I'd like to start this thread with some good vibes from the 1986 Dodgers, including current coaches Rick Honeycutt and Mariano Duncan, as well as Orel Hershiser. Truly a breathtaking performance:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JW7q0JzWaoY

I got tickets this year to see the Dodgers when they come to Detroit this year.

That is all I got.

Ewww we have to play Detroit in interleague? Sigh.

Mark Madsen's pissed he wasn't in that.

I don't even know what to say about that video.

There is nothing you can say, aside from maybe 'cocaine is a hell of a drug'. I only hope they were all on coke, it would make it more understandable. Like, wtf was that made for? LOL.

Later today or tomorrow, I will post my official Dodgers preview. Look for many disparaging Juan Pierre comments, along with numerous, well-placed jabs at the 'Gints'.

I think the Dodgers are already the favourites for the West but they could easily top 90 wins if they manage their roster correctly. But it will be close if they insist on playing Pierre in LF and near the top of the lineup and if they decide that Garciaparra or Crede/Inge are better players than LaRoche. They should seriously trade LaRoche if they dont feel like playing him. Hes 24 and has nothing left to do in the minors and Im sure they could get good value back for him. It seems counterproductive to have all these great young players but block them with worse, older and more expensive players.

Also looking for a breakout from Hong-Chih Kuo. Love that guy.

too bad he can't stay healthy.

Yeah, the fact that both he and Tony Abreu seem to get hurt every year does not bode well to me for their careers. They are both very talented, especially offensively though, so hopefully they can turn that trend around. LaRoche's injury the other day was a freak accident, but the year before it was back problems, and I don't see a 3rd baseman holding up over the long haul if he has problems bending over.

And that's why ARod's the best in the game.

Not sure what you mean by that. Either you are making a reference to Arod being good at bending over (lol), or you are saying since he has had back problems early in his career and gone on to be a future HoFer, then that somehow makes it acceptable, or ok, for other younger players to have injury problems. LOL, yeah, Arod is a good example of a 'typical' career. That's like using Pedro Martinez as an example that smaller pitchers don't break down over time. You can always find exceptions to a rule, but more often then not back problems do not lead to productive careers at positions like 3b.

Meh, funny in their own ways regardless.

Oh, no, I was going for the gay joke.

Sigh, I knew I should have gone with my initial read. Such a nit, I had to play it safe and give two replies.

Haha, too funny.

Warning: Incredibly long, and of no interest to anyone other then a Dodgers fan or hardcore baseball fan.

First off, any serious Dodgers fan should check out dodgerthoughts.com. It's Jon Weisman's (Si.com, a couple other publications) blog about the Dodgers, and it really is a great place to view anything Dodgers related. On a lighter note, Dodgerblues.com is a humor based Dodgers site that primarily makes fun of/ridicules the Dodgers out of frustration.

2007 record: 82-80 (4^th in NL West, 8 games back of Arizona)

Key Departures: Randy Wolf (SP), Luis Gonzalez (LF), Olmaedo Saenz (1b/3b/PH/team eater), Mike Leiberthal (backup C) Mark Hendrickson (SP/RP)….honestly, I can't really call any of these guy 'key' players, although w/out Olmaedo Saenz I need a new player to take out my frustrations on.

Key Additions: Joe Torre (Manager, NYY), Hiroki Kuroda (SP, Japan), Andruw Jones (CF, Atl), Gary Bennett (backup C)

Catcher: No question as to who will be the catcher 145+ games this year: the reigning NL All Star starter, Gold Glove winner, and Silver Slugger winner, Russell Martin. The only concern anyone has in regards to Martin is giving him enough rest through out the season. Last year he played way too much, and his numbers showed his fatigue in the 2nd half. Look for Russell to continue to grow as a player, maybe even more so under Joe Torre.

Gary Bennett will be backing up Martin this year, replacing Mike Leiberthal. Servicable for a backup catcher, but Bennett was also the first player signed that appeared on the Mitchell Report after it was released. Shame on you, Dodgers.

