We have to make this area attractive enough so the team's performance doesn't really matter whether people show up."

This cannot be a real quote. The goal is to turn DS into an exclusive night club so no one will pay attention to the the product on the field. Ugh, I hate the McCourt's

I noticed that as well. Chalked it up to a 23 yr old with no significant business experience being allowed to speak to reporters. I understand what he's trying to say, but certainly not the way to get the message across.

But LAT, Owen "The Butterscotch Stallion" Wilson is there. Who cares if a game is going on :)

Bahaha. Butterscotch Stallion. What's the story to that one again?

little reminder for the suns thoughts crew, orenduff is pitching today. game stats at 405 PT.

4. That's the nickname Defamer gave him. Who knows what it means, but it cracks me up everytime I see it.

I think Drew must have felt he was speaking to a specific audience that would feel flattered by being catered to, not realizing that people with actual interest in the team would be reading. But certainly, it's at best a shortsighted thing for a team executive to say.

I watched `The Royal Tennebaums' last night, and it kind of put the nickname in context. He came across as a little fey.

LAT, the last sentence of Jon's post makes me think it's time for another meeting of the Torches and Pitchforks Marching and Chowder Society, with dear old Drew as honored guest.

7. Not at all. It is Hollywood's holiest of holy grails to be able to get the sucke-, er, customers into the theaters regardless of the quality of the product; here, Drew McCourt merely signals that he is one of them.

today is chads 21st birthday.

happy birthday chad!!

joe block asked chad if hes going to get sloshed tonight and chad said no, thats not my thing. good to know hes a good kid :)

9 - You mean, Batman meets Alien Meets Predator meets Jason on Friday the 13th isn't the absolutely greatest movie ever made???

Jacksonville game starting. Broxton confirmed (yet again) but still no other information.

the chick singing the national anthem looks like a cutie.

That was an unfortunate comment from Drew. Unfortunately, it fits in perfectly with the McCourt bashing perpetrated at the LAT. How did the McCourts get this reputation anyways? Because of the rumors that they were poorly funded to buy the Dodgers in the first place? McCourt has certainly spent $, on payroll and stadium upgrades. They don't spend like the Yankees, but who does? I'm so much happier with family ownership than I was with corporate (Fox).

9 - I don't think we're disagreeing.

That's what you get for putting an unqualified 23 yr old astrophysics major in charge of marketing. He does not know what he is doing or what he is saying.

This year excluded, Jerry Buss knows that if you put a good product on the court, the stars will come. Everyone, especially Hollywood, wants to be around a winner. Why can't the wannabe McCourts see this?

oops, not good start by orenduff. walk, then a triple.

outlets are reporting the Padres are close to shipping Phil Nevin to the Rangers for our very own Chan The Ho Park. This trade is contingent on Park waving a no-trade clause.

Ineptitude in public relations seems to run deep in the McCourt bloodline.

Perhaps instead of hiring an expensive public relations firm, they should have just hired actors to play themselves at games and press conferences -- that way they'd get both celebrities and great PR in one swoop.

The Padres continue to collect ex-Dodgers. Reported on 1190AM (here in SD), Nevin for Chan Ho Park is on the verge of being a done deal.

How many more years are left on Chan Ho's contract?

Random Dodger game callback

July 29, 1953

One of the greatest teams in Dodgers history struggled a bit with seventh place Chicago at Wrigley Field, but still won, 6-5 before 11,625. The Dodgers improved to 64-33 on the season and were eight games ahead of second place Milwaukee.

The Dodgers started their scoring in the fourth. Duke Snider led off the inning against Turk Lown with a home run, his 20th. Jackie Robinson followed with a triple. Gil Hodges struck out, but Roy Campanella singled through a drawn-in infield to make it to 2-0. Carl Furillo singled Campanella to third. Billy Cox then squeezed home Campanella to make it 3-0. Jim Gilliam doubled home two more runs to put the Dodgers up 5-0 and sent Lown out of the game in favor of Johnny Klippstein.

Chicago got a run in the bottom of the 4th when Pee Wee Reese made a throwing error trying to complete a double play and Dee Fondy came around from second to score. The Dodgers scored a run in the fifth off of Klippstein when Campanella doubled home Hodges.

In the seventh, Randy Jackson of the Cubs tripled past by a diving Snider. Tommy Brown singled home Jackson to make it 6-2. Dodgers starter Russ Meyer (not the film director) then walked Hal Jeffcoat, (then a center fielder, but he would convert to pitching in 1954). Carl Sawatski then pinch-hit a 3-run home run to make it 6-5.

Manager Charlie Dressen brought in Clem Labine to relieve in the 8th. In the 9th, the Cubs had runners on 1st and 3rd with two outs and Frankie Baumholtz hit a fly ball to deep center that Snider ran down in front of the 430' sign for the final out.

The Dodgers had a tremendous 1953, winning a franchise record 105 games, They scored 955 runs, 141 more than any other team in the majors.

Roy Campanella had an MVP season, hitting 41 home runs and driving in 142 runs while batting .312. Snider hit 42 homers and drove in 126 while batting .336. Furillo led the NL with a .344 batting average. Robinson batted. 329 and Hodges hit .302 with 31 homers and 122 RBI. Jim Gilliam won the Rookie of the Year award with at a .278 average and a league-leading 17 triples.

The pitching staff had a 4.10 ERA, but had no complaints about run support. Carl Erskine was 20-6 with a 3.54 ERA. Meyer was 15-5 with a 4.56 ERA.

