While blue is the color of their name on their uniform, the Dodgers have their work cut out for them to prevent that color from describing their mood after their visit to St. Louis. The boys in blue limp into the river city atop the NL West, but down to a half game lead over San Francisco. The Cardinals with the best record in MLB, lead the Central division by 5.5 games.
Going up against the Cards without Kershaw and Grienke will test the Dodger’s mettle. They will have to be at their best to win this series.
32and53fan
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Outside the Dodgers 
Will the Mike Bolsinger magic continue? He puts his 3-0 record and 0.71 ERA on the line tonight.
It will be interesting to see how Donnie screws up this series.
Well, he has already begun screwing it up, by leaving Rollins in the two hole.
Pederson CF
Rollins SS
Kendrick 2B
Gonzalez 1B
Turner 3B
Ethier RF
Guerrero LF
Ellis C
Bolsinger P
This lineup would be so much better by moving either Ethier or Turner to the two-hole, move Rollins down to the seven, and Little Pedro up to six.
Stubborn little shit, isn’t he?!
He learned stubborn from Pappa Joe. All he knows he learned from Pappa Joe. Remember when Pappa Joe kept bringing Scott Proctor out of the bullpen every night, even when Proctor’s arm was in the process of falling off?
Thanks for reminding me of Proctor… It just upset my stomach.
Sorry about that, Collie.
I guess Id like to have barnes be catcher more, but hey ellis did get a hit in that 6-run inning, so he gets the starts. Perhaps it was barnes catching the frias blow-up game vs padres that has him off the starting line up.
Rollins will start to hit, and I really hope he does, he was brought here for a purpose and if he can do that purpose with the bat, he can move to lead-off, pederson can go lower to 5 or 6 and pick another #2 in the order.
also I hope SVS back gets better soon, AG in left bothers me.
although with Turner doing Third, where would AG play.
I think it will be a challenging week ahead, fall from first, but this is not a season killer.
The first game counts as much as the last……..yadda, yadda, yadda. I never pay much attention to the standings – good or bad – until it’s August. IMHO.
Whoa!! Faced with the dreaded Cardinals with the Giants breathing down our necks. Can’t ask for much more.
It looked like worse than one run would happen, so not bad.
Next time through the lineup we will get to Lackey.
Hope you’re right.
These guys are gonna put up a big fat zero today.
I’ll admit it doesn’t look good!
Two on. No outs. Can’t score.
PATHETIC!!!
This series is starting to look like the Giant series.
I was hoping Wallach would argue and get kicked out of the game, so we could see Lopes manage. Then come back to WIN!
A.J. getting kicked out…. was just lame!
Oh boy!
What a clusterf*ck this is turning into!!
Winters is a joke!!!
When both teams are pissed off…you know he blows!
By the way, Heisey blows too!
‘Bout what I’d expect against a real contender. Can’t get the big hit. Don’t put up much of a fight. Though I think they may eventually score a run this series, they will get swept and will find themselves in 2nd place, at least for awhile.
Whatever “it” is, they’ll never find it with Donnie at the helm.
Amazing they’re only down 3-0. . .
This team needs some divine intervention.
I’d guess Paco’s glad that ended.
I’m not a nit picker but… More of the same. You have guys get on base and they never move to the next base – just continue to get stranded waiting for a dinger.
Why not with Rollins finally at 1st don’t they try a hit and run?
You gotta try to manufacture runs when you aren’t scoring.
Donnie just doesn’t seem to do anything to make anything change when things aren’t working. It really chaffs my britches!
The team looks lifeless which is a bad sign when you are playing a team that has had your number – the same look as when they went to SF and were swept – including 3 shut outs.
Sorry but to me it seems as something is amiss with this team.
Precisely Collie. Donnie is and always has been an AL manager. He learned from Old Joe who didn’t know shit about managing in the NL either. When is the FO going to get enough of this crap?
I was hoping it was during last off season – I guess they didn’t watch some of the videos of the last few years.
By the way good to see you back OBF.
Good to be back.
PFFFFFFT!!!! ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Unless the Braves help out, it’s adios first place. . .
I’ve been having a hard time posting as well – doesn’t seem to be taking my comments – telling me it can’t post…
Boo!
