Loney got recalled, as announced by Inside the Dodgers

I wonder what the lineup looks like today. I also wonder if Aybar and Baez got to Atlanta in time; that game starts in about 20 min!

2 With Pete Orr starting at 3B for the Braves, I think it's safe to assume Aybar didn't make it in time :)

I guess 11 1/2 hours in between games is kind of pushing it

What seems intriguing about the Loney call-up is that it means that another transaction will have to take place tomorrow, which means either a DFA or a trade probably. Do we finally get the Izturis trade we've been hoping for? Cruz? Ledee? Lofton even? The next couple days should be very interesting.

Hey, is Pete related to Kyle? Pete is from Richmond Hill, ON.

5- that or that Nomar is going to the DL

Nice to see Loney back

Oh man, I haven't watched The Three Stooges in ages, classic stuff.

Prior to today's game, the Dodgers will recall James Loney from Triple-A Las Vegas. Loney was leading the Pacific Coast League with a .372 average, the sixth-highest mark in minor league baseball. While with the 51s, he played nine games in the outfield and 74 at first base. He's basically been getting some playing time at first, left and a little in right field, which is a good thing. With Nomar down for at least a couple more days, this gives us a first baseman/outfielder for now. Betemit will arrive later today and be activated tomorrow, when another move will have to be made to free up a roster spot.

So that's Nomar to the DL, or the dumping of Jose Cruz.

O'Connor is a lefty, so that makes me wonder if Loney still gets the start, as well as whether Repko gets the start in CF.

Glad to see Loney back too - I think it's smart anyway, with Nomar hurting (it doesn't sound like he's going on the DL - they said he'd definitely be back for the game in Cincy on Tuesday) and with Saenz hurting now too, they need 1b help. It could be for a couple of days, or someone else will indeed be going. If they trade Izturis though, doesn't that leave them kind of thin in the 2nd-ss-3rd positions?

About Aybar-Betemit, I pretty much said what I felt about it in last night's thread, but it does appear that the Dodgers were trading Baez to the Braves and the Braves required a utility infielder in return to replace him. I don't think the Dodgers were as down on Aybar as it may appear but they'd obviously soured on him as a starter a little.

I do think when you see Betemit play for LA you will see a better all around player than Aybar.

10 "...and the Braves required... to replace him" obviously refers to Betemit.

I need breakfast.

Wow, I can't believe it - the game is on Fox here in SF today. Not that they usually do well on Fox telecasts, but hope springs eternal.

All I can say is that as I write this, I'd rather Aybar were still in the Dodger organization, for all his flaws, even if he were at AAA, than Izturis.

Amen to that, jon.

Techincally, Loney takes Aybar's spot. Betemit will be held off the active roster until Sunday, at which point another roster opening will have to be made available. Perhaps that will be Izturis? Or someone else whose time as a Dodger has expired?

That's what i brought up at the end of the last thread.
I think izturis will be out the door to activate betemit, then loney sent down when kent returns (unless another position player is dealt with izturis).

What i would like to know is where does betemit fit in our long term plans:
2b?, what about kent/dewitt?
3b?, what about laroche?
ss?, what about furcal? (this is where i'd like betemit)
Maybe 3b the rest of this season, utility next season assuming kent 2b furcal ss laroche 3b, 2b in 2008 since kent will be gone, then ss in 2009 when furcal is gone and dewitt is ready for 2b.

12 I have the same questions, but it's better to have excess talent than having to scrounge for players. I think it would be a waste to keep Betemit as a utility player, a trade seems the most likely possibility, hopefully it doesn't include Laroche unless it nets an impact pitcher.

I figure Betemit and LaRoche will compete for the third base job, with the loser going the Dioner Navarro route. Since that's a decision for 2007, why worry? It's "a good problem to have," goes the cliche.

All good questions, and agree better to have too many options than not enough! And with minor leaguers, no matter how good they appear now, or what their raw talents are, there are no guarantees with any of them. Again, better to have options...

Also interesting to read the comments about the trade on the MLB Trade Rumors blog:
http://tinyurl.com/rlvm8

Betemit is probably a better bet to be used as trade material in the future.

Izzy is a shortstop masquerading in any other position he plays. And while his salary is in line for a defensive plus shortstop, there is no such thing as a defense first third basemen.

I still think Betemit is not here to take the third base job for the long run, but just for this season, with 2nd base being more of his long haul possibility - maybe DeWitt will have to compete with him for that.

Today's lineup

Furcal, SS
Repko, CF
Drew, RF
Saenz, 1B
Ethier, LF
Martin, C
Izturis, 3B
Martinez, 2B
Lowe, P

I look at it this way in the future:

Laroche > betemit at 3b
Kent then dewitt > betemit at 2b
Betemit > furcal at ss, plus you dump furcal's contract.

But right now this season anyone is better than izturis at 3b, therefore this season betemit is an upgrade no matter what.
But this season is over as far as i'm concerned.

If Betemit can play shortstop for LA, he distiguishes himself from Aybar. The fact that they either wouldn't let Aybar play short, or he flat out couldn't, limited his value to the organization, IMO.

I'm hoping we dump Cruz Jr. or Maybe Carrara will be the odd man out (call up Alexander) I really doubt management will let Izzy go to triple-A (they love his glove) like somebody else mentioned maybe Nomar will go on the 15 day D.L. who knows.