Despite the fabulous regular season, the World Series was another disappointment as the Dodgers lost their seventh straight World Series and their fifth in a row to the Yankees. The Series lasted six games. Brooklyn lost the first two games at Yankee Stadium, 9-5 and 4-2. They bounced back to win the next two at Ebbets Field, 3-2 and 7-3.

In the crucial fifth game, the Yankees knocked out rookie Johnny Podres early and built up a 10-2 lead after 7 ½ innings. They tried to rally against the Yankee bullpen, but Allie Reynolds got the last two outs for an 11-7 Yankee win.

The Yankees won the World Series in Game 6 when Billy Martin singled home Hank Bauer in the bottom of the ninth for a 4-3 win.

Despite the great season, Dressen would not be invited back to manage the Dodgers in 1954. The greatest regular seasons would finally be followed up by outstanding postseasons.

Thanks to New York Times, BaseballReference.com and Retrosheet

if anyone is watching, i cant tell if orenduff is throwing change ups or sliders. either way, its working, he struck out the last 2 batters to end the inning.

Orenduff really likes using his changeup today, although that's not so bad considering he struck out the final 2 batters.

If the Padres get Chan Ho, shall we get Fernando Tatis?

i believe Ho has one more after this, but i could be wrong.

orenduff has a nice easy loose delivery.

Chan Ho has a 5.66 ERA and has given up 130 hits in 109 innings this year. Who is in charge down in San Diego, the summer intern?

I encourage the Padres to continue collecting the Dodger castoffs. Maybe they'd be interested in Erickson after he gets DFAd today (assuming he does - haven't heard anything).

Actually, since Chan Ho Park only pitches well at Dodger Stadium, this might be some wierd kind of mad genius move on the part of Towers.

Looking forward to Park against Choi unless Tracy screws that up too.

we need to sign Fernando Tatis for the padres series...is he still alive? gotta be better than jose valentin and friends.

28 - I don't think the words "pitches well" and Chan Ho have been used in the same sentence in about 5 years.

28 - I don't think the words "pitches well" and Chan Ho have been used in the same sentence in about 5 years.

#29,
Like what? Choi may be distracted by a fellow countryman?

Carrying over from the last thread, if Dilbeck or Modesti either wrote for a newspaper that had a circulation base outside of four square blocks of Northridge, either could be just as dense screaming about nothing on Around the Horn as Bill Plaschke.

Chan Ho Park is owed roughly $16 million for 2006, I believe. Nevin is also signed through 2006, though he is also owed a $2 million bonus in January 2007. Still, I have to think the money imbalance is definitely in Texas' favor if this trade goes through, unless they float some cash the other way.

I would have a hard time picturing Kevin Modesti screaming at anyone.

Is SD that desperate to get rid of Nevin? Can we use his bat although I doubt SD will trade with us.

I bet the McCourts are the only people in the world who are bummed that HBO cancelled Arliss.

All the Padres need now is Jose Offerman

So why would san diego do this trade? Other than the "mad genius because Park pitches well at Dodger Stadium" theory, I don't see how Park qualifies as "pitching help" or "payroll help."

I doubt San Diego would trade with one of their rivals and the Dodgers have plenty of first basemen.

Oh, I forgot to mention I find this proposed trade shocking. And by the way, why would Phil Nevin go to Texas if he rejected Baltimore?

#42,
I thought Nevin only could void the no-trade clause with 8 or so teams, Baltimore being one of them. I assume Texas is not.

Texas is not on his "list".

Can Nevin catch or play 3rd decently?

Nevin said he would go to a team that has spring training in Arizona.

Just where Nevin would play is unclear. I think Mark Texeira is a wee bit better than Nevin.

42- maybe Texas isn't one of the teams on his no-trade list.

I can't imagine this proposed trade is legit. It's too ludicrous to be real.. isn't it?

because nevin has a limited trade clause and balt was one of the teams he could reject a trade too. maybe texas isnt on the list.

Steve, are you through being examined? How'd it go?

#42 - Nevin has a limited no-trade that does not include Texas.

Suns announcer just called Justin Orenduff a proffesional pitcher.

How high is Orenduff's projected ceiling?

Little League Umpire says: "No Spanish allowed on the field."

http://tinyurl.com/8gqvh

52,
Most are 8' high in the U.S.

laroche is so unlucky lately. he just hammered that ball. but left fielder was playing deep. boooo.

This is astounding:

"Broxton, who was the Dodgers' third pick (second round) out of Burke County High School in 2003, has been primarily a starter during his 31-year minor league career"

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/072905/bas_4775255.shtml (linked in the last thread)

52. Probably #3 or #4 starter.

Who first came up with the phrase "professional hitter" and "situational hitter".

Was it Tracy or someone else?

56,
So Broxton is the second coming of George Brunet?

Like passing a kidney stone for three hours, twice a day, for three days.

I think if my name was tied to trade talks for Sidney Ponson and Chan Ho Park, I would seriously consider coming up with a Grabowski-like shoulder "injury" and sitting out the rest of the year

How high is Orenduff's projected ceiling?

his stuff isnt as electric as billingsley or jackson, but he could be a very solid #3 pitcher.

It should allay FB's worries about his being brought up too soon, anyway.

#61,
About whose being brought up too soon?

Grabowski is not injured. He's playing in Vegas and batting .424.

There should be posters at every entrance to Dodger Stadium with Peter Chernin's mugshot and an admonishment for anyone seeing this man to report it to the authorities immediately.

62- Broxton's. FB (right? I get confused with screennames, but I thought it was him/her) has been on something of a crusade to let the minor leaguers develop more. He offered the excel files proving his case to anybody who asked for them.

