I've read that roster three times now, and I don't see the word "Sweeney" any where.

I'm tempted to yell: VICTORY!

But I know better.

I'd rather see Delwyn than Pablo, but otherwise it looks good. No Sweeney, no Procter.

I'm still not convinced Park over Proctor is the right call.

No victory, not even a draw. Delwyn Young should be on the list, Osuna should join Sweeney in Forget 'Em Land.

lol Al is killing Deangelo and Javon Walker.

3 Me either. Hopefully we'll only have to use Wade, Beimel, Broxton, and Saito unless it's a blowout either way. With the day off Friday it's possible for those four relievers to pitch in all four of the first games (though not ideal). Kershaw could be a good 1 or 2 inning reliever, but I'd rather not see Maddux, Park, or Tron at all in this series.

I would like to have seen Hu somewhere on the roster, just for late-game defensive purposes. But I knew that was a longshot.

3 Me neither. Plus, if they have to use Park in long relief that's a bad sign anyway. Park shouldn't pitch in Wrigley. But maybe he won't need to, there's enough depth in that pen to do the job.

Are Pablo Osuna and Eric Stultz related?

Man, ankle sprains are annoying.

The scenarios for using Ozuna, speed/defense, are areas were Hu is much better. If I can't have Pee Wee, I'd prefer Hu.

What does Ozuna do better than Hu?
Or for that matter, Berroa do better than Hu?

3 I would agree with that. And who would have thought that.

12 Berroa hits better than Hu, I think.

Hopefully, next year we won't worry about it - Hu will have proven himself, and DeJesus will be up late in the year, and there will be no Berrozuna to worry about. Or maybe there will.

At any rate, it's a good enough roster to compete in this NLDS, I guess that's all we can ask for. Especially with Raffy now. (fingers crossed)

re; Ozuna over Young

I can only imagine that Torre wanted to have an extra shortstop just in case Furcal wasn't able to go more than just a few innings...

i would have preferred Hu for that role.

I'm happy for Berroa. If you'd asked him back in April if he'd be playing in a division series at the ML level, I'm sure he'd have said "no way."

12
Ozuna plays defense in left field in the ninth inning when the Dodgers are protecting a three-run lead better than Hu.

If Delwyn Young is on this roster he the 3rd/4th bat off the bench and he is not going to be involved in any double switches in terms of going out in the outfield to replace another player.

Most teams, unless it is a blowout, are not using that many pinch-hitters in a game.

Hu still doesn't hit and frankly did not really excite me the few times he was playing in the field over the last month.

Ozuna can play the outfield and infield. Poorly, mind you, but he can do both.

Young can also play the outfield and infield not well.

3 I agree with you, whatever "magic" Park had earlier in the year, now he gets lit up on a regular basis...

Proctor is pitching pretty well right now, personally I'd have chosen him and MacDonald instead of Troncoso and Park

Ryan Dempster is 14-3 with a 2.86 ERA in 20 starts at Wrigley Field this year. He has only given up a 1st-inning run in four games of those games.

The Cubs have scored 6.1 runs/gm when Dempster starts at home (5.4 in other home games).

I think the key for the Dodgers will be to score early and to have Dempster pitch from behind for a change. Oh yeah, and Lowe throwing a shutout would be super.

This is the smartest roster available. Hu is unproven in every aspect, Ozuna at least you know what you're going to get. Young would've been a nice choice, but there's not as much room for him.

Anyone care to make out a game 1 lineup?

I cant think of an instance when Ozuna would play OF unless 2 of Manny/Ethier/Kemp/Pierre got hurt.

Torre's not going to double-switch out any of Ethier/Kemp/Manny.

the beauty of MacDonald would have been that he is good, has good stuff, and no one knows him or what he can do

Did we ever get a chance to see Ozuna throw from the outfield? I guess the assumption is that he is better than noodle arm in that respect, though JP seems to be one of the top fielding LF, and woud have been better than Pablo in that run scoring scenario of TC's. I'd rather see Pee Wee as the first lefthander PH, than JP. Come to think of it, JP hits lefties better, so without Pee Wee, we don't have a lefty PH in scenarios where Loney is starting.

24
My guess:

SS Furcal
C Martin
LF Manny
RF Ethier
3B Blake
1B Loney
CF Kemp
2B DeWitt
P Lowe

26 Scott Elbert had a better shot at this roster since he actually pitched in situations that mattered this year. And he is a lefty.

27 We saw Ozuna play some LF the other day, and saw him totally butcher a ball. He has the speed to get there, but he seemly can't place a glove to where the ball is to save his life.

24 try this:

Furcal
Martin
Manny
Ethier
Blake
Loney
Blake
Kemp
DeWitt
Lowe

28 great minds....

