Nomar to DL, Ethier to bench, Manny to barber
Dodgers bought themselves some time by putting Nomar Garciaparra on the 15-day disabled list, meaning he can't play until Aug. 12. Torre admitted that Nomar wasn't happy with the move, but the rationale was that the spot he likely is going to need to fill is SS, and in order for him to play that position effectively, he has to be 100-percent healthy. ... Although Juan Pierre is on the bench tonight against Randy Johnson, Torre said JP will likely become the primary CF now, with Matt Kemp moving to RF. That means Andre Ethier effectively joins Andruw Jones as backup OFs, although Torre was quick to qualify that by saying everyone is going to get enough playing time to stay sharp. Jones plays tonight against Randy Johnson... Manny will cut his dreadlocks. Joe asked him how important they were, and Manny's response was that he didn't want to be treated any differently from anyone else, and if there are rules is place, he plans to abide by them. He'll play shaggy tonight, but it sounds like the `locks are gone tomorrow. ... Oh, and Manny is wearing No. 99. Here's the lineup
Kemp RF
Blake 3B
Martin C
Ramirez LF
Kent 2B
Loney 1B
Jones CF
Berroa SS
Kershaw LH
this is insane.. with andre primarily on the bench they're not much better than they were before, if at all.. and they're sacrificing SO much defense.. how can anyone who understands baseball want manram and pierre in the same outfield daily???
Great, so we are forced to watch guys continually go from first to third, and score easily from second thanks to Pierres noodle arm.
playing Pierre over Ethier is idiotic at best.
LOL, This probably sounds horrible, but here is to hoping Matt Kemp runs through Juan Pierre in an outfield collision like Patrick Willis did to Adrian Peterson last year.
Obviously, I would prefer Manny in left, Kemp in center, and Ethier in right. But since it is what it is, why is Jones hitting in front of Berroa. Clearly, he's not going to get very many good pitches to hit. If they want to get Jones started, wouldn't it make more sense to hit him in front of Manny. I'd like to see Loney in front of Kent, but I guess Randy Johnson pitching tonight has something to do with that. And given his high OBP, good speed, and the ability to make contact, why doesn't Martin ever hit second?
Tony, can you explain Torre's thinking on starting Pierre over Ethier? I don't understand it. Ethier is the stronger defender, hits for significantly more power and has a slight edge in on base percentage. How can Pierre's speed outweigh all of that?
Too bad we didn't make a deadline deal acquire Luis Gonzalez to play RF. Somewhat reminiscent of the Gibson- Kal Daniels-Strawberry outfield. This ought to be good for a few laughs before the tears flow.
This lineup is a joke. Jones clearly cannot hit. Blake in the 2nd spot? Jeff Kent is done and should retire now. When will Joe wake up?
I've always respected Joe Torre but what is he thinking? Jones over Ethier?
Tony, why isn't the media drilling him on these things during the pre-game/post-game interviews?