Dodger Thoughts

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

June 24 game chat

Dodgers at Angels, 12:35 p.m.
Dee Gordon, SS
Elian Herrera, 3B
Andre Ethier, RF
Bobby Abreu, DH
Juan Rivera, LF
James Loney, 1B
Adam Kennedy, 2B
Tony Gwynn Jr., CF
Matt Treanor, C
(Aaron Harang, P)

Travis Jones, a 23-year-old minor-league catcher released by Kansas City, has signed with the Dodgers, who are converting him to pitching. Jones pitched a shutout inning for the Rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers on Friday.

* * *

Daron Sutton, the son of Hall-of-Famer Don Sutton, has been removed from the Arizona Diamondbacks’ broadcast booth indefinitely, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.

* * *

Clayton Kershaw and Chris Capuano, duelin’ and dealin’ lefties …

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228 Comments

  1. Dodgers have as a team 1 less HR this month than Mark Trumbo. :(
    Should I mention that I miss Matt Kemp?

    However, I am predicting a home run today. Call me crazy!

  2. Interesting on Sutton. My personal opinion is that Sutton and Grace were the most annoying broadcast team of the new century. this ruins that.

  3. The most amusing thing in that D-Backs news and notes column might be the last item about their relief pitcher actually getting to swing the bat rather than going out for a pinch-hitter. It had a happy ending — he got a hit!

  4. Underdog…in day games at Anaheim, the ball jumps…you’re not crazy :)

    Re: Dee Gordon and yesterday’s game…I regard this as an “even blind squirrels find acorns” kind of thing. If there was any reasonable alternative whatsoever, there’s no doubt he’d be in Albuquerque. However, it’s in the DNA of every baseball fan to sieze on one game…even one at bat…to find a sliver of hope (see Loney, James). I find that admirable.I do it myself all the time.

    One thing regarding a comment in the last thread: Just because 1988 happened does NOT mean that Alfredo Griffin was a good player that year. Not even defensively. In point of fact he absolutely blew.

    Another thing relating to a point in the last thread: One commenter made a point about MSTI saying that Billingsley and Capuano were similar, but the perception is different. The commenter made the right point but for the wrong reason. It’s not about “guts” or “heart” or competitiveness, it’s about hitters squaring balls up. MSTI tried to make the point that because of Billingsley’s BABIP, his performance could be explained away in part as “bad luck”. This is a common misreading of Billingsley’s BABIP, in my view, because it’s not THAT high (.321). It is above average. And sometimes a high BABIP means that hitters are squaring up more pitches. If you actually watch a typical Capuano game and a typical Billingsley game this year, hitters have had a great deal of difficulty squaring Capuano up. Billingsley’s BABIP is high because he regularly gives up line drives and ground balls: 65.4% of the batted balls he gives up are line drives or ground balls (and thus more likely hits), as opposed to Capuano’s 59.6%. And…if you watch the games, Billingsley’s grounders are generally hit harder…Capuano hits more handles. I do believe that Capuano’s BABIP will rise, because in point of fact he is not now nor has he ever been a great pitcher. I don’t believe that we can realistically expect Billingsley’s BABIP to change that much. The hope is that he can eliminate those games when he’s finding too much of the plate. Then, indeed, there would be little to choose between the two.

    • i see. so knowing how to pitch and being able to face adversity in a game situation has nothing to do with it. uh huh.

      • What makes you think Billingsley doesn’t know how to pitch? Did Capuano, who “knows how to compete, face adversity, and pitch”, suddenly forget all of those things last year when he was getting the living crap kicked out of him all season in a pitchers park in New York?

        Capuano is pitching great ball for the Dodgers this year. My belief is that it has to do with great control, a little luck, and a pitching pattern he can win with. It doesn’t have anything to do with pixie dust or some mysterious inner strength.

    • Anonymous

      We misunderstand BABIP if we construe it purely as a “measure” of a pitcher’s luck on balls that leave a hitter’s bat. It also helps to normalize fluctuations in a pitcher’s performance. Capuano may be extremely sharp right now, and Bills is sort of out of it, but later in the season the two may switch places in that regard. 

