Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
One year ago this weekend, the Dodgers' chemical imbalance became a sensationalized news story - our local baseball team's version of Something-Gate. Suddenly, Dodger Stadium emerged as a branch office for the paragons of morality known as sports columnists to pass judgment and render virtual verdicts.
On September 20, 2007, Jeff Kent voiced his frustrations about the young Dodger players to the beat writers, and a day later, Bill Plaschke of the Times issued the following condemnation:
This youth movement has officially gotten old.
I thought it would work, I really did, but I admit today that I am wrong.
Now it's important to note that later in his column, Plaschke gave context to his assertion.
A youth movement works only when the veterans are flexible enough to move. The Dodgers veterans, it turns out, were not.
But that was buried in the column, typical of media coverage that for months and months locally and nationwide, stretching into the 2008 season, targeted the younger Dodger players, questioning their character at almost every opportunity.
It didn't matter that past and present Dodger veterans like Luis Gonzalez or Kent could be as prickly as anyone on the roster. It didn't matter that the younger players were the true talent center of the team. When the kids misbehaved, they were tearing down the Dodger franchise from the inside.
Those kids needed to be taught a lesson. Yeah, that's true. But instead of looking at it as, "Of course they need to be taught a lesson - they're kids," the prevailing attitude was, "Who do those kids think they are, believing in themselves when they need to be taught a lesson? How dare they be talented but occasionally immature!"
Over most of the past year, many of us lived in fear of the possibility that because they weren't Mother Teresa, some of these young Dodgers would be dumped in trade for less talented and/or decaying players who, however selfish or ill-behaved they were, had at least played in the majors long enough to earn the right to be selfish or ill-behaved. Essentially, this didn't happen. Several minor leaguers have been traded, but that's another story - relevant, but forgive me for not addressing it here.
Today, the Dodgers find themselves on the verge of heading to the playoffs led by a core that includes 2007 youngsters Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin, Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Broxton - all of whom were simplistically lumped together despite their wide spectrum of behavioral traits - along with 2008 newcomers like Blake DeWitt, Cory Wade and Clayton Kershaw. The second-most important midseason pickup, 34-year-old Casey Blake, hasn't had an ill word to say about anyone, young or old. And the spiritual leader of the group is, by some accounts, the most immature player in baseball, Manny Ramirez, who has offended people before and will offend people again, but meanwhile has also not only been the most remarkably productive midseason acquisition in Dodger history, but has also provided practical guidance on hitting and emotion to the young Dodgers.
Everyone has talent. Everyone is flawed. How hard is it to look at the two side-by-side and take a big picture, instead of focusing only on the negative for some and the positive for others?
The Dodgers are happy now because they are winning. If the team were losing, no doubt Dodger insiders and outsiders would look at the behavior of Ramirez and the kids (who are rapidly becoming not such kids anymore) in a harsher light. There's no doubt that this is still an immature club in some ways. Immaturity isn't a virtue. But as a vice, it needs to be put in perspective. It's not always that harmful; in fact, sometimes it just doesn't matter at all.
* * *
Speaking of youth: Congrats to the young Tampa Bay Rays, along with the Chicago Cubs, on joining the Angels in clinching playoff spots. Those are the three teams I'll be rooting for if the Dodgers fall short.
I hope Cameron Maybin is watching his back though.
"The Dow went down 100 pts today due to interest rate fears."
I know darned well nobody can explain why markets go up or down each day, as distinct from seeing trends and accurately describing those, but it doesn't stop people from trying.
Very true. There is a tendency for some to look for some insightful psychological reason for an outcome to a sporting event. But it's almost always the result of physical ability.
Even in more emotional sports like football, a coach can fire up his team as much as he wants, but if you've got players who aren't that skilled (e.g. UCLA), you are going to have a hard time winning.
But a financial market is based on the buyers and sellers expectations of what something is worth or will be worth in the future. So events like interest rate changes or hurricanes can make a difference.
I don't know if a baseball team is the same as the Chicago BOT.
