Poetic justice is what it is. Win because of our sloppiness, die because of yours. On a night when our “not-so-dynamic-leadoff-duo” didn’t get a hit, it was Manny, Andre and Matt, and to a lessor degree, James, who got the job done. Manny had 3 doubles, but it was Andre Ethier (no longer Mr. Softee) and Matt Kemp who delivered in the clutch. C-Bill didn’t have his best stuff, but did a credible job. Mr. Torre, I would leave J-Box to start the 9th inning, not come in during the 8th inning. Cory Wade will be back on Thursday or Friday, and James McDonald will probably be back in the pen by then, so Joe should have more options.
Speaking of Andre Ethier, he is 2nd in the league to Albert Pujols in RBI. He should have lots of opportunities this year to drive in runs. I like him in the # 3 spot, but regardless of where he hits, he is on track for 1 RBI per game. He has 21 RBI in 21 games, so that extrapolates in 162 RBI – That would be nice! I have officially removed his Mr. Softee moniker and I may give it to Russell Martin, if he doesn’t shape up!
RANTS & RAVES
- I am concerned with Raffy’s play so far – he has made a lot of throwing errors and he isn’t hitting. This is not what we expected.
- Russ Martin is still pressing at bat, although his presence behind the plate is awesome. He has made some very good plays there. I’d bat him 8th today and move Blake to 5th or 6th.
- James Loney’s lack of power is alarming. Some of you were mad about my suggesting that he be traded. If he keeps this up, he’ll lose his job to Lambo next year! He has a good average, but 1B is a “Power Position.”
- Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com writes this about Jason Schmidt:
Conte said the club continues to be encouraged by Schmidt’s steady progress nearly two years after major shoulder surgery and seven months after less extensive surgery to remove the arthritic tip of the clavicle. Schmidt has not missed a bullpen session or start this month.
Conte said Schmidt is throwing without pain or stiffness, but loses command when he gives maximum effort. To maintain his command, he compensates with less velocity. The final hurdle to clear is to combine the velocity and command, which will be the goal of the rehab assignment once it starts.
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| WP: Billingsley, Sanchez 2, Howry. IBB: Rowand (by Billingsley), Ethier (by Medders), Loney (by Howry). HBP: Lewis (by Billingsley), Ishikawa (by Billingsley). Pitches-strikes: Billingsley 109-66, Broxton 22-11, Ohman 9-6, Sanchez 96-57, Miller, Ju 19-8, Medders 30-15, Matos, O 13-8, Howry 32-20. Groundouts-flyouts: Billingsley 7-4, Broxton 1-0, Ohman 0-2, Sanchez 6-4, Miller, Ju 1-0, Medders 2-2, Matos, O 0-1, Howry 1-0. Batters faced: Billingsley 32, Broxton 4, Ohman 3, Sanchez 23, Miller, Ju 5, Medders 7, Matos, O 3, Howry 7. Inherited runners-scored: Broxton 2-1, Medders 2-0. Umpires: HP: Andy Fletcher. 1B: Tim McClelland. 2B: Ted Barrett. 3B: Greg Gibson. Weather: 56 degrees, clear. Wind: 17 mph, Out to CF. T: 3:31. Att: 30,482. April 28, 2009Box score official statistics approved by Major League Baseball Office of the Commissioner |
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MINOR LEAGUE REPORT
The Great Lakes Loons lost 7-3, but Ethan Martin continued to dominate. His line: 5 IP/3 Hits/2 Runs/1BB/7 K’s. This kid is on a very fast track! Kyle Russell is playing CF.
The Inland Empire 66′ers won 7-5 and Cory Wade started and pitched a scoreless inning. Greg Miller got his 2nd “Hold” by pitching 2/3 of an inning with 1 strike-out and 0 walks. Baby steps, but progress…
The Chatanooga Lookouts won 7-2 behind 5 hits by Jamie Hoffman. Hoffman can be a nice extra OF in the future. The player he is most like is Gabe Kapler. Leach and Garate continue to shine in the pen with respective ERA’s of 0.71 and .208.
The Albuquerque Isotopeswon 4-2 behind 6 shutout innings by Shawn Estes (he allowed 3 hits) who now has an ERA of 2.37. Pascucci and Ellis both had 2 hits. Boy, do we have LH options!
I have a lot more faith in Martin’s hitting than I do Blake’s. I know that will not come as a surprise to anyone. I would probably leave the lineup alone for a while. We are still first in the league and runs, and a close second in avg..