Ha! I knew it! So they said to Loney, "Congratulations, you got called up, but there's a lefty on the mound."

Wow, Solomon Torres must still get nightmares from those days with the Giants. From Rotoworld:

Salomon Torres, who been mentioned in trade rumors with the Giants, doesn't want to go back to San Francisco.
"If I could beg, I would beg. Send me where you want, but not to San Francisco," he said. Torres added that he hated his last two years with the Giants, and he also doesn't want to again play for Felipe Alou, who managed him while with the Expos in 1997. "By far, that's the worst time I had in my career," Torres said. "It prompted my (temporary) retirement. He didn't treat me the way I felt he should have been treating me. ... He never went straight to me and told me what was going on, and I resent him for that."

I do kind of wish Aybar was still here, but management didn't like his D. I wish they would have just thrown him out there & see what he had for about 2-4 weeks.

he has nightmares of Piazza.

Statistics count for a lot, but they cannot measure many things. I liked Willy Aybar, but the past 2 Springs in Vero, I watched him closely and he has "hard hands." There's no stat for that, but day-in and day-out he struggles with defense. I think he'll end up in the AL and maybe be a nice DH. He can hit. That I know!

Bout time Loney was callled up. No reason tp keep his hot bat down in the minors.

27

he's only gonna be here for a little bit, unless Nomar will go on the D.L. or something.

I don't know if Betemit will be at his best defensively at SS, either. I think he could be the 2nd base starter candidate for years if Kent doesn't last that much longer, and if DeWitt doesn't work out. (Or one of them will ultimately be trade bait.) I also wouldn't, as tempting as it is, worry too much about what will happen when.... if "when" is 2007 and 8.

21 "I really doubt management will let Izzy go to triple-A (they love his glove)" -
I don't think Izturis can be sent down to AAA unless it's for an injury rehab, no? He's probably well out of options as a veteran.

Definitely will be an interesting couple more days. I just hope it's interesting because the Dodgers win more than anything else.

I seem to get the feeling that there is an apparent lack of love for Loney, even with all that he has done in AAA the past couple of months.

9 I think Jon would prefer that you post a link, rather than a lengthy verbatim copy from another blog. Pull out the one sentence you wanted to focus on, rather than quoting the whole thing. It's also a good idea to attribute the source. Anything under your name is supposed to come from you unless you have a citation for where you got it.

Jered Weaver up 2-1 in Boston in the 2nd. Man it would be nice to have THAT Weaver.

Weaver in some trouble in the 2nd. A double and a walk with one out.

Now first and third with two outs.

I have a feeling Weaver's gonna get a rude awakening his 2nd time through the league. His deceptive delivery can only fool batters for so long.

With Loney being called up, I take this as a sign that either Tomato is hurt enough that he can't play or Izzy is gone. I hope the latter obviously.

One thing that I'm not sure has been mentioned is that by obtaining Betimit we block the Pads from getting him. I think they need a 3b as much as we did.

also, and this is pure speculation on my part, I wonder why izturis isn't mentioned in any possible deals to Toronto. He would be no worse offensively than Adams or McDonald and with GBers like Halladay, AJB, and Janssen, he would be a huge upgrade defensively.

Fox says Beckett has SWAGGER

35 I've heard repeatedly people saying that Izzy would be a good fit in Toronto. But what would the Dodgers get in return?

Oh yeah, and I HATE FOX!!!

After sleeping on it, I still like the trade.

38 Me, too. And I slept for, like, 9 hours last night.

37 Alex Rios of course

2007, if we can trade furcal:
Martin c
Drew rf
Nomar 1b
Ethier lf
Kent 2b
Kemp cf
Laroche 3b
Betemit ss

Bench: Saenz, guzman, loney, repko, backup catcher, a cheap guy

Looks good to me.

Get some pitching with the money comin off the books.

But when you have the reptuation of being a better fielder, people tend to focus on the plays you make and forgive the plays you don't.

Exactly.
This trade would have been better if Izturis was going to Atlanta instead of Aybar. The Dodgers gave up a guy that knows the K zone, for a hacker. Hopefully the hacker is having a legit spike in HRs and can play 2b. If not, all this trade accomplished was taking away the dilemma of offering Baez arbitration.

For all the we-gotta-trade-Furcal talk in today's and last night's threads, it's worth mentioning that he is in the middle of a multi-year contract.

Now somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but if he's traded, doesn't that mean that he can demand a trade from his new club at the end of the season? (Or does he have the right to opt out of his contract?) I imagine that would make him quite untradeable, or at least would give him serious veto power over any deal.

I doubt very much that Furcal gets dealt anywhere.

Another Gameday saturday because of f-----Fox. Sorry about the stutter.
Saying Betemit>Izturis would need a good bit of actual proving.
If we trade Iz, which isn't ness. bad, we don't need to undermine his value with venom. He is among the best D ss's available, should get a good player straight up.
In otherwords, I think it would be the height of stupidity to make a trade that undervalues him, just to save a few people irritation.

37 - I figure Toronto would prefer Lugo who brings more offense. Failing that, they could make a run at Izturis. They really need help defensively at short.