      I think it’s broadly agreed on that pitchers can control BABIP better than batters. Billingsley has a higher BABIP than in previous years and he’s also giving up more HRs on balls that are hit in the air. Billingsley’s BABIP this season is .20 higher than in previous years, whereas Capuano’s is .20 lower. In the end, Bills will (in all likelihood) end up with .300 BABIP as he’s consistently done and Cap will end up with .290 BABIP, Bills will give up fewer HRs and Cap will give up a more, and Bills will finish the season as the superior pitcher.

    • BABIP is just another useful yet flawed stat if your idea is that it tells the full story. like most advanced metrics the concept that it’s based on is not utter fact but a moving target thus rendering it imperfect. sabre folks like to think the basis of the stat is absolute but how can it be absolute when it takes out parts of the actual playing of the game. 

      lies, dang lies and statistics. you can always find a stat to make your case.

    •  the thing about Billz, fair or not, when they tied it at 5-5 I said to myself he will now give up the lead. And he gave up the lead faster than I could even say it with a batting practice fastball down the middle.

  5.  

    Mark Gr at 8:42 AM June 24, 2012

    Alright, lets cut through the affirmative
    action BS. Okay? Dee Gordon is 76th out of 81 players in the NL in
    batting average at .224 Gordon is 81st out of 81 players in the NL in
    OBP at .272. Dee Gordon is 81st out of 81 player in the NL in slugging %
    at .278. He is ranked 12th out of 12 in shortstops in the NL. Dee
    Gordon leads the entire Major Leagues in errors with 13. A reasonable
    baseball fan could make the argument that Dee Gordon aka Skinnyswag 9,
    despite being a “nice kid” is the worst player in baseball.Aha
    you say, but Dodger exec Dejon Watson and Dee’s father, Flash Gordon are
    great friends, surely nepotism comes into play. I thought so until I
    saw the billboard on Sunset Blvd with Maury Wills morphing into Davey
    Lopes morphing into Dee Gordon. Now I get it. The Dodgers have invested
    heavily in the marketing of Dee Gordon, and we as fans just better
    accept it even of it keeps players like Elian Herrera down in the minors
    for 9 years. Apparently, if your dad was a Major Leaguer and the
    Dodgers can market you, you have a two way ticket to the Majors.
    “Bloodlines” Is what Mr. White calls it. Bloodlines. Nice way to run a
    team.

    •  Dee Gordon is 76th out of 81 players in the NL in
      batting average at .224 Gordon is 81st out of 81 players in the NL in
      OBP at .272. Dee Gordon is 81st out of 81 player in the NL in slugging %
      at .278. He is ranked 12th out of 12 in shortstops in the NL. Dee
      Gordon leads the entire Major Leagues in errors with 13.


      Hard to argue those stats. At least he is 20, what excuse does Loney and Uribe have being the worst at their positions in baseball as well.

      • Christopher Staaf

        He’s 24. I still think he could be valuable hitting 8 in the lineup but Mattingly really like him batting leadoff. Mattingly hopefully will realize just because Dee is the fastest guy on the team does not mean he gets the leadoff spot. I still want to see Herrera get some at bats at leadoff. 

        •  he’s 24!! oh wow! for some reason I thought he was 20. And I am with you, no reason to bat the worst batter on the team leadoff. I’m not a Dee Gordon fan myself. I see him being a worse version of Juan Pierre.

          • wow then you’re going to be really surprised in a couple years.

          •  I would love to be. I too have watched a lot of baseball in my life.

          • Christopher Staaf

            Pierre hardly ever struck out and he was perhaps the best bunter in the game for a while. He could play very good defense even though he had no arm. Gordon is in the lineup mostly because there isn’t anyone who can replace him. Sellers would have done it if Sellers could hit .250.

          • do you remember that dee hasn’t played a full year in mlb yet?

          • Anonymous

            Well Dee can’t hit .250. At least Sellers is a good fielder.

        • i would agree that there would be nothing wrong with moving him back in the lineup. as i said yesterday if for no other reason than take some pressure off him.

