I have arrived at the frame of mind where in any game I am pleasantly surprised when the Dodgers win. Don't blame me. The Dodgers put me there.

It probably won't get much better. We are running full blown into a revamped Toronto rotation and McGowan, Halladay, and Marcum have been very very good lately. The kids have both been better then the veteran Halladay. Our pitching will need to be on it's game and hope we can take advantage of the Toronto bullpen.
Tamp Bay also completely redid their rotation and while we will miss the ace of the staff Jamie Shields, we won't miss Kazmir and the kids, Sonnanstien and Hammel who are huge upgrades over Fossum and Seo. Luckily their bullpen should be at our mercy unless they are able to get the game to their closer who has an unblemished record so far. After years of futility the Devil Rays made three key winter moves that should be the envy of every GM. The pulled Carlos Pena off the scrapheap and he beat out Hee Sop Choi for a backup role on the team but when injuries hit the Ray's he has stepped in and has actually been the BEST hitting 1st baseman in the AL. Then Brendan Harris was culled from the Nationals and when the starting SS Zobrist failed to impress Harris was pressed into duty and he has also excelled and has even gotten better as the season has progressed. Finally Al Reyes a journeyman relief pitcher who lost a year to TJ surgery was given a trial and while he has always had decent peripherals no one has ever trusted him with a lead until the Rays were left with no one else to turn to. I think he is now 16/16 in save opportunities and is the only reliable pitcher in the bullpen. Given that this team is already loaded with prospects that fact that they were able to find 3 cheap talents is a clue that the new management team knows what they are doing. They have recently promoted Sonnanstine, Howell, and Hammell to help out the beleaguered rotation and bullpen and each of the 3 has already proven to be much better then the road kill they replaced. With Neiman also ready to be promoted the time of the Rays being a laughing stock is over.
I'm hoping for a 3/3 split on this trip.

2 Nice writeup. I think the keys to success rely on our starters. If they do poorly, we lose. I guess the exception to this rule is Derek Lowe, who seems to gets saddled with L's no matter how well he pitches. =)

1 - "The Dodgers put me there."

The Dodgers nearly have the best record in the NL. You're a little overly cynical, aren't you?

4 - That sounded a little harsh. I guess I'm just saying there should be some perspective. The Dodgers have a whopper of a two-game losing streak, after winning four straight against two division leaders. They have problems and I understand lowering one's expectations, but if you are surprised when they when, part of that surprise is on you. However pleasant :)

I'm more concerned with the offense than the pitching. In June, the Dodgers are only averaging 3.6 runs/gm after averaging 4.5 the first 2 months. This month, they are only hitting .246/.306/.379 as a team (80 *OPS+).

Hopefully 6 games with the DH slot will allow Loney to get some more ABs (the only lefty starters -- meaning a DH start for Saenz -- they face will be Kazmir and maybe J.P. Howell in Tampa Bay).

While I definitely wouldn't go as far as 1, I see where he's coming from. The Dodgers' offense -- which I described as "average" a few weeks ago, has been markedly below average since then... the Dodgers now rank 25th among the 30 teams in runs scored (though, I should note, it's a tight grouping, and should the Dodgers have a 10-run outburst soon, it'll look a lot better).

Where I think 1 is coming from is that we know how hard it is to win games when the team scores few runs.

That said, I think that the starting pitching is so good, it's OK for the time being.... but that's the big question mark to me. Can Penny keep pitching like he is? Is Wolf falling off from his great start to the year? Is Kuo a bona fide major league starter? Is Billingsley ready to step into that role with Schmidt out? When Schmidt comes back, what kind of pitcher will he be?

I'll continue to complain about the offense -- and I have an outlet for that -- but ultimately, the offense is what it is. I'll continue to enjoy the good pitching, but there's a bead of sweat on my brow that wonders if it'll stay as good as it's been, and if it doesn't -- assuming no other changes -- I believe that the team will sink quickly.

I know we haven't exactly been stellar during interleague games this season either, but most of those 20 games that were lost happened with a different Dodger team. In fact, the one game we won, I believe, was in Anaheim with Brad Penny on the mound. I know our offense has been pretty abysmal for the last week or so, but let's not lose all hope right now. All of these upcoming interleague games are extremely winnable.

5. Be harsh, it's OK. Good to have optimism balance pessimism. However, it just seems that, except for games pitched by Penny or Lowe, opponents jump on Dodgers pitchers right off the bat and then the Dodgers have to play come-from-behind. And with this offense, come-from-behind is asking a lot. Throw the Schmidt fiasco into the mix and there you have the cause of my baseball emotional state. Of course, that would all change if the Dodgers pleasantly surprise me and take a couple of the upcoming series.

