It was first and third with nobody out. Lohse struck out Dunn and Reynolds, hit Tracy to load the bases before Glaus' big play.

WRT Ethier, if I remember, he was always a very good hitter in the minors with limited power. There were questions whether the power would be there when he got to the majors. But with young guys, it is not abnormal to see a 10 HR jump between ages 25 and 27, I would think. No reason why he cannot be a 25-30 HR a year guy for the next ten-twelve years.

If Ethier is able to do that, with similar defense he's producing now, then he's a $10-12 million player. Not to say he couldn't produce 25-30 Homers a year, but he'd suddenly turn from a 'solid' player to a star.

http://tinyurl.com/5o99pm

http://tinyurl.com/6g9g78

But again the Cards get out of it.

2-0 Cardinals Top 6.

Simulator takes into account which players are playing, where we are in the batting order, lineups, pitcher fatigue, bullpens etc... FanGraphs doesn't.
vr, Xei

Thanks.

SportsNation Keith Law: Chance to be a star, at least an above-average regular behind the plate.

In his memory, I'm going to take my seldom-used golf clubs and throw them around my apartment in anger.

Could not resist.

I think I'm going to go and get a small saggy Christmas tree this year and see if I can make it look nice.

It's probably a combination of the jazz influenced soundtrack, the simple messages and Snoopy's impression of a vulture.

"For winning the award, Sharp will present Ramirez with a 52" AQUOS® high-definition television. He will also receive a specially-designed trophy."

Anyway, RIP.

Cue D4P wondering why millionaire athletes get anything for free.

1 out with 2 on. Cards bullpen makes me nervous.

Gosh what sad news. I'm glad he lived a long life, and his work will be enjoyed for years to come. I'm so thankful to Bill for his many contributions to animated TV specials.

RIP Bill Melendez

3-1 Cardinals Bot 7 runners at 1st and 3rd and 2 outs for Dunn.

I'm not watching the game; was this a near double play? Did Jackson just beat the throw to first?

It shouldn't be too hard. All you need to do is get a group of friends to stand around the tree and wave their arms around wildly.

with apologies.

sorry could not resist.

I have been anticipating this phenomenon since the new cba went into effect. Now the second year and no exceptions.

Pitchers were dosing to accelerate healing and speed up recovery time.

Now the consequences are exposed in the real world ...

3-2 STL Top 8.

I just finished Michaelis's Schulz biography and it was amazing. I highly recommend to all Peanuts fans. I only wish David had spent a little more time on the 1980s and 90s strips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-A7kje5dsI

http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/krukjo01.shtml

March, April, May, June, July, August, now September. Imagine that you're Manny or Kent and the pitcher is throwing heat directed ot the "point of you shoulder" as Vin so aptly describes it.
Wow - guess you would want to stay super alert to help deal with that - no?

There was a reason that Wille Mays was discovered with the "greeenies" when he was with the Mets (like he was the only one).

This is how Billy Koch's brain works:

Hmm he almost hit that last fastball for a home run. I know what he won't be expecting...

A fastball!!

I'm really going to miss teams that are things which end in "s".

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/dGVc

http://tinyurl.com/64erhq

Horrid.

Wasn't that always the book on Reggie Sanders? High heat = K.

I dont think that a tie game in the 6th inning (when you need to get some innings out of the bullpen) is the same as a 1 run lead in the 8th inning. If their bullpen doesn't have two worthwhile arms they should have called him up months ago.

DODGERS

Martin, C
Ethier, RF
Ramirez, LF
Blake, 3B
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
DeWitt, 2B
Berroa, SS
Kuroda, P

PADRES
Giles, RF
Rodriguez, SS
Kouzmanoff, 2B
A Gonzalez, 1B
Headley, LF
E Gonzalez, 2B
Venable, CF
Bard, C
LeBlanc, P

On previous pitch that Jackson popped up foul:

Sutton (funereal voice):"Popped it up. In foul territory. Will it go back to the seats? You sure hope so.
And it's foul."

Darn it Ron Villone and your wild pitch.

His OPS+ is pretty darn good. You also do realize that very, very few players walk more than they strike out. He basically had a 1:1 BB:K ratio, and he walked a ton. A career OBP of .397 is really really impressive.

Should the Dodgers have claimed David Eckstein? He was as big a factor today as Dunn was.

Imagine how much worse they would be without Dunn. Just like us and Manny. The record with him isn't great, but it would be worse without him.