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

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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        I have no clue where this “Debacle in the Ravine will take us, but I’d say Jamie does not have the upper hand.   No, I’m not going to speculate on who we will sign and who we won’t or who we should trade.  Today, I just want to do some “farming.”  [...]

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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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No matter how bleak it looks, and being down 3-1 is bleak, especially after a loss was snatched from the jaws of victory, we have to hope for a miracle.  It’s a big blow, but the Dodgers have to recover and realize that victory is still attainable.  Therefore, I will be watching every pitch in game [...]

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Blame it all on Joe Torre if you want, but when we score ZERO runs, the likelihood of losing is pretty high.  Blame it on Kuroda if you want.  Blame it on Billingsley or the fact that  we left Jon Garland and Jeff Weaver off the playoff roster.  But, the reality of the situation is [...]

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Mark Loretta?  That bum is a waste of roster space!Ronnie Belliard?  Why should he start over Hudson.  Jeff Weaver?  Keep McDonald on the playoff roster for crying out loud!   Jim Thome?  Forget it, he’s shot! Juan Castro?  Why waste a spot for him when he won’t play? It was Joe Torre who decided which [...]

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I’m talking baseball – not football.  The Dodgers have one win down and ten more to go to win the World Series.  You have to play them one at a time, but we need ten more wins in order to call this season a complete success.  Again, conventional wisdom was wrong – we beat Carpenter [...]

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Joe Torre Has Spoken:   Pitchers (11) Ronald Belisario, RHP                         Chad Billingsley,RHP                           Jonathan Broxton, RHP                        Jon Garland, RHP                                Clayton Kershaw, LHP                        Hong-Chih Kuo, LHP                          Vicente Padilla. RHP                           George Sherrill, LHP                            Ramon Troncoso, RHP Jeff Weaver, RHP Randy Wolf, LHP Infielders (8): Ronnie Belliard Casey Blake Juan Castro Rafael Furcal  (S) Orlando Hudson (S) James Loney  [...]

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Now that we have clinched a playoff spot and are within two games of  clinching the NL West Championship, I think it is time to shift the emphasis from our starters, namely Russell Martin, James Loney, Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, and recognize the Stuntmen.  Actually, this [...]

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If there was any doubt, it is painfully apparent that Chad Billingsly has deep-seated psychological problems.  Fear of success can be just as paralyzing as fear of failure. Many people fear success because it tests their limits and makes them vulnerable to new situations. Even worse, success can expose weaknesses and force people to deal with [...]

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When should the Dodgers decide?  What if Chad pitches well today?  What if he pitches badly?  Should the Dodgers keep Chad dangling?  Should they just put him in the pen?   What should they do?  I DON’T KNOW!  But, I do know that 3 months ago he was regarded as one of the best starters in [...]

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…whether tis nobler to replace him on the playoff roster or use him as a DH.  Yes, that is the question.  You can cuss and discuss this, but I think  the answer is simple – you can’t use Thome if he’s not ready to hit.  In order for him to be ready, he’s going to [...]

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The Great Lakes Loons were the last Dodger team to be eliminated from the playoffs, losing to the Ft. Wayne Tin Caps last night 4-3 in 10 innings.  Dee Gordon was 1-5 with a stolen base, Kyle Russell was 1-2 with a BB and an RBI, Silverio hit a HR and Aaron Miller pitched a [...]

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… to beat the Dodgers.  It was nice to have a “laugh-er” for once.   I need to re-interate that I am a prophet!  Last month, I predicted that Loney would be “white hot” in September and yesterday I wrote that this was the time for Ethier, Kemp, Loney and Martin to step-up and show this [...]

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Will Joe change or not?  That’s the question.  Insanity is doing the same thing and thinking you will get different results.   Here’s the Dodger’s insanity:  for whatever reason, Rafael Furcal is not the same offensive player he used to be.  He is 6 for 11 in stolen bases and he rarely attempts a steal anymore (two [...]

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Stirring the pot?  Me?  I resemble that statement!  However, this I believe: Manny Ramirez has become a liability – he’ll get better, but he’s still a liability; Russ Martin will regain his post-2009 form (maybe this month, maybe next year); I like Orlando Hudson, but he will probably be too expensive.  I think the Dodgers would [...]

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I know that we are in the midst of a pennant race, but it always is important to look ahead, and plan ahead.  I have a few ideas as to how the team will look next year and I’m sure Ned has some of the same thoughts, but first:  Ronnie Belliard for Minor League pitcher Luis [...]

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Joe Torre doesn’t have it “in” for Charlie Haeger and said Haeger will continue to be in the mix of the rotation as the team moves toward the  postseason.  Here’s what Joe said (Steve Gartner of mlb.com) “He’s a hot hand.  He’s pitched well two times in a row now. I trust him at this [...]

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I was surfing the net yesterday and I have to say that I was amazed by the people who were criticizing Russ Martin.  “Trade Him”  “Bench Him” and all the rest of the things that people  who have no clue write.  Here’s why I like this site:  say something stupid, we will call you out.  [...]

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5th in the NL in innings pitched with 162 (only 10 behind the leader) 18th in strikeouts in the NL with 123 ERA – 3.43 WHIP – 1.14 Sounds like a pretty good pitcher and actually he has been our most consistent pitcher since the start of the season.  Solid, not spectacular and a pretty [...]

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