First Base: FINALLY, Loney will start the year as the man at 1b, something that should have happened at the start of last year, but Ned Co. (Colletti) and Grittle (Grady Little) went with Nomar. That decision cost the Dodgers dearly until Loney replaced him 1/3 a way through the season or so, from which point he produced: .331 ba/15 hr/67 rbi/ 131 OPS+) in 96 games. He is considered a very good fielding first baseman, although I noticed last year he made a few 'immature' mistakes defensively.

When Loney sits (which will not be often at all), I would think the Dodgers plan on using an assortment of players – Nomar, Jeff Kent, Mark Sweeney (when healthy, if he is on the team). Minor league first baseman John Lindsey has a good power year last year, and has shown much the same in Vero Beach this spring, but he is a long shot to make the roster.

Second Base: Jeff Kent is back, after a year where he led the team in HR (20, pathetic) and hit .302 while missing a good amount of games with a variety of injuries. Not bad for a guy that turned 40 a few days ago. Still, he IS old, and his range (which never was that good) in the field is shrinking fast. He is considered a 'gamer', but that same attitude often turns teammates against him, which was the case last year when he feuded with the younger players (primarily Kemp and Loney) during the Dodger's September collapse.

When Kent sits (which one will expect a 40 yo to do quite a bit), Tony Abreu was expected to be the primary backup (as well as get time at 3b and SS), grooming him to take over for Jeff in the years to come. Injury issues last year have continued into the spring for Tony however, and he might not be ready to go when the Dodgers start the season. With Abreu a question mark, the Dodgers have a few options for the backup middle infielder role on the club:

Delwyn Young - a great offensive talent that used to be a 2nd base prospect, but the Dodgers moved to OF to find a spot for him. This spring he has played games at 2nd again to make himself more valuable.

Chin-Lung Hu - a GREAT defensive SS, who many scouts feel will be a perrenial Gold Glove winner once he breaks in and stays. His offensive output has steadily increased since he signed with the Dodgers, and many consider him to be the future SS. He is definitely capable of playing 2nd base, but the organization might feel better starting him at AAA Las Vegas to ensure he plays everyday.

Ramon Martinez - Yes, that guy is back in camp…He has played multiple stints with the Dodgers, including last year when he only batted .194 over 110 abs, but Torre likes veterans, especially for roles off the bench.

Shortstop: Coming off a career worst year, where he battled ankle problems all year long (ty Jason Repko), Rafael Furcal is enterting a contract year with something to prove. If he can return to his previous form, then the Dodgers will be a much improved offensive team; there is no doubt about how valuable Raffy can be when healthy at the top of the order. However, if he doesn't stay healthy, the Dodgers could be in store for another lackluster year at the plate. Even if Furcal has a great year, don't be shocked if they let him sign elsewhere at the end of the season. He has approached the team about an extension, but many in the organization feel the above mentioned Hu will be ready next year.

The question as to who will backup Rafael at SS will be answered mostly by who the Dodgers have backing up 2nd as well. Abreu, Hu, Martinez, etc.

Third base: With the recent injury to Andy LaRoche (out 2+ months), Nomar Garciaparra will be your Los Angeles Dodgers starting third baseman heading into the season. Coming off an awful year, where he had more errors (10) then HRs (7), Nomar has to prove he still has enough pop in his bat to make himself a valuable major leaguer. Last year it became painfully obvious that he had become almost a slap/singles hitter, and I really don't see any reason that would change this year. Dodgers fans can only hope that LaRoche returns mid-May and similar to the Nomar/Loney/1b situation last year, steps in and takes the job. Not only would that be better for the starting lineup, I think Nomar still has a good deal of value coming off the bench. He has always been a good 'clutch' hitter (although the idea of clutch hitting has pretty much been debunked by the stat geeks), and he is a notorious 1st ball hitter, and being aggressive is something PHs need to do.

Until LaRoche returns, the players backing Nomar up will most likely be the same that back up 2nd/SS: Abreu, Hu, Martinez, and the minute possibility of Blake Dewiit. Blake is a prospect that is thought highly of, but he is almost guaranteed to start the year in the minors.

Another option would be to acquire a 3rd baseman via trade. The names that have been talked about all off season have been Brandon Inge and Joe Crede, but I personally hope Ned Co. doesn't jump the gun and trade any of our prospects. If you knew that whomever you were getting (Inge/Crede/?) was better then what you already have (Nomar/backups/LaRoche in a few months), then I would be more willing to make a trade. As it is, I think Nomar should be adequate until LaRoche returns, and if after that happens there still is a problem at 3rd, then you look into acquiring a 3rd baseman at the trade deadline.

