10,000!!!!! Dodgers record milestone victory

Buoyed by four home runs, the Brooklyn-Los Angeles Trolley Dodgers/Robins/Atlantics, etc., won their 10,000th game as a major league franchise tonight.

Andre Ethier homered in the first and third innings, giving him five homers and a 1.438 OPS in eight June games, and Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson also went deep to help the Dodgers overcome a sluggish start by Chad Billingsley and defeat the San Diego Padres, 6-4.

Either and Kemp combined to reach base seven times in eight plate appearances, while Russell Martin went two for three with a walk. The Dodgers needed much of that offense because Billingsley was yielding 10 baserunners and three runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Billingsley had passed the 100-pitch mark when the bottom of the fifth inning began with the Dodgers and Padres tied, 3-3. But Kemp homered to give the Dodgers the lead and enable Billingsley to come away with his eighth victory of the season.

Ethier's 11 homers this year have come in seven games.

Comments

[Craig88USC]

LAT'erd

40 - 20 = 108 - 54

Bob - How about THAT roundness. ; )

[Craig88USC]

Jon - How many years did it take to get to 10,000 ?
Did I miss that?

[Jon Weisman]

125 years

[Phenomenal Smith]

80 wins a year.

[Craig88USC]

Hopefully we will do much better the next 125 years then. ; )

10,000 divided by 125 = 80/yr

[Hollywood Joe]

Craig - they didnt always play 162

[Craig88USC]

I know - just foolin' around HJoey my friend.

[Alex41592]

Milton Bradley left 10 men on base tonight. Don't know if that's a record.

[Gen3Blue]

Yeah! I wake up to gameday saying we win 6-4.

80 wins a year isn't that bad; didn't we used to play 154 games? Good night sleep tight. DSDFY,DSDFM.

[Tripon]

Names to look out for tomorrow.

"Best players still available include Yuba City (Calif.) High School catcher Max Stassi, Mauldin (Simpsonville, S.C.) High School right-hander Madison Younginer, Texas A&M left-hander/outfielder Brooks Raley, Rocky Mount (N.C.) High School outfielder Brian Goodwin, Washington closer Brian Pearl and Arizona closer Jason Stoffel."

- Keith Law

[johnnie b. baker]

Andre is back! Wonderful!

[DBrim]

A shame that nobody is covering this...

[natepurcell]

Wow, I'm surprised the Dodgers took Blake Smith as a power hitting outfielder. Dodgers don't usually select hitters that high with such low contact rates. His power also wasn't anything special at Cal; although I don't know much about home park dimensions there. It seems he would have more upside as a pitcher with his power sinker.

[Phenomenal Smith]

The chances of getting the Dodgers to recognize their AA lineage is remote. The media guide just says the Dodgers entered the NL in 1890. But there is no mention of the years before it.

That's standard among NL teams. The Cardinals mention that they were in the AA, but don't count the stats or the pennants they won.
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/stl/history/timeline1.jsp

[gagne55]

"Arizona closer Jason Stoffel"

That guy used to pitch for Agoura High School. I saw him play against Lambo.

[Tripon]

http://tinyurl.com/TopChefMasters

A review of the first ep of Top Chef masters.

Warning, possible spoilers.

[gagne55]

"40 - 20 = 108 - 54"

False. However, 40/20 = 108/54

[8LU3 PR1NC355]

Wish I'd been there tonight - I wonder if this was mentioned at all on the Jumbotron or anything.

And Andre Ethier is my new fave. :)

[Tripon]

Odd take by Jim Peltz in his recap of today's game. He decided that Manny comments today took precedent, and devoted most of the space to Manny, and only mentioned the game, Ethier's two homers, Matt Kemp's homer, and the fact that the Dodgers won in the last two paragraphs.

Not what I want to see as a Dodgers fan.

[Dodgers Trends]

Ramon Troncoso is pretty much the man. The Dodgers who just a few weeks back had given up 25% of their runs in the 8th inning, have in the last 17 games allowed only 3 runs total and lowered that average to about 19% on the season. Troncoso is key to that run having appeared in about 7 of those 17 games and not allowed a single run. The 3 runs allowed all came 1 at a time in 3 different games with different pitchers. Not bad at all. Go Dodgers.

[bhsportsguy]

When you are 8.5 games up in June playing a bad Padres team and your suspended superstar slugger who has not talked to media, finally talks to the media, that is going to be the story.

