Next year can't get here fast enough.

I'm not gonna hold anything back on Grady, Ned, Frank or Jamie. Lookout KFWB.

I'll identify myself as Frank from Placentia,
and I hope the rest of you Dodger fans do the same.

I'm thinking of calling in also.

Yes, Harvey, this is Bluebleeder...

shout out, DT, bro!

Plus, Marnie's on cable. This movie always creeps me out.

clap clap clap clap clap

Kevin Kennedy, post-game.

I admit, I thought I might have liked Kent in both games of the doubleheader - was he really that tired?

And wasn't that the thinking that had Grady sticking with Pedro?

And wasn't Gonzalez signed to be the bridge to Kemp? Well, Kemp has arrived.

And didn't a young lineup, other than Helton who is now 34 (!), just beat the Dodgers three straight and pass them in the standings??

And have I abused conjunctions enough?

and everyone is quoting statistics and comparisons of other teams, etc etc...telling me I know nothing of what I speak...we are 2nd best in this category, 3rd best in that category...

and yet our relievers are now overworked, tired, and at crunch time are now unable to close the deal...

no matter how great the stats, no matter how great the whip or era or whatever you want to rest your opinions on...our starters only go 5 or 6 innings a game...

you can't win if you need your relievers to pitch every single game, they just can't go 162 days in a row...

This guy is a big part of our future, and Grady is killing him. For what?

Big Jon is either not right physically, or he's not right psychologically. He's pitched in 300 games the last two years, so I doubt it's a psychological thing.

Thank goodness they lost tonight because that makes shutting him down more likely.

you seem to forget how well our manager handles our pitchers

All these problems are inter-related.

As good as this team looked on paper, it was flawed in many ways on the field. Injuries, bad personnel moves, poor base running, untimely pitching, a line up constantly in flux, you name it, we saw it this year.

For some reason, I don't expect much difference next year.

still leaving 3 or 4 innings for the relief corp daily...burnout city...

- we are already realistically out of contention this season
- broxton is overworked and needs time off
- broxton's long term health is more important/valuable than winning a couple more meaningless games this season
- so if we're gonna be eliminated anyway, it's better to be mathematically eliminated sooner so grady won't feel compelled to use broxton because we're technically in the playoff race and the game is tight.

Nothin' to see here. Keep it movin'.
That's right. It's all over. Go on about your business now.

36: I don't think Saito has been overused. Or Beimel. I don't really care about Seanez's arm. Broxton and Martin are the two players who have been abused by Grady. Everyone agree on that?

1. Schmidt, Penny, Lowe, Wolf, Billingsly, Kuo

2. Martin, Ethier everyday

3. Loney, Kemp expected to be called up

4. Furcal avoiding injury

5. Broxton and Saito at the back end

6. Betemit as Mr. Utility

I'd say in April that all looked pretty good. Especially given the expectations of the NL West.

Something has to happen. I'm tired of tweenies. Are we going to be a young team or an old team? This "bridge" philosophy is a ship that has sailed.

Wouldn't it be easier to field an offense that isn't in the bottom third of the league in scoring runs, than to super-awesomify the rotation?

Dodgers are below that, at 63.97% or 5.76 out of every 9. (I have no idea how that compares to all the other teams, but SD is 63.65%, 5.73 out of every 9.)

Our lineup, If I re-call right, was this at the beginning of the year. That is really not good on paper.
1.Furcal
2.Pierre
3.Nomar
4.Kent
5.Gonzo
6.Martin
7.Betemit
8.Ethier

We really had no idea just how much Kemp and Loney were going to play.

It's been the MO for a few years now though, would you agree?

It seems every one of our starters have a couple of innings a night where the game hangs in the balance...it seems that they generally have these lapses in concentration where they forget where the strike zone is...

As I said above, all these problems are related. I am convinced that Penny, Lowe, and Billingsly can consistently give us 7 IP next year, if they can get any kind of run support. Having guys who can throw the ball in the outfield will also help reduce the runs scored against the Dodgers because teams will be more reluctant to take the extra base.

Indeed it was. I can barely see the screen after having read that, and I care much less about our Dodgers missing out on the playoffs.

The Dodgers went 15 for 51 and that didn't make a dent.

Sorry for that snarkiness...

Maybe the Dodgers are the one with the curse?

So why did you bother making that comment?

I don't accept that apology.

You're right. I'm sorry for not using better discretion. Impressive team batting average duly noted.

They aren't anywhere near those this year.

Jonathan Broxton has been experiencing some soreness in his arm that might be the cause of his struggles.

"I won't back down," Broxton said. "I'll go until I get hurt."

Takashi Saito made the rare gesture of pulling translator Scott Akasaki aside so he could specifically speak to Broxton and say that these things happen.

They are not better, they may be similar outside of the home runs but those home runs did not produce more runs.

82 The Dodgers have the 5th highest total of hits + walks in the NL.

Oh that fateful spring day, a big difference between last year and this year, last year, Rafael Furcal had 150 plate appearances with RISP, he hit .346 with a .910 OPS. So far, this year in 144 plate appearances with RISP, Furcal is hitting .246 with a .642 OPS.

If he is hurt, that's one thing but I don't think you sit him because he had 3 or 4 rough outings in a short time.

Answer: At the first hint of soreness. Like, right freaking now. We're out of the pennant race. And even if we weren't, it would be the right thing to do. The guy just turned 23. He has a bright future ahead of him if Grady stops treating him like Tommy Lasorda would.

I'll be very, very upset if Broxton pitches in another game this year. And frankly, 85 is the scariest thing (baseball-related) I've read in a long time.

The main thing on my wish list is that Colletti sign no more over-the-hill vets. As we can see by looking at Arizona and Colorado, playing your young players can be a good and winning strategy - and it builds to the future.

The only thing Colletti should add if he can find it would be a legitimate home run hitter - I think the team needs one of those.

Mr. Coolbaugh was a wonderful man who will be deeply, deeply missed.

Thank you for bringing this article to our attention.

Playing young players doesn't guarantee you winning season, Kansas City, Tampa Bay are playing youngsters and where are they. What about last year's young team, Florida where are they this season.

Arizona may be on the start of something but then what if they play .500 ball in one run games next year, they will have to hope a better offense while getting similar pitching.

It is why we did not hear much clamoring for Abreu to take