Where do you get the Dodgers press notes?

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/presspass/index.jsp

Random Dodger game callback

August 25, 1891

There have been bad days in Dodger history. But this day was one of the worst. It may have indeed been the worst. When the dust cleared at South Side Park, Chicago (which wouldn't be a North Side fixture until the 20th Century) had defeated Brooklyn by a score of 28-5. The 28 runs allowed remain the largest number ever given up by a Dodgers team. The loss dropped fifth Brooklyn to 46-52 and 15 ½ games behind first place Chicago.

Chicago scored 6 runs in the first, 2 runs in the second, 4 runs in the fifth, 5 runs in the sixth, 6 runs in the seventh, and 5 runs in the ninth. Chicago had opted to bat first as home teams sometimes did in the 19th century.

George Hemming was the starter for Brooklyn and he was left in by player-manager Monte Ward to give up all 28 runs, but only 13 of the runs were earned. Chicago had 27 hits, including three home runs, two doubles, and four triples. Hemming walked 6 batters and Brooklyn committed 10 errors.

While 28 runs allowed by Hemming is a Dodgers franchise record, the major league single game record is actually 35 runs allowed by Dave Rowe of Cleveland in 1882. Rowe, however, was an outfielder filling in at pitcher. Hemming was a regular member of Brooklyn's staff. He went 8-15 with a 4.96 ERA in 1891. He would pitch eight years in the majors and was nicknamed "Old Wax Figger" according to Baseball-Reference.com.

One year after a National League pennant in 1890, Brooklyn slid all the way to sixth place at 61-76 and 25 ½ games behind Boston. This was despite the addition of Ward, one of the 19th century's greatest stars. Ward replaced Bill McGunnigle, who had won two consecutive pennants in Brooklyn. It wasn't a case of McGunnigle being a bad manager, but rather a case that Ward, the leader of the now defunct Players League had to be given a new job in a position commensurate to his old one, which was player manager of the Brooklyn Players League team.

Brooklyn's offensive production declined in 1891. The team had scored 885 runs in 1890, but just 765 in 1891. And the pitching staff gave up 200 more runs in 1891 than 1890.

Right fielder Oyster Burns was the leading hitter for Brooklyn, batting .285. Dave Foutz and Darby O'Brien, the hitting stars of 1890 slumped in 1891, probably because the demise of the Players League brought better pitchers back into the National League.

Tom Lovett led the team with a 23-19 record. Bob Caruthers went 18-14, but all the other pitchers had losing records. Adonis Terry, 26-16 in 1890, was just 6-16 in 1891.

1892 would bring more changes to baseball. The American Association would fold and the National League would expand to 12 teams. The Dodgers would improve, but the team in Boston was not going to give up the top spot for a while.

Thanks to the Chicago Tribune, BaseballReference.com and Retrosheet

Oyster Burns!

Cook vs Penny tonight, shouldn't be too hard. Izzy, Cruz, Kent, and Dreifort all hit Cook well, combining for .345/.457/.643 in 29 AB. However, only 2 of those players are available. Izzy, inexplicably, has 3 walks vs Cook to lead the team

Oyster (not his real name) got his start in the majors playing for the worst team ever, the 1884 Wilmington Quicksteps of the Union Association.

They went 2-16 before folding.

I wonder how he got his nickname. Also, they had Adonis Terry. Nobody names their kid Adonis anymore.

Adonis Terry's real name was William. Presumably he was a good looking guy.

Oyster Burns was from Philadelphia, which last time I checked, isn't where one goes for oysters. His given name was Thomas.

As for the Rockies vs Penny:

Helton .346/.393/.615 in 26 ABs
Rest .277/.320/.298 in 47 ABs

Wilmington Quicksteps. What a great name. Like the Oregon Webfoots

7 NOBODY NAMES THEIR KID ADONIS ANYMORE

Well, there was Apollo Creed.

Don't see to many ballplayers named after food anymore either. No more guys nicknamed Cookie, Pie etc.

A Google search turned up a site that claimed that Oyster got his nickname because he would shell seafood in the offseason.

There is no truth to the story that Oyster was no good in months that didn't have an R in them.

Funny, as Morning Briefing pointed out, this is also the anniversary of the 26-23 Cubs-Phillies game from '22.

11 - Reuben?

so are we all in acceptance now that there is no way the dodgers can sweep this series or the next?

Weaver's nickname should be Doodles.

I seem to remember an Adonis in college basketball in recent years but I don't remember a last name or a team.

15. There's absolutely no way they can sweep this series.

17 - Adonis Jordan, who played in the NBA and for Cleveland High School in the Valley.

18 - just stating the obvious

I was the radio play-by-play man for that game, Jon. Don McLean led Simi Valley to a win over the Jordan-led, Bob Braswell-coached Cleveland High team. Great game.

I just saw myself on television from last night's game. Wow... I had no idea I had so little hair! And man, do I need to get in shape! And man, is it a blast to see yourself on television! I mean, that's fun...

By the by, did anybody catch ESPN News following up on the Penny/ballboy/milkpuke story? The ballboy has been suspended for six games. Penny is reportedly outraged.

20. I completely mis-read your earlier post. Thought you were asking if anynoe thought they could sweep this series.

21 You're right. My wife and I sat in the fronr row near first base once. I couldn't stop laughing the next day while watching the replay. I was caught off guard. I couldn't beleive we were in the picture when the camera would cut to the runner on first. It was pretty cool.

21 - I started covering high school sports for the Daily News about 18 months after that.

Jon hasn't told us the names of his kids, but they are actually named Venus and Adonis, according to Joe McDonnell and Rotoworld.

Spicoli probably thinks we can still sweep this series. All we have to do is go back in time, man.

22 - Penny said it was ridiculous to receive a 6 game suspension for milk and a 10 game suspension for steroids. Is it really that hard to drink a gallon of milk in an hour? Must not have been skim.

http://tinyurl.com/csqcs

25

I've actually outlasted Jon on the Daily News high school beat.

But it helps that I don't have anything better to do on Friday nights in the fall.