  6. The whole Dee Gordon uproar is understandable but such a small world view.

    The argument that he’s the worst offensive player in the league because of his stats are unusually shortsighted. by his performance yesterday he showed that he can do things offensively that 85 percent of the major league population cant do. so by logic alone saying he’s the worst offensive player around is not true.

    if you can’t see that he’s one of the most naturally gifted players the dodgers have had recently outside of  Matt Kemp I can’t help you. he was able to hit last year. he hit well in spring training. his learning curve is highly accelerated playing in the majors compared to the minors. every game he plays for the dodgers gets him closer to being an all-star which he certainly will be.

    the dodgers are in first place with the best record in the NL with the Dee Gordon albatross hanging around their neck.. if you think Dee is anywhere close to the dodger’s biggest problem i can’t help you there either.

    matt kemp had an awful year with torre and that was after mediocre years. people wanted to get rid of the young mistake prone, strike out prone matt kemp for gawd’s sake. glad they didn’t. 

    • OK…so he has one good game where he helps the club win…what about all of the other games when he has been mediocre to terrible? He’s a poor fielder, a bad hitter, a bad bunter, and he never walks. That’s not “stats based”…that’s an objective observation. He blows. Maybe he’ll get better (I hope so)…chances are he won’t. And comparing him to Kemps bad year is laughable. Kemp had already proven he could play effectively…and, in 2010, Kemp in a bad year was 20 times more productive than Dee Gordon will ever be.

    •  It’s not shortsighted. It is what it is.  At his age Kemp had an OPS around .870 with 2 and a half seasons under his belt. Gordon is not the biggest problem.

      • Anonymous

        I have to disagree with you there. Loney and Uribe may be awful and overpaid, but they are at least above replacement level, meaning we can’t stick some random minor leaguer in their places and get better as a team.

        • And this is where the term “above replacement level” is crap.  No one is suggesting we should replace these two horrible players with two AAA players.  How about we replace them with two players that make comparable salary ($7M each)

  7. Christopher Staaf

    And right on cue, young Dee strikes out. 

  8. Important at bat for Loney right now.

    • And, once again, he fails to deliver.  

    • Christopher Staaf

      Hit it hard but for an out. 

    • Anonymous

      One pitch, one out.  Typical stuff.  Meanwhile, Brandon Belt is developing into a real hitter for the Giants (.273/.395/.453), and his defense is just as good, if not as overrated, as Loney’s.

      • Belt has progressed well over the last couple of weeks and is giving the Giants another good bat in the lineup along with Cabrera, Posey and Sandoval.  If Lincecum and/or Zito start pitching well, they will be very tough.

  9. KT

    Nice hit Dre/Bobby
     
    Good catch Adam…Ugh

  10. Christopher Staaf

    And right on cue, Adam Kennedy makes an error. 

    • Even Mattingly has to realize what a liability Kennedy is, both in the field and at the plate.

      • Christopher Staaf

        Yeah…if Kennedy had a good glove and could run a bit, I could understand his roster spot. Given he’s not exactly quick and has 5 errors in limited play, he’s not making any new fans in Blue Nation. 

    • now if you tell me adam kennedy shouldn’t be in the majors well then we could agree.

  11. KT

    Need a DP here

  12. We seem to commit a high number of errors behind Harang.

  13. KT

    Good to see the Dodgers turning another catcher into a pitcher…Can lightning strike twice in a bottle?

    • Christopher Staaf

      I hope he turns into another Kenley Jansen. 

    • Anonymous

      So far, that has worked out better than turning a pitcher into a first baseman.

      • KT

        Maybe we should turn him back then

      • Christopher Staaf

        I am gonna guess you are no fan of James Loney lol 

        • Anonymous

          I like Loney as a person, and have supported giving him the chance to develop the past few seasons, but he is only getting worse and it is now time to move on.

          • Christopher Staaf

            I have a feeling we definitely will move on regarding Loney but I think we are gonna have him for the rest of the year. His contract is up at the end of the season and there isn’t any real incentive to trade Loney since you don’t get draft picks anymore. Only way Loney gets moved this summer is if he’s a throw in for a big trade. 

