Can Jason Repko play first base? Could Werth? The idea of Choi going to Las Vegas seems like the appropriate way to fix whatever's gone wrong with him.

reposted from the thread below (and expanded) because, you know, you wouldn't want to miss stuff this interesting:

mlb.com reports that Elmer Dessens has 8 lifetime wins against the Brewers, but no more than four against any other team. They call him "Brewer killer Dessens."

In Clash of the Titans news, tonight Randy Johnson goes for the Yankees against Hideo Nomo pitching on 3 days rest.

Roster cut decisions do look pretty durn difficult. If Wunsch goes, we lose the Wunschbucket jokes. If Schmoll goes, we lose It's a Schmool World. If Choi goes, I think the earth's rotation might grind to a halt. I don't see a position player going down -- Tracey's having too much fun working the lineups -- so it's got to be Buddy Carlyle. Poor Buddy. Someone needs to adopt him quick and even the scales!

I'm not like SB when it comes to supporting Choi, but I am firmly entrenched in his corner.

That said, perhaps an extended Vegas vacation would be a good thing for Choi.

Does Choi actually have any option years left? Those darn things are confusing.

yes, yes, Schmoll World, sorry.

Does anyone know of a website where I could find out how a hot start, like we're currently enjoying, correlates with making the playoffs? I would think that it greatly increases a teams chances.

A question for the DT community (because I know we have all the answers):

Sometimes you hear people discuss a team's offensive production from a particular position, especially if several players platoon at that position. For example, Dodger 1st basemen have hit .300 with 15 HRS and 75 RBIs. Does anyone know where I can find that information?

Thanks in advance.

Go Dodgers!

Note from Lee Sinins' daily e-mail, which you can subscribe to at (http://www.baseball-encyclopedia.com)

"When Derek Lowe and Jeff Weaver pitched shutouts on April 15 and 17, it
was the first time the team had 2 CG shutouts in 3 games since September 1997."

A Dodgers game during Wunschtime on my day off? Life is good. Oh look, there's some Newcastle in my fridge too...

I'd have to guess that Valentin is +10 in the clutch. Though the best Strat-O-Matic lineup would have Choi 8th, and Bako 2nd, methinks.

With the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, I am impressed with this fact:

At one point, the Atlanta Braves had a starting catcher whose surname was Benedict and another catcher whose middle name was Benedict.

Biff Benedict Pocoroban

Ohmigod -- what the hell is Choi swinging at. Tracy is asking himself the same question ...

Yes, Berkeley Doug - ESPN stats have those splits:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/batting?team=lad&season=2005&split=79&seasonType=2&type=reg

IT'S A SCHMOLL WORLD, April 19:

Steve Schmoll is the first man to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers whose surname begins with the letters "Schm." However, four such players performed for the Brooklyn Dodgers. These four – Ray Schmandt, Henry Schmidt, Johnny Schmitz, and Charlie Schmutz – batted a collective .261 for the Dodgers, collecting a total of 313 hits and five home runs in 10 player-seasons. This is rather remarkable considering that three of the four – all except Schmandt – were pitchers. They posted a collective 25-21 record.

oof, not good when "the struggling" becomes a part of your name...

Hmm ... I'm thinking of muting the TV sound and listening to Rick Monday. I'm just going to make up some trivial chatter in my head everytime Steve Lyons speaks.

Jon, if you are jonesing for Strat-O-Matic on your Mac, I would guess a copy of Virtual PC would run the game just fine. $249 might be quite an investment to just run SOM, but hey...

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/virtualpc/virtualpc.aspx?pid=virtualpc

#10 - Is it sad that I learned about a new Pope from a Dodgers blog?

Is it sad that I learned about a new Pope from a Dodgers blog?

First I heard of it too. Not that I care.

That actually is a pretty big investment for me at this point - especially when I shouldn't be spending any time on it to begin with - but thanks for the tip, Mark. Maybe for 2006?

By the way, I'll be happy if we get four good innings today out of Elmer and two from Houlton.

This is the Dodgers' best start since 1981. They've equaled the 1981 team, who went 11-2 and then dropped their next game to fall to 11-3.

They've got a long way to go to match those 55 Dodgers, who started the season 22-2.

"ratzinger" sounds like a character from animal house to me.

The last time a pope was elected, the Dodgers were travelling back from New York to L.A. to play Game 6 of the 1978 World Series .....

When John Paul I was elected (8/26/1978) the Dodgers lost to the Phillies 3-1.

Didn't he play Cliff? Or was that Sufferin' Bruin?

I may preaching to the choir here, but Lyons is driving me nuts. Two phrases I'd like for him to eliminate from his vocabulary are "The bottom line is..." and "He's the type of guy that..." Also, his knock on shoe salesmen was a bit tasteless, though I'm not suggesting he meant anything by it.

Bottom line is, he's the type of guy who needs to talk baseball specifics and lay off the generalizations. Gotta say though, I'm really starting to like Steiner.

Bottom line is, he's the type of guy who needs to talk baseball specifics and lay off the generalizations.

(Love the irony)

You can say this about just about every color commentator.

Thanks Jon.

IMHO, if we send Choi down to the minors that's it for him. For someone who has been on a major leaguer roster for three years, I think it would totally destroy his confidence to go to the minors even if the trip to the minors is intended to restore his confidence. If the Dodgers do find that they have a problem at 1B, I have the following words: "…and playing 1B Todd Helton." Shall I also mention that he has 3 Gold Gloves. If we think it enough, we can make it so.

I had forgotten how bad Steve Lyons is.

There goes your best manager in the game. Milwaukee thanks you for those two free outs.

iirc, isn't lyons the guy who dropped his pants on first base as a player once? always been a clown, as far as i remember.

Seemed like a good percentage play, since Valentin usually puts the ball in play and isn't a threat to strike out.

I hate stolen bases. Why, Jim, why? It's not worth the risk.

Now we'll get Bako and Dessens leading off the next inning.

Even though he K'd, you gotta like the number of pitches Valentin forced Glover to throw (8 or 9, right?). That should pay off later.

Just because it didn't work, doesn't make it a bad play. You have to be able to steal bases.

If we think enough can we make Helton's contract reasonable instead of one of the worst in baseball history?

You have to be able to steal bases.

Why? Says who?

Agreed Icaros. Glover's thrown 35 pitches, and we'll get scoring chances when we decide not to run ourselves out of them.

The Todd Helton fact of the day:

Todd wears number 17 in honor of his favorite player, Mark Grace.

This is an honest question, I'm not being snarky or anything, but how is Helton's contract one of the worst in baseball history? All I know about it is that it's for a really long time -- but it's not like he hasn't produced. Is there something particular about the Rockies, or about his contract that I don't know?

Even if it had worked, that wouldn't make it a good call. Valentin does two things: hits homeruns and strikes out. Neither one of those requires Milton Bradley to get thrown out by fifteen feet on a full count pitch.

Now I can say I have seen Choi outrun someone.

I'd like to see Carlyle/Houlton get some looks at the expense of Carrara.

Buddy/DJ- 9ip, 8k, 1bb, 8h, 2er
Carrara- 4ip, 3k, 3bb, 8h, 3er

I didn't realize Carrara was 37. And I'm still mad at him for this:

B Schneider doubled to right.
B Wilkerson intentionally walked
A Gonzalez struck out swinging
T Batista walked
J Rivera walked

Los Angeles 7, Montreal 8

Valentin has seven singles and 12 non-strikeout outs in 31 at-bats, vs. four extra-base hits and eight strikeouts.

I agree with you, Big. Especially re: Carlyle. Houlton's Rule 5 status makes him a special case.

Helton is still due about $100 million over the next 6 years.

Station to station baseball is not winning baseball. The best teams attack the other team at the plate, in the field and on the bases. Look at the Angels three years ago and the Marlins two years ago. A large part of their success was due to their aggressiveness on the base paths. Bradley got a bad jump and had a worse slide.

Bradley stole 15 bases last year and was caught 11 times. The year before he stole 17 and was caught 7 times. That's not good.

Just because he's fast doesn't mean he can steal. Now our third inning is already over before it started.

Quick game so far.

What was that, like a 5 pitch inning?

I'm not saying you have to steal, by the way. Just saying - just by watching on Gameday, I admit - that that might have been a good spot.

IEC,

The Dodgers GM would completely disagree with your assertion of "winning baseball".

From ESPN:

"The contact means Helton will receive nearly $151.5 million over the next 11 years. His current four-year deal calls for him to make $4.95 million this season and $5 million in 2002…Under terms of the extension, Helton will receive $10.6 million in 2003, $11.6 million in '04, $12.6 million in '05, $16.6 million from '06-'10 and $19.1 in '11. The Rockies have an option pay Helton $23 million in 2012 or execute a $4.6 million buyout."

I have to admit $16.6 million is a lot. Perhaps he will take a pay cut to have a chance to contend.

Everybody all together now:

Small Sample Size!

I think those 30 HRs, 139 Ks, and .290 OBP last year speak for themselves. Jose Valentin is what he is. His slugging makes him more valuable than your run of the mill 290 OBP guy, but that's the point. It's his slugging. Not his ability to make contact. He is not a good hit-and-run candidate. And Milton is obviously bulked up and not a base-stealer. So again I ask, why would that be a good call?

Helton is owed $115 over 7 or $16.4/year. In 2001 he'll be 37 i.e. a $19M Jeff Kent. I don't think it's a bad contract, just bad for the Rockies.

According to the Baltimore Sun the Helton sweepstakes has begun:
http://tinyurl.com/da5co

#39- "Is there something particular about the Rockies, or about his contract that I don't know?"