Two more games to go against these guys.
How the hell does Donnie get himself thrown out of so many ballgames? Its the only thing he really “manages” to do well.
It’s either him or his players…such as Kershaw and Ethier. No big loss this way. Wallach has Donnie’s managerial moves down to a science.
Case in point:
After Donnie’s, I got your back tantrum, to keep Ethier in the game, by getting tossed himself…The team managed to rally and score exactly ZERO runs!!!
If you’re going to try and support your players by getting thrown out of the game…At least make it noteworthy by going Earl Weaver, or Billy Martin in the process… Turn the cap around, throw some bases…kick some dirt…refuse to leave…when you do leave, stop and come back, then kick some more dirt, etc…
He sure got his money’s worth…
The camera panned into the dug-out when Donnie went out to argue…The players were watching him with that deer in headlights look….Going ape-shit in defense of Andre would have reset the attitude of everyone…and I’m guessing had a lasting effect.
Had he of done it right collie…Ellis wouldn’t of been thrown out behind him.
Pretty sad effort by the offense tonight. They’ve been struggling for a couple of weeks now. Geez Dildon, you might want to do a major shake up to your lineup. Oh wait. I keep forgetting that you are in over your head and don’t have a clue.
Agreed D4. Donnie doesn’t have a scary fire in him. When he blows his lid it’s like ah geeze – you know I’m right….
Someone needs to light a fire in these guys.
I was talking to my neighbor who is also a Dodgers fan and he expressed things perfectly the other day — That as Dodger fans in Norcal we never really cared about the Giants – they were an afterthought and the rivalry was one sided – but now after they’ve won 3 in 5 years we need the team to start playing with a passion and like they care a little – we can’t settle for them rolling over like they did here in SF that last sweep.
I totally agree with him.
Agreed…I think I’m gonna name my Rally Unicorn – Wild Card
That’s what I think this club will eventually end up needing a rally for!!
I could live with the WC. With what I’ve seen I’m concerned we might not even get to the post season.
2nd place…sounds about right. 2/5 of the starting pitching staff gone for good and a station-to-station, boring-as-white-bread offensive “attack” led by an AL guy.
I agree Kahli.
Add to that they don’t play well on the road and don’t elevate their game when facing good teams and I think that sums it all up nicely.
Mark Saxon reported about an hour ago that Zach Lee was pulled tonight after 3 innings and he is thinking that is so he can start Tuesday in Colorado.
Hello second place.
Bolsinger pitched well tonight. The offense sucked.
Ellis’ comments after the game sure were interesting.
I was surprised…I still think AJ should of kept his composure. Maybe he should have moved his glove towards the strike zone quicker on a high fastball…you know a second too soon! (Thunk!) Then his comments could have been…yeah it was just bad pitch framing.
I think the team will score runs today…only to see the bullpen falter.
But, how many runs will Frias give up? And, if he has a bad start, how long will DumbAssDonnie keep him in there?!
I just think the bullpen will have an opportunity to preserve a win…and fail to do so…I’m probably wrong!!
I think one win this series against these guys will go a long way. One win and we can get through this half way decent.
I was also surprised by Ellis’ comments and by the absence of any comments by an umpire. It is not good when the umpires become part of any game story. Still, if Ellis is correct about what the umpire said, what does that say about that umpire? Did he admit he can be “fooled” by how a catcher catches a pitch? Vinny always says to judge a pitch by where it crosses the plate, not where it ends up in that catcher’s mitt. I have wondered about this notion of framing we hear about all the time. And Ellis himself admits he is not as good at the tactic as others but does not want to hear it from the umpire. Did Johnny Bench, Yeager, Roseboro or other great catchers from the past set up so far inside or outside as catchers do today?
However, the Dodgers did not lose last night because of the umpire, they lost because they failed to score runs. They fell again to a good but not great pitcher who does have a lot of success at home. In order to win a championship the Dodgers will have to win games on the road and win games against the better pitchers. They will have to find ways to win games against better teams. I understand why some feel Donnie is lacking in his ability to lead a team when we see other teams do the little things in key at bats, moving runners, stealing or at least putting a runner in motion in certain situations that either result in a steal or preventing a double play. Perhaps Donnie is right at not trusting his players to be able to do these things because when he does, the results are mixed. Should we expect more from these players? I know I do.