24 - line up seems pretty straight forward:

Furcall SS
Kemp CF
Ethier RF
Manny LF
Loney 1B
Blake 3B
Martin C
DeWitt 2B
Lowe P

People are surprisingly "down" on Dempster.

ERA:
Dempster 2.96
Zambrano 3.91

WHIP:
D 1.21
Z 1.29

K/9:
D 8.14
Z 6.2

K/BB
D 2.46
Z 1.81

My guess:

SS Furcal
RF Ethier
LF Manny
2b Kent
3b Blake
C Martin
1b Loney
CF Kemp
P Lowe

I've got a feeling Kent will demand to start. It also wouldnt surprise me to see Nomar playing 1st.

32
Except I forgot to include an extra spot for CB's beard. :)

In 2006 we bemoaned the fact the Beimel was unavailable. This year he will do everything to make himself available and I fear his luck will run out. He will be called in to face Edmunds and Jim will remind him that his stats are all smoke and mirrors.

I'm knocking on wood Raffy stays healthy, but all I can say is that's a line-up with no "black hole" for once. None.

31 Instead of having Blake hit twice, we should have Manny bat twice in the lineup. I think that would increase the number of runs our lineup can score. Xeifrank can update the WE%.

Great, another offensive line coach becomes the Raiders' head coach. How about you just hire a real general manager for the team, AL.

37
You dare to jinx the homerless streak? :)

Also, Edmunds and Maddox joing the Osuna/Stultz club!

Casey is about to break out big, that's why we want him in there twice

37 The Edmunds of five years ago might do that; today's version, maybe not.

37 Beimel vs Edmonds. Stuff that 100 year old dreams are made of.

30
So based on one play we have decided he is a butcher in LF? Maybe he is but I'd say none of us have any idea about his capability to play the outfield.

35
Kent will start sometime this series but it won't be Wednesday with Lowe on the mound.

Ok, next question: if the Dodgers win the Division Series, who is the MVP...

40
That was the craziest sports press conference I have ever seen.

I didn't see it. What happened?

43
True, he was horrid against LHP this year.

45 Kent will start Game 3 here, more fly balls from Kuroda than Lowe or Bills

46
I don't think they name MVPs for each division series, except in a more informal "player of the game" on the screen type way.

Got NPUTed... I'm about a six on the Dodgers Kinsey scale. They have a decent albeit not great chance at the postseason. In a short series, they could take the Cubs. That isn't how I would bet, but the Rockies rocketed through the NL last year to go to the World Series, so who's to say?

I'm already missing Kuo

I like Furcal starting but Im not sure about batting someone whose only had a handful of ABs after being out for 4 months leadoff. Bat him 7th or 8th something and let Kemp leadoff.

Furcal scores a run in every game and turns this playoff series into his contract run.

48
I can't even put it into words. Said how Lane lost Arkansas job which he wanted, it's Lane's fault for Deangelo and Walker being on team, Kiffin did not want Jamarcus, all kinds of good stuff lol.

I picture Al Davis doing his OBWONKENOBE impression.

Reporters: Why do you continue to burn bridges and make rash decisions.

Al: I am not the one you're looking for.

Al Davis cannot be held accountable.

Game 1 Lineup

Announced by the Dodgers:

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

55 I agree, Furcal, Manny, Casey...they could increase their new contracts greatly with a great run now...pretty good stuff to have in our lineup

I think Ozuna is here strictly as a PR for Kent or Nomar getting a PH late in a game. He may not even pack his glove for this series.

I'm still not convinced Park over Proctor is the right call.
I agree Jon.Park = Left-handed hitters go to heaven

That is a sweet lineup. Good job Joe

59 1 fake player and a a fake #5 hitter, but it looks good. The next 24 hours will go sooo slowly.

59 I can't really think of a better lineup right now.

The last time they played each other, here is the lineup that the Dodgers had.

Pierre LF
Ethier RF
Kent 2B
Martin C
Loney 1B
Kemp CF
DeWitt 3B
Berroa SS
Penny P

The Dodgers's lineup looks good, but at the same time, 6 of the 9 hitters OPSed under .800.

66 - Do I hear .750?

Cubbies who bat left.

Jim Edmonds
Kosuke Fukudome
Mike Fontenot
Daryle Ward
Felix Pie
Micah Hoffpauir
Eric Patterson
Koyie Hill (switch hitter)

Not exactly a murderer's row there. We'll be fine with only Biemel, and Kershaw as left handers in the bullpen. Also, Scott Proctor throws Right handed.

59 Kinda interesting that Casey Blake is batting 8th.

66 The Dodgers have OPS'ed .798 as a team since the Manny trade, and it's safe to assume Furcal is an upgrade over Wesley Sr.