Take a look at Helton's batting stats when he's away from the thin air. 20% fewer hits, half the home runs, same number of k's. He's good, but certainly not worth $12.6M per year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?statsId=5870&type=batting&year=2004

Helton has an option to get out of the contract in 2007.

re: #19 (yeah, i'm late to this party). $260 is a big bill for a little timekilling fun for jon. but 10 bucks ain't nothing to me. if 25 of the other commenters here feel the same way and throw a little paypal love at our host, maybe we can get him to blog on his strat-o-matism.

that's my hope, anyway. i'ma go do my part now...

46 -- Scott Spiezio would have to disagree that it was the Angels' aggressiveness on the basepaths that won them that series. In any case, the last time I got a whiff of the Angels' aggressiveness, one of the Molina brothers was swinging on 3-0.

Fair warning, Dan, at this point I'd just pocket the cash.

A HR for Hee Sop here. Who is with me???

Two number 5 pitchers going at it and we have a scoreless game through 3. Go figure.

Should I bet the house on Randy against Nomo tonight in Yankee stadium?

Icaros,
I don't think so. I think it was like three years ago and the A's were playing the Twins in game 5 of the Divisional Series. It was tied in the 8th and Ray Durham led off with a walk or something. He could have stolen a base three times but didn't and ended the inning standing on first. I think DePodesta is smart enough to realize the value of a stolen base, especially in the playoffs when runs are scarce. Oh and don't forget Dave Roberts. Joe Morgan may be a jackass but he was right about that. The Red Sox don't win thh series without that bag. I'd like to see the Dodgers run more, especially Izturis.

#61

With Nome you never know. If the splitter is in fine form he could be tough.

Bigger showboat of the 3rd inning:

Out #2, Drew's basket catch in the corner, or Out #3, Izzy's nonchalant backhanded, mid-air throw to 1st (running off the field before Choi had it in his mitt, btw) ?

When there's a 2/3 consensus, I'll let the white smoke go...

I'll take the single.

#61- "Should I bet the house on Randy against Nomo tonight in Yankee stadium?"

What are the odds, something like -750 -5.5?

Steve,
Did I say that won them the series? No. Did I say it helped them get there? Absolutely, and it did. I also heard a stat on an Angels broadcast that said they led the majors last year on going first to third on a single.

I'm not really disagreeing with you all that much, Steve. It's just that you have to be careful about over-generalizing. It's not as if Valentin's only outs are strikeouts. He strikes out less than 25 percent of his at-bats, pretty much over any time period in his 14-year career you want to pick.

Again, I'm not saying it was the right or wrong call.

JD goes yard, right now.

I left out Helton's buyout- so it's $17/yr on his remaining 7 years. If the Rockies pay $5/yr like the AROD trade they'd take $83M off their books and we'd pay him $12.8M/yr over say 6.5 seasons from July i.e. his current year salary.

tomA,
that was an official jinx.

IEC,

If you think that's true, then why would DePodesta put together a team with absolutely 0 players who can steal bases at a high percentage? He doesn't think it's important. Tell Earl Weaver that station-to-station is not winning baseball.

One Dave Roberts play does not speak for every game the Red Sox won last postseason. Aside from that play, they were a station-to-station team if there ever was one.

By the way, Joe Morgan is never not a jackass.

We go first to third on singles all the time. Heck, Jeff Kent just got himself thrown out at home the other day by thirty feet.

I don't like stolen bases because they lead managers to do stupid things like run on full counts with nobody out with hitters who struck out 140 times the year before. That's all. We've stolen some bases this year (Kent has a couple, Repko has one, Valentin I think has a couple), and that's fine. And sometimes it doesn't work, and that's fine too. But that was simply a very, very dumb place to run.

It's obviously not worth arguing about since the original comment was just a quick off-the-cuff, but I wouldn't say Helton's contract is one of the worst ever. It's nowhere near Chan Ho bad.

Sure, 16 million is probably too much, but on the other hand they've gotten good value out of him for the past few years, as he piles up a bunch of win shares.

#71
You're right. My bad...

Tracy is determined to get that play right.

I also heard a stat on an Angels broadcast that said they led the majors last year on going first to third on a single.

IIRC someone at BTF did a study and the amount of times they went 1st to 3rd was only worth ~1 win. Now, in that particular case, the 1 win was huge, but it's not as big as one would think it is.

Put another way, Jose Valentin does two things very well, or above replacement level. Hit home runs, and strike out. I repeat, neither of those things suggest that a hit-and-run is called for in that situation.

Re: #59.

ah, that's fine. maybe you can just blog about old strat-o-matic games.

speaking of which, i'd think it'd be cool to have a fantasy baseball league that allows you to pick players from other seasons. obviously, the results are in, so any rigorous research would win a league. but i think it'd be fun to hold a fantasy draft for, say, 1988, among friends who get that that's not really the point, and then watch the season unfold from that perspective.

i'd love to have orel '88 on a fantasy team...

"Tell Earl Weaver that station-to-station is not winning baseball."

Having one of the best rotations EVER helps a lot.

Never played Strat-o-matic.

Have played a Stratocaster, so I'm not completely without culture.

RE: Stolen bases
If I may reference scripture here for a second, the point of "Moneyball" is that winning can be accomplished a variety of ways. It is dangerous for a GM or manager to say that a team has to steal, or should never steal; sometime's the steal works & sometimes it doesn't, and the only relevant DePo/Dodger fact is that DePo doesn't consider the ability to steal bases worth extra money. So, while Bradley getting thrown out when Valentin strikes out reflects poorly on Tracy, how many people think sending Drew in for a successful steal was a bad idea?

Yount, Molitor, Fingers, Aaron, Sutton. I needed help on that last one.

Dessens gonna get out of this or give up a couple?

"IRC someone at BTF did a study and the amount of times they went 1st to 3rd was only worth ~1 win."

The IRC people need to watch more baseball. Going first to third is a big play.

82 -- right, with the caveat that Bradley being sent at all with Valentin up reflects badly on Tracy, regardless of result. And Drew being thrown out might not necessarily have made it a bad call. Glover was ignoring Drew completely.

Having one of the best rotations EVER helps a lot.

DePo stressed wanting strong starting pitching as his goal all offseason. The A's have had the best starting pitching the past five or six years.

I'm just trying to explain the method here, and for the Dodgers, stolen bases are pretty much a non-factor.

Did MLB.com do away with its "super box score?" That was the box where you would click on, say, Kent at-bats or walks by Lowe, and you'd see the footage of exactly that. I paid for the All Access pass this year, and for that to be missing is disappointing.

Steiner on Bradley: "And you know almost immediately if he's got a bead on it."

Yeah, but he doesn't.

Doug N, I couldn't have said it better.

what's the "on field delay" listed in gamecast?

Gameday is showing "On-field Delay."
Details, anyone?

Way to go Jon, you just had to mention that an injury could solve our roster problem when Penny and Wilson come back.

Tracy bringing the hook must be the delay's cause.

They don't need to watch anything. That's a completely independent statistical analysis. What's the difference in runs scored, aggregated, between runners who take first and third. All you need to know is all of the cases where that happened and get the data. The lessons learned from that data may be different, but the data is the data. Same as the data that says that a 70% stolen base success rate is necessary before it becomes an advantage over a season. That is what it is.

what's the "on field delay" listed in gamecast?

Dessens is hurt, he was taken out of the game. Carlyle is in now.

Ah .. injury to Dessens

"The A's have had the best starting pitching the past five or six years."
What good has that done them? Every time they get in the playoffs, they face good pitchers that don't walk batters and they get beat because thay can't scratch out runs.

Dessens seems to be hurt. Carlyle is coming in.

The IRC people need to watch more baseball. Going first to third is a big play.

Watching too much baseball can lead to problems, ask Billy Beane.

Dessens just left the game with an injury, Buddy is warming up.

Dessens has hurt himself. Carlyle in.

re:#100
Touche.

Eric Gagne threw!

*"The A's have had the best starting pitching the past five or six years."
What good has that done them? Every time they get in the playoffs, they face good pitchers that don't walk batters and they get beat because thay can't scratch out runs.*

Come on they came within one bad play by young Giambi of beating the Yankee's and heading to the WS. That team has lost 2 MVP's in their prime to free agency and they still bring it every year. If anything bad baserunning has been their downfall in the playoffs not because they don't play little ball. A break here or there and that team probably goes to the WS one or 2 times.

What good has that done them? Every time they get in the playoffs, they face good pitchers that don't walk batters and they get beat because thay can't scratch out runs.

Who let Joe Plaschke Olney Reynolds Morgan into the room? :-)

Gagne threw for 8-9 minutes on flat ground today. [reports Steiner]

Well that didn't work out too well.

Icaros, you forgot Phillips. You have to get Phillips in there somewhere.

Jon's guy just bought himself a ticket out of town. Bako was set up inside and Carlyle threw it right at the numbers over the plate.

re #95

I think this gets to the heart of why old school baseball (re: Joe Morgan) thinks sabermetrics and Moneyball is a load of crap. I happen to believe in a lot of the Moneyball tenets like OBP. But I played baseball for 20 years at a fairly high level and you can't tell me that going first to third and stealing bases doesn't help you win. I could care less what "the numbers" say.

Gahhh.

I wonder how accurate the pitch location is for the MLB game cast. It showed Carlyle trying to get Magruder away and down for the first four pitches (two strikes, two balls), and then that last pitch was a little bit up and not away.

This game has turned into an audition for the role of THE 26TH MAN.

"Have played a Stratocaster, so I'm not completely without culture."

[snark]
Ah, but have you played a Rickenbacker? (I have one sitting in a case against the wall, gathering dust).
[/snark]

You might care less what the numbers say, but that's what they say. Can't change them. Can only understand them and react to them.

And now Dessens changes locations ... but they are all outside the strike zone and he walks him.

That's a new location, hit the batter! I've been a supporter of Carlyle, but he's not showing me anything this game.

Dessens must have really changed locations from the locker room.