I'd take Jason Frasor back for Izzy. He's probably the best of the big-league ready pitchers they have.

Furcal for Tejada is an odd rumor, considering their salaries are so similar and Furcal is definitely a downgrade for Baltimore. They also already have Brian Roberts, who is every bit the leadoff hitter Furcal is.

I'd be afraid what the add-on's would be in such a trade. Baltimore would certainly want pitching with Furcal, or cash to supplement his salary (making Tejada's reasonable contract not so reasonable anymore).

Having Betemit and Loney in today's lineup would make this game more exciting.

46 Is that an actual rumor? I mentioned it yesterday, but mostly as a joke (with Laroche included as well).

One good trade and I'm hooked! What will Midas do next?

36 And Beckett's having (according to Fox) a "terrific season" - which I guess means you can have a terrific season with an ERA around 5 and give up 26 home runs.

I think Tejada rumors mostly center around the Astros and Angels right now. I wouldn't expect the Dodgers to be in on that action, most likely.

Btw, I wouldn't be averse to a Frasor for Izturis trade. Did we send them Frasor in the Jayson Werth trade or was thath another one?

Weaver just gave up 2 runs in the 5th to tie the score at 3. He walked off the mound very mad at himself, though one of the hits that scored was a cheap bloop. He got out of it decently considering the heart of the Sox lineup was up.

Figgins has 10 outfield putouts in 5 innings, easily on the way to breaking the record of 12.

Is there any way we can trade for this Carlos Beltran character? He's pretty good.

So, Izzy for a middle reliever who turns twenty-nine the week after next? One who was worth Werth, a couple of years ago? Is that buying or selling?

I doubt that the Braves wanted to take on the salary for Izturis. Aybar is at the major league minimum I assume.

If the Dodgers are paying for Baez, I for sure would have wanted a A or AA arm from Atlanta to be added to the deal that could project into the Dodger bullpen in the future.

Count me as one who likes Izzy at shortstop. The really bad move I think Ned made this past offseason was signing Furcal for 13 million. Izzy at 3 would leave at lot more room to pay for what the Dodgers have needed for the past few years: starting pitching.

Stan from Tacoma

Betemit's not a full-how shortstop. No way, no how. No use dreaming on that one.

Keep Izzy and started him at 2B unless you get something solid in return. He's your best 2B this year other than Kent, and Kent's durability is in obvious question. His market value should be greater in the offseason, when more teams are apt to be looking for SSs.
Izzy at 2B improves this pitching staff, which needs all the help it can get.

55-

Full-time SS.

a full-how?

53-

who cares...it gets rid of the guy and gives us 3 mill for next year.

You know, this is one Ned trade I wasn't going to rail...then I read we're paying ALL of Baez's contract. Ugh. There's always some little detail that feels like we're getting backhanded.

44-

Agree, but the mob has spoken.

His market value should be greater in the offseason, when more teams are apt to be looking for SSs.

his market value is never going to go up. Izzy is Izzy...everyone knows what he brings. Might as well cash in and see if someone team is willing to give us ANYTHING back so we have his contract off the books.

full-how

What?

Izzy at 2B improves this pitching staff,

I don't subscribe to that philosophy, that defense helps pitching, and on top of that izturis can't hit the side of a barn.

Sorry for being straight forward but i've been waiting for izturis to get traded for many years, so many years that i can't remember how many years.

I don't subscribe to that philosophy, that defense helps pitching

Tell that to Brandon Webb's ERA since they acquired Orlando Hudson's GG 2nd base glove

I guess that second glove is a little redundant, how about GG-caliber play at 2B instead

his market value is never going to go up. Izzy is Izzy...everyone knows what he brings.

Exactly, i don't buy into veterans increasing their trade value, they are veterans you know what they have done in the past.
Prospects on the otherhand can increase their trade value.

61 I don't think another million bucks or so is gonna kill us

I don't subscribe to that philosophy, that defense helps pitching,

eh.

If you need defense to help you then you might not be a very good pitcher.
Meaning if you need "cesar i'm god on defense izturis" instead of a regular defensive shortstop then you might not be a very good pitcher.

Tell that to Brandon Webb's ERA since they acquired Orlando Hudson's GG 2nd base glove

Are there any numbers you can show us that say Orlando Hudson is responsible for Webb's low ERA?

I don't think another million bucks or so is gonna kill us

Im talking about next year. If we're paying this guy 3 mill next year to be a utility player then something is wrong. Would we be saying we should keep Royce Clayton for 3 mill next year? No...and they're essentially the same player.

Agree, but the mob has spoken.

It's a shame those undesirables aren't as intellectually honest as you and I are, isn't it?

So is Lowe gonna finally win a game?

69 Oops, I meant to reference 59 not 61

There isn't any true evidence that Hudson has helped, but in the fantasy world Webb was a breakout candidate due to the fact that an improved defensive infield would be huge for his extreme groundball tendencies. I'm not saying great infield defense will help all pitchers that much, but it only makes sense that having a fielder who gets to more balls - whether it be better outfielders for a flyball pitcher or better infielders for a sinkerballer - will be beneficial to the starting pitcher.

People are worrying about Izruris' contract when we are virtually paying the whole of Perez's and Baez to make sure they play anywhere but Dodger Stadium.