Hey, I understand the financial markets inside and out. I've got a Nobel Prize to prove it.
Stole it from Paul Samuelson's house.
There are people on my couch three nights a week already. New York is a popular place to visit, and a really expensive place to get a hotel.
I only have perfect hindsight. I've dubbed this the Werth-Ross Paradigm.
Andrew must be fake incredulous.
Arizona hadn't played well at all after its fast start. They rode the wave of a Games Ahead Bubble. But the bubble burst and an infusion of Adam Dunn and David Eckstein wasn't enough.
Dunn > Dunn + Eckstein
I believe the phrase you are looking for is "irrational exuberance."
So, basically the Dodgers need to win today, sweep the Padres and have the Diamondbacks lose on Monday to clinch before going to San Francisco, right?
No, but he's actually a member of the Fed's Open Market Committee. He uses a 20-sided die to decide which interest rate to pick.
And of those eight games, the Dodgers only control the outcome of four of them.
Ethier. RF
Ramirez. LF
Loney. 1B
Blake. 3B
Kemp. CF
DeWitt. 2B
Berroa. SS
Lowe. RHP
from T.J.
I was adding up the games played by both AZ and LA before the Dodgers have to go on the road.
The Raiders-Bills game is a great one. Raiders looking surprisingly spry.
Ron Cey reaches on IF single.....
{crickets}
Next time, I'm pressing on the hard eight.
So, believe it or not, the Yankees actually have something to fight for in their last game at Yankee Stadium tonight. Theoretically, at least. They're still barely in the wild card race, with an elimination number, still, of 2.
I said as much at 12:51 on the Griddle.
However, if the Yankees get eliminated tonight, that won't go up as fast since I'm going out to eat with some friends this evening.
Which I think I will enjoy a lot more than watching ESPN's coverage of the Baltimore Sacrificial Lambs against the Yankees.
Why was Hooten batting in the game at Yankee Stadium?
At that time, the DH alternated YEARS and didn't go by the home team's rules.
Thanks!
But Boston won. They have 91 wins. The Yankees have 71 losses.
The Yankees can't lose another game.
The lack of the DH in the 1981 World Series would pay off big time for the Dodgers.
God bless you Bob Lemon.
Well done, Brian.
Cain looked like he was waiting for the year 2020.
Trust me.
Grabarkewitz had a 134 OPS+ that year (1970).
I can still picture Piazza bearhugging a rail-thin Ramon, almost snapping him like a twig, after the final out.
http://sportsblogs.latimes.com/sports_baseball_dodgers/2008/09/this-time-of-ye.html#more
Un real.
and at the same time everyone is seemingly falling asleep on the dbacks.
Or walk away from the table and cash out with big winnings?
Whats with all the diving catches!?
Because Velez isnt in left field. I still cant believe bochy put him there against Zona.
Thus the importance of walks and HRs. Don't leave the outcome of your PA up to the opposing team.
The best part about that post was that I forgot I was watching on delay. Aw, nuts.
Yes, because a 1-0 lead in the 6th is an impossible margin to overcome.
This isn't the most accurate way of measurement, but the Giants had 0 errors in 4 games in AZ.
I do - he's a veteran and the 8-9-1 slots are coming up.
http://tinyurl.com/4g63e6
4.9 runs of support per game - good for 132nd in the NL.
This NL-West is far from over. We still have this game, three with old friends, San Diego and then back up in the bay.
Why do I feel a Arizona sweep of the Cardinals is about to happen?
Honestly, this is no different then any Dodger seasons past, where they are competing for a divisional title the last week of the season. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.
Today it won't.
this is just so frustrating
I know that's the standard practice, but among other things it ignores defensive alignment. Defenders don't (always) align themselves randomly: they (at least sometimes) stand in a strategic location, where they have reason to believe the ball is more likely to be hit than elsewhere (because of hitter characteristics, pitching strategy, etc.).
If a defender makes a diving catch that appears to "rob" the hitter, it is necessarily the case that the defender would not have made the catch if he had been standing "too far" in the "wrong direction". On the other hand, he might not have had to dive if he had been standing further in the "right" direction.
