LA Dodgers 2013 Ongoing Thread

[Silas]

The Dodgers will be sending out the "heart" of their Starting Rotation against Milwaukee.............Kershaw, Greinke and Ryu. If the Dodgers can't win with these guys then they are in serious trouble.

 

[bluepigpen]

OK, here is the thing, Hammer might just be right on 10 games or so now. In the next 10 games the Dodgers have 3 against the Brewers, 3 at home against the Cardinals and 4 against the Angels. Say the Dodgers with their top 3 get the series or sweep against the Brewers, then come home against the Cardinals and lose the series (Kershaw will get the last game) it will be the Angels that determine Donnie Baseball's fate. If the Angels beat up on the Dodgers, Donnie is gone. I think the Dodgers must go at least 6-4 in the next 10 to save his job. There is no reason to believe at this point that they will. See ya Donnie, his replacement though could be worse. Bad might just get worse.

 

[HammerDown]

If they sweep the Brewers maybe he stalls things. If they win the series but get pounded by the Cards (very, very likely) and lose the series to the woeful Angels, Donnie's parking spot at Chavez will become available.

 

[bluepigpen]

The Dodgers starters have not been bad, the bullpen has sucked from each direction. Send them all away for a trip to limbo and bring up AA & AAA pitchers to fill the relief spots. At best they will be better and at worst they will be the same. I am tried of watching the game into the 7th with a lead just to give it away. I think I saw a couple of those setup guys on the Most Wanted List, not on players in the MLB but in the post office for murdering the Dodgers season.

 

[HammerDown]

 

[Smed55]

I don't think our bullpen is really that bad, it's just being used improperly. Why would you let your best pitcher throw 132 pitches and he gives up a hit then you pull him, if you've already gone that long with him what's it matter. I will say Kershaw should have been pulled after 8 innings, I don't believe in the 100 pitch limit, but I also don't believe in over 120.
Jansen has had a couple recent rough outings, but he should be the closer, PERIOD! League should be the setup man. The other guys are fine in their middle relief roles.

Its not all the bullpens fault, it's our TOTAL lack of hitting. Everyone on here last year was so excited that McGwire was going to be our hitting coach, I said it then and I say it now, he stinks, we were bad last year, we are worse this year! A major league hitter really shouldn't have to rely on a hitting coach, but when you're struggling you need to get help from someone, Mac isn't it! 1 run on 2 hits, then 2 runs on 3 hits and 3 errors thenext game, we didn't deserve to win either of those games, and we didn't!

Until we start showing some offensive life, it's irrelevant if our starting pitching is getting the job done, it won't matter if we even get to the bullpen.

Mattingly learned from Torre, and he was overrated all along.

 

[HammerDown]

Yeah, I've been thinking about Big Mac too and wondering if he's not about to be unemployed. It would make sense to fire him along with the manager.

 

[shoktart]

It doesn't matter!! None of does. Yes, Mattingly & Big Mac both need to be fired yesterday. But the biggest problem is that our players suck!! We have the worst collection of offensive talent in all of baseball. You might argue that point because we have some big names. But Crawford & Han Ram were only able to make names for themselves because they were on roids. Now that they aren't they can't even stay healthy, let alone be productive. Kemp & Ethier are both completely done - careers OVER!!! They are both lost causes at the plate. Gonzo is past his prime and has very little left. Our best hitters are utility guys like Punto & Ellis simply because at least they put forth effort.

After Kershaw & Greinke there isn't a single player worth keeping longterm. Maybe Ryu, although I need to see more from him. Right now he looks like at best a longterm #5 starter. Nothing special. But every single player on offense could go and we wouldn't miss a single one of them.

 

[HammerDown]

I don't think Gonzo is necessarily past his prime and I think Kemp can get on a hot streak. Crawford? Stick a fork in him.

Just like those articles said, when Mattingly is gone, will the Dodgers suddenly go from #30 in the league in HRs to significantly better? Of course not.

 

[Silas]

As frustrating as the Dodgers have been I don't attribute their woes to the play of Crawford, Gonzalez or Ramirez. Crawford has been playing like he did in Tampa Bay, Gonzalez is hitting in the high .300's and about the only guy driving in runs wih two outs, and Ramirez has been hurt, yet in the 3 or 4 games he played in he was an offensive force. Also, I don't recall reading or hearing that Crawford and/or Ramirez have used PED's.

Teams generally win or lose based on pitching and defense. The Dodgers' pitching and defense has not been good. Hence, they have a record of 17-24 going into tonight (or whatever it is).

I never wanted McGwire in L.A.. He shouldn't be allowed in a major league uniform. He's a cheater, lier, and disgrace to the game of Baseball.