Remember that most people who read that story know what happened in the game, but they may not know what happened when Manny showed and met with the players and the media.

[jasonungar]

great post dodger trends

[Eric Stephen]

Tripon, I don't think that Manny story is the game story. There will probably be a game story and/or a Dodgers FYI up on the website soon enough.

[pdotmac1]

I'm pretty interested to learn some more about Blake Smith.

Two years in a row with a lefty power bat from a major conference.

[dzzrtRatt]

Did anyone else notice? The Dodgers only struck out once tonight.

Is that common?

[Craig88USC]

Jon. P Smith, Eric (or anyone that knows the answer) -

- Jumpin' ahead 1 game; If the Dodgers win the 2nd SD game and go 41-20 …

Would that represent the fastest start in LA & Brooklyn history ??

[Eric Stephen]

dzzrtRatt,

The Dodgers also struck out once on May 6 (the final Manny game pre-suspension). Including tonight, the Dodgers have struck out fewer than four times in a game only thrice.

[Alex41592]

Kevin Correia starts for the Padres on three days rest tomorrow night. This is because of Chad Gaudin pitching in relief in that 18 inning marathon in San Diego.

Well, that's nice.

[Craig88USC]

Eric Stephen was kind to let me know right away that if we win the next 4 -

The LA Dodgers would tie both rhe '62 & '74 LA teams at 44-20.

And as far as for Brooklyn's 1955 start of 49-16; forgetaboutit!

Thanks.

[berkowit28]

No. Just for starters, in 1983, the year we just tied for a 40-20 record for first 60 games (the latest such), the Dodgers won 2 more to get to 42-20 before they lost another, and were 41-20 after 61. In 1974, after 61 games (what you're asking about), they were 42-19 - better than this year can be - and continued to 43-19. In 1962, the same. In 1955 - wait for it - Brooklyn was 45-16 after 61 games and continued to 49-16 before losing another! In 1952, 44-16 and 1 tie. In 1942, 44-17. In 1899, the Superbas were 45-15-1. And the 1888 Bridegrooms were 41-20, which we can tie.

I may have missed a few along the way. I only checked "likely" years that ended up with winning averages of .570 or so at the end of the season. There may have been some crazy seasons that started better than 41-20 and later crashed.

[dodgerkramer@yahoo.com]

A stat I'd like to know: How many of those 10,000 victories has Vin Scully broadcast?

[dodgerkramer@yahoo.com]

I'm happy and relieved that I no longer have to comtemplate a Manny-Pierre-Kemp outfield.

Thank goodness Ethier finally found his stroke. Keep it up!

[dodgerkramer@yahoo.com]

Oops. I meant "contemplate."

Too early in the morning for me to avoid typos, I guess.

[Dodgers49]

I like the fact that Matt Kemp's home runs are going to left field instead of right center. That's one of the things I've been waiting for from him. It'll be interesting to see if most of his home runs are to left for the remainder of the season.

[Hollywood Joe]

Dodgers49 - Curious, why?

Dodger Kramer - funny that we were contemplating that OF here, but Torre was clear that other night that Juanny gets "a start a week" when Manny returns. But agree with you 100% that I love this Ethier

Jon (and others) - savant like work on the Ethier June call and the streakiness call

[Dodgers49]

06:31 AM Dodgers49 - Curious, why?

Because that indicates to me that he's turning on those pitches. He is strong enough that he will hit some over the center and right centerfield wall. But with less frequency because he wouldn't be taking full advantage of his power. I expect Kemp to become a 30-40 home run per year player. But I believe he is less likely to reach that if many of his fly balls are being caught on the warning track in center and right center. I just feel that once we see him start to turn on those pitches and drive them to left we'll see his home run rate increase.

[Ken Noe]

Ethier (.435/.458 OBP over the last seven days) and Kemp (.350/.409) are surging just as JP (.200/.259) continues regressing to the norm. Of course Torre indicated Sunday that JP would go back to the bench when Manny returned. But I do appreciate JP's getting hot just at the time it was needed.

On a different subject, any good catchers still on the board?

[pdotmac1]

Speaking of drafts

http://tinypic.com/r/2s9t11t/5

[Dodgers49]

06:31 AM funny that we were contemplating that OF here, but Torre was clear that other night that Juanny gets "a start a week" when Manny returns.

