Dodger Thoughts

Jon Weisman's outlet for dealing psychologically with the Los Angeles Dodgers, baseball and life

Dodgers suffer second straight one-run defeat

Nathan Eovaldi pitched well enough to win in his 2012 Dodger debut, throwing six shutout innings after giving up a two-run homer to Ryan Braun in the first inning, and finishing with five baserunners allowed in seven frames.

But in his first start of 2012, Michael Fiers pitched a little better, allowing only one run on five baserunners in seven innings.

That left the Dodgers trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, which began with newly activated Matt Kemp lacing a double to left-center against Milwaukee closer John Axford to end a nine-pitch at-bat. Axford hit Andre Ethier (2 for 3 with an RBI double) with the next pitch.

In a way, though, hitting Ethier was like a well-placed intentional walk. Jerry Hairston Jr. tried to bunt, went to two strikes, then hit into a double play. With A.J. Ellis on deck, the Brewers smartly went after James Loney, who grounded out to end the game.

Fiers (89 pitches) and Eovaldi (90) maintained a quick pace in a game that was in the eighth inning when it hit the two-hour mark.

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202 Comments

  1.  All these one run losses to Milwaukee are darkly funny at this point. Well, not really. But surreal. And annoying. Yeah, that’s it, annoying.  How about a blowout win? Is that possible, oh ye Baseball Gods? (I know the Baseball Gods have mostly been good to us so far this year but… do us that one favor?)

    • bcmaiden

      Both SF & Ariz have beaten these guys but we can’t. Dodgers need a #5 hitter badly. 

      • Anonymous

        They have Kennedy and Hariston.

        • bcmaiden

          Hope you’re kidding. If so, I’m not laughing because Donnie thinks those 2 are #5 hitters. 

  2. Christopher Staaf

    Here is hoping Kershaw goes complete game shutout tomorrow. 

  3. Anonymous

    Blue Crew a Buck Shy vs. the Brew Crew!
    ….
    (I really didn’t want to type those words….well, at least not in that order….)   :-)

  4. Anonymous

    Brutal.
    If Hairston could of just executed that lousy bunt attempt, they’re stll playing.
    Oh well, Giants up 2-1 in the 8th.
    C’mon D-backs…

    • Anonymous

      I agree wholeheartedly. Hairston’s inability to get the bunt down cost the Dodgers at least the tie (Kemp would have scored on Loney’s chopper to short) and quite possibly the game (Ellis was on deck). Jerry never squared properly nor got his bat out in front of him. EVERYBODY in the stadium knew he was going to bunt (especially Axford) so why try to hide it? Hairston gets a pass, however; not because it was his birthday, but because he has won more games for the Dodgers in the last three or four weeks than he has cost them – but it is still frustrating to lose this one due to his inability to get the bunt down.

  5. Or perhaps if Mattingly hadn’t called for that lousy bunt attempt we would have won.  I have always maintained with runners on 1st and 2nd, more bad things can happen with a bunt than good things.

  6. bcmaiden

    This is my issue with Donnie…THE FRIGGIN’ BUNT CALL. I’d like to see Maury Wills bunt Axford.  The Adam Kennedy pinch was another head scratcher. 

    • Anonymous

      When the pitcher formerly known as K-Rod came into pitch the 8th with Lindblom coming up I wasn’t sure what Mattingly would do. K-Rod, as you know, came up in late Sept. 2002 and had a great post-season. He was almost unhitable by RHH for the next 4 years. In 2007 and 2009 then again this season he had more success with LHH. In fact, in 2012, RHH are killing him 316/447/395; about 100 pts higher in BA, 200 pts higher in OBP due to 9 walks in 47 PA. SLG goes to the LHH by 37 pts due to 2 HR vs 0. So the question was would Mattingly view this small 2 month sample as too small or not. When Herrera went up I figured IDJ jr would be PH for with a LHH and Herrera would stay in the game to play 2nd. After Herrera Ked and Gwynn GO, I assumed Abreu would come out to hit. Thus, either Abreu was not available or was being saved for the 9th.
      There is no question that you want LHH vs Axford so again (more choices this time) Abreu was not available, Mattingly didn’t want to dis Loney by PH a LHH for him which maybe never happened before, or Mattingly thought who will play 1st if Loney ties it up and that’s all we get; after all Loney is hitting 280 vs RHP. [I would have hit for Loney but who cares what I think]

  7. Anonymous

    Well, For me the bunt call was the correct one.  Jerry Hairston didn’t strike out.  It just manage the worst case of alternatives that may occur: ground into a DP.  If the bunt was succesfull, we have Kemp @ 3rd and Ethier @ 2nd, 2 good runners. The Brewers has two options then, bring the infield in, and pitch to Loney, or intentionally give a Base on Balls to him and pitch to Ellis, which was our ideal situation and the one Don was looking for.