63 -- I was referring to the mysterious ailment that put him on the DL the first time he should have been DFAed.

wow jax stadium is packed. big crowd tonight.

#65,
Ahhh I see. I wouldn't mind seeing those excel files.

guzman showing a lot of hustle, beating out an infield single.

Very scrappy.

Very scrappy.

oh i said this last nite. my buddy is an intern for the mariners and he has excess to minor league split stats. he sent me an excel document with our prospects splits. anyone want to see any certain splits?

Well, Nate, why don't you just give us Broxton and Navarro for starters.

for broxton and navarro, i only have home and away splits.

navarro
home: 124AB 298/401/427 7 2b 3hr 22BB 10K
away: 117AB 231/328/350 5 2b 3hr 16BB 14K

How many homeruns does Navarro have at home.

That away line is not very enticing...

aybar
home: 162AB 265/348/414 15 2b 3hr 22bb 20k
away: 162AB 327/376/457 11 2b 2hr 14bb 26k

aybar is wierd huh? hes hitting better AWAY from vegas.

delywn young promoted to vegas!!

Delwyn Young promoted--to Vegas

This is pretty exciting. Hearing all these promotions.

Joe Thurston has been traded

wow. joey ballgame was traded today.... wonder who we got.

DT is the firs to break the thurston trade story and young promotion!!

77- Especially since the home line is at Las Veges (Coors West). But we have to remember that Jason Phillips is pretty bad, too: .237/.289/.362.

Drew McCourt has a degree in Astrophysics? Does that make him some sort of rocket scientist, as in "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that expensive field level seats shouldn't be obstructed."?

Perhaps our young rocket scientist has studied the Lakers and knows that celebrities are front runners and care about being cool and being seen, and are not likely to attend when the team sucks like last year at Staples.

So that's why he's trying to emphasize a "cool vibe" not tied to team performance. Most of us on this site will never get into the club anyway, unless Jon makes it big, and leaves our names for the doorman.

Suns announcer said that Delwyn Young has been called up to AAA. What is Depo thinking! Depo just handed the Birmingham Barons the Southern League pennant.

guzmans splits:

away: .331BA 169AB 15 2b 8hr 14BB 44K
home: .236BA 182AB 11 2b 5hr 20bb 62K

April 23GS .288BA 80AB 5 2b 4hr 13bb 25k
May 26GS .297BA 101AB 9 2b 7hr 11bb 34k
June 24GS .301BA 93AB 7 2b 1hr 9bb 24K
July 22GS .234BA 77AB 5 2b 1hr 1bb 23K

vs left handed pitching:
103AB .291BA 5 2b 7hr 19BB 32K

vs right handed pitching:
248AB .278AB 21 2b 6hr 15BB 74K

RISP
103AB .301BA 11 2b 2hr 11BB 23K

laroche
home: 49AB 184/286/449 1 2b 4hr 7bb 17k
away: 68AB 324/418/529 5 2b 3hr 11bb 14k

Loney
home: 185AB 265/337/405 11 2b 5hr 20BB 43K
away: 179AB 296/373/385 10 2b 2hr 22BB 26k

martin
home: 140AB 300/421/386 3 2b 3hr 25BB 22K
away: 156AB 301/416/404 10 2b 2hr 28bb 28k

young
home: 173AB 267/319/471 8 2b 9hr 13bb 49k
away: 199AB 322/369/523 17 2b 7hr 14bb 37k

notice how the jax homepark plays as an extreme pitchers park to all our hitters.

Anyone else see this gem from Dilbeck today?
"That much ballyhooed Dodgers' minor-league system?
It has several bright prospects in Double-A or lower, but none wowing scouts and screaming can't-miss.
Baseball America's latest ranking of the top 20 minor-league prospects does not list a single Dodger, although four make a 27-member honorable mention."
Bzzzt! He was looking at BA's weekly Prospect Hot Sheet, not the preseason list of prospects. There's a big difference, as BA itself states.
"It's our weekly snapshot of baseball's hottest prospects, combining prospect status with recent performance. This list isn't a replacement or an update to our Top 100, because it often will change drastically from week to week based on performance. We aren't replacing Delmon Young or Felix Hernandez as the top prospects in baseball; rather, we are giving you a snapshot of the hottest prospects."
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/minors/hotsheet2005.html

Pads deal Nevin for Chan Ho. CBS Sportsline confirming the deal which is contigent on Park waving his no trade clause.

They didn't say where Thurston was traded?

hmmm with young promoted, i assume tony abreu will be promoted from vero to jax, and denker from columbus to vero.

Whats the url for the Jacksonville video feed?

Can't imagine Park not wanting to escape Arlington. Wow. And as usual, the ever-churning rumor mill didn't see this coming, did it?

Just noticed, Tony Abreu is not in the Vero Beach line up. I'm guessing he'll replace Young. Denker is in the Columbus lineup

http://www.southernguide.tv/

#95 - southernguide.tv

91 -- Why let facts get in the way of a coordinated disinformation campaign?

nice DP turn by guzman.

DODGERS PREGAME NOTES OUT!

ROSE TO AAA AND ERICKSON DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT!

some vero splits:

Vero Beach
abreu
home: 208AB 322/347/462 13 2b 4hr 7bb 27K
away: 181AB 337/371/442 9 2b 0hr 8bb 28k

Hu
home: 171AB 281/303/404 12 2b 3hr 4bb 12k
away: 191AB 325/378/440 8 2b 4hr 13bb 15k

Kemp
home: 148AB 365/405/818 12 2b 17hr 10bb 30k
away: 136AB 213/243/360 4 2b 4hr 4bb 35k

Laroche
home: 120AB 367/408/825 5 2b 16hr 8bb 12k
away: 129AB 302/355/488 9 2b 5hr 11bb 26k

erickson is gone!??!?! wow

The only explanation is that Padre upper management must have really hated Nevin. Anyone with a checkbook could have picked up Chan Ho last winter for the cost of his salary.

