"I'm Going To The Showers, Because I Stink"

Clayton Kershaw struggled all night with his mechanics and admitted he was “amped up” and could get his rhythm.  Blake DeWitt played 2B like he hadn’t played there much (he hasn’t) and the Dodger hitters were again horrid with RISP.  They were 2 for 15 and stranded 12 runners.  You simply can’t win doing that.

Clayton will be fine.  Blake will be fine.  It’s the situational hitting that worries me.  This is something that has plagued the Dodgers for years and I was of the feeling it should get better as the players matured.  It’s early in the season, but this is a pattern that is unacceptable.  The players have to be held accountable and the hitting coaches have to be held liable for this is if it doesn’t improve.  END OF STORY!  It is what it is.

Blake DeWitt needs to take about 200 ground-balls a day to his back-hand side – that’s what troubles him the most.  He will get better, much better.   He’s a ballplayer.   Tony Jackson has a great take on Blake’s progress, and some insight into O-Dog’s leaving (he also has excelelnt coverage of last night’s game).  Clayton was the antithesis of what he needed to be.  He knows it.  He’ll fix it.  Sooner than later, I would hope.

It’s a short rest until todays game.  Hopefully Bills will bring his A-Game and pitch about 7 or 8 innings…

Maybe this is Joe Torre’s Master Plan – start slow, finish fast, instead of what happened last year.   Yeah, that’s the ticket!

RANTS & RAVES:

• Check out the new team valuations HERE
• Flash:  Russ Martin gets his first HR (an opposite field shot at that) in the 2nd game.  Last year it took 69 games.  Hopefully with that monkey off his back, he’ll return to his old form.  If he doesn’t try, he CAN hit 20 + HR, but the key to it all is DO NOT TRY!  He’s even stronger this year and the ball will go out wherever he hits it if he hits it hard.
• TJ Simers has a funny ready about Manny in which Manny says he likes Jamie better than Frank – hummmmmm….
• Dylan Hernandez writes about Billingsley’s best lesson – the one he learned by getting beat like a rented mule by the Angels…

I took this photo six years ago at Vero Beach.

Who is This Next to Tommy?

Obviously, Tommy Lasorda is sitting in the golf cart signing a ball for a little kid, who happens to now be eleven.  I know that because he’s my kid.

But who is the person in the golf cart beside Tommy?

I had never thought about it until today, when he said “That’s Me!”  ”No it’s not”, I said.

Well, I was wrong – it was him.

Who is it?  Who can tell me?

P.S. Ronald Belisario arrived in camp today and here is what Joe Torre said”

“Whatever!”

… because my old buddy, Tony Jackson hit this one out of the park:  Billingsley Learning To Let Go. Whatever needs to be said about Chad has now been said by Tony, and it justneeds to play out.  In a nutshell, Tony summarizes Chad’s struggles like this:

“Billingsley’s biggest problem, the one that has plagued him at various times since he reached the majors in 2006 and the one that probably is the biggest reason he hasn’t fully morphed into the staff ace he was projected to be, is that he appears to have trouble letting go of his mistakes.

“There were times in the middle of a game — and it might not have just been when a guy drove in a run, but maybe it was a guy leading off an inning with a double, something like that — where I would think maybe I should have used a different pitch selection,” Billingsley said. “Then maybe you try to overthrow or try to do too much. That’s the mental part of it. But the only way to get better is by doing it, by being out there on the mound. You can’t simulate it in the bullpen or by throwing batting practice. You have to be out there facing hitters in a game situation.

“You can’t dwell on it. Sometimes, you throw your best pitch and a guy gets a hit and drives in a run. You can’t do anything about that now. You just have to bear down and go after the next guy.”

Read the article and you will see  that Chad is working on his problem.  Tony sums it up like this:

“Billingsley grasps these lessons easily enough. But Dodgers officials won’t have their questions answered for a few more weeks, when they get the chance to see whether he can actually put those lessons into practice in the heat of a major league game.

If he can do that, he has the potential to be a true, front-of-the-rotation ace.”

