Itttttttttttttttttttt's time for Dodger baseball

[NaturalBornHustler]

Scott Van Slyke whacks his first career HR during a pinch hitting appearance, a 3-run shot to put the Dodgers up 6-5.

Kenley Jansen shuts 'em down again in the 9th.

Dodgers sweep the Cardinals and are up to 28-13.

Amazing how they keep winning despite all the injuries. They are 19-4 at home now, though I was unfortunate enough to see one of the 4 losses in person.

More importantly, they are 7 games up in the NL West.

ESPN puts their chance of making the playoffs at 89.8%.

6 games against good teams all year, a few vs .500ish and majority of games vs bad/horrible teams.

They would get crushed in the AL, or damn sure wouldnt be 28-13.

[son of lockman]

6 games against good teams all year, a few vs .500ish and majority of games vs bad/horrible teams.

They would get crushed in the AL, or damn sure wouldnt be 28-13.

Right you are as the Dodgers haven't had a serious series so far this year...Playing way above their heads against a bunch of minor leaguers really...By the All-Star break we'll know the true Dodgers...Hope they can prove me wrong but I know baseball..

[Dan Druff]

Scott Van Slyke whacks his first career HR during a pinch hitting appearance, a 3-run shot to put the Dodgers up 6-5.

Kenley Jansen shuts 'em down again in the 9th.

Dodgers sweep the Cardinals and are up to 28-13.

Amazing how they keep winning despite all the injuries. They are 19-4 at home now, though I was unfortunate enough to see one of the 4 losses in person.

More importantly, they are 7 games up in the NL West.

ESPN puts their chance of making the playoffs at 89.8%.

6 games against good teams all year, a few vs .500ish and majority of games vs bad/horrible teams.

They would get crushed in the AL, or damn sure wouldnt be 28-13.

This is false.

They have played against every NL team except Cincinatti, Philadephia, NY Mets, and Miami. All four of those teams are near .500.

I agree they would not be 28-13 against the AL, but they are not built like an AL team. AL teams are more offense-based (because the pitcher never comes up, and instead there is a DH, who typically hits well.)

I fully expect the Dodgers to make the playoffs, at least if they can recover somewhat from the injuries. Ellis being out will hurt them somewhat, and Kemp out would be terrible, though I think he's coming back as soon as he's eligible in 9 days.

[NaturalBornHustler]

6 games against good teams all year, a few vs .500ish and majority of games vs bad/horrible teams.

They would get crushed in the AL, or damn sure wouldnt be 28-13.

This is false.

They have played against every NL team except Cincinatti, Philadephia, NY Mets, and Miami. All four of those teams are near .500.

.

Huh?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/schedule...ngeles-dodgers

That has to be one of the softest schedules in MLB so far. Forget AL/NL no DH or not wasn't talking about that, just the scrubs they played.

[Dan Druff]

This is false.

They have played against every NL team except Cincinatti, Philadephia, NY Mets, and Miami. All four of those teams are near .500.

.

Huh?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/schedule...ngeles-dodgers

That has to be one of the softest schedules in MLB so far. Forget AL/NL no DH or not wasn't talking about that, just the scrubs they played.

The first 10 games were soft. The rest have not been.

Again, the Dodgers have played series against all but the above-named 4 NL teams. And those four teams are .500-ish so far, so it's not like the Dodgers have missed out on playing any dominant NL forces.

The truth is that the NL is wide open this year, as there is no elite team. The Dodgers have just played the best baseball so far, especially considering all of their recent injury problems.

Yes, they will regress somewhat until they get healthy. Yes, they need another big bat to really be playoff-ready. But I like what I'm seeing so far, as I expected the team to finish around .500 and miss the playoffs. This team actually reminds me a lot of the spirited '88 team that accomplished far more than expected and won the World Series.

[NaturalBornHustler]

Huh?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/team/schedule...ngeles-dodgers

That has to be one of the softest schedules in MLB so far. Forget AL/NL no DH or not wasn't talking about that, just the scrubs they played.

