Marlins at Dodgers, 6:10 p.m.
Kershaw CXLIII: Kershawrvest Time
Shane Victorino, LF
Mark Ellis, 2B
Matt Kemp, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Andre Ethier, RF
Luis Cruz, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P
Kershaw CXLIII: Kershawrvest Time
Shane Victorino, LF
Mark Ellis, 2B
Matt Kemp, CF
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
Hanley Ramirez, SS
Andre Ethier, RF
Luis Cruz, 3B
A.J. Ellis, C
Clayton Kershaw, P
Adrian Gonzalez and Clayton Kershaw, in the same lineup. Hello.
- At the plate this month, Kershaw is 7 for 10 with a sacrifice fly.
- Keith Law offers a scout’s perspective on the trade at ESPN.com.
- Peter Abraham writes about the traded Red Sox at the Boston Globe under the headline, “Bad contracts, sure, but not bad people.”
- Still awaiting word on the Dodgers’ official roster moves. Will update before the game if they come in a timely fashion.
- Farewell, Neil Armstrong.
Anonymous
ATL 4 – 1 SF bottom of the 7th :)
Anonymous
Wow Ethier dropped to the 6th spot tonight!
Anonymous
Remember the days when Adam Kennedy would hit 5th? Me neither.
Like like the R-L-R-L, no problem with Ethier hitting 6th.
Anonymous
The Bravos have knocked out Gumbarner (aka “Bad Mum”) and now lead 4-1 in the seventh.
Anonymous
Atlanta gave SF an extra out and it cost them…4-3 Braves going into the 8th.
Anonymous
Why does Fredi Gonzalez bring in a Chad Durbin when he’s got guys like Venters in the pen?
Anonymous
With props to Mike Tink, I heard from Mike Lindskog of the RC Quakes, in response to my query about why Yasiel Puig missed the last two games:
“Thanks for your email. Puig bruised his right heal and is simply day-to-day. The doctors cleared him to play, but he’s simply taking it easy until it feels a little better. He’s not on his way to Boston. :)
Thanks and Go Quakes”
Anonymous
Thanks for the update Nsxtasy.
Anonymous
On the Dodgers twitter feed:
RT and welcome @adriangon28 @CarlCrawford_ @Shredderpunto, and new to Twitter, @beck19bb to #Dodgertown!
Anonymous
Welcome @CarlCrawford_:twitter @adriangon28:twitter @Shredderpunto:twitter @beck19bb:twitter from the DodgerThoughts commenters.
Anonymous
And now for something different: In the Little League U.S. Championship game in Pennsylvania, Tennessee led California (Petaluma), 15-5 after 5 1/2 innings of a scheduled 6-inning game. Petaluma scored 10 runs in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game. It is now in the 7th, tied 15-15.
Anonymous
I’ve been watching, very wild.
When I was a kid – admittedly long ago – pitchers always dominated our games, usually with large strikeout numbers. It seems there are few Ks here, and too many HRs – the fences need to move back.
I like it that the Petaluma kids have a LH catcher.
Anonymous
Tennessee (Goodlettsville) scored nine runs in the top of the 7th and beat Petaluma, 24-16, for the U.S. championship. Tennessee meets Japan tomorrow for the overall title….Regarding the fences, I agree. There were far too many homers. I have been umpiring youth baseball for 11 years — Mustang, Bronco, Pony and Colt — and the fences at the Little League field in Pennsylvania seem to be too close for the Little League age level.
Anonymous
They seem plenty far for me for LL in general, its just that these are some of the best players in the world at that age.
foul tip
Or Little Leaguers like these, anyway.
One of the Goodlettsville stars picked up another and twirled him over his shoulders as part of the celebration. You don’t see that often in this age range
Another hit three 3-run homers, all with two strikes, for 9 RBI. Amazing whatever the fence depth, which I think they said was 225′.
Now most or all the better TN pitching has been used and/or is ineligible due to pitch limits. That favors Japan tomorrow. But who knows?
Anonymous
Yes, they are 225 ft, while the LL recommendation for fields in general is 180 ft.
Anonymous
Affeldt has done the Bravos the favor of walking in a run in the eighth now 5-3.
Anonymous
Make that walking in two runs, now 6-3.
Anonymous
I love it!
To me, walking in a run is “gifting” a run to the other team. Even more so when you do it twice. When the ‘ants lose, it’s great, and it’s even better when they beat themselves. :)
Anonymous
They have a couple decent starters, but a bad pen overall.
Anonymous
Beckett starts Monday.