Well, if Joe McDonnell said it, it must be true...

As boorish as McDonnell can be, I met the guy twice over a decade ago and both times he couldn't have been nicer. Still, there were guys back then in the media who thought he was poison. I prefer to go with my own experience but there are times I listen to his show and wonder whether that's a human being talking or someone just putting on a show.

28
Don't try this at home!

It's hard to get all that fluid in your stomach. And then it's hard for all of it to stay there. And there's a fair amount of fat and sugar and acid for you to digest.

28 - I've never heard of that bet w/ just plain milk, only with chocolate milk.

If I was offered a grand, I'd try it.

31 Someone posted yesterday saying it was a fools bet, that it's impossible to drink a gallon of milk without throwing up.

I'm frankly losing my appetitite just thinking of it. I should've thought of that before being caught on television carrying enough calories to make an offensive lineman blush.

30 - Joe was nice to me as well. I just wouldn't trust an unnamed source on a decision that won't be official for months.

33 I'd try it. In fact, next time I go to the store I'm going to try it with a half gallon. If there are no more FirstMohican posts after tonight, dont let anyone else try it. 40

34 Nicest guy I ever met in the field--and I met some very nice people for the most part--was Vic "the Brick" Jacobs. I don't know what he's like now but back then he was a helluva guy. Most of the guys were really nice, to be honest.

35 I just had a bowl of cereal for lunch and I feel sick already. I'm sure it has nothing to do with this conversation! :)

Seriously, good luck, stay in good health... and let us know how it turns out. Pardon the phrase...

I can see we are going to milk this for all its worth.

Speaking of Joe McDonnell, he was on the Mason and Ireland show today. He said that he was talking to some people from the Dodgers and they told him that ownership is fed up with Bradley. He said that he won't play for the Dodgers next season (or this season if he doesn't have surgery. I hope this isn't true. Bradley is my favorite dodger. BTW Jon, nice post today. I don't know what it is about him, but Bradley has tons of charisma. He seems to have the ability to pull you in.

Sorry, I forgot to close () after "my favorite dodger."

39 I'm going to take McDonnell's report with a considerable grain of salt.

It is interesting to note that Bradley might've been suspended if he wasn't hurt. He was told not to talk to the media by the man he considered a second father--and he did it anyway.

I like Milton and I'm not wild about Tracy. But that ain't cool.

41 Grain of salt, I agree.

39 I too am a Bradley supporter.

However, who's to say when the next issue arises. Let's say they aren't as bad next year as this year and they make the playoffs. What is the likelihood of him going off during the playoffs? If stress or pressure or whatever is the catalyst for him, might he disrupt the team yet again?

so can we have suns thoughts today? orenduff is going on the mound. game stats at 505.

laroches numbers are quite solid now:
284/379/492

he might be ready by july next year.

Re Joe Mcdonnell and whether he's a nice guy or not; reminds me of the old Newhart when some nice woman is getting ready to interview him on TV, and is very sweet, encouraging Newhart to relax about the interview. When the show starts, she suddenly turns nasty, takes him apart, and forces him to admit that his career is a sham.

Lesson: It doesn't matter if Joe McDonnell is a nice guy off-mike. He's a one-sided Dodger basher on-air, and, worse, he has a transparent double standard when it comes to the Angels, who of course pay part of his salary. I can't believe he's now the senior local radio sports guy in town, "the show of record" as he likes to brag. Ugh.

43 - That's why I'm doubly disappointed by the injury. I'd rather see the rift dealt with now, however traumatic it is, and see Bradley gain peace with it, rather than bury the rift or just cut loose Bradley because of it. I think Bradley really does have growth potential, but isolation isn't going to help.

Maybe this kind of hope is how abused spouses stay inexplicably in their marriages.

44 - do you mean ready to be replacement level? (Sincere question, not snide)

41

I agree. The impression I got was that the command to stop talking to the press was a McCourt/DePo/Tracy demand and that Tracy was helping guide him through that. He then went directly to the press. There are not a lot of places where you keep your job after doing something like that. And that saddens me because I too like Bradley.

well, not necessarily. i mean, look at navarro and his current production, and he wasnt even a top 10 prospect. Laroche is rated higher and has better offensive skills. so its possible we could see navarro like production but better power.

maybe a 160ish ISOp

by 160, i mean 190, 160 would be the least i would expect.

good news, abreu is playing today, so i guess his ankle or knee or whatever it was, is okay now.

Jon...I would vehemently disagree that your relationship with Milton Bradley is like a dysfunctional marriage!

I think Bradley is an unusual case among athletes. He's no dummy. He's perceptive to the point of being over-sensitive. I think there's no question he's going to grow as a human being, and as he does so, he's going to probably get better as a player, and a positive force in whatever community he ends up in.

The parallel with Bradley for me is Bill Lee. Except Bradley isn't as humorous; he's more earnest.

Jeff Kent on the other hand is well-known, extensively documented, as a tool. He's not someone I'd want as a friend. But he's a great player, and that makes him tolerable so long as you don't expect too much from him. I think Bradley is one of those who expected more from Kent as a person than Kent is capable of delivering, and for some reason it's gotten his goat. For Bradley to survive in baseball he will have to learn to take his teammates as they come, and realize that some of them are permanently thickheaded. Bill Lee didn't figure that out and his career suffered.

I'll never forget that eaphus pitch

52 - I hear you.

yess laroche walked, i love seeing him walk. his walk rate has improved considerbly going from high A to AA.

loney!!! double, hits the base of the wall in the deepest part in left center, about 400 feet.

LLWS update for those of us stuck at work without tv?

dang, ruggiano single up the middle, loney scores, 3-0 lead already lol.

53 Actually, Bill Lee called it his "LEE-phus" pitch. The Eaphus pitch was by some great pitcher of a prior decade, and I cannot remember who it was. But Lee was throwing it as a tribute to him.

Lee was good at explaining baseball. Wouldn't it be interesting to find out if he's a Saber-man?