66
True but 7 out of 8 have an OPS > 772 and the one guy who doesn't make the cut was putting up a 872 OPS in Sept.

67
2 under .750.

It's tempting to think of Kemp/Martin/Loney as good hitters, but in reality, they're only slightly better than average as a group.

Not that that's necessarily bad, given Furcal/Manny/Ethier.

Update from Tony Jackson:

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2008/09/sounds-like-the.html

"Both Ned and Joe indicated that they are still working through some things with the roster, and Joe specifically mentioned pitching. It's probably that last spot that initially went to Troncoso. My guess is they might be reconsidering that and thinking of giving it to Proctor or McDonald. "

I'm really surprised about Proctor. He's looked untouchable the last few weeks. Plus Torre loves him.

The Cub offense was what I hoped the Dodger offense would be this year. It is impressive from top to bottom. It will be fun to see if it is impressive against our pitching staff instead of the weak staffs of the NL Central.

70 .281/.355/.443

4.63 RPG

Minnesota-Chicago game thread at the Griddle

https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1145988.html

furcal,
ethier,
ramierez,
blake,
kemp,
martin,
loney,
dewitt,
P

D. Hernandez who followed basically every dodger game this season makes a (sadly) strong argument the Dodgers should keep Ned. Almost convinced me...

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-colletti1-2008oct01,0,4548632.story?track=rss

76 Only Boston and Texas OPS'ed higher than .798 for the entire season.

Hernandez also advocated starting JP during Sept. Don't think the Dodgers listen to what Hernandez much.

79
Yet, you were a 4. Trying to talk yourself into feeling more optimistic?

75 Well, the Cubs are certainly more experienced, Soto is their only regular that is 25 and he turned that in January, the Dodgers start 4 players younger than Soto and Ethier is only a year older.

The Dodgers don't have a threesome like Soriano, Lee and A. Ramirez or even a fivesome when you add Soto and Edmonds.

But there are no black holes in the lineup that is slated to start in less than 24 hours. I am happy about that.

78 - Part of the argument is predicated on the assumption that LaRoche is the only prospect Ned parted with this season. ToyCannon would beg to differ.

This is going to be Billingsly coming out party. Nobody is talking about how good Billingsly is in the national media. Tim Kurkjian just said that game two is all about Zambrano and how he pitches, not even mentioning the year Billingsly has. By Thursday night, people are going to wonder why Billingsly hasn't been touted more by ESPN with the likes of Linecium, Santana, Lowe, and Zambrano.

78 - shockingly, I think there's a good reason to keep Ned around, and that is that Frank could do a lot worse, especially in light of the fact that Brian Cashman re-signed with the Yanks for 3 years.

84 I hope you're right but I'm sure Chad is fine with being under the radar right now. The pressure's all on Big Z.

84 Or maybe get tagged a young Beckett?
He can get the tag of "clutchiest clutch to ever clutch." with a few good starts.

NL ERA ranking:

7: Billingsley
9: Lowe
19: Kuroda

That's good.

84 - Those guys are easy. Now if we could only get Sporky's co-worker to come around...

83 I myself started to get teary-eyed as I read that comment.

Two things we need before the start of tomorrow's game:

1. Bob Costas suggesting that the Dodgers quite possibly have the the weakest hitting team in NLDS history.

2. Bobby Ferrin volunteering for target practice duty while singing `Don't Worry, be Happy'.

Boy, Kuo would really round out that bullpen, wouldn't he? I hope, by some miracle, he'll be able to pitch for the NLCS if we make it.

I'm a solid 7 on the confidence scale - but I was real confident when we played the Mets, too. However, a Lowe, Bills, Kuroda rotation looks mighty fine, don't it?

Anything new on Derek Lowe's cold? I assume it's nothing to worry about, and that he's staying away from everyone for now... But since he's our starter tomorrow I was a little concerned hearing that. They mentioned it on the Blue Notes chat today, too, though didn't sound very worried.

91
3. Manny pulls both hamstrings

91
Don't forget the rhyming blue blockers guy in the parking lot rapping about the Dodgers.

78
Carlos Santana was rated the number two prospect in the Cal League by BA several days ago. 5 years ago Casey Kotchman and Erwin Santana were one and two.

I blame all of this on the catcher who broke LaRoche's wrist. And Nomar. And Furcal. And Abreu. I don't blame Ned, he did what he needed to do to get us a 3rd baseman.

93
Did not show any signs of being sick during his press conference.

Joe said the DeWitt-hitting-in-front-of-Blake has more to do with staggering lefty-righty-lefty-righty all the way down from five through eight.

