Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers Game Thread (August 23 - 25)

Discussion in 'Los Angeles DODGERS' started by irish, Aug 22, 2013.

  1. harkeyed

    harkeyed DSP Legend

    Joined:
    Sep 2012
    Messages:
    1,440
    Likes Received:
    1,102
    Trophy Points:
    158
    Oh yeah... Fuck the East Coast...
     
    BlueCrewFan_1965 likes this.
  2. LASports96

    LASports96 DSP Legend

    Joined:
    Jun 2013
    Messages:
    9,459
    Likes Received:
    3,659
    Trophy Points:
    173
    Ryu is a really good #3, but still wish we had Bills this year

    You know how much better we'd be with Bills over Capuano this year? Wow
     
    1988Blues likes this.
  3. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    41,872
    Likes Received:
    24,570
    Trophy Points:
    228
    Well we've won 14 games when Capuano has started, so in terms of the team W, probably only a marginal difference. Obviously Billingsley is a very good pitcher and Capuano isn't but yeah.
     
    LAFord likes this.
  4. doyerfan

    doyerfan MODERATOR Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    26,713
    Likes Received:
    13,016
    Trophy Points:
    228
    #Dodgers lineup vs. @RedSox:
    Crawford LF
    Puig RF
    Gonzalez 1B
    Ramirez SS
    Ethier CF
    Uribe 3B
    M Ellis 2B
    Federowicz C
    Nolasco P
     
  5. doyerfan

    doyerfan MODERATOR Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    26,713
    Likes Received:
    13,016
    Trophy Points:
    228
    if FedEx is catching today (which I agree with), hope he doesn't catch again for Capuano on Sunday
     
  6. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    53,208
    Likes Received:
    40,790
    Trophy Points:
    278
    COMMENTARY
    Ex-Red Sox enjoying better fortune
    Gonzalez, Crawford and other new Dodgers are appreciating their time in L.A.
    By Mark Saxon | ESPNLosAngeles.com
    Updated: August 23, 2013, 2:20 PM ET

    MIAMI -- Last December, a couple of months after the Los Angeles Dodgers' blockbuster August trade with the Boston Red Sox failed to get them to the postseason, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly joined ESPNLA 710 on the phone from his Indiana home.

    [​IMG]

    Asked why things didn't work out, Mattingly discussed cohesiveness and said, "The Boston guys were so happy to be in L.A. that they didn't care what happened, it didn't feel like."

    The Dodgers learned a lesson late in 2012 and have seen it cemented through 2013. No matter how bold the move, a baseball team sorts itself out over months, not weeks.

    "We tried. It's just not enough time," said Nick Punto, one of the four veterans the Dodgers landed on Aug. 25 in exchange for first baseman James Loney, four prospects and roughly $250 million in salary relief. "I didn't realize how long it takes to get trust from teammates."

    The anniversary of the trade is Sunday and, coincidentally, the Red Sox are at Dodger Stadium with both teams near the top of their respective leagues.

    Over time, the trade has had its desired effect for both teams, and that doesn't happen often. The Red Sox got out of some bulky contracts and were able to make a few winter moves that have helped them return to a position of prominence in the American League, a development that none of the former Red Sox is surprised at.

    [​IMG]

    The Dodgers' owners, aware of a massive new TV deal in the offing, didn't care how much the trade cost as long as it built excitement in their downtrodden fan base. They continued to spend lavishly in the offseason, signing pitchers Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu, who have been among the best starters in the major leagues.

    Over time, the players the Dodgers acquired from Boston have blended seamlessly into their new team, holding things together while even more impactful seasons from the likes of Hanley Ramirez, Yasiel Puig and Clayton Kershaw have propelled the Dodgers forward like a meteor since late June.

    Adrian Gonzalez leads the Dodgers in hits (140), home runs (16), RBIs (77) and runs scored (59), though he lags behind Kershaw, Ramirez and Puig in wins above replacement (WAR). Carl Crawford, who was still recovering from elbow surgery last season, missed more than 40 games with hamstring issues, but has again become a disruptive force atop the lineup, batting .289 with a .340 on-base percentage and 29 extra-base hits.

    Punto, who had languished on Boston's bench, was a pleasant surprise when the Dodgers were beset by injuries, filling in at shortstop, second base and third base, and has led the team in hustle since Opening Day. Josh Beckett was bothered by nerve irritation in his right arm throughout season until he eventually succumbed to season-ending surgery. The Dodgers hope he's a factor in their rotation in 2014.

    What the Boston trade eventually supplied the Dodgers was exactly what they were looking for -- a foundation of productive talent to anchor their efforts to rebuild amid the rubble of the Frank McCourt era.

    [​IMG]

    What it gave the players was a fresh start, thousands of miles from a festering clubhouse environment. They've all benefited from that in one way or another.

    Crawford has been the most outspoken about how much more comfortable he feels in Los Angeles than he felt in Boston, where he never responded to the frantic energy of the fans, where he clashed with hitting coach Dave Magadan, and where he felt the team lost faith in him too quickly. It also hasn't hurt that he's managed to stay healthier in L.A.

    "That was one of the toughest times in my life, ever, from when I was a little kid, 1 year old," said Crawford. "It definitely was one of the best things that ever happened to me in my life to be traded over here.

    "You make $20 million, but it's not like they're begging me to hit a home run every time I go up there, you know what I'm saying? It's not like I need to go 5-for-5 every at-bat and, if I don't, I'm considered the worst player on the planet."

    Crawford said he has been cautioned to hold his tongue when talking about his two seasons in Boston, but he said, "It [ticked] me off so much, the things I had said about me. I have the type of spirit that, if you say something to me, I'm going to say something back."