Estes, Milton and Weaver all have good numbers at AAA. Who do you trust for a start? Or, do we bring one up for a few middle innings? It doesn’t look like we have anyone ready to complete a game yet. We are dropping in pitching stats, but still have a respectable 4.01 ERA. Not sure how we have accomplished that when you look at some of the inflated ERA’s on our staff. The Giants are now better, and that does not surprise me. I figured they would be this year.
Manny, he’s pretty good.
Mark, Russell had several nice plays last night. The throw from Kemp to Furcal to home and caught the runner — he blocked the plate and got the out.
Nabing the runner trying to steal at second was pretty. Furcal dug the throw out of the dirt and got the runner.
Kemp’s triple in the top of the 9th might be his biggest hit of his short career so far.
Manny double, Ethier drives him home with another double, and then Kemp hits the bomb.
That was probably a home run in most parks.
Of course Russell was in the spotlight that inning, but struck out.
That game was tough, a great win. Games are tough when Furcal, Hudson, Martin go a combined 0 for 13.
Blake looked lost the ABs I saw him. He left 7 runners on base during his ABs.
How can San Diego keep playing like they are? Breathing down our necks.
I think you guys are right. Several pitching slots on the 25 man roster should be changing soon.
I would shake up the lineup and require certin loafers to take more batting practice. It would be kinda nice to see 5 300+ averages at the top of the order.
Hudson – S –
Either – L
Rameriz – R
Kemp – R
Loney – L
Blake – R
Furcal – S
Martin – R
Yeah, and if Torre did that there would be fans screaming at him for knee jerking and trying to fix something that ain’t broke.
Martin has a career OBP of .373. Raffy’s is .352. Blake’s is .334. Both Martin and Raffy are considerably better hitters than is Blake. Even with all the problems these guys are having, we still lead the league in runs scored. Why mess with that?
Blake is right where he belongs. Finding the occasional nut and hitting .250 from the 8 hole. Martin and Raffy will both finish the year the way they finish every year. Ethier is hitting .312 with 21 ribbies and a .438 OBP and you want to move him?
I am not worried about our offense.
Badger
Certain pieces are broken and they are not being fixed. Taking pressure off of certain players by moving them around in the order will help them reduce emotion/stress and to put their brains on their problem and therefore they will improve and then be moved back to their best position in the line up.
Players should see their position in the batting order as a privilege and not a right. If they are moved to a lower place in the lineup and their batting gets even worse then they need a pyschiatrist too.
Maybe a few days down at the bottom of the order would be good for Raffy, he is pressing right now at the plate and it is affecting his fielding. Then again, maybe Raffy is having some issues with his back and not telling anyone about them. The symptoms sound right, you heard it here first.
I do agree with Badger that Martin will come around to some extent. The difficult thing for Martin will be to try and get a healthy swing going while his body takes a continued beating night after night playing catcher, those things do work against each other as the season wears on.
Martin needs to party more and stay up later, get some strange and then proceed to regain his rookie year form on the field. He has imposed too many pressures upon his young, millionaire, baseball player-self.
Note to J. MARTIN: Toss out the tofu and start eating poorly, limit your sleep to 3 or 4 hours per 24 hr. period, drink well and often, the rest will take care of it’s self. See you at the All-Star Game.
I disagree with the best hitters up, the probelm hitters down (in the order).
How many times have we seen, 8th or 9th inning, and we need a run or two or three. And that bottom comes up — and cannot begin to get the job done.
One small adjustment, after Torre sets the order and keeps it that way for awhile. Hitters that are cold, must take extra bunting practice, and making contact for even fly ball outs.
Last night, in the 9th inning. Martin could have tried bunting. He is fast. Upset the infielders. Things happen.
Furcal is a real key to this team. Maybe his eyes need checking. I have not seen him try his bunt to the ss area for those hits. He was really great at that in the past.
Manny is coming around. Ethier has been tought all season. Kemp in on and off. I think Kemp should be doing better. Line dives 2 or 3 or 4 times a game.
Seems to me Martin started the same way last year. He is a middle of the order hitter, but in this lineup, he is late middle.
Maybe Raffy’s back is troubling him. Just because our doctors give him a clean bill health doesn’t mean he is ok. They don’t have a particularly sterling record. I suppose I could see giving him a break, but I know he wouldn’t like it. Until I hear his back is bothering him, I trust him right where he is. I don’t believe in messing with lineups. This is where we want you to hit, we trust you will get the job done. Work on it, and we will not throw you under the bus.