          • Anonymous

            We hoped he’d be Mark Grace or John Olerud, but instead he turned out to be Doug Mientkiewicz.  It happens.

  14. KT

    Way to track it down Tony!!
     
    and way to get past the error Aaron

  15. Christopher Staaf

    Some good pitching by big Aaron Harang. I was so certain the Angels would cash in Trout after Kennedy’s gaffe. 

    • wow hardly anybody says nice things about “The Big Show” ever. especially in chat rooms. For me he’s done a good job. A good No. 5 pitcher is valuable.

  16. Christopher Staaf

    And right on cue, Kennedy hits a…single?? All right!

  17. KT

    way to get on Adam
     
    Come on Tony

  18. Christopher Staaf

    OK, why did Donnie have Matty Treanor bunt? Young Dee isn’t exactly an RBI machine. 

  19. good job Dee. I’ll take productive outs!

  20. Anonymous

    another early 2-0 start

    • KT

      Hey John…where’s the man from the only other city I visited in Aussie land ^_^

      Aren’t you guys rivals for football

      • Anonymous

        Do you mean the new guy from last post, yes we are rivals, my New South Wales is currently in a series called State of Origin against his Queensland. It is 1-1 with 1 to play

  21. KT

    foul ball

  22. Anonymous

    Wow, the chalk only flew three feet up in the air.  How did the ump miss that one?

    • Christopher Staaf

      Doesn’t matter. Bourjos just took Big Show deep. 

    • Anonymous

      And the bad call ends up hurting the Dodgers more.  Only up two games after today.

  23. KT

    And we didn’t get away with it actually it cost us more

  24. foul tip

    Was a bit late to comments about Cap’s consistency and Bills’ ups and downs.  So…

    There’s another reason for Cap’s Dodger success–

    There was a story earlier in the year about his adding a curve to his arsenal. Think @ dodgers.com, tho trying to find there is more hassle than I care for.  IIRC Mattingly said it helped him work the other side of the plate and made his change even more effective.

    Cap’s game is a good example of the old saying that hitting is timing, and pitching is disrupting timing.  He’s a major disrupter.  Don’t know how much he uses his curve, but it has to be in a batter’s head.

    Did find this.  Not too bad a read.  He seems to have a bit more to say than your usual ballplayer generalities and cliches.  But then dude did graduate Duke.

    http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2012/06/dodger_blue_suits_capuano.html

     

  25. Christopher Staaf

    I am sure Trout would be my favorite player if he played in LA. Right now, he’s the bane of our existence. 

    BTW that infield hit wasn’t exactly Kennedy’s fault but his detractors won’t know the difference. 

  26. KT

    We are getting Coors field here…Come on Aaron get Albert here

  27. KT

    Dre…way to get on
     
    That was Trout’s ball

  28. foul tip

    Gameday says Ethier doubles on a popup to the 3rd baseman.  Don’t see that every day.

    • Christopher Staaf

      Ethier hit in between the SS, 3B, and LF all converging. SS touched it while diving for it. 

  29. So, that’s an interesting point that Vin makes… Rivera comes on after the All-Star Break. So, how much patience is extended until left field is blown up? Or, do you hope he gets hot and move him to 1B and trade James?

  30. Christopher Staaf

    And right on cue, Loney grounds into a double play, leaving Ethier at 3rd. 

    • The limit of “right on cue” posts is a dozen on any one day.

      • Christopher Staaf

        I only used it 3 times lol 

      • Anonymous

        Two pitches seen today, three outs made. 

        • overkill94

          Loney’s one of my favorite personalities on the team, but he is really testing my patience as a player.

          • Anonymous

            I know, and it’s turning me into the type of annoying commenter I don’t want to be.  I really just need to stop paying attention.

          • Anonymous

            Any new music recommendations?  You turned me onto Band of Horses and Fleet Foxes years ago.

  31. RE that double play…. I can’t fault a player for hitting poorly or pitching poorly (since I’ve never had to do either at MLB level), but nothing gets me angrier than when I see a player not run hard and Mr. Loney was not running hard to avoid that DP. Does he think he’s #99?

