Well, the season is back again. The Dodgers play at 11 AM PT today against the Brewers.

The Dodgers finished up fairly well in Spring. About like last season. Furcal will hopefully be back from his injury in a few games. Hopefully Saturday against the Giants. It’s going to be an exciting year I believe.

I think Ethier is going to have a breakout season and play even better than last year. If the Dodgers can stay healthy they should have a strong starting rotation and dominating bullpen. This could make up for the lack of a power hitter if more of the starting pitchers go past the 5th inning unlike last year. Staying healthy is a big if though. It’s a long season.

I’ll try to post wrapups of each game with my new standings graph I tested out this Spring.

–Adam [8:27 AM] - Chatter[1780]

The Dodgers first of two SS games started out good with early run production but ended with yet another set of defensive issues. It’s too early in Spring for any harsh critisism though. On a positive note, Jason Repko is impressive this season. His foot problems seem long gone and he’s as speedy around the base paths as he ever was. This game finished up Spring play with the Braves.

Click here for more Game 4 info…

The Dodgers finished the split squad set by losing to the Nationals 2 to 6. Not a very good way to start the week but there is a lot of promising young tallent on display. Bigbie hit a bump in the road for this game but I don’t expect it to last with the way he’s been playing lately. Ethier is still exciting to listen to on the radio. I can’t wait to see him when he stays in the game more than 2 or 3 innings.

Click here for more Game 5 info…

Good pitching made the game today. Randy Wolf was much more impressive in his 2nd start than his first. Billingsley looked good too.

On the hitting front, Pierre is staying steady and strong. After going 2 for 3 in this game, he’s delivered consistant and clutch hitting in every start he’s made.

Furcal is out for a few more games to let his shoulder rest. When he gets back hopefully we’ll see some good stuff from him.

Click here for more Game 6 info…

There was more solid pitching from the starters. Jason Schmidt looked good again like his 1st start. Hendrickson actually pitched good for a change too. Much better than his 7 run start a few games ago.

There were several highlights such as a 4 run 6th inning brought in part to Andre Ethier’s clutch hitting to drive in 2 runs. Another pair of runs were driven in by Ramon Martinez. Both of these players will contribute to the Dodgers for sure in the season so it’s exciting to see them doing well.

Click here for more Game 7 info…

The first meeting of Spring between the Dodgers and the Cardinals went about as good as it went last season. Not good at all. In the first of a split squad day, the Cardinals struck early and kept it coming throughout the game. Penny had control issues in his innings and the hitters didn’t come through at all against the Cards pitching.

On the bright side, Saito made his first start and gave up no runs and just one hit in the inning he pitched.

Click here for more Game 8 info…

After getting blown out in the morning by the Cardinals, the other half of the squad traveled to Jupiter and had much better results. Stults, Dessens, and the other pitchers were able to keep the Marlins from scoring while several homers helped propel the Dodgers to a 10-0 victory.

One of my favorite players, Repko, who will most likely stay with the Dodgers this season again as a backup outfielder, hit one of the three home runs. He’s a very exciting player when he can stay healthy.

Click here for more Game 9 info…

In the 2nd of what will be 4 games against the Marlins this week the Dodgers pitching really shown brightly. Lowe and Tomko went 5 scoreless innings and the rest of the staff kept the Marlins down to just 2 runs.

The only exciting hitting of the game seemed to be Nomar who hit his first homer of Spring to score the Dodgers only run of the game.

Click here for more Game 10 info…

The Dodgers struck early against the Twins and despite a late inning spree of Twins runs were able to hold the lead to win 8-7.

Randy Wolf gave up 2 runs but otherwise looked pretty good. The star of the day had to be Billingsley who gave up just 1 hit and no runs in his 2.1 innings. I’m hoping he’ll be the Dodgers 5th starter this season. I like him a lot.

Martin started Spring slow but has started to do better lately. He went 2 for 4 and scored 2 runs. Kent continued to do good, going 1 for 2 with one walk and one RBI.

Click here for more Game 11 info…

The Dodgers played another split squad to finish out the week. A weak start by Schmidt allowed the Marlins to jump out ahead and good hitting by Nomar and others wasn’t enough to keep the Marlins from winning. Another set of strong starts by Saito and Broxton was good to see though.