Can't wait to see how Chan Ho reacts to having to pitch in "pressure" games for the first time in years.

Hallelujah!

102. I hope that's true. It took us 102 games to DFA Erickson. Who's next? Carrara?

No mention of the Thurston trade.

Mrs. Erickson must have stopped inviting Depo to dinner lately.

Scott now has time to fix his illegal hot tub in Tahoe!

Once it's fixed, Scott and Lisa can invite Carolyn and Derek up for a weekend.

yay laroche with a line drive single.

I guess we can now expect to see those pictures of Depo with the underage goat?

double for loney!!

2nd and 3rd 1 out. martin and guzy coming up.

martin walks. bases loaded 1 out for guzman.

come on joel, be patient, get your pitch.

Grand Slam for Guzman!!!

GRANDDD SLAMNMMM!!!!!!

cool.. I'll let natepurcell announce it......

CRUSHED!

dont bring that weak ass curveball into his kitchen! whammy!

dana shields, wins free burritos for a year as well.

Alou with a 2-run homer in the first to give the Giants a 2-0 lead over the Brewers. The Giants are propping up the remains of Kirk Rueter on the hill tonight.

Is Kuo new closer for Suns now?

It might not be long before we have to bring up Kuo to replace Alvarez.

kuo isnt really a loogy though. he cant go back to back nites. his workload would need to be light.

Kuo can be our situational LOOGY.

Apparently somebody on the Red Sox board is saying that a deal involving Weaver and Dunn is about to go down. Absurd, unless it is part of a 3 way deal.

which red sox board?

the mlb.com one. I know, I know.. I wasn't even going to bother posting it but I thought it was amusing.

If Broxton does well, then we can start bringing up Suns pitchers instead of promoting them to AAA.

Joel the Destroyer is powerful and strong.

As to Erickson, I'm openly weeping with joy right now. My kids want to know what's wrong.

How long before the Yankees pick up Erickson?

I realize it has no credibility, but I wouldn't mind Weaver and Thurston to Boston, they send players to Cincinnati, and we get Dunn

The Yankees will be starting Shawn Chacon Saturday. They actually brought Wayne Franklin back up today.

And they're being shutout by Ervin Santana of the Angels through four.

Oh happy day
Oh happy day
Oh happy happy day;
Oh happy day
When DePo sent
Oh when he sent
When DePo sent
He sent Erickson away!

110. You say Carolyn and Lisa in the hot tub like its a bad thing. (Preferably without D.Lo and Scotty)

130. That's no joke. If they picked up Nomo, they are willing to try anything.

shouldn't we trade for dunn as late as possible after giving him a chance to hurt san diego a little bit? i doubt he helps the dodgers beat st. louis right now as we stand.

The Dodgers would need some lead time to construct an Adam Dunn-sized jersey. The last person who made one that big, for Frank Howard, was let go in 1964. A young Bill Plaschke wrote an article talking about how sad it was that the Dodgers had to fire someone whose only job in life it was to make really, really, really big uniforms.

#130 If the Yankees are willing to take on Al Leiter, Nomo, and Shawn Chacon, you would think that Erickson would be a natural to complete the set.

The Dodgers have had a few really bad pitchers over the years (Mulholland, Goltz and Stanhouse come immediately to mind) but Erickson stands alone for the classless way he tried to blame everyone else for his problems.

That tape measure shot he gave up to Terrero of the D'Backs earlier this year is probably still in orbit somewhere near the Space Shuttle.

It's funny but for some reason getting rid of Erickson at this point doesn't give me as much pleasure as if we got rid of him earlier in the season.

It's like a wound that gets less painful as time goes by. It would have been much less painful if we could have gotten rid of it as soon as it occurred.

Still, it's a relief to finally get it over with.

Wow, ESPN is talking about a 3 way deal:

Mets get - Manny Ramirez and Danys Baez
Red Sox get - Aubrey Huff and Mike Cameron
Devil Rays get - Yusmiro Petit, Lastings Milledge, Kelly Shoppach and Anibal Sanchez.

Wow, this would be an amazing deal for the Devil Rays. The Mets are amazingly stupid. Who would they rather have in the outfield in 2007? Ramirez at 20 mill or Milledge at 350K. And this definitely hurts the Sox chances of a WS repeat. Crazy as it sounds, it looks like the A's might be the team to beat in the AL.

martin rbi double.

Martin just doubled in 2 runs!

wow, a rotation, of redding, may, leiter, nomo and erickson would be awesome!

Bob, I think Vinnie said yesterday that Howard weighed about 220, whereas Dunn tips the scales at 260-270. So even Frank's uni wouldn't fit (unless they were the old flannels; doubleknits wouldn't do it).

Regarding the Nevin trade, I would rather see Ponson come to the Pads than Park. I know Park has sucked over the last few years, but this is one of those situations where he will try to redeem the last five years by beating the Dodgers in a meaningful game. Plus, I bet he blames the Dodgers for his woeful time at Texas because we didn't pay him $70mm.

Joe Morgan has anointed the A's as the best team in baseball now. So it must be true.

And I thought a trip back to 1953 would make everyone happy.

All it took make everybody happy was seeing Erickson get kicked to the curb and for a minor leaguer to hit a grand slam.

There is still the small problem of how the Dodgers can actually manage to win tonight.

