OK, David Wright, A-Rod, uh, uh, Ryan Zimmerman, uh… who else? Statistically speaking, Casey Blake may not be “all that,” but who gets bigger hits and makes bigger players when the game is on the line? When the other team is starting to rally, a hitter will hit what appears to be a sure double down the 3B line which would plate 2 or 3 runs and then BOOM (borrowed from John Madden), Casey Blake makes a spectacular play and kills the rally or even though he has hit 8th most of the year, he hits a HR that gives us a lead like last night. From the 8-hole, he is hitting .283 with a .354 OB% and has 9 HR and 26 RBI (by the way Andy LaRoche is heating up but he can’t hold a candle to Mighty Casey this year. So far, Casey Blake is worthy of All-Star Consideration (shoot he could have 20 HR by the break) and maybe this is his “career year” (I’ll take it). Say what you will about his $17 million dollar deal – he has been a steal so far! Solid as a rock, there every day, not spectacular be efficient and opportunistic. He’s the kind of guy you’d want to go to war with. Casey Blake is a gamer! …. and the youngsters are paying attention!
With Martin and Ethier hitting .264 and .257 respectively, some consideration needs to be given to installing Casey in the cleanup spot. Ethier needs to rest as he looks absolutely horrid, but I would pull Raffy from #2 and move him to #8. Martin has a .387 OB% which merits hitting #2. Against Livan Hernandez (and his 5.59 ERA) today, I would have the following lineup:
- Pierre LF
- Martin C
- Hudson 2B
- Blake 3B
- Loney 1B
- Kemp CF
- Paul RF
- Furcal SS
- Nightmare or Dream Weaver? P
RANTS & RAVES
- It’s about time the Dodgers gave C-Billl some support when he didn’t have his best stuff. He did battle all through the game, and really should now be 8-1!
- Let’s get out our brooms and sweep the Mutts.
- Tony Abreu is playing and raking at AA. More on the Minor Leagues later today.
Right on Mark. Oh by the way tonight is Casey Blake Bobblehead night!
Looks good to me Mark but Joe only takes baby steps when altering the line-up. Maybe part of Caseys success has to do with where he hits . I'm not saying he couldn't handle the cleanup spot but mentally you would feel a lot more pressure on you than laying low and hitting 8th. I really have to give props for Bills outing last night. After 2 innings, I thought he wouldn't even make it to the 5th but he really sucked it up and made sure he got that elusive 6th win and even showed the kids what a bat is used for. It seems that Marks favorite whipping boy isn't the only one who benefits from a presence in the line-up. Read somewhere that Texiera splits with and w/o A-Roid are quite similar to Andres.
M, thanks for that info. I was not aware that Texeira was also a rally killer like Ethier (and Furcal, and Martin) without his protection!
Mark, what's with the "poor Bills, he should be 8-1?" What about Wolf?! He has it worse than anyone. He has a 2.5+ ERA or something like that (its 6am PST too tired to look it up) and is only 2-1. HE always gets cheated out of a win. Wolf should be 6-1 and Bills should be 8-1.
That reminds me that this team is finding ways to win and that its not always a straightforward victory for us (see last two games). That is also a sign that our bulpen is weak and that it is strong.
In 28 games without Alex Rodriguez, Yanks 1B Mark Teixeira hit .198 with five homers. In 10 games with him, he is hitting .342 with five homers. — NY Times
He is Casey Blake Mark, and he will make nobody's All Anything Team.
Look, even I am surprised by his success so far, but at the end of the year he will do what he always does, hit .265 with 20 dingers and 70 or 80 ribbies and he will be among the team leaders in K's. Looks to me like hitting 8th suits him just fine. He is an average defender and always has been. His career numbers are pedestrian for a 3rd baseman.
I still have to wonder, how many Major League 3rd baseman are hitting 8th?
But, in the mean time, as long as he helps us get W's, I am pulling for him. I just don't expect him to have a career year at his age. Then again, maybe he should be tested for roids???
