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I caught a good post on the TrueBlueLA site entitled, “It’s cool to hate” where the author speaks about how we went from hating the pitchers to lamenting the batting crew. As I mentioned in a previous post, the injuries are certainly playing a part in the lack of offense that the Dodgers have right now, but Andrew at TrueBlueLA had some other points that I think deserve some additional comment:

1. The lineup hasn’t adapted to address the team injuries - with Kent and Jones sidelined and/or unproductive, the Dodgers have had to rely on Maza, Hu, Pierre, and whatever pitcher we have up that day. If those guys are anywhere near one another in the lineup it’s going to be really hard to string two hits together and get a run across home plate. Not much you can do about the $50 mil that’s off your roster at the moment, but what about changing the order of things?

If Nomar, Tony Abreu, Furcal, Ramon Martinez and Andy LaRoche hadn’t gotten hurt, there’s no way we’d be carrying Maza and Terry Tiffee on the bench while starting Chin-Lung Hu. - TrueBlueLA

True enough.

Andre Ethier has been the silent giant as of late, getting on base more consistently than the rest of the lineup but with no one to help him, the Dodgers are struggling. Besides a change in the lineup, could a more aggressive pinch hitting strategy change things up? Tiffee was brought up to lend a hand in just these instances and, while still green, should be more of a go-to person on the team.

Got to run to the airport but will finish my thoughts on this tomorrow - or maybe Chris will jump in and continue the thought…

The Cubs made it a clean sweep tonight, winning all three games against the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. L.A. had a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the 9th, but Saito was definitely off his game as his pitches veered outside and up high as he loaded up the bases through a combination of walks and hits. Soriano sealed the Dodgers’ fate in the 10th against Chan Ho Park by singling to left field, driving in Fonetnot for the winning run.

Perhaps the most telling statistic was one that Chris Berman mentioned on the ESPN feed tonight. For the series, the Dodgers were only 3-27 with runners in scoring position and were 0-5 on the night after leaving the bases loaded in the top of the 9th.

To be sure, injuries have decimated the hitting squad for the Dodgers, with Nomar on the DL and Jeff Kent suffering from back spasms - not to mention Rafael Furcal’s back problems. Garciaparra will undergo additional tests on Friday to assess his nagging calf strain, but there’s been no indication from the Dodger camp that anyone is optimistic about his return anytime soon.

So what are the Dodgers to do in the meantime (other than pray that the D-Backs continue their slide and keep the 3.5 game spread between them and the Dogers in place)? Torre has certainly been willing to take chances with the lineup as of late (remember when Loney ended up being the key pinch hitter in Game 1 of this series and struck out?) but nothing could muster more than one run in each game against the Cubbies.

Thoughts welcome…

 

Here’s the link to Tommy’s rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” from Wrigley (the photo is from a different event).  Enjoy!

This just in from the Dodgers…can’t wait to see the video.  One note about the Baby Ruth contest listed below: what the release does not state is that the winner gets to lead the crowd in singing Take Me Out to the Ball Game at the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.  It’s an awesome prize (full disclosure: I work on this promotion).

LOS ANGELES – Hall of Fame Manager and Special Advisor to the Chairman Tommy Lasordawill sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley Field.  Lasorda will make his sixth appearance at Wrigley Field tomorrow singing baseball’s anthem, as his previous performances came in 1999, 2002, ’03, ’05, and ’06.

“Singing ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’ during the seventh-inning stretch is an institution in baseball,” said Lasorda.  “I am honored to be asked, and look forward to leading the fans in the song.”

As 2008 marks the 100^th anniversary of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” Major League Baseball and Baby Ruth teamed up to offer one lucky fan a once-in-a-lifetime prize for the best video performance of  “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”  Fans had the chance to enter their video rendition of the song from March 31 through May 26. In June, ten semi-finalists’ videos, selected by MLB and Baby Ruth, will be posted for fan voting online. The three videos with the most votes will go to 2008 DHL All-Star FanFest where a panel of judges will determine the grand prize winner.

The “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” song was originally composed in 1908 by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer, neither of whom had ever been to a Major League Baseball game. The song is the third most frequently sung tune in the United States after “Happy Birthday” and the “Star Spangled Banner,” and has sold over 10 million copies in sheet music and/or records.

Over the past one hundred years more than 400 musicians in every conceivable genre have recorded the song including Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, LL Cool J, The Goo Goo Dolls and Jimmy Buffett. The original lyrics are now part of the collection at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library in Cooperstown .

Whether Clayton Kershaw is the second coming of Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela or whomever, one thing’s for certain: the kid looked legitimate in his debut today. Here’s his line:

Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	PC-ST	ERA
Kershaw	6.0	5	2	2	1	7	0	102-69	3.00

Vin accurately noted during the telecast that Kershaw really settled down after the first inning and got into a nice rhythm from the 2^nd through the 5^th with seven strikeouts. Here’s his pitch count by inning:

1^st inning: 32 pitches (striking out the side)

2^nd inning: 12 pitches

3^rd inning: 10 pitches

4^th inning: 11 pitches

5^th inning: 10 pitches

6^th inning: 27 pitches

While we didn’t see “The Pitch” (which Vin described simply as “filthy”), we did see a very mature 20 year-old that has a number of pitches at his disposal and one who doesn’t panic when under pressure. I’m not sure how long he’s going to be up with the Club for more than a cup of coffee, but Dodger fans should be very encouraged by his performance today.

Kershaw, who spent time during spring training with the Dodgers and pitched in the final exhibition game against Boston, was 0-3 with a 2.28 ERA for Jacksonville in minor league play this season and had 47 strikeouts in 43 1-3 innings. During spring training, he gave up one run over 14 innings and struck out 19 while with the Dodgers.

Despite the “no decision” game for Kershaw today, he definitely has a lot to be proud of. Torre and Honneycutt let him throw 102 pitches in his debut, including a 32-pitch first inning, without getting rattled - despite the first run that quickly hit the scoreboard.

“It looked in the first inning like he was going to run into some problems with (pitch) count,” said Hal McRae. “But after that he started mixing in his change-up and getting some quick outs. I was impressed.” Clearly no classic McRae phone throwing was to be had today

Dodgers closer Takashi Saito (3-1) picked up the win with five Ks in two innings, including striking out the side in order in the 10th.

Oh, by the way, if you’re curious when his next start would be, that’s this Friday in New York City against the Mets. No pressure there, right?

Check out some of Kershaw’s post-game comments over at Blue Notes (and are we sure Kershaw’s not 30? He sounds way too mature to be 20).