52 I could see Kent being a better friend than Bradley, at least for my taste in people. I tend to prefer those who are straight shooters, who would tell me what needs to be told to me even if I may not necessarily want to hear it, who may also be content even if conversation may be lacking.

Bradley, while exhibiting many of these traits, also strikes me as someone who would fidget almost uncontrollably if no one was talking. And that would make me nervous.

I have a co-worker who is keenly interested in the West O'ahu team from 'Ewa Beach. (I'm into the apostrophes.)

One of the players on the West O'ahu squad goes to Our Lady of Good Counsel school. Our Lady of Good Counsel should have come to Milton Bradley in a vision and given him some counsel before he started speaking.

Rip Sewell threw the Ephus pitch that Ted Williams hot for a homerun in an all-star game

Make that hit for a homerun

Forgive my ignorance, but is this Abreu prospect any relation to Philadelphia's Bobby?

Marty is hot for Ted Williams, who himself is very cold right now.

Forgive my ignorance, but is this Abreu prospect any relation to Philadelphia's Bobby?

nah.

Ironically, while baseball will give numerous chances to various wife beaters,drug offenders,and borderline sociopaths, the worst sin for any player appears to be nonconformity.

Just ask Bill Lee, Mike Marshall, and other square pegs, seemingly thrust into the proverbial round hole throughout their careers.

Joe Morgan wrote about the L'Affaire Bradley et Kent today. It's ESPN Insider.

It's probably not worth paying extra for.

He blames both guys.

66 Too bad. Thanks.

68 that is because they are both Dodgers

64- If i'm not mistaken,abbreu has two brothers. They are boh shortstops in the minors. I'm pretty sure they both play for the same organization.

69 are you sure it's a bad thing, given the Wrong Brother Syndrome that the Dodgers suffer from. He has a chance...

(The jury is still out on Cesar vs Macier... I think we lose on the Valentins).

21 Hey Bruin, you shouldn't put yourself down. When your image first popped onto the screen I remember thinking, "Hey, is that Johnny Depp at a Dodgers game?"

Milton -

From what I'm getting, Tracy would like to keep him, DePo is undecided and McCourt wants him gone. If I'm Milton, I start packing.

72 We might have the better Drew.

75 We'll see... Weaver as well?

72 I think (hope) we got the right Laroche brother. That's about all the luck we've had. Although Ramon Martinez was my favorite Dodger growing up. He wasn't necessarily the 'wrong' brother as much as he was the 'non hall of famer' brother.

77 Well, we had the HOF Martinez for a little while.

76 The Angels will be really bummed if that turns out to be the case.

I'm guessing Weaver (the older one) signs with the Angels this winter. They could certainly use an inning-eater, he'll probably give them a little bit of a discount to stay at home and ultimately play with his brother, and I don't see them re-signing Washburn (who by the way, might look very nice in Dodger blue).

74 Where are you getting this?

#68 Morgan's take should have been interesting. It wasn't that long ago that African American players like Frank Robinson or Richie Allen were viewed as "angry" or "difficult to manage", when in retrospect they merely requested to be treated with the same respect as their Anglo counterparts.

Time will tell whether Milton is merely misunderstood, like Frank Robinson was, or just crazy like Alex Johnson or Carl Everett.

firejoemorgan.com should have something to say about his latest article soon.

82 Molokai has dibs on the Milton Bradley/Carl Everett parallel, from what I recall.

81 -

Lots of assumptions, starting with The Big Nasty stating that ownership is fed up with Milton.

Tracy considers him another son.

DePo brought him here so would be a little reluctant to get rid of him that quickly but if Frank wants him gone, he doesn't have any choice.

I don't think Milton is in the same ballpark as Alex Johnson. Johnson was nuts. I think Frank Robinson is crazy as a manager.

85 Thanks. Could be the case, I guess.

Too bad Anthony Perkins isn't still around to play the lead in The Milton Bradley Story.

I think the craziest athlete in my lifetime of watching sports was Duane Thomas of the Cowboys

If I'm correct that McCourt wants Milton gone and, therefore, he is gone, I would look for him to wind up in Washington. Exactly the kind of guy that Jim Bowden would sign, and just think of Milton playing for Frank Robinson. Now there's a mgr who would probably understand him and get the best out of him.

Apparently, the milk-suspensed bat boy is going to be OK. You wouldn't think the Milk Board was going to let him suffer (more than he has already) did you?

http://tinyurl.com/9x86j

oh wow, what a bunch of cheaters. during laroches AB, the CFer was playing just shy of the warning track, laroches rockets it out to the warning track about 395+ feet away, and the cfer didnt even have to move to make the catch.

oops - suspended

90 Jose Guillen and Milton Bradley on the same team...that would be fun. However, Bowden would drool over Bradley, think we could Patterson for him?

If the Dodgers do let Bradley walk, if I were running the Giants, I'd grab him in a nanosecond. They need a young OFer who can get on base if Bonds ever comes back, and a guy who wants to destroy the Dodgers would only be icing on the cake. He'd be the toast of the town.

#89 Never saw him play, but supposedly Marvin Barnes of the old ABA was strong competition for Duane Thomas.

Must have been insane watching Duane Thomas trying to play for George Allen in Washington.

Heck, for that matter, the Angels might use the same logic and grab him. Sure beats the cadaver wearing Finley's uni.

I see I missed the Brad Penny / gallon of milk conversation by about over an hour, but I'll chim in anyways. If I remember correctly, the first time I heard of it was on an episode of Jackass. I think they had a few people try it at once, and none of them made it. I also remember reading about it in a list of "stuff with food you probably should never try." Some magazine had a "competetive eater" try that sort of stuff to see if he could do it. Though I can't remember if he pulled it off or not. But I do remember another one of these feats as trying to eat a tablespoon of cinnamon all at once. The guy doing it basically says, "unless you want to know what choking to death feels like, don't bother trying to do it."

97 -

Based on what they did with Guillen, I don't think the Angels would race to get Milton, but he might be very happy in a place like SF.

And I think Milton will stay. He won't get too much in arbitration, probably about what he's making this season. And if he's a problem, he can probalby be traded mid-season for something worth more than the small amount spent on him.