  32. Christopher Staaf

    Nice quick inning for Big Aaron. Boy did we need that. 

  33. KT

    Good running catch by Dee on the shift
     
    Nice dig by Loney for the 1-2-3 inning

  34. And on cue… Can I use the line a dozen times now? J/K.

  35. KT

    my replay says safe

  36. Albert pulled his foot. Rookie move.

  37. lot more posting today. what up?

  38. KT

    Good snag and turn for te DP

  39. Christopher Staaf

    Another good inning with low pitch numbers for Harang. Good stuff. 

  40. Christopher Staaf

    Alright little Dee! Now take 2nd. 

    • Christopher Staaf

      That Bobby Wilson throw was a beauty lol 

  41. KT

    Good eye Dre
     
    Come on Bobby untie this one

  42. KT

    would have been nice to get that one last inning
     
    Come on BGJ

  43. AGAIN. Run to the base, Loney. 

    This will be the last time I type that.

  44. KT

    Nice Adam…way to drive him in

  45. Big Show another quality start. Exceeding expectations of most no matter what his fierabip says.

  46. Christopher Staaf

    Now that’s how you lay one down, little Dee!

  47. YEA! m Wills has got him to use good fundamentals in his bunting. at least once anyway. i’ll take it.

  48. KT

    Come on Elian

    • KT

      Big swings Elian cut them down with two strikes

      • Christopher Staaf

        He kept chasing that outside fastball. 

  49. A’s got cheated out of a two-run double when the first-base umpire ruled a line drive by the A’s Smith down the line was foul; it kicked up chalk.  They would have taken a 3-2 lead had the umpire ruled correctly.   Giants announcers said their club got as big break.  Smith then fouled out to left.

  50. I would like to see what Ethier’s numbers are against left-handed relievers.  Not good.

  51. KT

    two out walks kill

  52. Christopher Staaf

    That might just do it. Second straight outing by Lindblom where he was not good. 

  53. Anonymous

    Oh to have as many threats at the plate as the Angels…

  54. Looks like Bad Day at Fake Rock.

  55. Christopher Staaf

    Good at bat by De Jesus…come on Jerry. Give us a hit. 

  56. KT

    Thank god they didn’t pinch hit Uribe…Come on Jerry

    • Why would they pinch hit Uribe? They don’t need a 7 run home run. 

      • KT

        Angels announcers were sure that’s what was going to happen

      • Christopher Staaf

        If he could actually hit a solo home run, I would be shocked. 

    • Christopher Staaf

      Yeah, even Lyons is bashing Uribe. I am gonna guess Uribe will get one more real opportunity to show what he can do in SF this week. 

      •  and then what? once he shows he can’t do anything? just eat the remaining 12 million on the contract?

        • Christopher Staaf

          I think we did it before several times. Andruw Jones comes to mind. Face it, Uribe is another case against Colletti being the GM past this season. 

  57. KT

    I would love to see a different angle on that throw to second

    • KT

      looked like he missed the tag but since I have the angels broadcast I won’t see it

  58. Anonymous

    A’s 2 on base , one out in the 9th, down by 1 run

  59. Anonymous

    A’s walk off HR to Norris beats the Gnats !!!!!!

    • KT

      YES…now it our turn to win

    • Christopher Staaf

      Perfect. Giants will not have a shot at sole 1st place when we go there. 

    • So, two good things just happened — A’s rookie catcher Norris hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 9th with two outs to beat the Giants, and I got my garage door unstuck.

  60. They ain’t paying you to walk ’em, son.

  61. i thought tolleson might come up and light it up seeing he was dominant in the minors. but he doesn’t have command. in all his outings – no command. darn it.

  62. Anonymous

    We are at the wrong end of our lineup, but you never know, miracles do happen !

  63. KT

    Nice hit Jerry

    • Anonymous

      I know this is in hindsight, but De Jesus could have been sitting on 2nd or 3rd base with a single like that (Do people think he should have been running)

  64. Anonymous

    Great at bat Jerry!