I used to be able to determine whether a runner was safe sliding into second when watching tv. That was 20 years ago, now that I’m older, I rely on the replay…the game has sped up for me. I think the umps these days have the same problem with the game being sped up…so good pitch framing works more??
Of course I haven’t replaced my broken glasses… but still. I took the postal exam a few years back, and my mind wasn’t nearly as sharp as it would have been in my younger years. 93964, 93946 ,93694, 93649, all looked the same when clumped together with 40 more questions, while being rushed…
I think part of the problem birk is that since Donnie rarely asks them to do the little things, they rarely can do the little things when asked. What’s the old saying – practice makes perfect?
I think the biggest part of Donnie’s problem is that players don’t know what their true role is on the team, and Donnie can’t recognize what their role truly is. Look back to the 70s when Lopes was leadoff and Russell was second. Lopes knew his role was to get on base and disrupt the pitcher and defense with his running. Russell’s role was to allow Lopes to do his thing and hit behind the runner to move him along. Now look at Joc and Rollins. Is Joc a power hitter or a leadoff man? Not that he can’t be both, but is he a base stealer? What’s he supposed to do if he gets on? Now look at Rollins. Is he supposed to take pitches to allow Joc to steal? Is he supposed to move the runner along? Neither guy is suited to hit 1 & 2. Donnie should recognize that, but he doesn’t. Smith hit 3rd. Power, speed, average. Kendrick; little power, average speed, fair average. Garvey hit clean-up. Power, average, no speed. AGon, power, average, no speed. Hey, Donnie got one right! Cey hit 5th. Turner? SVS? Grandal? Then you have the rotating 3B/LF situation. Pick a damn player and go with it.
I think the biggest irony though is that Donnie would screw around with a line-up that worked. A guy would hit a HR, then be on the bench the next day. A guy could get 3 hits and be on the bench the next day (he learned that from JoJo.) Now we’ve got a line-up that doesn’t do much and THAT’S the one he sticks with day in and day out. Exception being his asinine RH line-ups for LHers.
Now throw in poor bullpen management/choices and piss poor in game decisions and it doesn’t matter if you have a collection of talent or a functioning baseball club, the results never come close to expectations.
Perfectly stated Beav. It’s strage how last year the line up was changed daily – even when there was some success and that this year he doesn’t change it when there isn’t.
I recall earlier in the season Hatcher coming in to close a game and afterwards he was saying he was surprised to be in closing because he had no idea what his role was as was the case with the other relievers.
I have always felt that DM seems to take ST into the regular season. Seems like he can’t figure out what he has – what strengths & weaknesses his players have – until July. Look at how he kept using Wilson last year – even when he’d load the bases and his pitch location was all over the place he’d have given up a coupe of runs and had people all over the base paths before he’d have some in the bully ready to go (Something you never see Boche do). The same the year before with League.
I don’t like drilling on DM – but he just keeps making it easy.
Think you it the nail on the head Collie – Donnie takes ST into July.
I think a lot of our not scoring runs has to do with the shitty lineup. JRoll comes up with a hit now and then (but not with runners on base) Adrian should be in the 3 slot….he’s our best hitter, period. Howie can bat cleanup. Just saying…..why not try something different? Donnie is so stuck in his ways I think hell will freeze over before a shake up is made.
This team shot out of the gate just fine…enchanted claimed they were on target to win 108 games. what is missing is momentum…it seems we lost that when Donnie tinkered with playing time heading into San Francisco.
He did the same fucking thing heading into the play-offs.
Donnie is the Rally Killer!!
The hit-and-run play is not highly regarded by the analytical crowd. It is considered a one-run play and, like the sacrifice bunt attempt, it garners derision from people who hate small-ball tactics.
.
Hit and Run Do No.1: Slow Batter, Average Speed at First (the majority of the team fits this category)!
You want to stay out of the double play for two reasons. First, a double play means two outs. Second a double play means momentum. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen an inning-ending double play and the team goes into the dugout and suddenly score five or six runs.
Did anyone read where Donnie claims the line-up is missing Crawford???