So the "robbedness" depends heavily upon where the defender is standing, which is not necessarily a random part of the game. On the contrary, it is (or at least, can be) an integral part of playing defense.
Cain's at 108. You gotta pinch hit for him & not give up the out.
Dodgers will make him pay in the bottom of the 7th.
Time to win this game!
Agee did "rob" Elrod Hendricks in the 1969 WS.
Bochy's making it easy for the Dodgers.
What is? Absolutely nothing has happened.
I realize that the negativity around here is just a vocal minority but it is so vocal that it sometimes makes it hard for any level headed thoughts to break through the cacophony of bellowing and doomsaying.
Barring a miracle, you can stand down from the cycle alert.
http://tinyurl.com/44jjmd
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1136457.html
What's in the potatoes...?
Most people would call it gravy.
Cream is the key ingredient.
Somebody who knows how to cook should probably take over.
Wow.
I'm just going by the fact that the menu said "cream gravy."
That was my lunch that day. I didn't eat dinner that night.
Or much dinner the next night.
Probably a good thing. That meal probably contained a couple day's worth of fat, and not the good kind either.
When you order Big Macs at the McDonalds kiosk at WalMart, do you ask them to hold the special sauce?
http://tinyurl.com/fegbm
Romo actually has better numbers against lefties, but he hasn't pitched much in the majors.
Today's game sure has been frustrating, but I love pitching duels like this. Unless we lose, then I hate it.
And the Dodgers are off tomorrow.
He didn't pitch on Friday.
Going by stats alone that is.
As in "larceny by threat of violence?"
We didn't even have to pay for these!
Not even Vicente Romo?
Better than watching a 2008 Maddux-Schmidt game.
What kind of fake emotions are you feeling these days in relation to the DBacks?
That blob is OPSplusing the same as Russell Martin.
But at least Martin's not a blob.
Me too, but that slider barely missed. Impossible to lay off that perfect pitch. And, Romo retires nine in a row :(
They're OPS+ing the same because Martin has begun copying Molina's plate discipline.
I would call it a perfect pitch if it were actually a strike.
Probably somewhere waiting to be signed or drafted, since no one by that name exists in MLB.
And I'd call it a perfect pitch if there are two strikes on the batter, it looks like a strike, and darts out of the zone at the last instant.
..................................ha
Thanks for letting me know.
Chill dude.
We still got three outs left ourselves.
Boy they sure showed me.
Not only that, but with a runner on first, I don't believe our shortstop would have been playing so deep with a banjo hitter at the plate.
My tactic worked, apparently, but not in a good way.
or not.
Get 'em on Tuesday.
Because of our inept offense, we are the only first-place team in history NOT in control of our own destiny.
While making the playoffs is the number one goal, I don't want to back into it either. I feel like if we stumble in because AZ can't capitalize, we'll just be setting ourselves up for another 1st round let down.
I don't mean to come across as someone throwing us under the buss after one bad loss, just venting some concern.
Even though cards probably feel out of it, maybe they'll be inspired at home as spoilers to the dbacks..i dunno should be exciting, or an enormous let down
Best the D'Backs can do is 85-75.
So lets try for 86 wins. :)
just because we've been so streaky this year, I wonder if this team is affected by momentum, I'm just saying id rather win our way in than lose and get in by default...but thats sorta stating the obvious.
I'm still very excited though, I like our pitching against almost anyone in the bigs..and when the bats click sparks can fly
Not to project ahead, but even if AZ forces a playoff, they'll be going with Scherzerer or Davis.
But it doesn't necessarily that (1) a new stadium should be built (2) on taxpayer dollars (3) with the existing stadium being demolished.
The book has some great scenes where the narrator, a 7th grader, gets to live out some fantasies as a kid in love with the Yankees. He also learns a lot about life lessons by reading Shakespeare with his English teacher. The book takes place in 1967 - 1968, during the Vietnam war, and is a gentle introduction to some of the upheaval the country experienced during that time.
