dodgerfan.net » Juan Pierre

Speedy Gonzalez Goes Down

chris — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:25:35 +0000

It’s hard to believe, but Juan Pierre’s sprained MCL was the first injury the speedy outfielder has received that’s caused him to land on the DL. Pierre has 35 steals, placing him second in the majors, one behind Willy Taveras. Replacing Juan (if that can be done) is Jason Repko who’s up from AAA. Repko’s batted .375 (39-for-104) with eight doubles, 15 RBI, and eight steals in 26 games in June, which is good considered Juan’s only supposed to be gone for 15 days. Here’s to a (ahem) “speedy” recovery for Mr. Pierre!

Game update: Unfortunately that hot month in AAA didn’t carry over in the bigs. Repko was 0-5 tonight with four strikeouts, leaving four men stranded. I think I can hear that choking sound from Houston all the way out here in Santa Monica.

Notes from the Ravine

chris — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:41:33 +0000

Was out at Dodger Stadium this afternoon for a meeting and saw a little early batting practice going on. Brad Penny of all people parked a few balls deep into the outfield seats. Juan Pierre also took a little early practice in the cage and was working on his bunting. Other early arrivals included youngsters DeWitt, Hu and Billingsley. And I could have missed him, but I did not see any sign of Andruw Jones – the one guy who could use a little extra practice.

Chaos in the Outfield

chris — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 19:40:28 +0000

Seriously, what’s it going to take for the Dodgers to see that this outfield by committee approach is not working? I totally get that competition breeds success, but in this case, the opposite is happening.

Here’s my solution:
1.) START KEMP!
2.) Bench Jones for 2-3 games for some serious work on his swing.
3.) Get Jones some help with his blase attitude.
4.) Start Pierre for Jones (for now).
5.) Let the fans know what the plan is!
5.) Get Jones back into the lineup on a permanent basis with Kemp and Ethier and use Pierre as a spot starter and a pinch-hit specialist.

I really think the problem is that the fans (and players) don’t really know what’s going on, so every day that goes by with another questionable roster move makes fans feel even more like pulling their hair out.

Hu’s on Third?

chris — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:42:02 +0000

As reported in numerous media outlets, the Dodgers will try Chin-Lung Hu at third base as a possible short-term replacement for Nomar and Andy LaRoche. I actually really like this move. What I don’t want to see is the Dodgers trade for some aging third baseman and give up one of the kids in the process. I know the blogs are full of people doubting Juan Pierre and are eager to see him go, but I still think he brings something to the table with his speed and am glad to see him in the lineup for today’s game (along with Hu on third). Let’s see how Hu does today and if the infielder can adapt to the quicker pace that the corner position demands over his usual second base.

Torre Taps Pierre as Lead Off Hitter in Opener

chris — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:05:24 +0000

A sign of things to come in the regular season? Perhaps. It’s hard to read anything into the tea leaves for the first Grapefruit League game of the year, but according to our pal Ken Gurnick over at MLB.com, “Torre has made no secret that he likes the speed of Pierre, the likely Opening Day starter in left field, atop the lineup.” Hmm. While I do love Pierre’s speed, leaving Either on the bench just makes no sense at all.

Blue Notes: Single game tickets for the 2008 season go on sale on Saturday, March 1st. Check it out. Looks like the Dodgers are also giving discounts up to 70% on Opening Night tickets. Not sure they really need to, as from what I hear, the challenge is keeping people going to the ball parks for the entire Opening Week, not necessarily the first game.

Is 2008 a breakout year for Kemp?

chris — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:10:07 +0000

You’ve got to wonder if all the trade rumors finally lit a fire under Kemp. Either that, or he’s trying to show the veterans on the club that he’s serious about winning. Regardless of the reason, Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times reported back on January 18 that Kemp’s dropped 25 pounds and has been working out in Arizona all winter. Now that’s impressive – Matt could have easily sat back and waited for Spring Training. After all, the guy’s only 23 and he certainly wasn’t fat by any stretch. What this shows me is that he wants to be a part of this team, and I’m all for keeping guys that want to be here (as Ned Colletti has said many a time). If Matt’s efforts at becoming an everyday starter are successful, the question then turns to who is the #3 outfielder: Juan Pierre or Andre Eithier? I’ll reserve judgement until Spring Training, but it seems a shame to pay Pierre all that cash to ride the pine, but an even bigger shame to play him because of a contract.