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

Cliff Lee stayed true to himself and signed with the Phillies, spurning more money to go to a place he and his family felt comfortable (and it didn’t hurt that they are the odds-on-favorite the be the Pennant Winners in 2011).   So, if you want to argue who has the best starting rotation in baseball, [...]

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Trade Chad Billingsley and Trayvon Robinson for Carlos Quentin? Trade Jon Broxton and  Ivan DeJesus, Jr.  for Martin Prado? Would you sign Vicente Padilla to be a closer? If the Dodgers did that, this could be the lineup: Furcal  SS Prado  2B Kemp  CF Ethier  RF Quentin  LF Loney  1B Uribe  3B Barajas/Ellis  C Bench: [...]

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… as the White Sox have allegedly signed him to a 4-year/$56 mil deal.  Ned was right not to pursue a DH. I predict that the Dodgers will either tender or sign Russell Martin before the deadline. Look for a trade at the winter meetings with DeJesus, Broxton and Loney being the centerpieces. Adrian Beltre [...]

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OK,  I know that this is going to be just like the Jon Broxton thing (“I have an irrational hatred of Broxton because I can see in his eyes”), but I still have to say it:   The object of the Dodgers affection should be Adrian Beltre.  I can see it already:  “Timmons has an [...]

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OK, I have to admit that when it became apparent that Don Mattingley was going to be the new Dodgers manager, I was not happy. I wasn’t happy with the way he had handled the job as Dodgers hitting coach.  I wasn’t happy with what I perceived as a lack of knowledge about the rules [...]

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A strong case could be made that the undoing of the Dodgers’ 2010 season was the bullpen… or lack thereof.  Sure, the hitting in the second half was non-existent, but as a team in NoCal proved, you can win with little hitting , good pitching and a good bullpen. In 2010, Cory Wade was AWOL, [...]

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So, in Game One of the 2010 World Series, two Cy Young Winners faced off in what figured to be a classic pitcher duel.  But of course, the game ends up being the second highest-scoring game one in World Series History. Nobody, but nobody saw that coming, and if you had taken the “over” on [...]

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Let me be the first to say it: “The fact that Tim Hallgren is leaving the Dodgers to take a scouting job with the Detroit Tigers proves that the Dodgers are a sinking ship and the rats are abandoning it.“ I know that’s what the McCourt Haters will say next, so I just beat them [...]

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On this blog, Jon Weisman asked yesterday if people were really saying that the Dodgers would not sign any free agents.  Jon, here’s the best example of a tirade against McCourt: McGoo actually made one major draft signing this year–probably as a requirement from Selig’s office to try and stimulate fan interest. Our farm system [...]

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I think that you have to look at it this way: A winning team has to have three pitchers who are at or near the top of their profession. The Dodgers had three this year with Kershaw, Billingsley and Kuroda. As it stands, right now they have two in Kershaw and Billingsley, followed by many question-marks.

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Tony Jackson of EspnLosAngeles has the latest about Logan White. Will Tim Wallach be on Mattingly’s staff or a manager somewhere else? According to Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com, the Dodgers announced 2011 season-ticket pricing Monday, with nearly 80 percent of stadium seat pricing staying the same or being reduced down for the fourth consecutive season. Boy [...]

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Let me make this clear: I have little inside information. This is just my opinion.  But… I think the Dodgers will make a BIG splash in free agency this offseason! Frank McCourt knows that he needs to regain the fans confidence in order to put more butts in seats and raise the brand value in [...]

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According to Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times, “the turning point for Jon Broxton this season was on June 27, when he threw 48 pitches in blowing a four-run lead at home against the New York Yankees.   Broxton recorded the last four outs of a 9-4 victory the previous day.  Broxton went into that June [...]

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… to house all the rumors. Here they are: Logan White is being shown the door by the Dodgers. Joe Torre will take a front office position. Ted Lilly is as good as gone. Matt Kemp and James Loney will be traded. The entire coaching staff will be dismissed. Zach Greinke is coming to LA. [...]

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Think how different the Dodgers might have been this year without the contracts of Broxton and Sherrill. They could have afforded another big bat or top-of-the-rotation starter. I begged them to trade Brox for two years and Sherrill after last season. Some people think that I am just a “Broxton Hater” and that there is no way that I can tell he is not a guy who thrives under pressure, Think what you want – don’t judge me by what you can do – but I have been saying that Broxton chokes under pressure for three years and that the Dodgers should have traded him.

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Clayton Kershaw had another game where he didn’t walk anyone and look at the results.  9 K’s in 8 string innings.  102 pitches.  He has a 2.91 ERA and is cementing his place as the Dodgers ace. From Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com: Top Dodgers prospects not participating in the Arizona Fall League are likely to [...]

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… but I have reservations about him.  However, I am from Missouri, so he’ll have to “show me.” But, it’s a done deal.  Frank and Ned gave their word before the season that Don Mattingly would be the 2011 Dodgers manager and they are being true to their word. Nice!  Keeping your word! Damn!  Keeping [...]

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The Dodgers are 15th in Batting Average (.235) and tied for last in Runs Scored with the Mets at 183. That’s an average of less than 3.3 Runs Per Game. That is a total breakdown and it is worse than pitiful! It is unacceptable and heads must roll! Torre, Mattingly and Pentland must face the Guillotine!

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Most Rants – Few Raves… First the Raves: Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Hiroki Kuroda, Ted Lilly – that would be a nice rotation 1-4, but the last two are most likely out of the picture.  Raves to Kershaw and Billingley.  Clayton has shown that he can be the Ace and Bills has righted his ship [...]

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The Number One Reason is that Jon Broxton’s inability to pitch in the clutch cost the Dodgers 8 games, and what made it worse, is that nearly every game he blew or lost was of the “tear-your-heart-out” variety.

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