Daniel, my experience with game cast is that no matter what, the ball put in play is always in the same spot. The ball Magruder hit was basically in that spot anyway. :)

And now Carlyle hits the pitcher trying to bunt. Can't win em all.

IEC, no one is saying that successfully going from first to third or successfully stealing bases doesn't help you win.

The question is, given a finite amount of resources, what do you prioritize?

Moneyball says that you prioritize the skills that help you win that are undervalued on the market. That way you can build the best team with the resources you have.

Basestealing and baserunning ability might be something to prioritize at one time - at another, it might not.

The more money you have, of course, the more you can afford to pay for certain things.

Here is a good article that was published today on the problems with "small ball". The writer is in Pittsburgh so you will have to deal with reading about the Pirates.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05109/490383.stm

Re: #62
If Durham wasn't advancd from 1st to 2nd how do you think he would have gone from 3rd to home? The stolen base is good at getting into scoring position but someone still has to get you home (in almost all cases).

IEC,
Statements like the one you just said is where I start having a problem. People present evidence trying to show why stealing is not a good idea but instead of replying with numbers contradicting them or other evidence it's just, well I don't care what the numbers say because I played baseball and I know how it really is.

"Ah, but have you played a Rickenbacker? (I have one sitting in a case against the wall, gathering dust)."

No, darn it. Never played a Tesco Del Ray, either.

"Ump, did that hit him? I don't think so. Did he try to get out of the way? Absolutely not. Does Carlyle deserve this? Maybe, but who can say?"
"Jim..."
"Are you going to toss me off the field? You wouldn't dare. Is it important for me to stall so that my bullpen can warm up? Obviously."

You're right, Steve, I forgot Steve Phillips. I'm usually always trying to forget him, so it backfired on me in this case.

BTW, I don't think the Dodgers will have too many problems going from first to third. They have a lot of speed in the lineup, for the most part, just not many good base-stealers. Even Choi and Kent aren't terribly slow. Jason Phillips is, but so are a lot of catchers.

"If anything bad baserunning has been their downfall in the playoffs not because they don't play little ball."

Exactly my point. Good Baserunning is part of "little ball" I guarantee you that a good baserunner with the same speed as Jeremy Giambi would have scored on that play.

Yeah - this is the kind of thing that in a tight competition could send a Carlyle to the minors.

I did say I was hoping for four innings from Dessens, not 3 1/3.

How serious does the injury seem?

I guess they're loving this game in Schmoll World.

I think we've found our 51's starter.

This is not continuing the awesomeness of my day.

For those of you not watching on TV, Dessens has "soreness in the back of the R shoulder, listed as day-to-day"

Nice pitch to get the K for out #2. Get out of this situation and unleash that 6.7 R/G and Dr. Love can get back to an awesome day.

re # 122:

Kind of like telling me (if you've never played baseball) "Well I've got these numbers and they tell me you're wrong." I know the math behind the numbers (I was an Economics major) and I agree with a lot of sabermetric points. However, numbers aren't everything. Can numbers quantify the pressure you put on a defense when going first to third? Can numbers quantify how many pitches a pitcher throws right down the middle because he's worried about a runner stealing?

The train just went off the tracks...

Yikes!

why pitch inside w/ that 0-2 count? why? why? why? im going to crawl under the futon.

Remember Jon, he's your Buddy...Carlyle, not mine.

(I love that joke).

I can amuse people with arcane facts about the papacy if you'd like.

"crawl under the futon"??? If this is resting directly on the floor, please don't suffocate yourself. It's just one game.

Isn't this, like, more runs than we've given up in the past week? (Not really, but it seems that way.)

Nice catch, Jose!

Bob -- what, like this is only the second non-Italian pope in the last 450 years?

Bob,
Any sports-related papacy facts?

Last German Pope, Victor II from 1055-1057.

The Dodgers weren't play the day he was elected, but Julio Franco went 3 for 4 that day off of Jesse Orosoco and Jeff Fassero.

At least we now know which pitcher will be sent down.

We still have 5 more innings. Come on 1 run an inning and then a 3 run homer from Choi in the top of the 9th!

To quote from "Tiny House," this is not awesome.

By the 9th, Choi will have been removed for a defensive substitution -- Nakamura in his place. :-)

On the bright side, down 6 runs, we probably won't be wasting any outs trying to steal bases.

Dan Z;
The futon has about 6 inches of clearance. Frankly, it's the only furniture we have (what can I say? I'm an underpaid gov't employee) and it's the only place I can hide.

"making the routine look spectacular" nice line from steiner

And Franco then went off to fight William the Conqueror a few years later, in the first recorded instance of free-agency.

That Stat Geek column in #121 is well written. TBxOBP=RC is still lost on a lot of teams. The day most teams grasp this is the day Little Ball finally becomes undervalued.

The last time a Pope Benedict was elected was on 9/1/1914. The Dodgers were off that day.

The Dodgers had played a doubleheader in Pittsburgh on August 29 and split. They returned home to Brooklyn and played the Giants.

Pitcher Pat Ragan started the nightcap on August 29 and then again on September 2 and 3. That's when men were men.

I just got to watchin the game now, but it seems pretty clear that all the season's games until now were a fluke. I mean, Kent has showed he cant really hit and our starting pitching and bullpen are horrible. I personally think its an illustration of our pitchers lack of confidence in the defense behind them. I would say this game is not over yet considering the fact that there are innings left to be played but considering the lack of heart and soul on the Dodgers team its time to go get that to forgot about the Dodgers and start on that pitcher of Miller Heavy.

Who am I?

Also the current Pope is the first one who has ever been elected. Popes in the time of Victor II were appointed. Usually by the monarch with the biggest army.

Or sometimes via murder.

Wasn't there a Pope Timmermann in there somewhere?

5 more to go...

Comeback starts now.

Does anyone else get the feeling that we're seeing an episode of Survivor, where the loser gets voted down to Las Vegas?

Grabowski just got immunity, I think.

there's the one run for this inning. Still on track for that Choi homer in the ninth ...

Berkeley Doug -- Choi is out and Grabowski is at first.

That Choi homer in the ninth is going to be awfully impressive, when he launches it from the clubhouse...

Are there any gamecasts that tell you how hard Houlton is throwing? FSN2 doesn't have a gun.

Technically, I was eligible to be named Pope being an umarried, baptized Catholic.

And I got up this morning right as they were making the announcement. Thankfully, it wasn't me they chose as I was still in my bathrobe and hadn't shaved yet.

And I needed to go the bathroom too. But I felt that you can't put the DV-R on pause for major historical events.

BTW, they have big Diamondvision like video screens in St. Peter's Square now so everybody could see the new pope better.

They also had a "Bless-o-meter" which would get higher as the crowd cheered.

Houlton or Carlyle or Schmoll? You only have a small sample size from this season to judge them on -- what about past seasons? Any preference?

With Grabby now playing first, why do I get the feeling Tracy still is auditioning candidates there?

Bob, did you see the crowd doing the wave as they waited for the white smoke to announce the new pope?

LOL Bob.

i like schmoll. houlton and carlyle are interchangeable as far as i'm concerened, so i guess that means carlyle goes down because he's got options.

linkmeister: if you're not using your rickenbacker, you wouldn't possibly consider getting rid of it, would you? hehe

sorry, i don't mean to turn dodger thoughts into a bazaar. i probably couldn't afford it anyway.

ps. booo for choi being taken out. they should've taken out bako and let grabby get half a game in at catcher.

woo, double by kent! rally time!

Putting Houlton in for Choi means they don't get to his spot in the lineup for a while. This means that if the Dodgers don't catch up, they can leave him in for the 7th and 8th and not blow out their whole pen.

The comeback begins...

The comeback begins...

Jorge De La Rosa -- 6.35 ERA last year in 22+ innings. 6 innings, no runs this year. He's only 24.

Is this Lefty Valentin or Righty Valentin?

if ledee gets on, we should hit for bako with olmedo

Came over in the Sexson -> Arizona trade

it was righty valentin, i think.

gb to fc valentin.

It was righty Valentin [I love DVR!]

I was just going to say that Phillips would hit for Bako. Blew my chance to look prophetic.

There's the run for this inning.

Valentin advanced from 1st to 3rd, everybody happy?

i was about to complain about using phillips, but i take it back.

Come on Saenz, single in a run.

1 run given up this year (and counting, hopefully)

Called it!

okay gameday shows saenz at 2nd, is that forreal?

Isn't there a rule that if there are two outs you score from first on a double? Guess Phillips isn't that fast.

I love this bench.

Phillips on third, Saenz on second. Double steal! Who's with me?

How about a plain old double?

if izzy gets on... bat weaver for houlton?

Phillips is very (x25) slow.

I believe Phillips is slower than everyone posting at Dodger Thoughts.

Wow this team is nothing short of amazing.

Another extra base taken.

#192 - okay!

oh, i forgot about repko! what a team!!

Hire Jim Tracy!

(Certainly not an absolutely required -- even if recommended -- move to hit for Grabo there after his pinch homer the last time up.)

Choi wouldn't have taken that.

Going off Gameday's pitch chart, that sequence to Repko went: high fastball, high fastball, high fastball, 12-to-6 curve.

Drew, Kent, Milton to start the next inning . . .

How many first baseman can we use in a game? What's the record? Do I hear Nakamura for the 8th and Kent for the 9th? Whoops, no one to play second for Kent.

Schmoll's gameday photo is terrifying.

"if you're not using your rickenbacker, you wouldn't possibly consider getting rid of it, would you?"

Since I paid $200 for it in 1974 and the going price from a Rick collector is $1500-$2000, believe me, I've thought about it. I can't bear the thought, though.

Jon should do an open thread after the ball game so we can all discuss non-baseball issues. ;)

Especially in contrast to the happy photo of Carlyle, FirstMohican.