Just because C-Bil had a bad 2nd half of last season doesn’t mean he’ll pitch the same way in 2010, anymore than the fact that Rafael Furcal having a good conclusion to his season means that he’ll do well in 2010 – you have to look at both players “body of work” and their body of work suggests that they are capable of a very good 2010.  How much would that mean to the team?  Raffy and Chad returning to All-Star Status?  Think about it.  Will it happen?  Don’t know!  Are they capable – YES, they are!

Never mention Chad again until the All-Star Break!  Tony said it all!

Dodger Notes:

• Don’t put much stock into Charlie Haegar’s bad outing – I wouldn’t expect that Knuckleball to dance for a couple of weeks!
• MSTI thinks James Loney will have a big year.  So Do I!  It’s his time.
• It turns out that the most important pitcher in camp might be Sandy Koufax who is working with all the Dodger pitchers for the week.  How huge could this be?

I don’t think most of you realize how good this version of the Dodgers can be.  I am sure that the National Media, including Plaschke and Simers don’t.  I do think that Jackson and Weisman do.   We may be in for the ride of our lives.

Baseball seems to put Spring in your step when Spring is in the air.  It’s been a long, cold winter here – I usually enjoy the winter, but my surgeon told me that the first winter would be rough on my hip and it has been a bear.  Stiff, sore and constantly aware of it, I am.  I am counting the days until Florida – March 7th, and then Camelback on March 20-27th.  I will have the Spring back in my step when the Boys of Summer start reporting tomorrow. 

“Pitchers & Catchers, Start Your Engines.”

 Here are a few things to chew on until then:

• Jon Weisman reports that Ned Colletti said he believed that Randy Wolf would have accepted the Dodgers offer of arbitration (which is something I have been telling you for some time now).  According to Jon, Ned offered the following:

“The reason (we didn’t offer arbitration) was we thought he would take it.  At $12-13 million a year, we weren’t prepared to do that. And you know what, the people I’ve talked to since, that are very close to him, say that ‘You know what, he would have taken it.’ And I wasn’t prepared to pay him $12-13 million for one year, nor was I prepared to pay him $8 or $9 million for three years.”

Now, I suppose if you have been in the camp where you have accused McCourtof being Cheap and now wanting to sign draft picks (which is absurd) you now have the options of choosing one of three responses in order to save face, especially after what happened with Orlando Hudson: 

1. “Ned is a liar.  He doesn’t really think that!”
2. “Ned doesn’t have a clue.  He doesn’t know of what he speaks.”
3. “Maybe Ned know more than me.  Maybe he’s closer to the situation than me and knows more than I do.”

You pick it! 

• Tony Jackson of ESPN/Los Angeles reports that the Dodgers have signed Eric Gagne to a minor league deal.  The question on the table, is not whether he is “Game Over” but whether his “Game is Over.”   You can speculate all you want, but we will see in the Spring or Summer.  It would be great to see him return to the mound in LA, but that seems like a long-shot.  In part, Tony writes:

Gagne received offers from the Dodgers and Colorado Rockiesafter separate throwing sessions in front of club officials, although multiple sources said his session for the Rockies was underwhelming. Not that it mattered, because Gagne had made it clear to the Dodgers that he preferred to pitch for them.

The move carries virtually no financial risk because it includes no guaranteed major league money unless Gagne makes the club in spring training, and it is difficult to envision him accepting a minor league assignment if he doesn’t. The deal contains an escape clause, allowing Gagne to again become a free agent if he doesn’t make the team, something that is fairly standard for minor league deals signed by major league veterans.

They say you can never go home again!  Who is “They?”

• What better option than to have Joe Torre hit Matt Kemp #2?   30 HR/30 SB/40 Doubles/10 Triples to go with a .300 BA and 100 RBI would be nice in the number two spot!
• There comes a time, when you have to just trust your minor league system to supply you with the answers you are seeking.  This is especially true with pitching and our #5 starter, in particular.  Starting this year, we have about 15-20 pitchers who will be “major league ready” by 2012.  They will start filtering in as soon as NOW.  I like Stults or Haeger for the #5 spot right now (subject to change).
• Whether the Dodgers contend for the Championship will depend a lot upon which Manny Ramirez we get.
• I believe the most OVERRATED team in baseball is the Colorado Rockies. 
• As your stomach turns:  Jamie McCourt has asked for about $1 mil a month in temporary support, according to Bill Shaikin of The LA Times.  Sounds about right to me. 
• If you pay players $25 mil a year and want to take $30 mil a year home, well that’s your business.  It is a business afterall…