Back to Computer Thoughts...

If I switch to Firefox and disable IE (per Andrew's link in a prior thread), will the anti-spyware programs I have installed from Microsoft stop running and will my computer run faster as a result? Or do I need to do more than that?

Also, do I need to download other anti-spyware for Firefox or is my general anti-virus program protection enough?

Please answer as if your are tech support and Pedro Guerrero is calling and he is asking that you answer him in English. Thanks.

It'd be a fairly bitter pill if we can't right the ship in the remainder of the interleague schedule. On paper, we're drawing a huge break with our division playing the AL East, and we skip both the Yankees and Diamondbacks. But I remember all too well from 2005, that games, rather than being played on paper, are played on astroturf in KC. Actually, I think they put in real grass, but you get my drift. That was about the worst week of Dodger rooting I can remember, when we combined blowing a huge schedule advantage with the banishment of Choi.

12 By Diaomndbacks, I meant Red Sox. I guess that blow to the head was worse than I thought.

Oh and are there any cons to switching to Firefox?

9 So you're saying this wasn't the case two games ago? Tiny losing streaks happen all the time. This team, deservedly or not, is a game and a half away from the best record in the NL. If you feel this way about the Dodgers right now, what team would you feel confident in?

10. All you need are

Spybot
Adaware and
AVG anti-virus.

These are all free, just google-search and download them.

11 If I remember correctly, the Dodgers that week were in the midst of some weird scoring fluke where they had something like 10 straight runs on solo homers and nothing else. And it was spread out over a number of games, so they were not a very crooked-number team at the point.

I'll look that up to confirm.

The DH will help get some extra ABs for our young boys, although I dont see it bringing as many as we would like. It will probably give extra AB's to a shuffle of players including Loney, Kemp, Ethier, Abreu, and even Saenz for a couple games. Every little bit helps, but I am guessing we are looking at about 4 or 5 extra at bats each for the young guys. The veterans like Kent, Garciaparra, and Pierre will still be in the lineup every day. The only real change will be instead of giving the elders a day off, they will be the DH. Not much changes, in terms of total ABs.

14. I hope I jinx them by saying this, but the Padres seem to be in good shape by virtue of their strong pitching. And that gift we gave them last time is still bugging the crap out of me. A two-game turnaround in the standing.

It could be worse, we could be the Mets.

Disclaimer: the Mets would still appear to be the best team in the NL, but because of their expectations, like the Lakers of old, their recent doldrums are harder for their fans to swallow.

15 Thanks bluegold. Will disabling IE speed up my web browsing or will it just be safer or both (hopefully)?

June 10, 2005 - Choi hits walk-off HR off former Dodger midseason acquisition Terry Mullholland to beat the Twins

June 11 - Dodgers stuck to their "principles" as homers by Choi, Kent, and Jason Grabowski provided their only runs in a 5-3 loss to the Twins (I was at this game)

June 12 - Or as it's known in my house, The Third Rail Day. Hee Seop Choi hit 3 HR and J.D. Drew hit another, providing all the runs in a 4-3 defeat of the Twins

June 14 - Choi and Drew were at it again, each hitting solo HRs in a 3-2 loss in KC

10 straight runs in 3+ games, all on solo HR, including an amazing 6 by Hee Seop Choi, who was hitting .261 with an .871 OPS after the June 14 game. He only started 37 of the final 99 games of Jim Tracy's Dodger managerial career.

21. I don't see why you need to "disable" IE. Just don't launch it. Firefox (as they claim) uses much less PC resources and therefore should run faster, and does not have the security breaches that IE has. Hackers tend to go after the biggie (IE) and leave Firefox and other browsers alone. But be aware that websites are developed for IE, since it is the standard, so certain websites' graphics may not appear correctly under Firefox.

The Dodgers will have to face Frank Thomas this go-round with the BJays. It's not as if he is setting the world on fire over 200+ at bats, but he is a dangerous bat nonetheless.
vr, Xei

What, no one's excited about the Tommy Lasorda chat today? I wonder if D4P will ask him about D4P. I honestly wouldn't know what to ask him, other than his favorite kind of pasta, and superficial questions about his managing career.

25 You could ask him what he thought of Kingman's performance.

Regarding Choi: It's both amazing and sad that a 28-year old guy with a career OPS+ of 107 and career EQA of .275 was universally deemed sub-major league material.

DodgerSims puts the Dodgers win probability for today at 55.5%.
Go Dodgers!
vr, Xei

23 Ok, I won't disable it. I really appreciate your help, thanks again.

That's a good question, underdog. I would ask him: Prego vs. Ragu?

