It is great that the Dodgers started off the season with a 9-1 record, the best in baseball. All of the games so far have been with the weak Padres and Pirates. Today, they play a much stronger team, the Brewers.
It will be a test of the true ability of the Dodgers when they face better pitching and defend against a better offensive team.
32and53fan
colliethec
crash24now
dodgereric
The Beav
GiveUsBackOurTeam
JhallWally
yunghitters89
trublu4ever
Outside the Dodgers 
I think we will do okay….maybe not win them all but, I feel we will win each series.
…..and not to mention the Padres went in and kicked butt at Coor’s Field. So, it appears (in the early going) that in our division, the D-backs are the only team that is living up to the expectations of the experts so far.
Good and bad – a review of the best and worst of the Dodgers offense as we go to beat up on Selig’s team:
The good: Matt Kemp (obviously). I won’t even review Matt’s 2012 numbers; they are so outstanding, that the whole world already knows them. I will say two things.
1. Thank you, Juan Pierre. You taught Matt Kemp about beast mode. It’s almost not fair to add beast mode to a guy with as much pure athletic talent as Matt Kemp. But as Dodger fans, we love it.
2. Matt still has a long way to go to catch Babe Ruth. The Babe’s career OPS number is 1.1636, which puts him as #1 all-time. Matt Kemp’s career OPS number is .8554, which puts him at #148 on the all-time list of those with more than 3,000 plate appearances. In the last couple games, Matt has passed such names as Jim Rice, Reggie Smith, Jeff Kent, and Al Kaline.
The bad: Loweenio, whose OPS today is .466 (BA/OBP/SLG of .148/.281/.466). By comparison, Juan Pierre’s current 2012 OPS is .583 (.292/.292/.292). Unfortunately for Loweenio, the bar was raised on Sunday when Juanpy slapped out three singles against the Mets. I quote Yahoo Sports: “to shallow right field, …to shallow left center,… to shallow center”.
Juan Pierre has in effect thrown down the gauntlet to James Loney.
It took three bounces and a good roll to get to him…
Good post Crash. Kemp is off to a great start and is talented enough to continue putting up MVP numbers. If he gets the chance. He hasn’t faced any really good pitching yet, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that when playing the Dodgers, you pitch around Kemp and make someone else on the team beat you. I’ll take my chances with Ethier, Rivera, and Loweenio. If they beat me, fine. The odds are definately better pitching to the aforementioned trio than Kemp. Ethier is off to another hot start. He is great in April and May. Always has been. I’m waiting to see what he brings in June thru Sept.
As for Loweenio, geez, it’s all or nothing with this guy. He’s either super hot or super cold. I thought and was hoping that he had turned it around in the final 2 months last season and found some semblance of production and consistency. It is still very early but his showing so far is not encouraging. I’d be happy with league average from Loweenio. But, there is added pressure for Loney to produce at 1st base as we have little to no hope for much if anything at 3rd with Uribum seemingly entrenched due to the ignorant contract Ned gave him.
I am very anxious to start playing the better teams and see what we’ve really got. Against better/stronger teams we are going to need more OBP from Gordon and MEllis and some offensive production from 1st and 3rd base to be successful.
And more than 5 innings per start from Capuano and Harang.
Hang onto your hats, this could turn into one wild roller coaster ride of a season.
Here is a fun game posted by Jon Weisman at his Dodgers Thoughts blog. Place your bets…
Pick the date that Juan Uribe matches Matt Kemp’s current totals of six homers and 16 RBI.
And heck, might as well do the same for James Loney too …
First part is a trick question because Uribe won’t hit 6 HRs this year. 16RBI, maybe sometime mid-June.
April 17, 2014 for Juan……..September 17th for Loney.
I agree with Beav. Uribe is not going to hit 6 HR. If he doesn’t go on the DL (which I am fully expecting either for a real or phantom sucking injury) he might get 16 rbi by mid June. If he doesn’t have at least 16 ribbies by the middle of May, he should not be around until the middle of June.
The bigger question in my opinion is: How long will new ownership and management stay with Loweenio and Uribum if they continue to stink?