    BTW Maury WIlls will have easily bunt.  He was by far, the best bunter I had ever seen and one of the reasons a puertorican became fan of the Dodgers.

    • Anonymous

      I always thought Furcal was a good bunter.  Lopes too, but that was a long time ago and my memory may be just recalling the good ones.

    • Anonymous

      I have no quarrel with the bunt in that situation, but Hairston’s execution was horrendous. He looked as if he had never bunted before.

    • bcmaiden

      It’s the right call if you have a skilled bunter up, hence my Wills analogy and the skill involved. Hairston looked very uncomfortable trying to bunt. With 2 strikes he was then at the mercy of the pitcher and forced to make contact on an offspeed pitch that looked like a strike. 

  8. Anonymous

    With the Ethier HBP, all I could think about was the classic
    quote:  “Don Drysdale would
    consider an intentional walk a waste of three pitches. If he wants to put you
    on base, he can hit you with one pitch.” – Mike Shannon

  9. Anonymous

    Dodgers….
    ….
    – Early-season over-achievers coming back down to earth?
    – The Brewers are just seem to have the Dodgers’ number?
    – Just a cold spell for our boys?
    ….
    Stay tuned… we’ll see how it all plays out.
    Either way…. I’m enjoying it. 

  10. Anonymous

    In his career, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, Don Drysdale gave out 59 IBBs. He hit one batter. It was Mack Jones of the Braves in the third inning of a scoreless game in 1966.

    Also, in 1966, Drysdale hit Ernie Banks with a pitch with a runner on 2nd and one out. But I don’t think he was setting up a double play or sending Banks a message. 

    Because Drysdale hit the next batter too, Byron Browne, to load the bases.

    The batter after that was Randy Hundley.

    He hit a grand slam.

    • Anonymous

      He hit someone with the bases loaded too and the umpire ruled the batter did not try to get out of the way.  That preserved his scoreless inning streak.

    • Anonymous

      I stand corrected.

      • Anonymous

        “If you haven’t been struck out by Bob Timmermann, you’re nobody.”

        • Anonymous

          I always thought that a lot of what Drysdale said was bluster.

  11. Mattingly is not having a good week: bunting a runner to 3rd in the 1st inning with nobody out and your 2, 3, and 4 hitters coming up on Monday night was absolutely brutal. Then last night: Abreu’s absence from the entire game, his absolute refusal to ever put runners in motion when the game is on the line, his apparent infatuation with Adam Kennedy, and his willingness to give up outs in every inning of every game. Mattingly’s strengths are in getting everyone to pull in one direction, his insistance on professionalism, and the esteem his players clearly have for him. These things are arguably the most important aspects of a managers job…and he seems to have these in abundance. However, my opinion is that he’s tactically weak, and wedded to baseball orthodoxy.

    • bcmaiden

      This!

    • Anonymous

      I assume it was clear that Mattingly ordered Herrera to bunt on Monday; I was out that night. When I read the play-by-play I naturally thought Herrera bunted on his own. I guess the bunt was a clear sacrifice. Please comment. 

  12. Jerry came up having gotten hits in 7 in his last 11 at bats. OPS’ing around .900 with RISP in 2012. I would have went with that. I’d take three shots at a hit to score the run. But I can see both sides…a bunt and Loney will probably hit a warning track power fly ball. But Loney could have K’ed then Ellis walked and then Gordon (or Abreau if he was available)..I’d just want one of my hotttest hitters hitting right then..

  13. foul tip

    Apart from Loney’s game-ender, Gameday seems to show several Dodger AB of not very many pitches last night.

    Their guy’s pitch/strike ratio was 89/64, pretty outstanding.  EO’s was right at the same, 90/63.  

    As someone who doesn’t see games, the few pitches per AB makes me wonder if some Dodger hitters were more than a bit anxious, swinging early and helping him out?

    Or was he being Maddux-like, pounding the zone, so hitters thought they might as well swing anyway? And hitting ground outs …

    • Anonymous

       Both Fiers and Eovaldi were throwing strikes.

