Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Jon's other site:
Screen Jam
TV and more ...
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
I'm delving into the Hugh Laurie-Stephen Fry combo for work reasons. Not an unpleasant task, as some of you might know.
This clip from A Bit of Fry and Laurie has the kind of intellectual heft I've always aspired to on Dodger Thoughts ...
* * *
Take a tour of ESPN.com's Proposed Manny Ramirez Little League Park.
Travis Chick
http://dodgers.scout.com/2/817939.html
I like it. He's worth a shot.
Rob Neyer is talking how defensive metrics are forcing teams to bid lower and more prudent than they have in the past for defensively challenged players.
Our big free agent signing.
I got 37.
You thought the American economy went into recession over a credit crisis? Wrong? It was a sharp decline in worker output because of Sporcle.
Paul Volcker told me so.
I wonder if there's a quiz where I can name all the Fed chiefs?
I opened that one and closed it immediately.
You should not have asked, many a DT poster has never come back.
The record is about to be broken, gentlemen.
Sporcle proved me wrong
I think Steve left way back when to start Sporcle.
"We did not start it!"
"Yes, you did, you invaded Poland!"
Juno and the Paycock I remembered but not Blackmail, go figure.
The European countries one was a fun challenge but I had spelling difficulties on that one.
Meanwhile, back to work. No, seriously. Really.
Haha, I wrote a paper on Blackmail. That would be one of the few I can remember.
http://www.stephenfry.com/blog/?p=64
I sang that song in front of my 7th grade English class, yet it has completely left my head.
Years the SF Giants won a championship.
I tried typing in years, but none of them were working. :)
Beck also notes that the Reds "supposedly had not engaged in talks as of Wednesday" for Beimel despite the team's reported interest. The Rockies may be in the mix though.
Bleh.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
pics.bbzzdd.com/users/fanerman91/giants.jpg
Clicking on the link won't work. You'll have to copy/paste it into the URL thing on your browser.
Actually losing Joe Beimel causes me no heartache.
I was as angry as anyone about Beimel not being offered arbitration, but there's no denying the fact that his lack of a giant "A" on his chest makes him a more attractive free agent to other teams.
One of the world's best MMA fighters Miguel Torres defends his WEC bantamweight title against Manny Tapia. Torres is the kind of fighter that can turn a person into a MMA fan.
His lack or branding of a scarlet B on his manly chest would make him no more attractive otherwise to other teams.
Damn! I tend not to let facts in my way when referring to literature I didn't want to read growing up. :)
Washington State's football team is ranked last in the Pac-10 in scoring defense, giving up... 43.8 points per game.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/pac10/0-5-21/Fun-factoid-of-the-day-.html
If the Dodgers try to top that (especially in length) I'll be mad. If they get him for no more than that I'm okay with it.
Now I'm getting quite curious to see what Rafy's numbers really are because if he is reasonable he should be our starting SS so we stop all this Hu nonsense.
Should we? or just let him decide between the two of us. I didn't think the Twins would be paying the numbers I'd heard bandied about.
2 years at 13 million with a 7 million option with a 1 million would get it done.
Isn't his huge thighs and butt the question not his height? Hopefully Matt Kemp doesn't turn into Shawn Kemp.
Gotta keep him away from the nose candy.
Before you know it we will have our almost championship team put back together minus Lowe.
How many children has Bison fathered so far?
They're called calves.
Thought so, but I wasn't sure. Guess you would've corrected me either way, and you did.
I checked Grzimek's to be sure.
Clippers should stay away from bringing home town boys in to become their point guards. The Baron has single handily cost them several fourth quarter games with his inept play at crunch time.
Like every other point guard, Andre Miller is looking great against the Lakers right now.
And he's still losing the game. Do any current teammates have more losses then Miller and Brand combined?
Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy got to be close. Less years in the league, but they were with the Warriors for while.
It does, just like your Adam Dunn Syndrome. Vlad doesn't get enough minutes to be the worst player, and his defense has been underrated this year. He's not the one giving up more penetration on a nightly basis than an actress in Van Nuys.
Very true. A lot of people have already forgotten.
Its great to have a high OBP, but the 2008 D'Backs apprently didn't understand the value of man on base, with Dunn's meager 21 runs with the D'Backs.
with apologies to the Beatles...