Re: Brandon Webb

His great year is due to a slashed walk rate mostly (1.57 BB/9, easily the best of his career so far) -- his OAV is .254, right in line with 2005 (.265) and 2004 (.248).

Of course you could make the argument that having O-Dawg behind him gives him more confidence to simply pound the strike zone and let the batter try to hit it...

There isn't any true evidence that Hudson has helped, but in the fantasy world Webb was a breakout candidate due to the fact that an improved defensive infield would be huge for his extreme groundball tendencies.

the problem I have is that it was phrased as if Hudson is responsible for Webb's success. Does he help? Sure. But is it to a degree that's even noticeable? probably not.

Webb's struck out 121 batters this year. Meanwhile he's only walked 28 and only given up 11 HR. That doesn't have much to do with Orlando Hudson.

Are there any numbers you can show us that say Orlando Hudson is responsible for Webb's low ERA?
I don't have the numbers in front of me, but Hudson is an amazing defender. He is God-like with the glove. He is so far ahead of other players defensively at his position that they should just hand him the gold glove if he plays 120 games.

I hope that Loney being called up means that he won't be traded.

Nate can you please kidnap Greg Miller and Delwyn Young? I don't want them being traded for Greg Maddux!

I'm wondering if Ned is still interested in Maddux.

Today's Chad Billingsley's 22nd birthday...unless it's actually in November ;)

People are worrying about Izruris' contract when we are virtually paying the whole of Perez's and Baez to make sure they play anywhere but Dodger Stadium.

how does this somehow justify paying Izturis?

We weren't going to ditch Odalis no matter what without paying for some of his deal.

As far as Baez, I can't believe we're paying it but at least it's only for this year.

Meanwhile, Izturis is on the hook for 3 mill next year. For the life of me I can't see why this guy gets such a pass around here. He's a utility infielder/defensive replacement. That's what he is. Yet everyone seems to think he's so valuable. Trade him, and use that 3 mill towards Zito or Schmidt.

"If we trade Iz, which isn't ness. bad, we don't need to undermine his value with venom."

There are possibly times when the DT commenting community could have an influence on front-office thinking. But the crediblity of commments laced with venom is automatically destroyed, regardless of their merits.

Especially when what is supposed to be logic is laced with unprovable biases of its own. The best/worst example is the idea that good defense doesn't help pitching, e.g. has no effect on runs scored by the opposition. Someone who does baseball for a living immediately moves you to the children's table when you say things like that, and everything good you bring to the discussion will be ignored.

From listening to everyone here, the more accurate statement is: "No statistical model yet exists to reliably quantify the impact of good defense. So we don't know."

The fact that you can't measure it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It means you need a new instrument of measurement.

68 Well the dodgers have a roster full of bad pitchers so he must be right up their alley. Besides, good defense helps all pitchers. No one is going to strike out all 27. It's just hard to determine how much offense to sacrifice for defense at various positions. You can not honestly think that defense does not matter.

79

no disrespect but we're paying a guy 13,000,000.00 & he seems totally cluess to what his job is!. You know the guy that swings for the fences & makes a ton of errors.

I'm pretty sure Furcal will get better Hitting wise, but get use to bone head diffence.

79 Tryin to see your point of view. But while our current mix of vets and expected arrivals make him a utility player, on many teams with moderate payroll he would be a full time SS easily valued at 3mil. His trade value should be treated accordingly. And among the five to ten big payroll teams 3 mil is treated like peanuts.
At least on our payroll.

Lowe seems to be keeping the ball down so far.

80

That's not what i meant.
I think i've made myself clear about what i think of defense many times here, and i don't think defense is irrelevant as you put it.

How on Earth do you think that defense doesn't help pitching?

Better defense = more balls caught = less hits = lower ERA.

Steve "spsycho" Lyons finally cut the mollet.

80 - Yes.

62 - I don't subscribe to that philosophy, that defense helps pitching

Really? So did the Tigers staff's K-rate, did they spend the offseason getting the best shamrocks and rabbit's feet money can buy?

Martin made that close, Lowe is daddy long legs (like Vinnie says)

I was hoping Lopez stealing second meant a walk to Nick Johnson but I guess not.

News flash, Lowe still stinks

80

I'm guilty of being a bad commenter but it's only because I'm very passionate (sp?) I totally see & respect you're point.

93 - it's still July

Tryin to see your point of view. But while our current mix of vets and expected arrivals make him a utility player, on many teams with moderate payroll he would be a full time SS easily valued at 3mil.

we're not many teams with a moderate payroll. There is no place for him now with Betemit here.

His trade value should be treated accordingly.

how much trade value is there for a guy who can't hit? Honestly, I disagree with you because I don't think he'd start on most teams. His trade value lies in simply getting his contract off the books. He has no place here, no need to keep him. Trade him for a mid level prospect.

I mean, how is Izturis any different from JT Snow? Neither can hit, both can field great. Yet JT Snow is a defensive replacement but everyone around here thinks Izturis is the cat's meow. Classic example of fans over-valuing their own players.

Seo's throwing more batting practice today, 2 homers given up in the 1st inning.

well there goes my argument. :o)

Upon hearing his buddy was coming over, Furcal hits one really far in excitement.