  65. KT

    bad call blue that was LOOOOOOWWWW

  66. Gwynn hitting .206 in June now.

    • Christopher Staaf

      Fitting since he’s a backup all the way. Kemp’s got to come back sooner than later. 

  67. Anonymous

    Just don’t bunt :)

  68. Time for Dee’s inside-the-park homer.

  69. Anonymous

    and that is that

  70. As much as Gordon strikes out or puts the ball in the air, he should be batting 8th, if he is in the lineup at all…..Oh, well.  At least the Giants didn’t gain on us today.  It’s Eovaldi-Zito tomorrow, Kershaw-Vogelsong on Tuesday, Billingsley-Lincecum on Wednesdasy.

  71. KT

    good day all

  72. I am so naiive, I really felt like they had a chance to win this series. Should’ve known. ;)

    As cheerful as I try to be, may I just say… I hate the blasted Angels and I hate interleague and good riddance to this nonsense. Back to the NL. Soon Kemp is back. Dodgers will get back on track. Still… frustrating, these games against the Angels. They lost the other series in late close fashion. They were up 5-0 in first game, won 2nd game, and were tied late today.  They do miss Kemp and company, and just never seem to get going vs ANAHEIM Angels. Moving on!

  73. Anonymous

    What did Scioscia get ejected for?

    • Jibin Park

      Arguing Pujols’ being thrown out at third.  And he was out.  Scioscia said the magical “F” word I believe.

  74. Anonymous

    The final straw arrived today. Time for Loney (and Kennedy) to be gone. Period. We can’t get anything for him at all in trade, then DFA followed by irrevocable waivers. Even if Scott Van Slike strikes out the rest of the year, I will prefer to see that rather than Loney weakly hitting into a double play. End. The time has come.

    •  I really doubt the Dodgers’ management would rather see that.

      • Anonymous

        Obviously. But I’m just a fan. When God appoints me Emperor of this planet, some heads are going to roll….

      • it looks like Loney can care less. Just going thru the motions.

    • Anonymous

      I agree that if we are going to be losing might as well get some young prospects some valuable experience such as Van Slyke and Sands instead of Loney and Rivera/Abreu.

  75. What the heck IS IT with not being able to beat the Angels? This has been going on for what seems like ten years now.

    • Anonymous

      There is the possibility that the Angels have been better than the Dodgers during that time span.

      •  The Dodgers have had as many if not more playoff teams since 2002 (when the Angels were in the Series last) as the Angels have. The disparity shouldn’t be 2 to 1, which is close to what it is if I heard Vinnie correctly yesterday.

  76. Anonymous

    James Loney and Chad Billingsley, once two bright spots for the blue, are fast becoming major flops.  Billingsley looked like he could become an annual 15-18 game winner, year in and year out.  Now he looks to be our no. 5 starter and can’t be counted on for much of anything.  Loney, who looked to be a up and comer that could be a .300 hitter with 15-25 HRs, 30 plus doubles 90-100 RBIs annually is a .250 singles hitter, who hits into double plays and strikes out regularly.

    Two once bright stars, appear to be quickly flaming out.  Not sure what Billingsley’s future (and his fat contract extension)hold, but I do know that this will be Loney’s final season in LA and he seems destined for someone’s bench as a late inning defensive replacement at best.

    • Sad, but true.  To me, Loney is the bigger disappointment.  He seemed to have star written all over him after his first two partial seasons.  I thought that both he and Kemp, who came up at about the same time, would be a great 1-2 punch, actually 1-2-3 with Ethier, for many years.  After Loney had such a strong second half last year, I thought he would be strong this year.  He started out poorly, had a brief bump, and has slipped back into mediocrity, or worse.  Too bad, but I would be surprised if he were with the team the rest of this season.

  77. From Brian Kamenetsky’s ESPN blog yesterday: “In the meantime, Mattingly, who has praised Gordon’s work ethic, will preach patience with a guy who started playing ball as a senior in high
    school and is now in the majors, learning on the job.”