But Manny isn't so sure. :-)

"They've been playing great. When I come back, maybe I'm Wally Pipp," he said

Dodgers.com

[martz]

Tripon at 11:31 pm:
Odd take by Jim Peltz in his recap of today's game....

Not what I want to see as a Dodgers fan.

Well, the LA Times* doesn't have much of anything to offer me as a Dodgers fan. Apparently you have to go to Orange County to get that.

An account of the same clubhouse visit from the OC Register via Diamond Leung:

"Although Ramirez has apologized for the positive test, which showed an abnormally high level of testosterone, many fans have taken the mental shortcut to steroid use and are outraged that Ramirez will be allowed to play again, become Hall-of-Fame eligible upon his retirement, keep all his gaudy stats and avoid death by lethal injection.

"The more reasonable ones just want him to explain it.

" 'I've apologized for it before,' Ramirez said. 'I'm sorry it happened. It's in the past. I don't want to live in the past. It's been hard. I'm not used to missing 50 games during the season.'

" 'I didn't kill nobody. I didn't rape nobody. I made a mistake. I think the fans will support me. I hope they do. Everybody I saw when I was in Miami said for me to come back, to not let it bother me. The fans have been great. And on the road? It won't be any different than before. They boo me anyway.' "

*The LA Times, the newspaper; not the LA Times, the platform for the Dodger Thoughts Blog obviously, which does in fact have a great deal to offer me as a Dodgers fan.

[Mike G]

Alex41592 |,
Ortiz left either 12 or 14 on earlier this year, for the record/ Cant remember which

[Mike G]

Alex41592 |,
Ortiz left either 12 or 14 on earlier this year, for the record/ Cant remember which

[Mike G]

Alex41592 |,
Ortiz left either 12 or 14 on earlier this year, for the record/ Cant remember which

[Hollywood Joe]

Dodgers49 at 06:44 AM

I think we both agree and disagree. I expect Kemp to be 30+ homers too but I don't want to see him turn into a "pull" power hitter. I love when he turns on center in balls, but on anything middle to outer half of the plate (where he seems to get pitched the most) I actually love his right centerfield power. Hitters who try to pull that outside pitch often end up low average hitters who hit a large amount of balls to the SS.

Opposite field power is something that he should continue to cultivate even as he continues to be agressive on center in pitches

By staying less of a pull power hitter he gives himself an extra beat to recognize the pitch and let the ball get deeper before he starts his swing. These are good qualities - some times those pull guys have to pull the trigger so early, they don't get the benefit of that extra beat, which can result in swinging at bad pitches which gives you the Ks, the weak grounders, and the pop-ups

I think the only thing that stands between Matt and 30+ homers is not technique, but just a little more time, his pitch recognition seems to grow in spurts, but it does grow...

[Hollywood Joe]

hmmm- did I lose that post to the ether?

[DL]

Over 125 years and 19,000 games played, the Dodgers are just 18 games over their expected W-L record. They've scored 86,218 runs in their history, and have allowed 82,269. That's a Pythagorean record of 9,982-9,088.

[Dodgers49]

I don't think we're disagreeing all that much Hollywood Joe. I don't want him to try to pull everything either. I want him to use the entire field. I've just had the feeling that the reason so many of his fly balls were going center to right was because he seemed to me to have shorten his swing to try to avoid striking out so much. This meant he wasn't even getting around on those pitches on the inner halve of the plate that I felt should have ended up in the left field seats. I felt that as his pitch recognition skills improved and he became less concerned about striking out we would see him turn on more of those inside pitches. And I hope that is what I'm beginning to see.

[Kevin Lewis]

I for one love the fact that we get to have this discussion about Matt Kemp!

[Remember Gil Hodges]

Hollywood Joe, I agree that 30+ homers is within Bison's grasp. I think it would also help -- and I've made this complaint before -- to NOT have Kemp bat in the 8th spot, as he did last night. Is there any reason why this guy should ever bat anywhere after the 6 spot? Why not take some pressure off Martin and move him down or perhaps do the same with Furcal. Seeing Bison with the pitcher behind him makes no sense to me, unless maybe Joe wants to bat the pitcher 8th and put Kemp in 9th, which would make slightly more sense, but not much.

[underdog]

Btw, the draft resumes in 15 minutes.

According to MLB.com,90% of the players drafted have yet to be drafted.