Just an all-around fantastic book.
I'm not trying to be a Chicken Little, but 5 out of 13 is not in the bag.
That being said we decided to go after Lincincum's auto. He wasn't around but Barry Zito came over and spent a long time signing and was very friendly.
April 16 against Cleveland.
Also kinda sad that the Dodgers didn't get to play in Yankee Stadium this year or the last few.
It looked like Molina's glove went under Berroa and that he touched the plate before a tag, but it was close.
Velez looked out, but that was even closer. I initially thought he was safe.
Today's loss as huge in the terms of importance. H-U-G-E. Mostly because we're having trouble beating the Giants and what is upcoming this weekend. History shows us that animosity of these teams and their uncanny ability to derail each other when it counts the most. If there is one game this season that we had to win, this was that game. (IMHO)
Hopefully by this upcoming weekend, you all will be telling me, "I told you so."
I really do hope so...
Zito, by all accounts, is a good dude.
On a completely unrelated note, I'm watching the Neanderthal Code on National Geographic Channel, kind of interesting so far.
Unless you think big league sports are just a scam to get fans to transfer billions of dollars to owners and players. Nah...
And the transfer of money from fans to teams and players is not a scam, it's capitalism. Mutual exploitation.
Frustrating, important game and it could've been so different if just any one of a number of moments went differently. That's baseball. Berroa at home looked out after about 20 replays but it was as close as it gets, and Bowa sending him with Manny coming up was what was stupid.
Anyway, they need to take it out on the Padres, take care of business, and then forget this.
I may be visiting Underdog Land after all.
Maybe we can all get group tix for Saturday's if that still matters.
Dodgers clinched in 2006 on the final Saturday of the season vs. San Francisco.
2008 to be determined.
Remember where we were on August 29th? Remember that since then we are 16-5.
2 1/2 game lead.
Magic Number: 5
Arizona doesn't have much success in St. Louis and Brandon Webb has never pitched well there. But, we'll see.
--
My fantasy football team would probably win if that was Patrick Crayton instead of Myles Whover catching that long TD for the Cowboys.
Bowa should get a whole heap of blame there. Unless you are 100% sure that Berroa is safe, you cannot send him. The ball was hit hard and Rowand had a straight line in to it, so the odds were pretty good he gets off a good throw. You just cannot send Berroa there and take the chance of taking the bat out of Manny's hands with the bases loaded. Just a terrible decision that was the difference in the game.
Ah well, I'm gonna take my mind off it for the rest of the evening.
It definitely does not make me want to look forward to that day when Dodger Stadium's day comes.
I will say, though, that I could live the rest of my life without hearing "New York, New York" again and be perfectly fine with that.
--
Oh and congratulations to Don Rickles, Emmy winner. (!)
I mean, the edifice itself was old. It was cramped, it was outdated, somewhat tacky. But the seats and the field, wow, you felt it, so much history. It felt right... it felt like home (well their home). I'll miss Yankee Stadium.
The tradition of heartbreak we have here on the Dodgers is not just a phenomenon of the last 20 years. In fact, I think it goes all the way back to the Brooklyn days. Many years of coming so close, only to lose to the Giants or the Yankees, or what have you.
It's frustrating all right, but after a while, I'm almost proud of it. If all they did was win, what fun is that? We already have the Lakers.
Pac-10: 1
Mountain West: 3
I saw a couple of games including a much younger Greg Maddux, pitching for the Braves completely shut down the Yankees in a masterful performance
Underdog, was the game this game?
http://tinyurl.com/4vxvmp
If so, you might enjoy this Joe Posnanski piece about Maddux and that very same game:
http://tinyurl.com/3h3mt7
Okay, back to Mad Men.
We've seen that report before.
I am not sure if he was nominated but I felt that David Morse was a better George Washington than Tom Wilkinson's portrayal of Benjamin Franklin.
We face SD next weekend, so hes guaranteed to be fired within two weeks anyways. Sigh, a bad season looks to be on its way now.
