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

The team that had not lost as many as three in a row has now lost five in a row!  The iceberg has destroyed  the hull.  The ship is taking on water.  There are no lifeboats.   The rats are jumping off the ship.   The world is ending.  We will all be killed! Now, take a [...]

Read the full story

Calm down everyone.  This is a better team than last year and last year the Dodgers were one of the TOP 5 teams after the All-Star break.  Yes, I know that the Dodgers were just whipped like rented mules.  They had never lost three in a row this year, until the day before yesterday – [...]

Read the full story

Nate Eovaldi was better than advertised with 7 strong innings – he only threw 90 pitches and allowed 2 Earned Runs (all in the first inning).  He only walked 1 and struck out 4 while only allowing 4 hits.  After the first inning, he allowed 2 more hits the rest of the way.  He looks [...]

Read the full story

Badger (thanks for the Postcard) again pointed out the problems with having the Dodgers AAA team at Albuquerque.  With thin air, the curve balls are flat and the balls travel further.  This is bad for pitchers and hitters as well (because the hitters think they are better than they are).  I think it’s time for [...]

Read the full story

The Dodgers Need a Solution at 2B, 1B and 3B, but 2B may be the most critical. Let’s face it – Mark Ellis may not be back this year and if he does come back, it will probably be in August, maybe September.  Dee Gordon has been through some growing pains and can’t be counted [...]

Read the full story

Players that teams wait on year-after-year to reach their potential, seldom do.  That’s a sweeping statement and I don’t have time to do the scientific research, but it seems about right to me.  It seems like players with “potential unrealized” frequently achieve that potential with a different team than the one they start with.  It [...]

Read the full story

A good beat-down is (in my opinion) better than a 1-run loss.  They both count the same in the standings, and with the beat down, you just wave it off and move on.  Next man up!  Two out of three from the D-Bags in their park – I’ll take it.  Now a day of R [...]

Read the full story

Here we are, just over one-quarter of the way through the season and the Dodgers are riding high.  Injuries have been a factor, but the motto has been “Next Man Up.”  Last night, the next man was Andre Ethier, Matt Freaking Treanor and Justin Sellers.  James Loney even hits a two-run jack!  Next man up [...]

Read the full story

An ejected manager, 4 unearned runs, blown save, errors, stranded runners, leads squandered… and  a walk-off-walk – it was ugly and the Dodgers won because they never stopped trying.  Adam Kennedy went 4-4 (that’s not a misprint), James Loney was 3-4 and both Loney and Kennedy are above .250.  Tony Gwynn also had two hits, [...]

Read the full story

Lest you forget, Mickey Hatcher was Kirk Gibson’s replacement for the 1988 Dodgers in the World Series.  He hit a home run in the first game of the 988 World Series and proceeded to sprint full-speed around the bases.   He has been the hitting coach for the Angels under his (former) buddy, Mike Scioscia for [...]

Read the full story

Matt Kemp didn’t want to do it, but happily the Dodgers training staff erred on the side of caution and didn’t want Kemp’s Grade 1 Strain become a Grade 3.  This will force him to rest, because I think Matt only knows one way to play – flat out!  It will also give Scott Van [...]

Read the full story

Matt Kemp carried the team is April, but has tanked in May.  His batting average is all the way down to a Superhuman-esque .375, but now the other guys are picking him up. Mark Ellis is still looking like an excellent addition to the team with a .389 OB% as the number two hitter.  Ned [...]

Read the full story

This time last year, the Dodgers were 16-20 in 4th place and the fans were moaning and groaning.  Now the Dodgers are 20-11, in first place in the NL West with the 2nd best record in all of baseball and the fans are moaning and groaning.   What the…?   Look, there is no perfect team.  The [...]

Read the full story

I think that was/is Logan White’s Mantra.  Logan wants to draft pitchers and if he doesn’t draft a pitcher, he converts the guy into one (Loney, Martin, Jansen).  That tells me that the Dodgers will be loathe to trade young arms… and that is good. What that means is that you shouldn’t expect the Dodgers [...]

Read the full story

I guess we have a new closer – Elbert is an animal!  If James Loney can hit just a little, he’ll save a lot of games at 1B. One of the main reasons the Dodgers are doing as well as they are is the infield defense.  Even with Gordon’s errors, the defense has been outstanding. [...]

Read the full story

You laughed (some of you even mocked me) at me when I said Chris Capuano would win 20 games, but here he is 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA.  Maybe he won’t win 20 games, but would you rather have him or Hiroki Kuroda?  Nuff said!  Chris Capuano is showing that he just might be a [...]

Read the full story

One of the biggest differences in Clayton Kershaw and other pitchers is how he reacts when his teammates let him down.  In the first inning, Juan Uribe commits an error and Keshaw responded with two strikeouts.  In the fifth inning, Gordon and Loney committed back-to-back errors and Kershaw again pitched out of the jam.  Not [...]

Read the full story

I am not generally one to second-guess managers, especially ones that are my homeboys, but what the heck was Don Mattingly thinking? Javy Guerra was having trouble BEFORE he got hit in the face.  Yes, it was gutsy that Guerra stayed in the game.  Yes, it was great that Don was showing his confidence in [...]

Read the full story

 Chavez Ravine, Dodgertown, California – On a slightly chilly night (well not really), when lots of Dodger fans showed up disguised as empty seats, with only 26,376 fans visible (maybe less), the Dodgers   It’s a shame that the best team in the NL can’t PBIS (put butts in seats).  As usual, it required a [...]

Read the full story

I have about 20 minutes before my flight to LA leaves, so I’ll check in and talk about our favorite topic – the Dodgers! Dee Gordon finally had a decent game – 3 for 4.  This could be the start of a streak for him. James with his first HR – he has actually been [...]

Read the full story