Los Angeles Dodgers

The 5th edition of the Dodgers Playbill debuts with Dodger Hall of Fame Spanish-language broadcaster Jaime Jarrín on the cover. See it above. Fans receive the playbill when they enter the Dodger Stadium parking gates. "Appreciating the greatness of Clayton Kershaw," via Alex Kienholz at Beyond the Boxscore. Via Greg Zakwin on Yahoo, he makes the case for demoting Luis Cruz. Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA we learn that former pitching prospect Aaron Miller has been moved to the outfield. Panini shares even more pictures from the Father's Day set that will be give away at local card shops throughout the country. Ken Rosenthal on twitter shares some comments from Dodgers President Stan Kasten on Mattingly's recent comments. Interesting. Via David Lauterbach at True Blue LA, "Dodgers links: Mattingly receives support from Kasten and Colletti." I think Stealing Home of All Trade Bait, All the Time gets deep down to the crux of the issue when it comes to Andre Ethier in his piece entitled, "Mattingly vs. Ethier Round One". Mattingly didn't bench Ethier because he doesn't have any fire, it's because Andre internalizes and misdirects it. All athletes feel the emotion of the game; it's how they handle it that separates the great ones from the Milton Bradleys. This is exactly how I feel. This is excellent. This Scott Bradlee guy is a great musical composer/ arranger. Here is a 1920's style cover of PSY's song "Gentleman" Video Link: * Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes * * Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook * * Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

The Lookouts were outhit 14 to 5 on Thursday but were able to get the win thanks to some timely late hitting and a strong performance from starter Zach Lee

The extra off-day also gave the media time to speculate on whether Don Mattingly is done as Dodger manager. For one thing, Mattingly came out with plenty of barbs in pre-game interviews in Milwaukee: If the Dodgers’ owners have not already decided to fire Don Mattingly, the manager all but fired himself on Wednesday. In his latest and sharpest comments distancing himself from the organization, Mattingly appeared to criticize the Dodgers’ free-spending ways. Mattingly has pointed enough fingers at players and the front office over the past few days that he must either suspect his days are numbered — or he already knows that they are. When Mattingly spoke with reporters in Milwaukee on Wednesday, as the manager of a last-place team with the highest payroll in baseball history, he said this: “It’s not just all, ‘Let’s go put an All-Star team out there and play games, and the team with the All-Star team wins.’ … All grit and no talent is not going to get you there, and all talent and no grit is not going to get you there. There’s got to be a mixture of both.” If the owners recall what Mattingly said in spring training, they might wonder why the manager should not take the fall for failing to produce that mixture. In March, Mattingly had said the Dodgers should consider firing him if the team did not make the playoffs. “If we don’t win, and we’re healthy, they really should look at it,” Mattingly said then. “This team has a lot of talent. My job, and my coaches’ job, is to get them to play the game right. If we can’t get them to play the game right, they may have the wrong voice.” The Dodgers are not healthy, of course, but the only significant injury among position players is the one to shortstop Hanley Ramirez. The Dodgers have scored fewer runs than any team in the major leagues except the Miami Marlins. Mattingly benched outfielder Andre Ethier on Wednesday, explaining the decision thusly: “For me, today, I’m putting out my lineup that I feel is going to be the most competitive and going to compete the hardest.” That is two “I,” one “my” and one “me” in an industry that emphasizes “us” and “we.” Players and the front office notice those words. In stark contrast, this is how Mattingly explained the weekend decision to demote catcher Tim Federowicz rather than clear a roster spot by cutting either infielder Luis Cruz or catcher Ramon Hernandez: “That was the move that the organization thought was the best.” And, as the Dodgers’ bullpen lost all three games last weekend in Atlanta, Mattingly appeared to point out how the front office stashed surplus starters in the bullpen, forcing the team to cut veteran relievers who might have been useful “We had guys get away early who seemed to fit,” Mattingly said. Mattingly also publicly critiqued shortstop Dee Gordon and pitcher Kenley Jansen on the current trip. But after flying back to Los Angeles for this weekend series, Mattingly was supposedly safe in his role: Don Mattingly will be managing the Dodgers on Friday when they open a three-game series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals, according to two people familiar with the team’s plans. Before the last-place Dodgers’ 9-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, Mattingly made comments critical of his players, in particular Andre Ethier, inciting rampant media speculation that he could be managing his last game. Mattingly said he wasn’t worried that he could be fired on the Dodgers’ day off on Thursday. “Do I feel worried?” Mattingly said. “No, not really. Should I be?” He laughed. There's nothing funny about being in last place. I hope things will turnaround. Seriously.

