Official Los Angeles Dodgers Season Thread: NLCS vs Phillies

[jbug88]

Originally Posted by FrenchBlue23

The old man finally coming around....

Kent feeling Dodgers' recent changes

Veteran second baseman sees team gelling at right time


ST. LOUIS -- Jeff Kent likes what he sees of the new-look Dodgers.
Kent played a role in the new look Thursday, being moved up to third to bat ahead of new slugger Manny Ramirez. The result for Kent was a three-hit, two-run game.

But as Kent points out, there have been more recent changes than the addition of the former Red Sox slugger, who has hit four homers in six games as a Dodger.

"I see progress, the way the guys are learning," Kent said after the Dodgers' 4-1 win over the Cardinals on Thursday. "We got Casey Blake to play third base, we added veterans in the bullpen [Jason Johnson and Brian Falkenborg] who have been around a bit. Obviously, we have Manny for a handful of days.

"Not only that, we've had progress with the kids, and you expect that with the experience they are getting over a full season and the learning that comes with failure. We have a new hitting coach in Don Mattingly. We had Takashi Saito go down, but Jonathan Broxton has stepped right in without a hiccup. We're making a push."

Kent said the addition of veteran hitters Ramirez and Blake, joining him and Juan Pierre, balance out the lineup and present a greater challenge for opposing pitchers.

"It makes for a more formidable lineup at the top, at the middle and at the bottom," he said. "We have a better chance to score when we can attack from different angles."

He said he's been particularly impressed with the progress of some of the club's young hitters.

"You expect that of the kids with the opportunities they've had," he said. "You look at Matt [Kemp], he's swinging the bat well after being an easy out at the beginning of the year. He's become more patient. Andre Ethier is a solid hitter. Instead of the two rookie third basemen, we've added Blake. And Russell [Martin] is holding his own and done a good job. Everybody has gained some experience and that's what you hope will happen as you get close to the end of the season."

even when giving compliments, he still sounds like an a**hole.
almost, not quite, but almost backhanded compliments.

-J-

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by JBug88

even when giving compliments, he still sounds like an a**hole.
almost, not quite, but almost backhanded compliments.

-J-

It's like he has something up his ***.
He wouldn't know a good time if it hit him right smack in the face.

 

[mr jordan04]

I **#!%! hate jeff kent!

 

[icencream]

Do you guys think that Jeff Kent would be better suited batting ahead of manny oppose to Martin? i think he did really good in SF protecting Bonds

 

[jrdnkiks213]

^ I think so.. I think Martin is best suited in the 2 spot. So actually someone like Kemp, Kent, Ethier or even Loney could be tried out at the 3 slot. Iknow a lot of people are suggesting putting Andruw there but I'm not sold on that idea as of yet for a couple of reasons (his avg. this year & Ethierwould never get any pt).

Let's go Penny!

 

[ebay 23]

FrenchBlue23 wrote:

---

JBug88 wrote:

---

even when giving compliments, he still sounds like an a**hole.
almost, not quite, but almost backhanded compliments.

-J-

It's like he has something up his ***.
He wouldn't know a good time if it hit him right smack in the face.

The only time i saw him enjoying himself was when the Dodgers were celebrating after clinching the playoffs

Hes one salty #%%%-er

 

[ebay 23]

Damn I was a bit

when I saw they were down 0-1 now they're up 5-1

 

[mr jordan04]

I still don't understand why andruw jones is playing!

 

[badboyf0life420]

yess AZ lost today..

 

[jakecuevas]

dodgers should have shipped andrew jones for a good relief pitcher....i cant stand watching us pay him so much and seeinh eithier and pierre not play.

Kept needs to be the everyday number 3 hitter

 

[frenchblue23]

Why Joe, why?

................

Torre asks Manny about pending haircut

Ramirez says he'll clip dreadlocks next week
SAN FRANCISCO -- Manny Ramirez's trademark dreadlocks are still an issue.
Manager Joe Torre said he again asked his new left fielder when he would get a haircut and was told it would be next week.

"He asked, 'How short?' I said I'd get back to him," said Torre, enforcing Dodgers club policy.

Torre raised the subject in his first meeting with Ramirez after last week's trade. Torre never gave an ultimatum, but asked how important wearing the dreadlocks was. Ramirez said it was more important for him to fit in with his new club and not be given preferential treatment.

"To me, it's a sensitive issue for a player that's been doing something for a long time," Torre said. "As a player, I'd be turned off if I was told, now that you're here, do this and this and this."

Torre made light of suggestions that he could be taking on the role of Delilah to Ramirez's Samson if the haircut is followed by a loss of power production for the slugger, who became the first Dodger to hit four home runs in his first six games with the club.

"We'll have to see the results. If that happens, I'm out of town," Torre said. "It's a long homestand; I could be taking a beating. I never imagined when I started managing 25 years ago I'd be talking about this. Some old-timers would be spinning in their graves over this."

The Dodgers will soon be offering licensed Manny bandanas with attached dreadlocks.

 

[TheGodFresco]

^^ I saw a couple of those dreadlocks at tonights game lol

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by GSDOUBLEU

^^ I saw a couple of those dreadlocks at tonights game lol

I need to pick one up on Tuesday when I go.
I saw a lot of Dodger fans at AT&T tonight, I mean more than usual. And I was watching the game on TV.

 

[balconybundles]

Originally Posted by FrenchBlue23

Originally Posted by GSDOUBLEU

^^ I saw a couple of those dreadlocks at tonights game lol

I need to pick one up on Tuesday when I go.
I saw a lot of Dodger fans at AT&T tonight, I mean more than usual. And I was watching the game on TV.

