Thread: The Dodgers Will Win The West...(and official Dodgers Post-Season Thread)

Originally Posted by AlexSeren

back up to the back up catcher. i guess he will take over Ardoin spot next year.

Thanks Alex


Any chance he wears the Chiquita banana costume behind the plate up in SF? (that costume might be dangerous in the Castro district)

Originally Posted by FlyBoeingJets

And seriously...where was Jeff Kent in the whole mix? I just watched the vid from last night's celebration over again, and I didn't catch one single solitary glimpse of him.

I read a quote from him saying he was just standing back taking it all in, and that it was fun watching all the kids celebrate etc.

Originally Posted by ASUcruz

I read a quote from him saying he was just standing back taking it all in, and that it was fun watching all the kids celebrate etc.

**** that curmudgeon!

I think the only fly in the ointment is our rotation:

Lowe: solid, but he's been carrying a lot of water for us these last couple months. Here's hoping he holds up.
Bills: Love the guy. I honestly believe he's a future Cy Young winner, but he's been less than dominating lately, and this is his first real experience in the postseason where he's going to be leaned on to win some crucial games, starting with Game 2 on the road. I hope he can get some rest over the next 6 days. Minimal amount of pitches tomorrow in other words.
Kuroda: Mixed bag, no? Often composed and even dominant, but he can really melt down as well. First time in the playoffs in the US. He's been slightly better at home than away.
Kershaw: Inexperienced and already maxed out on the innings projected for him this year.
Maddux: Hasn't been good, and has always been worse in the post season with its narrowed strike zone.

It's a good staff, and I do like our bullpen. It's not a dominant staff though.

Originally Posted by irisher

I think the only fly in the ointment is our rotation:

Lowe: solid, but he's been carrying a lot of water for us these last couple months. Here's hoping he holds up.
Bills: Love the guy. I honestly believe he's a future Cy Young winner, but he's been less than dominating lately, and this is his first real experience in the postseason where he's going to be leaned on to win some crucial games, starting with Game 2 on the road. I hope he can get some rest over the next 6 days. Minimal amount of pitches tomorrow in other words.
Kuroda: Mixed bag, no? Often composed and even dominant, but he can really melt down as well. First time in the playoffs in the US. He's been slightly better at home than away.
Kershaw: Inexperienced and already maxed out on the innings projected for him this year.
Maddux: Hasn't been good, and has always been worse in the post season with its narrowed strike zone.

It's a good staff, and I do like our bullpen. It's not a dominant staff though.

I think I know where you are going. We don't have a bunch of CC's or Beckett's but I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.

In MLB:
Fewest home runs allowed
2nd fewest Earned Runs
2nd fewest runs allowed
2nd lowest ERA
4th in Shut-Outs
5th in K's
6th in CG's
6th in hits allowed
8th in BB's

What isn't dominating about that?

Originally Posted by BleedingPurple

I think I know where you are going. We don't have a bunch of CC's or Beckett's but I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.

In MLB:
Fewest home runs allowed
2nd fewest Earned Runs
2nd fewest runs allowed
2nd lowest ERA
4th in Shut-Outs
5th in K's
6th in CG's
6th in hits allowed
8th in BB's

What isn't dominating about that?

Because in the postseason, with pitchers often starting on 3 or 4 days rest, you need to have aces who can dominate if you want to be successful. I don't know if we can count on guys like Bills and Lowe to pull that off.

Brad Penny's gone AWOL
Dodgers' Torre plays regulars so fans can acknowledge them - Los Angeles Times

The locker of Brad Penny was empty Thursday and Penny himself was nowhere to be seen.

The Dodgers' opening-day starter, Penny was placed on the 60-day disabled list Wednesday to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Furcal. Penny is ineligible for postseason play.

Torre said he had no idea about Penny's whereabouts.

"I didn't get a chance to say hello or goodbye," Torre said. "He was here yesterday and he disappeared. I didn't ask him to leave."

General Manager Ned Colletti said he spoke Wednesday to Penny's agent, Greg Genske, but refused to divulge the nature of their conversation. Genske did not return voice messages.

Penny, who has a $9.25-million option for next season that could be bought out for $2 million, said this month that he was disappointed that the Dodgers refused to extend his contract this spring. Trainer Stan Conte said that as far as he knew, Penny would remain under his watch as he rehabilitated his ailing shoulder over the next six weeks

Originally Posted by FlyBoeingJets

And seriously...where was Jeff Kent in the whole mix? I just watched the vid from last night's celebration over again, and I didn't catch one single solitary glimpse of him.

He's the second player interviewed in this clip

Denny Hocking wraps up the celebration in L.A. - Video | dodgers.com: Multimedia

Originally Posted by BleedingPurple

I think I know where you are going. We don't have a bunch of CC's or Beckett's but I'll have to respectfully disagree with you on this one.

In MLB:
Fewest home runs allowed
2nd fewest Earned Runs
2nd fewest runs allowed
2nd lowest ERA
4th in Shut-Outs
5th in K's
6th in CG's
6th in hits allowed
8th in BB's

What isn't dominating about that?

Diehard already answered it but just to reiterate:
Postseason pitching is different than the regular season. There are no softies--let's face it, we played in a weak division. And we don't have that dominant shutdown ace. Lowe's good and he's clutch, but he's better defined as a 1A or even a 2 ideally.

Also, Bills has been struggling with his control, Kershaw is inexperienced and maxed out on pitches, Kuroda's an unknown quantity in the postseason, etc.

Again, I like our staff--I just wish we had a healthy Penny, or another starter the quality of Lowe if not somebody like Webb, Beckett, Hamels, etc...