BBref has Hondo's weight as 255. He might have been 220 in his Dodger days, but he got bigger in DC.

Did anyone play at 300lbs?

wow, a rotation, of redding, may, leiter, nomo and erickson would be awesome!

and all this to compliment the Yanks $200,000,000.00 payroll.

Mo Vaughn?

I'm sure somebody has tipped the Toledos at 300 in MLB history, but I doubt anyone has owned up to it. Terry Forster was pretty fat.

of course not for the dodgers

Well, Depo has finally started making the moves (Broxton, Navarro). I doubt any more BIG moves after all McCourt did say that they will "tinker" with the roster.

george scott was a big guy but I'm not sure how tall he was.

Isn't Broxton about 275lbs.

orenduff looks really good tonight. his slider is filthy.

At least moving Broxton up would be considered BIG move.

What about El Guapo?

BB-ref lists Garces at 250 but he had to weigh more.

Yeah, Garces had to weigh CCC lbs.

Who was the tallest player? Was it Randy Johnson at 6.10

Jon Rauch is listed at 6'11".

By the time that Frank Howard ended up as a DH for the Tigers in the early 70's he was probably in the 275/280 range. I saw him last year at a Sports Collector show last year, and even in his sixties,he is still an exceedingly large human being.

Cecil Fielder and Mo Vaughn may have been close to 300. Some of the guys who played in the fifties like Ted Kluszewski, Smokey Burgess and Steve Bilko were pretty hefty.

Who was the shortest pitcher?

Cecil Fielder was rather pudgy. His sister, Corey, however, was built like the proverbial brick ....

What was Babe Ruth's playing weight?

There were lots of pitchers in the 19th century who were 5'3" and 5'4".

Bobby Shantz is sort of the short guy standard for the 20th Century. He was 5'6"

Probably the Unit. Debusschere was 6'6" and Gene Conley was 6'8". Both of them were better known for NBA careers than MLB.

BBref lists Ruth as 6'2", 215.

BBref puts Rauch at 6'10"

http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/rauchjo01.shtml

168. That's hard to believe. Usually listed weight is not the actual playing weight. Look at Braz. He's listed at 170lbs.

Not overly short, but check out the weight.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/cummica01.shtml

Do they update the listed weight every year?

If Braz is 170, I am 90

As usual, the media is going to miss the point of the Manny Ramirez trade, if one happens. The question is not whether Manny Ramirez will produce. The question is why Omar Minaya went out and bought one $20,000,000 outfielder, and all he did is put himself in a position to tear apart his farm system in search of another one.

Minaya, as usual, gets a F--

171 - I wonder how he got stuck with "Candy"

We had Candy Maldonado once.

171 - Fess up, Bob...how in the world did you know where to go to find that?

170.

I'm thinking that the 215 (if it is even correct) is probably what Ruth weighed towards the beginning of his playing career.

so mets give up cameron, milledge and petit. and they get manny and baez?

Steve, that's my whole point. What is the upside with Manny and what is it with those other two guys? They are nowhere close to the WS for a couple of years at least, and this will only set them back. Will Mets fans look back in 2008 and say they could have had Wright, Milledge, Petit and Kazmir on their current squad.. along with Beltran?

Is it really true? Is Erickson gone? If I could do cartwheels, I'd be doing one right now.

beltran perez, a pitcher we got for shawn green is pitching now. kuo is warming up in the pen.

181 - Stick to somersaults, Marty :)

The Metsies over at BTF are gonna go into cardiac arrest if the trade goes through. Wanna bet that they are gonna be pissed at Minaya but blame the Wilpons?

If it does happen, at least they are getting Manny, unlike trading Kazmir for the bad Zambrano.

To continue the last thread a bit, here is what I wrote to Eric Neel about my Scully rememberances:

Vin has been a part of my life since I was 8 in 1964. It's funny, Vin makes me think of the 1960's even more than the Beatles do. I can clearly remember walking down my street on Summer evenings and hearing Vin's, and sometimes Jerry Doggett's voice coming from every window it seemed. Everyone back then was a Dodger fan and it was Scully as much as anyone on the team I think that was responsible. I got to see a few memorable games in the Sixties, the 65 pennant clincher, a 65 series game, Drysdale's 5th straight shutout, but the most memorable game for me was when I was hundreds of miles away camping in the mountains. My family gathered around the campfire and listened on a transistor radio to Vin's call of the Koufax perfect game in 1965. I still remember the thrill of "hearing" Harvey Kuean (sp?) strike out.

Later on, in the 70's I got to meet Vin a few times. One of my best friend's father worked in the Spanish broadcast booth for many years as a moonlighting job. He could get 4 loge tickets for each home game so we were going to a lot of games then. Often, after the game we would go up to the press booth and see his dad. Most of the time we would just pass Vin by and not bother him, but a few times he would stop by and talk to us. Once he had a hot dog with us. He was the nicest person you'd want to meet. We were late teenagers then and I'm sure pretty obnoxious, but Vin didn't seem to care. I'll always remember those days. By the way, when you talk to Vin, tell him Ken Johnson says hi.

I've been listening to Vin now for more than 40 years. I don't know what I'll do when he finally retires. It will be like losing that last piece of childhood. I'm not looking forward to it.

As far as phrases, habits etc. I love his referral to the marching and chowder society for any fans of a particular player. I use that phrase myself on occasion and I'm sure it's Vin's fault!

His homerun call to me is perfect. I've always liked his call when multiple runs score (iiinnn comes this guy, iiinnn comes that guy). I love that he isn't a homer and gives the opposing team its due.

Matt Stairs? DePo wants Matt Stairs?

