Happy Fourth of July!
And to say thanks to all of our loyal readers, I'm providing everyone's barbecues with a 10-7 win over the Giants, one that featured an Andre Ethier home run (this third contest running with a long ball) and Nomar Garciaparra and Andruw Jones back in the lineup. Don't ever excuse us over at Blue Notes of not trying to give back when we can.
Enjoy the holidays, people. More to come tomorrow.
AK
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Now that Andre is hitting again does that mean he'll be benched in favor of someone who isn't....
I knew FAJ should have spent more time in the land of Benzo...He looked just like the hitter of old, bad mechanics and all
Posted by: K T | July 04, 2008 at 07:14 PM
I don't have a whole lot of faith in Nomah as any sort of long term solution at SS - I'll be surprised if he gets out of San Francisco unscathed. But, it sure was nice to see some production out of the SS position today. I hope Mia gives him plenty of TLC and helps keep him in one piece because we can sure use his bat right now.
Posted by: TJ2 | July 04, 2008 at 07:33 PM
Remember, Ethier's job is safe only until the "immortal" Juan Pierre comes off the DL. If we had an outfield of Clemente, Mays, and Aaron, one of them would have to sit because, after all, we need Pierre's "speed" at the top of the lineup. Who cares if his OBP is downright embarrassing...he has "speed". Oh, and he also has the endowment-like contract bestowed upon him by the poorest excuse for a GM in the big leagues.
Posted by: twerp1 | July 04, 2008 at 09:15 PM
What is the dodger record with FAJ in the lineup?
Is it better than Furcals?
Me thinks it might be...
Posted by: Benzojones | July 04, 2008 at 10:06 PM
Great Start for Nomar. sos for Jones. If Ethier comes out of the lineup for Jones, the GM should be fired because Torre wouldn't do it without being ordered to.
Posted by: Jack | July 04, 2008 at 10:21 PM
Andruuw is back.
Be still, my heart--be still, my ulcer.
Posted by: QueenBee | July 04, 2008 at 10:38 PM
Jones will probably never say the right thing.
Who in their right mind mind says "I feel good at the plate" after going 0-5 with 4 strikeouts?
And he is in complete denial saying "They just made tough pitches".
Didn't he face the same SF pitchers the other Dodgers scored 10 runs on?
I wish we had the old Andruw here but this may go down as the worst Dodgers FA signings of all time. At least Schmidt is not holding back a more productive player in that situation.
Torre can't still possibly believe that, as AJ goes the Dodgers go, can he? That a better hitter will sit while Jones' average continues to plummet?
Then denial would be spreading like a virus...
Posted by: Andy B | July 04, 2008 at 11:58 PM
You've got to hand it to Andruw Jones. Despite missing several weeks injured he returned today as if he'd never missed a day bt striking out his first 4 at bats. Of course Kemp got 3 for the 2nd time in 3 games including once with runners on 2nd and 3rd when all he had to do was put the ball in play to drive in a run. If I got a good offer for Kemp he'd be gone before the end of the month. The peaks aren't worth all the valleys. Did you catch the comment in the Times a few days ago that DeWitt gets it after being told once while MK might take 5 times.
Posted by: uclart47 | July 05, 2008 at 12:22 AM
KTN
I don't think that knee caused all that weight, either. If he doesn't get going in a few days, he should be benched.
Package
Posted by: Package | July 05, 2008 at 05:13 AM
KT,
give FAJ time........the blue win more games with him in the line-up anyway
Posted by: espie | July 05, 2008 at 05:53 AM
I agree with KT. Knowing how Torre works, Ethier is "struggling against lefties and is'nt getting good at bats" and we need to continue FAJs rehab so lets sit Andre more. Now the truth comes out, SWN is hurt so that is why he is so crappy. How come Conte could not figure it out? Cut your losses and dump them. I am more comfortable with Maza as the pinch hitter. Nice to see Nomar have a good start.
Posted by: TimDodger | July 05, 2008 at 06:26 AM
Well just read the dodgers are looking for a shortstop in the next three weeks and are willing to give up young players ( probably La roach ) and bar fly Lowe.
