Here are the last two Podcasts from TDB as we discuss the closet situation as well as the debut of teenager Bryce Harper in tonight's match up between the Dodgers and Nationals.
The pride of Las Vegas, Nevada will start his first MLB game in left field. In 2010 he was the recipient of the Golden Spikes award, which honors the best amateur baseball player. Let's see what kind of spikes he has when he shares an outfield with opposing players like Matt Kemp.
Cheers
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Hump Day at TDB
It looks as if my guest article about the Dodgers' everday depth on Mike Petriello's popular Dodger fan blog "Mike Sciosia's Tragic Illness" has spurred some quality debate on how the organization should go forward. Building around special pieces like Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw, is going to be paramount over the next calendar year (if new ownership looks to start making an immediate run at some titles).
Here's another TDB Podcast recapping last nights defeat and previewing the final game of the home series with Atlanta.
Cheers
Here's another TDB Podcast recapping last nights defeat and previewing the final game of the home series with Atlanta.
Cheers
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Chipper Beats Dodgers on 40th Birthday
As I tweeted in the waning moments of Tuesday night's one-run Dodger loss, Matt Kemp has been the difference maker on this team all season long, so it only seemed fitting that his first legitimate defensive flub of the young 2012 season would also be a difference maker. It was a fantastically competitive affair. Both teams had enormous and towering home runs pulled around foul poles by their respective old timers. Both teams manufactured runs. Both teams had fantastic plays on defense. And both teams erred (as far as I'm concerned if the ball hits Matt Kemp's glove and he's running upright... its an error).
The one black eye on "sleeved blanket night" was Javy Guerra's ill-timed fast ball in the zone to Prado that looked eerily similar to the pitch he threw in Milwaukee when he blew his first save. In fact they were hit to almost identical locations, only this time Matt Kemp had a chance at it. And just like that, the air was let out of the Dodger balloon. Andre Ethier's following appearance at the plate to lead off the bottom of the 9th was a perfect example, as he swung at anything he could see, spinning out of control like that whizzing, deflating balloon. After that, the tying run made it all the way to 2nd base before an ice cold Tony Gwynn Jr. was asked to come off the bench and be the hero with 2 outs. Against arguably the best closer in all of baseball no less.
Which brings us to the SILVER LINING... The Dodger's loss came on a night where every other NL West club lost a game as well. The Dodgers still have a 3.5 game lead over San Francisco as they turn to Ted Lilly for the series win.
Word on the street is that Ned Colletti was at tonight's heart break loss. Maybe Ned was paying attention when Don Mattingly needed a big pinch hit, and he was forced to rely on guys like Justin Sellers, Adam Kennedy or Tony Gwynn. It was reported that Colletti has confirmed he will be looking for a bat in the next few months. If tonight's loss was any indication of the Dodger's options, clearly Uribe's 4-hit night was an aberration and the Dodgers needs are a power hitting 3rd baseman and/or outfielder. I've heard whispers of a guy like David Wright and while that would be intriguing, the Dodgers would have to give up a major prospect like Zach Lee. A move that would be very Ned, and very unpopular with yours truly.
The rubber match is slated for 7:10PM. Unfortunately it sounds as if Juan Rivera might be heading to the disabled list. Only hours after he finally got of the his first homerun of the season. TDB's "Lilly Watch" will be in full effect tomorrow... Tweet me your predictions of home runs given up to fly ball outs ratio.
Good night.
The one black eye on "sleeved blanket night" was Javy Guerra's ill-timed fast ball in the zone to Prado that looked eerily similar to the pitch he threw in Milwaukee when he blew his first save. In fact they were hit to almost identical locations, only this time Matt Kemp had a chance at it. And just like that, the air was let out of the Dodger balloon. Andre Ethier's following appearance at the plate to lead off the bottom of the 9th was a perfect example, as he swung at anything he could see, spinning out of control like that whizzing, deflating balloon. After that, the tying run made it all the way to 2nd base before an ice cold Tony Gwynn Jr. was asked to come off the bench and be the hero with 2 outs. Against arguably the best closer in all of baseball no less.