100 -

I don't think it's going to be Milton's choice. If it is, I agree he'll stay.

Why would the Dodgers let Bradley walk? Even if we got rid of him, he has trade value. His health and anger may not make him super valuable, but trading him A) gets us something in return, and B)let's the Dodgers choose his immediate future.

I'm still not convinced he's gone though

100 I guess what I was trying to say didn't come out right. I realize it's not up to Milton. I meant that I doubt that the team will get rid of him. I just don't think you non-tender a guy with his talent. (see e.g. David Ortiz)

SS Robles
1B Choi
2B Kent
3B Saenz
CF Werth
LF Cruz
C Navarro
LF Valentin
P Penny

vs

2B Miles
CF Sullivan
1B Helton
LF Holliday
3B Atkins
RF Mohr
SS Quintanilla
C Ardoin
P Cook

Dodgers' starting lineup.

Robles SS
Choi 1B
Kent 2B
Saenz 3B
Werth CF
Cruz RF
Navarro C
Valentin LF

What is up with the consistent lineups? ;-)

104 Dang, you beat me. :(

105. I think/hope depodesta's laid down the law with tracy. My way or the highway. Then tracy will leave in the offseason.

105 -

When you only have 8 guys not on the DL it's easy to come up with the same lineup every night, although I bet he seriously considered starting Weaver in left field instead of Valentin.

that lineup isnt that bad.

74
MEMORANDUM

TO: The McCourts
FR: Sitrick & Co.

Esteemed client,

Before you jump to conclusions about what to do with Milt Bradley, we need to do a focus group to determine the impact on the team's reputation in south central. $50K should cover it.

Luv ya,

Your PR firm

How long has it been since Choi and Valentin have homered?

108 I'd seriously consider it as well. Valentin has 5 more hits than Weaver, in 63 more ABs.

.291/.304/.327 vs .178/.336/.288

'Ewa Beach, HI beat Lafayette, LA 2-0 depsite getting only one hit.

'Ewa Beach will play the team from Vista, CA for the U.S. championship. The Hawai'ians turned 4 DPs!

Curacao vs. Japan for the International Final. When Curacao and Japan get it on, you can throw the record books out the window!

112 -

As much as I like Valentin's attitude and realizing that his injury this year hasn't helped any, I think if you look at last year's second half and all of this year, it's about time for him to hang them up

(There, that should mean he'll hit four homers tonight)

I like Valentin's defense in LF. It's not worth starting him, but since he's there, it'll be fun to watch if he makes any circus catches. He might wind up his career as a late inning defensive replacement for some team.

Choi last homered on August 2 at Washington
Valentin last homered on April 8 at Arizona.

there are still 2 guys not in the lineup and they are perez and ledee.
ledee might not be in there because of the nagging hamstring, but perez no reason.
ledee and perez instead of valentin and robles.
and if we had bradley and drew, them instead of cruz and platoon werth and ledee.

113 Thanks Bob. The screenname should give you a clue as to why I'm so interested.

118
Does 808Bears have something to with a pro team in Korea?

116 -
The last time Valentin homered we were playing at a .750 clip. Those were the good ol' days!

KC leads Boston 6-2.

Lima vs. Schilling!

Alex Cora had an RBI double against Lima. Baseball cardiologists were confused.

Bring back Lima!
Bring back Cora!
Bring back Finley!

Anyone who can walk upright is welcome.

122 All those intangibles and chemistry in that seminal event, it's a wonder the fans watching didn't go blind.

Lima gave up a double to Ramirez to lead off the sixth and got pulled. Reliever Shawn Camp gave up a double to Varitek to make it 6-3.

Buddy Bell left Lima in a position to succeed.

Mets up on the DBacks 1-0 in the 2nd.

On a DP, the Mets took a 1-0 lead. Pedro is pitching. The Dodgers better win

Make that 2-0, Diaz homered

2-0 Mets in the 2nd now.

arguably the dodgers could be in first place in the division right now if it wasn't for tracy's rediculous lineups in the past.
alot of tight games lost when having izturis(leading off also), repko, phillips, valentin in the lineup and having choi, seanz, ledee, perez on the bench.
if the dodgers finish within 10 games of first place, its on tracy, and the closer they finish to first place the more magnifined it is on tracy.

also the lack of using dessens in tight games is another thing on tracy.
dessens statisticly has been our best reliever.

131 Statistically, perhaps, but I think Duaner Sanchez has been our most consistent bullpen guy.

I'm very glad the Rockies didn't wear these jerseys last night.

Those uniform tops are incredibly ugly.

So on Sunday the Dodgers are going to wear throwback Brooklyn jerseys. But I assume Houston isn't going to wear anything vintage since there were no Astros in 1955?

Robles tried the phantom tag and the ump didn't buy it.

Navarro's throw looked good, Robles messed that up I guess, missed the hand completely despite having plenty of time

132--- only lately, since he has added or has mastered the change up, i wouldn't say he has been the most consistent all year.
i would say dessens has been the most consistent all year, altho he hasn't been used much thanks to tracy.
but after seeing sanchez's change up a week ago, i'm optimistic about sanchez.
tracy ought to use dessens as the set up man right now (our current roster).

It didn't look like the runner stealing second ever touched the bag with his right hand, and even if he did, it came off before he was touching the bag with his left.

Wish I had Tivo.

Now Choi decides to hit. Last night would have been nice

137 As someone who has Tivo, let me just say you had it exactly right. The first body part to touch the bag was the dragging left foot. On a head first slide, no less.

Kent has a problem with people in black uniforms.

The Bradley thing really hasn't helped Kent, he's now 0-9 against the Rockies. If he goes silent, the Dodgers tend to go silent...

Offseason moves:

Since Beltran has not seemed to jell in NY, how about we send Bradley, O. Perez and Choi for Beltran? It solves problems for both teams. We should be able to take on a big contract then and the Mets get 3 starters.