    For Gonzalez and Punto, the change has been refreshing for lifestyle reasons as much as for the baseball climate. Both players are from Southern California. Gonzalez is playing roughly three hours, by freeway, from his San Diego home. He enjoys connecting with Southern California's large population of Mexican-American fans. Punto commutes to Dodger Stadium with fellow utility guy Skip Schumaker from his home in Orange County.

    Both Gonzalez and Punto said they enjoyed their time in Boston. They're just enjoying their time in L.A. a little more. It hasn't hurt that the Dodgers have played .818 baseball since June 22, going from 9½ games back in the standings to 9½ games up.

    [​IMG]

    Gonzalez was pulled into some controversy in Boston after a group of players reportedly complained about manager Bobby Valentine to the team's owners.

    "For the most part, we underperformed last year in Boston and we didn't win," Gonzalez said. "The year before, we won. We just didn't make it to the postseason at the end. I had a good time. The only things I had there weren't really a big deal."

    Gonzalez said he expected the Red Sox to return to prominence, even after parting with so many established players in last year's trade, because of Boston's talented core of Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront and Will Middlebrooks.

    "Then, put solid players around them, they should have success if they play up to their abilities," Gonzalez said.

    Punto said he loved playing in Boston because the fans held players accountable, and added that Pedroia's mindset was one key to the 2012 Red Sox's fortunes.

    "Pedroia is the heartbeat of that club, and when he's not happy, it's not a good thing," Punto said. "He was definitely not very happy."

    Pedroia is happy now, presumably. And we don't need to presume about the psychological state of the Dodgers' former Red Sox.

    __
     
  7. LASports96

    LASports96 DSP Legend

    Joined:
    Jun 2013
    Messages:
    9,459
    Likes Received:
    3,659
    Trophy Points:
    173
    So.. FedEx twice this weekend
     
  8. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    41,872
    Likes Received:
    24,570
    Trophy Points:
    228
    Fed Ex is an ex Red Sox farm hand lol. Don had that in mind :p

    I love nick Punto. I adore him.
     
    LAFord likes this.
  9. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    53,208
    Likes Received:
    40,790
    Trophy Points:
    278
    hopefully he'll unleash his wrath on the chowds for trading him to us
     
  10. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    41,872
    Likes Received:
    24,570
    Trophy Points:
    228
    Hanley was also an ex Red Sox farm hand as well. Lol. Traded for Beckett. Now we have both. :eek:

    Crawford
    Punto
    Gonzalez
    Ramirez
    Beckett
    Fed Ex

    Anyone else?
     
  11. LASports96

    LASports96 DSP Legend

    Joined:
    Jun 2013
    Messages:
    9,459
    Likes Received:
    3,659
    Trophy Points:
    173
    Actually, FedEx has been pretty hot lately and AJ has been struggling a bit as the season wears on him
     
  12. N.Z

    N.Z DSP Legend

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    7,109
    Likes Received:
    6,719
    Trophy Points:
    173

    Is your definition of "hot" striking out three times a night? Because that's what it feels like FedEx does lol.
     
    THINKBLUE likes this.
  13. doyerfan

    doyerfan MODERATOR Staff Member Moderator

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    26,713
    Likes Received:
    13,016
    Trophy Points:
    228

    hahah, I had to look it up to see but FedEx does have an OPS of .881 this month meanwhile A.J. has one of .539, but of course that is a small sample size, but if AJ is tiring a bit and a bit more rest can get him better for September-October, I can live with FedEx playing. (I say that, and then I'll watch him have pitiful ABs and want to decapitate him)
     
    LAFord likes this.
  14. Jpdodgers

    Jpdodgers Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2013
    Messages:
    369
    Likes Received:
    201
    Trophy Points:
    53
    true story, i was at Fenway in right field a few months ago when Victorino's dumbass ran full speed into the wall and knocked himself out. A sick part of me was pleased when that happened.

    it was this play:
     
    1988Blues and N.Z like this.
  15. IBleedBlue15

    IBleedBlue15 DSP Stud

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    16,150
    Likes Received:
    5,815
    Trophy Points:
    198
    Gee, good thing we don't have any idiots that do the same thing on our team. :rolleyes:
     
  16. LAFord

    LAFord DSP Legend

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    8,465
    Likes Received:
    4,267
    Trophy Points:
    173
    Vic's a gamer...I love him.
     
  17. Jpdodgers

    Jpdodgers Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 2013
    Messages:
    369
    Likes Received:
    201
    Trophy Points:
    53
    at least our idiots do it at opposing parks. Who doesnt know where the wall is in their home park?! Takes a special idiot for that.
     
    Irish likes this.
  18. IBleedBlue15

    IBleedBlue15 DSP Stud

    Joined:
    Nov 2011
    Messages:
    16,150
    Likes Received:
    5,815
    Trophy Points:
    198
    Takes a more special idiot to potentially derail their career.
     
  19. CapnTreee

    CapnTreee Guest


    pissing and moaning again... go ahead... keep showing us about your generation


    For those who lived there... :capn: ... he was very clutch and came through more than once for the Dodgers in order to help us win the last ever Ring won by this city


    Allow me to remind everyone not alive at that time that the '88 Ring would not have been won at all without Gibson. He won multiple playoff and Series games nearly by himself. Including one of the best walk off HR's ever.



    slack shall be accorded to Mr. Gibson



    even if you're a tad young to know why
     
  20. CapnTreee

    CapnTreee Guest


    Ryu is way crafty far beyond Bills... light years better

    It looks like Ryu just barely escapes some times but he still escapes.

    He's a solid #3. Even on this deep of a staff. Even after/if Bills returns.


    I agree that a pitchers 'best' pitch is between his ears

    and Ryu is one crever Korean devil
     
    bestlakersfan and LAdiablo like this.

Share This Page