The Dodgers Are Undefeated On Days When Hollywood's On Fire
And with that said, we hope everyone and their loved ones got through yesterday's nasty inferno unscathed. But for whatever it's worth, the Dodgers were just as hot while facing their crosstown rivals, putting a 13-4 beat down on the Artists formerly known as the Anaheim Angels. From the moment Juan Pierre bunted a single (eventually converted into a run) to start the game, things were clicking for at a Blue-friendly rate, especially that homer from Wilson Betemit before the frame's finish. Matt Kemp and Russell Martin went yard, complimenting the trio of hits from Pierre and Mia Hamm's baby daddy (and congrats to the family, by the way). Even Jason Schmidt's low velocity rate didn't cause a hiccup, with the righty allowing just one earned run in four innings. The trio of Rudy Seanez, Jonathon Broxton, and Takashi Saito added only blanks to the box score. One hopes the Dodgers can keep this up, since they now lead the league in ticket price jacks.
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So like I said Juan Pierre lol.
Posted by: Faith | March 31, 2007 at 03:40 PM
Matt Kemp was placed on the 25 man roster. Bigbie will opt out or go to AAA.
Posted by: mikeworozbyt | March 31, 2007 at 10:00 PM
i think the clark deal on its own was not bad in terms of value received for dessens, but in the context of the dodgers overall situation, not a great move in my opinion.
loney hit .384 in the minors, then played well last year, then hit .400 plus in spring training and now they're sending him down? doesn't make sense. bigbie lit it up and in my opinion has more upside and pop than clark and they let him go? that doesn't make sense to me either.
i think the best thing to do would be to put loney at first and then move nomar from third to short to first to the outfield as needed and also rest him up for the stretch run.
that said, the dodgers must believe that kemp's learned how to hit the breaking ball if they're going with him early. he has had pop in the spring and can get hot quick.
Posted by: luke | April 01, 2007 at 06:52 AM
From the moment the Dodgers decided to re-sign Nomar they should have locked Loney up in some minor league outfield to practice 24/7. All he is now is an insurance policy...like some backup NFL quarterback. I don't see the upside of the situation we find ourselves in. We have this jewel in Loney and the only way he's going to be given his opportunity is if an absolutely essential Nomar goes down. I'd be shocked if the Dodgers risked tempting the injury gods by asking Nomar to go to 3rd. I guess it's the sunbaked outfield of Las Vegas for Loney for now.
Posted by: Michael | April 01, 2007 at 09:51 AM
I would like to have seen them send Kemp down and keep Bigbie for now. Loney should have started working on his outfield skills on his own as soon as he heard that Nomar was resigned. Take some initiative. Probably figures his chances are good Nomar won't last long without getting injured. Should be a great year if we stay healthy.
Posted by: Jim | April 01, 2007 at 10:34 AM
What it all boils down to is James Loney is ready for the Dodgers, but unfortunately the Dodger roster is not yet set up for him.
Everything is going to work out though. James and all of us fans need to be patient. Loney is only 23 after all! In fact, I think Loney will become a permanent fixture on the roster by summer. He is too good to keep down on the farm.
All it is going to take is an inevitable trip to the DL by Nomah or another infielder during the course of the season and he will be back.
Len
Posted by: Len Penzo | April 01, 2007 at 11:21 AM
Yeah, I knew it was inevitable, but I'm incredibly upset that Loney has been optioned to AAA. Last night was the only ST game I was able to watch on TV, and there was nothing about Loney's performance or demeanor to suggest that he 'needs more at bats'. He's a slick defender, a heads-up player, does all the little things, and has the sweetest line drive swing.
Between 2006 Spring Training, the Majors, AAA, back to the Majors and Spring Training again, Loney has not missed a single beat. The kookiest part of the whole situation is that Larry Bigbie didn't make the cut, so the last minute acquisition Brady Clark is the one that ends up taking Loney's place. I just hope Matt Kemp matured enough defensively from the horrible fielding that he displayed last season, because Loney learning the OF on the fly is a much greater asset than a mediocre fielding Kemp with holes in his swing.
Posted by: Makoto Ueno | April 01, 2007 at 11:32 AM
Yeah, if Coletti had been GM in the 70's, Garvey and Cey would have been sent back to learn to play the outfield! and never made the Dodgers!!!....Kim Ng should have been our GM...McCourt chickened out....I've been a Dodger fan since 1955, seen them all live, Jackie , you name it, Sandy, when he was still a Bonus Baby...hard to root for 'mercenaries' like Nomar, Gonzalez, Pierre (can anybody root for this guy?)....these guys are NOT Dodgers! Just think, if Navarro had not been injured, Martin would have been at Vegas learning to pitch!!!
BOOO!!!!!!
Posted by: DODGER 1955 | April 01, 2007 at 03:32 PM
DODGER 1955:
So a fan since '55...must have been the original fair weather fan then huh? Not a fan until they won a World Series? hehehehehe...
Hard to believe you thought that Navarro was a good team guy? Or that Nomar is a mercenary? even Kent...both could have left for higher paying paychecks...they stayed because of what Colletti has built...a TEAM of guys who are pulling for each other. And those who don't get that are gone or sent down to learn what it takes to make the team. Colletti and Little seem determined to build not only a winner but also guys who want to be Dodgers.
Or are you just still bitter over the move to LA? :p TEASING...
Posted by: grumpy3b | April 02, 2007 at 11:49 AM