Dodger Thoughts

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

A lineup the ’88 Dodgers could love

Come on, wouldn’t it be cool if this were the Dodgers’ starting lineup in Game 1 of the World Series? You can imagine Bob Costas’ reaction …

Dee Gordon, SS
Mark Ellis, 2B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Juan Uribe, 3B
Skip Schumaker, CF
Jerry Hairston Jr., LF
A.J. Ellis, C
Chili Buss, RF
Edinson Volquez, P

And for good measure, let’s just that Yasiel Puig is unavailable to pinch-hit. That’s right — there’s no way you’ll see him in the bottom of the ninth as the go-ahead run.

With Puig, Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier all nursing ailments, it’s starting to look like Matt Kemp is now the healthiest of the Dodgers’ four primary outfielders.

One other note: The only Dodger team ever to win three rounds of playoffs including the World Series, the 1981 squad, went 9-15 to finish the regular season. On this date in 1981, the Dodgers lost 8-2 to the worst team in the National League West, the San Diego Padres, behind Dave Goltz and in front of a crowd of 9,937.

Giants at Dodgers, 1:10 p.m.

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135 Comments

  1. btimmer

    The Dodgers started three current managers (Baker, Roenicke, and Scioscia) and one former manager (Lopes) during that 1981 game against the Padres.

  2. Bob_Hendley

    Nice Kemp quip.

  3. KT

    Go BLUE!!!!

  4. btimmer

    The Padres Burch Smith had his interesting game broken up in the sixth on a Julio Teheran single. Francisco Liriano has an interesting game going on in Pittsburgh after six.

  5. btimmer

    Liriano is at 99 pitches through 6 innings.

  6. btimmer

    Nothing to see now in Pittsburgh. Move along.

  7. Casey Barker

    Chili Buss?

    • KT

      Nick Chili Buss…played in ALB this year

      • TAFKA_Gagne55

        I read the comment in more of a “there’s somebody whose real name is Chili Buss?” sort of way.

      • Casey Barker

        I thought he had some connection to the great Chili Davis, who I remember best as a Twin. But he was a Giant first, then an Angel.

  8. foul tip

    Yesterday the Dodgers, my baseball team, lost, 19-3.

    And my slowly rebuilding favorite college football team lost, 59-14, its worst loss in 103 years–and gave up only 687 yards in so doing. It easily could have been worse.

    …..After all, tomorrow (today) is another day, he said, channeling Scarlett O’Hara.

    • scooplew

      And my alma mater, Cal, lost 52-34. (But the local high school football team won. LOL.)

      • btimmer

        My high school football team forfeited last week because the coaching staff was suspended for “reasons involving the treatment of an injured player.”

        • berkowit28

          The injured player is on their own team or an opponents’?

      • TAFKA_Gagne55

        Let’s see how my schools did:
        High school: Newbury Park lost 31-21 to Thousand Oaks
        Undergraduate: Cal Poly SLO lost 34-17 to Colorado State
        Grad school: Oregon State won 51-48 (OT) against Utah

  9. btimmer

    Jeremy Guthrie of the Royals pitched a 13-hit complete game today. He and the Royals lost 3-2 to Detroit.

  10. KT

    Good inning Eddie

  11. btimmer

    Today is already an improvement.

  12. Casey Barker

    Oh, that WAS the real lineup. Brings back memories of 2005.

  13. Got back from an 8 day trip to Birmingham last night, turned on the TV and decided I should catch up on my sleep a bit early. Hopefully things are better today!

  14. scooplew

    With this lineup, the Dodgers should have reduced ticket prices by 50 percent. If they can charge more for premium games, they should charge less for this one.

    • TAFKA_Gagne55

      What do you expect? Kemp, Ethier, Puig, and Hanley are all injured. Gonzo, Uribear, and the Ellis bros. are playing. Not sure why Crawford is sitting out though.

  15. KT

    Nice to K scutoro

  16. RBI

    Let’s go Dodgers, clap clap, clap clap clap!

  17. scooplew

    We’ve scored fewer than four runs in each of our last four games and in seven of our last nine.

  18. KT

    MEllis stroking the ball!

  19. RBI

    Rule one violations happening in my house…

  20. KT

    JUANITO!!! only a triple

  21. RBI

    It’s a triple…

  22. RBI

    Lame. (Sorry for the negativity, KT…)

  23. Can’t get a guy home from third with no one out? What is wrong with these guys? April-June Disease?

  24. KT

    Eddie gets on…now let’s move him around Dee

  25. KT

    Bases loaded for Gonzo

  26. ASW1

    C’mon Gonzo !!!

  27. ASW1

    YES!

  28. RBI

    Yes! How do I love thee, Adrian? Let me count the ways.

  29. Yeesh, Pence is having some series.

  30. RBI

    Man, Pence has a hot bat right now.

  31. KT

    Just turned around because my son was taking a long time in the kitchen

    http://imgur.com/ZtftqzO

    I’m wondering how he got up there…no drawers are open

  32. Well, we wound up tied after that, which was the optimal result post-Pence. I guess we should be thankful.

    • scooplew

      My thoughts as well.

    • Sandy K

      Can’t believe that Honeycutt didn’t tell Volquez to walk Pence. The guy is way too hot, Volquez throws gopher balls, and there was a base open. Who would you rather pitch to–Pence or Sandoval?

  33. scooplew

    Question: If Kemp is activated for the post-season, and we suffer no other debilitating injuries, is Hairston’s roster spot in doubt? I know he provides versatility in the field, but, Including today, he is hitting .170 since the All-Star break. He batted .188 in July, .195 in August, and is currently hitting .143 in September.