Dear Prudence open up his brain
Dear Prudence PVL's refrain
With Ned in charge, there's fear and doubt
His bids go in, the funds blow out
Dear Prudence open up his brain
Do any current teammates have more losses then Miller and Brand combined
I'll give Bill Simmons credit for questioning Philadelphia's logic this offseason. I believe his line was something like "why would Philly want to reunite the two best players on the 55-loss 2003 Clippers team?"
http://www.82games.com/0809/0809LAL.HTM
With Vlad Rad, its supposedly his defense and 3 point shooting, but he takes too many dumb fouls, and he doesn't shoot a high percentage, with a 40.4% this year. His 3 point percentage is considerably higher at 45% this year, but he's a career 38.4% three point shooter.
So yeah, he may not be the 'worst',(Which I guess is Sun Yue this year) but he's certainly overpaid, and Phil Jackson keeps on starting him for some reason that I can't grasp. Unless he stopped that recently.
He starts him, but the guy plays 21 minutes a game. He's basically a rotation player who just happens to fit in best with the personnel that makes up the starting 5.
Also, he is paid similar to other mid-level players. Is Lamar Odom worth the $14 million he's making this year?
Big Dodgers report from Rosenthal.
If I had to guess, I would say Odom probably is not a $14 million per year player, but he's maybe around a $10 million player. A NBA team would rather pay a player 6 million the first year, and then 14 million in his last year to free up more cap space at the end, I guess.
Ever heard of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum?
Where?
Padma: Your objective this week is to cook an entry using tobacco provided by our wonderful friends at Phillis-Morris as your main ingredient.
Top Chef contestant: ...I hate you so much.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2008/dec/03/1s4padres-dodgers-hoffman/?padres
Seems like smoke, but eh. Might be a way to keep Broxton's stats down so the Dodgers wouldn't have to pay as much in arbitration.
The history of chocolate begins with the ancient Aztecs.
[see a hand holding an `Ah Fudge' candy bar]
In those days, instead of being wrapped in a hygienic package,
chocolate was wrapped in a tobacco leaf.
[candy bar changes to a coiled tobacco leaf]
And instead of being pure chocolate, like we have today, it was
mixed with shredded tobacco.
[pull back to see a smiling Aztec fellow holding the cigar-shaped tobacco leaf]
And they didn't eat it, they smoked it!
[Aztec lights it, takes a puff, and smiles broadly]
85-61 Celtics, 3rd Qtr.
Among other comments I could make, what the heck is the pitching coach for?
2006: $3,775,000
2007: $7,000,000
2008: $10,000,000
Not to say Broxton will reach those numbers but saves are a good and fast way to jack up those arbitration numbers. If the Dodgers find a way to limit Broxton's saves count by signing a guy like Hoffman, I could see the logic of such a move, if say, Hoffman signs for under $5 million this year.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3747463
I thought the hall of fame chooses your cap for you?
Saito!
Don't bite, Ned!!!
83 made me almost spit out my juice, btw.
Hey, Icaros, there are women who are totally your type working at my new dentist's office, btw. You'll have to go there for your next cleaning, even if it's just for... oh forget it, I was gonna try to make a lewd metaphor too but I just can't compete with the other one.
I use the power of the tubes.
Like a lot of people said, defense is softening a bit, but its really hard to pick nits with 15-2. Especially with such a long season ahead.
---
I still can't get over how Sabean went after Affeldt AND Howry, along with a push for Edgar Renteria. Then this news about a 3 year deal for Blake and Hoffman. It's as if Ned and Sabes are competing for the "Worst GM of the Year" award.
Even if it was just Padma ogling/product placement mocking.
Actually, Padma ogling/product placement mocking is a fairly potent combination . . .
If the Giants do the Sanchez/Cantu trade than Sabean wins.
What about an improved Dewitt? Granted, I want Dewitt at second, but I would rather have him at third than Blake for three years.
--
Nice story on MLB.com on the Dodgers, including young James Mac, helping Santa with local schoolkids.
http://tinyurl.com/6fxfmt
I meant that Sabean would win worst GM trophy.
If there were any other options this wouldn't work but there's really nothing out there. Hell, there's no guarantee DeWitt will be great next year.
--
Andy Lambo, phone call for you -- DeJon wants to know if you can play third. And soon.