And if Gordon and MEllis don’t combine for and OBP of .350 or better from the 1 and 2 spots, it won’t matter. IMO
Last year, Loweenio didn’t get his sixth HR until August 21. If we have to wait that long this year, he may be gone on July 31st.
As far as Uribum goes, his HR production last year was Andruwesque – he followed a 2010 year of 24 HRs with only 4 HRs for the Dodgers. If he can’t turn it around, it’s not Uribum that will be gone, but Ned-be-gone.
I hate these freaking long link but how dumb can you be?
Florida baseball player suspended for dousing visitors dugout in urine
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/florida-baseball-player-suspended-dousing-visitors-dugout-urine-114324582.html;_ylt=AkY8bcnquZmy1pJ2WI.tnQIavMB_;_ylu=X3oDMTRudXFhcGl2BGNjb2RlA3ZzaGFyZWFnMgRtaXQDRmVhdHVyZWQgQmxvZ3MgQ09SRQRwa2cDY2MxZDU4MGMtNGQ1Zi0zM2NhLTg4ZmMtMDhlOTEwZjAyNmVjBHBvcwM0BHNlYwNNZWRpYUJMaXN0TWl4ZWRMUENBBHZlcgM4Y2U1NGZmMC04ODgyLTExZTEtYmQ1ZC0xYmU3N2YzMzFhMjc-;_ylg=X3oDMTNkZmFtNjQ1BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDMTc2ZGUyM2EtZDM1MS0zZTc2LWI3OWItYmQ3ZDk1NWQ0ZDU1BHBzdGNhdANtb3JlfHJpdmFsc2hpZ2h8YmxvZwRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2UEdGVzdAM-;_ylv=3
Go to tinyurl.com and paste the long link. You will get back a short link like http://tinyurl.com/cj8fsau (goes to same place as your link.)
Crap….Gordon picked off!
Rats!! Cost them a run with the Kemp double.
Oh, oh….Billz!
Yay…struck out the Fraud!
🙂
Sure is strange to see Aramis not in a Cubs uniform.
Big difference for juice boy not having big boy Prince behind him.
I can’t get used to seeing Uribe in a Dodger uniform 😉
CRAP! You can’t throw right down the middle!
Holy Shit! What a freaking mess!
Do ya think the old Billz is back?
They are all hitting the ball hard….I’m very worried.
Yep….the old Billz is back!
Yep, he’s leaving the ball up and over the plate.
F*ck….we can’t even hold on to the ball!
Defensive lapses!
Well, not a good inning. But, 2 runs shouldn’t be fatal if the offense shows up and Billz settles down, shakes it off, and puts up some zeros.
We were very lucky to get out of that only giving up 2 runs.
WTF was that Loweenio?
Oh well! One run beats none.
Billz has settled down nicely. At least he’s kept roid boy in check.
Creeping closer to the Mendoza line. . .
Alright Andre and James!!!
Woo-Hoo…new ball game!
WTF….our base running sucks!
….and, Donnie is going to the BP already!
UGH!!!!!!!!!!
Andre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely beautiful!!!
He sure is! 😉
And his buttocks are sublime!
🙂
Oh, oh! I’m getting very nervous.
Damn!
Crap!
Javy was off tonight. It was a good game though. Can’t win them all!
Oh well. Guerra was walking the tightrope his past two appearances. It was only a matter of time. Can’t same them all.
At least roidboy had an o’fer tonight.
It was good to see Billz gain composure after the bad inning and keep them in the game. It was good to see James get closer to the Mendoza line. Guerrer and Jansen did well in their innings. And it was good seeing Andre come up with another clutch hit (so we thought at the time). Let’s see how it goes tomorrow with Capuano on the hill.
Loweenio improved his OPS to .563 tonight, but still trails Juanpy by .020
I know it comes down to Javy blowing a save opportunity. However, some base running blunders during the game cost us more. We will win tonight and, all will be good again in Dodger Land 😉
We are still in first place. If feels a lot better being 9-2, than 2-9, and Dbacks have lost 2 to the Pirates, the gnats lost one to them and we swept them. So, that’s pretty good too in looking at our divisional competition.