Left Field: The biggest topic of debate among Dodgers faithful this off season has been LF, especially once the Dodgers signed Andruw Jones in CF, displacing Juan Pierre. With Jones in the mix, the Dodgers suddenly had 4 capable outfielders: Matt Kemp, Andruw Jones, Pierre, and Andre Ethier. With Jones a lock to be in CF, and Kemp all but insured his shot at RF, that left Pierre and Ethier to battle it out this spring in left.

On the surface, a casual baseball fan might look at Juan Pierre's numbers and think he was a no brainer selection to be the LF: .293 avg, 196 hits, 64 sbs …what else could a team want out of a lead off type hitter? And to top all that off, he played in 162 games, and is considered to be one of, if not the, hardest workers in baseball and an all around nice guy!

Well, for starters, one would like to see more then 33 (?!?!) walks in over 700 plate appearances from guys at the top of their lineups. A .331 on base percentage is awful, but is only slightly more embarrassing then his .353 slugging percentage. When you factor in one of the worst arms in baseball, you begin to see why a lot of people find him more of a liability then an asset – and that is even before you factor in your alternative.

Andre Ethier hit .284 last year with 13 HRs and 64 RBIs, and did so with 200+ less plate appearances then Pierre. He had a .350 OBP (less important where he bats in the lineup, but still higher then Pierre), and had a slugging percentage of .452. His OPS+ of 103 dwarfed Pierre (75), and he has a strong accurate arm in the field.

Pierre supporters have maintained that his value will increase if the lineup around his produces, but wouldn't the same thing be true of every player? Wouldn't Ethier, who is by all accounts the more valuable player, be better as well? Pierre supporters also point to his renowned work ethic and his general likeability as positives, but how much difference does that really make on the field? Does he work so much harder then Ethier that it makes a profound difference? I don't think so, and the stats don't show it. Unless Pierre can learn to take a pitch and walk once in a while, he will continue to be marginal at best.

Unfortunately, Ned Co. signed Pierre to a 5-year/45m deal just one year ago (while Ethier made 387k last year, Pierre made 7.5 million), which made sitting or trading Pierre a long shot. No team wants to take on that contract unless the Dodgers pay a big chunk of it, and Colletti would look bad if a guy he is paying close to 8 million a year was relegated to pinch running and pinch hitting (a role I actually think he would be well suited for). As it currently looks, Pierre will be the starter in LF. Joe Torre is on record with numerous comments on how valuable a veteran (key word, he loves them like most managers…sigh) he thinks Pierre is, so once again look for Ethier to be a role player/spot starter. There is always hope though, and he could obviously play his way into the starting lineup if Pierre falters and he excels, but Pierre is 90% likely to leave camp with the job. If the Dodgers to trade anyone off their ML roster, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Ethier (don't do it Ned).

Center Field: With the signing of Andruw Jones, the Dodgers hope they solved their lack of power problem that plagued them last year (129 HR, 15/16 in NL). Unfortunately, Jones himself is coming off a career worst year, where his numbers fell across the board:

2006 - .262 avg/ .363 obp/ 41 hr/ 129 rbi/ .531 slugging percentage and a 126 OPS+
2007 - .222 avg/ .311 obp/ 26 hr/ 94 rbi/ .413 slugging percentage and a 88 OPS+

Jones maintains that he was slowed by a nagging shoulder injury, and he was weakened by the loss of 15 pounds on the advice of his agent Scott Boras (gfy sir) in preparation for his contract year. The Dodgers only signed him to a 2-year deal, so he knows that if he returns to form, he could see another big payday when his current contract expires. However, this spring Jones reported at 245 pounds, 10 pounds heavier then his weight during his prime, and 25 pounds heavier then he played at last year. He maintains that was his plan, and the Dodgers have been willing (albeit nervously) to give him a 'veteran' pass on it (the thought that he knows what his best for his body). However, Jones passed along the following interaction between Torre and himself:

Joe: Hey Andruw, do you remember what your playing weight was in your prime years?
Andruw: 235
Joe: Ok. (walks away)

If he doesn't return to form at the plate AND loses range in the field due to the extra weight, then it could be a really bad year for Andruw Jones, which in turn would more then likely kill the Dodgers hopes this year.

