OFFICIAL 2009 DODGERS SEASON THREAD : Season Over. Congratulations Phillies.

[Los Angeles]

We haven't had a hit since the top 2nd.

Also ZERO walks, dodgers need to see more pitches.

 

[mr jordan04]

casey starting it off

 

[Los Angeles]

The beard goin with the pitch

Don't know why bud took correia out, but let's get something goin.

 

[mr jordan04]

1st and 2nd no outs
bunt em over!!

 

[Los Angeles]

If furcal is just gonna keep the bat on his shoulders with 2 strikes and not protect the plate, he might as well try to bunt em' over.

 

[mr jordan04]

why wouldnt you bunt him over?? that was stupid

 

[mr jordan04]

waste of an inning

 

[sinser13]

 

[Los Angeles]

Wow that was very weird.

I mean I can live with joe lettin' them run, but kemp is a strikeout machine.

He now has 58 strikeouts.

 

[Los Angeles]

MrJ, random question: did you go to cerritos hs?

 

[Los Angeles]

Hit a HR right here andre

 

[jrdnkiks213]

Loney getting it started...


Beard

 

[Los Angeles]

Smfh.

Gg

 

[sinser13]

well that sucked

 

[Los Angeles]

It really comes down to Kershaw not being able to pitch effectively, he has 12 starts and has only gone past the 5th 2 or 3x - that is a very bad sign.

 

[cincoseisdos]

Forgive me Dodger gods for I have sinned...

We left at the bottom of the 6th. This game was so boring and dragged out I couldn't take it. Last time I left a game early was because of my boys beingstupid, Opening Day 2005- We missed the late inning comeback against the Gnats

Tonights game sucked. Onto Texas...

 

[frenchblue23]

Originally Posted by CincoSeisDos

Forgive me Dodger gods for I have sinned...

We left at the bottom of the 6th. This game was so boring and dragged out I couldn't take it. Last time I left a game early was because of my boys being stupid, Opening Day 2005- We missed the late inning comeback against the Gnats

Tonights game sucked. Onto Texas...

Sheesh, that bad?

Until this day, I have never left early, hope that never happens.

 

[Los Angeles]

Eh, I don't blame you 562.

It was pretty much a given the dodgers were gonna catch an L, once kershaw struggled that hard in the 1st inning.

He never gave himself a chance to win walking 4 batters in 2.2IP.

Ah well, texas should be a tough trip.

 

[mr jordan04]

Originally Posted by bright nikes

MrJ, random question: did you go to cerritos hs?

Nah, I went to john glenn in norwalk. Why?

 

[krey1231]

562 it was a snore. Best part was the wave that caught on for a little, and the fat asian guy dancing on screen.

 

[cincoseisdos]

Originally Posted by krey1231

Best part was the wave that caught on for a little

 

[cincoseisdos]

Attention BN...

Manny Pacquiao will be throwing out the first pitch at the game against the A's June 17

 

[Los Angeles]

MrJ I was just gonna ask you if you knew some people.

& 562 I know you hate the wave, but you gotta admit if it goes around 8+ times its a sight to see (I remember in the post season vs the Mets). That wavewent a legit 8 times around

But it does get old, at least the little kids get excited seeing it

Good info on Pacman 562, I wonder how close he's gonna move up to reach home plate

Only another reason to go to that As series!

 

[sinser13]

[h3]Torre can use DH to give regulars rest[/h3]Los Angeles (40-21) at Texas (33-25), 5:05 p.m. PT
By David Ely / MLB.com

06/11/09 3:16 AM ET

LOS ANGELES -- A couple of days before the Dodgers began the two-game series against the San Diego Padres, a reporter casually asked manager Joe Torre if he was looking forward to his club's upcoming series at Texas that starts Friday and the opportunity to use a designated hitter for three games.

"Well, now that I've got the extra player," he began, referring to the team's callup of Blake DeWitt.
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"Yeah, I am to be honest with you. Maybe give a guy or two a day off that they can use, too, sort of."

The presence of a designated hitter will afford Torre the luxury of managing games without concerning himself with pinch-hitters when he has to turn to the bullpen early, like in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Padres.

Not to mention that it would be a pleasant surprise if the No. 9 hitter got on base while the Dodgers play at Texas.

Whomever the Dodgers choose as their DH, chances are the hitter won't be shy on big league experience. Aside from rookie Jamie Hoffmann, the reserves have all seen their fair share of playing time.

DeWitt had 368 at-bats last year, and Mark Loretta, Juan Castro and Brad Ausmus have combined for thousands of trips to the plate in their careers.

"Everybody on the bench has been a regular player at one time or another," Torre said before Tuesday's game against the Padres. "Even Castro and Blake DeWitt was in the postseason [last year] as our regular second baseman. So when you're putting guys in there, Ausmus or Loretta, those guys have been regular players. So it's not something, 'Oh I gotta pinch-hit here in the sixth inning with a couple of men on,' because they're used to that."

The other added benefit to the DH is that Torre can let some of his key guys take a break from the physical toll of defense while still letting them bat.

Shortstop Rafael Furcal routinely gets days off to keep his surgically repaired back fresh, and Torre recently said that he'd like to let second baseman Orlando Hudson rest every 10 games or so.