      • foul tip

         Yeah, sure.  But wasn’t there more first and second-pitch swinging by the Dodgers than usual?

        Maybe they thought everything was going to be a strike, so nothing to gain by waiting….

  14. Anonymous

    The birthday Gods were not on Hairston’s side yesterday.  Man that double play hurt!

  15. Anonymous

    There might not have been anybody in the dugout for Hairston’s spot on D, but I would’ve put in a good bunter like Cap if you’re going to bunt.  I like the idea of a single to win the game and a grounder or sac fly to tie it, so I don’t fault Donnie.  Also, if they walk Loney, to load the bases, you have AJ up there to win or tie the game.  I don’t fault Donnie for that call, especially with our inability to score the last few games.

  16. foul tip

    “Frazier saves man, then helps Reds beat Pirates”–

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/gameflash/2012/05/29/41231_recap.html?sct=hp_t2_a13&eref=sihp

    Story says man picked up their tab but didn’t seem to know they played for the Reds.

    Does not say if any phone booths or quick outfit changes were needed.

  17. foul tip

    From a story about Kemp’s return and how the team did without him==

    “Jerry Hairston Jr. fell behind in the count by fouling off a pair of awkward bunt attempts — Dodger manager Don Mattingly is all too fond
    of giving away outs in that manner — before grounding into a double
    play, and then James Loney grounded out as well, sending the Dodgers
    down to defeat.”

    So someone else isn’t too high on Mattingly’s bunting fixation.  Or does it qualify for “obsession”?

    Not too shabby a headline, either. “Dodger lineup is suddenly less unKempt.”

    http://mlb.si.com/2012/05/30/the-dodger-lineup-is-suddenly-less-unkempt/?sct=hp_wr_a2&eref=sihp

  18. We have a few holes in the lineup and it shows.
    When Kemp gets on in the 9th with a double,  the dodgers #1 thing should be to get him over.
    Laydown a bunt and then the next run has to hit the ball in the air to score Kemp.
    Not sure if it was 1 or 2 outs with Kemp on 2nd. I was watching men in Black 3 at work.

    So excited to see Rivera & Uribe on the horizon.  2hrs is so great.

    • Anonymous

       You’re not going to ask Ethier to bunt. The key play was the HBP, in retrospect.

      • Just 1 more big hitter in that line up , currently not on our roster would have these games won.

  19. Remember Jay Jaffe of The Futility Infielder blog? He’s got a new one at SI. Ladies and gentlemen, set your bookmarks!

    http://mlb.si.com/2012/05/29/off-and-hitting-and-running/?sct=hp_t12_a1&eref=sihp&sct=mlb_t12_a4

  20. Anonymous

    In Cleveland, Jonathan Broxton loads the bases with one out before getting a GIDP to record a save in a 6-3 KC win.

  21. Anonymous

    Chad Tracy of the Nats out with a torn groin muscle. Every time someone goes down with a groin injury I’m always remended of good ‘ole Sam Malone :
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vg9ruee3Vos

    • Anonymous

      I thought I was the only person that remembered this bit.  Hilarious!

  22. Anonymous

    I have been happy with Mattingly at the helm.  Can you think of a recent Dodger manager that has done better?  I can’t!  Best record in baseball for most of the season, beating up on teams they should, splitting games with the better teams.  I can live with that.

    I would like to see this line up.  Notice Loney is absent. I have supported Loney for so long but my patience has run thin.   I am looking forward to M. Ellis’ return….in July????? 

    Tony Gwynn Jr., LF
    Elian Herrera, 2B
    Matt Kemp, CF
    Andre Ethier, RF
    A.J. Ellis, C (That’s right. I blogged it!
    Bobby Abreu, 1b (He can do it!)
    Jerry Hairston Jr., 3B
    Dee Gordon, SS
    The Pitcher

    • Anonymous

      And move Adam Kennedy and his uppercut swing to the end of the PH bench instead of the front.

    • Anonymous

      Maybe putting Loney in the dugout is the only way to get him from standing too close to the plate.  Late last year he finally stepped back from the plate and did well.  So, why would he stand a little closer to start the year and now, he is back to where he was standing when doing so poorly to start last year.

    • Bat Gwynn and his .316 OBP 7th. He belongs nowhere near the leadoff spot.

  23. Anonymous

    In less than 1 hour the lads are in action against the penta champions of football. Wish them luck as the back four will be seriously challenged.