Have we heard anything about Bills, other than that it’s only a strain (per Stephens at TBLA)? Any word on how long he might be out (if at all)?
Anonymous
Just guessing, but I expect he misses a start. So close to roster expansion, they probably wouldn’t want to put him on the DL.
Anonymous
At the press conference, Colletti mentioned that Billingsley may be out a little longer than before.
Anonymous
Thanks for the update.
Before, he was on the 15-day DL, but only missed one start (due to the All-Star break).
Anonymous
thanks BTimmer, i like the idea of giving Billz the extra time.
Anonymous
AGon wears 23 for the Blue.
Anonymous
In addition to RDLR, it looks like Sands is officially a PTBNL too.
Anonymous
Too bad. I’d be curious to watch him play in Fenway.
Anonymous
Sounds like he will, but not this year. Like Rubby, I assume this is because he hadn’t cleared waivers.
Anonymous
Since they won’t officially move until after the season, can we expect them on the September roster?
Jibin Park
This would be my “conventional” lineup.
1 – Victorino 2 – Gonzo 3 – Kemp 4 – Ethier 5 – Hanley 6 – Ellis, AJ 7 – Cruz 8 – Ellis, M 9 – Kershaw
This would be more radical and still preserve the L-R-L-R principle. The “Book” says you should bat your best hitter second. Seriously? Why not? Let’s have Ethier and Kemp get an additional 30-50 ABs that they otherwise lose by hitting down in the order. Who’s with me?????
1 – Ethier 2 – Kemp 3 – Gonzo 4 – Hanley 5 – Victorino 6 – Ellis, AJ 7 – Cruz 8 – Ellis, M 9 – Kershaw
Anonymous
My ideal lineup would be the one that’s playing tonight, but with the two Ellises switched.
Jibin Park
That one would be good as well, but starting off with Ethier and Kemp!!!!! That would be awesomer!
Anonymous
A.J. doesn’t have the speed to hit 2nd though. All those walks would clog up the base path behind our big hitters, no?
Ya, I realize I just framed A.J.’s walk stat in a poor light.
Anonymous
the problem is that Mark Ellis is terrible against RHP and so is Victorino both, at least this entire season
Anonymous
I like the lineup Mattingly is running out there today better then either of those two – the two table setters 1,2 – then Murderer’s Row to knock ’em in.
Anonymous
Victorino OBP for season vs rhp 299,as a Dodger 296
Mark Ellis OBP 2012 vs rhp 315
neither worthy of being called a table setter against rhp.
Anonymous
Well, I’ve read a lot of the break-downs on the trade, and a lot of good comments here. I’ve decided that what it all comes down to for me is simply : are the Dodgers in a better position to win now than they were before the trade?
I get where VODF is coming from and I have some of the same reservations – of course it is better to “win smart” – by making good deals, and having a productive farm, rather than just throwing money around to the point of if you don’t win, you are a laughingstock – because you SHOULD have won with THAT type of payroll. But – that said, I’d rather have the added chances over the years that throwing money around will afford the Dodgers.
So – are the Dodgers in a better position to win now than they were before the trade?
I think the answer is yes – so that being the case, I like it.
Anonymous
I was thinking that one immediate consequence of the trade might be that the Dodgers would be more likely to show up on the national networks, but I checked the schedule and it looks like Fox and ESPN were already planning to broadcast the games at the phone booth Sept 8-9, and Fox the Saturday game in Cinci.
Anonymous
Then I checked the schedule for MLB Network for the first few games of September, which they just added in the past day or two, and I see that we’re on September 1 AND September 3. :)
Anonymous
Old friend Reed Johnson bangs another nail the Gnats’ coffin with an RBI double, after a Freeman single and Le Poseur bounced a throw about five feet in front of second on a steal attempt.
Anonymous
7-3 final.
Anonymous
:)
Anonymous
Flashback: One year ago, He Who Shall Not Be Named was having trouble meeting his payroll in LA…
Anonymous
Braves defeated Giants, 7-3.
Anonymous
Time to shave off a third of the Gnat’s lead this evening.
Anonymous
Has Vin Scully tried to make God laugh by announcing his plans for next year?
I wonder if all this harried dealing by new management might be more for the benefit of Vin Scully than anyone else, if indeed he intends to make this his final year. One more shot at the World Series….
Also, has that lady in the valley fired up her oven in another attempt to bribe Vin Scully with cookies?
Anonymous
I would assume Thursday’s Vin Scully Bobblehead giveaway may be a decision day. However, I don’t think Vin would ever announce his retirement on a game day because that would take away from the action on the field and he wouldn’t want that.