Great story, Marty...next game we go to I'm sitting next to you.

184 - I could argue that, long term, Manny will be a worse deal for the Mets than the Zambrano deal. Ast least he is cheap and has an upside. Manny is only doing to regress defensively, can't DH in the NL, his contract is obscene for another three years, and the Mets will give up a Gold Glove OF along with two premier prospects. And for what? If they had a chance to win this year or next, you could argue it's worth it, but there is no chance that's happening.

Plus, with Beltran hitting behind him, he won't have any support in the lineup.

laroche just hit a 415 shot to deep center.

too bad the fence is 420 feet away. laroche is getting robbed.

186. Where did you see that?

189. Though there would be someone to bunt over to second base.

191 - Rosenthal wrote it yesterday. It put another player on my self-immolation list.

188.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think that it is a good deal. Manny is going to regress and get paid alot while doing so.

While Zambrano is youngish, cheap, and has upside can't the same thing be said for Kazmir?

Both deals (if Manny happens) just go to show that the Mets' brass is delusional.

Larry Bigbie was pulled from the game in the 3rd inning, feeding speculation...

kuo is in for the suns.

Beltran will probably hit 3rd and Manny 4th followed by Wright/Floyd. Still, his BA goes down (adjustment to pitchers and parks), RBIs go down (lineup around him), injuries go up (no 15-20% of games every year as the DH; he'll be in LF all the time) and the NY media will eat him alive.

What happens when he needs to pee while playing LF at Shea?

194 - I think your last sentence hits the nail on the head. And people complain about DePo and the McCourts!!!

197: no problem...new yorkers piss on the street all the time...

ESPN says Nevin is going to DH for Texas. I would say that San Diego doesn't get much, but Texas gets nothing. The parts do not add up to a whole. What's the opposite of zero-sum?

200 - a black hole?

199 - lol

denker was taken out of his game. i think he might be promoted.

203 -- I think he was traded for Larry Bigbie.

Park is owed approximately $20 million through 2006

LOL

think he was traded for Larry Bigbie.

bananas in ears.

I was really jazzed over Broxton's call-up till it crossed my mind that Depo may have brought him up to give him a quick showcase prior to the trading deadline. Perhaps at someone's request? Someone like the Reds?

Adios to Mr. Lisa. Gone and hopefully forgotten. My only question now is who's going to take over as the biggest jerk on the club?

200- I've heard asynergy, although it's not readily accepted in this sense. It's used in medical circles to describe "absence of coordination of organs or body parts that usually work together harmoniously." I've heard dyssynergy and anti-synergy, too.

My only question now is who's going to take over as the biggest jerk on the club?

There's only one left, but since he's only used his evil powers against Scott Erickson so far, he gets a pass until further notice.

208 - So that's what happened to Chan Ho Park?

Steve, the Larry Bigbie trade? Is that true?

208 -- That sounds more like Grabowski to me.

without cheating..who can guess which of these guys has the highest OPS

Miguel Tejada
Jason Giambi
Manny Ramírez
David Ortiz

211 -- No! At least, I hope not! Just a little revenge for those of you who insist that Joel the Destroyer is not a shortstop.

kuo strikes out 3 in 2 innings, no hits no runs allowed.

if it helps steve, JtD laid the thunderstick down on the padres AA team today.

I'm going to go againts the odds and say Giambi has the highest OPS of the 4.

it probably is giambi, his OBP is quite high.

#65: I don't have a crusade to keep prospects in the minors. The point I've tried to make is that "prospects" don't typically perform above league average until they are 24, 25, or 26 years old. The bullpen is a little bit of a different beast since you can succeed as more of a thrower than a pitcher (e.g., Brazoban). Steve has made the best comment so far on Navarro and Broxton, saying that we should each write a patience pledge 100 times. Neither player is likely to be this team's savior this season but they certainly should play a huge role in our future (2006 and beyond).

oh wow, we get a fireworks show treat after the suns game. how nice.

#72: Hey Nate, if you feel comfortable forwarding them on, I'd love to take a look at the minor league splits for the Dodgers system. My email address is doug_fearing@hotmail.com. Thanks!

214 - lol... i'll never say that again

171,
I remember Candy Cummings on a list of trivia about members of the Hall of Fame. I'm pretty sure he's the lightest member.

A future RDGC will have a mention of the shortest manager in baseball history. But it's not until September.

I was away and missed a lot of the deadline action.

Chan Ho Park is going to the Padres? HAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAAHHAAAHHAAAA!

Firmly in denial now.

#215: I wonder if the Dodgers plan to move Kuo back into the starting rotation. It seems with his inability to throw on consecutive days, the regularity of a starting role may actually be beneficial. Plus, I could see him contributing as a starter next year when we should have a need for another starter.

Brewers went ahead of the Giants 5-2. Five runs in the fourth for the Brewers after they were reminded that it really was Kirk Rueter pitching.

sent FB.

Jay Powell (Braves) just fell to the ground in pain (arm injury) after throwing a pitch. It looked pretty nasty.

well kuo has been throwing in 2 inning spurts. i could see the dodgers building up his arm strength to give him a shot at starting.

Did Powell have one of those fractures that befell Dravecky, Saunders, Browning, et al.

Chris Reitsma is one of the few pitchers who has ever come back from those.

It just happened and I don't have my DVR downstairs (dumb move). It looked like one of those type of injuries (I'll play the role of Will Carroll), but it could have been the elbow too.

As I tell my staff with incident reports, stay vague. As of now, Powell has suffered and injury to his arm.