Three days old, but still some funny stuff. Here's a GIF, via Deadspin via The Big Lead via 1000 Steps, of Andre Ethier acting like a tough guy to home plate umpire Dan Bellino. This of course was the last we saw of Andre Ethier in Milwaukee, as coach Don Mattingly benched Ethier before the Wednesday series-ending game, despite the fact that it would have been a favorable matchup for Ethier. Mattingly has almost always defended his players since becoming the Dodgers' manager more than two years ago. But in explaining why Ethier was out of the lineup Wednesday, Mattingly said, "I'm trying to put the club out there that I feel is going to fight." Ethier, who is in the first year of a five-year, $85-million contract extension he signed last season, is batting .264 with four home runs and 15 runs batted in. The Dodgers have the highest payroll in baseball history at $230 million, but Mattingly sounded as if he was still searching for a mix of players who had as much tenacity as talent. "It's not just all, 'Let's go put an All-Star team out there and play games and the team with the All-Star team wins,' " Mattingly said. "It's trying to find that balance of a team that's got a little grit and a little fight. All grit and no talent is not going to get you there, and all talent and no grit is not going to get you there. There's got to be a mixture of both." Ethier, on the other hand, took the high road: Yet after the game, when presented with Mattingly’s comments, Ethier responded just as you would hope. Even-keeled, disagreeing with his manager’s assessment and mostly disappointed Mattingly had not shared his thoughts personally before discussing them with the media. “If he has something like that to point out, I'm going to take a look at it and address it,” Ethier said. Pretty much an ideal response. Naturally, Ethier hardly agreed he did not compete hard and fight every day. “I take offense to that,” he said. “I work hard. Whether I'm going good or going bad, I work just as hard, both sides. Obviously, when things are going bad, I'm trying even harder to figure out how to make things go right.” Mattingly has never questioned Ethier’s work ethic. His concern seems more of his having a competitive spirit at the plate, at grinding out each at-bat, at a refusal to give in to any pitcher or pitch. When he’s on, Ethier has the prettiest swing on the team. But when he misses, it can look almost lazy, as if he mentally checked out. Part of it is simply body language, though part could be Mattingly’s apparent suspicion Ethier is batting with less than an edge. Yet Ethier (.264, four homers, 15 RBI, .405 slugging) is hardly the only Dodger struggling or sometimes seeming to be less than totally focused. I don't know if Ethier's slump is caused by his effort level or overall streakiness. But everybody's on edge here at Dodgertown. This upcoming series with the Cardinals will be telling.

The Dodgers open a five-game homestand with a weekend series against the Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. Chris Capuano starts the opener on Friday night, against Lance Lynn for St. Louis.

Don Mattingly's comments Wednesday morning came after a late-night meeting with general manager Ned Colletti and the coaching staff, and were met with approval from team president Stan Kasten.

First place Cardinals led by Yadier Molina take on the beleaguered last place Dodgers

Among the participants at old timers day on June 8 at Dodger Stadium are Pedro Guerrero, Rickey Henderson, Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry, among many others.

The WordPress photo Challenge for this week that ends today is Challenge.  For more information on this week’s photo challenge go here http://dailypost.wordpress.com/category/photo-challenges/ If you know me, you know that my home away from home is Dodger Stadium so for me the word Escape brings to mind being at Dodger Stadium.   Nothing makes me happier than to head to my Blue Heaven on Earth, Dodger Stadium or as I like to call it OLOCR, Our Lady of Chavez Ravine so here are some pictures that means my Escape to a happy place From Opening Day I like sitting in my seats, watch game, listen with my headphones and keep score. My view as I exit the stadium