  24. Anonymous

    The first 50000 people with “valid” tickets get the Vinny bobblehead. I guess those with invalid tickets don’t get the prize.

    • Anonymous

      That covers the case of people photocopying tickets and trying to get in twice.

      They will likely mark the ticket after you get the bobblehead.

  25. Anonymous

    You get Blake Beavan 17 runs in the first four innings, and he can be tough.

    • Anonymous

      I think even I could hold that lead!

      • Anonymous

        Texas are making a comeback, they are only down 17-5 now!

  26. Anonymous

    Herrera leading off, I like it!  Loney at 2 – interesting !?!

  27. KT

    the ball to Bobby had me holding my breath…I thought we would be behind yet again right away

  28. Anonymous

    Kershaw gets a little help from the umpires.

  29. KT

    Come on Matty

  30. KT

    Good eye Matty
     
    Let’s go Dre

  31. KT

    NICE HIT DRE!!

    • KT

      Pitched around @therealmattkemp to get get to @AndreEthier16 who makes them pay with a double and rbi

  32. KT

    Good eye Bobby

  33. Anonymous

    I think I’d rather see Abreu swing at a bad pitch than Kennedy swing at a good one.

    • KT

      yea me too…but here’s hoping Kennedy does something

  34. KT

    Good eye Adam
     
    Come on AJ

  35. KT

    Gallardo up to 35 pitches after 1 inning

  36. KT

    Kemp back on the DL?

    Gywnn replaces Kemp in CF after he hurts his leg again running the bases

  37. Anonymous

    Attn opposing teams, we recommend: walk Kemp, pitch to Ethier. Trust us, we’re from Dodger Thoughts.

  38. KT

    He was out

    I slowed it frame by frame

    • KT

      he was safe on the pick off attempt
       
      Ump correcting his error?

  39. Anonymous

    I think we should shelve Kemp until after the all star break to make sure he is 100% for the rest of the season (including the playoffs!!)

    • KT

      that’s 38 games away (40 days)…think we can hold up that long without him?

      • Anonymous

        I think so (at the worst .500 ball ) and we really need him firing on all cylinders for the second half (hopefully the injury is not that bad)

  40. KT

    Good hit Clayton

    • KT

      they just wanted to put clayton on to tire him out a little bit

  41. Anonymous

    in a nutshell about strengths & limitations – you can build on your limitations but to add maximum value with-in a team structure you have to understand your roll with in the TEAM…

    __

    it kind of bothered me what i typed yesterday, i should know better.

  42. Anonymous

    good acting by Weeks too, he didn’t even know where the ball was.

  43. Anonymous

    Nice play by Herrera. Aoki seems to have patterned his hitting style after Ichiro.

  44. Anonymous

    rats, didn’t realize Kemp got hurt again. yikes!

  45. KT

    Gallardo getting the low strike call…the catcher is good at pulling up the pitch

  46. KT

    Kings up 1-0

  47. Us Dodger fans have got to get over this Ryan Braun thing. It was last year. Time to stop booing him and carrying on. Whatever. 

    • KT

      no you have to at least give it to after All Star Break or after this series…not everyone has seen him play this year yet  ^_^

  48. Anonymous

    Did anyone notice that the Seahawks are beating the Cowboys tonight, 21-7?

    • Anonymous

      Back-to-back TDs with two-point conversions for the ‘Hawks.

  49. Anonymous

    Kings Win in OT

  50. Anonymous

    my legs wobbled on that Kershaw curve to Braun. Beauty of a pitch!

  51. Anonymous

    21-7 in Texas to the Mariners. It sounds like a NFL score!

  52. Anonymous

    Clayton is not sharp, and has been less dominant than last year.

    • bcmaiden

      Right. He’s just not the same this year. Colletti needs to get us a bat ASAP. 

  53. Anonymous

    is it just me or does Kershaw’s off-speed pitch have better movement this year, even with that camera angle, it looks really good.

  54. Anonymous

    Kemp: reaggrivated hamstring, MRI tomorrow per Dodgers twitter feed.

  55. KT

    double post ^_^

  56. KT

    Need a K or DP here…Come on CLAW

    • KT

      Come on Clayton…2 walks to non hitters…then an 1-2 hit

      • Anonymous

        it seemed to me like it was a weakly hit ball & the infield was kind of in, still the walks hurt Kershaw.