Which brings us to the SILVER LINING... The Dodger's loss came on a night where every other NL West club lost a game as well. The Dodgers still have a 3.5 game lead over San Francisco as they turn to Ted Lilly for the series win.
Word on the street is that Ned Colletti was at tonight's heart break loss. Maybe Ned was paying attention when Don Mattingly needed a big pinch hit, and he was forced to rely on guys like Justin Sellers, Adam Kennedy or Tony Gwynn. It was reported that Colletti has confirmed he will be looking for a bat in the next few months. If tonight's loss was any indication of the Dodger's options, clearly Uribe's 4-hit night was an aberration and the Dodgers needs are a power hitting 3rd baseman and/or outfielder. I've heard whispers of a guy like David Wright and while that would be intriguing, the Dodgers would have to give up a major prospect like Zach Lee. A move that would be very Ned, and very unpopular with yours truly.
The rubber match is slated for 7:10PM. Unfortunately it sounds as if Juan Rivera might be heading to the disabled list. Only hours after he finally got of the his first homerun of the season. TDB's "Lilly Watch" will be in full effect tomorrow... Tweet me your predictions of home runs given up to fly ball outs ratio.
Good night.
Dodgers and Braves - April 24th
Another pre-game podcast from TDB. The Dodgers are starting to feel much more balanced throughout their lineup this season as James Loney and Juan Uribe seem to be finding their stride. And yes... I pronounced Matt Kemp's .460 batting average as "four point six zero" in the podcast. Please forgive me.
ALSO--> Keep an eye out for my guest article on well known Dodger Blogger Mike Petriello's "Mike Sciosias Tragic Illness" tomorrow.
Have a great Tuesday!
ALSO--> Keep an eye out for my guest article on well known Dodger Blogger Mike Petriello's "Mike Sciosias Tragic Illness" tomorrow.
Have a great Tuesday!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Pre-Game Pod Casts...
While we might have benefited from waiting until the batting lineup for today's game with the Astros had been posted before recording TDB's first-ever podcast, the thoughts on the Dodgers are hopefully relevant nonetheless. Have a great start to your weekend. Think Blue.
Today's starting lineup:
Today's starting lineup:
Gordon SS
Kennedy 2B
Kemp CF
Ethier RF
Rivera LF
Loney 1B
Sellers 3B
AJ Ellis C
Kershaw P
Friday, April 20, 2012
The "Matt and Andre Show" Continues...
Another day, another Dodgers win over a less than stellar opponent. But the reality of an 11-3 start is that you still have to play those 14 games regardless of the opponent, and see where the ball falls. With the exception of back to back nights where the "play-at-the-plate" odds fell in the Milwaukee Brewer's favor, the Dodgers clawed back with a gritty low scoring win going away. The salvage game of the series wouldn't have been possible if not for the continually ridiculous offensive contribution from the 1-2 punch of Kemp and Ethier. Less than 30 hours after Javy Guerra's MLB leading 6th save in the upper midwest, Don Mattingly's Dodgers were calling upon Guerra once again to close the door. Only this time, the task took place "deep in the heart of Texas".
The Dodgers began the first half of their 6-game road trip in Houston Texas, calling upon veteran starter Ted Lilly for a quality outing. Lilly delivered and the rest of the pieces fell into the same places they have been lately. Matt Kemp put the Dodgers in front early with an opposite field 2-run home run to right field, while his bash-brother, Andre Ethier, extended the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the top of the 3rd inning. Jerry Hairston Jr. played stellar defense to keep the opponent at bay. Kenley Jansen threw a few good ol' country fastballs. And finally, Guerra came into close the door for another early season Dodgers win. It's a pretty iron clad game plan the Dodgers have used to get off to the most wins in the MLB, but the reality is that no team can maintain this sort of torrid pace on the backs of only two players.