21 I would like to recommend not using IE altogether. Firefox and Opera are more stabil
web browsers - faster, more secure, less popups.
www.firefox.com
www.opera.com

Apple just ported Safari for the PC too.

http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

29, 31. I use Opera and like it alot. I hardly use IE, except when I encounter websites that require IE for correct graphics viewing.

Does anyone out there prefer a browser over Firefox...?

15,21,31
I am a Firefox zealot (although I actually use Camino on my Mac at home...I know, I know, I never thought I would either). I hate IE, however, it is true that some sites (fewer and fewer thankfully) won't render correctly in Firefox or require plug-ins that are not available. I think that IETab is a great Firefox plug-in for this purpose...with one click you can render a site in IE though you are still in Firefox. I don't use it much, but it's been handy when I have.

27 - Maybe that's more indicative of the limitations of OPS+ and EQA? Even if OPS+ is considered "The Rule", there are always exceptions to the rule. Hard to believe Derrek Lee was traded for Choi.

Firefox is my preference. Some people seem to experience memory leaks, but I don't.

36 Neither EQA nor OPS+ measures baseball savvy.

27 Admittedly, this is partially Choi's fault. If he had hit when he was in Pawtuckett last year, he'd probably have Hinskie's spot on the Red Sox roster.

32 It's worth pointing out that the Windows Safari is a beta... probably has a few bugs and annoyances to be ironed out still.

You think IE for windows is bad... I'd forgotten I even had it on my Mac until yesterday when for some reason it default-opened when I clicked on a link in a document. They stopped updating the Mac IE years ago, looks ridiculous now. I use Safari and Firefox here; on Windows at work I use Firefox, though it crashes quite a bit, and occasionally the newest version of IE - the one trying to be like FF.

I experience memory leaks in real life, but rarely in FF.

What were we talking about?

I noticed tonights game time is at 4:07pm. Kind of odd to have a time not divisible by 5. I also see tonight's Whit Sox game starts at 5:11. Any insight on how a team decides the game time? Mr. Timmermann or anyone else?

36 What are these exceptions? In what circumstance would you not want to pay the league minimum for an above avg. hitter?

42 The White Sox have a deal with 7-11 (the convenience store) to have all their evening home games start at 7:11. Not sure of Toronto though.

I used to have huge memory leak problems with Firefox, but the last few versions have seemed to solve the problem.

44
Figures. Thanks for the information.

42 These are my guesses:

1) Television advertising related.
2) The extra anthem that has to be sung.
3) They just have to be different than the U.S.
4) They have convenient stores named 7-07 in Toronto.

35, 40 Never used camino so I can't opine to its efficacy. I always switch back & forth to Firefox and Opera though and really like those two. I was not aware of tabbed IE browsing, but will have to give that a try for websites I don't trust. I wouldn't download the PC version of Safari just yet. It's a great Apple application, but still needs some work outside of mac confines.

In regards to this minor Choi talk - I vehemently blame him for derailing Rolen's career. Didn't he run into Rolen, leading to a shoulder dislocation that has never healed properly(?) Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on that, but Scott Rolen should be a 3rd basemen with numbers world's beyond what he has now. Call it the Choi Effect.

47 The branding still works! "Oh thank heaven for Seven Oh Seven."

48 Scott Rolen ran into him. Scott Erickson is the one who caused the situation in the first place by making a bad throw.

This team, deservedly or not, is a game and a half away from the best record in the NL

Undeservedly, which is the cause for the pessimism:

XWL
Padres- 43-25
Dodogers- 37-32

44 I think I'd be more suspicious if Toronto's home games started at 4:20 instead. That'd be an interesting licensing deal.

49 Don't know why I just thought of it, but we are only two and half weeks away from 7-07-07...the luckiest day.

48 I thought Rolen ran into Choi. Factoring in Hee Seop's Herculean strength, it's amazing Rolen can still walk, let alone play baseball!

I did think it was a little callous of HSC to remark to one of the umpires nearby, "If he dies, he dies."

I love the smell of Choi grenades in the morning.

Smells like...victory.

27
The Carlos Pena's of the world give Hee Sop some hope. They were painted with the same brush but luckily for Carlos he got a break otherwise he'd just be whacking the ball in AAA.

56
I'd like to think that Depo would try to bring Choi back someday.

Just hopefully not for the Dodgers!

48 I thought he said, "Dis-member the corpse and send his wife a fruit basket." Courtesy of The Pacific Rim, of course.

43 - "above average hitter" seems to be the sticking point among GMs that have had Choi on their roster. Choi was certainly an above average walker, and had enough power to keep the pitchers from throwing them down the middle. But as for "hitting prowess", however one chooses to define that statistically, Choi didn't seem to have it. And his "baseball savviness" was definitely lacking. If you don't know your team's signs by September, your head's not completely in the game.