Makes sense, I guess. Although it could also be a way to hide Blake's back problems.

97 Good, thanks.

Man, how many press conferences are ya gonna subject yourself to today? ;-)

99
I've seen parts of 5.

85 A Ned Coletti without Kim Ng, and Logan White would be a much worse Ned Coletti. Especially if they seek to trade with the Dodgers.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/

Baseball Ref has the Cubs only winning 85 games. Kinda amusing.

2006-2008

ERA+
Billingsley 135 (same as Oswalt; only Webb has been better)
Zambrano 126

Win %
Zambrano .649 (48-26)
Billingsley .648 (35-19)

BB/9
Billingsley 4.15
Zambrano 4.19

K/9
Billingsley 8.25
Zambrano 7.52

103
same as Oswalt; only Webb has been better in the NL

Has Canuck weighed in on the Watt trade yet?

I guess Lindsay Soto now works for the NFL Network.

Where was Watt and Perez on the top 30 Canuck list?

103
We know how good he is, hopefully the rest of the baseball world will find out on Thursday Night.

I really like the lineup, but I didn't even notice Blake was number 8 before someone pointed it out

107 Watt #11, Perez unranked

108
I don't think it's too much to ask for Billingsley to pitch a 27 K perfect game in each start. Anything less and I will be crushed.

Tony Jackson has info the last pitching spot might still be up in the air:

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/

107
Canuck had Watt at number 20 headed into 2008. I'm sure he moved up into the 10-15 range. I doubt if Perez was in the top 20. He will be upset even if he is relieved it wasn't what he had been fearing.
I had Watt as my 10th pitcher headed into 2008. I expect he would been 5-8 after this season. McDonald, Elbert, Withrow, Lindblom for sure a head of him. I'm unhappy they got Watt considering the leverage we had.

111 Um...

110
Can you point me to the link of Canucks top 20 that he did several weeks ago?

115 I don't have a link; just the list.

01. Scott Elbert, LHP
02. Andrew Lambo, OF
03. Ivan DeJesus, Jr. SS
04. James McDonald, RHP
05. Ethan Martin, RHP
06. Josh Lindblom, RHP
07. Austin Gallagher, 3B
08. Josh Bell, 3B
09. Chris Withrow, RHP
10. Ramon Troncoso, RHP
11. Michael Watt, LHP
12. Nathan Eovaldi, RHP
13. Steve Johnson, RHP
14. Geison Aguasviva, LHP
15. James Adkins, LHP
16. Xavier Paul, OF
17. Jon Michael Redding, RHP
18. Josh Wall, RHP
19. Tony Delmonico, 2B
20. Jesus Castillo, RHP
21. Devaris Strange-Gordon, SS
22. Justin Miller, RHP
23. Pedro Baez, 3B
24. Jaime Pedroza, SS
25. Tim Sexton, RHP
26. Matt Sartor, RHP
27. Elisaul Pimentel, RHP
28. Victor Garate, LHP
29. Miguel Sanfler, LHP
30. Francisco Felix, RHP
31. Cole St. Clair, LHP
32. Kyle Russell, OF

116
Thanks

Surprised the Padres targeted pitchers over hitters.

I bet he moves Gordan up that list. Been hearing great things about him.

111 If he does that, then sporky's roommate might admit that he's not a horribly bad pitcher.

Twins, and White Sox both run into DPs.

120 roommate = co-worker. yaargh sorry.

Oh man, I still have to wait 3 more long weeks before the 30 Rock season premiere. {cry}

From BA:
*Gordon failed to qualify academically at Seminole (Fla.) Community College and couldn't play this spring, but the Dodgers drafted him in the fourth round anyway. Once he stepped onto the field in the Pioneer League, it was apparent why.

The son of Phillies righthander Tom Gordon, Gordon has outstanding athleticism and 65 speed on the 20-80 scouting scale. He's extremely skinny with wide shoulders, so he has plenty of room to add strength to his wiry frame. Despite his slender build, he swings the bat with surprising authority and drives balls to the gaps.

