The rally-sparking NPUT. Jon, you glorious genius!

I'm flipping channels between the Dodger game and Braveheart on HBO. Every time Ethier sits I feel like William Wallace after the battle of Falkirk

1 - The thought did cross my mind ...

Oh those Astros, such comedians they are.

And a fungo double for Andruw!

Loney sure took a long time to advance from second to third on that, even accounting for the fact that he was surprised it wasn't caught.

I don't like these late-game rallies where we make some noise and then inevitably fall short. I'd rather lose big and lose fast so I don't keep investing emotion in the outcome.

6 I, too, was surprised that it was a close play at third.

sigh.

7 - this game is designed to break your heart.

C'mon, Slappy, squirt one into left center.

Paraphrasing the Big Aristotle, one bad break deserves another.

7. Me too and also because of the time zone, it´s almost 1 o´clock here. I remember a game against the Rockies last year that the Dodgers had loaded bases in the 9th and Liberthal hit a pop out. That was very frustrating.

12 Like Tommy Davis and Pedro Guerrero?

Lean INTO it Juan!

Came close on that one. But I told you to hit it to left!

OK time for another NPUT.

14 Ouch.

holy crap the Inland Empire score tonight....

Lancaster...1

Inland Empire.....25

Good break by JP there.

19 - THAT'S where all those Dodger runs went!

At this point, I'm kinda hoping Pierre keeps making weak outs so at some point Ethier can again be our left fielder.

19 - a ten-run ninth. Wow.

23 An inning which featured two homers by one guy.

Meanwhile Chris Sampson is a great pitcher.

22

I'm openly rooting against him, for that reason, even with two runners in scoring position.

Pretty much have been all season. It's a very strange feeling.

23

So, they were up by fourteen at that point? Man, that is just harsh.

The Blog was interesting, Jon, but I am still bummed about Ethier.

On another note, does anyone else have Vista Media Center? If so, how have you solved the incorrect guide information for the digital sub channels?

It's not over yet, boys!

Of course, it feels like the Dodgers wouldn't have scored off Ralph Sampson tonight, or Ralph Wiggum, or Sampson and Delilah, but hope springs eternal.

25 - His ERA is in a free-fall right now. It's now all the way down to 6.61.

ah..did not realize this new thread was up, basically all i've had to say is the way killed that rally was unbelievable, but that at least Chan Ho pitched well..

24 - and a scoring balk, and a bases-loaded walk. Lancaster was in damage control mode the whole way. Luis Segovia ended the game with a 63.00 ERA.

I'm a little surprised none of us called for Ethier to PH when Torre sent up Sweeney.

Hu swings at a lot of first pitches. Starting to grate on me a little bit.
vr, Xei

32

It wasn't worth it.

Man, Kent is strugga-ling right now.

My post on the LA Times Dodger Blog tonight:

I can't believe that Ethier is out of the lineup again tonight. He won the starting left field job fair and square and did nothing to lose it. Pierre has a few good games and now he's the second coming? Give me a break. He may be nice guy and a hard worker, but he's not half the player Ethier is as far as I'm concerned. Ethier's not even half the player he could be if he got to play every day like he has earned to do about 10 times over since he became a Dodger and he works hard too. So much for Joe Torre saying he didn't want Ethier to be looking over his shoulder and that he was one of the few players that had earned to play every day after he won the starting job.

I've been a Dodger fan for a long, long time, but I am really getting sick of the lack of commitment to fielding the best team possible. The only thing Ethier has done wrong is to not make a lot of money. Maybe he would have been better off to stuff his face the entire off season like Jones apparently did instead of working out twice a day, six days a week with Dustin Pedroia and a group of other MLB players during the off season, as it obviously doesn't count for much. (I couldn't get it to show bold with ateriks, not sure what I did wrong).

Anyway, what a pathetic joke. I think Frank McCourt needs to spend more time focusing on what Colletti is doing to impede the Dodger's progress than trying to turn Dodger Stadium into a theme park. Such a shame to see what is happening. Ethier, Kemp and all the other young players need to play every day for the Dodgers to reach the potential of what they can be with their current talent. I also think it's time to bring Kershaw up. They weren't afraid to pull the trigger on their young talent in the 70's and that's why they were successful.