Juanpy raised the bar again for Loweenio to .692! Juanpy was 2 fer 2 with 2 shallow singles last night in a losing effort to the Gnats.
Summitt steps aside, Warlick new Tennessee coach
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/summit-steps-aside-warlick-tennessee-175643316–ncaaw.html;_ylt=Aqbrk5M_5VLCPuhO.jj9eXI5nYcB
This is going to be weird not seeing her coaching the Lady Vols after 38 years. The best woman coach in college history and I was hoping she would make it to 40.
I’d like to mention two more things. First to 32 & 53 fan, O’Malley’s response to the Flushing Meadows site was, “I’ll not be the Queens Dodgers” It was also thought for some time that the team would move to Jersey. I was against that move (at the time).
Another thing about the Bronx, NellyJune, You noticed that it’s not Bronx, it’s The Bronx, deriving it’s name from some prominent family who were named “Bronc”(not sure of the spelling), who I believe the N.Y. mayor or governor use to visit a lot.
Also all kidding aside we all envy the Yankees and all their World Series victories.
Speaking of the O’Malley’s…I’m reading they may be interested in buying the Padres.
Oh crap it’s going to be really sad day when Vinny pass away. What a sad day today. RIP Dick Clark.
Yes it was so sad to read about the passing of this icon. My condolences to his family, friends and fans.May he rest in peace.
Wonder what it would take to get David Wright? Zach Lee and Shawn Tolleson? Would that be too much or too little?
Hairston starting tonight instead of Uribum. Is he already going on the DL?
Rivera’s out too….I guess no Juans tonight! 😉
Damn! That means Loweenio is batting fifth – some protection for Ethier!
Yes he is!
I’m thinking that Mattingly is worried that Greinke will overpower him. My thinking is that Padilla’s “soap bubble” pitch would overpower Uribe, but that’s just my opinion, of course 🙂
lol….I agree!
Let’s win this one boys!
Clap…Clap
Wow – nice hit Ellis!
…..and, Matty brings him home!
Clap….Clap
Yay, Mark Ellis (?? three-bagger??)
Matt Kemp still en fuego, ties Ethier for RBI lead!
M. Ellis hit only one triple from 2009 through 2011.
I think being on this team will be good for him. They loved him in Oakland, but he’s never had the chance to play in front of a home crowd that they never get in Oakland unless the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants and Angels are in town, and it’s their fans, not A’s fans. He is doing exactly what he was brought here to do, and he’s an awesome clubhouse guy. My good friend has been an Ellie fan forever, and she cringed when we got him because she knows how hard we are on players that suck.
Nice throw, Tony!
We were lucky to only give up one run…whew!
Wow, nice defense by Gwynn. That would have been at least a 3 run inning with Rivera out there. And Ethier should have caught the one hit his way.
I think they are having trouble seeing the ball….last night Matt missed one too….even on Gwynn’s catch, he didn’t see the ball off the bat.
Could be Tru. Ethier usually makes those catches. I think Kemp thought he was closer to the wall than he was last night.
That’s what Lyons was saying…neither one of them usually miss those fly balls. I think Tony mouthed to Matt that he didn’t see the ball at first.
….and, they have the largest warning tracks.
Matt was in that funny recess/angle they have in center field there.
Dee Gordon now below the Mendoza line. If he doesn’t start hitting in the next week or so, Dildon is gonna have to take him out of the leadoff spot.
Yep…he can’t score if he doesn’t get on base.
Nope, you can’t steal 1st base….
( 🙂 )
Rats!! Ethier hit that ball hard. Just right at the fielder.
Hey Tru, gotta take off. Get us a win tonight. Catch you later.
Dee’s swinging at everything, and missing. Why does he keep swinging at those pitches so far out of the zone?
I think he is trying too hard to get on base. I guess he doesn’t realize yet that walks are good 😉
Hope he realizes it before getting himself benched.
Escaped from disaster, once again!
Surprise! Capuano made it through five!
Barely! lol
Thar she blows!
CRAP!
Crap!