Crawford? Gag me please. I hope he never comes back – I wish he never had been here. Of course, the same goes for Donnie… and Ned… and McCourt… and the Guggenheims… and Magic… and so on.
Never mind the fact that Crawford wasn’t doing much before he was injured…The all mighty left handed bat he swings is paramount to Donnie’s offense.
Dodgers lineup:
Pederson CF
Turner 3B
Gonzalez 1B
Kendrick 2B
Ethier RF
Grandal C
Van Slyke LF
Rollins SS
Frias P
Heisey optioned…Dodgers carrying 3 catchers
I can’t believe Donnie listened to me!
‘Bout damn time!
Nice lineup. Hopefully this pays some dividends!!!!
For me, one of the great things about hit-and-run is that it forces the batter to swing. Lasorda could sense when a player was struggling at the plate, “guessing” at pitches and failing, being too patient—just over-thinking the whole process. Hit-and-run takes the primitive approach: see ball, hit ball. It can help bust a player out of a slump.
I’ll buy that….Donnie can sense when they need a nap.
OK first place is not the dodgers for now. In talking to a Gnat fan, yes many in my area, he stated:”the dodgers make us better, we get up for them, they use to dominate us, but now we(the gnats) are competitive and just play better when the time comes”, we all saw that, what I want the dodgers to do is “get up for them” and the Cards. Somehow I think the dodgers organization feels they are better than most, ATT park is the litmus test, and the dodgers fail, dont measure up, and they need to start taking an underdog (bulldog) mentality.
Yes Donnie did mention CC as not being availble, SVS being sore, but not a word about missing puig? of course Dre and Joc have been playing well, so LF and CF are not problem positions, except when those there dont hit.
Dodgers are limping, the bench thinner, the BP not improved if, the likes of hatcher, libertore are inconsistent, How can donnie trust anything out of the BP when its inconsistent. and 2 Starters down.
Im waiting for the deal for the pitchers, what will we give up for that? and any pitchers bolstering the roster cant help if quality at bats aren’t made, runners get on, and RBIs being tallied.
There is no savior coming this year, the FO has put its blueprint on, the construction has been made, what we have now in the core is what needs to take us there, yea the baez, puig, crawford, SVS will return healthy, but Grandal, Gonzo, Kendrick, Joc and rollins wont be moving and they got to deliver. Despite Donnie, because I dont see him moving either. Just start executing. GO Dodgers!
Wacha has never surrendered a run to these Dodgers, nor, any Los Angeles Dodgers for that matter…
So we are due!!!!
That’s what I’m thinking!
The starting pitchers must be going nuts waiting for this delay to be lifted?? They’ve already been summoned to begin warming up once today.
I have no game… I do have the Rangers and Red Sox game though
Same here
😦
SCREW YOU FOX!!
I see we brought our A game again tonight.
SCREW YOU DONNIE!!
Boy – this is becoming really painful. Talk about futility…
Is the game on where you are at collie?
Sorry D4 – I had to go back to work – so I didn’t see this until just now. I was up this morning early at 05:00 to go in – got home at 3:30 and did some housework and hoped to watch the game – was back at work at 8PM for another 2 & 1/2 hours. Nope the game wasn’t ever on here. I had hoped between my work I would be able to see the game but Mother Nature and Fox had a different idea.
The bats are suffering a dismal case of anemia!
Well they just surpassed the old scoreless road game innings streak. A record to be proud of. . .
If it’s any consolation, the Ducks are sleepwalking tonight too. . .
No call for Wacha to hit Adrian in the back!!
Damn dirty birds!!!
No reason why we shouldn’t be drilling their players right back. Just no fucking backbone, which is another reason this team will never win anything.
The drought finally comes to an end!!!
F*ck you Wacha!!!
Welcome back Grandal!!!
Finally! A home run!!!
The bubble burst.
I also hate their pitchers always managing to hit our best players! Oops, the ball slipped, they say…..I say BS it’s on purpose!
Damn straight it’s on purpose. It’s chicken shit, and has happened numerous times the past few years.
Someone on their team needs to get one in the ribs or butt at some point. I wish we’d show a little feisty-ness. Teams take on the character of their Manager. I’d like to see more fight from Donnie as well as the team. Although I will give them credit tonight and they have been tougher this year than the past few.