Which "Thank You For Not" was "bringing up Hee Seop Choi?" I forget.

My friend with the Blue Jays said the games start at 7 minutes after the hour because the Blue Jays wanted to have more time for their pregame show and sell extra commercials.

60
Same was being said of Carlos Pena as he was released by Detroit/NY/Boston. I would think Detroit and NY are rethinking those decisions based on the production they are currently getting. Carlos Pena always did some things well but for some reason when he didn't turn out to be a star they just started focusing on the things he didn't do very well and forgot about his power which has always been there.

Sadly for Choi, after three games back in Korea, he suffered a rib cage injury and he's been out of action for a while.

Or at least that's what I've been able to piece together from English language sources about Korean baseball and my very shaky reading of the KBL website. Which is in Korean. Which I cannot read. But I know Choi's number and his team name is written in Roman letters as "KIA."

60 How do you define hitting prowess? Batting average? What do you make of Ryan Howard's 2007 line of .238/.379/.530?

Just noticed this, but Brady Clark was actually last on the team with a -0.2 WARP-1 when he was DFA'd.

Currently, only one active Dodger has a WARP1 below 0, and that's Nomar at -0.1.

66 I believe that Lucille II was bringing up the rear until he left the team. Could be wrong, though.

62 Thanks.

As is most things in professional sports these days, its all about the money.

68
But in some respects, the Blue Jays were being honest. Their pregame shows kept running long so they just decided to not be "late" in starting and put down the actual starting time.

Martinez is at -0.1, although I guess it's a close call.

In terms of EqA, you would be correct. Martinez had an EqA of .146. Here are the Dodger pitchers that are better hitters than that thus far this season, by EqA:

Kuo (.287)
Schmidt (.232)
Lowe (.203)
Penny (.194)
Wolf (.172)

62 - I thought they just had the Canadian TBS.

The Blue Jays are owned by Rogers Communications. They play in the Rogers Centre. Their games are on Rogers Sports.

This blog says the Mets are divided racially, leaving Heart and Soul without a side to choose:

http://nyjerplease.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2007/6/18/3030627.html

Mets Blog says it's hokum, but it's an interesting read.

So, my buddy who works for the Braves Radio Network just called me wishing that the Dodgers would send Billingsly and Hendrickson to the Braves for Andruw. Any thoughts from y'all?

74
That trade would be almost, but not quite, really bad.

74. We get Jones, Schmidt comes back from DL good as advertised = World Series. I take it.

74
I only like it if that puts Andruw in center and "the player" on the bench. If "the player" is still an every day starter I dont go for it.

74 On the plus side, Hendrickson's gone.

On the minus side, if we don't win the World Series this year, Billingsley's gone for pretty much nothing, and Juan Pierre will end up in right field. So, no sale.

The Alyssa interview:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/aditi_kinkhabwala/06/19/better.half/1.html

73
Well I have heard before that Minaya prefers Latin players. Heck, Carlos Delgado did not want to sign with the Mets because Minaya was trying to appeal to his Latin heritage too much.

The only player that I would approve of trading Billingsley for is Miguel Cabrerra and even then it would be tough. I say ride out this team then make some splashes in the off season. Maybe Derek Lowe for Ajones(w/extension) plus salty or some other young brave talent.

79
Alyssa Milano says Eddie Murray's name!

81

Trade D Lowe? No way!
He has been awesome for us going on 3 years now and he keeps getting better! At really a bargain price for next year.

81 But you need to give up talent to get talent. Lowe is actually the guy I'm most willing to give up at the trading deadline. He's gone after 2008 anyway, and the Dodgers have enough of a starting pitching surplus that they could probably survive his loss.

I would include Billingsley in a trade for Grady Sizemore. It would take a lot for me to give up Bills. Our pitching depth in the minors is not looking as good as it did earlier in the year.

I think we ought to insist on including JP in the trade.

84 - What I'm thinking is with Lowe gone after 08, hopefully Schmidt gets healthy then we replace Lowe with Scmidt and we have a rotation of Penny,Billingsly,Kuo,Schmidt,Wolf with a hopefull turn around for Miller and a healthy Elbert in minors.

Lets talk about extending Lowe, not trading him.
I don't really see any reason not to give him a 2-3 year extension if it can be done.
Nor do I see even close to enough depth in the Dodgers rotation/farm that makes Lowe expendable.

Trading the best young pitcher in the entire organization for two months of Jones would be beyond foolish. Not to mention the fact that Andruw is sporting a horrid line of .205/.303/.394

Not happening.

The number one priority should be extending Brad Penny's contract, then selling high on Derek Lowe.