 

[cincoseisdos]

[h3][/h3]

[h3]Dodgers shore up battery in Draft[/h3]Majority of club's picks come from college ranks
[h4]Related Links[/h4]

• Dodgers snag Big 12 Player of Year
• Dodgers select two-way Baylor prospect
• Dodgers draft picks
• Complete coverage at Draft Central

By David Ely / MLB.com

06/11/09 5:13 PM ET

LOS ANGELES -- For Logan White, the Dodgers assistant general manager of scouting, the Draft got off to a great start well before the club cast its first selection (Baylor left-hander Aaron Miller) on Tuesday.

The team was already reaping the benefits from its decision to forgo its first-round pick (No. 16 overall) to Arizona as compensation for signing Orlando Hudson, a Type-A free agent.

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ROUND 1 PICKS
Follow every pick
1 WAS: S. Strasburg
2 SEA: D. Ackley
3 SD: D. Tate
4 PIT: J. Sanchez
5 BAL: M. Hobgood
6 SF: Z. Wheeler
7 ATL: M. Minor
8 CIN: M. Leake
9 DET: J. Turner
10 WAS: D. Storen
11 COL: T. Matzek
12 KC: A. Crow
13 OAK: G. Green
14 TEX: M. Purke
15 CLE: A. White
16 ARI: R. Borchering
17 ARI: A. Pollock
18 FLA: C. James
19 STL: S. Miller
20 TOR: S. Jenkins
21 HOU: J. Mier
22 MIN: K. Gibson
23 CWS: J. Mitchell
24 LAA: R. Grichuk
25 LAA: M Trout
26 MIL: E. Arnett
27 SEA: N. Franklin
28 BOS: R. Fuentes
29 NYY: S. Heathcott
30 TB: L. Washington
31 CHC: B. Jackson
32 COL: T. Wheeler

---

36 LAD: A. Miller
72 NYM: S. Matz
75 PHI: K. Dugan

MORE COVERAGE
• Draft falls into place after No. 1
• Follow Draft on Twitter
• New tech helps clubs spot talent
• Bodley: Nats must be patient

"It all started in the spring when Ned [Colletti] was able to sign Orlando Hudson," White said Wednesday. "We feel like he was as good a first-rounder as we could sign."

Not too mention the impact that Hudson's had so far, the second baseman is currently batting .308 and has scored 40 runs.

"We didn't feel there was anybody where we would have been picking that [we] would have been able to get and [who] could come up and have the impact with the Major League [club] that Orlando's had," White said. "So to me it was a no-brainer."

But even without its first-round pick, the Dodgers were pleased how the Draft played itself out and the team needs White felt they addressed.

Two of those needs: pitching and an influx of youth at catcher.

In the first 30 rounds, the Dodgers drafted a total of 14 pitchers and took a catcher in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Highlighting the pitching prospects is Miller and second-round selection Garrett Gould, who White admitted might be a difficult sign. Gould, a right-hander from Maize High School in Kansas, was a projected first-round pick but dropped with a commitment to Wichita State.

"We tried to get more pitching in the organization and I think we certainly addressed that with some quality pitching arms," White said. "[Gould] with a Wichita State scholarship will be tough, and Wichita State is a good program. We just hope we can get it done."

And though the Dodgers seem to have a long-term starter at catcher in Russell Martin, Los Angeles ensured that the club has depth at the position. The Dodgers selected Big 12 Player of the Year Jeremy Wise, and Puerto Rico Baseball Academy product Jan Vazquez.

"Russell Martin's doing a great job up here, but we're going to need someone to back him up at some point in time," White said.

Another trend that became apparent after two days of drafting was the number of position player with power that now find themselves a part of the Dodgers organization.

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Dodgers -- Top five selections
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]
Pick
[/td] [td]
POS
[/td] [td]
Name
[/td] [td]
School
[/td] [/tr][tr][td]36[/td] [td]LHP[/td] [td]Aaron Miller[/td] [td]Baylor U[/td] [/tr][tr][td]56[/td] [td]RF[/td] [td]Blake Smith[/td] [td]UC Berkeley[/td] [/tr][tr][td]65[/td] [td]RHP[/td] [td]Garrett Gould[/td] [td]Maize HS[/td] [/tr][tr][td]96[/td] [td]RHP[/td] [td]Brett Wallach[/td] [td]Orange Coast Col[/td] [/tr][tr][td]127[/td] [td]CF[/td] [td]Mario Songco[/td] [td]Loyola Marymount U[/td] [/tr][tr][td] Complete Dodgers Draft results >[/td] [/tr][/table]

Notable selections were University of California product Blake Smith 10 home runs in 2009) Mario Songco (15) from Loyola Marymount University in the fourth round and Mississippi State's Connor Powers (19) in the 11th.

"With Songco and Smith," White said, "we certainly felt that we add him to the kid we drafted last year, [Kyle] Russell, and [Andrew] Lambo, who's in Double-A, we certainly should have some power bats coming through the system."

In order to fill these organizational needs, the Dodgers went away from past Draft philosophies and primarily selected from the college ranks.

22 of their picks from the first 30 rounds were players from college.

White said that the Dodgers did not head into the Draft with the intention of mainly focusing on college players. It just happened that other clubs took a lot of high schoolers leaving plenty of available college players for the Dodgers.

"Our philosophy has always been to take the best available player, and then we focus in on our club needs second," White said.

"But that's just kind of the way it plays. Now you have teams like Toronto and St. Louis taking high school players when back I want to say '02-'03, they didn't draft as much from the high school ranks as they are now. So it kind of gives us the mix of the college guys."