2006 Lineup:

1. Perez 2B

2. Beltran CF

3. Drew RF

4. Kent 1B

5. Werth LF

6. LaRoche/Guzman 3B (whoever is ready 1st)

7. Martin/Navarro C

8. Robles/Izturis SS (whoever is not traded)

Aw man...

But I wonder about Dessens if he would still be as good as he has been if he were used more often. I don't think he's ever been short relief guy. He might not have the most resilient arm. He was disabled for a long spell this year with a shoulder problem.

So Penny doesn't quite have command of the breaking pitch tonight? Because that thang hung for an hour...

Vin can't pronounce Omar Quintanilla's name. He keeps pronouncing it as a cross between Quintanilla and Quantrill.

www.shawngreenstinks.com

142 IF I'm the Mets, I say no. Bradley is hurt with a capital "H", and Perez is very much on the down slope. Choi, IMHO, is a gift to baseball but my deluded opinion is not shared by many. Plus, the NY press would fry the Mets for making the deal.

As for Beltran, he's overpaid and besides, that's just too much money in one player. Let the Mets have him.

i thought it was a back problem, bob?

http://www.shawngreenstinks.com

http//:www.shawngreenstinks.com

screw it

shawngreenstinks.com

screw it

shawngreenstinks.com

number1shawnfan wants to tell us about a website.

Vin's point here is well taken. Saenz and Ledee, thought to be bit players, have been producing quite nicely. I think this team would've walked away with this division had they been even moderately healthy. It's why I'm so high optimistic about the future of this team.

4/24/05 Placed RHP Elmer Dessens on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 20, with bone spur in his pitching shoulder.

156
That was from the MLB.com transactions archive.

ah. well, there were so many injuries this year, it's hard to keep track :)

Werth is one of the bigger disappointments for me this season. Yes, he's been hurt but even when healthy, he looks like half the player that he was last season.

Werth didn't need to steal there

Cruz gets the Olney

High fives for #22! Way to move that runner!

Has it been brought up that Navarro might be the second coming of Mike Scioscia? I wonder how comparable their stats will be. Outside of switch-hitting, Navarro seems very similar to Scioscia: good eye, good average, good contact, runs like an anvil and has no power.

163 We'll have to see if he's willing to put his life on the line to block the plate.

I can't believe I forgot about Scioscia's most memorable quality. Navarro tagged out Helton last night but I did not get the sense that Helton regretted the slide.

Come heck our high water, I'm going to try to catch Clemens on Sunday. I've never seen him pitch live.

164 Does catching the Schmoll pitch count? Wasn't blocking the plate, but that was one heck of a catch

Let's reminisce.

I'll just use guys who have named injuries on the MLB.com transactions.

4/10 - Antonio Perez (hamstring)
4/24 - Elmer Dessens (bone spur in shoulder)
5/4 - Jose Valentin (knee)
5/18 - Jason Grabowski (shoulder)
5/23 - Odalis Perez (inflamed shoulder)
5/27 - Paul Bako (knee)
6/3 - Milton Bradley (finger)
6/6 - Wilson Alvarez (shoulder)
6/7 - Ricky Ledee (hamstring)
6/15 - Eric Gagne (elbow)
7/4 - J.D. Drew (wrist)
7/5 - Cesar Izturis (hamstring)
7/8 - Kelly Wunsch (ankle)
7/31 - Jayson Werth (knee)
8/11 - Wilson Alvarez (shoulder)
8/22 - Odalis Perez (oblique)
8/25 - Milton Bradley (knee)

I didn't list the preseason injuries to Dreifort, Gagne, Werth, Penny, and Alvarez.

Wh did he walk Sullivan? With Helton up...

156-- to be honest i don't understand the difference between pitching 1 inning almost everyday vs pitching 3 innings every 4 or 5 days, and what it has to do with potential injuries.
to me if you throw 15 pitches in 1 inning 3 days in a row it equals 45 pitches in 3 days vs if you throw 45 pitches in 3 innings every 3 days it still equals 45 pitches for 3 days.
i don't know, all i'm saying is that i don't think there is a difference in injury prone as a long reliever vs a short reliever, but i'm no expert.

168 You're missing the preseason injuries, Werth, Gagne, and Penny

Navarro should have blocked that one

A friend told me that Helton was safe last night.

However, the ball had hit a security guard so it should have been a dead ball anyway.

168 Every year we some announcer will say of some team that they've "never seen this many injuries strike a ballclub." It's often an overstatement.

Not this year. Not with the Dodgers. I cannot immediately recall a season like this one.

As I wrote at the end of 168
I didn't list the preseason injuries to Dreifort, Gagne, Werth, Penny, and Alvarez.

171 See the last line of post 168.

173 Guess I stopped reading =/

The preseason injuries didn't have descriptions listed by them.

This is an anxious moment...

This really sucks. This was suppose to be an easy win, and Werth almost had that. Well, we'll be 6.5 back, and we'll fall more this weekend. Go A's!

That was terrible.

ouch.

Fastball down the middle. To the Rockies announcers it was "sheer power". They are already talking about a "road sweep...errr road win"

The replay suggests that Werth barely missed that one.

I found out long ago.

It's a long, long way on Holliday Road.
Holliday Road.
Holliday Road.
Holliday Road.

Matt be nimble, Matt be quick
Take a ride on with the Rockies stick!
Holliday Road.
Holliday Road.
Holliday Road.

Tonite's game makes DJ Houlton's start that much more impressive.

Penny with another walk. And he doesnt look like he's got anything tonite.

Penny has no control..bring in Dessens now!

Brad Penny tonight is a one-pitch pitcher.

The strike zone seems narrow and tall tonight. Bad for Penny, I guess...

Penny is doing terrible. No ability to hit the strike zone whatsoever.

A one pitch pitcher with no control of that pitch.

We have the lineup in there to come back, but Robles and Kent have to do something. Robles 0-6 and Kent 0-9 in the series. Hard to put rallies together when your leadoff man, and 3rd place hitter are slumping.

Kent stinks now. He can't even back up his big mouth.

I'll take a little luck, thanks.

Penny fails to get an Olney.