A cardboard cutout of Alex Cora can play 2B in the ninth, no?

Phillips gave him a Schmall target and he nailed it.

Okay so the multiple run inning came in the 7th not the 9th. Still on track for two one run innings and a 7-6 win with Nakamura with the 9th inning HR.

Steiner is stealing Eric Enders' thunder.

Ahem. I am shaking off the dust bunnies and emerging from beneath the fouton.

Also, Jon, DT is getting hundreds & hundreds of comments with each post (like you hadn't noticed). Might a new format of posting serve the discussion better?

This just in...

A Martinez won the sausage race today. Nomo fared ok as the bratwurst as I recall.

Coming next to MLB Gameday -- player photos that change with the situation. For pitchers -- a happy photo for a strike, a sad photo for a ball, a fist-pump for a strikeout, and a "what-are-you-kidding-me?" for a bad call.

I call dibs on the patent.

Enemy-at what post# did anyone say not taking an extra base is not a good thing? Icaros said MB should not have been stealing. His SB% is terrible, and anything below 75% is considered a bad bet and he's below 50%. Going from 1st to 3rd or 2nd to home are different animals and for someone who played baseball at "high level" you should know that.

This team might have the best bench in baseball.

#214, actually I was hoping for a Playstation-esque rendering of the guy currently at bat, current catcher, ump, etc, rather than this black and white stick figure action they currently have.

I love this feeling. The Dodgers are down by a run with only two innings left, and I feel like they've already won the game.

It reminds me of when I'd watch the Lakers a few years ago.

What's the Dodgers' record when the number of posts exceed 200?

i have to say i like how jim tracy has been doing his substitutions the past couple of innings...

oops. exceeds.

Tracy doesn't have to think much the rest of the way though. He just saves Nakamura for the next time the pitcher's spot comes up.

And hopes that there aren't extra innings.

#212 - It's on the Fairpole to do list.

re # 215
Are they? My whole point was that aggressive baserunning is winning baseball. Stealing and taking extra bases are both aggressive.

Anyone else surprised De La Rosa is still in?

Weaver'll be grabbing a bat if this goes extra.

JD has worked some deep counts...

Another ex-Angel, Derrick Turnbow. Has scuffled along in his career, got hurt, doing OK so far this year but ... I smell a home run.

Drew walks, here comes Kent ripping off that suit and revealing the big L.A. on his chest.

Managerial decisions seem a little bizarre. Why leave de la Rosa in to face Drew (thus presumably playing the lefty-righty thing) when you've already left him in to face three consecutive righties (thus not playing the lefty-righty averages), especially when he doesn't seem to have much going? Not that I'm complaining, of course. (Except for the fact that I've got Jorge sitting on my fantasy team roster)

yeeeeah, leadoff walk.

quickly small ballers, bunt Drew over to second, make a productive out with a groundball to the right side, and then squeeze him home with 2 outs.

Drats I jinxed it. I'll go hide now.

Wow. What a sudden and disheartening change of mo'.

in enemy country:

i don't think anyone is arguing that successfully stealing bases and taking extra ones is a bad thing. however, if you're blindly aggressive, that's not very helpful in the long run. you can run yourself out of innings by giving up too many outs on the basepaths. you have to look at the risk/reward ratio when determining your approach. in fact, if i understand correctly the sabermetric crowd thinks stealing DOES help increase your chances of scoring and winning. if you have a high enough success rate(i think some people were saying 75%, but i thought it was 80-83%), then the extra bases you swipe are worth more than the outs you give up when you get caught. and maybe this takes into account the pressure you put on the defense, and the likelihood of an error, but i'm not sure about that. i too was an econ major, but i'm not really a stat geek.

doh!!!!

kent's oficially slumping. oh well, valentin's due for HR.

That half inning would be best described as anticlimactic.

Blind aggression is not what I'm talking about. I just don't think you should ever be pigeonholed by numbers. Sometimes you roll the dice and you win. Sometimes you crap out.

And Kent proves that he is human. Oh well, just sets the stage for a 2 run HR from Phillips or Seanz in the 9th. Go Dodgers!

that inning was disheartening, after such a good AB from drew. let's get the win for schmoll!!

Valentin, Ledee, Phillips coming up . . .
(not quite the ring of #203, but it'll have to do)

Fun Non-Papal Fact: for at least one season in the ealry 80s, every MLB player with the last name Black was white, and every player with the last name White was black. Frank White, Bud Black (?)...maybe it's not that fun.

OK, Schmoll gets to stay?

cool play

just got back in time to see the double play and immediately started cursing Shawn Green. wait...

The defense is terrible!

Was that a squeeze attempt?

well, knowing how often a strategy has to work in order to assess whether it's worth using isn't necessarily being pigeonholed. if you know that milton bradley only has a 65% success rate for stolen bases, then you don't give him the green light very often, or maybe you do hit-and-run with him instead of a straight steal. though i agree with steve that valentin isn't exactly the kind of contact hitter you ought to be trying hit-and-run with. if it was kent, that would make more sense. knowing the facts about the risks and benefits of particular situations can make for a more informed decision. having a rigid outlook a la joe morgan et al., is where you get pigeonholed.

Gameday says the bunt was about 10 feet to the right and behind the pitchers mound...

If Superman can't do it maybe Zorro can.

yeah, a bad one that might have worked if not for the fact that schmoll takes a couple steps towards homeplate after he makes every pitch

I'm sorry I just don't see Valentin coming through right now.

Yup. Hardy bunted into the air. Schmoll made a diving catch towards the 1st base side, and easily doubled up the guy on 3rd.

Nice one here on Yahoo GameChannel:

"Pitch 2: Strike out (swinging)"

Uh, someone got robbed by the ump if he struck out on the second pitch of the AB.

Re: #252 - that's how bad Valentin's AB was.

Hey Milwaukee, get a taste of Schmollball!

[assumes jokes has been made already]

[no idea how to pronounce name]

gahhhhhh
gohhhhhhhls

gahhhhhhhh
gohhhhhhhhhls

come on phillips

come on phillips! i wanna see yhency. fo' shency.

Yeah, I want to see Forrest Whittaker too.

"And Saenz hits a HR so far it travels to LA where it hits a stunned TJ Simers as he is sitting in front of his computer drooling over a picture of Shaq"

damn, i thought they would knock each other out and wed score the tying run

Eesh. Looking bleak now.

And yet...

I bet they IBB Olmeeeeedooo!

Let's cash in that PB.

Can I trade Charlie Steiner for Al Downing?

Don't know why Charlie's so maligned.

IBB.

Still alive, baby! Now it's on Izzy!

"The Weaves is jones'n to pinch run!!"

IBB.

It wasn't a IBB, he had two strikes on Saenz.

Is Nori faster than Olmedo?

ALL HAIL CESAR!!!

YESSSSSS!!!!!!

yesssss

Pretty aggressive send right there don't you think!

man that was close at the plate

Dr. Love, I saw that before Gamecast and well before the audio... you watching the game live?

Pitch 4 - In play, run-scoring play
Always great to see.

unfreakingbelievable!@#

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

Wheeeeeee!

I don't believe it!

Yee-haw!

I love Cesar very much. Nice slide by Ledee.

Who's team is this?

Dr. Love, I saw that before Gamecast and well before the audio... you watching the game live?

Yes.

Weaver is running for Saenz.

It wasn't a IBB, he had two strikes on Saenz.
On Gamecast, the 1-1 pitch was way high and outside. Hence, it looked like an int'l walk was in process.

holy moly. It's all set up for Naka-san! you're all prophetic...

One way to speed up delivery of online audio is to compress it -- remove silent periods. I propose a new compression algorithm -- remove all Al Downing remarks.

On Gamecast, the 1-1 pitch was way high and outside. Hence, it looked like an int'l walk was in process.

I'm just saying they weren't overtly pitching around him.

Tracy made a lot of smart moves, but why pinch run with Weaver? If this game goes extra innings, they might need him to PH. Bad move by Tracy, but overall a good day for him, win or lose.

even if the dodgers do happen to lose today.... i'm wowed by this so-called 'clutch hitting'

"vapor lock"?! ha ha ha

WhooHoo!
everybody at work is looking at me funny...

Is this Izzie's team?

are we out of pinch hitters or smth?

no doubt, this is definitely little cesar's team

Drew, Kent & Bradley will get another shot in the 10th.

I'm giving students updates via mlb gamecast while teaching.

They better win it by the end of the period, or I'll have a group of kids who won't be able to concentrate on their verb test.

Back where we were at #203 . . .

Just a "what the heck" reminder of the alarm bell Mr. Plaschke sounded after Game 1 (!) of this season:

"Welcome to this bold new Dodger world, where, in the name of budget and Funnyball, a defending division champion is essentially operating with one hand tied behind its back... The Dodgers amazingly survived after DePodesta's clubhouse-gutting trade in July, but for them to overcome his latest bit of strange thinking may be asking too much... The good news for Dodger fans, of course, is that there are 161 more games. Hmmm. That could also be the bad news."

You're a visionary, Bill.

are we out of pinch hitters or smth?

Yup, no more pinch hitters.

Jesse, are the verbs baseball-related? "Squeeze, lift, bunt, turn two..." If so, they'll be just fine.

Damn, this game is full of fine, fine catches.

And Drew walks again.

well hit by Kent, unlucky

Drew's OBP has cracked .300, I think.

Anyone watching care to describe Kent's last AB?

MILTON!!!!

In play, run-scoring play
Hooah!

MVP! MVP! MVP!

holy crap!
describe please!

Wow. They just don't give up, do they. Bradley is having a helluva week.

Yes, this is Milton's team

This team is amazing.

That's two free freakout passes for Milton so far this year.

