LADodgerTalk.com – Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers

This year is going to be the first year in a long, long time that I am not going to be able to make it to spring training.  It’s not because I am any less enthusiastic about the Dodgers, but just because there is not enough hours in the month. My business is growing very [...]

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Let me make something perfectly clear.  If Andre Ethier could quit being his own worst enemy, I would be his biggest supporter, but if I have to keep Andre Ethier as he is, I would trade him in a heartbeat.  The Dodger Beat Writers can’t and won’t say much about it, but Andre Ethier wears [...]

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OK, it’s almost time for pitchers and catchers to report.  I’ll make some predictions for the 2012 season.  This is from the gut, not from any empirical evidence: Fed-Ex will be the Dodgers starting catcher before the season is over. Javy Guerra will be supplanted by Kenley Jansen as the Dodgers closer (in fact, I [...]

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I spent a couple of days last week going back several years and reading what the blogs who focus on baseball sabermetrics predicted about Dodger players, and what I predicted about those same players. Without getting into a pissing match, what I found was that our batting averages were pretty much the same.    I [...]

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Most Dodger fans are not too excited because it seems that the Dodgers didn’t sign any of the big Free Agents.  They argue that the Dodgers should have spent the money on Prince Fielder instead of the same amount on Juan Rivera (4.5 mil), Tony Gwynn, Jr. (.85 mil) Jerry Harriston (2.25 mil), Mark Ellis [...]

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Now that Frank McCourt has been give the go-ahead by the bankruptcy court (barring reversal upon appeal) to negotiate a new TV deal, he might just have given Ned the go-ahead and sign Prince Fielder. As near as I can figure, I think it will take probably the same amount Albert Pujols received. He’s 5 years younger [...]

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I find it interesting that of the TOP 10 teams in MLB with the highest salaries, only one is alive in the playoffs and that is the number 10 team.  I guess money can’t buy you love.  This is the new paradigm. Frank McCourt certainly has good attorneys.  Who can predict what will happen at [...]

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The 2011 Dodgers are 7 games under .500 and are 11 games out of first place.  They also have won 5 in a row and have 18 more games with division rivals, mostly the Giants and D-Backs.  Of those 18 games, 10 are at home (of the 8 away games, 3 are at Petco).  Do you [...]

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Final Score: Rockies 5, Dodgers 3 Gritty performance by Billingsley, though he was done in by homers. The 5 walks really came back to bite him too, as two of them came into score. Kuo did a great job of striking out Helton in the 8th. If James Loney never plays another game outside of [...]

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Lineups Dodgers Aaron Miles 3B Justin Sellers SS Andre Ethier RF Matt Kemp CF Juan Rivera LF James Loney 1B Dioner Navarro C Jamey Carroll 2B Chad Billingsley P Rockies Dexter Fowler CF Mark Ellis 2B Carlos Gonzalez RF Troy Tulowitzki SS Jason Giambi 1B Seth Smith LF Eliezer Alfonzo C Chris Nelson 3B Kevin [...]

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Lineups Dodgers Tony Gwynn LF Casey Blake 3B Andre Ethier RF Matt Kemp CF Juan Rivera 1B Aaron Miles 2B Rod Barajas C Jamey Carroll SS Chad Billingsley P Brewers Corey Hart RF Nyjer Morgan CF Ryan Braun LF Prince Fielder 1B Casey McGahee 3B Yuniesky Betancourt SS Jerry Hairston 2B Jonathan Lucroy C Yovani [...]

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Yeah, that’s the ticket! What should we expect next season? Who the hell knows? The end! OK, we do have a few clues.  Some big money comes off the books, namely about $58.5 million or half of the Dodgers payroll.  At least $12 million will be given back in the form of a raise for [...]

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If you were grading the Dodgers first-half performance the team would have to get a D -. There’s no way to sugar-coat it – the Dodgers sucked big time in the first half.  There were a few bright spots including Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Jamey Carroll and even Aaron Miles.  At the end [...]

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This 2011 version of the Dodgers may be hard to figure out, but I saw a bunch of happy excited young ballplayers last night when Tony Gwynn, Jr. drove in the winning run.  In a season where victories have been few and sometimes, far-between, the Dodgers got another command performance from their Ace, and Tony [...]

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you’re a lot closer than you think!” I live by that creed, and it could apply to these Dodgers…. But that is very unlikely! This team is rapidly reaching a tipping point of no return.  The naysayers had it right! The popular view is to blame Frank, and he does have to shoulder a share [...]

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Hey, I read here every day, but today I thought I’d weigh in with my opinion. Chad Billingsley is disappointing.  His proclivity to blow leads is troubling.  It appears to me that he’s throwing, not pitching.  I think he’ll turn it around, but I feel better about Lilly than I do about C-Bill right about [...]

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After the game, Matt Kemp said: “This is just the beginning.” Tony Jackson of ESPN/LosAngeles hit the nail on the head:  Davey Lopes is helping the Dodgers immensely, especially Matt Kemp.  After describing Matt Kemp who went from first to third on what might have ordinarily been a double play ball, Tony wrote this: “There [...]

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Here it is: March 31st, 2011 Opening Day. Kershaw vs. Lincecum. Dodgers vs. Giants. Us vs. Them. You all love to criticize me because I step out there and make predictions, but now’s the time to do that. Are you scared? I’m not. I’m going to make mine RIGHT NOW! We will re-visit these in [...]

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Allegedly the Dodger hitters are “working on looking at pitches” which is why they are dead last in NL in Spring Training hitting at .230.  By the way, the Padres are #1 at .329!  OK – It’s early, but don’t wait until it’s too late.  The Dodgers are in the middle of the pack with a [...]

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