Nomar, Pierre, and Gonzalez combined to hit 6 for 8 today. Throw Kent in the mix who is having a very good Spring and the season could get very exciting.

Click here for more Game 12 info…

Mark Hendrickson put out 3 good innings of work today. I’m impressed by his last few outings but I’m still pretty sure I don’t want him as the 5th starter.

Repko and Loney both had good days, but Repko ended up leaving hurt. Hopefully it’s not serious and he’ll be able to get back in a few days. The Dodgers finished up the split quad and the week with a win over the Marlins 5-2.

Click here for more Game 13 info…

The Dodgers finished up the week going 5-5 for a combined 7-6 so far this Spring. The most exciting thing about Spring so far is seeing how good the Dodgers youngsters are. Loney, Kemp, Ethier, and Repko are all showing great skills and will hopefully be the corner stone of the Dodgers organization in the coming years. The most disapointing thing has been Wilson Betemit. He’s batting around 0.100 so far and has been a rally killer over and over. He’s made several errors at 3rd but that seems to be getting better lately. Hopefully he’ll snap out of this slump or he could end up losing his seat.

There should be cuts coming tomorrow or the next day. I’m looking forward to seeing more playing time out of those left. The Dodgers start their 3rd week of Spring tomorrow morning against the Nationals.

–Adam [9:18 PM] - Chatter[806]

The Dodgers got spring off to a quick start. As in quickly making outs on first pitches and quickly falling behind on the scoreboard. They lost to the Braves 2-7.

The most exciting part so far though is seeing how good Andre Ethier is doing. Granted it’s just been one and a half games but I look for big things out of that kid this year. Martin is supporting a good set of biceps now too apparently. Maybe this will help him get a few more over the outfield wall.

Good performance by several of the batters, poor performance by most of the pitchers. All and all a good start though. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game when Nomar and Kent will be playing.

Click here for more Game 1 info…

The Dodgers played well in Vero Beach for this game. Schmidt pitched 2 scoreless innings and the Dodgers scored 2 right off the bat. In the 3rd however things took a turn for the worse.

Mark Hendrickson came in and gave up 5 runs in that inning and then 2 more in the next before getting yanked by Grady Little. Isn’t it a bad sign when you’re getting taken out early in Spring Training? Anyway…

Things started going the Dodgers way again in the 5th inning when Larry Bigbie and several other young Dodgers scored 3 runs and continued to score at least 1 run every inning with 4 more in the 8th to beat the Nationals 12 to 7.

Bigbie went 3 for 3 with scoring 3 times and hitting 5 RBI. Not a bad way to say “Keep me on the team.”

Click here for more Game 2 info…

The Dodgers’ pitchers did well today, holding the Mets off at 6 hits and 2 runs. Penny pitched the 1st and 2nd and had control problems. He walked 2, hit another, and gave up a hit, but otherwise pitched out of the trouble and kept the Mets from scoring.

This was a road game so most of the veteran players stayed home. The young hitters came through though. Repko and La Roche had a good outing. Bigby got 1 hit and 2 RBI and continued to shine as he did against the Nationals.

Click here for more Game 3 info…

The Dodgers finished up the week going 2-1 by scoring 19 runs off of 32 hits. They start a new week tomorrow with a split squad game against Atlanta at home and Washington away. I’m looking forward to when the pitchers will go deeper into the game and the fielders will play longer.

–Adam [7:45 PM] - Chatter[6490]

Grapefruit League action starts tomorrow. The Dodgers start the spring season against the Braves away from Vero Beach. I’m excited to see the new pitchers perform and a few war torn position players healthy again and ready to go. I’ll be listening and watching most of the spring games on MLB.tv and Gameday.

–Adam [10:06 PM] - Chatter[1405]

I’ve been living in San Francisco for almost three months now and Giants Orange makes me want to puke. Not to belittle the Jews, but I’ve started to feel like seeing the LA logo in the city is like seeing the yellow star in Nazi Germany. The enemy is all around me. Even the homeless drifters wear the Giants logo. I thought I knew what I was getting into when I moved here, but I was wrong.