Right Field: All winter long teams asked for Matt Kemp when approaching the Dodgers, and thankfully Ned Co. managed not to screw this one up and didn't cave in and trade him. At only 23, Kemp is considered the Dodgers best non-pitching prospect, and at this point they are ready to stop calling him a prospect and start calling him the everyday RF. Last year in a little over 330 plate appearances, Kemp hit .342 with 10 HRs and 42 RBIs. He also had a .373 OBP, a .521 SLG, and 1 125 OPS+. Kemp's huge power potential jumps out at you, but he truly is a 5 tool player. The only knock on his game last year was several base running blunders, and taking incorrect paths to fly balls in the outfield.

Unfortunately with Pierre more then likely starting in LF, that means Kemp will lose some at bats to Ethier, which again is another reason Ethier > Pierre when it comes to LF.

Bench: With LaRoche out and Abreu ailing as well, the bench is a lot less set then it once looked. A right minded Dodgers fan dream would be a bench of Nomar/Pierre/Young/Abreu/Bennett , but that dream has been crushed. Instead, it looks like the Opening Day bench will be more something along the lines of Ethier/Young/Bennett and then it's pretty up in the air. Hu might make the club out of necessity of middle infielders, but it would only be temporary since management wants him to play every day. I really don't want to see Ramon Martinez back on the club, but again w/ the injuries to MI, the door has been opened for him. If the team carries a 5th outfielder, it most likely would be Jason Repko…that is of course until early May when he tries to dive through a wall and hurts himself, and in the process probably rolls up on Kemp and blows out his knee…that's how Repko rolls.

Starting Pitching: Although with the uncertainty of Jason Schmidt weakening their rotation a bit, the Dodgers are still considered to have one of the best rotations in baseball.

Brad Penny will be considered their number one starter, and he needs to continue to learn to pitch, and not just throw, and put together a complete year. The last few years he has had an excellent first half of the season, then tails off after the All Star break. If he wants to truly be considered one of the dominant pitchers in baseball, he needs to perform all year.

Derek Lowe is going into a contract year, and is getting older, but still should be dependable for 12-17 wins or so and a decent ERA.

Chad Billingsley was the Dodgers best starter down the stretch last year, and looks to be ready to step up from 'future front line starter' to the next level. Many scouts believe he will be the ace of the staff within a few years, and if he can keep his pitch count down I don't see why he can't make a jump like that.

Hiroki Kuroda has been a front line starter in Japan his whole career, and joins the Dodgers with the reputation of being a incredible competitor. Despite being on one of the worst teams in Japan and playing in an offensive minded park, Kuroda still managed to put up good numbers throughout his career. He has a mid 90s fastball, as well as an assortment of breaking pitches. Early reports out of Vero have been mostly positive, although he seems to be having a problem adjusting to the NLB strike zone.

With Schmidt hurt and stealing our money, the competition for the 5th spot in the rotation has heated up. The front runner thus far looks to be Esteban Loaiza, who seems to be healthy and has been pitching effectively this spring. Other candidates include: former-now-current Dodger Chan Ho Park, who has been flawless in spring, but still seems a long shot to make the club; Hong Chui Kuo, who has a ton of talent but can't stay healthy; and the most alluring of all, Clayton Kershaw. Although he's just turning 20, Kershaw is considered by many throughout baseball to be one of the top prospects in the game, and when you see his 97 mph fastball, Koufax-like curve, and factor in he's a lefty, you can understand why. Still, he would be a long shot to make the team as well.

Bullpen: The bullpen has been a strength of the Dodgers seemingly every year, and this year should be no different. Takashi Saito returns as the closer, and the Dodgers hope he continues the remarkable performance he has turned in over the last two seasons. He has battled a calf problem early on in Spring training however, and there is a chance he is not game ready by Opening Day.

Jonathan Broxton returns as the setup man after another strong year, although he did tire down the stretch and gave up numerous key HRs. Hopefully Torre can keep him from getting run down late in the year.

