Lineups/Notes
Martin - C
Ethier - RF
Manny- LF
Kent - 2B
Kemp - RF
Loney - 1B
Nomar - SS
Blake - 3B
Kuroda - P
And a few comments emailed to me via the PR staff.
- Joe Torre felt Kemp- who hasn't scored a run this roadie- needed a change and hoped a leadoff mindset would do Martin good.
- Andruw Jones will rejoin the team on Monday and play OF tonight for the Vegas squad.
- Scott Elbert will first be placed into situations with theoretically high odds for success before entering a tight contest. He'll also be a one inning guy (for now) and won't throw in consecutive contests.
- Injured pitcher updates: Takashi Saito threw 15 pitches off the mound (all good). Jason Schmidt will throw 25 pitches tonight at Vegas. Scott Proctor will throw two innings tonight (and return Monday). Brad Penny threw on flat ground today. He and Schmidt are still projected to come out of pen, if able to contribute. Torre also emphasized that Clayton Kershaw would have went down "even if he threw a two-hit shutout."
Here's to a happy holiday weekend (complete with success in the desert).
AK
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I see the blue taking one game this weekend and then 2 of three back home. In other words just treading water and suckering us in for a few more weeks. The final outcome AZ takes division by 5 over Dodgers.
David
Posted by: DavidS | August 29, 2008 at 06:32 PM
So does that mean Schmidt will throw to one batter?
Posted by: benzojones | August 29, 2008 at 06:46 PM
Success????? HA!
Success will be for Ned Colleti to get fire as we speak.
Success will be for all L.A. Media outlet to come down hard on this organization all at once.
Success will be for all fans to stop buying tickets to go see this terrible product. Specially for tickets for 09 which doesn't look too promising.
The only success will be if the McCourts sell the team to someone that actually knows what they're doing.
Posted by: dcerros | August 29, 2008 at 06:56 PM
I'm praying that I don't have to listen to any gloating from my parents in Phoenix after this weekend. But my confidence in the Dodgers right now is such that I already have earplugs ready.
Posted by: Mitch | August 29, 2008 at 07:10 PM
No one asked me, but...
Kemp 0 for 16-and Juan Pierre sits?
Kemp, for all his vaunted "potential" has very limited baeball instincts (e.g.with runners on 2dn & 3rd and 1 out in the first inning of the AZ game tonight-he works the pitcher for a walk,passing very hittable offerings, resulting in a predictable inning ending double play when Loney grounds out)
If he could be trades for super quality piching it would be a good move.
Looks like the whole lineup is going for the fences every time up- no hitting behind the runners, bunting over, hit and runs, etc. Is Earl Weaver manging this team?
Torre is hugely overrated, losing many games singlehandedley, like the night he had Adroin catching Martin at 3rd and Blake at 1st-and errors fell like rain.
Posted by: dencard | August 29, 2008 at 08:09 PM
My God, I CANNOT stand these D-bag announcers...crying, BOO HOO BOO HOO, about Ethier's wheels beating the pitcher to the bag on his single, then about the CORRECT call by the ump at 3rd on Ethier's steal (his foot did not slide into Reynold's glove, and actually hit the spot where the glove was AFTER the glove lifted up) & then on Kemp's sac fly that "should've been the 3rd out" allowing Ethier to score. D-BAG ANNOUNCERS - SUCK IT!!
Posted by: Brian | August 29, 2008 at 08:20 PM
So Nomar puts us right back into the hole
Posted by: K T | August 29, 2008 at 08:34 PM
The great thing about the Dodgers right now for other TV channels is that it is so easy to counter program any of their baseball games.
My favorite for tonight's game, which I'm sure is pulling a bare minimum of 75% of Dodger fans away from the broadcast, is the three-hour block of "Joanie Loves Chachi."
Posted by: wausroamer | August 29, 2008 at 08:38 PM
I cannot believe we can keep out hitting every team and still lose. Here it is the 5th inning and we have 8 hits to their 4 and we are losing. Are we just a bunch of chokers? i agree with an earlier poster, sit Martin no matter how much he whines about rest and get a back up cather that is worth a cr**! Why ca't Loney hit with runners in scoring position? I think we are done and I am usually optimistic. Fire Flanders, Torre (he of the profesional haircut), Swn, FAJ, Pierre (I mean Nancy arm), and make some major changes. I have been a youth proponent but maybe these are the wrong youth. How frustrating!