Say, you know who is playing well? The Pirates. And currently St. Louis looks like the class of the league. We are facing some weak teams now, S.F. has good pitching but they don’t hit. S.D. is middle of the pack and Az has been horrible. Colorado? eh. We won’t get tested by the good teams til mid May. Hope everyone is back on course by then.
I’m not sure what good it does to label Russell,”Softee”. It didn’t seem to help with Andre and it proved to be a misnomer. Maybe Russell is one of those guys that have a hot year or two then settle in to be a good defensive catcher who chips in with the bat periodically. Maybe he’s in a slump, confidence at the plate gone, etc. Whatever, one hopes he can return to two years ago when he was a clutch hitter.
James Loney’s lack of power is a bit concerning for me. Howver, without a homer he has 16 runs batted in, easily within range of 100, and second to Andre. I never did project him to be a big homer guy. I see him as a Mark Grace type of player – great glove, 10- 15 homers (Mark’s high was 17 once), .300 lifetime BA, a lot of doubles. Mark never had 100 RBI in a season (11 seasons 78 or more,way more walks than K’s, a good team player. James has 4 K’s, 16 walks. Everyone likes power hitters at the corner infield positions. However, that need is in the context of the rest of the team. If it already has 3-4 power hitters the first baseman doesn’t have to be a power hitter. It is preferable that it is, but not always necessary. Right now James is a good fit with this team. Lambo, as with many youngters, is exciting and I hope he continues to progress by lightening speed. I am not sure why he doesn’t become the LF in a year or two when Manny is gone. From what position his power comes is not important, as long as it comes. I wouldn’t write James Loney off just yet. He has a lot to offer. What difference does it make it the RBI comes from doubles or home runs?
GO DODGERS!!
Yes, the Padres are a surprise, but if LA could sweep them in this upcoming four game series at home, I suspect their balloon would burst. I’m not sure if that is good or bad, as I would hate to see the Dodgers coast during the season and then fold in the playoffs.
I like Ken’s lineup above. What he said about taking pressure off parts that are starting to break by moving them around is on the money. And it should be becoming obvious to everyone thar hitting two leadoff hitters in front of Manny is not maximizing his value to us. That’s the ticket for winning the Division. Even when we lost the other night I was shocked by how we came back. I’m also shocked by how we can’t hold a one run lead in the late innings.
Move Ethier into the #2 spot and O-Rod to leadoff. O-Rod will see just as many good pitches to hit and will still hit .350.
Why in the world would someone prefer a .220 hitter to a .329 hitter, particularly when the .329 hitter has hit over .300 WRISP his whole career? Martin is a shadow of his former self. Maybe it’s too much healthy living for someone who’s always been living on the edge or maybe we just burned him out early with all these 150 game seasons. He should hit 8th and take day games off.
Where is it written that you have to be a 30 year a man home run hitter to play first or third? Would you rather have Wade Boggs in his prime or Casey Blake in his as your third baseman? Loney is presently hitting .329, hits over .300 with runners in s coring position, has a dandy glove and is young. He shows flashes of being a .340 type hitter and will eventually be a 20 home run kind of guy he’s already hit that many once in his career if I’m not mistaken. Loney would protect Manny by hitting 4th. I’d rather bat Kemp there but he’s got to start learning how to swing at first pitch 86 mph fastballs down broadway and layoff the breaking stuff in the dirt and 2 feet outside. You can tell he’s trying. Until then, bat him 5th behind Loney. 6th is the spot for Blake, 7th for Furcal and 8th for Martin
Overusing Belesario and Broxton is turning our pen into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I think Jerry first made the observation on the last thread that Belasario is effective for one inning. He’s basically Broxton’s replacement as primary set up man. His stuff is gold when he’s not pitching 2 innings every other night. Our problem starts with the loss of Saito and the ineffectiveness Kuo. Not to mention the injury to Wade and loss of Beimel.
We have a closer that can’t be used for 6 outs like Rivera–(someone should tell Torre that because he’s obviously n ot paying attention.) So how do bridge the gap from the 5-7 when the starter fails to the 8th or 9th.
We should thank heaven we found Belasario like we did. I’ve never seen stuff in the mid n ineties with the kind of m ovement he has and can command until he gets overused. That lefty we signed ust before theaeason srtated m ight be good-but Joe doesn’t want to use him. When Wade comes back that gives us a second set up man. If kuo can throw strikes again like he did last year, he’s the third short man.