79 From the article, "[Milano] does occasionally get irritated, though, like last week when an ostensible sports journalist asked her, "How many athletes have seen your tattoos."

This has to be T.J. Simers, right?

Andruw

rated

Not to mention the fact that Andruw is sporting a horrid line of .205/.303/.394

Thats actually a big reason to trade for Andruw Jones. He's not going to be that bad all year. I'd rather buy players when they are due for an up turn, rather than guys that are having career years that are inevitably going to regress "hendrickson".

Penny has not even had a full season of success for us yet. Plus, he is likely to get fat in the future.

We do not have the depth to get rid of Lowe. Elbert has a shoulder injury and shoulder injuries are the ones to really worry about when it comes to pitchers. Kuo has had two TJ surgeries, and Schmidt looks like his arm is shot.

90

Did you by chance notice the entire second half of 2006?

Or is that sarcasm?

87 It should also be noted that as of right now there's an absurd amount of good pitching available after 2008. Most notably, Peavy, Santana and Sheets. Also, given the way Kershaw is developing he could be ready by 2009. Combine this with either a token depth signing or some guys like Houlton and Stults, the Dodgers rotation should be fine.

Frankly, we cannot get rid of any possible starters that aren't named Tomko and Hendrickson.

88--Extending pitchers past the age of 35 seems awfully risky.

Lowe just turned 34, and next year being his last year at 35--seems like a good time to walk away from the table knowing you got the guy's best years.

96
The market for those pitchers will be insane and who knows our chances with any of them, plus planning around Kershaw being ready is just too risky.

88 There is no reason to extend Derek Lowe now. He has been very durable, and pretty good for the Dodgers, but he's already under contract through his age 35 season (2008). Extending him beyond that, especially at the going rate for starters now, for ages 36-38 seems a bit risky.

But, let's say you do resign Lowe before he hits free agency. Again, the Dodgers have through 2008 to do so. If they wait until next year, they will have a better idea of:

1) Lowe's effectiveness, going forward
2) Billinsgley's role (hopefully it's more of a "can he take over the ace role" discussion rather than "is he a starter or reliever")
3) Kuo's health and effectiveness
4) The health/development and ETAs of Elbert, Orenduff, Kershaw, Morris, et al

Plus, Johan Santana is a free agent after 2008. If the Dodgers are going to spend the money on a starter, why not go for the gold?

98

I don't know- the guy has been fairly injury free, pitches with a very smooth/effortless delivery, and doesn't rely on power. I could easily see him pitching into his late 30's very effectively. There is no sign of any decline at this point. I guess we have some time to sort it out....

96--Imagine a 2009 rotation of:

Santana
Penny
Kershaw
Billingsley
Kuo

If Bills is a 4, and Kuo's a 5--thats a rotation that has the potential to be amazing. However, it still remains to be seen whether Kershaw/Billz/Kuo arms can hold up for 180+ innings.

99 Fair enough. If you were going to trade a good player to get a good player, who would you give up?

100

True- we could do it next year, I was mainly against TRADING him.

102 A lot has to go right for that to be the Dodgers' 2009 rotation.

That said: Dare to dream!

99 While there are no certainties, one of the best ways to spend some serious free-agent $$ (IMHO) is to target an All-Star power pitcher either at the top of his game or still climbing. I would consider Peavy, Sheets, and Santana all in that category. If some of the dead-weight comes off the Dodger books in '08 (either through retirements or trades) I see no reason why the Dodgers couldn't or shouldn't be a major power for any of those arms.

103
I honestly do not think there is going to be a good deal out there this year. I would like to get Teixeira, but with Boras as an agent he will hit free agency.

Today's lineup is up at ItD. Don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger.

The DH is not Kemp, Loney, or Saenz, or any other regular.

106
We should be a player, but who knows what can happen. They could all re-sign or just have preferences. All I know is that I do not want to give any pitcher a 7 year deal like Zito got.

Lowe just turned 34, and next year being his last year at 35--seems like a good time to walk away from the table knowing you got the guy's best years.

he's a sinker baller, i'd sign him for 2 years take it or leave it. He's been our only steady pitcher for the past 3 years.

90 The number one priority should be extending Brad Penny's contract, then selling high on Derek Lowe.

Seems like this could be called something like the Milano-Hughes plan. Or would that be exactly the opposite?