Tony Jackson of ESPN.LosAngeles and Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times are both reporting of the Dodgers interest in several players for the 4th outfield spot.  I suppose

A Freakin' Gazelle

 there are reasons to consider Gross, Anderson and maybe even Johnson, but Brian Giles?  He became irrelevant a couple of years ago.  The problem is that none are Center Fielders and unless thay are keeping Repko as #5, it makes no sense.  If they are keeping Repko, then I would pick Garrett Anderson.  He could be our main LH pinch hitter and spell Manny in LF against tough RH and Repko could spell Ethier in RF against tough lefties.  That makes the most sense.

I know this.  We are set with Timo Freaking Perez.  He’s a Freakin’ Gazelle.

Since Frank stepped out of his Beverly Hills office this week and and has made some public statements, the fallout has been intense. 

Mostly negative, as you can imagine.  Right now, I am certainly in the minority in my belief that the Dodgers will be just fine.  Everyone is anticipating the May hearing scheduled for the purpose of determining the Dodger ownership.  I happen to believe that there is at least a 50-50 chance there will be no hearing and that this issue will be resolved between the parties.  Just my opinion – feel free to disagree…

In case you haven’t read the articles, here they are:

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jspymd=20100114&content_id=7918308&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dodgers-fyi16-2010jan16,0,109198.story

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dodgerthoughts/2010/01/frank-mccourt-cant-stop-the-love-he-can-only-hope-to-contain-it.html

There’s more, but you get the picture.

The best one is written by my buddy, Tony Jackson:

http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/columns/story?id=4830630

It’s good to see Tony back in the saddle and writing regularly for EspnLosAngeles.  I have a link to his column at the Top Right-Hand side of the page.

From Baseball Think Factory (check out their ZIPS predictions):

While the Phillies are possibly the most dangerous team in the NL with their front-line talent, I think the Dodgers are the superior team over the season itself, thanks to better depth.

One thing the Dodgers demonstrate is that who the GM is can be overrated – the organization itself is top-notch and a testament to the work that Dan Evans and to a lesser extent, Paul DePodesta kept the team running while it recovered from the Kevin Malone era.

Even with a lot of the names on the list here only because they haven’t signed yet, the Dodgers could trade the entire current bullpen and cobble together a fairly decent one from the remaining depth. Luckily, they don’t have to do that. Of the pitchers I’ve projected so far (I’ve done most of the pitchers for all but the Braves, A’s, and Angels), the Dodger bullpen sports 3 of the 6 lowest reliever ERA+s.

The team still could use another starter and they’ll probably add one (at last check, they’re still in the running to bring Jon Garland back).

Like I have been telling you, it’s not gloom and doom!  The 2010 Dodgers are contenders for the NL Title.  You naysayers are going to be really disappointed this season!

ESPN Los Angeles has a good interview with Clayton Kershaw today.  Here’s the transcript:

ESPN Los Angeles

By the way, this is Tony Jackson’s new home:

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/columns/archive?name=tony-jackson

It’s good to see him back on the beat!

ESPN Los Angeles has lots of good stuff – I’ll have a link to it on the home page soon.

Just texted with Tony Jackson – he was hired by the new ESPN LA Network. 

It couldn’t have happened to a better guy. 

Tony is as good as they come.

I can say “I knew him when…”

From the Dodgers:

1. The new EspnLosAngeles.com network has interviewed 3 former and current Dodger “beat writers” for the job:  Dylan Hernandez (LA Times), Tony Jackson (formerly of the Daily News), and Ken Gurnick (Dodgers.com) – we should know who they hire in a day or two.  My money is on Tony Jackson!
2. Dennis Mannion is a stabalizing influence for the Dodgers and is currently running them and doing a “great job.”
3. After Jamies McCourt and Dr. Charles Stienberg (a Jamie Hire) along with all their people were fired, things are running much more smoothly in the Dodgers Front Office – the Brass is presenting a “unified and undivided front.”  “There’s a lot less tension, but there will still be some as long as any possibility exists that Jamie McCourt could possibly run the team.”
4. There were several MLB events tonight – nothing more to report.