Troncoso should be the Beimel kind of guy who can come in in the 7th and pitch . See if the new lefty can pitch. Send him down for two weeks and have him pitch every day for one inning. If he can do it, your in business. Elbert and MacDonald can both pitch in relief. Elbert has the stuff to blow out lefties and MacDonald’s stuff is better out of the pen.
Just go sign Pedro for the 5th spot and we’re set!
Sometimes you have to tweek the lineup until you find the best fit. I am all for hitting Martin 7th in front of Blake. If he is indeed a middle of the order hitter he should have been able to move Manny to third last night to get the go ahead run in position. Unproductive outs in those kind of situations are killers.
Manny likes hitting third…keep him happy.
Leave Raffy and Odog alone, Hit Ethier 4th, Kemp 5th and James 6th…..
With runners on first and second and one out last night in the 8th, why not bring in Troncoso and his ground-ball-inducing sinker rather than Broxton? Lawdog’s comment about the faulty Rivera parallel is apt.
Furcal started like this the first year he was in LA, and his defense was even worse, prompting numerous negative comparisons with Izzy’s Gold Glove abilities. He rebounded and had a nice year, but wasn’t his heel the problem then? We may be expecting too much by comparing his output this year to last year’s blazing, MVP-level start, and he has still been saving runs with his cannon arm. Hopefully he’ll come around soon, and I’d not give up on the Furcal/Hudson 1-2 tandem just yet.
Torre’s avoidance of our former LH 8th inning guy is bound to start a return of bad “what is the status Kuo” lines. Maybe he could be used for one-hitter matchups for a while to rebuild his confidence (assuming he is not having arm problems again)? Alternately, maybe Torre is saving him for a few starts against the Mets, whom he always tormented.
if a hitter is a good hitter ..he can hit no matter what spot in the line up he is in,, andrea has proven that..the pitcher still has to throw strikes.may be russel is like laduca.. was good the first yr ..with all those home runs.and then a big drop off..i think it all about the money..they come up and try there best..then they get more money ..and think they dont have to work as hard.. that is what i believe
Alright Mark, you know that I have been a long time follower of this blog, but I have been pretty quiet this season. But Russell Martin Mr Softee! I have to open my mouth on this one. Last time I checked Russell was the only Dodger to make the All Star line up last year, and is arguably one of the best catchers in the game today. And although his bat is off to a slow start, this has been the case throughout his career and is extremely common with all catchers. Perhaps that is why is still in top ten of batting averages for starting catchers this season. Come on Mark, the guy had a spectacular game last night, a game we easily could have lost with a lesser catcher, and your going to call him soft. This is even worse than you riding Ethier last year.
I wasn’t suggesting we get rid of Martin. Over his short career he’s been one of the best. Just take a little pressure off because he’s blowing a gasket right now hitting .225. Hitter’s who hit .225 have no business hitting clean up in the lineup. Trouble is, he beats himself up as much as Ethier does when he fails to come through. He needs to relax a little and learn to smell the roses. Hit him 8th for a couple of weeks and sit him for day games and see how he does in July for the rest and relief of pressure.
Kuo is throwing his fastball in the low 90s (topping out at 93) and can’t throw a breaking ball for a strike. He probably needs to shut it down for 15 days if he isn’t already on the DL.
I think we should be focusing less on our all star catcher and more on who we are going to get for pitching.
Some really great posts on this file above. Deep thoughts . . .
On Martin. I am not sure where to begin. He is the real package. And He came to play.
I don’t know, maybe the league has a really good book on him now. Maybe.
Maybe Donnie needs to open or close his stance. Maybe a differnt weight or style of bat.
Maybe changing his approach to pitch selection.
Maybe contact lenses.
Looking at strikeouts, Martin has 19 in 76 ABs
Kemp leads with 20, followed by Blake at 17, Manny at 14, and Furcal at 13.
I understand Kemp and Blake and Manny.
Maybe Martin is trying to be something he is not, at this point in his career. He takes called strikes over the middle, swings and misses at others, fouls off others – and most of it is all with really hard swings.
Russell, forget the 20 HR deal that Mark has projected for you.
Go for singles and doubles. For now, forget the power button.
I agree, hit him 7th, before Blake. That way, when he is on first, and the situation calls for it, his speed will come in handy there.
Robert,
Lest you forget, Russ Martin is not only My Favorite Martin, but also My Favorite Dodger, but when a guy is going poorly, I call it the way I see it. Andre WAS soft a couple of years ago and he has REALLY stepped up. Russ is making a habit of choking in the clutch and he REALLY needs to stop it – RIGHT NOW!