Bradley's dinger makes another Game One Plaschke quote germaine:

"On a questionable hitting team that managed only five hits and struck out 11 times Tuesday, defense can be the great equalizer... Without the big-hitting middle of the order from last season, they need defense."

He got paid money for that.

yhency looking shaky =(

Yhency, you make me so defency.

How far did that HR go for Milton? On Gameday it was like 1/2 inch past the 400 mark.

and we're back, site crashed on me there for a bit. re: #308, those were my exact thoughts. Just for fun, it's time for the M-V-P chant to start at Dodger stadium.

#305 lined out to a diving RF. Good play, bad luck.

I miss Gagne. You?

yea the site crashed on me too... small server, seems like millions are posting here

two on, 0 outs. can we put this away?

I guess we can add one more item to Milton Bradley's resume: Dodger Thoughts destroyer.

He keeps going the same way, he might cause a few more websites to crash too.

The problem I think is this. No one has said GHAME OVER (TM). Where's that Timmermann when you need 'im?

NICE

the under-mendoza-line batters come one-by-one, one-by-one, one-by-one... =D

I'm going to have a heart attack at work. Its only the 13th game of the season.

TWO DOWN... THIS COULD HAPPEN...

and we're back, site crashed on me there for a bit. re: #308, those were my exact thoughts. Just for fun, it's time for the M-V-P chant to start at Dodger stadium.

Yhency is blowing them away. Fastballs clocked at 98!

yhency changes into his alter ego pretty quick. we never know what we're gonna get.

2 outs, both on strikeouts

I will NOT allow my team to be beaten on a game winning HR by a dude named Chris Magruder.

For Bob,

After allowing the first two batters to reach base, GHAME OVER (TM) can commence.

Jebus Christ, another full count...

GHAME OVER!!!!!!!

GHAME OVER!!!!!!!

WTF and the Dodgers win????

Bestill my beating heart.

Can I go into cardiac arrest now?

wow, what a game. These guys will keep even Dodger fans around till the 9th inning this year.

YeahyUH!

This is L.A. Bhaseball. Phew.

Viva il Papa!! Assuming, of course, that Milton was named Pope as he should be. I don't think there's ever been a Pope who hit even close to .300. I don't know what to say about this team. I'm officially agog.

Great game. Now I can go to lunch.

Thanks to the Dodgers for another come from behind victory and thanks to the DT community for always making the game more entertaining.

I was unable to post after Bradley's HR. :-)
I think we are keeping this board lit-up.

I'm thinking 160-2, but I'll settle for just keeping this pace.

OT, but if Dessens goes on the Injured List, there's the spot that Penny can fill and no one from the bench needs to be dropped, although we'd still be carrying one Carlyle too many.

Just as an offhand comment, Tracy deserves a lot of credit for this win. Bad hit and run aside, he really did a bang-up job managing resources.

What happened to Dessens in the 4th? I wasn't up at that point. I started watching just on time with Cesar at the plate with 2 outs and full count.

hahah, bradley's homer broke dodger thoughts. this is so great.

oh yeah, and let's not not forget the now-customary "WHAT A TEAM!!" :)

What happened to Dessens in the 4th? I wasn't up at that point.

Back spasms or a pulled back... something with his back.

Let's give some credit to Drew for drawing that walk in the 10th. Just as speed never has a slump, good plate discipline and a good eye never have a slump.

Milt is the firey presence that the Dodgers have lacked since the days of Gibson and Hershiser...

So... what did I miss?

The recap said MB misplayed Overbay's hit in the 4th into a double. Can someone give details?

With Dessens leaving due to injury, do we give Carlyle a pass? I'm guessing he wasn't up in the bullpen, just rushed into the game with the injury. Has to have a little impact when you're thrown in there without warning.

So... what did I miss?

Just your run of the mill late inning Dodger comeback, nothing new here.

Amazing. I step away from my computer for a half hour and we pull another one out. Can't wait to see the highlights. I love the GHAME OVER (TM) idea. Someone start making t-shirts ASAP.

It's hard to believe that there have been 350 comments posted in this thread alone today. I'm glad to hear that there are plans to improve the comments feature. Jon, while you good folks at Baseball Toaster are at it, is there any way we can get the site to recognize users without having to log in on each visit? That would be nice.

I don't know if there is anything we can do to help with DT bouncing cgis, but I'm sure donations are appreciated. I was just thinking maybe DT should sponsor a baseball reference page or a charity thing or something.

yea, Milton's homerun caused this place to crash for a few minutes. Not that was bad or anything, just a bunch of dodger fans posting away like mad

#345 and #346 - Exactly right on both counts. I tried to log on along with Lord knows how many others...

#350 - I was listening to the radio, heard it was 6-0, went back inside to do my volunteer work... unbelieveable.

--------------------------------------------

TODAY'S FACT OF CHOI, SB'S FAVORITE PLAYER, 2005:

The more I look into the trivial facts of our hero, the more I find out how eclectic he is.

When he was eight picked up the art of origami from watching the boob tube in Korea. After he fell in love with America's pastime, he used origami to make primitive baseball gloves from old newspapers. "I saw a television program where someone made a boat with origami," Hee Seop explained. "With some adjustments, I thought I could use that as a glove."

If I'm not mistaken, Dodger Thoughts (aka Jon) already sponsors several BB-Ref pages.

Anyone see that Kaz Ishii threw just one strike in his first 13 pitches in his most recent start for the Mets. I'm starting to love that Jason Phillips trade.

#358 i believe that is correct. the 2004 Dodgers team page

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/2004.shtml

great quote from dodgers.com from mr. bradley:

"i'm an intellectual, or at least i'd like to think so."

talk about an image overhaul. bless him.

After researching further, this was the Dodgers' second win on a day that a new pope was elected.

Ironically (or strangely) they won on June 21, 1963 when Pope Paul VI was elected.
That day the Dodgers beat the Cardinals.
And Sandy Koufax was the pitcher too.

But they lost on August 26, 1978 to the Phillies 3-1 the day John Paul I was chosen.

And y'all call me Cliff Claven! Do you see what's above me? Do you not all see?

I WANT TO BE FRASIER!!

Okay, I've beaten that horse for the last time. Promise...

One thing I'd like to say is that I believe Eric Enders has been one of Bradley's most consistent backers, from day one, through good times and bad.

I have a subjective impression (going back to 1969) that LOB-itis has long been a particular Dodger ailment. Perhaps it's a frustration reaction, but another possibility is that an extreme pitcher's park like Dodger Stadium tends to suppress long form (as opposed to long ball) offense, and thus leaves more runners LOB.

This might also be a consequence of emphasizing OBP without regard to whether a player puts the ball in play – i.e., more runs but more runners LOB as well.

Another thing – if the Dodgers insist on playing moronic music cues every time a player walks, and the Dodgers go from poor plate discipline to good plate discipline, that's a lot more moronic music cues over the course of an evening.

All hail Eric.

I thought Bradley would have a big year but he's making me say, "Adrian who?"

Then (1978), I find out about the election of a new pope by having my school principal, Sister Beatrice announce it over an archaic PA system.
Now (2005), I'm watching Wolf Blizter
Then (1978), I'm depressed because the Dodgers had just lost Games 3 through 5 of the World Series in New York, but I had tickets to Game 6
Now (2005), I follow a midweek early season baseball game through a combo of TV, computers, and cellphones.

Re: #351
Milton was running in on a bouncer that kind of picked up some speed when it got closer to him. He had to dive for it, but it rolled past his glove, all the way to the wall.

Bradley is beoming the player we hoped to see last year. After a year of adjusting and maturing, he looks like he's putting it all together.

i don't know if i said much about it, but i've always really liked milton bradley, fiery temper and all, ever since we got him. he's been my favorite dodger since midway through last year.

Well I'm the one who wanted a 4-year Bradley extension yesterday. Now what's he gonna cost?

define "moronic music cues", robert.

For the record, I've had my fair share of heated Milton Bradley defense sessions on DT over the past year.

He may still take Eric or bigcpa to the prom, but I've always cared for the guy.

Another point in my favor vs. Eric-

Milton Bradley and I were both born in Harbor City, California, pop. 24,640.

Big Milton fan since day 1. He might do some dumb stuff, but I like the way the dude plays the game. Of course, Enders gets the title as Milton backer cause he has been here longer than myself.

Well, one of my best friends went to Long Beach Poly High School with Milton, and this friend's brother-in-law DJ'd Bradley's birthday party Thursday night.

So there.

He's mine!

I honestly didn't mean to start a competition. You can all be Official Milton Backers.

But there can be only one Frasier and one Cliff. So sort that out!

Wow, I checked on this game right before noon (stupid Natural Science class) and told myself "10-3 is still great." I came home to see this. I can't wait for the replay to come on later.

Oh, and I'm happy to hear that you are considering an actual message board on here. That would make it so much easier to find info that is usually in the middle of a 300 post thread.

That brings me to another point, Jon. I named Suffering Bruin as Cliff and Steve as Carla, and was given little to no credit for my creative work.

Who do I get to be? Right now I feel like the pool table in the back room, or Sam's desk.

I guess you could be one of the Charles brothers, Icaros.

By the way, any suggestions or comments you have on the site, feel free to post them as well in the comments of the Fairpole blog, where our guru will be sure to see them.

I pass them on as best as I can, but he'll notice them more quickly there.

I don't remember the Charles brothers, but thanks.

I wouldn't mind being one of the Darryls from Newhart, preferably the blond one.

Icaros,
Isn't campaigning for credit and praise
a Diane trait?
Love,
Carla

dude, if your best friend's brother-in-law is DJing the party, couldn't you have tagged along or something?? carried his DJ equipment or what have you. partying with milton bradley would've been awesome.

Fair enough, Kevin. I don't remember if she has been claimed yet, but it would be fitting of Jon (Sam) to take me for granted. :-)

Vishal,

Yes, that would've been awesome, but a good number of my friends have the annoying habit of telling me about really cool things two days after they've happened.

