defense in the off-season. I really hope he works hard at it because he has all the tools to be a superstar in everything he does.

Tomko came up huge right there.

YA KEMP!!!!!!1

i <3 matt kemp.

K E M P

Kemp got all of that one!

Would have been interesting to see how far that one would have gone if he took a stride. It is nice to see him in the 3 hole.

im happy with the run, but were were the lead off men getting on base.

but at least we got a run

Kemp homers in the 3 slot. I guess Grady is a genius now.

I guess they figured KEMP got the HR so we might as well give him the E.

so far so good for tomko

These ground ball outs 4-to-3 reminds me of how my playing days ended. no matter how I channged my stance, tried to hit to right I tried all kinds of contursions but no matter what I couldn't stop grounding out to the shortstop, 6-to-3.

i had to open my big mouth.

So Far So ...... Ok

u have to stiffen your front arm pierreEmeetsW, get your front wrist straightened, and drag the barrel of the bat behind. Wait a little longer for the pitch, and throw your hands out first.