With excellent range and good first-step quickness, Gordon has the tools to stick at shortstop. Some of the rust from not getting live game action this spring showed, as he made 28 errors in 60 games, but the miscues should be correctable once he learns to play more under control.*

And the chat:
* ScottAz from Phx, AZ asks:
I haven't heard much about Flash Gordon's kid. Who does he most closely resemble in the Bigs?
A:

Ben Badler: Understandable that you haven't heard much, given that he didn't play this spring because he couldn't qualify academically for his junior college. Give a lot of credit to the Dodgers for picking up Gordon in the 4th round though. There were some scouts who raised an eyebrow when LA picked him that high, especially since there were scouts in that area who didn't see him even in workouts this year. But he's an outstanding athleticism and speed, so he has the tools to be a good shortstop once he gets himself more under control. Who does he closely resemble? No one, not right now. He weighs 150, maybe 155 pounds. He's just weak, and I don't mean that in a bad way, because he's just going to fill out his frame naturally and get stronger. If they re-did the draft today, I don't think he'd get past the third round again.*

123 I need some Breaking Bad. Bad.

118 earlier there was a link to DePo's blog which explained that they targeted pitchers to complement the strong hitters that they drafted in recent years

123
A lot sooner than I have to wait for Flight of the Conchords and Lost.

123 I take it you're a big Tina Fey fan? ~_~

If a starter gets hurt, can a relief pitcher replaces him?

95 Don't forget the rhyming blue blockers guy in the parking lot rapping about the Dodgers.

That guy lives in New York now. I've seen him in Times Square rapping for donations from the tourists.

130 Can he travel on short notice?

124 Not to be snooty or anything, but you got to wonder about a guy who can't make the grade academically at Seminole Community College.

131 Next time I see him, I'm gonna ask him if he's still a Dodger fan.

127 The wait for those two make me cry even more.

128 Yeah, but more just a fan of the entire cast of that show.

130 The Rhymenoceros?

I have now read through all the new comments at DT for the day (something I try to do before posting a comment myself). My reaction to the news about who we gave up for Maddux? Anger, of course. Perez I couldn't care less about, but we gave up Watt for seven starts by a pitcher whose 5.01 ERA over those games I am confident would have been bettered by Eric Stults if he had made those starts instead. And yet the anger is mixed with a species of relief, because knowing Colletti, the prospect loss could have been even worse. Honestly, my life as a Dodger fan, when I think about it, is tinted by something resembling Stockholm Syndrome: a scary maniac with a gun holds my life in his hands, and I am so afraid of being killed at any moment that when I get slapped around and kicked in the ribs, I am grateful toward my captor for showing restraint.

129 Yes, it seems so. Apparently they change the rules a year or so ago so if someone on the 25 man is disabled they can be replaced but then that injured player is ineligible for the next series, too (if the team makes it that far).

Baseball ain't rocket science. I doubt if Pedro Guerrero would have made it out of High School.

134 But it wasn't Andy Lambo! Small victory?

"Chuck" used a Flight of the Conchords song (the one I linked to on DT a few months back) in its soundtrack last night. It was very cool.

Actually with Stockholm Syndrome, you'd start agreeing with Colletti's moves because you've been held hostage for so long by him.

134
How many pitchers had a plus 5.00 ERA with a 1.15 WHIP?

I doubt Pedro made it into high school, much less out.

137
The small victories
The cankers and medallions
>>
They keep me thinking
That someday
I might beat you
But I'll just keep my mouth shut

It shouldn't bother me
But it does

140 -- If you are arguing that Maddux was unlucky that doesn't matter for the purpose of examining what we got out of Maddux: he gave up too many runs to have been worth starting over Stults, and we paid a high price for not just starting Stults.

139 -- Well, I did say "something resembling Stockholm Syndrome."

144
I'm just speaking from experience from my days when I was held captive by the Bader-Meinhoff Gang.

145 Were they the ones who gave you your first mohawk?

143
I won't argue that Stults would have been just as effective and that the price was to high. That said I enjoyed having Maddux on the team during this run.

I prefer the Helsinki Syndrome myself. I'm partial to the victims of Nakatomi Plaza.

Wow...Martin, Ethier, Loney, Kemp, and DeWitt batting 2-4-5-6-7 in a playoff game for the Dodgers.

Mission Accomplished?

"Kent said he's ready to return to second base, but Torre said he more likely would use him at first base for late-inning double switches and pinch-hitting. "

http://tinyurl.com/4mmxkl

149 - For some reason that phrase gives me the willies, but yeah, I'd say so.

Harold Reynolds I think has said the words, "sac bunt" or "move the runners over" for at least 25% of his dialouge.

Harold Reynolds peaked as the Little League World Series color announcer.

What is up with these ex ballplayers. Can't a slugger do lousy analysis. What is Palmiero doing these days? Now that would be fun.

Wow, I was afraid it would be Watt. I think the Padres got the better end of the deal here. I've been following him since he was drafted and think he has great upside.

He went to my high school (Capistrano Valley in Mission Viejo) and I made a point of meeting him during spring training. We talked for a long time and he said that the day the Dodgers drafted him was the best day of his life. At least if he makes it to the Majors with San Diego he'll stay close to home.

At least Sweeney was pretty classy in his comments in that article, even if there really wasn't anything else he could say.