Also, anyone else notice that Kent was doing a lot better during the games when he was batting fourth and Ethier was 5th behind him? I've always like Ethier best in the 5th position and am not sure why Torre has batted him 2nd so much when he has started. I agree you need more speed than Ethier has in the 2 hole, I just think it would be much better served with some who has speed and power like Martin or Kemp than with someone who only has speed like Pierre.

Torre likes to save (what he thinks is) his best PH for late in the game. Usually it would have been Delwyn hitting in the fifth, with Sweeney saved for later in the game. This time Sweeney was used early and Ethier was the guy saved for later, so the fact that Ethier wasn't used means Andre is higher in the PH pecking order. (Small favors...)

37 Or Torre picked Sweeney because he was down 5, had 2nd and 3rd with one out, decided it was a high leverage situation and went with who he thinks is his best PH.

Eventually Tejada is going to turn on one of those high sliders if Park keeps throwing them.

Bourn has 35 singles, doubles, and walks this year, and has 17 steals. If he could hit even a lick, he'd steal 100 without hardly trying.

36 While I fully agree with your points on ethier, the only reason I think Pierre's play is warranted is because of Furcal's absence.

In regards to McCourt I prefer having an Owner that doesnt try to get involved in the teams on the field decisions such as Steinbrenner.

Saw recently where Park isn't considered much of a strikeout pitcher anymore.

And he doesn't seem to get many Ks. Yet Gameday has had him at 95 tonight and also at or near that in other games.

So is he now a "contact" pitcher? Even touching 95 or so? Have to give him credit for pitching well lately, whatever he is.

.291/.376/.447

These numbers aren't good enough to keep a job, apparently. Excellent defense is also not enough.

I'm glad the team holds its starting lineup to such high standards.

41 - So when your MVP is out of the lineup, it's justification to play less productive players?

Get the feeling that Fookie must be really hurt to miss the opportunity to play against Tejada, after spending winter ball playing next to him in the DR.

Does Andruw Jones have the most swings and misses in the majors this year?

Ladies and gentlemen, AnBOO Jones.

43 Save that comment because you'll be able to repeat it when Nomar comes back next week, with only a slight adjustment to the numbers.

41 - Pierre plays the infield? When did this start?

At what point are the taking heads going to start saying "gee, this team has been struggling when Furcal and Ethier are out"?

Or is that going to be too much to ask for?

47 - LOL!

41 I don't disagree with you at all about Steinbrenner, I wouldn't want McCourt to be like him. I guess I'm just so frustrated that McCourt seems to be so out of touch he doesn't even seem to have a clue about what is going on with the team. I could be wrong, but that's how it seems to me.

46. The leader is Ryan Howard with 52.

53

Not strikeouts, but swings and misses.

I'm sorry, but if we're going to lose anyway, I really hope Wesley Wright shuts us down tonight. I mean just dominates us. Twist the knife in Ned a little further.

54. Oh sorry, nate. I´ll try to find and BTW: Feliz Aniversário, Happy Birthday!

53 - Unbelievably enough, Howard has a lower batting average than Andruw this year too (.170 to .169). He's got 7 HR's, but that's about all he's done.

41 With Furcal's hot bat replaced by Hu's, the Dodgers need Ethier's bat, not Pierre's to make up for it. Let Martin lead off a couple games, big deal.

44 no I mean dont get me wrong I'd much rather play ethier, but I'm saying I'll cut Torre some slack if he feels we need a true lead off hitter in the lineup.

52 - McCourt tends to stonewall up to the point that he looks like he's totally out of touch. Eventually, he does apologize, and then he fires the GM.

Unless that GM is Ned Colletti.

Man, Chan Ho's been absolutely fantastic lately. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but he's been turning in solid performances consistently all year.

ESPN vastly overestimates how many of us give a rat's patootie about the Yanksox.

55 Here he is.

Speaking of Ned Colletti's mistakes, hello, Wesley Wright.

41 - But let's not make this about JP, why is Jones playing? And if he is playing, why isn't he batting second (Torre's favorite approach for getting PVLs out of slumps) against these second-line 'Stros starters? Has Torre run out of ideas? Or is the idea to run him out there until he either starts hitting or until even he can't stomach it (tall order) and quits baseball altogether?

