Posts Tagged ‘Los Angeles Dodgers’
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Ramirez, Sox End Volatile Relationship: Latest “Manny Being Manny” Antics Swelled Into Selfish Discontent, Forcing Boston To Make A MoveAugust 4th, 2008
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And just like that, he’s gone.
After 1,083 regular season games played, 274 home runs launched into the ether, and 868 runs driven in, Manny Ramirez will no longer stand before the Monster in left field wearing home whites with red embroidery. No longer will he bat behind David Ortiz, forming one of the most prolific offensive combos in the history of the game. And no longer will he stir that fickle cauldron mixed with absolute indignation and pure jubilation.
Just like that. Like so many of the baseballs that effortlessly smacked off the barrel of his bat. Gone. Long gone, in fact.
With just minutes, if not seconds, to go before the clock struck four on Thursday afternoon, the Red Sox sent the disgruntled Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers via the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-way deal that landed All-Star outfielder Jason Bay—quite fittingly—in the Bay State.
In a move similar to the Nomar Garciaparra trade of 2004—and for largely the same reasons and under eerily equal circumstances—the player, teammates, manager, and front office all agreed: a point of no return had been reached, and Ramirez had to go; and what better place than Frank McCourt’s SoCal Red Sox Retirement Home. Read more
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Dodgers need more offensive star powerJuly 6th, 2008
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The Dodgers season thus far has been a train wreck offensively. Sometimes the boys in blue can turns lemons into lemonade like they did the other day beating the Angels without getting a hit.Most of the time however, the Dodgers offense hangs their pitchers out to dry with little to no run support. Needless to say, the team has not lived up to its potential at the plate. Half way through the season the Dodgers are within striking distance of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West. The Dodgers have as good a chance as anybody of winning the division. Injuries are one reason the Dodgers offense has stalled. Ever since Rafael Furcal first felt a twinge in his gimpy back. Furcal recently underwent back surgery and will be out for the next 8 weeks if not for the rest of the season. As if that weren’t bad enough, Juan Pierre is out with a knee injury. Meaning the Dodgers have lost their top two lead off hitters. It is time for Joe Torre to get outside of the box with his line up. Torre could go with either Matt Kemp or Russell Martin as the table setter for his Dodger line up. Currently he has been going with Kemp who has performed decently. Read more
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Just when I think I’m out…June 19th, 2008
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The Cleveland Indians pull me back in.
Of course, then I head screaming for the hills after witnessing this game.
And then: somehow, some way, they pluck me from the mountain top and I’m right back where I started.
I’m not trying to be cliche, but where do I begin? Is it with the Tribe winning 5 of their last 7 (by an average of 2.5 runs per game, which is pretty amazing because that’s about the average offensive output per week of this team over the first few months of the season)? Or, is it with the losses of Travis Hafner, Victor Martinez, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook, and Josh Barfield (i.e. a combined 30% of the team’s payroll) to injury? Read more
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Just Like They Drew It Up: J.D. Silencing CriticsJune 19th, 2008
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The cost of crude oil by the barrel isn’t the lone commodity on the rise. Right fielder J.D. Drew—often ridiculed and much besieged by fans and local sports media during most of last season—is scaling new heights for the Red Sox.
Only, of late, Drew is making his hefty price tag seem fairer by the plate appearance.
While year one of his $70 million, five-year contract in Boston left even the most ardent of Drew defenders unfulfilled, the former first round pick—two times over—did end his debut season in a Sox uniform on a high note, finishing with a strong September that carried into the playoffs, which included a momentous grand slam in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series.
But a closer examination of his first go-around in the American League would reveal a season much in line with his career output. That is, if you disregard his near two-month adjustment period to a league switch, different pitching—both personnel- and approach-wise—a new hitting venue, and the highly chaotic and fishbowl environment that makes up the Boston sports scene.
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The Team with No NameJune 7th, 2008
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I’d like to share a story with you.
When I was eight or nine, my younger brother decided to ride his bike down the hill near the front of our house. It was a small hill, and even though he had been riding his bike without his training wheels for only a year or so, he could have handled it easily.
If the front wheel of his bike hadn’t broken off halfway down the hill.
Man, my brother was messed up after that. He went flying head-first off his handle bars and landed face-first on the street. His face was all bruised, he had bad cuts on his arms, even a couple of his teeth were gone. He looked terrible for a long, long time after that (in fact, it’s probably a blessing that — almost twenty years later — when he first met the woman who eventually became his wife, she didn’t have the best eyesight in the world), and it took him a while to feel comfortable on a bike again. Read more
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K is for KershawMay 30th, 2008
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The Dodgers believe they have the next big time pitcher. The next Dwight Gooden, the next Roger Clemens, the next Sandy Koufax. His name is Clayton Kershaw. Even though he has pitched just six innings on the year, Dodgers fans are over the moon for this young pitching project. Since Kershaw is just 20 years old, the Dodgers plan on limiting him to about 170 innings on the season. However, that should be more than enough time to get a feel for what the young phenom can do.