        • Christopher Staaf

          The Brewers are laying off the breaking ball this inning. 

        • KT

          no it was hit sharply but your right about Dee being in a couple of steps…1 run was scoring even if he got to the ball

  57. Anonymous

    lets stop it at just the 2

  58. Anonymous

    Kershaw made a lot of pitches this inning, hopefully they don’t come back & bite him the rest of the game.

  59. KT

    Come on DP

    • Christopher Staaf

      Just what we needed! Good play by Herrera. 

  60. Anonymous

    Bummer Matty!

  61. KT

    Great play by Herrera

  62. Anonymous

    2-1! we can come back from a 2-1 defecit!!! [turns rally hat sideways]

  63. Anonymous

    saw the replay on Matt Kemp’s injury, he went all Hulk on us in the dugout.

  64. KT

    Come on DP again

  65. KT

    pulled his foot

  66. Anonymous

    nice acrobatic play by Dee Gordon to save AJ’s bacon, gutsy play by AJ i might add.

  67. KT

    Almost a HR…missed by less than 1 ft

  68. Christopher Staaf

    Well, this doesn’t look good at all. 

  69. The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
    —-looks around —-
    Is the sky falling?

  70. KT

    At least it’s not a 1 run game…could be our 1st 3 game losing streak of the year

    • Anonymous

      in 1988 we didn’t have a 3 game loosing strak all that year. Don’t know why that bit of information has stuck in my head for so long but there go.

      •  We actually never had a 4 game losing streak.  We did lose 3 in a row 10 different times in 1988.  No team has ever gone through a season without at least a 3 game losing streak.

  71. Just started watching…. was Mattingly tossed? 

  72. Not sure why Kershaw wasn’t pulled after the Weeks double or even the Ransom walk, he was clearly struggling.

    • Anonymous

      wondering out loud as well, will this start affect his next start? he made a lot of pitches man.

  73. KT

    Are we trying to tire out Gallardo

  74. Anonymous

    What a terrible series of baseball this has been, glad its almost over.

    • Christopher Staaf

      Not just that. The Brewers just have the Dodgers’ number this year. With the way Bills is pitching, would not surprise me if the Brewers swept tomorrow. 

      • Anonymous

        Well, the good news is we won’t have to face them in the playoffs so there’s that

        • Christopher Staaf

          So true, since the Brewers will likely finish 3rd or 4th in the NL Central.

          Just checked the numbers for Kershaw against the Brewers. Career: 2-2 with 4.26 ERA. In 2010, he had his worst start in his career (7 runs in 1.1 innings) and last year 8 innings of shutout ball. I really thought Kershaw was starting to round into his Cy Young self again. Hopefully his next start in Philly will be better. 

  75. KT

    solid single Dre

  76. Anonymous

    At this very moment, we are playing horrendous Baseball.

    • Anonymous

      This series at least. We still have a good record.

    • Anonymous

      Horrendous is too kind

  77. KT

    Since I have to get up early tomorrow I’m going to watch the Kings win and maybe come back to this one tomorrow…Hopefully we produce a comeback…Night all

  78. Anonymous

    Hopefully they get all of this awful play out of their systems tonight and tomorrow and dominate the road trip.

    • Anonymous

      that’s the thing though, we dominate at home & are so-so on the road.

  79. Anonymous

    i hope we at-least scare the Brewers.

  80. Anonymous

    WOO!!

  81. Anonymous

    Loney destroyed that rally.

    • Christopher Staaf

      Obviously Donnie still has faith in him or else we would have seen Van Slyke against the lefty. 

    • Anonymous

      Gwynn didn’t help it.

    • Anonymous

      Fans are going to throw a huge party once loney and his nerf bat are finally replaced either this yer or the offseason.

  82. Anonymous

    Alright that’s all I can bear for the night.

  83. Anonymous

    don’t you just love it, the emotional roller coaster of a game.

    • bcmaiden

      I really, really, really miss Mark Ellis. Both Dee & Elian have had some trouble turning DP’s. WTF do Ned & Donnie see in Kennedy?

      • Ned does not surrender the veterans easily.

        • bcmaiden

          Understatement. IDJ deserves to be on the team not Kennedy. He grounded into another DP as I was posting. IDJ can play better defensively & offensively. 

      • Anonymous

        They didn’t learn their lesson with garret Anderson that’s for sure

      • Anonymous

        Right now, Ned and Donnie are looking at the blogs and wondering why fans can’t understand that they can’t go out and grab Chase Utley to be our backup infielder.