So bigcpa was born at Harbor/UCLA? Are there any other hospitals in Harbor City?

Nobody in bbref is listed as having Mission Hills, CA as his place of birth, which is where Holy Cross Hospital is, birthplace of me.

And George Lopez.

There are a bunch of guys listed as being born in Van Nuys though, which I assume would be Valley Presbyterian. Except it didn't open until 1958 and there are several with Van Nuys as birthplace before that, such as Don Drysdale.

Jeff Weaver was born at Northridge Hospital.

With the Dodgers doing so ridiculously well, and with so little for a Dodger fan to complain about, I believe this board has taken a disturbing turn.

Funny, but disturbing.

I would define "moronic music cues" as "all of them." To be more specific, I would be hard pressed to pick between "Walk This Way" and "These Boots Were Made for Walking." The former is more cliched the later is more stupid, and both are nails on the blackboard to me. I think a reasonably intelligent person could understand that a walk has been issued by the way the batter is advancing to first base, and I think it is a far too mundane event to celebrate. If the action on the field requires comment the crowd ought to make it, not the public address system. Though we never fully appreciated it at the time, Dodger Stadium used to be a refuge from all the trash of modern day sports presentation, but now the bubble has been burst and the slime pours in.

Words cannot express how tired I am of things in this town that are not as good as they used to be.

Replace "town" with "universe" and you're really on to something.

I was born at what is now the home of Scientology. Bob, care to fill in the blanks?

Did Kaiser have a hospital on the other side of Sunset?

Bob, Anyone born in Santa Ana, CA? I was born at Mercy Hospital, though I believe it has changed names since the 70s.

So. Had to leave after the eighth. What'd I miss?

From the whudda thunkit files..

After all the bellyaching about Milton's antics last year (not so much on DT), folks would be lining up trying to "claim" him.

re #389 -

I think the moronic music cues have spawned from the success of minor league baseball. It bugs me sometimes at DS, but I would rather worry about the product on the field.

As I understand it, the current headquarters used to be the home of Cedars of Lebanon Hospital.

Personally, I'll take science-fiction over Scientology any day. Give me Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes...

Has anyone heard the pronunciation of this reliever pitching for Seattle right now, J.J. Putz?

Could it really be pronounced the way I'm saying it in my head?

"By the way - if they ever return to selling the computer version of Strat-o-Matic for Macintosh again, somebody let me know. Talk about "I Live for This" ..."

... Not sure if you've heard of Diamond Mind Baseball (you probably have) -- anyway, it takes all the great sim elements of Strat-O-Matic, takes the real-life statistics and simulated numbers to an absolutely incredible level, and provides a delightful text based game cast for those who wish to manage batter-by-batter and pitch-by-pitch.

For an old Strato player like me, I've never seen anything quite like it.

You can get a list of players born in California, sorted by birthplace at:
http://www.bbref.org/bio/CA_born_place.shtml

Famous Santa Anans include Dave Stieb and Mitch Williams.

Oh jeez. Gammon was just asked if the Dodgers are for real. He said (somewhat hesitantly)"The
Dodgers have good starting pitching. They get Penny back...Gagne back next month, they can hold on to a three, four game lead. They have fairly good power, Kent, Drew, Izzy..."

I had to go take my Trusts Final. How'd it all go? :)

Thanks, Bob. For some reason I never pictured the Wild Thing as being from Southern California. Then again, Jeff Kent doesn't quite fit the bill, either, in a similar way.

Jim, FWIW, Gammons last night was effusive in his praise of the Dodgers: "They've got guys on the DL who are going to help what is already apparently a very good team and they've got ten million to play with come trade time."

He's not the most telegenic guy in looks or speech but I do think he sees what's going with the Dodgers as real. But I haven't seen the show that much so I reserve the right to be wrong...

Understand, SB... wasn't like he was given adequate time for in depth analysis.

Yes, that would've been awesome, but a good number of my friends have the annoying habit of telling me about really cool things two days after they've happened.

Yeah, we used to do that to people we didn't want to show up either:)

So far this team plays with more confidence then any Dodger team in recent memory. Not bad with Drew still MIA power wise, Choi completely useless, no Gagne, no Penney, No Wilson. Dang this could be some team. Were a long long ways from that Angel sweep a mere 20 days ago.

"I think the moronic music cues have spawned from the success of minor league baseball. It bugs me sometimes at DS, but I would rather worry about the product on the field."

I would rather worry about the product on the field too, and I would find it much easier and more enjoyable without Frank McCourt's Symphony for Imbeciles. The first part makes perfect sense -- it's absolutely bush league. The ambiance of the ballpark is part of the product, and being concerned with both that and the quality of the team are not mutually exclusive. Indeed, whereas building the team is an area where the baseball people should be left alone to do their jobs, stadium ambiance is an area where the fans ought to have a say. There is no need for it, and it could be fixed with the application of a little class and a little taste. And even if it were absolutely necessary to have this wall of sound, why can't it show a little imagination and wit? Why must it be every stadium cliche repeated over and over again?

My solution to the problem is simple: I no longer attend games in person. It's not an enjoyable experience anymore. I can barely tolerate it on television.

LOL. If that were actually the case, I'd understand, but my friend didn't go either.

It's as if the idea that it would be cool to go to Milton Bradley's birthday party didn't even register in his mind.

I guess when someone was a high school classmate, people have a hard time thinking of him as anything more than just another guy from around town.

I can't wait for TJ Simers next column about MB. What a pair those two guys make. Anyone who can laugh at Simers is OK with me - MB is a unique person, an individual who doesnt mind being an individual, but also someone who gives 110%. All out for the name on the front of his jersey. Great stuff.

My solution to the problem is simple: I no longer attend games in person. It's not an enjoyable experience anymore. I can barely tolerate it on television

I'm sorry that you don't attend games anymore.

Frankly, I don't give a darn if they play loud music at the stadium. I would prefer Nancy B a bit more than the canned music, but it hasn't taken away from my experience.

The team on the field has added more to the experience over the last couple of seasons than any bad music could ever take away from it.

Did I walk away from opening day thinking "Wow, that comeback was great. Too bad they played all that loud music. It ruined everything". Heck no.

I would much rather they find a solution to the parking problem (highly unlikely).

Harbor UCLA is actually in Torrance. I was born at Harbor City Kaiser so I'm thinking Milton was too. It's a 2 mile square city- nothing there but a Pollo Loco and some gas stations. My son was born in the very same hospital in 2003.

Harbor City is the heart and soul of Lomita.

Lomita! Home of the 259th Street School! My fourth-grade home! The one that advanced me a grade in mid-year!

Also the school where I wasn't taught what verbs were and thus was knocked back from sixth grade to fifth the following school year when I transferred to Sts. Peter and Paul in Westwood.

I have always been a Milton supporter, but I'm sure I'm hardly alone in that regard. Anyway, in my personal baseball universe he's moving from "pet project" to "favorite player" rather rapidly.

At the risk of tooting my own horn, the thread intro below is looking pretty good right now. ;)

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/primer/discussion/16185/

If you put my hospital and Jon's together, you end up with one whopping big fancy hospital.

The Dodgers have out OPS'd their opposition .860 to .660. That .660 sounded damn low so I checked the 2003 team. Ta-da... .660. Course the offense put up .671.

So what we're witnessing is the 2003 Dodger pitching with the 2004 Red Sox offense.

Oh and the defense is now rated #2 in MLB by Def. Efficiency in 516 chances:
http://tinyurl.com/7un5v

Meanwhile --- Nomo has given up 1 run to the Unit's 2 through 5. Obviously.

Who is Bob Oates, and what happened to Arte's boy?

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-042005oates,1,122129.story?coll=la-headlines-sports-mlb-dodger

Love that thread Enders..

Some of the Metsies were proposing a Kazmir-Bradley deal. Hindsight being what it is, Bradley would have been a much better return than Zambrano.

Milton is becoming one of my favorite players too. I think I will wear my Bradley t-shirt to the game in San Diego tomorrow.

that oates article.... while i appreciate the somewhat sympathic tone and the general grasp of the significance of depodesta's moves, it seems awfully reductionist in its desciption of depo's methodology, almost to the point of inaccuracy.

Always wanted to go to a Dodger game wearing a T-shirt with the "MB" logo on it. Anybody know where I could buy one? That'd be sweeeeeet.

Interestingly, didn't Bill James predicted a certain Dodger who shares a name with a boardgame manufacturer would have an MVP-caliber season? No, not Jason Hasbro.

Say, how's Franklin Guttierez doing?

Plaschke on 710 shortly. He's too busy doing tv/radio to write a Dodger column so we'll have to settle for this. I'll try to transcribe the drivel.

Per Fat Joe so far...

"haven't played anybody... played a horrible San Diego team... still don't think they can win without Penny healthy."

So if AZ, SF and SD are nobody then who does he think wins the West?

Badass shirt on eBay:
http://tinyurl.com/adede

You can tell Joe is having second thoughts, though; he's already starting to cover his tracks by claiming to have "always been a Dodgers fan, wants to be proven wrong," etc.

I was ready to bid but that link won't work.

"Personally, I'll take science-fiction over Scientology any day. Give me Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes... "

Heh, just watch out for grendels and Moties.

is plaschke on before or after mitch kupchak?

after

Looking at the Thomas Guide, Harbor/UCLA medical center is an patch of unincorporated area of L.A. County. Then if you drive a few more blocks you are in Harbor Gateway. And a few more blocks you get to Torrance.

But I think the Post Office says Torrance.

Hahahaha. Jeter GIDP. Bernie foul-out. We're 6 outs away from the next Steinbrenner press release entitled "WE LOST TO NOMO."

