Derek Lowe’s ERA over the past 3 years verses the St. Louis 
Cardinals is 5.93, which explains part of the reason the Cardinals own us! Lowe has a sub 3.00 ERA at Dodger Stadium and is almost 6.00 on the road, so I suggest we leave him at home on all road trips. He’s useless (or useful if you are the other team). We cannot count on Derek Lowe to pitch well against certain teams and the Cardinals are one of them. They own Derek Lowe! Last night, we scored six runs which should be more than enough to win with our pitching staff, notwithstanding the fact that Andre Ethier, Russ Martin and James Loney were a combined 2-14. Russ Martin and Andre Ethier need to be moved down in the lineup and Russ needs are rest! Ethier is 2 or 3 AB’s away from hitting in the .260’s! He should be hitting 7th. I would bump Martin up to 2nd and put Kemp at #3 when Pierre plays. Enough about our lack of hitting - we scored 6 and that should have been enough! The blame goes to Lowe and now it’s up to the rookie to stop the bleeding this afternoon (or morning if you live in the PDT zone).
RANTS & RAVES
- The Dodgers will lose the protest of last night’s game!
- James McDonald won his first start in AAA, pitching 6 innings of 2 hit ball while striking out 10!
- Blake DeWitt took the collar and is now hitting .256.
- Ivan DeJesus was 1-1 with 4 BB and 3 runs scored last night.
- At least the D-Backs lost…
We need more starting pitching. I have been saying this for weeks. You can rely on numbers and stats all you want but if you watch our team against the upper level hitting teams ( like last night) we look bad. So as it stands we if we were to make the playoffs and go head to head with Milwakee or Chicago we would put Bills, Lowe, & Penny (if he is healthy and that is a BIG if) against their top 3 in the rotation? Guys like CC, Sheets, Zambrano,& Harden…. I just don’t know if we match up when those teams have bats that can crush.
4 runs against most teams should be enough, like Marks says , however with iffy pitching it doesn’t matter.
You have to wonder if Manny is thinking am I supposed to do this all by myself?
“We need more starting pitching. I have been saying this for weeks.”
You aren’t the only one Romey.
Webb, Haren, Davis - or Bills, Lowe, Kuroda?
We are a .500 team because that is exactly how we play. It might change, but I wouldn’t count on it.
I still see at least a half dozen teams in the N.L. that are better than us, and one of them pounded us last night.
4 runs against most teams isn’t enough. You have to get at least 5. You know, like we did last night.
Now you know why I am not High On Lowe!
Let’s see how Kershaw does today…
Webb, Haren, Davis
vs.
Billingsley, Kershaw, Penny
If Penny is healthy, that could be a Better Top 3 for us.
Davis and RJ have ERA’s of 4.24
You are right. Davis isn’t at full strength yet, but Johnson is.
Webb, Haren, Johnson or Bills, Lowe, Kuroda? Forget Penny. He isn’t here - yet. Who knows if he is going to be.
At some point you have to decide whether you are going to fish or cut bait. I’m not advocating that we just flick the season in and coast the rest of the way. Not when we play in a Division so weak that an 81-81 record might get one into the playoffs. And certainly not when we have a left fielder that whacks home runs and doubles literally each and every night.
But I think we need to be realistic about our pitching. We have excellent relievers. Our bullpen is amongst the best in either league. But at this point we ought to get what ever we can for Mr. Inconsistency himself, Derek Lowe, foreget about Bad Penny and Jason Schmidt, bring back Stultz and elevate McDonald and see what they can do. They couldn’t be any worse!
A rotation of the following gives us our best chance to end the season with at least 80 wins:
Bills
Kershaw/Kuo/Park
Kuroda
Stultz
McDonald/Kuo/Park
Too late to cut bait ldog. We went fishing when we signed his Holiness Pope Manny. He IS our savior.
No wait, Kent said he wasn’t a savior - but, didn’t we already print the World Series tickets??? I am confused.
This team could catch fire any day.
Or, this team could catch on fire any minute.
Either way, it’s going to remain a hot issue all the way to the finish line.
We don’t need to cut bait on the team–just on our “old” starters that we all once figured we could ride to the promised land.
Ooops. Sorry for the unnecessary alliteration. I’ve been spending too much time exchanging left jabs and right crosses with Duckie on the other board.