Holy fucking shit. Excuse my french. Donnie finally dropped Rollins to #8. Will wonders never cease?
Now that the scoring drought has ended, the question is will he stay there?
Frias pitched a nice game.
I have to admit, after his last couple of outings, I was concerned. Great bounce back effort from Carlos!
Outstanding! Isn’t that Callaspo’s first hit as a Dodger?
My daughter pulled me away from my Gameday picture…I see the Boy’s have managed to score some runs tonight….
So Rollins hitting 8th: Donnie’s decision or front office mandate?
Not that it matters because he can still kill a rally no matter where he hits.
Yimi’s better when he doesn’t have the pressure of being the closer.
Yimi hasn’t pitched much lately has he???
I like JT in the 2 slot.
I’m glad the bullpen didn’t make my prediction, a reality!!
Nice job!
Rubber game tomorrow!!
YAY! Finally…..Tru gets to go to sleep happy!
🙂 Woo-Hoo!!
It’s good to be back in first place, with the Giants losing.
This is what I am talking about! GO Dodgers!
Hopefully they can get a W tomorrow and take 2 of 3. That would be a start in the correct direction. I also hope Donnie sticks with this lineup – or at least Rollins down in the order for a few games – you know… to take the pressure off.
I can’t believe Donnie is still pining for Crawford, when he’s got a perfectly great left handed hitting outfielder named Ethier.
What he said: We weren’t able to get a lot of guys out there,” Mattingly said. “When we had them out there, we weren’t really able to do enough.”
What he meant: “I have no idea how to play small ball.”
What he said: “I think we’ve definitely gotten where we’ve had some games where we had more trouble scoring, it seems like,” Mattingly said. “I don’t know if we’ve gotten spoiled from early on, where we put up runs, runs, runs.
What he meant: “I love it when we hit home runs, because then I don’t have to use my brain. When we don’t hit home runs, then what the heck should we be doing?”
What he said: I don’t think any of us expected that to continue, but I do think we’ve had a little bit of a lull scoring runs.”
What he meant: “I am so screwed”.
What he said: Mattingly said injuries have deprived the Dodgers of some of their flexibility. With left-handed-hitting left fielder Carl Crawford on the disabled list, for example, the Dodges have often started a right-handed-hitting outfielder such as Alex Guerrero or Scott Van Slyke on days they have faced a right-handed pitcher.
What he meant: “I hate Ethier. I can’t wait to sit his ass on the bench and play Carl instead”.
Excellent summation of Donniespeak crash.
What The Beav said: “I’m glad they finally moved Rollins down to eighth.”
What The Beav meant: “I can’t wait until we kick Jimmy to the curb and Seager gets to play.”
Starting lineup for today:
Joc, CF
Callaspo, 3B
AGon, 1B
Howie, 2B
Dre, RF
Yas, C
Alex, LF
Jimmy, 2B
Brett, P
Yes we all know that Jimmy will be at SS, but look where he is batting now 2X, yeah!.
On a Coaching kudos last night, Wacha is tough on the dodgers, no hit for the first 5 innings could of just been another 1-0 shutout dodgers lose, but they adjusted, I don’t know what insight, who did it, but when the dodgers came out in the sixth Wacha was no magician, and the dodgers bats just smacked him around and out.
Mark Maguire did you see something and let the team know it?
That is what really thrilled me, the in-game adjustment.
It was great to beat the Cardinals last night, one of baseballs best teams and Frias’ performance was just fantastic. Good to see the champs finally lost last night putting us back into first.
Just another of Donnie’s dumb lineups. Time to give Turner a day off, so he just sticks Collapso into the #2 hole. Never mind that this is a guy who struggles to keep his OPS over .500
The more I think of it, last night’s win was big. The worse that could happen today would be the Dodgers back in 2nd by only a 1/2 game.
I see Turner who is a bench player to begin with, needs a day off. After going 3-for-5 with a walk batting out of the 2 hole. A spot we have struggled to get production out of.
Donnie you’re a dumbass!!
Would have been better to give Rollins the day off!
I’d give Rollins a pass…if Donnie would take a few days off. Can we send him to Extended Spring Training???
B-O-R-I-N-G!