>>"It's not about individual stuff. It's about having the team win," Sweeney said. "Unfortunately, I made this decision easy. {{got that right! --ed.}} That's why I'm upset. It's disappointing for the right reason. Anyone with a competitive feeling inside that's worked hard to get to this point would be. But it's what we've got to do."<<

I didn't know Colletti had a son. Lou Colletti. He's an area scout for the Giants.

The Twins-ChiSox game is kind of, uh, interesting so far. Unless you like a lot of offense.

I think Rickey Henderson should be a commentator.

He wouldn't know anyone's name and would just talk about himself.

A little like Joe Morgan, except he talks about his Reds team.

Joe Buck: Ellsbury steals the bag.

Henderson: I once played with a guy in San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, Toranto, New York, Boston, and Anaheim who stole a lot of bases.

158 firerickeyhenderson.com is just too long a URL, though.

122 Ex-coworker :)

Why the heck is Juan Uribe playing 3rd base for the White Sox?

Why is Ethier 4th and Martin 2nd. Andre mashed in front of Manny and, as I reacall, Russ was struggled there. What am I missing?

163 Maybe the Cubs will be less likely to pitch around Manny?

Ouch, that DP had to hurt.

AJ boardlines put the ball in Cuddyer's face than almost spikes the ball at home plate. The guy is fighting every natural jerk instinct in his body right now.

162 , where is Mr. Crede these days?

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/

Lowe comments on Lou.

Awww. I get to review the new-to-DVD "You're Not Elected Charlie Brown" next week. Good grief, that's a timely release, Chuck.

The main quibble I have with Joe's postseason lineup is Ozuna over Repko. I've been having a recurring nightmare the past couple days of an extra-inning Game 5 in Chicago where we earlier put in Pierre in CF via a double switch, and now the Dodgers have a one-run lead in the bottom of the 12th, one out and a runner on first. Ground ball single to CF, the runner doesn't hesitate on an easy path to third. Next batter hits a fly ball to short CF, and the runner on third tags up...and then I wake up in a cold sweat.

Interesting thing that TBS is doing. Every couple of innings, they're letting studio analysts talk in between innings instead of taking a commercial break.

170 It could be worse. You could have a dream where three nihilists are chasing after you with giant scissors.

A little late on a few things. First, I'm a solid 7.5 for the series. If Harden is really thoriwng in the mid 80's, I feel that we have a distinct advantage in the rotation. If Rafael is healthy, we also have a pretty damn good lineup.

I also wanted to say that even though Edwin Jackson's peripherals weren't great and his September performances agains the Yankees were terrible, he deserved to make that roster. Even if he wouldn't have pitched, he deserved to make that roster. He must be absolutely devastated right now, and I cant blame him. I feel really really badly for him. This probably means that he's spent his last day as a Ray.

Also, Joe might as well have out me on the roster instead of Ozuna. Dude brings nothing to the team.

173

"put me", not "out me". Oops.

You know what I saw on one the display of one of my XM channels today?

LAD vs PHI: 10/6, 7:10 ET

oooooo-eeeeeeee-oooooooooo!

Jim Thome homers to make it 1-0 White Sox.

"Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me" is taping their first couple of episodes of their new TV show next Monday. And no playoff games are scheduled that evening.

177 ... at the Wilshire Theater, that is.

177

I love that show! I saw them here at the Granada in Santa Barbara. What a hoot! Now, what's this about a TV show?

177
What is that?

179 They're filming their TV pilot! I got my tickets through KPCC, but it looks like they're all out. I might have some available.

180 One of my favorite NPR programs.

http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/

After listening to Dempster & Pinella talk today, I have to put the Cubs into my "classy" category. There would be no shame in losing to them.

(Love the lineup!)

For the Dodgers to need Ozuna to play in the infield, you'd need a scenario where, first Furcal goes down and must be replaced by Nomar. Then Kent goes down and must be replaced by Berroa. Then Nomar goes down. All in the same game.

If Furcal went down in one game, he could be replaced by Ozuna on the roster before the next game.

Even under the bizarro nightmare scenario of Furcal, Kent and Garciaparra all going down in the same game, you could move Blake to short, Martin to third and Ardoin behind the plate. Then you don't have an emergency catcher if Ardoin goes down, but at this point we're in sci-fi territory.

Hence, Ozuna should not be on the roster. The slot should go to Young.

184
You care nothing about my recurring nightmare.

172
I can easily defend myself with my bowling ball.

I don't think Torre wants to use Kent at any serious time at second, and berroa has played a whole four games at second this year.