Mattingly's primary problems are that he doesn't hold players accountable, and I'm talking about veteran players who should know better, and he doesn't know how to handle a pitching staff. If you are going to fire him, though, you'd better have a game changer ready to step in and I don't know who that would be.

 

[HammerDown]

I'd bet everything I own that Crawford was using PEDs.

There seems to be zero accountability with Donnie. It's almost as though he views himself as more of a team mate that a manager. I just don't see him surviving this. If I were him, I'd start planning on more days in Malibu and less days in Chavez soon.

 

[shoktart]

I'd bet everything I own that Crawford was using PEDs.

There seems to be zero accountability with Donnie. It's almost as though he views himself as more of a team mate that a manager. I just don't see him surviving this. If I were him, I'd start planning on more days in Malibu and less days in Chavez soon.

There is no doubt that Crawford AND Hanley Ramirez used PEDs. In some cases you don't need proof, you can just apply common sense. Did anyone need "proof" that Bret Boone was using? Or what about Brady Anderson?

Crawford is completely finished. In the case of Han Ram, if he can ever stay healthy, I think there is a chance that he could still be a decent player even off the PEDs. But he'll never hit 25 HR or drive in 90 runs in a season. Best we could hope for is a .280 hitter that drives in clutch runs and can maybe improve his defense. But as a SS (which is where he should be playing...MY GOODNESS we need a real 3B on this team!!!!!!!), that's not horrible.

As far as Mattingly, I think describing him as a players coach is an understatement. That's being too kind. He's also an idiot. He doesn't know how to manage the game or the players. He's in way over his head. And his time is VERY limited.

 

[Silas]

What I find rather remarkable is that the Dodgers are still within 7 games of first place. I'm sure Shoktart will project them to be out by Double digits shortly (a distinct possibility), but Management still has reason to make some moves to turn this team around.

Is Colletti paying attention to what the Dodgers need to do? Is he talking to other teams about possible deals? Does he even know what kind of deals need to be made?

Maybe Colletti should be the first piece to fall. True, he doesn't pitch or hit, but what exactly does he do?

Things are not going to change any time soon and we have the Cardinals and Angels coming up after concluding with Milwaukee tomorrow. That upcoming schedule doesn't look promising.

 

[BigDDude]

A sign that change is a'coming?


Even though the Dodgers are facing a righty today, I see that Andre Ethier is sitting out. And, from a quote that I am only seeing on Rotoworld.com, the reason is a doozy.

Apparently, Donny is going with "the guys that want to fight and win" today.

If that is not calling Ethier soft, then I don't know. I do know, that in closly reported ( time wise ) news, that the Dodgers are thinking of calling up Puig and another kid.

Does this mean that Ethier's time in L.A is drawing to a close? I hope so myself, not because he is soft, but as he just does not produce like a top OF should, and seems unable or unwilling to steal a base, which makes me very uninterested fantasy wise.

 

[BigDDude]

At least the Dodgers have jumped out to a very early 1-0 lead today.....

 

[BigDDude]

Here is a related but different quote than I read earlier.

"Don Mattingly pregame seemed to point finger at not only lack of “mental toughness” from his players but also at poor construction of the team. ”We gotta find a team with talent that will fight and compete like a club that doesn’t have that talent,” he said, pointing to last year’s team which led the NL West by 5 1/2 games at the end of May despite a far less-talented lineup. ”I felt we got more out of our ability (last year). I don’t know about being tougher but I felt we got more out of our ability. ”There has to be a mixture of competitiveness. It’s not ‘Let’s put an All-Star team together and the All-Star team wins.’ It’s finding that balance of a team that has a little bit of grit and will fight you. And also having talent to go with it. ”All grit and no talent isn’t going to make you successful. But all talent and not grit isn’t going to get you there either.”


I also like the analogy that the writer that shared this bit of info had. That, with Mattingly chosing now to iar this kind and amount of dirty laundry, it is akin to suicide by cop. You are not taking yourself out, but giving others reasons to do the job for you.


Hmmmmm.......

 

[HammerDown]

Yeah, real bad sign for Donnie. He knows it's coming. It was thick in the air last night and I bet he was waiting for the phone to ring.

Interesting 4-0 lead. Is this confirmation that the team backs Donnie vs. Ethier?

 

[HammerDown]

Wily Peralta is fucking his ERA up.

 

[HammerDown]

How could Matt Kemp strike out with the bases loaded and one out?!

 

[HammerDown]

Crawford is completely finished.

Why do you insist in speaking in absolutes? The man is batting .306 for crying out loud.