    • KT

      I vote against him making the post-season roster

    • btimmer

      Barring an injury, I don’t see Mattingly wanting to leave Hairston off the roster. The experience card would trump performance.

      • scooplew

        I think that it would be a close call. Another factor is whether you reward someone who has been there day-in and day-out. However, Hairston has not done much at the plate for a while. Van Slyke provides more pop off the bench. I look forward to the decisions being made. Regardless of the outcome of today’s Dodgers-Giants game, if Arizona maintains its lead over Colorado, we would need to win two of four against the D’Backs to clinch the West.

  34. scooplew

    Dee needs to get on, steal second, take third on a bad throw and score on an out.

  35. KT

    Come on MEllis drive him home

  36. KT

    WP him home

    • Bob_in_Vegas

      That’s this offense’s secret weapon . . . perhaps only one, outside of AGon.

  37. John_from_Aus

    Just logged in, when I saw the lineup at the top of the post, I thought you were kidding

  38. Rats. If Juan knew he wasn’t gonna score on that earlier triple, I bet he’d have saved it to use it just then.

  39. RBI

    And that is why we should have walked Pence earlier. Bochy out-managing DM with that decision.

  40. KT

    that ball was outside

  41. scooplew

    I fear that Rodriguez is wearing down.

  42. Sandy K

    Am I wrong, or does Vin seem impatient–or, perhaps, a stronger word might be better–with the lack of offensive effectiveness? He just signed off the bottom of the 8th by noting that the Dodgers “rolled over.” How many times has he pointed out the Dodgers’ BA with RISP as .107 in the series? Maybe he doesn’t like the reversion to May baseball in September.

  43. John_from_Aus

    Buss, Punto and then Dee due up at the bottom of the 9th, it doesn’t fill me with confidence

  44. John_from_Aus

    strap yourselves in, here we go

  45. KT

    don’t give up the out

  46. btimmer

    Giving up an out for Dee Gordon to drive in a run seems counterintuitive.

  47. Sandy K

    Punto gets down the bunto. Now I want Puig!!!

  48. scooplew

    Buss was 21 for 23 in stolen base attempts at Albuquerque this year.

  49. Sandy K

    It’s time for Dodger baseball!!

  50. TAFKA_Gagne55

    Kind of disappointed that Buss got bunted over only to not score from second on a hit.

  51. Sandy K

    With Gordon on 2d, it’s an even better time for Dodger baseball.

  52. Sandy K

    OK. I care what happens, but whatever happens, I want Puig!!

  53. KT

    Be selective Yasiel

  54. That’s a bummer. Oh well go take two in Phoenix and end this magic number business.

  55. scooplew

    Another lost weekend. 0-3 in back-to-back weekends.

  56. Sandy K

    Sorry to see them lose, but, at least, they went down with their best at the plate at the end.

  57. scooplew

    Probables in Arizona:
    M–Ryu-Cahill
    Tue–Greinke-Corbin
    W–Kershaw-McCarthy
    Th–Nolasco-TBA

    • John_from_Aus

      we should get at least 2 with that pitching lineup (and Kershaw is due for a gem)

  58. The Dodgers need the equivalent of another All-Star break to get their players healthy.

  59. btimmer

    The Dodgers other problem now is that they have dropped into the #3 slot. They are one game behind the NL Central leaders. The Cardinals are going to Colorado for four games and then go to Milwaukee for three this week. The Pirates host San Diego for four and then the Reds for three.

  60. Somebody pointed out in Tony Jackson’s blog’s comments that there are three days off between the end of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs. Leaving guys out of the lineup for injuries is one thing, leaving them out to rest them seems a little unnecessary. None of the Dodgers regulars are even in their mid-30s, are they?

  61. Spence

    I think its very important for the Dodgers to get HFA because of the way Don Mattingly uses Kenley Jansen. If its a road game, he never uses him unless he has ran out of relievers or if its a save situation.

  62. RBI

    Like our Aussie John, this period of play is not filling me with confidence.

    • John_from_Aus

      I would have almost and I mean almost prefer the 19-3 or the bottom of the 9th being over on 3 pitches rather than them teasing us like that :)

  63. John_from_Aus

    If, (and if) we are in a slump, I would rather it now than in October

  64. John_from_Aus

    When we clinch, I think everyone will relax a bit and play better baseball, no matter what lineup we have on the field

    • RBI

      For sure, I will be more relaxed! I still feel scarred by the first half.

      • John_from_Aus

        Old memories flooding back

        • Bob_in_Vegas

          Exactly! We know they had the historical 2nd half, but this last week-10 days is reminiscent of the hysterical 1st half. . . . They are capable of both.

  65. RBI

    The Braves aren’t exactly tearing things up, either. Lost two out of three to the Padres.

  66. DS1981

    Speaking of that 88 team, i think that team winning it all was a blessing and a curse for the dodgers. As a singular moment it was pretty incredible. Costas wasn’t far off when he said it was one of the least talented teams to win the world series (or something to that effect). I remember thinking that since moving to LA the dodgers had trully been a charmed franchise especially compared to the Giants who at that time were yet to win a single world series since moving to SF. I mean if the dodgers were able to win even with THAT lineup.

    However here’s where the curse part comes in. Until recently every owner of this franchise has been trying to recreate that 88 team. Instead of looking at that team as what it was, which was the case of lightning striking, they’ve looked at that team as some kind of model. I remember Peter O’malley constantly referring to that team in his later years whenever somebody would question him about not spending money in free agency. Dan Evans under fox also referred to that team. Mccourt obviously just a few years ago during spring training basically was saying the same. That team have become a great excuse for not spending any money on the team. So if nothing else i applaud this new ownership just for breaking that vicious cycle.

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