BTW, I just noticed your lineup. You want to bat Blake 4th?
Have you lost your mind? Leave him right where he is. He is being overlooked in the 8 hole and if you move him to clean-up, pitchers will bear down on him. Why mess with a good thing? We are doing quite well with things as they are.
Why was my comment deleted?
Mr. Russell, I am not aware of any deletions of comments. Can you elaborate? Nothing is in spam filter on our end.
I sent a post in 2 minutes before my question asking why my comment was deleted. When I tried posting my comments, the message read " your comments were deleted my the administrator. It was an immediate message so I know you had no time to read my message and delete it. I think it's a bug in the system. Do we need to log in? If yes, I was able to post my deleted comment without loggin in. Confused……..
Also, how do we add a picture to our comment man?
Finally Mark you are coming around to see what some of us saw in Casey "The Foundation" Blake. It is funny how others can be right some time (tongue in cheek). Much of the ball club gave him props when he came out here last year as a difference maker in the clubhouse. He is a blue collar type player and an unsung heroe on this team. I'll take it.
It just happened again my comment has been deleted by the administrator. I give up
Badger,
If wanting our best HR man and RBI producer to hit cleanup means that I have lost my mind, I ma guilty as charged.
Billy,
No one has deleated any posts – I checked th filters and pending files and they do not exist, but no one has logged in to the site's dashboard, so I am not sure what is happening. Keep me posted…
The latest from the drunken owl:
The Dodgers are on the prowl for relievers; so are the Indians, Yankees and Twins. But the teams holding pitchers expected to be available believe the market will only get increasingly bullish. And few teams are ready to throw up white towels.
Among the list of relievers expected to be available are Houston's Jose Valverde, Colorado's Huston Street, Oakland's Russ Springer, Pittsburgh's John Grabow and Baltimore's Danys Baez. Boston might be willing to move Manny Delcarmen, who might be able to close in the National League, but they'd trade him only for a significant bat. Incidentally, one scout says Ramon Ramirez "may be the best trade of the offseason. He could easily close if anything happened to Jonathan Papelbon."
Much has been made in Los Angeles about the lack of power from James Loney and Russell Martin, especially without Ramirez. "James is still learning to hit, and for now he's going to be a high-average, RBI guy," Don Mattingly says. "But all of a sudden, he'll learn to pull and look out. He's going to be something. Russell is a much better player this year than last. He's worked hard to improve preparation and work ethic. He's not a power guy, but he's going to be a 15- to 20-homer hitter with a lot of doubles, and he's going to be a very good RBI hitter. Just watch."
Too bad about Hudson. Castro (SLG .609) should take his place for a few days.
Oh no that might interfere with Torre's obsession of having the player with the highest SLG batting 8th! So where would Blake (SLG .567) hit. Torre Light Bulb maybe 5th and give Either some protection
3B stats
BA/BIP
Blake .303
LaRoche .303
Clutch
Blake -0.1
LaRoche .9
So who is your Allstar Baby?
Experimental lineup for a few days
Pierre
Furcal
Martin
Either
Blake
Loney
Kemp
Castro
You put Blake at clean-up and his numbers will fall off the charts. He is right where he belongs – in the 8 hole. Why would you want to mess with success?
Knee jerks. Every where I look I am surrounded by knee jerks.
That was tongue in cheek.
Mattingly is of course right. It's May. We have a long, long way to go. Our hitters will hit, and those who are on pace for numbers they have never seen before will come back to earth.
Yeah, too bad about Hudson. I wonder how many games he will miss ….. this year.
O-Dog is going to miss a couple of days? Hmm… isn't that how the Furcal thing started last year? A couple of days turned into the rest of the regular season (practically). I hope for the best but knowing Hudsons history I am a little worried. If he isn't in the lineup by Saturday we know we are going to have a problem. Blake DeWitt start gathering your luggage.