Yea there was a good amount of LA fans there. But there were some Oakland fans too, idk why

 

[Los Angeles]

[table][tr][td]TEAM[/td] [td]W[/td] [td]L[/td] [td]%[/td] [td]GB[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Arizona[/td] [td]59[/td] [td]57[/td] [td].509[/td] [td]-[/td] [/tr][tr][td]Los Angeles[/td] [td]58[/td] [td]57[/td] [td].504[/td] [td]0.5[/td] [/tr][/table]

What a great outing from Brad Penny! Penny didn't really try to overpower any hitters, but really hit his spots and got strikes. (from what I saw hisvelocity was lower).

I only caught a glimpse here and there of the game - what I did see was Jeff Kent unloading with the bases loaded and later on Casey Blake's bomb in LeftCenter field! It's a good day when Manny goes 0-5

. Andruw'sstill a bum.

I wonder how Raffy's rehab is going? Imagine a lineup of:

Raffy
Kemp
Kent
Manny
Loney
Martin
Blake
Ethier
SP

As for Greg Maddux, I think we absolutely need him for the stretch trying to win the NL West.

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Falkenborg dropped from roster

Johnson takes over long relief role; Proctor to test elbow

By Ken Gurnick / MLB.com
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[/td] [/tr][/table]SAN FRANCISCO -- To make room for Brad Penny on the active roster, the Dodgers designated reliever Brian Falkenborg for assignment before Friday night's game.
Falkenborg, 2-2 with a 6.17 ERA, had allowed a run in three of his last five appearances and had pitched in three of the last four games. He had made 15 appearances and was used most often in the middle innings.

The activation formally moved Jason Johnson into long relief, with the ripple effect absorbing the middle innings Falkenborg had been handling.

Falkenborg had been promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas on June 25 when Scott Proctor went on the disabled list. The Dodgers have 10 days to either trade or release Falkenborg. If he clears waivers, they can outright him to the Minor Leagues.

Proctor will test his elbow off a mound Monday. Disabled closer Takashi Saito, with a more seriously injured elbow, has begun tossing. Disabled starter Jason Schmidt will throw off a mound Sunday in a last-ditch attempt to return this season.

Disabled catcher Gary Bennett (foot injury) has resumed running with a goal of being activated when rosters expand Sept. 1.

Please Jason Schmidt off yourself you *%+%!*% BUM. Also, I like Ardoin better than Gary Bennett - I'm sure Ardoin has gelled more with theteam while Gary was gone for god knows how long.

Also, anyone know what happened to dodgerupdates.com

Go Dodgers!


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[Los Angeles]

[h1]http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2008/08/manny-in-pinstr.html[/h1]

[h1]Manny in Pinstripes in 09?[/h1]
By Sarah Green [August 9 at 1:58pm CST]

I promised myself no Manny Ramirez posts today, but...George King is reporting that "a close friend" of the slugger's told him that Manny "wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox." And of course, Ramirez went to high school in the Bronx.

The Yankees well know what Ramirez can do with a bat. Only two players---Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams---have more bombs against the Yankees than Ramirez does, and the New York papers greeted news of his departure from rival Boston with unrestrained glee. In 83 at-bats in Yankee Stadium over the past three years, Ramirez has hit .325/.411/.530.

But would the Yankees actually sign him? They can certainly afford him...but my hunch is that they'd prefer to keep working on their youth movement. And if it's true, as agent Scott Boras has been saying, that Manny wanted to get out of the media-saturated fishbowl of Boston, a move to New York would be completely illogical. On the other hand, this is Manny we're talking about...not Spock.

The Dodgers have DFA'd Brian Falkenborg to make room for Brad Penny. The thirty-year-old righty has a 6.17 ERA in 11 and two-thirds innings with LA this year. He has never pitched more than 20 innings per season in the big leagues.

 

[freddymartinez]

man im starting to get stoked about our team right now,we have penny back, saito will be back at the end of august early september and maybe just maybe furcalby the end of the season just in time for the playoffs

 

[div1lbc]

It's really starting to seem more likely Manny will be a rental player. Kinda sucks but it would be nice to have him wearing Dodger blue after this season.Dodgers will sure milk him for the next 2 months, will suck for people who buys his jersey and he leaves this off season.

 

[ebay 23]

Damn you Manny!!!!!
This just like when we got Steve Finley back in 04 from the D-backs boy was he killing it........

I know you guys remember this walk off GRAND SLAM
I thought the Dodgers were going to lose for sure I was

when it happened.....
04 was one of my favorite seasons

EDIT-
1. The Dodgers win the NL West Division Playoff Spot! (Oct. 2 -- Dodgers 7, Giants 3)

WMIG 1: LA vs. SF, last Saturday of the season, both playing for the postseason.

WMIG 2: 54,594 packing Dodgers stadium, the 27th sellout of the year. Baseball's back in L.A.

WMIG 3: The Dodgers scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth -- capped by Steve Finley's grand slam walk-off blast -- to capturethe flag. And, as it turned out, eliminated the Giants.

 

[frenchblue23]

It makes no sense for Manny to go to NY, besides trying to get back at Boston.

There's so much pressure to perform in NY, plus the media frenzy.

 

[cl2423]

^Who could ever forget that grand slam? '04 season was much appreciated.

'

 

[osh kosh bosh]

Originally Posted by jakecuevas

dodgers should have shipped andrew jones for a good relief pitcher....i cant stand watching us pay him so much and seeinh eithier and pierre not play.

Kept needs to be the everyday number 3 hitter

You couldn't get a bag of rocks for Jones...

 

[mr jordan04]

i dont understand why manny's hair is such a distraction and must be cut off. if i had dreads and had to cut them....id think it was absolute bull-$+#!

 

[TheGodFresco]

Just wondering, do you people in L.A get to see the former Giants outfield celebrations?

 

[mr jordan04]

^^^nope, nor do we want to!