94
I agree, planning on a rotation that has one pitcher two years removed from TJ surgery(Wolf), one who has had two TJ surgery's(Kuo), one who was the worse pitcher in the NL in the 2nd half in 2006(Penny) and one who hasn't even started one game in 2007(Billingsley) and saying we have pitching depth seems bizarre. Last I looked Elbert is down and out. Morris is down and out. Kershaw is a long ways off. So our depth consists of Tomko/Hendrickson/DJ Houlton and nothing else at the moment. McDonald is in High A and not very close to the big show. Morris and Elbert may come back very healthy or they may join the long list of prospects who while able to pitch are just not able to pitch at the level that made them number one picks in the 1st place. Zach Hammes is back to starting. Counting on free agents is fools gold. We have no idea if any of them want to pitch for us. Considering the hindsight comments being hurled at Ned over Schmidt how do you think a Sheets signing would go over? Santana will be way out of our ballpark. Until we see what is up with Schmidt I don't see how we can trade anyone in our current rotation. Sure we can send the flotsam (tomko,hendrickson) but that won't bring anything.

I would probably give up Billingsley and one of Loney/LaRoche to get Miguel Cabrera, with the remaining player of Loney/LaRoche as the future/current first baseman.

Is Boras Lowe's agent?

Also, good feature on radar guns, their pros and cons, etc.

http://tinyurl.com/2nh6yp

Santana will cost at least 6 years/$150M

Grady is in bizarro world.

108 Wow.

I understand Anderson DH'ing seeing as how Mcgowan has been owning Righties but why ot Loney in there for Nomar if that's the case. Stupid wall.

Ok, i looked at the line-up....

Seroiusly- who is in charge here?

119 A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of Little minds.

I don't think today's line-up is that bad - and was certainly not expecting Loney to be in there so soon (hopefully he can play this series though). I'd actually take Anderson over Saenz - I know that sounds like sacrilege, but Saenz is valuable as a pinch hitter and hasn't done diddly as a DH for the Dodgers. He'll get a start there on the trip, though, and, bless his heart I hope he does well. Anyway, hope Kemp gets some action this series, too. Notice no Betemit in there today? He looked awful in the last game.

Yeah, I really think Loney would be in there today if not still recovering from his collision. Expecting him to play today seems unrealistic.

I don't want to sign Santana as strange as it may seem. He's going to require a ton of money at a lot of years, all of which will be on the wrong side of 30 by the time he starts collecting on the paychecks.

112
Sure we can send the flotsam (tomko,hendrickson) but that won't bring anything.

Brilliant!
I think that should be the new nicknames for Tomko and Hendrickson............Flotsam & Jetsam. Anyone agree?

The Furcal, Pierre, Nomar trifecta at the top of the lineup is dead to me.

BTW: I'm getting killed in the "Who's the Biggest Dodger Hater" contest over at ItD.

joeyp - 1152 votes
D4P - 13 votes

122
No one expected Loney to play today. I think everyone expected Kemp or Saenz or Betemit and not Marlon the Magicican considering he wasn't exactly tearing up AAA. Hey, it worked last Sept but I don't think you can go to that well again. Better for me since I have McGowan going in all my leagues.

121 Being a DH is like pinch-hitting 4 times! By starting Saenz over Anderson, you reduce your need for a pinch hitter later since your offense will be better for the whole game.

My preferred order of Dodger DHs (assuming the rest of the lineup today):

1) Kemp
2) Loney (if healthy)
3) Saenz
4) Betemit
5) Mueller
6) Duncan
7) Anderson

125
That's what I'm talking about!

What we should have done is DH Martin and catch Lieberthal, giving Martin 3 full days off from catching. Anderson as DH is just, dumb. Unless there is some sort of match up aspect I'm missing here.

Josh's first post today is unintentionally ironic?

*Chance to chat with Tommy Lasorda today at 2 p.m. PT...hope you'll join in.

And as I posted in the comments of the last entry, there will be no further warnings regarding bad language or quasi-bad language on the site (@#&!).*

Guess he didn't comment on Bevacqua.

128 On this road trip, I'd like to see some of the regulars DH to get a 1/2 day off, particular the age brigade (LuGo, Kent, Nomar), and Russell Martin. Then Loney, Kemp, Abreu can start and field.

He's LH and he didn't look bad in his last game. Yeah Baby, let us put him in the lineup and we can use Kemp as a defensive replacement for Gonzo instead of using Kemp in LF to start the game and Gonzo as a DH. Bloody brilliant

Why not Betemit at 3B, Abreu at 2B and Kent DHing today?

This may be why Anderson--

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/8040627.html

By making fun of this move I have guaranteed that Marlon gets two hits tonight

Stop using logic people.

Toronto can't handle our veteraness!

I'm not sure why Grady would play both Abreu/Anderson ahead of Betemit.

Escobar can make a lot of hitters look bad. Its pretty insane to start Abreu ahead of Betemit, especially considering how good McGowan is against RHP.

137 - When I grow up I want to be a Veterenarian...

134
Because Betemit looked bad against a guy who has struck out 22 hitters in the last 17 innings. Abreu of the disapearing bat however gets to play because he makes contact when making outs.