[Dylan Sharek]

Just so you know, I am pretty sure you're the only one who has written about this really, really significant moment in one of the most storied and historic franchises in baseball history.
Good job.

[underdog]

The A's just picked Max Stassi, catcher, who many thought would be picked in the first couple of rounds. Seems a steal unless he has signability issues.

Dodgers up next.

[kuofax]

Where are you watching that, Underdog? Link or is it on MLBtv?

[underdog]

Dodgers drafted Mario Songco, a power hitting OFer from local Loyola Marymount.

Scouting summary: "Every Draft class has at least a few pure power hitters in it, usually from the college ranks. Songco fits the description, with plus power to all fields. He's willing to take a walk, but he'll also carry the bat back to the dugout quite a bit. He's likely going to be stuck in left field as a pro as his defensive skill set wouldn't allow another place. That's OK, because the bat should play wherever he is stationed defensively. That kind of pop usually doesn't last too long on Draft day."

[regfairfield]

.360/.471/.678 this year, but with 51 strikeouts in 214 at bats.

[underdog]

Kuo, the draftcaster is:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/draft/y2009/draftcaster.jsp

or can find the link via MLB.com. Yeah it's online only I believe. You can listen to the conference call while you track the draft picks.

Now that the Dodgers have picked, time for work...

[underdog]

He sounds like a Filipino Adam Dunn!

Or a future DH.

It's interesting, it sounds like they've been trying to restock their minors with outfielders who aren't too far away from making a major league contribution. Power + outfield has been pretty thin so it makes sense I suppose.

[Phenomenal Smith]

Next Wednesday in Riyadh:

North Korea takes on Saudi Arabia for the last guaranteed spot from Asia in World Cup qualifying. North Korea just needs a tie. The Saudis need a win.

The Rule 1 implications are too confusing to contemplate.

[underdog]

Although 6'0 190 is only half an inch and a few pounds bigger than I am, so maybe not Adam Dunn...

[Phenomenal Smith]

Listening to a conference call of the later rounds of the MLB draft online is a symptom of procrastinatis.

[kuofax]

Cool, thanks 'Dog!

[underdog]

Hah hah, tis true, Smith.

Ironically, I'm actually waiting for a work conference call. Hope I don't get the format confused.

[regfairfield]

At Scongo's age, Adam Dunn was striking out less in AAA with pretty similar numbers (.321/.441/.676).

Having "Bad comparisons to Adam Dunn" as a pet peeve probably reflects poorly on me.

[berkowit28]

Round 5: Jeremy Wose, catcher from Oklahoma U.

[berkowit28]

Wise, not Wose

[underdog]

I was sorta purposely making a bad comparison to Dunn, reg, but not to get you riled up. ;-)

[Tripon]

D4P was wrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrong!!!!

___

Despite all he has done, a spot on the bench still is in Juan Pierre's near future.

Manager Joe Torre confirmed Tuesday when Manny Ramirez returns from his 50-game suspension early next month, he plans to sit one of the team's hottest hitters.

Pierre entered Tuesday's game against the San Diego Padres batting .360 with 21 RBIs. Since Ramirez went to the sideline May 7 he has bated .362 with 10 doubles, 18 RBIs, 23 runs, 12 walks and 12 steals. The Dodgers were 18-12 over that stretch.

"Yeah, I really didn't consider any other option," Torre said.

He called Matt Kemp his best option in center field and Andre Ethier one of the team's best power threats. As for Ramirez, he's in another category for Torre altogether.

http://www.dailynews.com/dodgers/ci_12558107

[berkowit28]

They're coming fast and furious - each team seems to have 5-10 seconds to pick their next pick! They must scurry about if another team picks the one they were planning to.

Round 6: Jan Vazquez, catcher, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy HS

[regfairfield]

At this point, I think every team just has a list of guys they want that they just read down.

[fanerman]

That's good news, Tripon.

[ishXdavid]

RE: Kemp's power chart

It is much easier for a hitter to learn to pull the ball than it is use his power to the opposite field. Kemp's power to the right-field alley is indicative of his refining his approach at the plate. By allowing the ball to travel deeper into his hitting zone, he is able to read the pitch better to determine if it's a fastball he wants to hit or a breaking ball off the plate he should lay off. He still has a high K-rate, but he's working on it. When he first came up to the bigs, he had plenty of pull power, but as pitchers began figuring him out, he's had to make adjustments as well. His recent display of power to leftfield is probably more attributable to the pitch location, than it is a conscious effort to pull the ball for power.