I used to post at the old LA Times DodgerTalk Board (I was MountainMover), which then evolved to World Crossing (which was a horrible format in my opinion, and now has about 6 people who post there).  The old LA Times board was great, but the Times screwed it up and people from there migrated all over the blogosphere.    Times change.  People change, blogs change.  I started this blog because when I posted at World Crossing, it became a forum for everything but the Dodgers.   People talked religion and politics and argued and raged and it tore the site apart.  Most people left (only a handful remain).  Over the past few weeks, I have seen a few exchanges between posters on this site that I have not liked and I won’t allow it.   We are getting more and more readers – nearly a 1,000 a day, and I want this to be a fun and safe place to post and read about the Dodgers.  Not everyone posts, but when they do, I want them to be fine with it.  By the way, if you are reading today, just drop a line and let me know you are reading…

So, I am going to discuss a few things which I think will help:

1. When you post something, don’t automatically say something that can be easily proven demonstrably false.  For instance, don’t say “”, when the stats will show he’s hitting .435 in July.  (This is just a fictitious example).  This opens you up for ridicule and someone will say “what are you talking about?  Kemp is hitting .435 over the past month.”   Maybe it seems that way to you, so you could say “Is it just me or is Kemp not hitting since the break?“  This lessens your exposure.  As Jim Rome says “Have a take and don’t suck!”  We all have favorite players and that’s OK, but if you slam James Loney (for example), realize that’s someone’s favorite player.
2. When someone says something that you think is obviously wrong, maybe you should ask for classification.  “What do you mean by that?”  Don’t just try and tear them apart.  However, if you decide to agrue a point, make your point but don’t make it personal (“that’s a stupid comment” would be a bad thing to say).
3. Realize that people can have dramatically different viewpoints from yours and RESPECT it.   Respect will go a long way…
4. No politics, no religion and no baiting – if you need this explained, well… never-mind!  There are lots of other places to do that.
5. You can share experiences, but if you went to a Sean Hannity rally last night, I don’t want to hear it and neither do most others.  Polorizing comments like that won’t work.
6. This is a Dodger blog, but if you are a Rams, Colts, Dolphins, Lakers, Rockies fan (no Giants) you might want to post about something about your team, and that’s OK!
7. This is a community and I want to see respect and intelligence, not bickering, baiting and arguing.
8. We can disagree without being disagreeable!  Feel free to  argue – just play nice!  And, don’t beat a dead horse!
9. Avoid “sweeping” statements – they seldom are right and work even less.
10. Respect your Dodger Brothers and Sisters – we are family!

If you all play nice, I’ll have Alyssia Milano post here someday!

Last Night’s Game

• I suggested that we might consider Russ Martin at the tip of the lineup – Joe moved him to #2.
• I suggested that Manny move to #4 – Joe did!
• While I’ve got Joe’s attention, is there anything else you want to see?  (KIDDING)
• How clutch is Kemp?
• I thought it was silly to have Martin bunting last night!
• Is Broxton’s toe the problem or is it between the ears?
• We need Kuroda to pitch like that.
• Did you think Tony Abreu would sulk after being sent back down?  Never fear!  In his first game since a two-day stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tony Abreu wasted no time contributing for the Albuquerque Isotopes, mashing a two-out grand slam in the sixth and driving in five to lead the ‘Topes to an 8-6 victory.  WOW!
• I talked to Tony Jackson last night – he’s still unemployed and still roots for the Dodgers.
• Orlando Hudson is out at least one game with a groin strain…

The fastball – scorching hot fastball, right?  Wrong!

Well then, it’s the 12-6 big curve-ball?  Not even close!

Oh, it’s the cutter.   NO!  Slider?  No!  Split-fingered fastball?  Nope!

It must be the knuckle-ball.  No, you knucklehead!  … or that knuckle-curve, or slurve, yeah that’s it, right?   WRONG!