Betemit's is still having a presence on the Dodger offense

don't need that "is"

Furcal will not be outdone at the plate by Izturis

thinkblue0, I agree with the points you make about Izturis. I do not however, think people around here give him a free pass or think that he is the cats meow.

coaching visit already?

Furcal is almost back up to his career numbers. Now he just has to start catching the ball.

I mean, how is Izturis any different from JT Snow? Neither can hit, both can field great. Yet JT Snow is a defensive replacement but everyone around here thinks Izturis is the cat's meow. Classic example of fans over-valuing their own players.

I actually don't see you're point here because Izzy plays a premium position were as J.T. plays first base, again I don't see you're point.

Lowe better get it in gear.....EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY!

A surprise positive, in the last week, after rants against Iz or Furc, they have tended to have good offensive games.

Repko's still got the speed

106-

please explain to me how SS is more "premium" than first base.

Wow, he walked Saenz

Happy Birthday Billingsley!

110 Because not many people can play good defense at shortstop, while pretty much anyone can play good defense at first. That's why there's not nearly as many good hitting shortstops. Very few people can play the position.

107 It seems that as soon as you decided you don't take baseball as seriously as you used to, you started hanging out with us a lot more. What does that say about us?

I thought Ethier got all of that. Thanks for tricking me Andre.

110 Are you serious?

106

well if Furcal could aim the ball better Nomar wouldn't have to save him have the time, I don't consider 1st & SS the same type postion sorry.

Booyah Martin!

Izzy is a fine player to have if you surround him with a bunch of hitters. We got Furcal who is a better all around player so we really do not need Izturis. Izturis should be playing SS, that is where his value is. Izturis is valuable so we should get a second tier prospect for him.

my boy Martin!!! woo!!!!!!

It's so fun to see offense again

Okay, Martin didn't trick me. Thanks Russ!

and thank you Dodgers for playing firestorm...(ugh)

yes run scoring play!

Why was Soriano playing so deep with Izturis up?

wait what was that song called? Sandfire? Firesand? Stormriders? I forgot.

124 Because he's about to be traded.

Because not many people can play good defense at shortstop, while pretty much anyone can play good defense at first.

I don't buy that you can just throw anyone at first base.

I still haven't seen one person successfully justify keeping Izturis.

There's no place for him on this team
He's a utility infielders making 3 mill
He can't hit water if he jumped out of a boat.

If you guys are dying to have someone that can't hit but is great defensively then we might as well just bring up Hu...at least he only costs the league minimum.

My word, the thought of Russ behind the dish for the next six years makes me happy. Very happy.

Booyah Martin!

BOOYAH indeed.

You said it.

well if Furcal could aim the ball better Nomar wouldn't have to save him have the time, I don't consider 1st & SS the same type postion sorry.

Wow. You might pull a hamstring from stretching your side of the argument.

127 With Furcal, there is no reason to keep him on the team.

Okay, you can't throw anyone at first, but you could put anyone who's even decent at any other position, and they'd be a good first baseman. Why do you think teams stash their immobile power hitters there? It minimizes the damage they can do.

115 Ethier does that to me more than any other Dodger. In that series in St. Louis I thought he had homered 3 different times.

Why was Soriano playing so deep with Izturis up?

Izzy has major pop (did you see he's blast yesterday)

127 Who advocated keeping Izturis? It seems like you're having an argument with yourself.

Most people just don't want to give Izturis away because there's at least some market for him. Toronto would be a great fit because they already have a good enough offense that putting Izzy in the 9-hole wouldn't kill them.

Betemit might not be in LA, but his spirit is. It's lighting a fire under the Dodgers offense. I hope Fookie doesn't party too hard when Betemit arrives in LA tonight.

Martin Booyah indeed! I heard it here several minutes before Gameday.

Betemit, Martin, Ethier, ALL UNDER 25 and OPSing over 800. Good deal.

Lowe is still keeping the ball up.

124 - because he can run fast and he's better at going forward than backward?

I smell a slugfest

Martinez is a horrible defender. At the very least, that ball shouldn't have gotten out of the infield.

Apparently some people around here are not aware of a stat that Izturis leads the Majors in, RGI.

Runs Gloved In. :)

140 - I can smell that all the way over here in Richmond

Betemit, Martin, Ethier, ALL UNDER 25 and OPSing over 800. Good deal.

I thought Betemit was 26?

Runs Gloved In.

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love it.

Lowe's striking people out

Lowe doesn't seem to be hunching his back as much as he usually does. Am I seeing things or could this be a flaw in his delivery?

Did we decide how old Betemit is? Vin said he turned 25 (not 26 or 24) yesterday, just to "compund the fracture" :)

Lowe better get the ball down, or Soriano's gonna hit one nine miles.

Lowe just wants to keep the game competitive

I wish Lowe thought it was aug.

I guess Repko threw to 2nd?

While some people in baseball do consider defense important I don't think we can afford it. We need an offense that can go out every inning and get more runs than the pitching gave up.

ok, any out will do Derek.

Who is the Dodgers' lond reliever right now? Carrara?

look at those pitch counts:

Lowe - 51 through 2
O'Connor - 27 through 1

Lowe just wants to keep the game competitive

I went to his game about 3 weeks ago, & he really wasn't on his game.