[berkowit28]

Round 7: Brandon Martinez, RHP, Fowler HS (CA)

[berkowit28]

Round 8: Jonathan Garcia, RF, Luis Munoz Marin HS, Puerto Rico

I'm cutting out now...

[Kevin Lewis]

I do like the way Manny sounds in terms of wanting to come back and make a statement. I think he feels a lot is riding on how he can come back to show the world what he is made of.

I look forward to seeing this.

[regfairfield]

I learned that the guy who stole regfairfield on Twitter is some neckbeard who tweets things like "the fishin was good today....." (that's pretty much the only one that wasn't rule one). This is way more disturbing to me than it should be.

[fanerman]

"Regfairfield" seems like a pretty unique name. That's like, somebody taking away my "fanerman."

[berkowit28]

"I do like the way Manny sounds in terms of wanting to come back and make a statement."

Or, rather, not make any statements...

[Tripon]

Somebody took Tripon on twitter when I signed up.

I was surprised.

[fanerman]

Maybe some group of friends stumbled upon Dodger Thoughts and decided to take everybody's DT alias and use it as their Twitter names.

[Hollywood Joe]

Alas!

Hollywood Joes abound everywhere - that is fair punishment for such a common name

I am going to change my name to NicholsCynFrederique

Lets see someone start twittering with that!

[regfairfield]

This is the first time someone stealing regfairfield has been an issue. I guess someone bought his Boy Meets World DVDs.

[Tripon]

http://diamondleung.tumblr.com/post/121249912/subway-has-found-a-new-jared-and-his-name-is

"Subway has found a new Jared, and his name is Hong-Chih Kuo. The Dodgers setup man is the sandwich chain’s pitchman in Taiwan and the star of this bizarre commercial in which he dons a No. 69 Subway jersey. If you’re wondering why, the six-inch subs cost NT$69, which comes out to two bucks in the states. If the advertising can be believed, it appears scarfing some Subway might help him come off the DL."

Video in the link

[Tripon]

http://diamondleung.tumblr.com/post/121249912/subway-has-found-a-new-jared-and-his-name-is

"Subway has found a new Jared, and his name is Hong-Chih Kuo. The Dodgers setup man is the sandwich chain’s pitchman in Taiwan and the star of this bizarre commercial in which he dons a No. 69 Subway jersey. If you’re wondering why, the six-inch subs cost NT$69, which comes out to two bucks in the states. If the advertising can be believed, it appears scarfing some Subway might help him come off the DL."

Video in the link

[regfairfield]

So many jokes...none appropriate for this site.

[fanerman]

My friend has translated:
"Bottom of the 9th. AIYA, it's a ball. Bases loaded."

Then something like "What do the manager and player have in store?" or "What play do they have?"

"It's.... SUBWAY"

"Subway super sandwiches. Fresh veggies. Fresh bread. Not fried."

"It gives him new light (life?). And he throws a 180km/hr fastball!"

My friend says he talks too fast.

[fanerman]

Okay, my friend is listening more closely. Here's a more complete translation:

"Bottom of the 9th, Kuo Hong-Chih pitches. Aiya, ball! Two strikes, three balls. Bases loaded. Manager decides to get on the field. What 'method' does he have?

It's subway! Subway super sandwiches! Fresh veggies. Freshly baked bread. Not fried. Fragrant meat slices.

It gives Kuo Hong-Chih new light (or glow). He throws the final pitch. WOW, it's 180km/hr. Strike 3! Kuo Hong-Chih WINS!"

Then the English part... YES! Subway. Eat Fresh

[fanerman]

My friend also chimes in that Kuo is pronounced Guo. But let's not go there....

[Ken Noe]

Now I can't wait for the Kuo episode of "Chuck."

[blue22]

That's where "regfairfield" came from? The time the Monkees guest-starred on "Boy Meets World"? Interesting...

Well, that's one of life's little mysteries solved.

[fanerman]

And lastly, 180km/hr = 112 mph

[Ken Noe]

Wise's player page from the Sooner site:
http://tinyurl.com/n2d2py

[delias man]

Wow - he is making love to that sandwich

[Jon Weisman]

New post up top.