The first 10 games were soft. The rest have not been.
.

Dodgers have the 2nd easiest schedule in all of baseball so far:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi/_/sort/sos

And look at the very top.

[Dan Druff]

The first 10 games were soft. The rest have not been.
.

Dodgers have the 2nd easiest schedule in all of baseball so far:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/rpi/_/sort/sos

And look at the very top.

This is only because they have played 9 games against terrible San Diego.

Even with the schedule adjustment, they are ranked #5 on RPI (and #2 in the NL, a hair behind the Braves).

[limitles]

regardless they can't win out so I'm betting against them until I make some money

[JimmyG_415]

This is just getting old now.

LA down 5, tie it up in 7th,
go down 1 in the 8th
and rally to win.

Giants are 3 over 500 and still down 7, thought we could make up some ground w/Kemp out.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index...mlb_1&mode=box

[Dan Druff]

Kirk Gibson (current Diamondbacks manager) called this Dodger team "very opportunistic", which is a big compliment from the best hitter on the most opportunistic team in Dodgers history -- the 1988 World Championship club.

This team reminds me a lot of the '88 squad where a bunch of journeymen came together with a great hitter (Gibson in '88 / Kemp in '12) and a superb pitcher (Hershiser in '88, Kershaw in '12) and put together a surprisingly successful season.

[Vwls]

[Sloppy Joe]

I'm running a half marathon on June 9th in Chicago and have turned it into a road trip, planning on seeing White Sox-Astros after running and driving to Cincinnati to see Reds-Tigers Sunday night.

I've been to both parks before but am excited for some MLB action.

[gut]

This reminds me that I really hate this teenybopper/gangsta fad of leaving stickers on the fucking hats.

*grumble-grumble-get-off-my-yard*

[Dan Druff]

You can do that all you want, but when it's done burning, the D-Backs will still be 11 1/2 games behind (and the Giants 7).

[Vwls]

You can do that all you want, but when it's done burning, the D-Backs will still be 11 1/2 games behind (and the Giants 7).

I don't care about the D-backs. I care about the Giants.

[gut]

another very odd thing about this season: rarely do you see a 19-25 team (now, the Angels) have a glut of hitters at certain positions and release one of the veterans (Abreu), he gets picked up by the best team in baseball, and is starting and hitting in the heart of the order.

[Dan Druff]

another very odd thing about this season: rarely do you see a 19-25 team (now, the Angels) have a glut of hitters at certain positions and release one of the veterans (Abreu), he gets picked up by the best team in baseball, and is starting and hitting in the heart of the order.

Abreu needed a change in scenery. He was very unhappy with the Angels.

He is a shell of his former self, but it was a great pickup for the Dodgers, who needed his bat due to injuries and got him for really cheap.

[son of lockman]

another very odd thing about this season: rarely do you see a 19-25 team (now, the Angels) have a glut of hitters at certain positions and release one of the veterans (Abreu), he gets picked up by the best team in baseball, and is starting and hitting in the heart of the order.

Dodgers are F*cking up as they need to try to trade some prospects for Morales of the Angels...Trump is out of the question now as they won't part with him...What part of "Loney has to go" don't you people understand?...

Unless they get another hitter, and someone with power to compliment Kemp and Either it's a fade in the second half of the season for the boys in blue...Lilly and Harang will each die by the homerun ball...

And I know what I'm talking about after following L.A. for over 50 years...

[son of lockman]

Well looks like we've found someone to fill in for Mike Piazza in A.J. Ellis...Not the HR power, but the batting average will help for the run to the pennant...

[Dan Druff]

AJ Ellis with a walkoff 3-run HR!

This guy is a 31-year-old career minor leaguer, yet he is hitting well over .300 with 5 HR, is 3rd in the majors in OBP, and has played great defense.

Dodgers now 20-5 at home, 31-16 on season, 7.5 ahead of 2nd place Giants.