That said, I would not trade Russ Martin for any other catcher in baseball!
What Mr. Cole said.
It’s April and already we are changing a lineup? Man, that’s a bit early for my tastes. If Furcal is healthy, he is the best lead-off man we have. Hudson in the two hole is perfect as long as he is hitting. If he goes into a pro-longed slump, then we can re-visit the idea of moving him but geez, the guy is hitting .326 with a .408 OBP and is on pace to score 130 runs. And, you want someone else in the two hole???? And Ethier is really producing right now – why ask him to do something different?
I agree about Loney. His home runs will come. I think he is easily a 20-25 HR guy. Moving Martin a couple of spots is fine if you guys really think it’s necessary. I don’t.
The lineup is fine.
The pitching is not.
I think Martin is trying to be too big. In clutch situations he gets exposed. His swing gets huge and long. Watch when he swings and misses. He flys open and he just can’t turn on a ball.
Last night in the 8th, after Manny doubled he should have been thinking right side if he wasn’t going to bunt (don’t get me started on todays players not bunting). Instead there is Russ flying open, swinging and missing. He is too smart of a player to be doing that. Like most of us I love Martin. He is one of my favorite Dodgers but he needs to be reigned in and become a line drive hitter. He should also be dropped to the 8 spot and focus on being a catcher. His bat will come around but at the 8 spot he will have far less pressure. We can get decent production flip flopping Blake and Martin in the order for now.
I know you all will say “No way, Blake isn’t that good” but Blake has been great for us thus far. I don’t think we could have asked for anything more.
Is it just me or is Broxton on his way to being over used?
Roger I agree about the great posts from everyone even though we do not all agree.
I do not usually agree with Robert Timm but this time I do
Timm’s Two Cents
Time for the weekly gripe concerning Russell Martin and the batting order. The guy is hitting .225 and doesn’t have a home run to date. And Joe Torre continues to slot him in the run-producing spots in the order. What gives, Joe? You’re not doing the team any favors here.
Casey Blake is going unnoticed. Sure, he’s only hitting .242, but he has belted five home runs and driven in 14 RBIs to start the season. Not bad for a No. 8 hitter. Additionally, his defense is underrated. He’ll never win a Gold Glove, but he makes all of the routine plays, has a solid arm, and has tremendous “court sense.” Last night his defense alone saved a couple of runs. He often gets overlooked on this roster, but his contributions thus far have been significant.
Is there an arm out in the bullpen that Joe Torre can trust? Sure doesn’t seem like it these days, though bringing in Jonathan Broxton with the game on the line in the 8th inning last night made sense. Often times managers waste their best bullpen arm, their closer, in the 9th inning when in reality the game was being saved in a tougher 8th inning. Even though Broxton didn’t quite make it through the treacherous waters unscathed, it was the right decision by Torre to bring in his best pitcher in that situation.
I actually agreed with some one who said that Torre did something very smart.
Back to work
I thin the fact that Broxton has been asked to save games in the 8th regularly so far is showing we didn’t focus enough on bullpen help this offseason!
Maybe throwing J Mac in the setup role IS a good idea.
I have said it before and I’ll say it again: Pitching will be our downfall this year! I know it’s April but Ned had better being looking into it or we won’t make it to October.
Blake is hitting .242 and is on pace for 38 home runs, 108 RBI’s and 130 K’s. If you were betting money on which two of those numbers would be there at the end of the year, which two would it be?
Russell Martin is currently hitting .225. If you were betting money on Martin or Blake having the higher batting average at the end of the year, who would you put money on?
Broxton is on pace for 77 IP. That’s about right, depending on how many pitches it takes him to get his 3 outs.
Torre does some strange things, as did Tracy for that matter. But, Torre seems to have his teams there at the end of the year. If he decides to move people around in this lineup, then I am all for it. But, if it’s my team, I don’t do any knee jerking before May 1st.
Harold summed up the line on Loney PERFECTLY! He does not NEED to be a power hitter JUST because he is at the 1B position, it needs to be in context to the team! I’ll take a Mark Grace type 1B ANYTIME! Loney was a MAJOR part of our offense last night, involved in almost every scoring drive. He is second in RBIs and is well above .300 and has been a dandy with the leather.