Standing in at six feet three inches, the lanky left hander is the kind of pitcher front office personal dream about. Hailing from Texas, Dodgers faithful are hoping that he proves to be more Nolan Ryan than Roger Clemens. Joe Torre had wanted to bring Kershaw along slowly, but at the end of the day, the Dodgers pitching has not performed as well as hoped. Kershaw is one of the few southpaw’s that the Dodgers have.
This Friday will be a big test for Kershaw as he will be pitching under the bright lights of New York City when the Dodgers play the Mets. Wearing number 54, Kershaw is trying to bring life to a Dodger team that has been underachieving for most of the season. Joe Torre plans on using Kershaw the way he used Joba Chamberlain last season with the Yankees, which is to say he will be used sparingly.
Whatever Kershaw can bring to the table will be an improvement as not one member of the Dodgers rotation has a winning record. Kershaw will be the Dodgers fifth starter for the foreseeable future. Right now, Kershaw is in line to see a number of starts in the coming weeks, then management will evaluate where there young phenom is at. One thing is for sure, the Dodgers hope that Kershaw can be their best left hander since Sandy Koufax. But, they would be happy if Kershaw turns out as good as Orel Hershiser. Either way, if Kershaw is lucky he will end up like Brad Penny and get to date both Alyssa Milano and Eliza Dushku.
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Julio Lugo: Another Sunk Cost At Short?May 14th, 2008
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Ever since the eleventh-hour deadline deal that shipped Nomar Garciaparra off to the Cubbies as part of a three-way trade machination and, along with it, sent a Red Sox fandom into knee-jerk hysteria—then eventual baseball ecstasy three months later—general manager Theo Epstein has aggressively engaged in a seasonal pursuit for Boston’s next long-term shortstop.
But for the past four winters—each filled and followed by one fruitless search after another—Epstein’s hunt has seemingly mirrored the life and times of Elmer Fudd. Far too elusive to nab, that wascawly shortstop has evaded the grasp of the Sox GM at every turn—only self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the form of failed signings left in all the aftermath.
So, to say the shortstop position under the Epstein-era has seen more ups, downs and (public relations) spin than a merry-go-round wouldn’t be much of an understatement. In fact, by now, some Red Sox supporters might prefer a daintily handcrafted carousel horse to the club’s incumbent shortstop, one Julio Lugo.
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Kemp wins NL Player of WeekMay 7th, 2008
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Matt Kemp was named National League player of the week for the week ending May 4th. Kemp went off last week with 11 hits, 11 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Kemp is also riding an eleven game hitting streak, bringing his batting average up to .330. Kemp has been playing primarily in right or center field. Joe Torre has been moving the big right handed hitter up and down the line-up and Kemp has responded with 24 RBIs on the season.
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Surprising Effectiveness in ‘08May 5th, 2008
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John Lackey. Kelvim Escobar. Howie Kendrick. Maicer Izturis. Dustin Moseley. Chone Figgins.
There are some pretty big names in there. Lackey has been out since the start of the season with a strained right tricep, and has been making decent strides so far in his rehab assignment. Kelvim Escobar, co-ace to Lackey, who both combined for 37 wins in 2007, has also been out since spring with a tear in his labrum which may need surgery, though he’s been attempting to avoid it, learning to live for now with the discomfort in his throwing arm. Howie Kendrick has been an off-and-on DL regular, this time with a strained left hamstring that has limited him to only ten games and 36 total at-bats so far this season. Izturis and Moseley have only recently joined the DL, with a stiff lower back and right forearm stiffness, respectively. Figgins has yet to formally join the list, being instead day-to-day with a slight strain to his hamstring as well from a more than magnificent slide home in yesterday’s victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
For as much as I can remember, this may very well be the third start of the season in a row where the Angels have had significant starters on the disabled list. But this year, the list of injuries should be something fierce – two starters, several from the bullpen have gone off and on, one of baseball’s most sought after second basemen (though I still personally cannot figure out why), and arguably the league’s most effective lead-off hitter/the team’s stolen-base king.
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Dodgers get lucky number 13April 30th, 2008
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13 wins feel good. There is hope for the season.
Jeff Kent came through for the Dodgers, on Tuesday. He helped the team to its fourth straight win, putting them at .500 for the first time in quite some time. The future Hall of Famer drove in Andre Ethier in the ninth to give the Dodgers the lead sending the team to a 13-13 record.
Things have really started to come together for the Dodgers as the young players have really started to step it up over the modest winning streak. Andre Ethier scored three runs in the Dodgers’ most recent victory. What has been most impressive is that the Dodgers have been piling on runs.
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