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SI.com
NL West Preview
Evaluating Defense
Colletti and Depo
World Baseball Classic
Minor League Broadcasters
Slow Starts
Eric Gagne
Groundball Pitchers
Dodger Prospects
Albert Pujols
Humbled Angels
You Be the Manager
Eric Gagne II
Unreliable Relievers
Revived Angels
It's Okay To Sell
Dodger Turnaround
Andre Ethier
Padres-Dodgers Showdown
NL Final Weekend
Mets-Dodgers NLDS
Postseason ratings
NL Wish Lists
Manny vs. J.D.
McGwire Controversy
Dodger Offense
Trainers Matter
Variety
Will Arnett
John C. McGinley
Laura Dern
Imelda Staunton
SAG Awards
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Grey's Anatomy
2004-05 Rookie Dramas
Anthony Hopkins
NATPE
Scrubs
Award Shows
Topher Grace
Ashton Kutcher
Writing on Improv Shows
Rainn Wilson
T.R. Knight
Guest Actors
Animation Guests
Joey Carson and Tennis
Donald Trump and Golf
2006 Emmys Nominees*
*Comedy Series
*Comedy Director
*Comedy Writer
*Comedy Actor
*Comedy Supporting Actor
Blue's Clues
Lizzy Caplan
Ann Donahue
CMT: Giants
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Little Miss Sunshine
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Freshman Series
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Showrunners vs. Censors
Little Children
Breaking and Entering
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Knights of Prosperity
Office Online
2007 Screenplay Noms
Friday Night Lights
Robert Benton
ABC Fridays
Rookie Actors
Global Casting
2007 Pilot Casting
Sublime Slime
Also ...
A Season in Savannah (Stanford Magazine)
Five Questions: Los Angeles Dodgers (2005) (Hardball Times)
Rick Monday (Baseball Analysts)
Baseball's Odd Couple (Baseball Prospectus)
Five Questions: Los Angeles Dodgers (2006) (Hardball Times)
Five Questions: Los Angeles Dodgers (2007) (Hardball Times)
Dodger home record: 50-35 (.588)
When Jon attended: 9-5 (.643)
When Jon didn't: 41-30 (.577)
Dodgers at home: 795-635 (.556)
Jon attended: 302-238 (.559)*
Jon didn't: 498-404 (.552)
* includes road games attended
Current Roster with Estimated 2009 Salaries
(updated November 14)
Most figures are estimates (some are wild estimates) but will be updated as information comes in. Corrections welcome.
More contract details here.
Starting Pitchers (5)
$10,000,000 Hiroki Kuroda
*$475,000 Chad Billingsley
*$415,000 Clayton Kershaw
*$405,000 Eric Stults
*$400,000 James McDonald
*Total: $11,695,000
Bullpen (7)
*$2,500,000 Takashi Saito
*$1,300,000 Scott Proctor
*$1,500,000 Jonathan Broxton
*$425,000 Hong-Chih Kuo
*$420,000 Cory Wade
*$410,000 Ramon Troncoso
*$400,000 Scott Elbert
Total: $6,955,000
Also on 40-man roster
Mario Alvarez
Yhency Brazoban
Greg Miller
Justin Orenduff
Starting Lineup (8)
$17,100,000 Andruw Jones
*$3,000,000 Russell Martin
*$2,500,000 Andre Ethier
*$600,000 Matt Kemp
*$600,000 James Loney
*$500,000 Angel Berroa
*$410,000 Blake DeWitt
*$400,000 Tony Abreu
Total: $25,110,000
Bench (5)
$10,000,000 Juan Pierre
*$600,000 Jason Repko
*$410,000 Delwyn Young
*$400,000 Danny Ardoin
*$400,000 Chin-Lung Hu
Total: $11,810,000
Note: Team can buy out Ozuna's 2009 option for $200,000
Also on 40-man roster
A.J. Ellis
Lucas May
Xavier Paul
Disabled List
$12,000,000 Jason Schmidt
Also Paying ...
$2,000,000 Brad Penny (buyout of $9,000,000 option)
$50,000 Gary Bennett (buyout of $900,000 option)
Note: Kansas City is responsible for $500,000 buyout of Angel Berroa's $5,500,000 option for 2009.
Working total: *$68,020,000
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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
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In the 2008 National League Championship Series, Rafael Furcal has as many hits as game-changing errors. Casey Blake has one walk, one single and one giant Almost.
But the guy I want to preach patience for most of all today is Matt Kemp.
A lot of folks have grown frustrated with Kemp, such as the estimable ToyCannon at True Blue L.A.. Kemp is 1 for 7 in the NLCS and 3 for 20 in the postseason. All three of Kemp's hits have been doubles, and he also has two walks, but I understand that a .527 OPS is not enough to make people feel better. It hasn't been a great October.
However, I guess what I don't want is for the heightened intensity of the playoffs to cause people to lose faith in Kemp. Kemp is a streak hitter. He's looked bad countless times for the Dodgers - he did set the team single-season strikeout record, after all - and then come back to post remarkable games.
Some of Kemp's failings are more inexplicable than others. Sometimes he gets himself out, but other times, you have to tip your hat to the pitcher. It's not as if Kemp is alone in tipping his hat to Cole Hamels or Brad Lidge or any of the Cub pitchers who came into October with sterling seasons. Kemp has struck out seven times in the playoffs, but that's the same as Russell Martin and one fewer than Andre Ethier. As a team, the Dodgers have struck out 22 times in their past two games.
In any case, I truly dispute the notion that he's been hopeless at the plate.
