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

For the record, I hate people who say “I told you so” but on February 18, 2013, I wrote a column called Anybody Can Overpay.  In that column, I wrote: At a time when most Dodger fans are overjoyed and elated at the Dodgers’ prospects, I find myself very underwhelmed, even sad.  By all accounts [...]

Read the full story

Mark McGwire is unconvinced too.  The hitting of this team absolutely sucks.  It can change, but will it? A couple of moths ago I said I would not be surprised if this team won 80 games… or 100 games (the lineup will have to change for that to happen).  I stand by that! This team [...]

Read the full story

Whether you are Muslim, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic, Christian, Wicca, Taoist and any other religion, you already know about the Big Dodger in the Sky.  How do you know that he is real?  Tommy Lasorda told us so.  That’s all you need to know. What else you need to know is that he is not happy [...]

Read the full story

Someone named Jordany  hits a walk-off Grand Slam against you; Ted Lilly pitches well and you lose; Matt Kemp drives in 3 runs and you can’t win; Jerry Hairston, Jr. makes 2 of the Top 10 SportsCenter highlights and you still lose; The Big Dodger in the Sky ignores your pleas; Carl Crawford drops an [...]

Read the full story

The Dodgers hitting with RISP is still horrid!  HORRID… even after a win.  What were they thinking? On March 14th I write this:   “You don’t get a platelet-rich plasma therapy if there’s not something pretty serious wrong with your elbow.”   We all knew C-Bill was going to have to undergo the knife.  All [...]

Read the full story

Have Donnie walk the plank; Send Luis Cruz and Justin Sellers to AAA; and Recall Dee Gordon and Alex Castellanos. Rationale:  I am no longer a Dee Gordon Booster, but now is the time.  It’s only a few days until Hanley comes back from the DL – give Dee an opportunity to displace him.  If [...]

Read the full story

Q.  Hey Mark, guess who’s coming to dinner? Venice Glen is in town with family and we are going to get together and head up to the Slot Canyon area around Page on Monday. I’ll be sure and tell him you haven’t changed. He’ll get a kick out of that. – Badger A.  Of course [...]

Read the full story

In case you live on another planet and haven’t heard, the Dodgers have a guy who may be a pretty good player at AA by the name of Yasiel Puig.  I think it has been assumed by many Dodger fans that Andre Ethier would be the odd-man-out and he may be, but at what cost?  [...]

Read the full story

Are they the Loss Angeles Dodgers or the Lost Angeles Dodgers?  Pathetic is what they are.  Lifeless, pitiful, unmotivated, morbid, dead, almost buried! The lack of clutch hitting is a continuation of the past few years, and one of the constants is that Don Mattingly has been either in charge of the offense or the [...]

Read the full story

As I have said before, $220 million guarantees nothing.   This season has the potential of being a train wreck! To blame Sundays’ loss on Mattingley is really silly.  Beckett induced a weak ground ball that had eyes.  League could have gave up a 2-run shot.  You don’t know.  What we know is that pitch to [...]

Read the full story

Next week in LA, Clayton Kershaw will drill Carlos Quentin with a fastball right in the ribs.  Write it down.  I guarantee it.  Clayton doesn’t tolerate that crap.  The only way it won’t happen is if Quentin is suspended, which he may be.  It will most likely happen in the 7th or 8th inning with [...]

Read the full story

Carl Crawford is looking like the best leadoff hitter the Dodgers have had since….  I can’t remember when. Justin Sellers?  What is Mattingly smoking?   Memo to Dodgers:  Forget Sellers!  Just put Cruz at SS. Prediction:  Mark Ellis will hit .300 because he won’t hit against tough righthanders.  He’ll probably have around 400 AB’s. The Dodgers [...]

Read the full story

Whenever a favorite player does good or bad, we often hear “Yes, but it’s early.” I subscribe to that same thinking.  You don’t need to worry about Clayton Kershaw or Matt Kemp – they will be OK… and they showed it yesterday. You don’t worry about Adrian Gonzalez – he’ll get it done whether it [...]

Read the full story

Let’s talk Dodger baseball.

Read the full story

On December 30, 2012, I wrote a blog called What If The Dodgers Are Done?  It may have appeared unlikely at the time, but subsequent to that time the Dodgers have merely added a few warms bodies to the roster. J.P. Howell is the only one likely to make the roster, so with Spring Training [...]

Read the full story

Kenny Shulsen Lasorda’s Lair recently had an interesting interview with Ned Colletti and Don Mattingley that lots of fans are” ga-ga” over, and while I admit I read these things too, I have to tell you that I don’t put much stock in it.  On the record, you are going to get the corporate line, [...]

Read the full story

WHAT:           The Dodgers will hold their first offseason FanFest presented by State Farm tomorrow, January 26. The free event will be held at Dodger Stadium in Lot 6 from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and will feature appearances and autographs with Luis Cruz, A.J. Ellis, Mark Ellis, Andre Ethier, Tim Federowicz, Zack Greinke, Javy Guerra, [...]

Read the full story

I mean “done… for now.” By “done” I mean “done acquiring players.” Maybe it is good to be done, because it’s quite likely that any signing or trade would mean overpaying at this juncture. But, if the Dodgers are indeed “done” then what can we expect? I have been working on a “Best Case – [...]

Read the full story

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced their coaching staff for the 2013 season with eight coaches returning to the Dodger staff as well as three new additions. General Manager Ned Colletti made the announcement. “All of these men have a passion for teaching and coaching,” said Colletti. “They provide a vast array [...]

Read the full story

Dave Hansen was the fall guy for the Dodgers hitting woes, but there is a whole lot more to this story.  The story isn’t that Hansen was fired (but offered another job in the organization), but rather that the Dodgers will somewhat move away from the hitting philosophy propounded by Don Mattingley.  The Dodgers are [...]

Read the full story