Anonymous
If this trade leads to a Vin Scully extension, it was worth it.
Anonymous
The Boston Globe article reminds me that this is all Kuroda’s fault. He goes to Boston, they make the playoffs and none of this happens. No Bobby Valentine and no Francona covering the LLWS. Still can’t figure out how the brass missed the boat on the Greek God of Walks.
foul tip
Anyone seen anything about what the at least semi-intelligent purpose for Punto is?
Guess it always could involve U-rbi-less. Hope never dies…
Anonymous
I truly think Ned thought we needed to replace Hairston in case of injury. If I were Herrera I’d be angry.
Anonymous
Yeah, Colletti says Punto replaces Hairston.
Anonymous
ridiculous
Anonymous
Billinglsey to the DL, Castellanos back to Albuquerque. Juan Uribe lives!
Anonymous
He could give Richard Hatch a lessons or two.
Anonymous
No mention from Colletti that Billz was put on DL when asked about him.
Anonymous
Colletti on Prime Ticket right now.
Anonymous
Victorino scratched – back tightness – new lineup M.Ellis leading off
Anonymous
Cruz in the 2-hole
Anonymous
AJ minus M Ellis’ OPS’s vs RHP: 253
I think I’ll try to post this stat before every game with a right handed opposing pitcher
For their careers, Victorino’s best batting order position is by far 6th (second best is second) while Mark’s is 8th (second best is first) (except that best is really 2 for 6 with a HR batting 4th). Let’s move one of them down to their best place historically and move either Cruz or AJ Ellis up.
Anonymous
Same 3 thru 6 as above, then Rivera in LF, AJ, Kershaw
Anonymous
Watching the Braves’ win over the Giants, there were many comments about the trade, including relief expressed by some in Red Sox country about the shedding of so much money. One tweet that was reported: “This has made Magic Johnson more popular in Boston than Larry Bird.”
Anonymous
Gonzalez looks very happy.
Anonymous
I actually like Rivera but why should he bat 7th and AJ 8th?
Michael Morris
Listening to Vin on mlb.com and making my wife listen with me. To help her appreciate what she hears we’re switching to the marlins broadcast for the bottom. She said, “You’re going to really grieve when he stops broadcasting aren’t you?” And that got me thinking. I’ve been listening to him for 47 years, and there’s no other man in my life – not even my father – I’ve respected for longer. Hell yes I’m going to grieve and I know I wont be alone.
Anonymous
Nicely said. And so true.
Anonymous
Glad to have read that Globe piece, Jon. Didn’t think of Boston racism affecting Crawford after he got off to a poor start last season
Michael Morris
AGon making nice pick there
KT
Two good defensive plays in the 1st…I like this infield defense
Anonymous
Can’t anybody get through the first inning?
KT
it’s ok as long as we get it right back as we did
KT
Good hit Mark!!
KT
Luis!!
Michael Morris
Luis! Wow!
Anonymous
Cruz-o-matic!
KT
Good hit Matty
Come on AGon
KT
AGON!!!!!!
Anonymous
What a welcome. Bienvenidos!
SteelMohawk
WOW, feasting on some poor NL pitching right there!
Anonymous
Fairy tale!
Michael Morris
Statement. Take a bow AGon!
Anonymous
I think they felt that up in the Bay area.
Anonymous
:)
foul tip
That’s a hell of a first Dodger AB.
Even if he hadn’t homered, Gonzalez, Ad. 1B is great to see appearing in Gameday boxscore.
Michael Morris
“In a year that has been so improbable, the impossible has happened.”
Anonymous
Bang.
KT
Good hit Dre
Come on Juan
Anonymous
I missed the reason Shane wasn’t in the lineup tonight (?).
Awesome Adrian and welcome home!
KT
tightness in his back I think
Anonymous
Jon, your lineup up top is wrong. It still shows Victorino leading off.
KT
Good hit AJ
Help yourself Clayton
Nice to bat at least 9 in an inning
Anonymous
back tightness…
Thanks AaSsWw!
KT
? I thought I gave you the info but that’s ok AaSsWw need props ever now and then ^_^
KT
MARK!!!!
Anonymous
Throwin’ it out there – I really like M Ellis in the lead off spot.
Anonymous
Throwin’ it out there – I really like A Gonzalez hitting cleanup. :)
Anonymous
When was the last time we had six hits in an inning, BTimmer, please?
KT
Nice Matty
Come on AGon
Anonymous
Dodger home runs in games 1-125: 79
Dodger home runs in games 126-127: 5 so far
:)
Anonymous
nice way for Gonzalez to break in, & NL pitchers aren’t going to be able to relax with this lineup.