    That means at age 24 he’s only been playing for 5+ years. No wonder his hitting isn’t up to his defense. Roger Angell once quoted a star player saying “This game is hard, man.”

    http://goo.gl/YSEZY

  78. Anonymous

    Hooray, no more games against AL teams this year.

  79. Anonymous

    Didn’t get to see any of the game today, but did get to hear the GIDP by Loney and another by Abreu an inning or two after that… Sickening to keep losing to those Carnival teams and that bastardized version of hardball they play in the AL. Thankfully, the farce of interleague play is over for the season. Now, back to some real baseball.

  80. Anonymous

    Oh BTW – I heard while watching Mets-Yanks tonight that next season interleague play will be sprinkled throughout the season with every team playing MORE IL games next season (@20 for every team). Just great – so now instead of getting this bad idea out of the way before the All-star break, we get to put up with it on and off throughout the whole season. Joy.

    • Houston will be moving from the NL to the AL.  That means there will be 15 teams in each league.  Because of that, there will be interleague play from the beginning to the end of the season.   If NL teams only played NL teams, and AL teams only played AL teams, there would be one team in each league that would always be idle for a series.  So, we get morning, noon and night of interleague play.

      • Anonymous

        Ah-ha. Sounds like a real good reason to keep Houston in the NL. Oh well, apparently the gate reciepts are showing IL play is popular – and why not with the natural regional rivalries it creates – so obviously, they will force more of it upon us.

  81. Anonymous

    ‘Youk’ to the ChiSox….

    Hmmmm…..

    Just thinking about that here on a Sunday evening.
    Hey… you never know.
    It could, in the end, be a good thing that the Dodgers didn’t get him.
    Wrong player….wrong time….. Perhaps leaving open the opportunity to get a better one….
    ….
    However….
    ….
    I wonder how hard the Dodgers’ brass really tried to get him….
    I mean…. he’s “distressed merchandise” so-to-speak …
    Recent injuries…not getting along with his manager…lack of production….etc…
    And, this management didn’t have the minor league ammo to get him?
    This management couldn’t have offered to pay more of Youk’s contract than did the ChiSox?
    Or, was ‘Youk’ simply not worth it, based on the Dodgers’ scouts? ….
    (Please don’t mention Herrera…… an unproven commodity who has been hot …. give it time for the other teams to scout him…. then, see how he does… If he continues his level of play, then more power to him …)

    When I think of this ‘Youk’ deal…. it has the Dodgers state of the organization written all over it. IMHO. 

    • Anonymous

       To further explain my last statement….
      ….
      Does it mean that the Dodgers’ minor leagues do not afford them the currency to make big trades?
      Does it mean that the Dodgers’ new management isn’t going to just ‘throw around the dollars?”
      Does it mean that the Dodgers’ ‘crack’ scouting staff is that good that it gives the ‘thumbs down?’
      Does it mean that the Dodgers’ new management is running things in a wiser fashion vs. McCourt?
      ….
      All I know is…. this club is in need of starting pitching and a bat or two…
      ….
      Herrera, God Love Him…. has performed well over such a short period of time….
      I’m not convinced as of yet.  I totally love the guy and what he’s given the club….
      But, the opposing clubs have scouts as well… and lots of talent… They’ll get to Herrera…
      The question is….how does he adjust? … and how does Dave Hansen best prepare him…..
      I love this game.  :-)

      • Anonymous

        Took a utility player hitting .175 and a pitcher with a 6 ERA to get him. Surely the Dodgers could have offered that.

        • Anonymous

          Maybe they really didn’t want him.

          • Anonymous

            Apparently in Boston his name was spelled Yuk.

          • Anonymous

            Can we be cautiously optomistic a bigger deal is in the works?

        • Anonymous

          And the Red Sox are paying 16 of the 18 MIL left on his contract or something like that – seems like a no-brainer for the White Sox – no risk.

        • his career OBP and OPS is way to high for Ned to pick up- even with his poor hitting this year he is still an upgrade over Loney, Uribe, Rivera or Kennedy (when he plays 3b). And he has obviously showed greater potential than all of em.