The Rockies announcer thought that Penny was trying to bunt down the 1st base line and called Penny "a pretty good hitter"

Padres injuries:

Preseason: Dave Roberts (something)
4/8: Eric Young (dislocated shoulder)
4/18: Khalil Greene (finger)
5/2: Geoff Blum (chest contusion)
5/4: Woody Williams (oblique)
5/9: Tim Redding (shoulder)
5/24: Mark Loretta (hand?)
6/22: Adam Eaton (finger)
6/22: Ramon Hernandez (wrist)
6/26: Phil Nevin (oblique)
7/18: Rudy Seanez (shoulder)
7/29: Ramon Hernandez (wrist)
7/29: Chris Hammond (neck)
8/10: Adam Eaton (finger)
8/15: Khalil Greene (toe)

Dang Penny we could have used an Olney at least right there.

196 It would appear that the Rockies announcer is a wonderful human being who sees good in each and every one of his fellow men. I like him.

197 Vinny just said Colorado has lost every position player at one time or another and the bullpen injury situation has been even worse.

"A one out double for Robles...he loves Colorado pitching."
Who doesn't?

couple questions:
do you think jtd plays short in the majors? do we keep izi if we move joel to the outfield? do we have delwyn young or antonio perez at second in the future? james loney or hee seop choi?

i think this east coast thing is gonna be all right. following half the game is more than enough these days. g'night all.

197 At a glance, I think the Dodgers have had it significantly tougher in the injury department though it hasn't been a bowl of cherries for the Padres. Maybe the NL West isn't all that weak but just hurt?

200
But the Rockies weren't starting with anyone good to begin with. Except for Helton. Barmes was slumping when he went on the DL with a freak deer meat accident.

Vishal, remind me... why are you on the east coast?

Why did Choi swing at the 3-1? He wanted the Olney?

Was that a fastball? 'Cuz it moved like a knuckler...

I wish patient Choi would come back. That was a bad swing for a 3-1 pitch.

I think Arizona's injuries have mainly been to their pitchers and have reduced its staff from being bad to really bad.

San Francisco has lost Bonds obviously, but Alou has been on the DL twice. Some of the other outfielders have been injured and almost all of the pitchers have gone on the DL.

209 Yeah but that pitch was moving like a soap bubble in hurricane. Sorry for the bad analogy but that's what stood out to me.

202- no Guzman will probably play RF. Izzy stays until Hu is ready. Young is probably a better hitter, neither is good defensively, neither will play 2B if Tracy is the manager. Choi/FA for now. Loney is at least 1-2 years away.

By the way, did I mention that Kent stinks.

Jeff Kent's now 0-10 in the series. He looks like crap.

I'd rather be Milton than Jeffrey right now.

Ah a fitting way to end our season and hopes. The worse road team in baseball bashes our best pitcher in our ballpark. Nice to see Penny come up strong when we needed him. When DJ Houlton is your best pitcher in August I get a little worried about a bloated starting pitching staff under contract for the future. Not even a year has passed and the bad contracts in the winter of 2005 have already made OP and Lowe bloated corpses. It wasn't just Depo, if you look at all the silly contracts given to pitchers in 2005 you will find very very few success stories.
Pavano-bad
Wright-bad
Clement - looked good but he's been awfull since the break
Lowe-bad
OP - bad
Radke-at least he pitches but surely not worth his contract
Pedro - living up to his
Millwood - best value, not a lot of wins but has had a very good season

Still disapointed in Depo, thought he was going to be smarter then the rest.

I wonder if the management boys will continue to throw big money at bad arms and mediocre pitching in 2006. AJ Burnett will be an interesting test. Great stuff, injury prone, sounds like a Yankee to me. I think it is safe to assume that Weaver will not be persued by the Yankees. He probably should go back to Detroit, he could help that team.

211
The analogy cops are going to be all over you like a cheap suit.

"Dodger Stadium: there's no better place to play."

Dodgers might want to update that promo. I love Milton but it sounds a little incongruous.

Hey, not bad-Valentin scored from second on that double.
As good as the Dodgers talent is in most of the minors, its interesting to see that once you remove four or five of the best players, LA and Vegas have lousy records. Would this be true of most organizations. Of course, we've had many Vegas players off and on.

212. Izturis wont last past the winter. He's OPS'ed .556, .590, .711, and now .620 this season. He doesnt fit in with this team.

Perez is a good pitcher when he's healthy. Let's see how he does next year. Signing Lowe was a huge mistake, he makes way too much money for a innings eater. They would have been better off extending Weaver.

Cook, Butler or Gardner? Heckuva trivia question...

I say Loaiza is the best investment. Bowden got him for next to nothing

I flipped over to the Met-Dback game and Pedro had a no hitter thru 5. Mark Grace was doing his best to jinx it and Pedro promptly gave up a hit, to which Grace exclaimed "My bad!".

Brad Penny has just entered the stadium.

215. Weisman was right when he said Jeff Weaver was the most mediocre of the mediocre. Even in a 'good' Weaver season, he's mediocre.

Lowe, Penny, and Odalis Perez all have at least had good seasons in the past.

Jeff Weaver has never had a good season. But somehow he's made 8-9 mils per season. Scott Boras is a genius.

216 :)

220. How do you figure? Lowe's had a better career than Jeff Weaver has.

Lowe at his best was a very good pitcher.
Weaver at his best, is still only mediocre.

Lowe's had a much better career than Weaver, and seemed like a safer investment if you are going to throw money at either one.

Did I just hear that Sunday's telecast will be shot with 1955 technology?

The webfeed is awful in DC tonight. The Chineese hackers must be eating up the bandwith in their attacks on the US government. OTOH, with a game like this, I might consider sending them a thank you card for saving me the pain.

228
You mean it will be in black & white with two cameras?

The answer to the AFLAC trivia question has completed my life. There is nothing left to know...

Another swing at a 3-1 pitch. This will be a long night with so many lost 3-1's

Whats with our hitters swinging at 3-1 pitches? We need baserunners.