Posted by: TimDodger | August 29, 2008 at 08:41 PM
Next year needs to be sans Garciaparra, SWN, Kent, FAJ, Pierre, the back up injured catcher whats his name, the training staff, and play Martin 110 games total! Try to keep Lowe and don't resign Manny. He is just playing for a contract. We need players that have some heart. Get some sticks that can hit a big fly once in a while and hit runners in. I don't have that many issues with Kemp or Eithier, I think we would be in a better position if the Late Joe Torre could have come to his senses (if he still has them) months ago. His lineups sucked for most of the year or we could have run away with this sorry division. Torre is out of touch and needs stars to carry him.
Posted by: TimDodger | August 29, 2008 at 08:48 PM
Wow, Melvin gets tossed. Has a Dodger coach been tossed ever this year? Is there any passion? Am iIposting ad nauseum like Mike T after every pitch? Ok, I'll stop ranting.
Posted by: TimDodger | August 29, 2008 at 08:50 PM
Hey all,
Sorry about the comment delay. Wireless issues.
By the way, so much for Torre saying he wouldn't put Elbert into a high pressure scenario off the bat. I was pretty surprised.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | August 29, 2008 at 08:57 PM
TimDodger,
You comment just reminded me of a hilarious episode early in the year when Larry Bowa was tossed when he argued with an umpire who told Bowa to get back in the coaching box.
Posted by: wausroamer | August 29, 2008 at 09:08 PM
Benzo, what?
Say, it isn't so?
Posted by: dcerros | August 29, 2008 at 09:09 PM
Now you're not going to tell me that Ethier was hustling on that ground out to first. When he saw the 1st baseman was having trouble as he was approaching 1st...he tried to speed up to beat the play. He was going a little faster than a jog half way up the line to 1st.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 29, 2008 at 09:14 PM
TimDodger - Torre was tossed from the game against SF @ LA on 7/28.
Short story long...(He came out to argue after Casey Blake was called out on strikes [after checking his swing] - Blake had apparently made some motion about the 1B ump [while in the dugout], was tossed for it [later admitting he was pissed the 1B ump was looking into the LA dugout in order to toss him...], flew out of the dugout, threw his helmet down, ran down to 1B to argue with the ump & then Torre ran down there to defent Blake [was promptly tossed as well], and continued following the ump down the line and giving it to him good...)
Posted by: Brian | August 29, 2008 at 09:18 PM
dcerros - I think it was the Benzo imposter...that posting was by benzijones...with an " i "
Posted by: Brian | August 29, 2008 at 09:21 PM
Nomar can go home now...2 boots? Call it a night...
Posted by: Brian | August 29, 2008 at 09:34 PM
Rob,
You are correct. That wasn't Benzo. I didn't pay close enough attention once I was able to get back online. I was just trying to clear comments in a hurry.
Seriously, whoever keeps doing this, knock it off. It's extremely childish, not to mention cowardly, since you don't even have the sack to mock me (and others) using your real name. It's also the geekiest activity this side of playing Dungeons and Dragons in your 40's. Get a life.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | August 29, 2008 at 09:38 PM
I'm not posting again after this one, I promise. We should've known we were done for the night when Gibby took over for Melvin in the D-BAG dugout...
Posted by: Brian | August 29, 2008 at 09:39 PM
Lets face it, some of these kids have to go. It's not that they are bad players but "playing together" isn't something that is going to lead the Dodgers to wins.
Kemp, Ethier, Loney and Russell. Keep two and trade two. Keep Manny and get another star in here. Get rid of the over the hill players and build around Manny and the other star. Don't plan for the future! Plan for next season. We keep on planning for the future but here we are 3 years later and this thing isn't working.
Let some of these kids go to other teams to mix with others. That way the pressure won't be on them to deliver the goods.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 29, 2008 at 09:59 PM
Here's a little article about the Angels and Arte Moreno and how the Angels are being run from top to bottom. In contrast to what the Dodgers management is doing. Raising ticket prices with a team that can't even stay above .500.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=3559404&sportCat=mlb
Posted by: dcerros | August 29, 2008 at 10:04 PM
D-Backs 10 hits 9 runs.
D-gers 11 hits 3 runs.
What do we make of that?
But the Dodgers pitching, as of late, has been pretty much terrible. I mean the bullpen.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 29, 2008 at 10:12 PM
Dcerros,
Can you do me a favor and put the link in tiny URL form. We're trying to make that the standard for links posted. It's very easy. Go to tinyurl.com if you have any questions.
Thanks,
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | August 29, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Now this is the 2nd season in a row that Russell Martin has taken a nose dive in the 2nd half of the season.
I feel for the kid because he's so seems to be a mellow guy. But we need to stop trying to act like he's the future of the ballclub.
mike t.
Posted by: Michael C. Teniente | August 29, 2008 at 10:15 PM