  82. Anonymous

    Old Friend Tanyon Sturtze will be part of the Yankees Old Timers game.

  83. foul tip

    Apparently Ned has said and for sure some here have said the Dodgers are looking for pitching.

    Why?  Is it likely Lilly can’t come back?  Even if so, are they not willing to ride Eovaldi, as well as he’s doing?  If not, why?  Because he’s not PVL? Inexperienced in a pennant race, yada, yada?

    Seems like any chips cashed in trade for pitching that isn’t needed nearly so much as another good bat or two only makes it less likely those bats will happen.

    • Anonymous

      I tend to agree.  Right now, they should be riding Eovaldi, Kershaw, and Capuano and hope for the best with Billz and Harang.  If Lilly does come back, I see no reason Eovaldi should be moved out of the rotation.  There must be something we don’t know (then again, there always is).

  84. Anonymous

    I have a minor league question.  Is there a cap on the # of players the Dodgers can have in the organization as a whole?  Combining A, AA, AAA is there a max # of players that can be in uniform?

  85. Anonymous

    I agree that unless something has changed regarding Lilly and Rubby I wouldn’t trade for a starting pitcher.  Already have 7 arms for 5 spots, so unless it is to get an arm to sit in AAA just in case, I don’t see the point.  Pitching has not been our problem.  Lindblom has been shaky lately, but hopefully Javy and Gerrier are going to come back strong to help out in that 7th and 8th inning spots.  It’s still painfully obvious that we have major problems in our corner infield positions.  Dee has been discussed a lot, but he is at shortstop, which is not typically a huge offensive position anyway, unless we empty our farm system to get Tulo.  We could get by with one of the corners being an issue, but with both near the bottom of the league it is a big time glaring problem.

    • Anonymous

      Tulowitzki is signed through 2020, thanks to far-sighted management (get it) by the Rockies.  I can’t see them giving up on him without demanding Kemp in return. 

      • Anonymous

        Tulo would be their version of Kemp, the position player the organization most values.  I can’t blame any organization for not putting out multiple 8-10 year contracts.

    • Pitching isn’t the glaring problem right this second. But the Dodgers are a blister away from having to put Mr. Ely into the mix for starting a major baseball game. That doesn’t make starting pitching a position of strength. I do think the Dodgers have enough pitching to get them to the playoffs. However if they hope to win a playoff series they need to get hold of a No. 2 pitcher. Right now they have a No. 1, a No. 3, a couple of No. 4s and a 5. In the playoffs pitching takes a larger role and right now they don’t have a playoff caliber starting staff.

  86. Anonymous

    Dee Gordon is the worst option the Dodgers have for their starting shortstop, except for all the other options.  

    • Anonymous

      Couldn’t agree more. Practically anyone, even some AAAA bum who can field the position, would be an improvement over Dee. We could’ve drafted a good fielding college SS with the 50th rd. pick or something and have an instant upgrade over Dee.

  87. Anonymous

    I miss Jack Taschner.

    • foul tip

       Would you miss him twice as much if he had retired two batters?

  88. Man, so much Dee hate these days… I’d take him for potential over the other players that have shown nothing over the past three seasons (I’d name them, but I think we’re all still under the #8 gag order). 

    In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that when M. Ellis and M. Kemp return, I think Dee will improve dramatically. Now that I type that, though, my fingers are debating whether to delete it.

    Eh, I like him. I do think he’s playing hard and might be in his way just a bit. Would another season in the minors helped? No doubt. But, barring a trade for the next Cal Ripken, he is who we got.

    • Anonymous

      What I found hardest to believe about Eric Stephen’s piece is that Gordon and Ellis make approximately the same amount of money.  I would have thought that all of Ellis’s time served would entitle him to more money. Technically, Ellis was a rookie in 2010; Gordon in 2011.

      •  At that level of experience, before arbitration eligibility begins, you’re not going to see anyone wide gradations. Even with a Kershaw-type player.

    • Dee Gordon will be an All-Star

      • Anonymous

        I think you meant to say Dee Gordon will wear All-Stars, the Converse sneakers favored by those who no longer have any need for cleats. 

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