Ken, and others, really summed up the Martin drama well too. Torre, really? WTF is your problem this season? Are in a bet with one of your horse racing buddies to see if the Dodgers can still make the playoffs despite poor management? Martin had absolutely NO BUSINESS hitting cleanup last night and proved it with each appearance!
I challenge anyone out there to give me a good reason for Martin hitting cleanup last night. ANYONE?
Now before everyone gets their panties in a ruffle I want to say that Martin is one of my favorite players. I love the guys that leave it all on the field every game. The ones that “play like their hair is on fire.” The Pete Rose’s, Byrnes, Freel, etc. Those are real players. And Martin has great defense, game saving defense. But he needs to be in the 7 or 8 spot so he can relax and so he can focus more on calling the game. Hitting cleanup puts alot of pressure on you, especially when you expect to hit with runners on and end up having Manny on in each at bat. Too much pressure while you are in a slump. I’d walk Manny every time with Martin up next! Wouldn’t you?
For now, let’s just leave Furcal and Hudson alone at the top and not mess with that yet. Its too early for me. They are veterans and things should work themselves out.
Miguel , You had me until you mentioned Russ Martin in the same breathe as Brynes. Please don’t compare Martin to that d-bag. Other than that you are right on!
Martin will be fine. I think all of us are just saying he needs to slide down in the order.
Some of us are just happy with what we are seeing out of Blake…What is so bad about that? Noboddy thinks he is going to set records or hit a ton of homers, but what he has done has been great for the team. He is a solid ballplayer and we should all be happy he is on our team. If not I am sure we could get Berroa or Betemit to come back?!?!?
I can give a great reason for batting Martin 4th. It was a message – “kid, we believe in you. Your numbers against Sanchez are outstanding – .444 avg. .583 OBP and a 1.028 OPS. You own him.
Go out and show those naysayers at L.A. Dodgertalk what you are made of.”
Hows that?
Got a question for you basketball geeks. Last night in the Boston Chicago game, Brad Miller was wide open for a tying lay-up and Rondo came out of nowhere and blindsided him with a smash to the mouth, knocking him to the floor. How is that NOT a flagrant foul?
Badger,
I saw the play – it WAS a flagrant foul that was not called a flagrant foul because it’s the playoffs, and Howard was suspended for “not a flagrant foul.” This is why the NBA is becoming increasingly irrelevent with me (that and the Pacers suck).
Miguel,
Why hit Martin cleanup? I’ll tell you why: He has pictures of Joe and Ned in Bed! That’s why! You should have figured that out on your own. I am deeply disappointed. Actually, it’s what Badger said!
At one time Russ Martin was the guy I’d want to see with RISP (I cringed when Ethier came up), but he’s having issues. I do believe he’ll be fine.
Really, I don’t think it’s a big issue where players hit. Really, I don’t.
Try this lineup:
1. Manny
2. Martin
3. Ethier
4. Kemp
5. Blake
6. Loney
7. Hudson
8. Furcal
Why wouldn’t that work. The lineup is BS. Players hit.
Comparing Loney to Grace:
Grace was a great player who produced too little from the 1B position and helped the Cubs be the wonderful losers they are. If Loney hits less than 15 HR this year – he’s done! Do the Lambo Leap!
Boston is always allowed to deliver blantant flagrant fouls, it’s an NBA tradition, come on!
OK then. I am not the only one around here who thought that. I am not so much a basketball guy, but I do watch the play-offs and am a Laker fan. That play bugged me.
I agree with Mark. Lineups aren’t all that important after the first inning. In a beer league I once played in we made out the lineup with how everyone arrived. First there, you bat 10th. Last to arrive was lead-off. We won the league with a lineup that was different every game. Hitters hit. Once we signed Manny, I knew we were a team that would score a lot of runs this year.
I would like to see that lineup in play. It won’t happen but it would be cool to see how it worked. Maybe if we clinch early?
You don’t think there is more pressure on a player hitting with 2 RISPs than one coming up with the bases empty, both with two outs, one with Manny on deck, the other with a pitcher who couldn’t hit his way out of a paper bag?
You don’t think it makes sense to position your hitters where they’ll do the most offensive good for your team due to the pitches they’ll see because of their relative positioning around each other and one of the best hitters to ever play the game in Manny?
If you were right we wouldn’t need a manager, just a pitching coach and batting coach.