By making fun of this move I have guaranteed that Marlon gets two hits tonight

But by saying that, you've guaranteed an ofer.

But by saying that, I've guaranteed that Marlon gets two hits tonight.

But by saying that...

126--Dont worry. I'll throw some votes your way.

ToyCannon i'm almost positive you have Vlad Guerrero on your fantasy league cause you had a puzzled face when him & Saito went head to head, am i correct?

I hope Glaus strikes out in every at bat tonight.

I'd like to see Martin DH and Lieberthal catch as well - we may see that one of next two days. With three righties in a row, though, options are a little limited. I guarantee you when Loney is ready he'll be in there. The thing is, Saenz doesn't do much vs. righties - or does his .189 average impress ? - and particularly hasn't done anything as a DH for the Dodgers. I don't understand why this is so mysterious with a righty going tonight. Guess I'm in the minority. Also, I would like to see Betemit get another start but I don't blame them for benching him today - he looked truly awful at the plate on Sunday. It was like he was facing Bugs Bunny and his powerful paralyzing perfect pachyderms percussion pitch.

My favorite player against my favorite team always jumbles my brain waves. Only in 1974 was my brain completely aligned with what was happening on the field.

131

I bit my tongue & asked some legit stuff, hopefully the question will get answered.

146

it was classic i wished i would have taken a picture of your face.

145
Kemp in LF, Gonzo at DH is the best option as long as JP is going to play. Period.

149 I'm for that. Kemp is not here to bat only against LHP; tonight's as good a time as any.

I'm okay with Abreu over Betemit as long as it's just for today. Wilson had started the last five in a row, so you might as well get Abreu some action once in a while. I'm sure Sunday's performance was part of the reason, but as long as it didn't result in a long-term benching then I'm okay with it.

I agree with that, actually, Gonzo should get some DH-ing in. Okay, that's my first choice. Then the current line-up comes in a distant second for tonight only. Kemp in the field, Gonzo at DH, and Loney at 1st when he's healthy works even better.

Who's JP again? ;-)

Also - and I realize FieldTurf is better than the old Astroturf - the Toronto and Tampa Bay games are all on the artifical stuff. Isn't that more reason to get one of LuGo, Kent, Nomar off of the defense and into the DH slot?

149,150

I would have been cool with it if it were Saenz, Lieberthal or Gonzo in the DH spot, but Anderson!? he hasn't seen quality ML arms in a long while.

Anderson simply must be played 'till his numbers as a Dodger revert to his career mean. Its that simple. Lets get it over with already.

153

Gradys brain is having a hick up with this AL thing it looks like.

And we used to love Marlon so...

And we laughed when the Padres used Geoff Blum as their DH.

I know this is a dangerous question, but does anyone know if Derek Lowe is happy in LA? Would he even want to sign an extension? It seems that could be a good reason to trade for something.

However, I have loved his performance this year, so I want him to stay.

5 teams in baseball have scored less runs than us so it's hard to even care what lineup he puts out there anymore. As long as Derek Lowe and Brad Penny throw 2.50 era ball over there next 200 combined innings like they have so far, we will be fine.

This lineup has me back to being more excited about our 5-8 guys versus the 2-4 guys.

We will score more runs. At some point Furcal will do his normal thing and JP will get Figgins hot for a brief period. Nomar will either hit or be replaced and the same for Ethier. The Bison didn't come here to munch in the meadow, he's ready to rumble.

This was posted on Tony Jackson's blog a few minutes ago:
"The Dodgers have signed sixth-rounder Justin Miller, seventh-rounder Danny Danielson and 14th-rounder Devin Fuller, all pitchers, as well as eighth-rounder Alex Garabedian, a catcher, and ninth-rounder Jamie Pedroza, an infielder."

In his storied Dodger career, Marlon Anderson has hit a robust .341/.402/.683 (172 *OPS+) in 93 glorious PAs. There is your DH!

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/Gc2c

Sure, his career line is .267/.316/.393 (85 *OPS+), but why let 3,672 plate appearances cloud your judgment?

Fact: Marlon Anderson started September 18, 2006. Without him, 4+1 is 3+0!

159 Carolyn Hughes lives in LA, so I'm guessing Lowe likes it fine.

Wasn't there a time that DT was considered the negative blog? Now I get all my positive thinking from here and the whining from ITD.

159

i've heard about that also, i'd just make him a respectable offer & if he likes it cool if not thanks for the memories.

Derek Lowe will choose what team to sign with as a free agent after going through all the Fox Sports regional networks and checking out the female reporters.

But only Fox Sports. He won't go out with anyone from NESN, YES, or MASN.

161
I have pretty much been that way all season.

New post at Screen Jam.