I don't know if Blake will ever be an all-star but I don't know when the last time a team full of all stars won it all. You need a few Casey Blakes on the team to accomplish that.
Romo,
On Feb 5, 2009, I wrote this:
"Casey Blake provides a very important mental toughness which will help his young teammates."
Now I do admit to loving Beltre and LaRoche, but Casey Blake is no red-headed stepchild.
I just noticed that we now have an edit button! There will be great joy in LADodgerTalkWood.
Mark, where's my props for the topic of this thread?
Badger
I think that kne jerking is covered by the Amercian Disabilty Act. Please do not make fun of the handicapped!
Mark,
I wasn't trying to call you out. You may have said a few things positive about C.Blake but it far out weighed by the negative. That isn't important now. I think he is solid and is helping the team.
Andre Ethier needs a rest. He looks alot like Big Papi these days (have you seen this guy lately?). We can't wait for Manny to come back and save this guy, he has to figure it out…and he will. Until then why not give X.Paul a start?
I was completely wrong about how this team would fare on the recent road trip. They showed a lot of heart in winning both series. I am glad we locked up at least 2 of 3 with NY but if we don't do the same against the Anaheim of Orange County team it will leave a sour taste in my mouth!
Has anyone seen this article by Buster Olney? It is off topic here but I got a laugh out of it.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=41802…
Peace fellas
That's not a bad lineup but I would make an interesting change. Put Furcal 7th in the order, followed by the pitcher's spot and bat Paul ninth. In doing so, you will essentially create an additional lead off hitter and can use the pitcher to move him to second or third, if Furcal gets on base. Paul would be a good enough hitter to drive Furcal home if he's in scoring position.
How many third baseman are better out there: offensively or defensively???
I am ready to see him bat 3rd or 4th in the lineup. Does anybody remember screaming M.V.P—-I'm not saying that's going to happen! Beltre was batting 7th most of the season, and what happen when he was moved up in the lineup.
I remember reading something about, give Andy Laroche 120 AB to see what he can do, well, he's close.
Totally agree, leave Blake alone, "if it ain't broke , don't fix it".
I can see Broxton fighting his old tendency to want to just chuck it up there. I hope he can stay with the program and continue to "pitch".
I was relieved that Hudson didn't hurt his left wrist on the play, the ball hit him in that surgery-repaired wrist. I have had some rib and shoulder injuries in the past and it can be a slow process to recover from those hurts. I hope they don't rush him back and really make him ineffective battling back all season long. In my opinion, he has been the Dodger MVP to this point in the season, if he is delayed for a week or so in his full recovery, his absence is going to hurt worse than Manny's absence, I predict.
Questions for all:
Do you think Ethier is that much better a hitter with Manny in the line-up or is Ethier just pressing because he thinks he has to replace Manny in the line-up?
After it was announced that Kuroda was going on the DL, who thought that the Dodgers would be 7.5 games in first place, with the best record in baseball, at this point in the season? Me either.
DRomo, right on the mark, why not start X-Man and give Ethier a few days off. Paul is a ball crusher.
Vold, I see a "reply" button but not an "edit" button, you got special privileges or something.
Did Mario get executed, I didn't see his name in the Obits?
Blue Haze, both of my posts in this thread have a "delete" button on the right, and that one that has not had a response (the longer one) has an "edit" button beside the "delete." (Perhaps the other one no longer does because it has a reply?) I guess this is another perk of having to reregister.
Good question Haze. Maybe some of both? But maybe more of pressing to carry the middle of the order.
I too am covered by the ADA Ken, so, I knows a jerking knee when I sees it. That too was said with tongue firmly in cheek.
Blake is on pace to hit 38 home runs and drive in 109, and has a .921 OPS. I will double my bet that none of those numbers are reached. Nor will he continue to hit .280+. Again, I am impressed with what he has done down there at the bottom and that is where I leave him until he finds his way to the bench.
What edit button? Where?