155 Nevermind, it's gotta be Dessens.

Honestly, hold runners on or get out of the game. ridiculous.

Great effort Lowe! Keep up the good work!

While some people in baseball do consider defense important I don't think we can afford it. We need an offense that can go out every inning and get more runs than the pitching gave up.

That's my whole argument.

And how much more important is izturis god like defense with no hitting over a player with good or average defense with way better hitting ?

Why do we sign .500 pitchers for 4 years at 10 million per? (Lowe)

when can get .500 pitchers for 2 years at 4.5 million per? (Tomko)

Normally, if you told me that Lowe would have 5 Ks in the first two innings, I'd be ecstatic. Hmm.

We need an offense that can go out every inning and get more runs than the pitching gave up.

I like it.

Hey, if he just keeps them from hitting the ball, he can just strike everyone out

Grady will keep Lowe in too long this game because he is a "players manager". As bad as the dodgers have been I wouldn't let him squander this game. I want to see the bullpen next inning.

161- defense is important, but you have to hit a little bit. Orlando Hudson is a decent hitter and a great defender. Any team in the majors can use a player like him.

Derek Lowe is utterly worthless.

Ladies and gentlemen, we're coming up with an entirely new and innovative kind of suckatude.

Derek Lowe is So one dementional.

Someone get Lowe his adderall.

161 I wasn't being quite that literal.
I'm not sure we have someone with average defense who is a WAY better hitter.
But I don't really disagree with you that much.

Lowe's brain is not functioning properly.

166 - seriously? I wouldn't go that far.

I'd at least wait to see if he can settle down in the third.

That wasn't a very good bunt

What the heck was Lowe supposed to do there? He hits ball, he starts running. He sees Johnson catch the ball, he hit the breaks. As hard as Steve Lyons may hope, momentum and inertia do exist.

We should be blaming Martinez for not running on that play.

the people over at bravesjournal.com are blind if they think Baez will lead them to the promise land.

Can't Lowe do anything right.

Keep in mind just LAST year he had 41 saves for tampa bay!!! His ERA was below 3. It's not as if this guy has been declining for years now. Between him and Wickman we have over 80 saves last year. Suddenly is our bullpen a strenght???

lol.

That guy is sitting in the front row and he is on the phone all game, someone take his tickets!!

161 Luckily we have a choice right in front of us -- Izzy v. Furcal, Izzy v. Betamit, Izzy v. Kent, and apparently Izzy loses all three, goes to the bench when all three are healthy, and probably is going to be traded (at least it would seem logical to do so.) So what are you complaining about? That Izzy was considered more valuable than Aybar? Aybar wasn't good or average on defense, he was below average. And he was a good, but certainly not a great hitter. As someone else said last night I think, Aybar is a man without a position: Defensively too inept to start, but without enough power to be a DH. He's ultimately a pinch hitter. Unless someone teaches him to defend better. I think the Dodgers thought he'd reached his limit.

At least our offense has waken up but Lowe seems to be still sleep walking.

Lyons said that they needed to sign Furcal to attract other players.

Stop. Just stop. Stop thinking that, stop saying that, stop believing that. Players go to the team that offers them the most money over the most years. Union rules.

Did he really bunt into a double play. That must have been ugly!

176 When your bullpen is as bad as theirs, even someone mediocre like Baez will give you hope

What the heck was Lowe supposed to do there?

bunt better (did you see that week bunt attempt)

184

there is a fine line between hope and fantasyland.

Repko got under that one?

keep on leaving the ball up Lowe!! (not)

185 Okay, but that's not what people were complaining about. It was that he didn't come to an immediate stop.

I'm not seeing why Lowe is taking the blame when that would have been a fine bunt if Ramon Martinez wouldn't have stopped running.

Well, if the trends hold, Lowe will allow two runs and strike out four this inning.

Fookie's OPS now stands at .732. He's been one of our better hitters since the break.

Seo got run support, now 6-2 TB. And Navarro has let the yanks run on him twice

was that an afflac question?

Okay, but that's not what people were complaining about. It was that he didn't come to an immediate stop.

yeah that was another thing. your right.

oh, goodie

Tuesday August 1

Odalis Perez vs Mark Buehrle

Odalis' first start as a Royal

180-

Aybar's peripherals showed him to be a better hitter than izturis. Also, his "ineptness" on defense was overhyped. There is no reason Izturis should play ahead of him.

Izturis's bat is not worth having in the lineup just for one or two nice plays every three games or so.

Note to D's coaches. O'conner could be in pitch count trouble with a bit of help.

Lowe shares the team lead in sacrifice hits with 6. He tied for the team lead last year with 9. What bothers me is that he seems to have a hard time keeping his head in the game.

Hilarity ensues.

Derek Lowe isn't being very efficient

Will he get through 5 innings on less than 120 pitches?

this is the arguement for defense at first

189- it's all of Lowe's mistakes combined that has caused the frustration. He just forgot to cover the bag. I don't like how he isn't paying attention to the runners and isn't really using a slide step.

Way to cover the bag Odalis!!!

The man was trying to not get killed by a bat. What the hell do you want him to do?

I guess he thought "Nomar could run that down," then remembered, oh wait, this is Olmedo

is that the 100th stolen base today?