165 - "Wasn't there a time that DT was considered the negative blog?"

Only erroneously. In the past 59 months, it's never been all good or all bad.

167
So he chooses the Yankees so he can get the ESPN broadcasts with Erin Andrews?

I wonder what ITD would have read like in Aug/2005?

170
Despite Ms. Andrews considerable ... charms ..., I would never go out with a University of Florida alum.

Ever.

No matter what.

I need to give someone a fail-safe order on this in case I'm tempted.

171
"It's great to see that nice Mike Edwards get a shot at the big leagues!"

165 I think the discourse on ItD's comments has turned unduly harsh and nasty, never mind positive vs. negative. (There are people who post in both places of course, and plenty of goodhearted, reasonable people there, too.) DT isn't exactly Pollyanna-ish, but at least people here can agree to disagree and not resort to mudslinging - in part, I'm sure due to Jon's diligence as moderator and that the people here are an agreeable, if occasionally grouchy, lot. (imho) Postings here can get pretty negative about the Dodgers, too, but, again, usually not crossing any line. We all want the Dodgers to win, and most of us think we know what's best. Sometimes there's just a difference as to what that is. But anyway, yeah, on ItD it's kind of sad when it gets a little mean-spirited.

171 "Why didn't the Dodgers give Norihiro Nakamura another shot?"

Nakamura has an 861 OPS with the Chunichi Dragons this year.

44. with 7-11 (the convenience store) to have all their evening home games start at 7:11.

Our AAA team in Las Vegas has a similar deal.

170
So no Gator alums, but USC alums are fine?

171 "I hear Milton Bradley is more relaxed now that he has the financial security of his lucrative endorsement deal with Dasani."

"Man, that was a well written, fair, logical and completely reasonable article by Bill Plaschke today."

"It's going to be hard to unseat Dioner Navarro from his catching job."

169)

Jon, I realize how that sounded. I never meant that it actually was, but that people saw it as such since it wasn't all rose colored all the time. I drifted over from ItD last year, and I have never looked back. No fault to Josh, but I get so much more from the discussion here, and much of that is because of you and your investment in the blog.

I think a lot of what makes this blog different is that there's so much more rapid-fire response. That, and you can reference comment numbers and actually discuss. It makes it less likely for hit and run commenting.

171 - It's time for, scenes from a hat!

180 - I took no offense. Just saying that whoever gave it that consideration wasn't being fair or accurate.

182 Heh. "Things Your Former Manager Might Say in Bed."
{insert Ryan Stiles impression of Jim Tracy here.}

Actually, a better improv game for Tracy might be "Questions."

179 "It's going to be hard to unseat Dioner Navarro from his catching job."

This was actually said. I remember the line in the LA Times: "Dioner. As in De Owner of De Area behind De Plate."

174. I like Dodger Thoughts better than ItD because it seems that in general the posts are more thought out, contain far fewer personal attacks (against players and other posters), and use more facts and stats to back statements up.

No slight to the ItD crew, I think each blog simply serves a different audience.

This lineup is infuriating on many levels. Our best regular hitter vs. RHP can't crack the lineup even with a DH slot. And Matt Kemp's 15-35 start isn't enough to win playing time over Marlon Anderson. Sorry but this is the kind of lineup that makes me wish for 0's.

Maybe the Dodgers can trade for Kobe. He seems to be available.

New thread up top.

187 "Our best regular hitter vs. RHP can't crack the lineup even with a DH slot."

Who is that? Betemit?

188 Too bad #24 is already retired (Walt Alston). I'm guessing Saenz would give up #8 for a cheeseburger, though.

If the Dodgers did trade for Kobe, that would really add a new layer to the Jordan comparisons.

Ah, never mind, I see it's Kemp. Yeah, in 26 ABs vs RHP this year, he's got a swollen 1.079 OPS. He should have started today, you're right. Maybe they lost his bags with his contacts in it again.

BTW, a big thank you to whoever recommended AVG anti-virus earlier. It was able to get rid of whatever had been ailing my IE which had eluded all other anti-virus software I had used before (admittedly it was an out-of-date Norton from 2005).

190 I meant Betemit yes- .842 OPS vs. RHP.

194 Well, I think Kemp deserves it even more. But I see your point! Again, I think Betemit is partially being sat because of how awful he looked at the end of the Angels series. Who knows, maybe Mueller is working with him on something and they'd rather he come off the bench again for a day or two. I don't mind Abreu's bat but don't like his fielding at third over Betemit.

195 Betemit seems to be judged on one or all of these criteria:

1) low batting avg
2) high strikeout rate
3) small samples

If you handed out playing time on this basis you would play Pierre, Nomar everyday too.