It’s the change-up!  Well, that’s no so sexy! Read the full story

• On Wednesday my brother and I made the trek to Greenville, Ohio to bury another uncle.  This is the third time in about 6 months that we have been there to bury our aunts and uncles – all were over 94 years old.   My bother and I are the last of the Mohicians.
• In February, my right hip started hurting all the time.  Last Friday, I was on crutches.  June 23rd I am having my right hip replaced.  I am in constant pain and I look forward to it, but I am scared to death!  I hate blood. Read the full story

June 7, 2009 – Tony Jackson’s Blog – OK, that guy some of you are so fond of calling Mr. Softee, or whatever, came up big again, his second walkoff hit in less than 24 hours. But Ethier’s heroics aside, don’t overlook Cory Wade. He might have been the real hero of this one. He went six-up, six-downa against the Phillies in the 11th and 12th, all with his characteristic attacking of the strike zone, a trademark of Cory’s since he was in the low minors. Chad Durbin also went six-up, six-down after entering with two outs in the 10th, but Ethier was the seventh batter he faced. Wade never had to face a seventh batter. Read the full story

June 6, 2009 – Tony Jackson’s Blog –  Missed most of the game tonight because I was at the gym — when you’re unemployed, you have time to do things like that — and I caught up with it just as James Loney was drawing that critical, seven-pitch walk in the ninth inning, which I would like to say was the key to that whole rally. But it wasn’t. The key to the whole rally, quite obviously, was the boot by Pedro Feliz, because the game would have ended right there if he had made that play.
   This was exactly the kind of rally I was talking about a couple of nights ago here, when I likened these Dodgers to Joe Torre’s early years with the New York Yankees — although it’s tough to imagine anybody talking about the ghosts of Dodger Stadium, given that most of the guys who starred there back in the day are all still alive. Anyway, there were two outs and nobody on against Brad Lidge, who had sliced through Rafael Furcal and Orlando Hudson like butter, and it appeared that all hope was lost. But a single here, a walk there, an error, and the boys were in business. Read the full story

Game Time – June 5, 2009

He’s 2-0.  That’s pretty perfect isn’t it?

Tonight’s lineup yields no surprises: Read the full story

June 5, 2009 -Tony Jackson’s Blog – The boys got taken to school tonight by Cole Hamels, a complete-game shutout in 97 pitches. Ordinarily, I might say shake it off, it’s a complete-game shutout by Cole Hamels, it happens. But has anyone noticed that on this homestand, the Dodgers have scored runs in four of the 34 innings in which they have batted? They have scored a TOTAL of nine runs in the four games, with five of those coming IN ONE INNING. It’s certainly not panic time, not with an 8 1/2-game lead in the division — the Giants gained a game by virtue of Randy Johnson winning his 300th tonight — but it’s a disturbing trend, to say the least. My buddy Kevin Baxter pointed out in today’s L.A. Times that the Dodgers averaged 5.6 runs a game before Manny got suspended and that they are still averaging 5.3 runs a game without him. But lately, they have really hit the skids. And don’t forget that before they exploded for eight runs in the series finale at Chicago last weekend, they scored a total of three runs in the first three games of that series. They have now been shut out twice in the past six days. Read the full story

Here are their stats:

These are the Top 5 Catchers voted upon by the fans.

You tell me who should be on the team! Read the full story

Will the extra rest help Clayton Kershaw pitch better or make him want to throw every pitch 150 MPH?   We shall find out soon.

Tonight’s Lineup:

1. Pierre, LF
2. Furcal, SS
3. Hudson, 2B
4. Blake, 3B
5. Loney, 1B
6. Martin, C
7. Ethier, RF
8. Kemp, CF
9. Kershaw, P Read the full story

June 4, 2009 – Tony Jackson’s Blog -  Chad Billingsley walked four batters, constantly flirted with danger and threw 111 pitches through six innings. He was good — good enough to get the win, anyway — but it is that tendency to nibble that has plagued him since the day he arrived in the major leagues, and it is that tendency that is still keeping him from joining the truly elite pitchers in the National League, guys like Jake Peavy, Johan Santana, Tim Lincecum, etc. Read the full story

June 3, 2009 – Tony Jackson’s Blog - This is what Torre said in his pregame:

“Hudson’s beat up. We talked after the game, and we decided to take a day or two. He’s just beat up. We’ll take it a day at a time with him.” Read the full story