Matt Kemp's production will likely have to slow down at some point and the same can be said for Andre Ethier. With Andre being in the best health we've seen in years, and Matt being, well... Matt, it's not exactly clear when this eventual break in the offensive madness might take place. But when the numbers cool down, it will take a slightly more balanced offense from the rest of the Los Angeles Dodgers to sustain success through the bulk of the season. As the dog-days of summer set in, its going to take a few more working parts for the "blue crew" to make it out the other side and into October. Some well timed base hits from AJ Ellis and a little more patience at the plate from Dee Gordon and/or James Loney should be a step in the proper direction. But while Ethier and Kemp continue their historic start, those other minor deficiencies will continue to be a footnote in this better-tan-expected April.
If you had told me this past off-season that the Dodgers would be the 2nd Major League team to 11 wins and all that would take place before reigning Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw had gotten his first win of the season, I'd say you're crazy. But this is where we are. The Dodgers are still hot into late April, while Kershaw somehow still winless through 3 starts despite a respectable 2.35 ERA. Hopefully four times a charm, when the Dodgers look to win their 2nd road series of this young season. Tomorrow's first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PT. There's no reason to believe that Kemp and/or Ethier wont continue their amazing offense, but if for some reason they don't, Kershaw will definitely need a less likely hero to join the RBI party and continue the Dodgers' winning ways.
The Dodgers began the first half of their 6-game road trip in Houston Texas, calling upon veteran starter Ted Lilly for a quality outing. Lilly delivered and the rest of the pieces fell into the same places they have been lately. Matt Kemp put the Dodgers in front early with an opposite field 2-run home run to right field, while his bash-brother, Andre Ethier, extended the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single in the top of the 3rd inning. Jerry Hairston Jr. played stellar defense to keep the opponent at bay. Kenley Jansen threw a few good ol' country fastballs. And finally, Guerra came into close the door for another early season Dodgers win. It's a pretty iron clad game plan the Dodgers have used to get off to the most wins in the MLB, but the reality is that no team can maintain this sort of torrid pace on the backs of only two players.
Matt Kemp's production will likely have to slow down at some point and the same can be said for Andre Ethier. With Andre being in the best health we've seen in years, and Matt being, well... Matt, it's not exactly clear when this eventual break in the offensive madness might take place. But when the numbers cool down, it will take a slightly more balanced offense from the rest of the Los Angeles Dodgers to sustain success through the bulk of the season. As the dog-days of summer set in, its going to take a few more working parts for the "blue crew" to make it out the other side and into October. Some well timed base hits from AJ Ellis and a little more patience at the plate from Dee Gordon and/or James Loney should be a step in the proper direction. But while Ethier and Kemp continue their historic start, those other minor deficiencies will continue to be a footnote in this better-tan-expected April.
If you had told me this past off-season that the Dodgers would be the 2nd Major League team to 11 wins and all that would take place before reigning Cy Young award winner Clayton Kershaw had gotten his first win of the season, I'd say you're crazy. But this is where we are. The Dodgers are still hot into late April, while Kershaw somehow still winless through 3 starts despite a respectable 2.35 ERA. Hopefully four times a charm, when the Dodgers look to win their 2nd road series of this young season. Tomorrow's first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PT. There's no reason to believe that Kemp and/or Ethier wont continue their amazing offense, but if for some reason they don't, Kershaw will definitely need a less likely hero to join the RBI party and continue the Dodgers' winning ways.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Dodgers Tickets, Now at Costco
In anticipation of a spike in demand for tickets to Doders games due to the teams change of ownership, tickets are now available in Costco-size bulk. The country's largest membership based warehouse club chain is known for focusing on low prices and high volume. Seems like a perfect marriage seeing as lowering ticket prices and increasing attendance numbers were atop the team's to-do list this past off season (and probably even more so under the new regime).
My question is, will the top deck seats now be called Kirkland brand seats?
My question is, will the top deck seats now be called Kirkland brand seats?
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