The rest of the 2007 bullpen returns as well, with Scott Proctor (a Torre favorite from his NYY days), veteran Rudy Seanez, and lefty Joe Beimel all back. There is a good chance that Hong Chui Kuo makes the team as a long reliever, and to give Torre another lefty out of the pen.

Manager: When a manger like Joe Torre comes into an organization, it is obviously going to get a lot of attention, but it is very debatable just how much of a difference he can make. Most agree that a good manager only makes the difference of a few games in the standings, but in the wild NL West, a few games might be the difference between going to the playoffs or going home. Torre's presence should also help the clubhouse mentality, and keep a repeat of last year's problems from reoccurring. The veterans respect him, and the rookies can't help but do so as well. Along with Torre, came bench coach/3b coach Larry Bowa, who is known to light a fire under someone's ass once in a while. This was definitely something I feel last year's team needed on more then one occasion.

Outlook within the division: There is no doubt that the NL West will be one of the most competitive in baseball this year, much like it has been the last few. With Colorado coming off a WS appearance, a young and pitching rich Arizona team defending their NL West crown, and an always pesky San Diego team, competition will be tough all year long. Even a relatively horrible looking 'Gints' team will be tough to face because of their rotation. So, it looks like it will be a battle all year long, which will make for some exciting baseball but also make it tough for the Dodgers to make the playoffs. If the NL West beats up on itself, then it will make it hard for any division team to win the Wild card.

That being said, I expect it to be more of a 3-team race by years end; the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and Rockies going at it until most likely the last weekend of the season. I would be very surprised if any one team ran away with the division. The only thing that would be more surprising to me then that, would be if the 'Gints' manage to break .500. That would be pretty shocking in that division with that roster (or lack of one).

Predictions: 93-69, win NL west, win NLDS, lose in NLCS to Mets
Jones will bounce back, but not to his 2006 and beyond form. Furcal will have a good contract year, and Billingsley will emerge as one of the better young pitchers in the game. Kemp will continue to get better and start to get more national attention, but players like Penny, Lowe, Kent etc will start to show their age more. Takashi Saito will miss a significant portion of the year, forcing Broxton to move into the closer role. Russell Martin and James Loney will make me look forward to the future, and Juan Pierre and Nomar Garciaparra will make me hate them slowly over the course of the year.

Just for fun w/out doing more research:

NLE: Mets
NLC: Cubs
Wild Card: Rockies
Mets > Rockies, Dodgers > Cubs, Mets > Dodgers

ALE: Red Sox
ALC: Tigers
ALW: Angels
Wild Card: Indians
Red Sox >Indians, Tigers> Angels, Tigers > Red Sox

WS - Tigers > Mets in 6 games

OMG FIX THE FORMATTING NOW

Just kidding, I still read the whole thing.

I hate all that veteran crap. Please let the younger, better players play.

Good luck to the Dodgers this season. Duck the Fodgers!

Nice writeup. I think even having Nomar starting till LaRoche gets back would be a mistake. The dude cant hit righties anymore. I say put Abreu there until LaRoche is back and have Nomar take some starts away from Loney and Abreu against lefties.

LOL, I had a feeling it was going to be messed up. (by 'feeling', i mean i looked at the preview). Sigh, I'll fix it now...I need to fix a couple typos too.

Edit: That's as good as I can get it...not sure why some of the text looks like it overlaps, oh well.

Yeah the veteran thing is annoying, but that attitude is prevalent throughout baseball unfortunately. SFobv that Ethier/Jones/Kemp are the Dodgers best 3 outfielders. I don't care how much Pierre makes a year, turn him into a pinch bunter and pinch runner.

The Giants won't be too bad to watch as long as you fans don't have high expectations. Good pitching, some younger players to check out...I don't really think any of them are sure thing prospects, but a few (Lewis, one of those white LH hitter that I can't remember the name of). Kinda like going to an A's game.

I hope you guys do better during Matt Cain's non-Dodgers starts though; poor guy.

If Abreu is ready to go, I agree, but his first game back last week he came up sore afterwards, and was all down hearted. Torre had to use An-DRUW (every time I see his name I think of the Little LEague World Series, and how when asked who their fav player, every single one of the Curacao players say him for obv reason, but still funny) to translate for him to try and give him a pep talk.