Terrible at bats by both Saenz/Choi. They were ahead in the count. You gotta get on base when you make it to 3-1.

Hard to comeback when you give away at bats like those two just did.

Lima with the win over Schilling tonight.

Uh-oh. Werth probably broke his ankle

219- I addressed this issue yesterday..here's what I said..
Robles is almost 30 years old. Depodesta is not going to trade a 25 year old SS coming off of a poor year. If he is traded, it will be when Hu is ready.

nate: what makes robles a bench player and izzy not one?
age, salary, defensive reputation

alex 7: miltie, when/if Iz bounces back next year, will he be much better than Robles' current .280 gap-power-some-walks hitting ability?
no, but he'll be a better defender and will likely raise his trade value- also the Dodgers haven't had any stability at SS in a long time, it's nice to have a SS that plays great defensive (which I expect Izzy to do next year while being for the most part, fully healthy)

Finally...
Izturis needs to be traded/package Izturis for a SP like Penny/Izturis stinks look at his career OPS/etc
A .250 hitting SS with good defense and no power doesn't have much value. A .280-.300 hitting SS with very good defense is gold. Like 542 said, Izzy won't have a lot of value in the offseason coming off of a poor season.

I want him gone no matter what we get in return...even if we get a mediocre veteran in return
He's entering his prime. Check out Omar Vizquel's career...say 1993...kinda looks like another young Venezuelan SS.
Vizquel '93 (26 years old) .255/.319/.298 .617
Izturis '05 (25 years old) .257/.302/.322 .624

I'm sorry that you can't come up with anything better than the he stinks argument without pulling up statistics of a young player that was rushed to the majors.

Good at bat by Werth but he couldnt finish it off. When you get the count to 3-2 or 3-1, you have to at the very worst get a walk.

236---i don't understand what you are saying, could you explain in a shorter to the point way.

Pinch hit Penny!!!!

Package Iz for a pitcher like Penny? So the pitcher misses a year and then is mediocre?
Izzy should be OK.

Perfect chance for some runs and Penny is batting. ugh...

Dodgers are playing some really really dumb baseball tonite. WHat on earth possessed our .100 hitting Pitcher to 1st pitch hack with the bases juiced???

Cook's got nothing tonite. But our hitters are having some dumb at bats.

That, and we have no power.

206 Vishal is going to New York for edification...

Cook is at 69 pitches and showed signs of weakness. I suppose 3 runs is very possible

236- Vizquel OPS+ed better than 100(average) only once (1999). I understand the school of thought by which he is considered the best (or at least one of the greats) SS ever, but it's not the same school as the one that values OPS above all else. By that school, four starting SSs are having better years than Vizquel ever did. Two of them are younger than Izzy.

240 Tonight's performance notwithstanding, Penny has been far from mediocre. I think at his best he's a #2 pitcher. If I could get another guy like him for Izzy, I'd do it but that's my opinion.

238- don't trade Izturis now when he has no value, wait another year- let him build up his value, preferably wait until Hu is ready, by then Izturis might be an Omar Vizquel clone/a franchise SS in which case you keep him and trade Hu. Vizquel didn't post his first .700 OPS until he was 29 years old. Izturis did it as a 24 year old.

That post was directed towards you oldbear, though you probably would rather not respond to it with some valid points.

Fire Tracy....now?

243 Thanks for that...

-I think we should trade Izturis before his value falls even lower.

Where in the hell do the Rockies think their playing, fercryinoutloud.

I think the Dodgers are now in Acceptance.

Is that a GP? I think it is. Miles has 8 career HRs in 815 AB's.

And that makes the non-PH look bad. Especially against Miles. This why we need our good bench, too bad they can't start AND sit on the bench.

Bob has a list of players he hates.

I officially hate Aaron Miles. He's short, he's a bad hitter and he plays like he's a buzzing fly. And yet every time I see him play against us, he does something. Hate him, hate him, hate him!

You know, I read the comments about pinch-hitting for Penny and I thought, no - I like to be aggressive with pinch-hitting, but the fourth inning is too early. (And I remember Tommy John in the 1981 World Series.)

Then I saw Penny had thrown 80 pitches in a mediocre outing and figured he had at best one good inning left, which fits into my theory. Bases loaded, down three, September around the corner, brutal series coming up with Pettite, Oswalt and Clemens? Yeah, pinch-hit. Use your top card now (Ledee, I guess).

The home run Penny just allowed in the fifth is merely epilogue.

249- what you don't understand is that it's unlikely that Izturis reached his offensive peak at 24. Possible, but unlikely.

247. How do you Izturis wont keep getting worse? The guy was never good to begin with, and a had a career offensive season that made everyone notice his defense, and thus the gold glove.

But Izzy is getting paid 7 mils the next 2 seasons to OPS .640... I dont think so. Let someone else have that headache.

Izturis has NEVER hit. Nor will he.

248 Something about a school for government and policy.

254
Welcome to my world!

It's best to fixate on guys who are mostly harmless to dislike.

If you spend your life with a blood feud against Barry Bonds, you aren't going to like it because Bonds will beat you too often.

256. Even in his offensive 'peak', he's still a liablity with the bat. This is a player that has NEVER OBP'ed .340 in a season. Thats terrible. Never in the minors, or majors. No power whatsoever either.

And tonite's game further illustrates that defense is very minimal

Power hitting and pitching wins games.

So the Bradley/Kent fiasco was only a distraction so the baseball gods could inject the one last lethal dose. September should be fun at least, as long as our callups don't consist only of Rose, Ross, and Erickson

255 Practically, you and everyone else are probably right. And I doubt Penny would've thrown a fit. But I think there's a code that when your number one guy is pitching and you're within three runs, you stick with him. Penny pitched very well the previous inning (granted against the bottom of the order) but I think the main reason you stick with him is for the psychological benefit of having your number one guy on the hill when you're trying to come back.

255 I didn't even look at the pitch count. I just don't like watching a pitcher walk batters and, on the rare times they throw a pitch in the zone, give up homeruns.

Men on the corners, no outs for the DBacks, down 2-0

So has the curse of Steve moved on to other endeavors entirely?