Huff safe at first on shortstop Jeter´s fielding error, Crawford scored, Gonzalez to third. 4-2 Rays.

The plot thickens!

Obviously I'm more put out about this stadium ambience business than normal people, and if you ride a hobby horse hard enough you'll get splinters in your keister. I will only say further that it seems as though they have eased off a little bit on the noise this year, and that's because people complained, not because they kept their complaints to themselves, and console myself with a few lines from Kingsley Amis:

So bloody good luck to you, mate,
That you weren't born too late
For at least a chance of happiness,
Before unchangeable crappiness
Spreads over all the land.
Be glad you're 50 – and
That you got there while things were nice,
In a world worth looking at twice.
So here's wishing you many more years,
But not all that many. Cheers!

6-2 D'Rays. Unit was a -400 in this game vs. Nomo. This is rock bottom.

Please, Mr. Plaschke, don't join the bandwagon!

bill plaschke is such an idiot. pitching and defense, he says!! did he miss the gems by weaver, perez, and lowe?!?! has he seen kent and valentin!?

Not much from Plaschke...

"I'm gonna stick by what i've been saying all winter... it's about defense and pitching and their defense is not there... they're winning 8-7 kinda games. When the hitting comes back to earth they'll need their pitching & defense to carry them. The lead is a nice buffer but I'm not on their bandwagon yet."

The mere idea of Plaschke joining the bandwagon scares me to death. He's a contrary indicator, like the price of gold.

Wasn't Nomo's last half-decent start for the Dodgers during the three game series at Dodger Stadium against the Yanks where he gave up three or four or five in the first then held them for six innings or so?

Dodged a bullet there.

Glad I haven't started my baseball betting yet, I'd have lost the house. Wish I'd bet on the over for the Dodgers on the 82 seasonal wins as that is looking like childs play.

Well I got in on Boston -1.5 vs. Nomo and they won 10-0. Hard to figure this one. 3 more outs and we can talk last place Yankees baseball.

agreed #421

that article is downright embarassing. can we just let go of the computer thing?

Plaschke spent 90% of the interview speculating on a Phil Jackson return and pondering the wisdom of Al Davis moving the Raiders to Oakland in 1994.

Biggest late-inning comeback since 8/99. Best start since 1981? And this is what LA's "sports show of record" is delivering.

For what its worth, I watch the Dodgers on Extra Innings so I saw the Brewers broadcast yesterday. The announcers made the remark that they were in the Dodger clubhouse and that this is the "most cohesive Dodger team they've seen"... I thought that was interesting after all the talk about the "quiet" clubhouse at the the beginning of the season. Winning breeds chemistry...

Plaschke trying to salvage a little pride, as he learns that everything he knows is wrong. If we still had sports page cartoons what we'd be seing one of DePodesta in mortar board before the blackboard with Plaschke, Simers and Adande gathered 'round in dunce caps . . .

This never would have happened if the LA Times had hired Max Mercy.

Dear Mr. Oates,

While it was kind of you to write an article that was somewhat positive in regards to Paul DePodesta, the continued use of the word "computer" makes the article feel mostly like a back-handed compliment.

His computer did not urge him to trade for Milton Bradley. As you know, Bradley can be a bit of a hot head. His temper got him into a bit of trouble before the beginning of the season in Cleveland last year. Perhaps DePodesta used his computer when he read the story, but it was an opportunity that essentially fell into his lap. The Dodgers, if you recall, scored less runs than any team in baseball in 2003. The Dodgers needed offense and Bradley came relatively cheap. One does not need a computer to see the logic in making a move like that.

Though we can lament the loss of a spark plug like Jose Lima, logic again tells us that Lima hasn't been much better than a league average pitcher over the last several years. Again, you don't need a computer to see that his career performance doesn't merit a steep pay raise because he has heart.

Green was traded because his output has been on decline the last couple of seasons. Simply put, his performance didn't match what he was being paid. Kent was moved in for Cora because he is simply a better offensive player. Kent's offensive superiority outweighs the advantages of Cora's defense.

Signed,

A Geek

I designed a T-shirt tonight. Check it out:
http://zoom.cafepress.com/2/7111492_zoom.jpg

If anybody's got the wherewithal to get some gray T-shirts printed up (and, of course if Bob T approves), then we're in business.

I'd do it myself, but I lacks the time. If anybody wants to volunteer, let me know and I will supply you with the file.

Please don't pick on poor, elderly Times football writer emeritus Bob Oates.

He hasn't been the same since the Rams traded Roman Gabriel in 73, and probably thinks that Chuck Knox is still their coach in Anaheim.

He knows little of 21st Century baseball(like his younger Times colleagues), but could probably go on for hours about how Lombardi was a hell of a coach in Superbowl I.

re the Milton chronicles, I'd just like to point out that I was quoted in the LA Times as a Milton supporter (and DT reader) back in the bottle-throwing salad days.

"back in the bottle-throwing salad days"

It's Bobby Knight and Milton Bradley combined! Yowza.

eric enders: that shirt is BRILLIANT. i want one already :)

So let me get this straight. I do this blog for two-plus years, but Timmerman and Enders are going to get all the T-shirt sales, just because of the minor detail that they actually went to the trouble of creating a slogan and a T-shirt? I need a new marketing team. I mean, I need a marketing team.

I skipped over alot of the comments as it was beginning to feel like War and Peace so if I'm off message forgive me.Somewhere there was speculation on roster cuts.
I say keep Schmoll who has been solid except for that jittery first outing.Trade Carrera to someone in dire need of bullpen help.Hey I got an idea,package Carrera,Ledee,Bako to the Marlins for Delgado and Beckett.Tell them its just like last years deal.
If its really iffy who to cut the likely candidate is Carlyle because any grownup with a name like Buddy or Skipper deserves to pitch in obscurity.he should have changed his name after little league.

Jon, I say you demand that they put Dodgerthoughts.com on the shirt and take your proper cut!

That logo thing is sweet. Will Plaschke write an article about Enders not getting hired by the Dodgers even though he came up with a really cool logo thingy?

I want the Milton Bradley shirt AND the GHAME OVER shirt.

Enders, thanks for the eBay link. Ghame Over is great, too, but I heard the guy who designed the original logo now lives under the 4-level eating cat food, he'll probably sue you. I think Plaschke wrote about him.

Tried to make a cafepress shirt with an MB logo on the front and #21 "GAME TIME'S OVER" on the back. I lack skill.

Must say, and not to trash my own Bradley cred, I'm surprised there's not more love for Izturis on this thread. He had two huge hits today -- including a ninth inning two-strike, two-run game-tyer. Wow.

Someone recalled a few threads ago how much of an offensive black hole his spot in the lineup was two or so years ago. It really is quite amazing. I vaguely recall being shocked that he was batting leadoff, and sort of accepting it on a "well, who else is going to do it" theory. Pretty remarkable development over the past couple of years.

Ooops -- I'll just say that I meant to hit "edit again" not "submit" to fix multiple glitches in #459 above, and leave it at that.

Sam,

We don't like Izturis anymore because Plaschke said the Dodgers are "his team".

I want a Ghame Over shirt, too.

Ssm DC #459

Remember when Dodger fans used to moan when we had roberts and grudzielanek bat 1,2? If you told me Izturis would be our leadoff hitter 3 years ago I'd certainly call you crazy. Check out izturis batting avergaes/obp/etc.. in the past 4 years.

AVG OBP SLG OPS
2002 .232 .253 .303 .556
2003 .251 .282 .315 .597
2004 .288 .330 .381 .711
2005 .333 .367 .456 .823

Sure its a little premature for 2005, but Izturis seems to handle himself well on the plate. He's never completely overmatched and seems to always stay with it, anywhere in the count.

On a side note, I havent watched ANY dodger games, because of my current residence in boston. How is Izturis' defense so far?

Purely on arm strength, who do you guys think has the best arm as a shortstop? Furcal? Greene, izturis?

Cesar was cursed with the Plaschke stick. He'll have to overcome it by hitting .600

I am either dense, or I missed something in the 450+ comments that have been published in the past 12 hours, but I don't understand the spelling of "ghame." Can someone 'splain?

Man, I don't know if I've ever enjoyed a Dodger win streak more than this one. On so many levels, it is deeply satisfying.

Should've known it was Plaschke, that scoundrel!

Ratt -- a while back, as we were waiting for Yhency to enter a game, Timmermann joked that they should put "GHAME OVER" up on the board, playing off Gagne's slogan. Like all bad jokes on this thread, it stuck. (OK, OK -- it was actually quite a good joke.) Now it's turning into an industry and making a play for "Alex Cora would've gotten that" status.

Blue Tacos -- I've not seen many games either, but I recall that Izturis' errors, such as they are, have been throwing not fielding. Thanks for pulling those numbers, by the way.

Great shirt Eric.

This is Izzy's team - everyone else is just playing in his shadows. Remarkably (aside from Gagne), he has the longest tenure with the Dodgers of any player.

Just curious, does anyone know when was the last time the Dodgers had an official captain (i.e. Varitek with the BoSox)?

That's a really good question, Doug. Offhand, the only guy I can think of who has been captain of the Dodgers was Pee Wee Reese.

Think Bill Russell might have been captain.

gagne : "game over" :: yHency : "gHame over"

"when was the last time the Dodgers had an official captain"

When Tenille sang the national anthem before the '78 World Series.

taking the names off the back of the uniforms was okay, and i'm actually coming around to like that idea... but having a captain would be a step too far in emulating the stupid yankees and bosox. they're the only teams in baseball with an official captain, aren't they?

(sound of drum tap) ....you've been a great audiece, I'll be here all week and don't forget to tip the waitresses.

Wouldn't it just sound too Star Trek to call a guy Captain Kent?

The Rangers had a captain for a couple of weeks before they traded A-rod. Sammy Sosa was the captain of the Cubs for a few years, IIRC.