I'm not in love with Ozuna, and I love the idea of working DY into a solid fourth/fifth outfielder--but he wasn't exactly hitting the snot out of the ball as a pinch hitter either, nor should he expect to with the little love he got. If DY got the work in he probably should have over one Mark Sweeney, I could see the case, but as it is, DY is a defensively pigeon holed player without a lot of speed who has seven points of OPS+ over Ozuna.

It's not a lovely situation, but crying so much foul over the 25th guy doesn't add up.

People need a game to fret over instead of who the 25th man on the roster is.

well here we go

Watching the end of this game and it looks like the White Sox may win. But I thought I heard Joe Morgan for a minute, but no---I think it is not. All Right.(though I wouldn't mind the Twins at all.)

187 A-men.

If you remember Ozuna running around the bases on a Kemp double in Arizona you can understand why he's on the roster. He is most likely Kent's legs so no biggie. I'm happy to see Furcal in the lineup and leading off. He's a definite upgrade over Berroa on every level. I'm also very happy to see DeWitt get the start at second base. Derek Lowe should appreciate the defense behind him tomorrow.

Less than 21 hours before Dempster vs. Furcal.

Anyone in the Bay Area going to Oktoberfest?

no nyc viewing party? (sniffle)

I really hope TBS wont announce the whole staff in the 9th inning of a one run game in the actual playoffs

Heck of a catch to end the game there.

Now go get swept by the Rays!

184 Oh wait. I forgot about DeWitt. Ozuna is even less necessary.

That was pretty exciting. There's only one September 30th!

A windy orgasm.

Odds the World Series will be played entirely in Chicago or Southern California are pretty good now.

Was How I Met Your Mother a new episode last night? My DVR informed me it wasn't recorded because "the episode wasn't available."

Well, we only have offensive replacements for middle infielders but that may be OK.
For SS and 2nd, you could put in Nomar and Kent, but they might hit. I hope you would never put in Berroa or Ozuna. What do you call a replacement who is neither defensive or offensive?

200 I actually watched it for the first time last night, being stuck in a hotel room. It wasn't funny.

202
LOL

Dudes I should be the 25th guy on the roster.

125
While watching the Dodger game, you can record all of season 1 of Breaking Bad. AMC is showing a marathon starting tomorrow at 5pm.

Tim K. says Chadwick is "a very good pitcher."

Micah Hoffpauir...No. Felix Pie...Yes.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/chi-01-cubs-bits-chicagooct01,0,1230559.story

Felix Pie isn't a great defensive player either.

208
Pie is a +7 in 621 career innings in CF, a little less than half a full season.

If he were to keep that up over a full season, he'd rate in the middle of the top 10 in MLB defensively.

wow, just caught part of Al Davis' press conference on Sportscenter.

All I can say is: wow. I mean: wow.

210
That didn't even show the half of it.

It was crazy.

202

I thought it was funny... although not as funny as Big Bang Theory which preceded it.

you know, if it wasn't the Raiders, I'd feel kind of sorry for them. But it's the Raiders and I still hold a grudge for them leaving. Even if they went back to where they came from.

I love "Wait, Wait..." I download the podcast for each weekend's show. I particularly love it when Paula Poundstone or Paul Provenza are on. I assume the TV show is just a televised version of the same?

Oh, and, sorry Twins!

Darn, I wanted to see Al's press conference, too, but my g/f's got TV ownership tonight.

166
I just saw the A.J. Pierzynski play at the plate. Man, I don't like that guy. I'm not sure of the full lineup on my all hated team, but I know A.J. is the catcher, and Eric Byrnes is in LF.

216 - part of it is on espn.com, on the sportscenter right now videos on the right.

Earlier today I heard Tim Kurdjian say that the Red Sox secret last year was being able to throw Beckett for games 1 and 4 and just count on those two games being victories. (As you might imagine) I hearkened back to '88 and Orel and how every game he pitched we could just chalk up in advance. So who's our Herch/Beckett whose dynamic presence lends our Bums the collective insouciance to swagger all over Wrigley? Our very own Derrick Lowe! (Forgive me spelling, please.) Lights out Lowe! Let's go Dodgers!

Confirmation that Vinny will call innings 1-3 and 7-9 of all playoff games:

http://tinyurl.com/4n2nu7

I am going to the Phillies/Brewers game tomorrow in Philly. As I am going with my best friend, a diehard Brewer fan, I have volunteered to wear a Brewers shirt. I will undoubtedly be pelted with things. If I never appear on this board again, you all know what happened.

Ryan Howard's counting stats really jump out at you. He has 431 RBI over the last 3 years! Great googly moogly.

220 - That's outstanding news for me on Thursday, since I won't have access to a TV.