Having Manny come up with 1 out and a runner on second (O-Rod) gets him walked. Having Ethier follow gets him lots of off speed stuff because Manny can’t protect Ethier when he’s standing on first base. By moving him back to the second spot we won’t be changing anything really. That’s where Torre had him hit when Manny arrived last year and he immediately added 100 points to Ethier’s average. Manny didn’t get pithed around as much with Ethier standing on second and Furcal on third, or Ethier on second and Furcal over the plate. You don’t need two dink and dunk hitters in front of Manny. Put your best one there and then follow with your best pure dead red hitter–that’s Ethier.
By tweaking the lineup and moving two leadoff hitters in front of Manny we may have the best friggen’ fiddle in the best Blue Grass Festival in West Virginia. Tweak the lineup just a little by moving Furcal down and Ethier up and suddenly you’ve got the finest Stradivarius in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
What we have works and works well. What we had last year with Ethier #2 and Manny #3 worked better. And O-Rod will hit exactly the same as the leadoff man as the #2. Maybe better. He won’t have to take strikes down broadway because Furcal’s trying to steal second so he won’t fall behind as often.
Gotta disagree with you on that one Mark. Comparing any player to Mark Grace is a compliment. He had a great career and surely can’t be blamed because the Cubs haven’t won a WS in a century. Did Ernie Banks’ home runs win a WS, or Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Sammy Sosa, etc? I just don’t get why the home run is the end all and be all. What will be wrong with Loney’s 100 RBI? Why is that not good enough? I repeat, who cares what position gets the home runs? Who says first basemen all have to be sluggers? Loney may be toast on the Dodgers if he doesn’t slug homers, but then they will have made another big mistake.
I think Loney’s power outage is the result of his work with Don Mattingly. Mattingly has worked hard for James to hit to the opposite field, which he does quite regularly. He does not have the power it seems and may not to hit opposite field home runs. He has to learn when to hit for power and when to just plain hit, which he does. His OBP is .427, he has 16 walks and 4 K’s. I absolutely hate K’s as they give nothing at all to the offense. Again I ask, why can’t Lambo take Manny’s place in a year or two? We have our slugger and still have a good glove good hitter at 1B?
Last year Kemp was a whipping boy for posters as he had troubles, then Ethier was soft, Broxton was not a closer, now Loney is the target.How is it we can’t just let the young players grow into their roles without dissecting everything?
I pleaded last year not to trade Matt Kemp when that talk emerged and now I say, don’t trade Loney. Mark you were willing to wait on Laroche, why not wait on Loney who to this point is a far superior hitter and fielder. I just see it differently. I think a run batted in is a run for us regardless of how it comes – a single, double, triple, HR, SF, whatever. Hitting with runners on is more important IMO than smacking solo homers. James seems to be driving in runs at a very acceptable level.
GO DODGERS!!
Another first basman I would love to have who didn’t many home runs? Don Mattingly! Mattingly an d Boggs and get your home runs from the outfielders ss, 2nd base and catcher.
Badger–what’s your formula for the cold? I’ve golt one that’s nagged me for months. I went and got a white onion and 4 lemons. I’ve got garlic. How do I blend it and how much do I drink? Hot or cold?
Go Law Dog
Try Chicken Soup with lots of garlic and pepper but only for 3-4 days because that is too much sodium and other preservatives. Then gargle with Whiskey. Take some extra Zinc with a meal. It will help with the immune system and every type of endurance that you might think of. Cut up the onions and put them in a sealed jar. Before you go to bed open the jar and breath deeply for a minute and have a great nights sleep, unless you are allergic to onions.
If Pierre was leading off tonight and Furcal was batting 9th then the Dodgers would have the blessed 5 300 hitters in a row. (Just for Grins)
Thanks Ken.
Ken, you’re pretty close–Pierre is batting 9th, and Furcal is leading off. First time a Dodger pitcher has started somewhere other than 9th since Drysdale hit 7th.
Mark
As a reward to the group for all of their great posts today, when you are provided the opportunity to speak with Frank could you please ask him if he could have his IT guy transfer our posts directly to Torre’s Twitter so that we can tweet him during the game?
Blend the white onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Add the fresh juice of 1 lemon(2 if you can stand it) and maybe the juice of a grapfruit or orange, blend it all together. Add a table spoon of olive oil after blending. Use a straw and drink the mess slowly. Follow with an herbal tea mix of flax seed, fennnel seed, fenugreek seed, licorice root and peppermint. This is supposed to knock out anything and everything. It usually works for me, but hasn’t really worked with what I’ve currently got. BTW, we are getting tested tomorrow. I can’t recommend chicken and booze, but, that’s another alternative I suppose. If you are going to go the alcohol route, I would go with a good cognac. I recommend this one:
http://www.wineglobe.com/rich-hen.html
I see your point about the lineup ldawg, but I know Manny wants to come up in the first inning. And if we have our clean-up hitter hitting with 2 runners on, that’s a good thing. Hudson currently has a .400 OBP, and hopefully Furcal will get it together. When that thing starts ticking, we will explode.