At least he settled down after the dinger. I like his composure.
Greinke is really on his game tonight. I have a bad feeling . . . .
Sheeit…..our base stealing prowess has disappeared this series!
I was thinking that very thing myself 🙂
On a good note….Lindblom was awesome!
He sure was – one bright spot in the bull pen.
Shit!
I’ll second that!
Frustrating!!!!
WOW!
Lindblom has been $MONEY$ coming out of the pen!
Dodgers have nothing but duds for hitters coming off the bench. 😦
O Lord, here we go again . . . .
I’m getting that queasy feeling again.
…..please let it go another inning to give Matt & Dre another chance!
Holy Shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Feelings of dread and impending doom – and I DON’T LIKE IT!!
The defensive positioning makes no sense at all.
CRAP! The bullpen had an excellent report card tonight till Grrear arrived. . . .
Very hard to watch this implosion!
He was out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No kidding!!!
That throwing error came back to bite hard!
That was one lousy way to lose a game. I do not care for Mattingly’s strategies. Was willing to cut him some slack last year, but this was not at all acceptable.
The big surprise was bringing the infield in and going for the play at the plate, instead of the DP. I was hoping it would work and almost did. Close play at the plate.
Well there’s still tomorrow.
I’m off to watch the last minute of the Clippers game. Maybe they can salvage their game – at least I hope so. Bye 4 now!!
I blame Loweenio. (and Grrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeear – but that goes without saying).
Upon further review, I also blame the ump.
The umpires give
The umpires taketh away
The ump did blow the call at the plate, but……..1) Guerrier committed the cardinal sin of walking the leadoff hitter 2) Ellis’ horrible throw put the Brewers at a huge statistical advantage to win the game 3) Kemp did not place himself under the ball in a good position to make a throw that he is more than capable of making, and then proceded to make a (for him) very poor throw to the plate. Whether or not it was the unusual defensive alignment in the outfield that contributed to Kemp’s poor judgement is unclear, but hell, I think Jimmy Wynn or (dare I say it?) Juanpy could have thrown that idiot Morgan out from that spot on the field. He ran through the coach’s stop sign.
So far this season, although owners of a fine record to this point, the Dodgers are making poor decisions on the basepaths and on the bench. If this continues, they will struggle to be a .500 club.
I agree, Dodgereric…..It seems as though, sometimes, when we go on the road, we suffer major jet-lag…..or, brain farts, to be more honest 😉
I think at the end of the day, there’s just no getting around the fact that this is really a .500 club. Nobody of Ned’s can hit or pitch a lick, and if Kemp and Dre don’t drive in runs, they struggle to score.
As bad as that call was, the runner shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
.
I’m not a fan of either the Phillies or the Giants, but that pitchers dual last night was pretty impressive. My hubby and son were at the game, and they said the first 9 innings flew by, and both SP’s performances proved good pitching can beat good hitting.
YAY…..rally time!
Woo-Hoo……Love Dre!
Howdy Ladies & Germs!
Here we are, observing a game where both starters have their best years behind them, and will be registering high on the old suckometer. It may be safe to say we may have a high scoring game.
After that hosing the Dodgers received from the ump yesterday, I’m hoping for a win today to avoid the sweep.
Unacceptable! Runner on 3rd nobody out and we don’t score!
Pitiful!
Matty!
KEMP!!!
Collie posted: Who follows Loney in the lineup?….the other team! 🙂
Speaking of pitiful, our bench has got to be the most pitiful ever. Triple aside, what the hell’s Treanor on the team for? Kennedy – he’s the best you can put up there to PH?
Ned’s outdone himself this year.
He aims to please 😉
He may aim to please but I think he often misses the target!
I’ve always said I could spit into a crowd and hit better ballplayers than Ned finds.
Bout time Harang thows up a dinger with that cupcake FB he’s tossing up there.
I’m surprised he made it through six.
Easy to see why Ned’s been pursuing Harang over the years – he sucks. Goes right in line with the rest of the crap Ned’s brought in.
Hey Ned, why don’t you see if you can bring Wolf back.
Whew….now we need a ton of runs for protection.