As mover pointed out above, Lowe just can’t get some teams out and he knows it himself. He’d rather eat tainted pork with spoiled mayonnaise then pitch against the Rocks at Coors Field. If he lacks confidence in himself, how can we continue to let him head up the rotation. He’s gone in 6 weeks anyway. Maybe we could get a celery stick for him from the Yankees?
Bad Penny might be even worse–because, unlike Lowe, he doesn’t know just how bad he actually is. And Schmidt is, well, Schmidt is Schmidt that smells to high heaven.
I think we can get above .500 ball if we let Bills, Kershaw, Kuroda, Stults and McDonald start and use Kuo as a super middle reliever to get 6 to 9 outs every third day from the 6th through 8th innings as needed.
Kershaw, Stults and McDonald.
These are the guys that you figure are going to beat the best in the West, then march through the Cubs, Phils, Mets, or whoever else might actually be there come October?
You got hope. You believe in miracles. I like that in a guy.
Keep jabbing and crossing. You are pretty good at it.
I think, more and more, that this sould be Lowe’s last season as a Dodger.
He can pitch some great games. Then he can be hit all over the park.
For the money, I would rather, either:
(assuming that the Dodgers are not in the post season)
A) work a wave / deal for him.
B) just let him walk after the season.
Take that money and move on to another pitcher.
Let us hope that Broxton does not have the beginning of a tired arm.
Ya just gotta believe Badge! Isn’t that what being a faithful fan is all about? That’s why I like Baseball better than Football or Basketball.
You can dance in ecstatic joy one day and howl like a dog at the moon the next. You can live or die everyday or every night with the Dogs and no matter how well or how badly they fare, there’s always tomorrow. Hell, if they lose at the end there’s always next year.
In football, that kind of optimistic faith appears to border on delusional psychosis when you’re half way to a 3-13 finish like I was with the Rams last year.
In fact, it’s never been easier nor has it ever appeared less delusional to continue to have faith in the Dogs. Hell, we just have to play .500 ball to probably make the playoffs and we have the Mannyman and Casey with the bat!
I’d hate to be a Drawbacks fan right now….
You’re not bad with those jabs and crosses either Badger. But it’s your big, unexpected roundhouse right that jolts Duckie off his feet and keeps him jabbering on the ropes…
He calls himself duckboy because he stays in his blind.
Some people can’t see the forest because they won’t open their eyes.
Assessment of today’s win over the Cards: Kershaw is looking better with each outing. I’m actually astonished at how far he’s come in one short year. He still overthrows the high hard one once in a while which takes him deep into counts–and he gives up the two out hit with RISP every 5 innings or so or maybe he’ll get too much of the plate to a power hitter and giv e up the long ball–but he reminds me a lot of Bills in his rookie year.
Kershaw has a new pitch to go with that rotten change up he only has the courage to throw once every 10 innings or so. His change goes in straight as a b ad fastball and just hangs there like it was set on a batting tee at 84 mph. (Not something you want to throw to Pujols.)
The new pitch? It’s a dandy little cutter that works better than a change up because it’s 88-90 mph and has a late snap down and away to a right hander and he can throw it in Orel’s dixie cup! This has to be Honeycutt’s handiwork, because it was the only type of fastball he could throw himself and not get murdered in the process–and it looks just like Bills’ cutter (which has become his out pitch.)
Kershaw threw his cutter more than his curve—which, as usual, was the essence of nastiness itself. And his 4 seamer is still unhittable if he mixes it with the other two and keeps it on the black at the knees or over the plate, above the eyes.. *_*
Broxton needs to gain better command of his fastball before it becomes a fatball. He needs to throw that nasty slider more often whether he can command it or not. Ev en if it’s right down broadway, who can hit a 90 mph snapping slider with an 18 inch vertical break after flailing at 99 mph gas a couple of pitches in a row?
There are none so blind as those who refuse to open their eyes, live in a dreamworld, and think they can see.
What’s amazing is how loudly they have to shout about the clarity of their vision–like they are trying to convince themselves as well as the person at whom they are shouting.
Kershaw stepped up big today boys. I like the fact that Joe let him pitch the 7th also. I am still excited about this team. We have a really tough schedule coming up after the Giant series. We had better sweep the Bay boys because it’s the calm before the storm. Who doesn’t want Manny on our team? He is amazing.
And come on guys, Lowe pitched great the last time out and now we all want to stake him to the cross? Joe should have pulled him earlier yesterday. He’s a little slow sometimes. I like Marks batting order. Martin 2 and Kemp 3.
