I'll also add that I don't understand why the Dodgers are babying Penny. It's not like this is his first time pitching since his injury. It's not like he hasn't pitched in a similar launching pad in Vegas. At worst, if the weather is really crummy, why don't they just lower his pitch count, but trot him out for as long as he'll go?

In light of being short a man, I believe Penny becomes "the body" you outline in your post. The Dodgers should have planned on some combination of Penny and Houlton Sunday regardless of the weather. At least that may have lightened the self-induced bullpen burden Tracy's been playing under in Colorado.

I think he missed an opportunity to get a pinch-hit or two which might have changed the game, based on the logic that you'll start the clock on most of the players mentioned sometime this season anyway.

Maybe we should keep a running Tracy-stat: WARM, wins above replacement manager. Take a vote on how many wins he contributed to or took away by his moves - pitcher-swaps, rosters, pinch-hitters. have to normalize somehow....

Roster moves are certainly complex over the course of the season, yet i'm sure managed well they add a number of wins. Not something i've thought about much. Just part of my never-ending baseball education.

I think his season makes/breaks the dodgers -- if he becomes a headcase out there due to lack of confidence or screwing his mechanics out of worry about his arm we'll remember our season start as the highpoint of this year.

It was a gamble by JT but I think the right one given the opportunities that presented themselves later in the game with so many men left on base (especially the ninth with the bases loaded and Kent up). If we were meant to win the game, Kent would have gotten the hit.

I don't blame Tracy for last night.

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

Constipation is not funny. No it's not.

This is the recipe for Hee-Seop Choi's favorite dish. He likes anything to do with eel and this is what apparently sends his taste buds over the wall:

INGREDIENTS
------------
1 x Eel
SEASONING SAUCE
2 tbl Soy sauce
1 1/2 tbl Sugar
1 tbl Rice wine
2 tbl Water
Metal skewers

* (1) Place eel on chopping board and make head immobile with metal skewer. Insert knife through back and cut through to tail area. Remove intestines and bones and cut off head and tail. Cut large eel into 3-4 pieces and small eel to 2 pieces.

2. Put skewers through back end of eel piece.

3.Broil eel slightly, cooking first on skin side with skewers. Remove skewers.

4. Mix soy sauce, sugar, rice wine and water in saucepan and cook. When sauce boils, add eel pieces and cook over low heat about 10 minutes until all sauce is absorbed.

5. Place eel on serving dish and decorate with chrysanthemum.

* Note: Eel has a high content of protein and fat and is an excellent source of vitamin A. However, it is not recommended for patients and children to consume large amounts of eel since it takes a long time to digest.

Sounds like a wonderful day.

The Tigers were snowed out in Detroit for their second straight day.

Chicago is at 43 right now and windy. It's a great day for baseball. Let's play ....

one.

"And go-cart mozart was checkin' out the weather chart
To see if it was safe to go outside..."

With a lefty pitching today, Repko, Saenz, and Nakamura get starts in the 2, 6, and 8 slots.

The Dodgers lost that day to the Mets at Dodgers Stadium, 8-5.

The Mets sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning against Tommy John and scored 6 runs. Lee Mazzilli hit two home runs, a leadoff homer against John and another in the 7th off of Charlie Hough.

Six future major league managers played in the game: Lee Mazzilli, Bobby Valentine, Davey Lopes, Bill Russell, Dusty Baker, and Johnny Oates.

As well as one future GM: Tom Grieve.

That same day, the second place Giants swept a doubleheader from Philadelphia to move one game behind the Dodgers in the standings.

The Dodgers then proceeded to sweep an odd 2-game home series from the Giants that was played over three days (they played on Labor day, took a day off, then played the second game Wednesday) and the Dodgers were on their way.

Odd stuff indeed.

" After playing a Thursday night game in San Diego, the Dodgers arrived at their downtown hotel here at about 4 a.m. Club officials offered to fly Weaver in Thursday so he could rest up for his start, but he declined, a decision he stood behind even after getting raked.

"We had been winning with everybody together, and I didn't want to change anything," Weaver said. "I didn't think the time we arrived would have any effect, and it didn't."

Pitching coach Jim Colborn didn't second-guess Weaver's choice."

On the bright side E Jackson threw a gem yesterday against Sacramento shutting them out for 6 innings and collecting 6 K's.

Fortunately, two of those innings where they led were the 10th inning.

on the other hand, it was 3 fly balls.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/magazine/24BASEBALL.html

And it will now be 2 of 52 innings.

The Yankees got hit 6 times in a game vs. Washington in 1913 and Louisville got his 6 times by St. Louis pitchers in 1897.

The record in an inning is 4 by Boston against Pittsburgh in 1893.

The 1937 Philadelphia Athletics got hit by 5 pitches. FOR THE WHOLE YEAR. Apparently, Connie Mack collected a bunch of guys who were good at ducking.

Nakamura did a decent enough job in that rundown to let Izturis get to second.

Was that a baserunning error by Nakamura?

And those two guys managed to hit 5 guys in the first 3 innings.

And on May 1, 1974 Dock Ellis of the Pirates hit Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Driessen to start a game. However, he was trying to do that.

Disturbing to see all the hit batters by the Rockies. I guess the Dodgers thought they were all unintentional.

96 mph fastball by Brazobahn. Now we're talking.

4-3 road trip... thank goodness no sweep by the rockies, coors field or not

Curious note: The Dodgers had 21 HRs in 16 games leading up to this series. They only had 1 HR in 3 games at Coors.