Yep. The more, the better. With all these short stints from starters, the bully has been over worked.
Kameron Loe? With the exception of Kemp & Dre, you could put Cameron Diaz out there and get these guys out.
Depends on what she would be wearing. You’re in fine form today beav!
I like Cameron from Ferris Buellers Day Off 😉
Oh, dear….it’s the one and only, Wright! Good grief!
Let’s hope that he’s right today and not wrong 🙂
So far, so good!
Pleasant surprise striking out the side!
Ryan Fraud looks like a turtle, doesn’t he?
The Big Buscemi Bug Eyed Boy! LOL
( ( ( ( ( 🙂 ) ) ) ) )
That’s the Loney we know and love!
I’m in shock…James…a double!
Awwww . . shit!
Fuck…a blown squeeze play!
WTF is up with all these baserunning blunders this series?!
Brain farts…..plain & simple!!
Darn! That hurt!!!
Good grief…Pathetic…
I was waiting for your: Unacceptably Pathetic Futility! 😉
🙂 LOL!!
Seems all the opportunities that were cashed in earlier this season are now coming up empty. . .
Damn it, Treanor!
Now that throw was truly pathetic.
Thank-you, Mr. Hairston!
Hairston’s play was, on the other hand, really good. Uribe couldn’t have made it in a month of Sundays.
Great throw Hairston!
Holy shit! I thought it was deja vu all over again!
Good thing Hairston stepped up to make that play.
Wow, what a play by Hairston!!
Shit, he was safe!
Sure seems like the umps have wood for the Dodgers this series.
Let’s Go Javy!!!
Uribe can sit the pine forever!
Amen Tru!! And preferrably on another team…
I would love that!
Come on Javy!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Woo-Hoo, No Sweep!!!!
Javy nails it down!
Well crap, I missed the rest of the game. I had my sarcasm really working well today too.
It was mentioned before the beginning of the game that Uribe’s got a problem with his left wrist and that was why Hairston got the start. Another of those “mysterious” but fortuitous injuries. When will Uribe go on the DL? Any guesses???
Today I’m sure. Someone from Alb. is going to get a call, but who? Sands? Van Slyke? I’d prefer the latter.
I hope he goes on a permanent DL!
Ya gotta say Hairston playing third went a long way to help us win this game. Those were two game saving plays.
I think the boys in blue did really well this series. Lost two in the last inning but took this one, all really close games. Certainly morgan was out in the 10th at home yesterday, but it will all even out and the calls will go the blue way. Hairston at 3rd, I could live with that over yawn.
Well, it’s off to play the Stros. They sure have hit hard times lately. The only player on that team that puts any fear in opposing pitching is Carlos Lee. They’ve let everyone else get away.
http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/2012/04/19/uribe-could-be-sidelined-for-some-time/
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus…..
Fantastic news!
Might it keep him out next year too?!!
At what point does Ned get fired? What are we up to now in wasted $$? $350M? $400M?
Let see, there was Andrew 36.2, Manny 45, Pierre 44, Schmidt 47, Uribe 21, Nomar II 19, Mueller 9, Garland 5, at least 9 PVLs per year at 1 each X 6 = 54 – who am I missing?
Hmmmm….the Dodgers are baffled by Yawn’s injury…..I’m still baffled as to why the hell Ned signed him in the first place! On second thought, no I’m not….it’s what Ned does.
Throw in another $12M for Guerrier….
And for all you folks that believe/think Neds poor performance is because of lack of money due to Frank:
http://www.chadmoriyama.com/2012/04/ned-colletti-manages-to-do-less-with-the-most/
Nedcompoop has had enough money to work with and has ineptly wasted it away.
Pathetic! I have the feeling (about Uribe) that he doesn’t love L.A. anymore….do you think there is any team out there stupid enough to take him off our hands?
No. Not even if we waived him and had to pick up all but $500K of his salary. How many guys have we DFA’d and had someone claim them? 1-2 over 6 years? How many DFA’s has Ned claimed? Ned learned his stock and trade from Sabean during the Bonds years.
Thought so…was hoping for a miracle.