It is Giambi. It's better than Kent or Vlade

Re: 225/29

Well, if his arm's better suited for starting, I'm all for Kuo going back to the rotation. He'd have far more value as a starter than a reliever.

And although I don't mind Broxton spending one, even two seasons as a power arm in the pen on the big-league squad, I hope the org will consider returning him to the rotation at some point.

WWSH

Chip Caray said something I thought I'd never hear:

"Bobby Cox wants to keep the bat of Daryle Ward on the bench."

#233,
I hope they try to move Broxton to the rotation as well.

Bobby Cox is now using Jim Brower as the closer.

Steve, how bad was the bar exam? I had to do 6 essays, and I think 5 of the 6 were on the topics I was least prepared to write. They basically picked the topics least likely to appear on the exam over the past 20 years and decided use them. I'm just glad it's over with. And I'm glad the Minnesota pass rate is ridiculously high.

For those of you who actually care, here's the most heavy/light/tall/short players in history:

Heaviest:
Jumbo Brown 295
Calvin Pickering 275
Jeff Juden 265
Garland Buckeye 260
Joey Meyer 260
Steve Rain 260
Frank Thomas 257
Frank Howard 255

Lightest:
Eddie Gaedel 65
Sparrow McCaffrey 120
Baltimore Leitner 120
Candy Cummings 120
Larry Cocoran 120

Tallest:
Randy Johnson 82"
Eric Hillman 82"
Jon Raucn 82"
Chris Young 82"
Terry Bross 81"
Johnny Gee 81"
Mark Hendrickson 81"

Shortest:
Eddie Gaedel 43"
Yo-Yo Davalilo 63"
Harry Chappas 63"
(there are about 10 others at 5'3", so I just listed those two, as they were the only ones born post-1900)

bigbie for brynes

http://www.sportingnews.com/experts/ken-rosenthal/20050727.html

Fearing Blue,
Somebody here mentioned that you have an excel file that explains why we shouldn't rush the "kids" up. Could you send it to me?

Hillman and Bross both ended up finishing their careers in Japan. I saw them both pitch their. They obviously towered over all their teammates. And despite their height, they couldn't throw any harder than a 2005 Scott Erickson.

Gotta love that the heaviest is named "Jumbo". Also like that one of the shortest is "Yo-Yo". Need one of the lightest to be named "Slim."

Yo-Yo's given name was Pompeyo.

Younger brother Vic was a whopping 5'7", 155 lbs.

Padres jump out 1-0 in the first over the Reds.

237 -- I think they are trying to mess with Bar-Bri's heads. California's essays basically re-ran the February 2005 Bar, and threw in multiple questions about a couple of subjects.

Phillips starts at first base
Navarro starts at catcher
Edwards starts in left field

There's a lot of AAA guys on the field for both teams.

why isnt choi playing? this is such hogwash.

Another choi-less day. DePo might as well trade the guy somewhere he will actually play cuz it's not happening with JT.

Eckstein
Nunez 3B
Pujols
Edmonds
Rodriguez LF
Grudzielanek
Taguchi
Mahoney C
Morris

vs

Izturis
Robles
Bradley
Kent
Ledee
Phillips 1B
Edwards LF
Navarro
Penny

I said, give it one refresh and choi comments will be there. If Bob builds it, they will come.

not that I disagree, it's insane. trade him or play him

Giants cut their deficit to 5-4 with a 2-run homer by Pedro Feliz in the 8th.

I am officially now for not trading, because the manager does not understand how to use the players we have. He does not deserve new ones. Nobody who plays Jason Phillips at first base against an RHP with Hee Seop Choi on the roster deserves to be within 60 miles of a major league stadium, not to mention pretending to be a victim of innocent circumstance, begging his manager to pick up Matt Stairs.

FB- Crusade was a stupid word to pick, sorry about that. I didn't mean to imply that your concerns were irrational; I've read each of your posts about the age when rookies start to produce with interest. I only singled you out because it seemed like you were the most vocal proponent of taking the cautious approach to minor leaguer promotions.

I really enjoyed earlier this week when the Padres were playing the Cards and every night it was likley the Pods would lose. At the same time, we played the Reds with the possiblity that we would beat the Reds and make up ground.

The reality that the tabel has turned and we could lose ground is not nearly as fun. Let's hope St. Louis' AAA line up will let us steal the first one.

for me it's not even about the hitting (choi/phillips)..it's about defense.

Maybe they're holding Choi out because he is going to be traded. Maybe that's why there's interest in Stairs - as a firstbaseman to compliment some stud in leftfield (I know -- dream on).

I hope so, because like Steve said, it is absolutely insane to start Phillips against RHP. Either Choi or Tracy needs to be gone by Monday.

Sadly, I doubt either will be.

Tracy must really think Choi is worthless. I don't see how he can think Phillip's bat is better than Choi's. I don't get it, but until he's on another team I don't think he's going to get any playing time. Especially as long as we are "contending".

On a hunch, I looked up Phillips v. Morris. Sure enough, he has a .500 career BA against him.

http://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/219809.html#comments

Comment #44.

I hate being right, the few times I am.

Uh-oh. That last link may be a little long... Oops. Sorry.

#251
I agree. The line-up we're capable of putting out is not bad. But the line-up we do put out is.

6-5 Giants now on a 2-run RBI double by Ray Durham in the 8th.

I hate that Choi is not making this start

I was going to rip Dilbeck, but can't find his article. Linky please?

Dang Pujols

I'm a full-service guy:
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200%257E23148%257E,00.html

2-run homer in San Diego by Dunn puts the Reds ahead 3-1.

It was a 3-run homer.