It can only get better from here on out. The Giants crushed my soul when they lost the 02 Series... and it's gone down hill from there. But since we got rid of Bonds, we can only get better from here, I hope....

See, I have a different take on the '02 WS - instead of crushing my soul, the Angels (how appropriate) prevented/saved my world from having to face a horrible truth: the Giants could have been World Champions. I shudder now even thinking about it, tyty Brian Sabean for making it possible for me to sleep well at night over the next 3-4 years.

LOL! I can see Dodgers fan feeling that way.

Let's hope they're trying to move Pierre at the trade deadline. Shouldn't be tough to move to a contender. I don't hate Pierre as much as most people though, he's the kind of player that's very valuable in the playoffs.

Patrick are you going to be at Bay 101 this week?

Nice write up. Makes me want to pay more attention to Dodgers baseball.

You could have Inge and not give up a prospect, we just require a halfway decent reliever. That is what Dambrowski has been looking for but the bigger issue is Inge's $6mil contract this year. Inge has to suck it up and take a pay cut to get moved. He is a great guy and a eager beaver. He slumped hard at the plate last year but has really been working hard and producing this spring. I love the guy and have his jersey and hate to see him go but I am sure he would. I don't know if giving up a reliever would kill the Dodgers bullpen but that is what I suspect you would have to give up. So you have your guy call my guy and we'll work something out.lol

I don't plan on being there at all; I hadn't played much the last month and I didn't want to take on 10k makeup lol. If I run well online I might make the trip to Reno though, but not really a priority right now...I hate that city.

Cool. The trip to Bay 101 is too expensive gas wise, so I decided to pass also. GL if you go to Reno.

No such thing as paycuts in baseball. The players union would go apeshit. Remember them putting the kibosh on the A-Rod to boston deal a few years ago because they said A-Rod was giving up too much money.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb...,4728118.column

Tj Simers article from La Times that isn't your typical Simers piece somewhat on the ending of the Dodgers era at Vero beach/Dodgertown, but mostly on Lasorda.

Plus here is something Eric Neel had posted on ESPN last year on Dodgertown/Vero Beach. Very well done from a Dodgers fan POV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOkpCbdYo2U

I am playing with the Dodgers on MLB 2K8 for the 360. They are 3-1. Andy Jones is tearing it up!

I hope you lit up Zito in the first series in LA.

Please tell me you have Ethier starting in LF. It looks like his chances at starting there for the real Dodgers has gone up, mainly since he is hitting .340 and Pierre is hitting like .203.

3-3 now. Frickin Peavy.

I have played both Pierre and Ethier and Ethier is having the better go.

What is Pierre's deal? How does one hit what 160+ singles, a crap load of SB's and now is fighting to be an everyday player. Total fluke season? Doesn't work hard? What is his malfunction?

33 walks in over 700 plate appearances last year....and on base percentage of .331 and a slg of .353....So basically, the only time he gets on base is when he gets a hit, and the only hits he gets are singles. That just doesn't produce a lot of runs in comparison to a guy with a high obp and a high slg. Couple that with his girl like arm in left, and that is basically the probelm with Juan Pierre. The anti-Money Ball player so to speak.

But the Pro-Colletti Ball player


I'm not even a Money Ball guy, and the thought of Pierre starting makes me want to throw up


Do you post on Dodger thoughts Patrick? Ive been reading for about 2 yrs now, but dont post

Nope, just lurk lol. The topic today is asking for lurkers to post, I might end up doing that though. I only discovered it earlier this off season, and the content was good enough for winter to keep me coming back for more. I can't recall how I found it exactly...

Yeah I'm not a money ball guy either, and Pierre makes me sick too. Writers like Tony Jackson said Ethier would have more value off the bench then Pierre because he can hit HRs, but doesn't his value as a starter outweigh his value as a role player? I mean, technically Alex Rodriguez would have a lot of value off the bench as well, so should the Yankees sit him and start a scrub? So ridiculous....

I don't see how Ethier can be shafted after their comparative springs, but you never know.

Are the Dodgers going to over-react and go out and get a 3B with Nomar's injury news this morning?

