2008 Los Angeles Dodgers Official Thread

[PMJackson21 0]

Good article breaking down Kershaw's mechanics:http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/...worth-the-hype/

[Jackets1407 0]

This is just a question I had to ask....being in Atlanta we still get links in the Braves blog about Andruw....I guess that TJ Simers is your beat writer, and I understand that he's not performing.........but the articles that TJ is writing??? Nobody deserves that!!!Talk about his game, but he's going too far....Does he always write like that???

[PMJackson21 0]

This is just a question I had to ask....being in Atlanta we still get links in the Braves blog about Andruw....I guess that TJ Simers is your beat writer, and I understand that he's not performing.........but the articles that TJ is writing??? Nobody deserves that!!!Talk about his game, but he's going too far....Does he always write like that???

Ha, you read the Simers article from yesterday's La Times? Yes, he always writes like that. Sometimes his articles are funny, but they are consistently written with that feel to them. When I am in a bad mood in regards to the team, I like his articles. When I am optimistic, I think he is an ass. Andruw did have a good AB in the 9th last night vs Gagne, but his bat speed really has slowed down. Standard ending to the game, Dodgers down 2, put 2 on with 2 out against Eric 'I suck without steroids' Gagne. He has struggled with his command the whole inning (and season for that matter), so obviously Juan Pierre swings at a first pitch shoulder high fastball and pops up. Good approach Juan, good approach. I mean, you are totally capable of doing something with a 95 mph high fastball besides popping up weakly.I swear, the guy reminds me of Willie Mays Hayes from Major League. He swings, looks out expectingly, sees that is a pop up and slumps his shoulders. I keep waiting from him to drop in the batter's box and do push ups.

[PMJackson21 0]

Good, albeit unlikely, win last night. Juan Pierre still sucks though. Even after his 3/5 game, his OPS since Colorado is .552, yet he still continues to play every day, while Andre Ethier sits. Sigh. Somewhat positive sign out of Andruw with 2 hits, and the revelation that he has been working with Mattingly the last few days and watching a ton of video.Somehow Kent has been spared scrutiny (most likely because Jones' woes overshadow his own) for a horrendous start. Currently the Dodgers CLEANUP hitter has a slugging % of .383 and an OBP of .287. His VORP (value over replacement player) is .9 which puts him on par with back up scrubs. And all of this doesn't take into account that he is 40 yo and had little/no range out at 2nd. You have to give Kent some time because he is such a professional hitter, but it might just be the Kent we will see until he retires.Very, very, very good article on Clayton Kershaw: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AhWs...o&type=lgnsHa this post is pretty much just a summarized version of today's dodgerthoughts entry (Jon Weisman's excellent blog), so I probably should have just pasted a link to that.

[jeff_536 3]

LEAVE JUAN PIERRE ALONEjust leave him alone. it's not his fault the dodgers gave him a monster contract, HE'S TRYING AS HARD AS HE CAN.he has no power and a popgun arm, but HE'S STEALING BASES AND HITTING SOME SINGLES.for the love of god, LEAVE JUAN PIERRE alone.and yes, he's on my fanstasy team.

[PMJackson21 0]

LEAVE JUAN PIERRE ALONEjust leave him alone. it's not his fault the dodgers gave him a monster contract, HE'S TRYING AS HARD AS HE CAN.he has no power and a popgun arm, but HE'S STEALING BASES AND HITTING SOME SINGLES.for the love of god, LEAVE JUAN PIERRE alone.

Juan Pierre makes little kids that are Dodgers fans cry.At least the ones that understand run production.Sigh, now they go back to CA to get their yearly ass kicking by the Angels.