I looked away for a second….didn’t we just have 2 runners on-base, with one out???
So?—————haha.
WTF…..HATCHER?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Looks like the Sunday lineup showed up.
ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………
Pretty much what Donnie always does. Have some success with a line-up. Change it the next day.
One friggin hit. Absolutely pathetic for a $250M team. These guys really get up for the good teams don’t they?
Red-Pen ~ $300M team as of now.
Did anyone else hear the way the Cards announcers were just going off on Ump Mike Winters? They were smacking him down for the way AJ was ejected the other day.
One old catcher sticking up for another.
Anderson kept up pretty well with Martinez.
Joc!!!!!!
Nice going JOC.
WTG Joc!!!
Really Hatcher??!!!!
You suck!!!
Save the Rally Unicorn!!!
Break out them bananas, Boy’s!! Let’s get to shakin’ and bakin’…
.
Rally like a nut bread!!
Blue Unicorn!
Blue Banana!
Blue Unicorn!
Blue Banana!
Cubano Blue-Mano!!!
Justin got screwed!!!
Freakin’ Ump doesn’t know shit about the strike zone!
You can’t throw me out of the game! The game is already over!
I’m still holding the bat! Be careful what you say to me!
Neither one of those last 2 pitches were even close!!!
The ump just wanted (1) to appease the hometown crowd and (2) the game to be over.
It’s pure bullshit, that’s what it is.
I BLAME DONNIE!!!!
Just what I hoped for. At least a win in this series. We hang close to first place.
Well. I was hoping for a series win and the belief that our guys could beat the good teams. Guess I was suffering from delusions of grandeur. Now they’ll go to Denver and beat up on the Rockies, I suppose. Our guys surely are wasting some decent pitching.
Giants lost….we are still in 1st place.
First place is nice, I guess. Maybe some time soon they will start scoring runs like a first place team.
Resting Turner? Really…
Bringing in Hatcher late in a close game? Really…
Its amazing to me that it seems when a guy had a good game he then doesn’t get used but when Rollins went games without a hit he just kept playing.
Donnie confuses me – it’s almost like he makes the wrong decision just to stare failure in the face and laugh at it.
The rest of us however, aren’t laughing.
Unacceptable!! Hey Guggs and company!! If you want to win a world series, you need to replace your manager. He just ain’t got IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yep!
If anyone wants to blow off some steam, turn your rant into a new post for the Rockies series. If you want to write the post, comment here so others will know not to write one.
The Cards are tough to beat, especially at home. People expect more from the Dodgers because of their high payroll but you can’t buy wins. Let’s just hope they can get it going soon.
“Turner’s feelings were shared by others, including one Dodgers player who said he believes the Cardinals and San Francisco Giants often receive favorable calls in their home stadiums.”
Spare me. What a bunch of whiners. Mattringly, show some leadership and tell your players to shut up and play baseball.
I read a Sports Illustrated article which stated that baseball umpires and basketball referees pretty much favor the home team. It’s a fact of life that when you’ve got all those home town fans breathing down your neck, you’re going to give the close calls to the home team. Live with it.
They may have to live with it, but even in slo-pitch, over-the-hill, beer-league softball we have a saying: the umpires don’t lose games. Umpires serve as a convenient excuse for failure. I suggest to Turner, et al, that you swing the bat with two strikes. If it’s close enough for the ump to call, it’s close enough to hit or at least foul off. And if a pitching staff continues to plunk your hitters, it might be wise to every now and then reciprocate…accidentally, of course.
Look, I didn’t see both pitches to Turner. I did see one of them though, and if I was the person on the mound, that’s the spot I’m trying to hit. So, yes I think it was a strike. Even if it wasn’t, it was close enough that in a crucial moment of the game, your puttin’ wood on it. The whining ain’t gonna win games and if you don’t win games you ain’t getting that elusive ring. So shut-it when it comes to excuses and do what you need to do…to be a winner!!!
Crash or Dodger4life……do a new thread please. 🙂
I will pull together a new thread with a short rant.
Blaming umpires is a sign of frustration. I can understand it when there is no consistency but players, especially pros, need to move on and play the game. While it may seem a bad call might determine a game, there are plenty of other plays that determine the outcome as well.