I like Loney, but we have a guy at AA who is better (IMHO). I still like LaRoche, but I have moved on. Loney will be a .300 hitter probably all his career, but we can also get a lot for him. Lambo is the real deal.
P.S. I’m just yankin’ your chain about the lineup. It’s important, but not THAT important.
P.S.1. Don Mattingly hit over 30 HR 3 times, so I don’t think the comparison to Loney applies.
P.S.2. Kemp would have caught that ball.
I almost forgot to post the lineup:
1. Rafael Furcal, SS
2. Orlando Hudson, 2B
3. Manny Ramirez, LF
4. Andre Ethier, RF
5. James Loney, 1B
6. Russell Martin, C
7. Casey Blake, 3B
8. Eric Stults, P
9. Juan Pierre, CF
Works for me.
This could be a game like we have faced in the past, like with Randy Johnson when he was in Arizona. “They” lead the entire game, take the pitcher out in the 8th inning, and then the Dodger bats come alive.
5 pitches in the first inning — gee, 45 pitches for 9 innings. Not bad.
Meanwhile, Dodger pitching for 8 innings could have 184.
JP had a funny comment about the whole thing when asked if Joe had explained to him why he was batting ninth.
“I would be willing to bat 11th as long as I’m in that lineup,” he said. “He doesn’t have to explain anything to me.”
Humm, this is like taking candy from a baby.
LinceEcome is special. Seems to have everything working for him tonight.
If I were Joe, I would have had the bus driver, drive up to Napa Valley for the evening — and the the N.L. president, “Sir, we got lost.”
I hate facing Sandy Koufax, expecially when we have a AAA pitcher pitching for us.
Time to take out the dog, get ready for Jay and then Dave joke times, I DVR Dave and what him after Jay’s mona. The just watch a movie on MGM channel or something else.
Let’s just get on to the next game.
42 nothing fastballs
10 sliders
13 curveballs
Who is calling these pitches he asks again
Ned, we’ve gotta have another pitcher.
Did everyone in here forget that Mark Grace has a ring? He also had more doubles han anybody in the MLB in the 1990s!! Gracie was damn good. So if we have another Mark Grace in Loney I will take it.
I am concerned with Stultz, McDonald, & Kershaw pitching back to back to back. That is a recipe for an overworked bullpen.
Lastly, I hate Tim Lincecum.
Peace!
Kuo may be back.
Save the Bullpen. Pitch Elbert 3 innings and then send him to AAA.
The gints pitching is better than ours. We all knew this, didn’t we?
Game ain’t over yet though. We could wake up.
But, not me. I am going to bed.
Activate Wade and bring up one of the old guys tommorrow
Starting pitching ERA 4.60
Relievers ERA 3.67
Yep, our pitching is sinking fast. I just checked the stats, we are now 11th in MLB in pitching. Just a few days ago we were at the top.
Might as well give Weaver/Milton/Estes a shot. That’s the first thing to try, if that doesn’t work, it will be time to figure out who we part with to get what we need.
Some here (like myself all winter and Spring Training and up till now) feel and know that Dodger pitching is weak.
Lost both Lowe and Penny for good or for bad — but we have a rotation of: Billingsley, Wolf, Kershaw, McDonald, and Stults. With Kuroda on the shelf.
Face it, Stults and McDonald are not starters for a first place team trying to win it all this year.
I would rather see Kershaw as a #4 or #5, to take off pressure from his starts.
The pen is a mess. I will not even name names there.
So far, the 2009 Dodgers have pitching problems like the 2008 Yankees. No balance or strength.
[ Read read the last sentence again, three more times. ]
I read this moring that since April 15, Billingsley and Wolf are the only Dodger starters to pitch past the 5th inning. This is not the making of a championship team. Rather, a team that has to struggle to win games and that can cause deep depression of the players, coaches, and fans.
Best to sign someone out there (hint) or consider a trade soon. If a trade, forget who you are trading, and fill the major gap that it present.
With the Giants pitching, if the Dodgers do not make a more, the Giants just might finish above the Dodgers. And Venice would never lets us forget it.
The Draft is around the corner.