[seanmalone 0]

ANGELS

[TB17 0]

I'm dropping Brad Penny. I hate you PMJ.James Loney is the only thing keeping me from boycotting all Dodgers and their fans

[jeff_536 3]

You may now trash on Juan Pierre as much as you'd like. In my very deep NL only keeper league, I traded Pierre for Chris Perez and Jonathan Meloan.I feel the weight of a singles-hitting speedster with no plate discipline has been lifted from my shoulders

[kers2 0]

You may now trash on Juan Pierre as much as you'd like. In my very deep NL only keeper league, I traded Pierre for Chris Perez and Jonathan Meloan.I feel the weight of a singles-hitting speedster with no plate discipline has been lifted from my shoulders

Now I just wish the Dodgers would do the same. How they can justify not playing Either and Kemp everyday is astounding

[PMJackson21 0]

Now I just wish the Dodgers would do the same. How they can justify not playing Either and Kemp everyday is astounding

You know what pissed me off about last night's game? Watching Kemp play CF, and thinking about how we didn't even need to sign Pierre OR Jones in the first place. That obv never would happen with Colletti as Gm, but if it was still Depodesta or Evans, I bet that would have been the route they took. Kemp, Ethier, Loney, Martin, etc all fit the mold for the Billy Beane model of building a team, and Depo was a disciple.Andruw '0-29 this year with runners in scoring position, yes zero for twenty nine' Jones might have knee surgery I heard and be out a few weeks. That would be pretty good news (both getting his lack of a bat out of the lineup and hopefully 'fixing' him) if it didn't mean Pierre will play everyday.

[PMJackson21 0]

I'm dropping Brad Penny. I hate you PMJ.James Loney is the only thing keeping me from boycotting all Dodgers and their fans

Alyssa Milano is a huge Dodgers fan (season tickets, bangs the players, and a surprisingly decent blog). She really needs to take one for the team and let Penny hit that again.

[PMJackson21 0]

You may now trash on Juan Pierre as much as you'd like. In my very deep NL only keeper league, I traded Pierre for Chris Perez and Jonathan Meloan.I feel the weight of a singles-hitting speedster with no plate discipline has been lifted from my shoulders

I wouldn't mind seeing them bring up Meloan, McDonald, or of course Kershaw.

[Jackets1407 0]

Sorry about Andruw not working out so far....he really was truly loved here in Atlanta as a Brave. I have a question for all baseball fans (maybe this should be a poll don't know).....what catcher would you rather have Russell Martin or Brian McCann? I really don't know if there is a wrong answer, but could be a good debate (I personally would take either one)....

[PMJackson21 0]

Sorry about Andruw not working out so far....he really was truly loved here in Atlanta as a Brave. I have a question for all baseball fans (maybe this should be a poll don't know).....what catcher would you rather have Russell Martin or Brian McCann? I really don't know if there is a wrong answer, but could be a good debate (I personally would take either one)....

One of the baseball stat/evaluation sites did a comparison, and McCann edged out Russell. Let me find the link. Agreed on picking between the two being a good problem.Blah, it's a baseball prospectus article so you have to be a member:http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7526If I recall correctly, the writer went into with the thought that McCann was the superior, and by the end concluded it was a toss up statistically, with McCann maybe having a slight edge because he has more power/power potential.

[Jackets1407 0]

One of the baseball stat/evaluation sites did a comparison, and McCann edged out Russell. Let me find the link. Agreed on picking between the two being a good problem.Blah, it's a baseball prospectus article so you have to be a member:http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7526If I recall correctly, the writer went into with the thought that McCann was the superior, and by the end concluded it was a toss up statistically, with McCann maybe having a slight edge because he has more power/power potential.

Overall offensively I would no question choose McCann (power and he just understands hitting so much more than most), but my question is how good is Martin defensively? McCann's defensive stats have been pretty bad, but misleading at the same time. I still believe Martin is prolly better defensively. Is it just me or the three best catchers in the league in the NL....I'm sorry Mauer is not in the convo with McCann, Martin, and Soto (he has to progress to be on that level right now)..

[PMJackson21 0]

Overall offensively I would no question choose McCann (power and he just understands hitting so much more than most), but my question is how good is Martin defensively? McCann's defensive stats have been pretty bad, but misleading at the same time. I still believe Martin is prolly better defensively. Is it just me or the three best catchers in the league in the NL....I'm sorry Mauer is not in the convo with McCann, Martin, and Soto (he has to progress to be on that level right now)..