Lowe is showing a total lack of respect to his catcher by not making much of an effort to hold runners.

180- Aybar's defense was probably below average at 2B and 3B, but it probably wasn't worse than replacement level. Lots of major league baseball players are worse than average--that doesn't disqualify them from being useful. Aybar was without a position for the same reason Betemit was, and for the same reason Betemit will probably be, again, next year.

is he meditating or something on the mound? The Nats are running on him and Martin like Kenny Lofton 10 years ago would on Kenny Lofton now

I take it back, leave him in there. This is hilarius!

Honestly, Martin can only do so much. Lowe needs to do his part. All of this ADD stuff cannot be an excuse anymore.

Billingsley:BB::Lowe:SB

"Derek, give me the ball. After your performance today we just traded you to KC for Odalis Perez."

"What!"

"Just kidding. But give me the ball. You're pretty crappy out there today."

Poor Grady getting fired for directly disobeying an order from his boss.

Well, I never knew 7 strikeouts in 3 innings could look so bad

Lowe is showing a total lack of respect to his catcher by not making much of an effort to hold runners.

IMO, he just dons't hold runners well. he's like 6'5.

If a pitcher pitched like this often, WHIP would be a much more useful stat than K/9.

nice range by Zimmerman.

216- how do you pronounce "dons't"?

Drew was safe there, right?

This is hilarious, keep hitting Saenz.

Saenz has a couple of strawberry's

Man, they really mean it when they say Olmedo's filling in for Nomar

Is Loney here yet? Ouchie for Saenz.

223 Nice.

Did they send Olmedo or something?

226 O'Connor threw what looked like an Eephus pitch and Ethier put an amazingly weak swing on it. They could barely get Ethier.

oh, ok

Furcal has officially jumped over lofton in ops.
Furcal 732 ops
Lofton 726 ops

So now our starting catcher (martin) and our starting ss (furcal) are both opsing higher than our starting cf (lofton) and our starting 3b (izturis).
That right there shows how bad lofton and izturis are.
There is no reason that your ss and catcher should be opsing higher than your cf and 3b.

218 I can't remember seeing Drew ground out to third before. I guess that's LHP.

According to new dodgers.com article, we are scouting Zito tonight. Uggh, well I guess if we lose our prospects I would prefer to lose them to the A's.

Especially when your starting CF is a defensive liability

And Izzy fails again.

I swear, you really have to feel for the situation Ned was brought into. All the nonsense contracts he inherited.....Izzy, Odalis, Drew, Lowe, Gagne. How can you win with that?

And don't forget Kim Ng plays GM for a week and lands us Jose Cruz. Thank God we're stuck with Cruz for only this season.

well my guess is if we get Zito we sign him too. But is it really that important not to lose a draft pick?

The Angels play the shift against Ortiz and lose on what could have been a 6-4-3 double play because no one is playing in the SS hole.

I see that shift against Bonds and Ortiz but with runners on base, is it a wise move?

233 - give Ng some credit. It was her idea to bring Kemp to the show

No way Zito signs an extension with any team he gets traded to with Boras as his agent.

Zito just hired Boras, which means he's going to test the market. No extension.

If Burnett got 5/55 mil, Zito's getting 5/75 mil. I don't care if we trade for him, but that's what he's going to get on the market. Be prepared for that.

So, try to soak one more inning out of D-Lowe, maybe 2 if for some reason he sends runners down on under 10 pitches? Also a good excuse to double switch in Loney

236. Kemp got some experience, but overall he realy didn't help too much in the win department. That being said, I'd still like to see him recalled and get the majority of starts in center.

[233] What good is a GM if he can't work within difficult situations? If only Ned had a golden touch :P

I never realy got the concept of scouting established big leaguers. Can we really learn something else about Zito from one game that no one noticed for six years?

If Zito wants 5/75 he better not be wearing Dodger blue next season. Get Schmidt and maybe Buehrle/Lilly.

243

Buehrle? right.

I swear, you really have to feel for the situation Ned was brought into. All the nonsense contracts he inherited.....Izzy, Odalis, Drew, Lowe, Gagne. How can you win with that?

I agree, depodesta should have traded izturis.
You gotta look at the big picture with odalis perez, and why depodesta signed him.
Drew?, what's the complaint here?
Lowe?, again what's the complaint here?
Gagne, well, that one is complicated and i don't want to get into it.

And by the way depodesta had way more "nonsense contracts" to deal with.
So do you or did you "feel for the situation depodesta was brought into"?

Great at bat by Fookie. I don't understand why people are still complaining about him. He's settled down on defense and is proving to be a solid offensive player.

Can we just ban the word "DePodesta" and all variations of said word?

That time he didn't pull it enough

If Ned trades: Kemp, Martin Either, any top pitching prospect He's dead to me.

ps sorry if i left somebody out.

Think back to that pitching market and Odalis. He was slotted, at the time, for pretty much what he got. It was a weird market for pitching that year. His suckatude could not be predicted, and wasn't, by anybody.

Then why can't others do the same in regards to Danys Baez or Kenny Lofton?

>

>>

Randy Johnson got a kick in the pants from the Devil Rays. Jae Seo now has a 10-4 lead

Kershaw today..