Anonymous
“Welcome to the Dodgers!” – Vin Scully, upon AGon’s 3-run HR in his first at-bat as a Dodger.
KT
Good play Clayton
Anonymous
pick-off by Kershaw to Gonzalez! not picture perfect but an out non the less.
KT
Good hit and Hustle Dre
Anonymous
8 consecutive hits for Ethier – gotta love it.
Anonymous
You guys weren’t kidding about Ethier being streaky, he’s red hot now!
KT
Nice hit AJ
Come on Clayton
Michael Morris
NL record for consecutive hits is 10 shared by 4 players, last by Matt Diaz in 2006. AL is 12 by the amazing Walt Dropo in 1952.
Anonymous
Pinky Higgins had 12 hits in a row, although he also had 2 walks during the streak.
Livan Hernandez had 8 hits in a row in 2001.
Anonymous
Nice sacrifice, Clayton. Deliver the knock out blow, Mark!
Anonymous
Kershaw is third in the NL in sac bunts with 12.
Anonymous
Oh well, one run and 29 more pitches forced ain’t bad.
KT
good play Hanley
Anonymous
in a nutshell the way i understand the goings on is.
1) the Dodgers secure a more lucrative cable deal.
2) we become a power house in the NL (short term slash stop gap).
3) Make no mistake Kasten is a player development junkie, you have to love that. my number 2 is a bridge to my number 3.
4) Kasten resume is reassuring, most definitely.
Anonymous
Since Kasten’s taken over, we added something like $420 mil. in payroll and gave away 3 valuable pitching prospects, with the result that we now have aging, declining stars at SS, 1B, LF, and RF, plus a mystery Cuban who’s supposed to save us because he’s hitting A ball pitching. Granted, the newcomers are replacing some of the worst players in their respective positions, but they are not worth $420 mil. Oh, Kershaw still hasn’t gotten his extension. Kasten’s resume from two decades ago isn’t exactly reassuring in face of what he is actually doing right now.
Anonymous
you have to give something to get something.
Anonymous
Sure, they ain’t worth that amount on the field over that period, but getting Gonzo was a coup and if they make the playoffs the new owners will get off to a great start in revilatizing the franchise.
Anonymous
Well, a great start for revitalizing the Red Sox.
Anonymous
So far,lets see how they spend the money this time.
Anonymous
Victorino, I’m assuming, is gone at the end of the season. Why bother mentioning him? The loss of Ethan Martin who is one of the 3 valuable pitching prospects?
What about Landry OPS of 1145 for Seattle’s high A team?
KT
Nice hit Matty
Come on Adrian
Anonymous
Johnson knocked out after 3 innings :)
Anonymous
Johnson wasn’t missing many bats, a ton of foul balls…
Anonymous
Giancarlo Stanton’s power is freakish, it’s one thing to do it a Coors Field but to do it here, wow.
Anonymous
Gonzalez & Ethier have pretty swings. Just wanted to point that out.
Anonymous
Isn’t that the lefty illusion at work?
Anonymous
My Loney has a first name
It’s J-A-M-E-S
My Loney has a second name
It’s L-O-N-E-Y
Oh, I love to watch him every day
And if you ask me why, I’ll say
‘Cause James Loney has a way With H-I-T-T-I-N-G
Best Wishes, James Loney.
KT
Wow the last couple of days have a lot of posts…Just caught up
Anonymous
This is worth noting – Ethier is one hit away from tying a Dodger record of 9 consecutive hits.
KT
there it is
KT
DRE!!! Ties Cey for the most consecutive hits
Michael Morris
Dre ties Cey for most consecutive hits by an LA Dodger (9) and is one away from tying NL record. Awesome. And it was off a lefty. It’s like fairy dust …
Anonymous
I guess Ethier is on a bit of a hot streak! : )
Anonymous
for those of you out on the town – Ethier just tied a Dodger record of 9 consecutive hits set by The Penguin.
in was a dinger!
KT
Actually the LA Dodger record…the overall record is 10 consecutive by Edward Konetchy in 1919
Anonymous
Anybody feelin’ blue (lowercase ‘b’ blue) about losin’ Sands right now?
Anonymous
I am happy for him, though not sure how much playing time he will get with the Bosox.
KT
Never really was a strong fan of Mr. Sands
Anonymous
Off a lefty no less.
KT
Nice hit Juan
This is a strong lineup
Anonymous
Watching this team is starting to be fun again!