Not after seeing how many points Kevin Craft gave ASU last week.
A:John Manuel: I tried asking about more Japanese players but time constraints limited those interviews. Nagai is one guy who stood out to the point that he came up, with one manager calling him the league's best pitcher. He has Japan League experience and touched 94 mph with his fastball with life. He also throws a pair of breaking balls and a splitter. I think the most impressive thing for Nagai is he faced Waikiki five times (Alonso, Posey, Kieschnick, Frazier all on that team), and in his last start he struck out 11 and allowed only one hit, one HR to Kieschnick.
Didn't realize that Japanese clubs sends their own prospects to the HWL.
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/winter-baseball/hawaii-winter-baseball/2008/267269.html
http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=1811
http://hotstove.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/12/braves_close_to_signing_dave_r.html
Huh. A good deal for David Ross. I'm glad he got this deal, although its kinda funny that Paul LoDuca wishes he could find a deal like this.
And that was quite a somebody doing the spittin . . .
Ross certainly could have gotten more playing time elsewhere, but perhaps not a multiyear deal. He's a better player than probably a half-dozen of the players who will enter 2009 as starting catchers.
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/images/2008/12/01/amqE4ATJ.jpg
Is regfairfield in charge of coloring Ned's toupee? I'd swear that's "caramel kiss".
He is becoming more and more like a wombat every day.
http://tinyurl.com/6hp8he
And the new Seattle GM still says things like "he can hit them a country mile". I like phases like "a country mile", though I fail to understand how it's any more impressive than a city mile.
On daring days I refer to my wife's gray hairs as her ash-blonde highlights.
"The big thing with [player X] is been there and done it," [the GM] said. "You can't walk away from the experience. You can't walk away from the fact that he's done it. … No question he's going to return to form and be a valuable cog."
http://tinyurl.com/5nqspg
Yes, I have heard of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, but haven't really heard them. I actually don't listen to much new stuff of that genre anymore.
Ulver started as folk-inspired black metal and slowly evolved into an avant-garde techno/rock/soundtrack/noise/a little bit of everything outfit.
Underdog, will they line-up the hygienists when I walk in the door and let me choose my favorite one (or two)?
Albert Pujols must be scratching his head at Greene.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
...although I did name the 50 states in 2:47
Country Mile / New York Minute = Suburban Speed Limit?
161 Yes, my friend, pretty much. Then one of them will floss you.
Country folk have a lot more open space and tend to underestimate how far apart everything is.
And if they were like my dad they would use non euphemistic words for excrement a lot.
I'd like Jon to use that line in his next forward. Fanerman has had the limelight to long.
If the Giants sign CC it would one of the great ballsy moves in baseball. Forget the offense just build the best damn pitching staff you can. As a fan of CC's, I'd rather have him in a Giant uniform then a Yankee uniform.
They have such a boatload of young pitching with a few smart moves they could bring in enough offense to take the division without touching the rotation. Good thing they have the Zito anchor keeping them grounded from buying offense.
A Manny/CC coup for the Giants would just be so awesome I wouldn't be able to stop laughing until they pounded us.
While I agree I wouldn't go 3 years for Blake, I'm not sure I see the correlation here. I mean, if Manny would take $6 million a year, I'm pretty sure the Dodgers would cave, say, all the way to 7-10 years.
It's the $15 million a year, not the extra year itself that gets in the way.
Though I would think a Renteria signing on top of the other moves would make the Giants look foolish, too, ultimately.
But talk about a splash hit...
>>The Pirates are focused on Los Angeles in their trade talks involving shortstop Jack Wilson, with Dodgers shortstop prospect Chin-Lung Hu and outfielder Delwyn Young still at the forefront of the possible return. ...<<
(Keeping in mind this is another one of those rumors from the Pirates perspective and from their beat reporter, they focusing on the Dodgers doesn't mean the Dodgers are any more interested than they were.)
Ned and Frank are in trouble if they simply miss on both those guys, whether passing on them is right or wrong. You can make a reasonable argument that we are each guy's #1 choice. If we miss on both, and they land one, fans will be really steamed. If they landed both, duck.
If TradeSports hadn't gone under. And I had ever bet money over the internet in violation of the SAFE Port Act. Hypothetically.