No… I don’t see any takers at any price.. It is basically money down the drain as we all knew when Nedcompoop made the deal. Just another in a long list of Ned failures…
How could I forget Furcal II at $30M? Blake at whatever it was? I must be getting senile. Pretty soon I’ll be as bad as Ned.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=sands-002ger
I see Sands is having a tough time in triple A.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=1cf02adf
Wow some ugly pitching down there but we know it’s a hitter league.
That’s not where we stock out talented pitchers though. They’re all at Chattanooga. A lot of what’s in Alb. are Ned’s stiffs.
I have been surprised that Tronco’s doing well. I’d still take him over Coffey and/or MacDogturd.
I really despise Ned! I hope the new owners look over the list of duds he stuck us with and fire his ass!
I don’t see how you can peruse Neds history of trades and signings and not show him the door.
It is Unacceptable!!!!
http://www.dodgersrumors.com/search/label/Ned%20Colletti%20Transaction%20History
I’m glad you put that here…I knew either you, enchanted or dodgereric would find the info. As for me, I’m just too lazy 🙂
🙂
It just astounds and amazes me that there are actually people out there that think Ned has done a decent job and his bad deals and judgement are a result of Frank and not enough money. Ned is a total and profound idiot!!!!
People equate spending big money with being good – the Yankme Syndrome. Give me the smarts of a Tampa Bay any day. Have to laugh at the start the Angels are off to with the money they spent over the winter.
I totally agree Beav… Our new ownership group needs to hire the Tampa Bay GM or one of their asst. GMs.
It is fun to watch the big spenders tank… Angel fans are squirming.
I agree too. I think the new owners are smart guys who will do the right thing for the fans in order to make this team a winner.
That’s awesome Wally – thanks for finding this!!
Most of Ned’s transactions read like a Who’s Who of Who? list. Pathetic. You can go through and pick off maybe 10 or 12 trannys (in all catagories combined) that you can say well done Ned, and most of those were within his first couple of years.
I really think the only reason he kept his job is because Frank was the only one in the world that knew less than Ned about baseball.
Like I’ve always said, the money was there. The brains were not.
Glad you like it my brother. It is a pretty sad resume…
Frank was too tied up skimming money and raping the franchise to care what Ned was doing. Keeping Ned is truely a testament to Franks baseball stupidity…
Wondering if anyone made out in the Trayvon Robinson trade. Tray’s not even listed in Seattle’s top 20 prospects. Did you see he K’d 61 times in 143 AB’s for them last year? That’s Andruw Jones territory.
Doubt Federcheese is going to make it either. I see him needling pretty high on the ol’ suck-o-meter.
Never know about prospects, but I’ve always wondered if when they’ve been with one organization and are steadily moving up (LaRoche comes to mind), then get traded away if they don’t lose confidence and some of their spirit.
Ned on the other hand prefers trampling on them as well, then tells them to go learn how to be a big leaguer before he releases or trades them away for old garbage.
That is so funny Beav… I just looked up TRobs stats a couple of hours ago to see how he is doing.
45AB/1HR/4RBI/1BB/13SO/.244BA/.255OBP/.333SLG/.589OPS at Tacoma.
That trade is looking like a wash. I don’t think either of them is going to become an impact player.
Makes you wonder too how much smoke NedCo blows up your ass touting guys like Trayvon and Lambo as the next best thing since sliced bread, then the next thing you know they’re not even in another teams top 20 list. Is that smoke for the fans benefit or other GMs?
With Ned it is just inane jibberish. He is not a good judge of baseball talent. In answer to your question, IMO, its for the fans. The other GMs and teams, and especially GMs not named Colletti are well aware of a prospects talent. They are well scouted I’m sure.
Makes one hope that we can get by the next 2-3 years with at least some highlights so that we can build the minors back up to where they should be.
So what do you think – do we get away clean without Selig and is crones vetoing the sale to Guggenheim and/or Frank suing somebody here in the next couple weeks?
Yes, I think the sale will go thru. Frank and the new ownership group duped Bud. Selig is to commishining as Ned is to GMing.
It’s all a big farce…. JMO