I thumbed through the '05 media guide and there was nothing about captains in it.

After a quick search on Google, the only "official" team captains I could find were Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider (in 1962). The way they mentioned that Snider was the team captain in 1962 makes it sound to me that the Dodgers regularly had team captains back then. Of course, I could be totally wrong as with most things.

Where is Enders we need him? Or Bob?

Pee Wee Reese was the captain for most of the 50s, but I'm not sure when he was "officially" named. I'm sure most of you already know, but his other nickname was "The Captain".

Besides Pee Wee Reese, other Dodger team captains include Maury Wills in 65/66, I believe Willie Davis in 73 and Russell in the early 80's.

Other than carrying out the lineup card, not really sure what good a team captain does in the 21st Century

Perhaps a team captain has gone they way as other baseball traditions like wool uniforms, doubleheaders ("It's a great day for a ball game; let's play two!" - Ernie Banks), Morgana the kissing bandit, and parking under $20.

You know I want one of those Ghame Over shirts. Great work, Eric. The Bob T clothing empire begins, right now.

I'm here, I just have no clue as to the answer.

Jim Gilliam seems like the sort of fellow who would (or should) have been captain.

Recent MLB team captains:
Reds: Larkin.
Yanks: Jeter.
Sox: Varitek.
Rangers: ARod.
Cubs: Sosa.
Mets: Franco.

I agree that the Dodgers need a team captain about as much as they need louder stadium music.

Couple of things...

Is it the sign of a good or bad division that the best team and the worst team are in the same division? Everyone had pegged the Rocks to suck, and they do. Snakes are hanging tough, even after being swept out of DC.

Looking that 1B stats for this (admittedly early) season, and it seems Mr. Saenz has made a case to be the man at the 3. He has hit the lefties and the righties to the tune of 1.494 OPS.

Davey Lopes was a team captain. He resigned the job under protest in 1979 I think I don't think Bill Russell ever way.

Well, I'm sure that last sentence makes sense to Bob. ;)

We're going to 500, in celebration of this victory.

Back to the names on the jerseys, my wife left the game on after I left and was thoroughly annoyed that she could not tell who anybody was. I guess I'm going to have to buy her a media guide or something.

i opposed the change, but now i think the nameless uniforms are good. it really does emphasize the name on the front. and i haven't memorized the numbers yet, but i think i can recognize everyone. i can even tell the schmolls from the wunsches.

though on the other hand, it's entirely possible that i'd be bitter and making cracks about the anonymous group of bums we had if the dodgers had started the season badly.

I've come up with my latest answer to defend the lack of names on the jerseys...

If it was good enough for Snider, Robinson, Campy, Sandy, Drysdale, Wills, Furillo, Reese, and all the other Dodgers that played pre-1972, then it is good enough for the 2005 Dodgers.

Take 2:
1. Davey Lopes was a team captain. He resigned the job in 1979 I think.
2. Bill Russell wasn't a team captain.

Gotta hit that backspace key harder.

Bob T. did have a good point about the aft fonts...thought the shadowed fonts on the back of the Brewers jerseys looked good.

I'm agnostic, because I'm obsessive anyway.

I think Poster 500 should get the first Ghame Over t-shirt. It's not me, I'm going to bed.

IIRC Lopes started the 79 season as team captain, but resigned when the Dodgers were terrible in the first half of that year.

Wills also tried to resign a few times in 65/66, mostly when Alston told him that it was the manager's job to fine players for not hustling, not Wills'.

I always thought that Russell was the team captain in the few years before he retired, bringing that same animated, fiery style to the job that served him sooo well as manager.

Hey, did you guys know that the Angels are a .500 team right now because they didn't re-sign Troy Glaus?

At least that's Bill Plaschke's explanation. With Plaschke's usual in depth analysis, I would have thought it was because they lost their heart and soul, David Eckstein.

It was probably the same column he was going to write about the Dodgers and Beltre; he just changed the team and the third baseman.

Hope he checked with official Times Angel booster club member Tim Brown before writing something critical about the "best sports organization in LA."

I thought about that, Gvette. He probably had that article written the day after Beltre signed with the Mariners.

He must have done a search and replace in Word. I wonder what the other writers at the Times think about his advanced computing skills?

you know, i look at the flowery title and laid-back, stylish prose that characterizes this latest dodger thoughts post... "yin and yang are five-tool players", i read with a smile. and then i look over at the sidebar and notice that over the yankee blog, their latest post is titled simply, "bad". my smile widens.

does this make me an evil person?

We WILL get to 500!

Indeed we WILL!

And history shall be made!

And I shall win the t-shirt, to boot!

You have to hand it to the White Sox...10 wins while outscoring their opponents by only 5 runs.

But I like the Dodger way better.

I think you forgot to read the fine print Pat..

If you pad the post total to get to 500, your entry will be invalidated.

"I think you forgot to read the fine print Pat.. If you pad the post total to get to 500, your entry will be invalidated."

I knew there had to be a catch.

Oh well, I'll have to wait 'til NEXT time the Dodgers start 11-2.

so does that mean #503 wins? :)

d'oh!

Coming soon from Plaschke; the interchangeable Angel/Dodger columns on Eckstein/Cora, Ramon Ortiz/Lima, Guillen/Bradley, and Percival/Mota.

Extra bonus points for the inevitable "I told you so" column when the Dodgers lose five of six some time this season.

Vishal, I withdraw my post. It's yours, man.

I think the t-shirt idea is a good idea.

In the words of Krusty the Klown "I heartily endorse this product or event."

In Bradley's own words about his miscue in CF yesterday (from the Daily News):

"On my initial approach to the ball, I underestimated the velocity off the Milwaukee terrain," Bradley said, completely straightfaced. "Therefore, I was rendered defenseless to field the aforementioned ball."

That's probably the single greatest quote I've ever read related to sports. Always liked his ability...but he just flat out won me over with that one.

A couple of things. Milton was huge yesterday. (I expect my deep insights will one day land me a job at the Times or ESPN) And I agree that Cesar's play today may have gotten overlooked but also overlooked was the game saving defensive play by Schmoll in the bottom of the 8th. If he doesn't make that diving catch to start the double play the game ends 7-6 Brewers at best and the Dodgers don't even see the 10th inning. I just think it was a great play and want to give credit to the defense.
Next, Eric your design is great. I believe Cafe Press will make and sell whatever you want. You just give them the artwork and they'll put it on a variety of items. I have friends who do this for their bands or websites. Cafe press does all the work. It's very cool. They don't make it till it's ordered so there's no overstock. Jon could do this too. We could have DT mugs, mouse pads, shirts, even thongs. They'll tell you what they will charge to make it and you decide what to charge the public. I hope this helps. Then when I'm at Dodger Stadium and I see someone wearing a Ghame Over T-shirt I can go up to them and whisper, "Dodger Thoughts" and we'll know each other. Maybe Jon could even publish a daily secret code word.

Langhorne,
Actually my initial idea was to use Cafe Press. But after checking, we wouldn't be able to use them for the Yhency shirt because they don't have the capacity to print white ink on a gray shirt.

As an addendum to the above, if people are really interested, I've used this company before and they make good quality shirts:

www.customink.com

We could get 50 nice shirts for around $8 each. If you guys are really serious about doing shirts, I'd be willing to place the order and handle the printing, if someone else is willing to handle the distribution.

#493 Did you get the Plaschke logic (I guess that's a bit like Dodger math or weird statistics) in today's gem?

"Yet Beltre's departure was treated with scorn while Glaus' exit received only the slightest of shrugs because …

Why again?

Because Glaus' former bosses have a certain piece of 2002-vintage jewelry as confirmation that they know what they are doing."

Right, so Moreno and co. buy a team that won the WS in 2002, and turn it into a team that gets swept in the first round of the play-offs in 2004, so they know what they are doing. McCourt and de Podesta, on the other hand, take a team that hadn't made the play-offs in years and avoid getting swept, so they are fair game? I wonder if he types that stuff, or whether he has voice-recognition software and a microphone up his ass?

Haven't been reading Plaschke or Simers this season. Life's too short and I get about the right amount of Dodgers thank you very much from you and yours. But, with the 11-2 start and all, thought I would see what they were saying. Others have addressed Bill Plashcke; I have nothing to add.

But what about Simers? My gosh. It seems that yesterday he wrote an entire column about how his pregnant daughter is "annoying," "grotesque," and "bloated". I guess that's funny to some, but it certainly eludes me. And then today, a real oddball on L'Affaire Gammons, with no mention of DT even though either he or someone else with a hand in the editing and publication of the piece must or should have have known of that important local angle. All capped off by a weirdly-phrased half-prediction that the Dodgers are heading for "dumper." Good gracious, that's a lot of folderol for two days' columns, especially when those two days fall in the middle of the league-leading local team's 7 game win streak.

"the" dumper

re: #513

I took Plashcke's comments about the rings to mean the media gave the Angels a free pass while doing some of the same stuff the Dodgers did.

Since some people probably won't slog through all 500+ comments in the other thread, let me repost the T-shirt information:

First, the design:
http://zoom.cafepress.com/2/7111492_zoom.jpg

Using CafePress is not an option because they don't have the printing capabilities to put white ink on a gray shirt.

I've used customink.com before and they make good quality shirts relatively cheaply and quickly. If we order 50 shirts, they will cost around $8 each. (About $1.50 more if we were to add "www.dodgerthoughts.com" or any other writing on the back.)

I'd be willing to handle getting the shirts printed, but don't have time to handle the distribution. If somebody else volunteers to do that part, we can do it. People can pay easily through Paypal and all you'd have to do is mail the shirts out.

I have no interest whatsoever in any leftover money... Jon and Bob can arm-wrassle over that if they want.

Thoughts?

Ah, I'm a moron. Meant to post that in the new thread.