I really like Morse as GW, even though for some reason I was fixated on his nose the whole time.
Its like Al Davis doesn't realize that the offensive players probably thinks Rob Ryan(who the front runner for the job) thinks he's a tool for Davis.
Too bad Al is Satan, so he will never relinquish control since he will be alive forever.
Padres @ Dodgers 9/23-9/25
Jake Peavy (R) v. Chad Billingsley (R) 7:10 p.m.
Wade LeBlanc (L) v. Clayton Kershaw (L) 7:10 p.m.
Sean Estes (L) v. Greg Maddux (R) 7:10 p.m.
Diamondbacks @ Cardinals 9/22-9/25
Brandon Webb (R) v. Todd Wellemeyer (R) 5:15 p.m.
Randy Johnson (L) v. Kyle Lohse (R) 5:15 p.m.
Max Scherzer (R) v. Adam Wainwright (R) 5:15 p.m.
Doug Davis (L) v. Joel Pineiro (R) 11:15 a.m.
--
My predictions, and don't hold me to 'em unless I'm right: Cards-Dbacks split two, Dodgers take two out of three from Padres. (Magic number would be reduced to 1, no?)
I'd like to see a sweep of San Diego, but will stick to my prediction.
You guys want to trade us Brandon Marshall for Javon Walker?
Let's face it, his delinquent ways work better with us anyways.
Wade LeBlanc (L) v. Clayton Kershaw (L) 7:10 p.m.
Sean Estes (L) v. Greg Maddux (R) 7:10 p.m.
Dodgers are 29-21 when a LHP starts against them this season, including 3-0 combined against these two this month.
"You want to tear all that down?"
"With a wrecking ball. You want to help me swing it?"
Yankee Stadium isn't the real Yankee Stadium anyway. That one was torn down in 1974. The current one bears no resemblance to the real thing. It's a vulgar plastic reminder of the 1970s cookie-cutter craze, not a cathedral of baseball history. The Yankees flushed all that history stuff down the toilet with the renovation. The signature copper frieze was torn down and replaced with a smaller concrete facsimile; that should tell you all you need to know about the current Yankee Stadium.
In addition to being ugly and overhyped, it's also not a particularly enjoyable place to watch a game.
Good riddance.
Since then, Brad Penny's hunting partner has started 14 games against the Dodgers, and the Padres have been victorious in 13 of those games. Peavy himself is 10-0 in those 14 starts, with a 1.83 ERA over 98.1 IP. Dodger batters have hit .186/.237/.311 against him during that span.
The good news: the one time the Dodgers won a game started by Peavy was 9/18/06.
frieze
That's what I'm talking about!
But in the NL, no race had been decided going into that last week.
The D-Backs had a 3 game lead over the Padres with 6 games left to play (MN 4), the Cubs had a 3 game lead over the Brewers (MN 4), and the Mets had a 2 game lead over the Phillies (MN 5).
In the wild card race, the Phillies and Padres (MN 7) were tied and the Rockies were a game back.
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1968/B04100NYA1968.htm
It is described mostly correctly -- Mel Stottlemyre did indeed throw a four-hit shutout, Frank Fernandez hit a home run in the 2nd inning, and Mickey Mantle singled twice. But the author also describes a double play turned by Horace Clark and a strikeout by Joe Pepitone, and these events did not occur.
No, just practicing eternal vigilance.
And irrational exuberance.
The Griddle has shut down its investment banking sideline.
I will accept regular cash deposits.
Jon, if you merely forgot James Loney and would have included him had you remembered him, would you mind editing your post to include him just for the record?
If you intentionally left him out I was going to ask for your thoughts but then I realized I would be pretty closed minded to any reasons for leaving him out.
BA: 9/24
OBP: 19/24
SLG: 18/24
OPS: 19/24
HR: T22/40
OPS+: 99
Hard to consider him a "strength" of the team.
Heh heh, nah, I am not a part of that phenomenon. That reminds me, it has been a while since the Cubs and Dodgers were in the playoffs at the same time. In fact, it may have never happened.
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