265 -- This makes you an accomplice you know.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one expecting Tracy to pull this crap with Phillips the moment the Cinci game was over. Tracy obviously thinks that Phillips' bat needs to be in the lineup. But starting him over Choi is just completely idiotic. The way Saenz has hit this season, it's hard to argue with splitting time between him and Saenz, but Phillips is just unacceptable. There is simply no positive way to spin Phillips' performance at the plate. None.

It was an absolute bomb, above the first section of seats in right.

Good job Dunn. I guess we can be patient in getting him

Giants lead 7-5 going to the bottom of the 8th. The Brewers bullpen apparently is no longer a hidden strength.

Nor is Jeff Kent's defense.

I would rather see Repko at first than Phillips.

Juan Apodaca is having a fun season, Columbus-Ogden-Las Vegas. Valentin walked in his first AB, and had his second outfield assist in 2 games

And c'mon Kent, we don't need that

273 - While we're at it, I'd rather much rather than Perez in the lineup than Phillips. Even if it means Kent at 1st. Actually, when you think about it, who on the bench isn't a better hitter than Phillips?

Perhaps Mr. Microphone will lead the comeback.

It has several bright prospects in Double-A or lower, but none wowing scouts and screaming can't-miss.

Can anyone think of a Plaschke statement that was more openly dishonest than this one? If this was defamatory, it would be a slam dunk case for libel.

Good thing Morris isn't on his game

The official scorer must hate Albert Pujols or Milton Bradley to score that an error.

277,

Was the statement said with "knowing falsity"?

Wow, looking at our 5-8 hitters really isn't the most encouraging thing in the world, is it?

Infield hit makes it 3-2 Reds.

277 Steve, now that the bar is over, you are supposed to forget all that legal mumbo-jumbo.

Rickkkkkkky!!!

LEDEE!!!

Good ol' Phillips

That's what we need from our 1st baseman when the pitcher is obviously laboring. a first-pitch chopper to third.

280, so I guess that means that Dodger prospects don't count as public figures?

I've GOT to get out of bar-review mode...

The thing is, Depo has to realize that Choi or Saenz or Kent with Perez at second, are all better options than Phillips at firstbase -- and yet nothing happens to correct the situation.

If something doesn't break this weekend with a trade or a firing, one would almost have to shift the blame away from Tracy (he can't help who he is) to Depo. Policy is established from the top down.

That's our first baseman. But since Tracy is untouchable, and the media hates Choi, he gets all the credit for doing the obvious in playing Ledee, and nobody says anything about this Phillips garbage. What a crock.

281

#5 looks ok today

#239: Sure thing, fanerman. Send me your email address at the email address I posted earlier. It's a work in progress. My goal is to look at all the players on each team's 40-man roster and see what the typical development patterns are. So far, I've only looked at the Dodgers, Angels, and Braves.

I can't remember is it Buster or Margan who says a base clearing HR like that is a rally killer. The truth is Phillips coming to the plate is a rally killer.

Why couldn't Morris pitch like this in the play-offs last year.

Chris Welch, the Reds analyst had this advice for Luke Hudson facing Joe Randa.

"Just throw Randa something he can drive into the gap in left center and have Junior track it down."

Lyons said it.

LAT,
Morris lost in the playoffs to the Dodgers last year. He couldn't get out Shawn Green.

290, guess so. That's the way it goes, I guess. If I was singing anyone's praises, I'm sure they would have stuck-out.

288, agreed, Depo needs to assert some control here. I've said this before, but Beane would never allow his manager to pull this stuff for so long. Depo might have an edge on Billy in the brains department, but I think he's lacking the guts to make things happen.

Beautiful! That's why Phillips is out there FIRE JIM TRACY!

That was Phillips' fault.

Yet again, Good Ol' Phillips

292 - Wasn't ARod the first guy to come up with that craziness? I could have sworn it was something he said back in his Seattle days.

Kent is going to be doing some yelling in the dugout when this inning is over.

#262: Having Choi on the bench for this game is quite upsetting for me as well. He is/was my favorite player this year, and it's sad to realize that this is the end of the line.

Now Phillips gets in the way.

Maybe if he screws up enough, Tracy will sit him because of his defense.

293 -- Steve Lyons says that. It sounds like a Morgan-ism too, but I have no personal knowledge of that.

Remember, there are two reasons that Tracy will use regarding Phillips playing first. I have travelled this particular Heart of Darkness many time, and can profile the mind:

1) The most costly .300 BARISP in the history of major league baseball belongs to Jason Phillips.

2) With Werth not available, Tracy would argue that by benching Choi and Perez, he has a deeper bench for that "one big at-bat."

Of course, that assumes the one big at-bat will come, and that Choi/Perez couldn't do more damage in eight at bats than in two.

And there's Phillips with the error. Jeff Kent made up for his, as we said he would when the season began anyway.

that is what tracy gets for playing phillips at first. absolutely ridiculous.

Seems to me the 1st inning is usally the toughest for Penny. Hopefully that's the case tonight.

While I wish Phillips would just be pulled right now, and Phillips F--ed that play, Kent should have still made the catch.

That play by Phillips was ridiculous.

296. I agree, a chair needs to be thrown into tracy's wall. If depo wont do it, maybe kent or penny will. How about phillips to SD for ross?

I hope Ms. Milano is out of town tonight. Ugly night in the Penny household

That "one big at-bat" belongs to Saenz

If Kent has had a 2 error game already this year, then his last 2 error game was in 1998.

306 - In all fairness its hard to catch the ball when your first basemen is poking your wrist just as the ball is falling in.

311 makes more sense if I used the right case and tenses in that sentence.

the error should have been on phillips for running into kent.