I’ve been called the enemy. I’ve been called a traitor. I’ve been called a lot of things and it’s all true. If today an Earthquake swallowed the entire Giants team along with their stadium I would be disappointed only because it would mean the Dodgers wouldn’t get to help frustrate San Francisco year after year.

I saw the 17 inning Oakland game live where the Dodgers lost by walking in the winning run and later went on to get swept. Still, I can’t help but feel better around Athletics fans. They are the ones who have to put up with the Giants crap year around. They are a superior team this year too, so that helps.

Speaking of superior teams, the Dodgers just finished up a three game sweep of the Giants. All three games were 1 run wins. That must have made the Giants fans feel real good to come so close and fall short each time. The Dodgers made it to 1st place right before San Francisco came to town and the Giants left 3 more games back.

The Dodgers soared to 1st place and have won 15 out of the last 16 games. The Giants? Well, they are in last place and have lost 13 of the last 16. I’ll have to watch my back this week because of that. I have a ticket to the Friday night game when the Dodgers come to town. If things continue to go right for LA and wrong for SF, I may not make it home alive.

–Adam [8:01 AM] - Chatter[3840]

Game 1: Dodgers win, 10-4

The Dodgers got the easy win they needed, with a 10-0 lead into the 6th inning when the bullpen gave up a pair of runs a piece late in the game.

Kemp and Cruz both got doubles in the 4th with Cruz driving in 2 runs, and Kent got a 3 run homer for a 5 run inning.

The real story is with Izturis, who has returned and is playing 3rd base flawlessly. He is 6 for 8 batting since his return and it’s good to have him back and doing so well. He is one more piece of the puzzle that will help the Dodgers re-take 1st place, hopefully in this series.

Game 2: Dodgers win, 7-0

The Dodgers pitchers managed a shutout in this game while the hitters blasted 7 runs, mostly on singles.

You name it, and the Dodgers hitter did good in the game. Kent got another homer, his 2nd in 2 days.

The pitching was great for the 2nd day in a row. Sele got the win with 6 scoreless innings pitched and the bullpen finished it up scoreless.

Game 3: Dodgers win, 7-4

The Dodgers swept the ailing Pirates and sent them home with a 11 game losing streak. Penny had a little trouble early but it wasn’t nothing the Dodgers hitters couldn’t clean up for him.

Nomar hit a homer, and Martin scored a pair of runs on force outs. Furcal had a good day too. Even Izturis got another hit. Cruz came off the bench to pinch hit and got a double.

When Penny ran out of gas in the 6th he’d given up 4 runs but the Dodgers lead by 1. The bullpen kept it together and the Dodgers scored a few more runs before the end and moved Penny’s record to 8-2.

As of today the Dodgers are back into sole 1st place, 1 game ahead of San Diego, 2 games ahead of Colorado, 3 games ahead of San Francisco, and 3.5 games ahead of Arizona. The division is spreading out a little again and it’s good to see the Dodgers back on top.

The Dodgers as a team still lead the league in Runs, Hits, RBI, OBP, and AVG. Nomar leads the league in AVG himself. The Dodgers pitchng is still struggling but Penny and Lowe are putting up impressive numbers. Their new rookie pitcher Billingsley is looking good, and you can’t complain much about Sele.

The Dodgers head to Minnesota on a 4 game winning streak to meet the Twins, also on a 4 game winning streak. The Twins are a lot stronger team than the Pirates but hopefully LA can take some momentum into the twin cities and come out on top.

–Adam [4:53 PM] - Chatter[4814]

Game 1: Dodgers lose, 4-9

The Dodgers went home after losing 5 out of the last 6 games and the struggle continued. The hitting was better but the pitching couldn’t stop the Mariners.

Penny got the loss after giving up 5 runs in 6 innings.

Game 2: Dodgers lose, 5-8

The Dodgers dropped yet another series in this game. With the batting again looking good, the pitching just couldn’t keep the runs away.

Saenz hit a nice 2 run homer to help the team with 4 runs in the 6th to take a 5-2 lead but the Dodgers bullpen gave up 6 runs in the next few innings to extend the Dodgers losing streak to 5 games.