I don't think so because both Nomar and Laroche's injuries are fairly short term. They are pretty thin on the infield right now though, so I wouldn't be overly surprised if they signed some 3b/IF who doesn't make another team's roster. Or, they will just go with young players within the organization to hold the fort until they get helathy. Hu probably has a good chance to make the team as a back up out of camp, and Blake Dewitt has a chance if Nomar can't play by opening day.

From La Times:

Going into the spring it looked as if Pierre's speed and experience would give him an edge. But he's hitting only .200 and has an on-base percentage of .279 while Ethier, who got a rare start against a left-hander Thursday and had two hits, is batting .352 and leads the team in home runs with five. Kemp is hitting .304 and leads the team in RBIs with 15.

"That's going to be my toughest stuff I have to deal with, the outfield," said Torre, who said he spoke to all four players early Thursday, then called Pierre into his office for a short postgame chat. "You have two guys that are experienced and talented. And you have the two kids that are inexperienced and talented. Whatever way you go there's going to be a starting outfielder that's not going to be playing."

----------

How is this even a 'tough' decision? Tell Pierre he is going to be the highest paid pinch runner/bunter in history, and move on to dealing with the fact that we have no healthy 3b.

It seems like they are leaning towards Ethier, I just hope Ned can admit that he was wrong by signing Pierre to such a crappy contract and move on. Year 2 of 5 at 9mil a year for a nancy slap hitter, when you already have a leadoff man... just terrible

Already had a lead off man, Kemp and Ethier ready to play, and Ned knew that this year's CF class would be deep, but he still goes out and signs Pierre. Sigh.

Now Kent looks like he won't be ready for opening day, so the infield is going to be shaky early on.

shutup you guys. I got Pierre in a deep NL only keeper league. I need him either for his steals or so i can trade him at a high value.

I think you have about a week before his value goes down faster than one of specbrad's pornstars of the day

Agreed - he's been moping around, having meetings with Torre...one can only hope that means he knows he's sitting.

I had Pierre on two fantasy teams and he was dropped last week. I feel good about that decision.

You should feel even better now that Ethier was named the starter.

If we don't beat the GIants today I am going to be a very sad panda. I can't handle losing to the Giants, mainly because then I'll have to listen to stupid homer radio guys on sports talk. Nothing more aggrevating to me....LFt possibly (tm BK).

Opening Day Lineup:

Furcal SS
Ethier LF
Kemp RF
Kent 2B
Jones CF
Martin C
Loney 1B
Dewitt 3B
Penny SP
Pierre Head Cheerleader


Giants:

Roberts LF
Aurillia 1B
Wynn RF
Molina C
Durham 2B
Rowand CF
Then Jose Castillo I believe at 3B and that A-ball kid at SS. Followed of course by Zito..

Honestly embarrassing not to win this game and take 2/3 at least against that lineup, rivalry or not.

Piiiiiiiiiiimps. Seems like forever since they won on opening day. I dont care if it was against a lineup that couldnt beat the Jacksonville Suns

its been a rough couple years for giants fans, and it will only get worse.... we are soooooooo bad and we will be bad for a long time........

Giants need to do a few things:

1. Play the young guys... They hyped it all winter that they would play younger guys etc, then yesterdays lineup had all veterans and an A ball kid. I mean, I don't think Fred Lewis is going to be a superstar by any means, but if I was a Giants fan I'd much rather watch him then Dave Roberts or Randy Wynn.

2. Fire Sabean....Obv.

3. Trade, trade, trade....Dump Wynn to the first team that needs an OF, trade Durham if you can find a taker...and as good as Cain and Lincecum are, if a contender (Yankees for instance) want to throw their whole farm system at you at the deadline, then I'd strongly consider making the deal. That would be a good way to jump start a rebuilding process, and having two dominant pitchers in the NL west w/ no lineup won't get you very far, nor is it unique; every team in the NL West is stacked with pitching.

Rockies starting rotation

1 Jeff Francis (L)
2 Aaron Cook ®
3 Ubaldo Jimenez ®
4 Jason Hirsh ® (D.L.)
5 Franklin Morales (L)
5 Mark Redman (L)


Let's not carried away, shall we?

Sidenote: Patrick, glad the Dodgers won and you didn't have to kill yourself.