Any reason why ALL my posts seem to be going away? I know I'm obnoxious to some, but is there any reason why ALL my posts are evaporating? Don't tell me I've died and this is my fate! No one to remember even my silliest post?
It's all vanity. Dust in the wind….
You've been a naughty boy, LDog.
Blake is a solid major leaguer, not a super star, but super steady. You are right Badger, hitting in the 8 hole is not going to help him achieve the huge numbers that he might obtain further up in the order. However, I am in the camp of leaving him alone and thus fielding one of the best #8 hitters in the NL, nothing wrong with that.
Are we allowed to treat the new featured bloggers like everyday fishhacks or do we have to be nice to them, MM? Just curious.
Vold, I noitce that you have a special (Op) designation by your name, maybe you are special and do have special privilege, I still don't have a damn edit button.
Badger, I think you and I are getting dissed and not getting the special "op" designation. After all we have been through with MountainMover and he treats us like this, for shame. We is chopped liver after all.
I just noticed that we now have an edit button! There will be great joy in LADodgerTalkWood.
Lawdog, now we need a campaign for smileys.
Mark, where's my props for the topic of this thread?
I gave you the thumbs up.
Thanks Voldomer. For some reason Mr. Russell's account was not in our system so I suggested he register again.
BRussell, I tried to post last night as usual, but my post was rejected because it said I was not logged in. Then it would not accept my log-in, so I re-registered. That is where I found the place to add a photo. After I signed in that way, my missing post returned.
On Blake, I agree with those who say leave him where he is. He's doing great there, and it is nice to have some thunder in that part of the lineup.
Can Manny still play RF? (He's got plenty of time to be working on it!) I'm not giving up on Ethier yet, and he likely will perk back up when Manny returns, but it looks like Pierre has to have a place to play too. I'd rather stick Manny in RF than put Pierre in CF and move Kemp over.
I don't need no special picher next to my name cuz my name says it all.
Of course, if someone wants to stick in a pic of George Clooney, I would have no objections because I am mistaken for him all the time.
Blue Haze. Maybe a picture of some LSD would be appropriate.
Wait, that was Purple Haze – never mind.
Speaking of purple haze, the Lakers pulled one out of their stapled center last night.
Heads up Badger. This is Michael aka M. When I created an account, it wouldn't let me be me. When they get stuff fixed you should include a photo like I did to let people know they aren't talking to some idiot.
We have some issues….
hope to resolve them soon.
Deleted huh?
Didn't care for my Uncle Festus comment did you mover.
I got spanked. Know how you feel ldawg.
I think this place should be tested for steroids. One day it's just a nice peaceful chat room, the next day it's got a head the size of Barroidal Bonzabol. I look around here and I feel old.
Wait a minute. I am old.
The Dogs are pretty good aren't they.
Hey…it's LA!! In LA everyone has "issues"…so, no big deal right?
Casey Blake = this teams "Mr. Blake" ??
Casey Blake is having a great 2009 season, but I'd add the following third basemen to the list of those that are better or are doing better this year… Evan Longoria, Brandon Inge and Mark Reynolds. That's about it.
vr, Xei
Blake will come back to earth. His ending numbers will be where they usually are.
Better 3rd baseman? Gee, where to start. How about with who would I rather see on the field with the Dodgers? Many have already been mentioned here but a few I would rather have might surprise some:
Chone Figgins
Scott Rolen (for a year or two? He will have better numbers than Blake)
Chipper Jones (see Rolen)
Mike Lowell (see Chipper Jones)
Mark DeRosa
Pablo Sandoval (he looks like the real deal and is very young, plus, it would get him away from the gints)
Garrett Atkins
If Seattle would pay his salary, I would rather have Beltre (for his glove)
Is Glaus going to play again? If so, I would rather have him in the second half.
Blake would be in my top 20 somewhere.
The season is long a grueling. Blake has been great out of the 8 hole, but I am still betting he will end the year with pedestrian numbers for a 3rd baseman.