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

The bottom of the 10th summed it up perfectly… Agon-strikeout Kemp-strikeout Hanley-strikeout Time is running out.  Tonight was a must win game leading 3-1 going into the 8th and we blew it. Will this team ever find chemistry? Will we ever go on that long win streak?  Maybe we are saving it for San Fran?  [...]

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Carp can taste like crap, but in this case, it probably a good deal for Eric Stults, who is allegedly going to the Hiroshima “Carp” (not “Crap”).  He most likely will nearly triple his salary, and get paid for being a solid, if not spectacular starter.  For whatever reason, Joe Torre never trusted him or [...]

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Today should go a long way in determining who will be the Fifth Starter for the Dodgers. Charlie Haeger starts the game against the Mariner,s and will allegedly be followed  by Russ Ortiz.  Dylan Hernandez of  The LA Times predicts that Ramon Ortiz will be the fifth starter, Tony Jackson of  ESPN/LosAngeles has anointed Russ Ortiz, [...]

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Today is an off day, but if everything goes right, I will have photos and the inside story of the Camelback Ranch Minor League Complex.  It should be pretty cool and I think you will be amazed at the facility. A LOT WHEN ON YESTERDAY – Charlie Haeger pitched 5 or 7 strong innings against [...]

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For the second game in a row, the Dodgers “mailed it in.”  Playing without passion, they managed only 1 run on 9 hits throughout seven innings.  The tone was set when Xavier Paul doubled to lead off the game, was sacrificed to third by DeWitt and then stranded at 3B by Ethier and Loney.  It [...]

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Just a couple of weeks ago, I had this all figured out.  Stults was our #5 and Belisario, Kuo, Elbert, Elbert, Gagne, McDonald, Zerpa and Wade were all in thebullpen picture. Fast Forward two weeks and Eric Stults is still a leading candidate (and has pitched very well in the starting role), but most of [...]

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Belisario is stuck in a time warp (but says he hasn’t missed any appointments-not the first time the government has lied).  George Sherrill has nagging injuries.  James McDonald has been getting shelled, and Eric Gagne isn’t Eric Gagne anymore.   Now, we hear that Hong chih Kuo was scratched from a start in the far [...]

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By actual count, the Dodgers have 32 pitchers in Spring Training Camp who are vying for 12 spots.  I cannot see any way that Joe Torre decides to go with 13 pitchers.  With the off days and all, I think he will break camp with 12 pitchers.  That means that 20 have to go. There [...]

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Spring Training has broken out at Camelback Ranch and the news is pouring in: According to Ken Gurnick, Dodgers’ Bullpen Coach Ken Howell discovered a flaw in Eric Gagne’s delivery which he is attempting to correct. The former Cy Young Award-winning closer made a quick adjustment and, according to Howell, immediately gained velocity on his [...]

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Well, if you ask me… and you didn’t (but I’m going to tell you anyway), it’s Young Clayton.  Maybe it’s a rush job, but maybe it’s not.  Maybe he’s ready.  Not “maybe” – he ISready!   I think it’s likely that Clayton Kershaw will be even better this year.  His ERA might not reflect that, but he [...]

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It turns out that Ronnie Belisario and I have a lot in common – No I don’t have a DUI, but we both have Visa problems that prevented us from reporting yesterday.  He hasn’t been able to obtain his, and I have to work to pay mine off!  So there you go.  Joe Torre isn’t [...]

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Pitchers and Catchers report on February 2o, 2010 and the first workout is February 21, 2010, so I am going to take a few days off.  I’ll be back on the 20th or 21st.  I’ll leave you with a few things to cuss and discuss: Is it possible that the Combination of Reed Johnson and [...]

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It pains me a great deal when fans berate players - ”He’s a bum.”  “He’s worthless.”  “He can’t play.”   What do we know?  As it turns out, not much.   I will say that anyone who plays at the major league level is so far advanced over anyone else that it’s like comparing my writing ability to Jon [...]

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The Dodger roster is finally coming together and now the discussions are changing from where is the rest of the team to why did they sign these slugs.  For the 2010 season the Dodger management, more than ever, must attempt to simultaneously win the NL West, delay the major league start dates of the future [...]

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What are the odds that Padilla has a better year than Wolf? Pretty good, I predict! Padilla has every reason in the world to act right, train hard, pitch good and step up. If he wins 12-15 games with a sub 4.00 ERA, he’ll be in line for a bigger payoff next year. It is in situtaions such as this that starters like Padilla can put up their “career year.”

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At the age of 24 J.A. Happ of the Phillies was in AAA where he complied a 4-6 record with a 5.02 ERA.  At the age of 25, also in AAA, he improved to 8-7 with a 3.60 ERA, and also had a “cup of coffee” with the Phillies where he went 1-0 with a [...]

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Here’s a great analysis about Jason Repko from Phil Gurnee of TrueBlueLa: Based on what Ned Colletti is saying, Jason Repko appears to be staying around for the moment. With the Dodgers trying very hard to trade Juan Pierre and his contract for either a starting pitcher or a 2nd baseman the battle for who [...]

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I had a cheesy grin on my face as I read the Top 200 Prospect list put out by True Blue LA.  The Dodgers do not have 200 Prospects.  They have about 20 PROSPECTS and 180 SUSPECTS!  However, the Dodgers Organization is not nearly as bereft of prospects as some think.  We don’t have a [...]

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The Dodgers have improved over 2008.   They won more games, but they still couldn’t get past the Phillies, and the Phillies will still be good next year.  I suspect that Raul Ibanez had his career year and will slip back to reality next year and the Phillies will have some holes to fill, just like [...]

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 This team is far from needing rebuilding, but any good team needs to ”retool” every year.  Last year, the Phillies won the World Series with Pat Burrell in LF.  They evidently decided  that he wasn’t the answer this year, so they signed a guy even older who ended up having his career year.   The Phillies may yet be [...]

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