Jason Ungar
by some peoples reaction you could have fooled me! People seem to worry about other people’s money and about players that may never pan out. I’ll enjoy a team that now has a chance to win NOW and trust that ownership will also want to win in the future.
KT
HE Was OUT
KT
Great play Luis…you were robbed
Anonymous
Bad call.
KT
Check swing out…He was playing Cricket
Anonymous
yeah
Anonymous
it was on a check swing, excuse me cricket swing i guess?
Anonymous
with a 7-2 lead i doubt they will debate it. It looked out though.
Michael Morris
Come on Dre!
KT
Dre going for the overall record of 10 consecutive by Edward Konetchy in 1919
KT
Ties record
Anonymous
Ok… Somebody’s got to say it…
…
I’m watching the game on DVR…So, I’m not up to date with you guys….
…
However…. I just saw Juan Uribe congratulating Adrian Gonzalez ….
Guess What?…. I also saw Adam Kennedy in the dugout as well….
…
No matter how many guys this club acquires, Uribe and Kennedy live on! …
These guys should be contestants on “Survivor” this Fall….
That’s all I have for now….
Anonymous
Ethier just missed tying the Brooklyn record by inches.
KT
he tied it
Michael Morris
That’s 10!
Anonymous
Maybe he doesn’t want to be shown up around all these superstars that are being assembled around him
KT
Good job Dre
Anonymous
Wasn’t that a fielder’s choice? :-)
KT
no hanley rounded the base then was caught off trying to get back…single all the way
Anonymous
Oh what fun, it is to ride….. ;)
Anonymous
up, he tied it with a bloop to centre.
Anonymous
just tuned in, happy with the trade, much!
KT
Oh Yea
Tuned in just in time to see Dre tie the consecutive hit streak of 10
Michael Morris
10 is the NL record. Walt Dropo it in 12 straight AB in 1952 with the Tigers.
Anonymous
we’re so spoiled, 10 straight! are you KIDDING!
Anonymous
Nice favor for Petersen’s mom, not so much for Petersen.
David Farinella
Fascinates me to see who the new guys sit next to, talk to, their first game at a new team.
KT
Nice hit Mark 3-3 w/ a bb
KT
Luis!!
David Farinella
Seriously, how great is it to watch him right now.
KT
I had a man crush on him since he 1st came up with us…Solid to exceptional defense…gap power…clutch hitter w/ runners on
Anonymous
He signed my baseball in St. Louis.
He’s not great about sticking around and signing, but I asked him in Spanish. :)
KT
I’m going to try to get him in SD on the 25th…Have seats right next to the dugout
Anonymous
He is impressive
David Farinella
Mark Ellis the Dodgers’ 2012 MVP.
Anonymous
Cruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuz!
Anonymous
Heath Bell makes more money this year than any Dodger reliever. And three times as much as any Dodger reliever not on the 60-day DL.
Oh, and Bell gets a 50 percent raise next year.
Anonymous
The Gnats should acquire him.
Anonymous
That was a real ‘we are leading 8-2 in the 8th’ type of swing from Kemp
Blue-eyed Gal
Weird game.
I really do LIKE A-Gon; I usually put him down for ASG votes because I just thought he was a classy player who never got enough recognition because he played for the Pads. So I’m delighted to see him come up to bat.
If we’d given up just about any prospect but Rubby, I’d be dancing on my seat right now!
Anonymous
Cmon Hanley, I want to see Ethier bat again
Anonymous
Nope. You’ll have to wait till tomorrow to see if he breaks the record!
Unless the Marlin score at least six times in the ninth, and we don’t want that, do we?
Anonymous
I was just thinking the same thing. Maybe Don should lead him off next game (it’s only fair, it was his turn next)
Anonymous
1st and 3rd with none out, how could we (who cares really) :)
Anonymous
1st out by both the newbies combined
KT
Luis to close it
Anonymous
That’s weird.
Yahoo has head shots of MLB players for various displays on their website. The players usually are in the uniform of their current team, with understandable exceptions like AGon still wearing his Boston cap tonight. I’m sure it will get switched to a Dodgers cap soon. Except…
…their photo of Belisario right now is in a Pittsburgh uniform. He hasn’t been in the Pittsburgh system since 2008, and never played in the bigs before joining the Dodgers the following year.
KT
Love this strong lineup
Anonymous
We are the truck that is sitting just behind in the rear view mirror of the Gnats – we are large, quick and coming up fast and you might as well just get out of the way
Anonymous
back-to-back wins & Ethier watch tomorrow.
KT
^_^
Jon Weisman
NPUT
Anonymous
http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/2012/08/25/wowzers/