221
Molly, is it at least a shirt with the cool "mb" glove Brewer logo? I predict less peltings with that shirt.

221 Take photos! You could even do a self absorbed column at the game like T.J. Simers always does!

who was calling tonight's game alongside harold?

226
Ron Darling and the corpse of Dick Stockton.

225 If we recover the camera we could at least use it to identify your assailants.

221 Then you'll have a good excuse to leave early so you can sneak out to watch the day's "real" game.

218 Ah thanks! I shall watch that right now, and chuckle quietly to myself.

221 Good luck, Molly. I wore a Martin shirt and Jackie Robinson cap to the Dodger-Phillies game that the Phillies won in extras, and their fans were letting me have it from the 8th inning all the way to the walk to the parking lot. We were going to leave after that inning no matter the outcome, and I was praying that it would still be tied when I left. Oh well, I'm still alive. I have game 2 tickets for the NLCS if the Dodgers make it that far, and I think I'd go in stealth fan mode for that one.

226 ah thanks, my friend for some reason (a new york sports guy) thought for some reason it sounded like ram rosen, voice of the rangers lol..

So this new TNT series "Raising the Bar" has Jane Kaczmarek playing an ornery judge, which seems like a live-action version of her Simpsons judge Constance Harm. Ooh-kay.

232 She's also a horny judge who sleeps with her male interns.

Thanks to a Russell Martin double, I predict tomorrow night will be a Lowe scoring affair.

I didn't realize that A.J. Pierzynski bats second. That's idiotic!

Ashley (L.A.): Jonah, Is Joe Maurer better than Russell Martin?

SportsNation Jonah Keri: (9:14 PM ET ) Yes he is.

Er, wow. I love Martin, but Mauer is light years ahead of Martin as a player.

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=22754

216
http://www.techbanyan.com/1904/al-davis-press-conference/

Ethan (Los Angeles): Are Mauer/Morneau the best back-to-back hitters in baseball?

SportsNation Jonah Keri: (9:19 PM ET ) Manny-Ethier?

91 - Actually, Bob Costas might be the shortest 'analyst' in NLDS history. No offense to the vertically challenged -- just to the cherrypicking superificial 'expertise' of a guy scanning the season ending stats and making vapid pronouncements.

239
For this season got to go with Pujols/Ludwick.

238
Nevermind, that is not the whole thing. Having trouble finding that.

216
Here you go:

May not be all of it, but it is a good amount.

http://www.nfl.com/videos?videoId=09000d5d80b43076

242 No worries, thanks, I got enough of it on ESPN. All I needed to see. ;-)

--

Cubs fans on BleedCubbieBlue:

>>Am I biased or does anyone... have problems taking the numbers of the Dodgers really seriously?

Of course they have good ERA's, they play in the NL West where everyone is kinda stinky.

Not that I'm taking them lightly, but the numbers seem misleading to me.>They are... Oh yeah...and look at who they actally played the last month.<<

Fine. Whatever.

244
lol do you just go to that website to get irritated?

245 I do! Hah.

Actually, many of the people there are cool enough, just like any sports blog. There's one Dodger fan who posts there, too. I just use the irritating stuff as more motivation. Er, not that I'm playing in the series and that matters all that much...

I know all about Philly fans. I spent a good deal of time in that city a year ago while writing a feature about Andre Iguodala, and I've never been as scared at a sporting event as I was at the Eagles Cowboys game. And I was simply there as a neutral member of the press.

I saw dozens of people wearing "Tony Homo" shirts and yelling horrible, vulgar things. Even for someone who has been to a half-dozen Cal/Stanford and USC/UCLA football games, it was really a low.

Yeah, Cal/Stanford and USC/UCLA is not even as crazy as the Eagles vs any team in the NFL.

I was in Philly for one of the games against the Dodgers at the end of August. I was only wearing a Dodger cap, but I survived the experience unscathed.

The pummeling the home team was dishing out is probably what kept the locals from releasing any aggression my way.

249 Uh, just to be clear: I was wearing other clothing besides a Dodger cap.

That was the only Dodger-related gear I was wearing. Right.

this is quite off topic but i feel like someone here might have a good answer...but can you have a sinus infection on one side of the face or "one sinus"?

I just kinda got over a cold and now i have a bit of pain and pressure in my cheek eye tooth and head area on the right side of my face.

web md seemed to think i might have lime disease lol..but i'd like to think its not that

I'm betting on a sinus problem.

A lot.

252 haha reassuring, I'm a little hypochondriacal, and the anxiety is building for tomorrows game..I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight lol

New post up top!

Al Davis would make a perfect 'third' on the Republican ticket.

Did you see the Dodger NLDS Roster?
Ozuna over Young?
Tonsco over Proctor?
Can someone help explain it to me?
Thanks!