Well, I've had about enough. I have two dogs who need a walk and have been waiting for one all day.

I love Young, but if he's only going to get 19 at bats in 35 games, shouldn't he be in the minors where he can play everyday? It's not like we don't have a crowded outfield as it is.

67

Out of options.

67 - Out of options.

Is it either feast or famine for our offense? It seems like we either score ten runs in a game, or get shut out.

68 Bah. That's a shame. He's a great hitter, I hate seeing him sit on the bench.

It´s a shame that Dre is on the bench, at least he must have received Troy´s photo.

This game has been a bit like Chuckles the Clown's funeral. A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down our pants. You have to laugh, otherwise you'd cry.

Futile. Next!

We really need some more laughs tonight, so check out this MP3 player:

http://tinyurl.com/6qvprl

65 andruw is apparently capable of stomaching a lot

[rimshot]

('cause he's fat)

Here we go! Put your rally caps on. And might as well put on rally socks, rally underwear, and rally ear plugs too, while we're at it.

Will the Dodgers score the classic one run in the 9th inning?

LaRoche just hit a 3-run HR. ...sigh...

Five straight home runs. I'm calling it.

Hey, it's a start.

79 - Sigh? Isn't it a good thing? Maybe they'll call him up when it's time. Heck, maybe he'll be replacing Kent at 2nd, at this rate.

Ah, too bad, I wanted to see Wright vs. Kemp.

82 I wish he was allowed to do it HERE.

Free Andre Ethier!

That's a fitting ending. I'm hoping to see better tomorrow - in person. Let Furcal be healthy please.

Wow, Kent just had an awful game. Ugh. PU. Feh. Bleh. And other similar words representing that game.

85 If my wish comes true, yours may also. At least for tomorrow.

85 - Maybe not free. Ned'll at least get a middle reliever for him.

84 - Me too. Maybe soon.

Welp, night all. A depressing three games after a mostly wonderful 9 game period. Hope they wake up tomorrow.

So even if you want to keep playing Pierre, isn't it time to give Andruw and Kent a rest?

Andruw has been hitting .250 with a .718 OPS in the last week thanks to a .333 BABIP (vs .279 career). Torre must think he's heating up.

Maza provides plenty of laughs, hits for 51s

>> "It's easier to hit in Triple A than Double A," Maza said with teammate Angel Chavez serving as an interpreter. "You see more strikes from pitchers here. In Double A, they want to throw harder." <<

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/18827009.html

Per Diamond Leung:

Delwyn Young could get his first start at second base in place of Jeff Kent

"Now, when Vin says, "In the old days, they'd call it a can of corn," and I remember them doing just that, does that make me old?"

No, but if you know what the phrase "can of corn" really means, you're old.

94 Hooray! I like that, especially if Furcal is back in the line-up.

Sigh, no, I'm really going to bed now. Early soccer game in the AM, alas. Hopefully we'll score more than the Dodgers did the last 2 games.

Original PCL stars still shine

>> There are more than two dozen Hall of Famers whose careers either began or ended in the PCL through 1957, including DiMaggio and Ted Williams, and another 100 or so recognizable names, like Maury Wills, Larry Sherry, Albie Pearson and Tommy Lasorda, whose PCL career preceded the Dodgers' arrival by one year. <<

http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_9214021

96 94 Hooray! I like that, especially if Furcal is back in the line-up.

In that case I'd be surprised. There appears to be a chance Furcal will be held out until Tuesday (Torre says it will be a game time decision). But if Furcal plays I'd expect to see Hu shift over to 2nd base.

92 - I haven't seen all of his PAs during that time, but I can only recall one ball that he stung, and lined out to third. Two of those (4) hits were on pop-up doubles. Just not seeing it. Perhaps Torre's strategy is to run Druw out there until even Ned can't stomach it?

Outscored 24-2 last 3 games.
Pythagorus/Actual record even at 19-17.

0
That was funny, poor Ted should have lived for today as life smacked him with a newspaper a little to soon.

I made a bad decision today.