  84. Anonymous

    a young Abreu makes that a double an alder Abreu casually makes his way to 1st.

  85. Adam Kennedy makes me miss Juan Uribe, which makes me miss Eugenio Velez, which makes me think I should have turned this game off long ago.

    • Anonymous

       I miss all three of them, at every opportunity.

  86. Anonymous

    We need a #5 hitter, and if Kemp is out for a while again, we need one desperately.

    • bcmaiden

      I said this last night and we can’t wait until the trade deadline. Do it now. Knowing Ned & Donnie, they think Rivera is that guy. 

    • Anonymous

      as of today we have a 6 game lead in the West.

  87. Anonymous

    Jansen doesn’t seem inspired with a 6-3 deficit.

  88. Anonymous

    This Axford guy is a dead ringer for a Hatfield right outta the 1880’s

  89. Anonymous

    Thank god, now we just have to make it through one more home loss

  90. Ned o Ned..please spare me from having to watch the embarrassment that is James Loney swing a bat ever again in a Dodger uniform.. 

  91. Yes Kennedy as well (lets be real though, we all knew this was a mistake signing at the time it even happened)

  92. Anonymous

    Yeah, Kennedy’s swing is painful to watch – that damned upercut that he has makes me want to give him the Moe treatment and poke him in the eyes – then maybe he’ll swallow that big plug ‘o chew he’s always got poppin’ his cheeck out like a chipmonk.
    At least Loney has a sweet swing….even though the swing doesn’t seem to produce much…but when it does, at least it’s …. ah, nevermind.
     

  93. foul tip

    And, yea, it came to pass….

    Grand jury investigating McTorts.  A federal grand jury, even.  How surprising.

    http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120530&content_id=32520434&vkey=news_la&c_id=la

    Notes no income tax paid for 6 years as well.  So who gets him first, grand jury or the IRS?

    Maybe he got advice that said no tax due on stolen money…

     

    • Tycho

      McCourt’s attorney says Frank is not targeted.  How is that possible?  He has not paid taxes since 2003 and his lawyer says it’s just a normal IRS audit.  I’m not sure I’ve seen worse spin.  We need a lawyer for advice and to spell out what exactly the feds are doing. Can the State take his property if it gets that bad?  Yes, I’m wishing for that.

  94. foul tip

    ” Mattingly met after the game with president Stan Kasten, general
    manager Ned Colletti and director of personnel Vance Lovelace.”

    Not to be overly dramatic, but there’s a good chance this meeting and more like it soon to come are key to the season, maybe THE key.   Wonder how directly Kasten will influence what’s done….

    http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120530&content_id=32528028&vkey=news_la&c_id=la

  95. I’d like to see Fields come up and Hariston platoon with Abreu in left for a bit… Just to see if we can dump Uribe somehow someway to free up a spot for a trade. At this point, it’s all hands on deck, right?

  96. Anonymous

    When Kemp returns, thoughts on moving him to RF, his natural position in my opinion? Gwynn in CF and Ethier in LF, with an Abreu/Rivera platoon at 1B.

  97. For what it’s worth, a guy claiming to be good friends with Alex Castellanos is claiming that he’s being called up for his ML debut by Dodgers. He runs a Castle fan page, which almost makes him more legit, because who runs a fan page for a minor leaguer? And he was right before about Castle’s injury recovery update. Again, FWIW, grain of salt, etc. But if true, that would be fun and interesting, and mildly take sting away of Kemp going on DL again. :(

    • update: 
      RT @Kevin_Goldstein: Sources have confirmed: The #Dodgershave called up 2B Alex Castellanos. I’m a believer in his bat.

  98. Lost in all the Kemp talk from last night was the truly disappointing outing from Kershaw. On the surface, his numbers look good, but he has not been nearly as controlling and dominant this season. A LOT more homers and hard hit outs…and his strikeout rate has tumbled. And last night…well, he seemed afraid to throw a fastball in any key situation. The numbers on the gun look OK, but I get this weird feeling watching him pitch…I don’t know what it is…a certain lack of command within the strike zone, a reluctance to challenge good hitters with the fastball. As I said, I know the numbers look good…but in this case I think they are deceiving.

    • I agree, that is worrisome, too.  I wonder if it’s partially trouble facing an all-righty lineup, as he basically did last night, or if there’s something else going on? Something is definitely off. They really need him to “ace it up.”