Billingsley gave up only 2 runs in 5 innings and got no decision. He still looks real strong and it’s exciting to see a rookie pitcher doing good.

Game 3: Dodgers win, 4-2

The Dodgers halted their slide and prevented a 2nd sweep by taking the 3rd game of the series. Once again the Dodgers managed to score some good runs and Lowe pitched a fabulous complete game where the Mariners only scored twice with seperate solo homers.

The Dodgers stay at home for a series against a badly bruised Pirates team that has lost 8 in a row.  The Dodgers have lost 7 out of the last 9 games and is badly in need of some easy wins against a struggling team.  Hopefully they’ll get it.

They finish up this series just 1 game out of first place below San Diego, with San Francisco, Colorado, and Arizona struggling badly below them.

–Adam [12:44 PM] - Chatter[12607]

Game 1: Dodgers lose, 3-7

The Dodgers offense which has been the best in the league really evaporated for this game. Tomko had yet another bad start and for the most part it was the fault of the Dodgers bats. The Dodgers put together a few hits and runs but nothing spectacular enough to assist Tomko who gave up 5 runs in 5 innings.

Game 2: Dodgers lose, 4-5

I attended this game live in Oakland. The Dodgers scored single runs in the 7th and 8th but Lowe got roughed up in the 8th for 3 runs and the Dodgers almost ended it in the 9th.

Down to their last out, last strike, Lofton came through with a clutch hit that drove home Furcal and tied the game. For the next 8 innings both teams pitched perfectly, with no baserunner making it the extra 90 feet to home. Finally in the 17th inning Seo failed to get the last out and walked in the game ending run.

The Dodgers stranded 29 runners, many with a man on 3rd just waiting to make it home. Seo got the loss in the 5 hour game.

Game 3: Dodgers lose, 2-5

The Dodgers got swept in a 3 game series for the first time all season. Oakland was on a roll, and the Dodgers on a downhill slide.

The Dodgers great offense stayed home for this series but hopefully they’ll find it when they get back to LA to face the Mariners on Tuesday.

–Adam [12:25 PM] - Chatter[3109]

Game 1: Dodgers lose, 1-9

The Dodgers got the series off to a rough start after a good series in Colorado. The Dodgers were held to just 8 hits and only a single run in 9 innings after stranding 17 men on base. Sele got knocked around early and it didn’t stop until the game ended. He got his first loss of the season.

Game 2: Dodgers lose, 3-5

The Dodgers dropped the series early and found the Padres looking at a sweep. The Dodgers scored some early runs but a rough 2nd inning by Penny set the pace for the whole game. Penny got no decision.

Game 3: Dodgers win, 7-3

The Dodgers prevented the sweep at the last minute, getting 4 runs in the 7th and another in the 9th.  Kent went 3 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI.  Furcal got a pair of hits as well and a single run and RBI.
Rookie Billingsley got his first win of the season and is looking pretty good so far.

The Dodgers head to Oakland to start a 3 game series.

–Adam [12:18 PM] - Chatter[4069]

Game 1: Dodgers win, 3-0

Penny shut out the Rockies, going 8.1 scoreless innings. A smattering of hits brought the Dodgers their 7th win of the season over Colorado.

Game 2: Dodgers lose, 9-12

The Dodgers had early and late hitting but the pitching couldn’t hold the Rockies back. Tomko had another bad outing and falls to 5-5 on the season.

Game 3: Dodgers win, 6-5

The Dodgers eeked out a 1 run victory after scoring 2 in the top of the 9th and preventing the Rockies from coming back in the bottom. Kemp hit his 5th and 6th homer of the season and has really been impressive in his start this year. Lowe pitched decent but got no decision.

This makes the Dodgers 7-2 against Colorado so far this year.

This Dodgers win comes along with a loss by every other NL West team and they rocket to 1st place, a whole game above Arizona who have lost 7 games in a row. The Dodgers are 35-28 on the season and will hopefully hold first place for a while.

They head back to San Diego for 3 games starting Tuesday. From there it’s on to Oakland for more interleague play.

–Adam [7:15 PM] - Chatter[2504]