5IP 2H 1ER 3bb 10k 1.29era

I think this should have been his last start in the GCL.

103 pitches. Do you bring in Lowe for the 6th?

For those who like the Betemit deal, looks like we made it just in time... Chipper went on the DL today; tinyurl.com/ky54f

At least I don't have to worry about Kershaw being traded.

So where does Kershaw go next? Anybody?

255 Awesome.

Honestly, why can't the cardinals beat the cubs? It's pathetic. The cubs are up again today.

Kershaw is going to push the Dodger timetable unlike any other. It's going to be very interesting seeing what happens.

I bring Lowe out for the 6th. And Derek, I'm sorry for bad mouthing you. I've been a bad boy lately.

Look a fun new blog:

http://tinyurl.com/k6km9

So where does Kershaw go next? Anybody?

Probably Odgen and hopefully Vero Beach next year just like Billingsley.

nice one for Clayton. Only bad point was the 3 WP

Sam DC is being shy today?

258 - yep, because you're not allowed to trade people you draft unless you've had them for at least a year

Do 252 and 253 mean something?

How many runs has Izturis drove in with his glove today?

What is wrong with Soriano batting 1st? Shut up announcers.

Dang nabbit. I was hoping he'd go to Columbus so I could see him in person.

Anyone know who the biggest studs are at Columbus?

255 Do you think a jump to Columbus is too big, only because there are so many starters in Ogden right now?

268 They make about as much sense as his other posts today.

249 I know its controversial. But I would include Loney, Laroche and possibly even Guzman.

How many runs has Izturis drove in with his glove today?

LOL!!!!!!

I love it.

do you guys hear that? Its ANDRES MADRES with all the background cheering.

Do you think a jump to Columbus is too big, only because there are so many starters in Ogden right now?

Actually, I wouldn't mind that at all. It would be a nice challenge for him.

272
Morris, Wall, Castillo and Johnson. I would think one of these guys would have to get promoted if Kershaw came here.

270 - Well, depends. He hits a lot of home runs in the first innning. If you think he would do the same thing batting third, and that the Nationals could get a man on in the 1-2 spots, then you'd probably think he'd be more productive if he hit more home runs with men on.

He's a good speedster, and the Nats don't really have a better leadoff guy, though. Frank Robinson said he wasn't as productive in other spots of the lineup (go figure), so they have him at leadoff.

From a fantasy point of view, leadoff is awesome because he can deliver homers and steals, and still quite a few RBI

269 I've got him at 7 RGI.

268. Yes. How in the name of Sam Hill do you get the lettering bold?

275. Are you talking to yourself? LOL...

274 I would trade Guzman in a heart beat. I just don't see what everybody else appears to see. If Guzman could net us a solid piece, that deal would be done.

ha! 3.5 thru the 3.5 hole

I feel like I've seen that a few times

Golden boy!

Russell Martin is a golden god!

so Backstop Bacon is up over .300 again.

281 you bold by putting asterisks around the phrase you want. *

I know Ethier hasn't batted much against lefties but he's been very impressive when he has. A good sign I think.

What was said about Martin's AB earlier, once again: "Boo-yah."

I just looove the Nationals bullpen so far this series.

BOOYAH MARTIN!!!!!!!!!!

I'll suggest a defensive metric called VOSD - Value Over Saenz's Defense

273 - This comment would be an example, though not the only one today, of one that violates the code of conduct here.

Honestly, the tone in here gets so nasty with all the bickering, it's amazing to me that anyone ever thinks there's a unanimous viewpoint here.

How can I get people to stop taking shots at each other? Really. Help me out.

If the Dodgers could just play these last place teams more often....

test

Good, right-hander. So if Izzy pulls it, he won't pull it to Sori (that guy has an arm), so sac fly opp here

Anyone elese having trouble accessing the online radio broadcast? For the past few days, nada, for radio or TV.

Ethier for ROY, Martin for MVP!

Thom Brennemann is such a bad announcer

heh. Hitting Izturis is about a dumb as it gets.

Wow, Cesar crowds the plate. Gameday showed that pitch was barely inside.

Bat Loney for Lowe!!

How can I get people to stop taking shots at each other? Really. Help me out.

Impose martial law on Dodgerthoughts!

292 Rule with an iron fist

It clearly hit the knob of the bat and not his hand. Izzy chokes up.

292 - Second that.

Nate, check out Chad's numbers in Ogden and compare them to Kershaw's, maybe Clayton could go straight to Vero Beach

292 I could just stop making rude and bitter comments. That would help. That would really help (just testing bold).

In play, run scoring play is always good

Martinez is worthless as a starter

305

Pioneer League is completely different from GCL. Better hitters park, older, more advanced hitters. So its hard to really compare them with each other straight up.

307 - maybe not in this case.

296. I refuse to listen to the Dodgers feed. Steiner has made me mad so often. He gets me all excited when a Dodger flies out to left. Steiner's original reaction is like its 20 rows deep. That steams me. It really does. Gets me all excited over a freakin' out.

269 1.67
I think Kershaw should get a taste of Columbus. Or stay where he is. How ridiculous is a move to Ogden. Do you realize how far out that is, and how similiar to the GCL.

Jon - group moderation usually works on boards - and i