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

It sounds like Jerry Hariston, Jr. has an arm, or shoulder issue and can’t throw properly according to Ken Gurnick of Dodgers.com.  It’s simple – if he can’t throw, he can’t play.  He has to go to the DL.  His defense at multiple positions is his greatest asset. Justin Sellers deserves a shot at the [...]

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I want you to consider a few questions and how you would have answered them on January 20, 2010: If I had told you that James Loney would hit more home runs than Andre Ethier in 2010,  would you have probably felt pretty good about the 2010 season? If I had told you that RDLR [...]

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If you were grading the Dodgers first-half performance the team would have to get a D -. There’s no way to sugar-coat it – the Dodgers sucked big time in the first half.  There were a few bright spots including Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Jamey Carroll and even Aaron Miles.  At the end [...]

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A little over a week ago, I predicted that this would be the opening day roster: 1. Loney – 1B 2. Uribe – 2B, SS, 3B 3. Furcal – SS 4. Carroll – 2B, SS, 3B 5. Ethier – RF 6. Kemp – CF 7. Thames – LF, 1B 8. Barajas – C 9. Navarro [...]

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Ron Mahay is gone – probably to peddle his service to the D-Backs since he lives there. Welcome to Los Angeles, Scott Elbert! Ditto for IDJ2!  Between you and me:  the Dodgers are really happy with changes IDJ2 has made since his NO CALLUP SEPTEMBER! Who will be the Dodger’s 5th Starter?  Not Ely!  Not [...]

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I could have called it The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, or maybe The Good, The Fat and The Ugly would have been more appropriate. Casey Blake, Jay Gibbons and Juan Uribe are all suffering from some sort of physical malady.  I’ll leave it to you to decide who’s who… I considered having that [...]

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The Dodgers lost to the lowly Royals 11-5, but let’s not forget that the Royals are rated #1 by Baseball America with the most prospects.  In fact, they are loaded – that’s what averaging 96 losses over the past ten years does for you.   They have a bunch of arms and MOST of the [...]

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That is a phrase from a Latin poem which happens to be at least a couple of years old. It simply means “seize the day“. The Dodgers evened their Spring record at 2-2 and while it’s early, it’s noteworthy that some players did seize the day and some didn’t. The Seizers: Jamie Hoffman who went [...]

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According to multiple sources, Vicente Padilla will have surgery to repair a nerve/muscle problem in his arm.  He could miss the whole season, or not.  However, he can’t be included in the Dodger’s plans this season.  Padilla was a key part of the pitching staff, so we can’t minimize his loss. So, now it on [...]

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As bad as the Dodgers bullpen was last year, there  is a sound belief that it can be 180 degrees opposite of that  this year.  The fact that they have six solid starters who should pitch deeper into games will alone put less stress on the pen and keep the arms fresher. Quick Question: Which [...]

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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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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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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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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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“Walkoff” Ethier has a hurt pinkie that landed him on the DL. Manny Ramirez hurt his little toe last night and couldn’t start (hopefully no DL for Manny). Ramon Ortiz can’t pitch because he’s toast! Look, even Ray Charles can see that he can’t pitch.  He throws at least one pitch in the hitter’s “wheelhouse” [...]

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Isn’t it ironic that Padilla’s leg was shot in the off season and now his arm is shot? So, who takes his place? Odds: Ramon Ortiz – 2-1 Scott Elbert – 10-1 Josh Lindblom – 20-1 Carlos Monasterios – 28-1 Josh Towers 100-1 Sandy Koufax – 100,000,000,000 – 1 There you have it.  I’m pretty [...]

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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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I can see only three of those pitchers making the team, maybe just two. There will be some tough battles this Spring. What do you think?

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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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