Posted by: pk-in-the-mesa | July 05, 2008 at 07:17 AM
With Furcal done for the year Ned needs to deal young talent for a veteran shortstop. Even more critical with Pierre and the Sween out this team is too young. And unless Ned figures out how to keep Sweeney, Kent & Nomar from retiring this team faces the grim prospect of being young for a long time. Luckily the answer is right across the diamond. If the old fox acts fast he can package up Laroche, Ethier and Dewitt and rip off his old boss for Durham Aurelia and Vizquel...SCORE!!. Instant experience on the whole infield. And Durham can spell Kent or replace Loney outright! Doe anyone smell aworld series?
Posted by: not an LA Times writer..really | July 05, 2008 at 07:26 AM
When will the nightmare of Andruw Jones end? He returns and is batting 5th.....and strikes out four times.....a batting average rapidly approaching .150.....but the smirk never leaves. Sigh!
Posted by: bob | July 05, 2008 at 08:14 AM
Please keep the ball out of Bubba Broxton's hands with anything less than a 10-run lead. It was a miracle he didn't blow another one on Friday.
Posted by: Rufus Leaking | July 05, 2008 at 10:06 AM
I'm becoming more and more convinced with each day that Juan Pierre really was the problem. I know I've recited chapter and verse on this site about how his terrible OBP and lack of power was hurting the Dodgers, but we're seeing it inaction now that he's gone. The team is scoring runs when he's not at the top of the lineup.
It's not like Andruw Jones or Jason Repko were putting up muscle numbers in his absence--combined, they've struck out more than a dozen times in the past week alone.
But what we are seeing for the first time in a long time is a resurgent Andre Ethier, playing every day with confidence, knowing that he's the starting right fielder for the rest of the season. And all he has done is respond with doubles and homers, two things the offense sorely has missed.
Finally, finally, finally can we get Pierre to be the fourth outfielder, and not in the leadoff spot even if Furcal doesn't come back? How much evidence do you need before you come to the correct conclusion?
Go ANDRE!!!!!!
Posted by: SaMo | July 05, 2008 at 10:33 AM
Tony Abreu has a right to be annoyed. He gets hurt, but the Dodggers wait until he goes to AAA to put him on the DL, so that he doesn't collect his major league salary of $350,000--he gets a much lower minor league salary.
But when Sweeney, who hits .098, is all set for a DFA, the Dodgers instead put him on the DL, where he collects a fat paycheck for doing pretty much exactly what he did while he was on the bench--save for the six hits he got all season.
Give the kid a break, Flanders. He's been much more of a contributor to the Dodgers than Sweeney ever will. IN 14 more days, you're going to release Weeney anyway--why pay him to be on the DL clogging up a roster spot all year?
The cheapness of this franchise is discouraging when they go out and lavish money on washed up losers like Wy and Loza.
Posted by: SaMo | July 05, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Unbelievable! After all the injuries and sub-par performances, the Dodgers are on the doorstep of first place. Go Blue! If I could change one thing, it would be for Dodger fans to quit criticizing Andruw Jones and Ned Colletti. It doesn't appear that Andruw is being helped by the booing, so try something different, like actually rooting for him. And I think Ned has shown a wise and steady hand in staying with the young players when it would have been easy to trade them and the team's future away for a few short-term fixes. For the most part, the young players are validating Ned's patience. Finally, I wish everyone would quit trying to drive a wedge between the young players and the veterans. Let's just get out there and enjoy Dodger baseball!
Posted by: yadthink | July 05, 2008 at 11:49 AM
before we trade our youth away for a 'veteran' shortstop, why don't we bring up and take a look at IVAN DE JESUS in jacksonville. he stats so far are encouraging:
.304 AVG
.417 OBP
11 SB
what pops out is that OBP. he's got a good eye 54 BB to 49 SO. i say we take a look at what we have before colletti makes another one of his 'brilliant' GM moves.
Posted by: 88 | July 05, 2008 at 12:04 PM
not an LA times writer... really
What are you smokin' dude?
Posted by: dodgerdog | July 05, 2008 at 02:49 PM