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

Pavolv had this dog who heard a bell ring and he proceeded to salivate all over himself. That sometimes happens when you see an young attractive lady walking down the street too.  In the instant case, I think that Russell Martin is “Pavlov’s Dog.” Jeff Pentland, Joe Torre and Don Mattingly work with him, and [...]

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Jared Massey and I were both at Blogger Night in LA on Monday Night and during the six plus hours at Dodger Stadium we gained a lot of insight into the 2010 Los Angeles Dodgers.  So, here is some of what we have learned: Ned Colletti spoke with us for nearly an hour and was [...]

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There isn’t much difference between a dude and a dud – One Little Letter! An offseason ago, it was proposed that the Yankees trade Robinson Cano for Matt Kemp.  It made sense for the Yankees:  Cano was under-performing and they needed a CF.  To me, it made no sense for the Dodgers – after all Matt [...]

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The Knucklehead:  Getting shot in the leg is enough to cause you to get branded as a knucklehead, but there’s a lot more to it than that.  Vicente Padilla arguably has some one thebest stuff you will ever see, but it’s his “knuckle-headedness”  which has kept him from achieving his potential.  Obviously, something happened in [...]

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I would say that with yet another very good performance, Clayton Kershaw is taking a “stranglehold” for the role as Staff Ace.  Some might think he hasn’t had his best “stuff” at times this year, but I think so of that comes from the fact that he is using more pitches, which sometimes has caused [...]

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Many of you had the Dodgers dead and buried a couple of weeks ago (no, I am not going to just let it go – you need to learn a lesson) and now they are red-hot-on-fire-the-hottest- team-in-baseball! Like it or not, here is what you are seeing: You are seeing the maturation of some young [...]

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While still leading all of major league baseball in hitting at .277, the Los Angeles Dodgers are quietly lowering their team ERA and raising their fielding percentage.  They have climbed from 15th to 12th in fielding and have shaved almost a run off their team ERA.  It now sits at 4.63…  and dropping.   The [...]

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Remember what I told you after Kershaw got bombed in his last start prior to Sunday? http://www.ladodgertalk.com/2010/05/unleash-the-kracken/ In case you forgot, I said: When Clayton Kershaw gets beat, he gets mad and gets even. The pounding that he took yesterday is simply going to Unleash the Kracken! Watch out, he’ll be back with a vengeance. [...]

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No – I’m not referring to last night’s game!  I talking about Brad Ausmus.  Due to back surgery for a bad disc, it is my opinion that in all probability, Brad Ausmus has played his last game.  At 41, why would he want to come back for a short season? I can’t say that the [...]

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At the start of the college basketball season, I said the following about my beloved Duke Blue Devils (who are playing my hometown Butler Bulldogs in what is truly a David vs. Goliath game – I hate to admit it, but part of me wants to see Butler win.  Either way, I can’t lose tonight.) : [...]

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Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com confirmed that Russ Ortiz was in uniform for the Dodgers workout in 70 degree Pittsburgh on Sunday.  He then clarified why Ortiz was not yet on theroster: Wade will be placed on the disabled list before Monday’s opener against the Pirates and Ortiz’s contract will be purchased, manager Joe Torre confirmed. [...]

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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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  Now that Ronnie Belliard has weighed in at 208 and is guaranteed a spot, the roster begins to take shape.  There are only a few spots left and it will be interesting who goes where. Here’s what I think the roster is shaping up as (it could change in the next 3 or 4 [...]

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Russ Martin caught 4 innings today in a minor league game.  He went 2-2 with a double and single and a run scored and reported no problems.

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DODGER UPDATES: Jamie Hoffman was returned to the Dodgers by the Yanks who took him in Rule 5 (as I suspected).  This is the second time the Dodgers almost lost him.  Is he back for good?    The Dodgers should be much better at AAA. Some Dodger Brass feel that Charlie Haeger cannot pitch in [...]

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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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Starting Pitching ($22,800,000): Kershaw (He will pitch great but with a losing record) $425K Billingsley (He will figure “IT” out this year) $3,850,000 Padilla (Will surprise us this year) $5,025,000 Kuroda (50% probability of injury) $13,000,000 Stults (Will continue to pitch very erratically until Torre gives up on him) $500K Relievers ($11,550,000): Broxton (Will have [...]

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Russell Martin is down for the count for 4-6 weeks.  The Dodgers should err on the side of caution, so we may not see Russell until May or June.  That’s OK – at least he won’t “wear-down” this year.   The workout regimen he went through this winter is extremely grueling.  My 23-year-old son tried it for [...]

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Dylan Hernandez says it’s his groin. Tot Holmes says it’s his hip. Tony Jackson says it’s his stomach. He had an MRI last night and they know the results, but aren’t telling… It may be nothing, or something. AJ Ellis – Next Man Up! Stay tuned!

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Just a laundry list of a few things I expect to see this year (actually my wish list along with predictions): A healthy Rafael Furcal who is 100% physically and (most importantly) mentally (it takes a while to recover mentally from a surgery) regains his form and is again one of the elite short stops [...]

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