A lot of their talent is young, but they got a lot of pitching in the minors that is valuable.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Judge-bars-MGA-from-making-apf-13741280.html
Yup, they could keep CC, Cain, Lincecum, Sanchez, and Zito. Trade Tim Alderson who should bring in a bundle or trade Sanchez and let Lowry / Correia take their lumps.
The outfield of Winn / Rowand / Lewis is not bad, it is the infield that needs help but who are we to make fun of their infield when ours right now looks like Loney / ? / Hu / DeWitt? If Sandoval is indeed their 1st baseman and is not a fluke then they just need to worry about 2nd/3rd if they sign Renteria.
You wouldn't need to be that good with those 3 pitching 3 out of 5 games to make the West interesting.
Can Lewis play CF? Then again, he made some eye catching errors in left field too.
That was something far different from what I was expecting.
Curious and curiouser. So far the Giants has spent $15.275 million on free agents this year. In Affdelt, Howry, and Renteria, and seemly $28.75 million overall.
Think the Giants would be willing to spend another 20 million or so in 2009 to net Manny or C.C.?
I figured your daughter only had Shawn Green dolls anyways.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/
Whats kinda interesting to this board was that Chris Gwynn was a prospective juror on the case but he was excused because he had spring training obligations for the Padres coming up.
I remember liking Blackadder II and Goes Forth the most, but I really need to watch them again since I saw that show when I was very young and did not get tons of jokes.
The Cardinals are on the verge of acquiring Khalil Greene from the Padres for two relief prospects, according to the New York Post. We'll assume that neither Chris Perez nor Jason Motte is in the deal. If that's the case, it will probably be a pretty good one for St. Louis. Greene should prove to be at least a league-average shortstop away from Petco. He'll certainly be plenty motivated in what will be his walk year.
I did, however, get a perfect score on the major NCAA conferences quiz.
He drives his old British taxicab across America, determined to visit every state, and fun and hijinx ensue . . .
It just finished airing on the BBC a month or so ago. It doesn't have the "A co-production of the BBC/WGBH Boston" tagline in the end credits that usually tip you off that it's going to turn up on PBS eventually.
For some reason, we don't get most of his more recent works--and especially his more serious works--over here. Too bad.
http://www.qi.com/tv/
Its a huge hit over there .... sadly, BBC America doesn't show it, and the DVDs aren't coded for American machines.
So, I've been left to forage for clips on YouTube. But its definitely worth your time.
That made up my mind whether to read it or not.
Better yet, just ask the McCourts, who, according to reports, recently purchased side-by-side estates on the Malibu beachfront for just over $50 million.
The McCourts would have us believe that money spent on Manny is money not spent on many. But what money spent on mansions...?
Of course, I had to read it after that. I award Mr. Streeter no points, and may God have mercy on his soul.
Nice word play in a post about language. Well played, sir.
Now that you mansion it ...
Low budget teams in Florida (is not elsewhere) have managed to be very competitive in the World Series over the past decade, so it's not as if paying huge salaries is a necessary condition for success.
It's much more important to spend wisely than to spend widely.
Excuse me while I go hurl.
More could have been given back to that one fan in the parking lot mad at Kershaw.
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=olney_buster&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fname%3dolney_buster
Some friends of Ramirez do not believe that he will allow Boras to take arbitration, as tempting as it may be. "This is not going to be an easy time for Scott," a friend of Ramirez said.
Waah.
And, again, for Bob:
while none of the Dodgers staffers would ever say it out loud, keeping Ramirez on a one-year deal, with the carrot of free agency in front of him, might be the best way to keep him running hard.
We don't get each other anything but I'm sure that is not the advice you are looking for.
As for the missus, definitely steer clear of appliances, electronics, and gift certificates. From my experience, jewelry is the best and safest bet. Tiffany's has some nice pieces with a wide range of prices. I like their recent Frank Gehry collection of necklaces.
Now when is that Juan Castro signing going to be announced?!?
One can never go wrong with a gift that contains diamonds...Diamonds embedded in Godiva Chocolate seems to be my wife's idea of creativity.
To which I replied that a Playstation 3 in the back of my new Jeep Wrangler would be nice too...
She's your SO, you know what she likes better than we do.
You can get some Elsa Peretti designed silver at Tiffanys for between $300-$1000. My wife collects it...
BlueNile.com also has nice quality stuff ...
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.