      • Anonymous

        Do you think the catcher has something to do with that. Kershaw looked quite upset when Ellis allowed the runner to go to 3B. Though I don’t know if he was also mad for not getting the strike called on the check swing. But something is definitely different.

  99. Anonymous

    There are more confirmations that Castellanos has gotten the call to replace Kemp. I assume Herrera will be used as more of super-sub between the infield and outfield.

  100. Anonymous

    Kershaw on Jim Rome right now

  101. Could you explain why we need another second baseman? Is there anyone at all in the minors that plays their natural position or is everyone a super-sub? This seems ridiculous to me.

    • Anonymous

      Unless the team wants to go way down in the organization, it would appear that it is either Castellanos or Sands.  That said, I thought Castellanos was being groomed to play 2B, so why not Sands or Van Slyke getting more time?

      • Anonymous

        I wish SVS was in the lineup more often.

    • bcmaiden

      1. 40 man roster
      2. need bats/offense
      3. can play OF/2B
      4. SVS & Sands look awful
      5. no other options 

  102. Well it does look like Castellanos has a significant amount of experience in the minors playing in the outfield (usually corner outfield positions) I think the Dodgers like Hairston’s ability at 3rd base too much to have him out in left at all (especially with no other solid options to play at 3rd for a significant amount of time).
     
    I’m sure they are also pretty skeptical about Herrera’s ability to maintain his offensive success over the foreseeable future with Mark Ellis out. 

  103. Anonymous

    Hey Jon Weisman…… everything ok?

    I read your posting entitled “Site Update” ….
    All I can say is…. I hope all’s well with you and your family.

    • Anonymous

      A couple replies down in that thread, he told us everything is OK.  Just sounds like he is being pulled in so many different directions that he isn’t able to spend the time he feels is needed here.

      • Anonymous

        Jon seemed fine when I visited him in prison. He really shouldn’t have gone to Reno.

        • Anonymous

           Thanks dale and btimm …. :-)
          btimm – LOL

  104. bcmaiden

    Herrera CF
    Ellis C 
    Abreu LF
    Ethier RF
    Hairston 2B
    Kennedy 3B
    Van Slyke 1B
    Gordon SS
    Billingsley P
    Donnie’s stubborness is like Torre’s. Again we have the useless Kennedy. 

    • I don’t understand why Kennedy is playing. While I’m no big league manager, I’d like to have Hairston at 3B and IDJ at 2B if Gwynn needs a day off … Mainly I want Hairston to prove he’s better at 3B than Uribe (not difficult) and stick ala Jamey Carroll… Sigh.

    • Anonymous

      The curse of Kennedy will never end, especially if mattingly keeps starting him

    • This lineup doesn’t look promising.. but hey Greinke has struggled on the road during his Brewer career.. ERA over 7 on road this year and 4.70 last year.. question of the night:Will Bills will last more than 4 innings

    • Anonymous

      This is a great example of a lineup that depends on 2 or 3 superstars when One or two are missing due to injury. Although it may not be easy, the team now should have the ownership and resources to remedy this problem. I won’t get upset if they wait until the off-season although it would be great if they improved things at mid-year.

      • bcmaiden

        Yes, except have you noticed all the good players are being extended in fear of the new Dodger  Regime. I also expect to be royally raped in any trade deal this year.

    • Christopher Staaf

      Kennedy has some incriminating info on Ned and Donnie. That is the only explanation. Kennedy is on his way to replace Garret Anderson as the worst old guy Colletti pickup. That’s saying something. 

  105. Onlyatriple

    Has anyone here ever broken a bat over their knee a la Matt Kemp, and was it Bo Jackson who did that once?  I am somewhat amazed that any human being could do that, or is there some common technique that I am missing?

    • Anonymous

      Handles on big league bats are really thin now. And Matt Kemp’s thigh is really large.

      • Anonymous

        This is very true, and I would imagine big league power hitters know exactly how to make a current bat look like a piece of dry straw.

    • Anonymous

      IIRC Bo did it over his helmet once as well.

  106. Anonymous

    Glenallen Hill once broke his bat on a check swing that never touched the ball.

    • Anonymous

      do you have a video?

      • Anonymous

        No, that material is owned by MLB.  I don’t think I ever saw the footage myself, but have read about the incident in many different outlets.

  107. Anonymous

    Ryan Braun is not in the starting lineup tonight.

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