Again, it has been anything but a successful series for Kemp, but he's not lost. He has taken some bad swings, but he has also put the bat on the ball with runners on base and been drawing the occasional walks. In short, he's been Kemp. He's not Willie Mays, but don't let the times he looks awful lead you to believe that he can't look good.
Kemp is a metaphor for the Dodgers in the NLCS. The bad has outweighed the good, but the good is still there, ready to be tapped.
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With the exception of James McDonald, the Dodgers should have a full bullpen to back Hiroki Kuroda today. Hong-Chih Kuo has had two days off, as have Jonathan Broxton and Greg Maddux. Cory Wade threw only three pitches Friday and Joe Beimel 12.
Kuroda himself hasn't pitched in exactly a week. The Dodgers will of course be hoping that he can pitch more shutout ball, but if the Phillies cash in opportunities the way that Chicago couldn't, Joe Torre can't hesitate to go to the relievers, even though Derek Lowe will be pitching on three days' rest Monday. The Dodgers need to get this victory today before they can worry about problems they might or might not have tomorrow.
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Other tidbits:
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There should be a beautiful sunset tonight. When the game starts, the scoreboard will say 0-0. Let's have some fun.
Tidbit One! Brought to you by the makers of Life's Not Fair!
I think this pretty much sums up the whole notion of flukes being the biggest factor. If those three close their eyes, swing and happen to hit like Babe Ruth for two days, you lose. Not a lot more analysis of what you did wrong needed. As for Kemp, he will be starting until these playoffs end and he will be starting opening day next year. He's got the skills. But approach is a real thing and he lacks skills in that dept. With the skills he does have, he can win a game any time. Hopefully we'll see more of that this week than his flaws. Maybe next year he'll close that gap and be unstoppable.
Either way, I think it bodes well for the Dodgers over the next few years, as I don't think that any of the core players have reached their peaks. But, let's also keep in mind that this is a team with 2 All Stars (Martin and Saito (did he make it this year); 3 if you count Manny). Manny and an aged/ineffective Kent are the only potential Hall of Famers (at this time).
When it comes to Kemp, let's not turn into Yankee fans, complaining about A-Rod because he only hits .275 in the playoffs with solo home runs. Bison is going to come around, hopefully tonight, and if not in this series, then next year and the year after that and the year after that. Same with Loney, Martin, Ethier, and DeWitt.
Besides, all the Dodgers have to do over the next couple of days is what they did in the regular season, beat the Phillies three times at Dodger Stadium.
.370/.404/.519/.923
20 for 54 2 HR's 7 RBI's 3 walks
He's just in a funk right now.
1. wonder why kemp is not playing
2. bash torre for not playing kemp
3. bash Pierre
4. bash Ned for having Pierre there
http://tinyurl.com/bison2008
I see substantial improvement in the last 65 games (or so) of the season. Only 7 games with multiple strikeouts, his batting average very consistently in the .290s and a ton of multi-hit games. Also, let's not forget, he just turned 23
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2008/10/scott-proctor-t.html
Do you ever assign him multiple errors on one call...?
http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2008/10/12/tale-o-tape-nlcs-game-3-pitching-moyer-should-fear-manny/
Thing is: I've never heard a stadium quieter than Citizen's Bank Park during Game 1 when the Dodgers had the lead. I mean, it was SILENT. Those people are notoriously paranoid, so if we could somehow push this series back to Philly and take the lead in game 6, I really like our odds.
(Repeat every few scenes, er, innings or so.)
For the first time in my life, I'm grateful to the NFL.
http://www.ratbehavior.org/QuizRatOrMouse.htm
10 out of 12
So it was a rat that I saw!
Related: EW.
For the next 4-5 months, we set up a mousetrap every night, with cheese or peanut butter or some such thing, only to awake to find the trap sprung and the food gone. We finally bought a large squirrel trap (that didn't harm the animal, but just caged them in) and eventually found out that the mouse had actually been a baby rat. The thing was humongous.
I hate the whole city of Philadelphia after that.
I hate the whole city of Philadelphia after that.
unrelated: hey, two up, two down. nice.
also unrelated: i ordered an iphone today. went to the apple store, only to learn that the network with at&t was down and they couldn't complete the purchase. so i have to go back tomorrow. but i did get Civilization IV, so there is a good chance that this is the last you hear from me until Spring Training.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattus_rattus
See that "tending even to flee upwards" there in the 2nd paragraph? Rattus rattus is very good at climbing the curtains. Helps to have your Easton Assassin handy. So too your Titan TPM 2020. The screaching following contact isn't pretty, but this is war.
What with rabbits as pets, well, Rattus rattus can smell the waste and food, even with regular daily cleaning, and the critters have been known to chew through the bottom of wooden doors to create entry space. Two paid dearly for that error and I was so incensed that they were even buried without customary and traditional honors. Presumably, lucky for me that Rattus rattus is not protected by any Geneva convention concerning the treatment of enemy combatants during time of war.
I thought Beimel did a phenomenal job yesterday.
Ma-Knee!
71. LoL!
But this -- http://tinyurl.com/3mltvr -- is grossly, overly hot.
Which I kind of like.
Strike 3 was a heckuva pitch . . .
Not one word by Buck, McCarver or Rosenthal about sportsmanship, rising-above, or maturity on the part of Billingsly.
Moral of story: nominally civilized sportscasters will condemn athletes for violence...yet condemn them for non-violence. Criticize bean balls...condone bean balls. You can't win.
DeWitt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
woooiiiiiiiiiiihoooooooo!!!
YES!
I almost said something critical about DeWitt being up(which implies Loney is not starting) but never mind.
Great freakin inning though, I yelled out "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE!" when that ball landed.