Well, Martin did win the Gold Glove last year so the managers seem to think he's good defensively, but he also led the league in errors from the position. Overall I am more then happy with his defense however, and he has shown versatility by playing a number of games at 3b as of late. He also seems to call a game well (although that obviously hasn't been the case lately) and the pitchers have a ton of respect for him behind the plate.

[Jackets1407 0]

Well, Martin did win the Gold Glove last year so the managers seem to think he's good defensively, but he also led the league in errors from the position. Overall I am more then happy with his defense however, and he has shown versatility by playing a number of games at 3b as of late. He also seems to call a game well (although that obviously hasn't been the case lately) and the pitchers have a ton of respect for him behind the plate.

I do seem do agree with this, but Smoltz has asked to throw to McCann since he has come up. This could be one of the best arguments that I have seen. I do believe that we have the 2 best catchers in the league. I guess that the Cubs (Soto) might argue, but he doesn't have the AB's as of yet...

[GeneralGeeWhiz 0]

Patrick, I don't remember the last season where the Dodgers have come so late to SF for the first time.

[jeff_536 3]

Overall offensively I would no question choose McCann (power and he just understands hitting so much more than most), but my question is how good is Martin defensively? McCann's defensive stats have been pretty bad, but misleading at the same time. I still believe Martin is prolly better defensively. Is it just me or the three best catchers in the league in the NL....I'm sorry Mauer is not in the convo with McCann, Martin, and Soto (he has to progress to be on that level right now)..

Let's see what Soto can do a little longer term before we pronounce him one of the top 3 catchers in baseball. Victor Martinez would certainly edge him out on that list. Jojima is awfully good and Posada put up an historic year last year. Pierzynski is well above average.Mike Napoli is right there for top-hitting catcher in baseball right now.

[PMJackson21 0]

Patrick, I don't remember the last season where the Dodgers have come so late to SF for the first time.

Yeah, agreed. I was trying to remember the other day if they had the first few weeks and I had just forgot about it, but they haven't.

[Jackets1407 0]

Let's see what Soto can do a little longer term before we pronounce him one of the top 3 catchers in baseball. Victor Martinez would certainly edge him out on that list. Jojima is awfully good and Posada put up an historic year last year. Pierzynski is well above average.Mike Napoli is right there for top-hitting catcher in baseball right now.

Yes Victor Martinez is one of the best, if not the best, hitting catcher in baseball, but he is so bad defensively that he cannot imo be listed as a top 3 all around catcher in baseball.Johjima (.220 avg this season) doesn't even warrant consideration as one of the best catchers in baseball. In fact I have heard that they have thought about trading him and giving their stud prospect Jeff Clement a chance.Mike Napoli def has a lot of power for a catcher, but is hitting .260 this year and is a career .240 hitter. I find a hard time classifying a .240 hitter as one of the best hitting catchers in baseball.You are def right about Soto needing to do it for more than a couple of months to be considered one of the best in baseball. I was just saying that he was one of the best right now. I really don't know if he will be able to keep it up or not over the long run.

[GeneralGeeWhiz 0]

Yeah, agreed. I was trying to remember the other day if they had the first few weeks and I had just forgot about it, but they haven't.

Are you going to be at any Dodger/Giants game this year Patrick?

[PMJackson21 0]

Are you going to be at any Dodger/Giants game this year Patrick?

Yeah, I'm going to a game in July or September or something w/ my brother (he has the tickets) and the gfs, but that's the only one I have planned. The gf and I will prob go down to LA for a game or two here in the next month or so; since I work all week though and then have to play on Sundays, it makes it a hectic trip.Kuroda looked good last night, but for the most part he has looked good all year. Nice to sweep a previously hot team, but Cincy sucks on the road, and in La in particular. As long as the Dbacks don't get super hot again, the Dodgers should be able to stay close. Who knows what good that will ultimately do them though...

[jeff_536 3]

From Rotoworld:Clayton Kershaw was pulled from his start for Double-A Jacksonville after just one inning on Thursday, suggesting that he's on his way to the majors.MLB.com believes he could start Saturday, with Brad Penny being pushed back. They'd certainly be rushing the 20-year-old, but it's possible that it could work out, as long as they're willing to live with him as a five-inning starter.