Dodgers' Andruw Jones keeps taking hard shots

>> "I don't see anything that would make him better than a fourth outfielder," an American League evaluator said. <<

http://tinyurl.com/5mpj7q

Excuse me, I have nothing to say...

Taking George carlin's lead, I think it's very simple why the Dodgers have the feast or famine offense.

1) nobody on this team can hit 35+ home runs. Kemp may eventually do this, but everyone else? Their ceiling is the high 20s, if that.
2) none of our starters have the moxy to be dependable as of now.
3) Juan Pierre gets way too many starts (as predicted before the season) and Ethier doesn't start enough. I also havent been here in a while so I cant figure for the LIFE of me why Raffy sat the last two games. When he scores a run, the Dodgers have a very good chance of winning, statistically.

Other than that, nothing to worry about... but if we falter this season I'll be pretty happy actually, because then we could can Ned. How man signings that turn to junk can one owner take? I mean getting a 0% return three big signings in a row? That's pretty damn amazing if you ask me.

Bob Dylan's Take:

Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?

104 I just realized the previous quotation comes from "Ballad of a -- "

No, I just can't say it.

Saddest part of all: Tonight saw the end of the three-game hitting streak of Mister Andruw Jones. The dream is over.

I made it to Phillipe's (Dip Sandwich) yesterday while attending the Taiwan Heritage Festival in downtown across the street from Union Station. If you are looking for something interesting to do, I'd recommend going to it as it's still going today. It's free and the entertainment is great. A lot of aborigine martial arts, drums, dancing and good food. I had never been in Union Station before (great archeticture), nor walked down Olvera street (great tourist trap). I was disappointed that there were no bat flip demonstrations. Perhaps that took place before I arrived. :)
vr, Xei

Xei, What did you think of the food? Did you try Phillipe's mustard?

The food at Phillipe's I mean.

108. I am not a mustard person so I didn't indulge in it. I think the place is probably a little overhyped, but the sandwiches were very good. There was quite a lunch time crowd. Every counter was open and the line was against the back wall, with it seemed like every order in front of us for a party of 10. I was amazed at how fast the ladies get all your sandwiches ready. It was my first time there, so I didn't really know what to expect. All they have is french dip, which I usually don't order, but when in Rome... and it was very delicious. I had the oven roasted turkey dip on sourdough and both the meat and bread were of excellent quality, and the dip added a perfect touch of flavoring. It's something everyone has to try atleast once and I wouldn't mind going again, but would prefer a smaller crowd to fight through. :)
vr, Xei

60 With the fans and the press led by Simers now turning rabidly anti-Jones, at a time when McCourt wants support for the "new" park, with Tommy's alleged favorite outfielder sitting night after night, I really begin to wonder how long Ned can survive. I assume he has until October at least, but with McCourt, who knows.

103
1) I'm not sure that 35+ homeruns is as much of a measuring stick in this post-steroids era. I would think that a bunch of guys in the 20s + Kemp would give us a sufficient amount of power.
2) Temporary slump. The Dodgers do have great depth in starting pitching at least. Everyone's talking about Kershaw. McDonald's the one who's already on the 40 man roster.
3) Raffy has a back injury and is day to day. They'd be playing him if they could. Play Ethier!!!! His benchtime is my biggest frustration.

111 What's interesting is the number of commentators, including Jim Alexander in this morning's Press Enterprise, who are suddenly sitting up and noticing the number of wasted dollars spent by Colletti. If Jones and/or Schmidt do not turn it around, Colletti could be in danger. I doubt it, though. He's a good PR man. I suspect he has the ability to spin his mistakes to Frank's liking.

113 He's forced out PR people before and hired new ones. Plus if Jones is a bust and Schmidt still hurt, I don't see how anyone could spin that. Finally there's the Torre factor.

McCourt signed off on all these moves. Again you have to look at the market at what was available and make a decision. The Dodgers decided that they did not want to deal young players for players like Miguel Cabera, Texeira, Haren, etc. So they went the free agent route.

Free agency is always risky and yet fans in general want their teams to spend money to get players.

The people who are booing Jones are similar to me as those who booed Bonds, it is now part of the game experience. I think its wrong but then all I can do at the games i