Somebody BEHIND Manny has to start hitting. I still don’t pitch to Manny. Who was it that intentionally walked Bonds with the bases loaded?
Oh yeah, Bucky.
Kershaw 108 pitches. Careful Joe.
Our homers calling the game today (I don’t know who they are, but boy are they BAD!) mentioned that in the games Lowe won last year he had an era of less than 2.00. The bad news is he lost as many as he won and his era was something like 9.00 in those games.
When he has his sinker working and can get that little slider over for a strike when he’s behind, he can make aggressive teams look bad. But he looks awful against patient hitters who make him throw strikes. I’m just tired of his dog and pony show. He’s leaving town in a a few weeks anyway. I say, don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out Mr. Lowe.
I hear you Badger. It won’t take long before Manny’s OBP is sky high. He should be walked everytime up. I like Blake behind him for now. Kent may start to warm up, he looked good today with 3 hits. If and when Furcal returns, Kemp may also be someone to consider. If Kemp was hitting 3th, can you imagine the damage he could be doing? Martin has to be moved out of the 3 hole. He just doesn’t belong there. Things are looking up in Dodgerland……
Might as well look up.
This team, and these hitters are so streaky I just don’t know who belongs behind Manny. Whoever it is will get the pitchers best p;itches and most focused attention. Might as well go with Blake. He is hot, and he is a vet so he is less likely to be intimidated.
Hey Mark, I am concerned about Russ Martin. Help me here.
He looks tired. He is getting slopy behind the plate. Balls are getting by him. His throwing is way off line.
Watchig the pictures from the other nights game, after Martin scored a run, he was somewhat limping back to the bench.
Looking as his hitting chart, his power is gone. So far in August, he has 1 hit in each game, all singles. In August he is 5 for 22, with 1 RBI.
That is hitting .227 for August.
In July, .266 average. With a total of 2 HR, one on July 1 the other on July 10, that is all.
In June, .267.
He had a great April and May. No problem.
I am not sure he should be a catcher after this year. It might be too much for him. I see him at 2b.
He seems to be getting the Ethier September slump in June, July, and August this year.
We need him to find himself. Or, is the league catching up to Russ?
Might it be where Joe is hitting him in the lineup? Too much pressure? Hitting order can effect some players.
I believe it was Larry Bowa who commented to a reporter that Russ Martin was probably the best pure shortstop, after Furcal of course, on the Dodger roster.
I’ve been for pulling a Biggio and playing Russ in the infield for some time now before all that catching erodes his skills as a hitter and baserunner.
That’s why I screamed when we traded away Santana–a bonafide bluechipper who could catch and hit–a very rare combination.
Santana was doing great for single A ball. How are we making this leap that he is a future Allstar in the major leagues? Are we not forgeting that Logan White signed off on that deal to trade Santana? I think everyone agrees that Logan knows what he’s doing right? What about Lucas May? Why can’t he get the call next year? Who says Santana is better then May? What about free agents? LA has money.
If Blake can not be resigned next year, look for Russell to play 3rd base. I agree with Roger that the position is wearing Russ down. That’s why it’s hard to figure out why Joe keeps writing him in the 3 hole.
Our current team looks like they can play with anybody. We almost pulled off the first game against St Louis where we never win.
Next week will be the telling sign on who we really are. The Philly’s and the Brewers will be a great test. Then it’s Colorado. Nomar is scheduled to come off the DL on Tuesday so hopefully that will get Berroa’s lack of bat out of the line up. Keep your heads up my fellow Dodger friends. Furcal wants to be a Dodger in the future and is scheduled to start playing next month.
Why do we keep saying Nomar is scheduled to come off the DL?
Update- Atlanta in beating the DBacks 6-0 bottom of the 8th.
Finding a catcher who can hit .340 and hit home runs and still catch? It’s rare when you find one of those nuggets. He may have been just a flash in the pan and turned into a ,240 hitter when he moved up to AA, but I just had that feeling. I thought we’d stepped in some Mike PIazza shit with Santana–kind of like the Rams stepped in some Johnny Unitas shit when they gave the ball to Kurt Warner and let him play in 99. But I won’t argue with the trade. We got value for him–if we can keep that value together long enough to actually contend.
But that is why I screamed when I saw he was the prospect we were giving up the night of the trade.