262 So you're saying that leaving Penny in means that there's some sort of Placebo effect that causes a trailing team to forget that they're losing?

247-- o.k. i got it now.
but i disagree about izturis having no trade value, there are plenty of gm's that value defense at ss and don't really care about offense at the position, dan evans is one.
also what's the fascination with hu, he hasn't put up any numbers that tell me he is going to be special.
if anything guzman should be our future ss, guzman is a free swinger with power, if he plays anywhere but ss his value drops drasticly.
if guzman is not our future ss then i say trade him.
maybe we are on different pages, maybe you value defense over offense, if so, we are on different pages.
we have seanz and robles for 3b, and perez and robles for ss, i don't see the need for izturis.
and i don't want to take the chance of hurting the team next year by giving izturis another year to try to improve his offense, so he will have a little more trade value.
and he won't ever put up a decent ops, so giving him time to improve offensively to see if its worth it to keep him is out of the question.

Another 3-2 count and Robles cant deliver. Looks the Dodgers are refusing to walk tonite. They must have taken too many last nite against Kim.

.710 OPS/.330 OBP is good for an excellent defensive SS. Like I said, it is unlikely that Izturis readched his offensive peak at 24. Please compare Izturis to another young SS that was similar offensively and defensively and flamed out after peaking early. You don't need an .800 OPS from every position. Hee Seop Choi is an average offensive 1st baseman and nothing special defensively. Who will replace Izturis at SS for the next 3 years while Hu develops? 30 year old Oscar Robles, who is a mild upgrade offensively, and a pretty big downgrade defensively (when Izzy is healthy).

*Meanwhile, Izturis is limping through the clubhouse and the pain is shooting from his back through his right leg. "I feel like an old man," he said. "I can't bend over. I can't do anything."

He said he suffered the injury during a game at Washington three weeks ago and re-injured it Monday.*
I'm sure this hasn't affected his offense or defense at all

Choi gets ahead in the count, cant deliever.

This is terrible.

269 But Izturis' offense hasn't been good since May.

June July August
.297 .597 .493

That's not just bad, that's awful. Surely he hasn't been hiding injury all this time.

Maybe that will get Jeff out of his funk.Realistically he's been great this season.Lousy lately.
I'm afraid this week-ends Brew-hah-hah was the snapping point after all the injuries.Acceptance.

271 Ed: Those are OPSes.

buyah, my boy werth delivers.
sorry, i like werth.

Cruz gives away another 3-2 count. Plate discipline is atrocious tonite.

Another 2 out rally without much success. At least Cook is at 97, and the Rockies pen is hittable. But we all know why Cruz is still with the Dodgers, to give Vin some more deuces

Chad Tracy homered, 2-1 Mets

267- Guzman is not a SS. He is too big (he would likely be the tallest SS in major league history). He will probably gain between 10-20 pounds, putting him at 235-245. I haven't seen any SS THAT big. Perez would be terrible at SS, Robles is barely average defensively and has no longterm future with the team as a starter. I don't value defense over offense. Izturis is fine when he is producing a .700 OPS and playing great defense, which I believe he is capable of doing, but when he is playing like he is this year, obviously he shouldn't starting. I think the back injury has affeceted his defense, offense, and speed. I'd like to see him next year-healthy- on the Dodgers. I believe that Hu will play great defense like Izturis, hit for more power, and be a good basestealer. I value defense up the middle (C, 2B, SS, CF). SS is one position where you can sacrifice some hitting. If Izturis was batting 8th and producing like last year would anyone have a problem? No.

9

That's the number of 3-x counts the Dodgers have had tonight.

1

The number of walks.

Indeed.

Alvarez is feeling better and will pitch in the bullpen over the weekend. Bradley gets his second opinion tomorrow, and Izzy will get an MRI.

As for the milk incident, Penny is paying the lost wages of the batboy, and fears for the batboy's job security. And a bunch of talk shows want them to appear as guests.

266 Exactly! I'm glad you agree! :)

I have to admit I am getting pretty upset about the play of Jose Nakamura Jr. He looks awful at the plate. He swings like a girl, and I have nothing against girls. :) Meatball is at the game, and the cameras caught him stuffing his face. vr, Xei

278. "Izturis is fine when he is producing a .700 OPS and playing great defense, which I believe he is capable of doing"

Nothing in his past 9 year career would support that expectation though. His #'s everywhere he's been have been pretty much terrible offensively.

I dont believe in "We'll we can afford bad production from such and such position"... The only position where you could make that claim would be catcher, where there are very few good offensive players.

However at SS. There are plenty of SS's that hit really well too.

Sure Choi and Saenz are average 1st basemen. But put them together, and they are a good 1st basemen.

Izturis on his own is a pretty poor offensive SS. And I dont think his defense makes up for that.

I look at Izturis and see Juan Castro. I dont want to see that anymore

279. Good stat. Thats why we only have 2 runs, even though everyone in the lineup has at least 1 hit.

We need to get back to taking walks, getting on base, and then someone, anyone, hit a HOME RUN Finally.

We havent hit 1 since Saturday's game.

However at SS. There are plenty of SS's that hit really well too.
That hit well (not sure what you consider hitting well) and play at least pretty good defense, and aren't extremely expensive? Who?

I see the "trade Izturis" marching and chowder society is still going strong tonight. I think anyone on the team is tradeable for the right deal, but like mentioned last night I don't see any way you would get a pitcher of Penny's abilities for Izturis, even if you threw in goggle boy and someone from AAA. With Izturis being banged up this year, and his prime years just around the corner along with a contract year, I wouldn't be upset if he was kept around. I would prefer he move to 8th in the lineup for the meantime. vr, Xei

Viva Navarro. I swear this guy has the best strike zone judgement of all our hitters, and he's only 21!

Leadoff walk.

2 more 3-2 counts to start off the 6th inning... and what do you know back 2 back walks and APerez coming up. vr, Xei

278 Although I'd love to say it's because Jim Tracy is retarded, it's pretty clear to me that when Izturis leads off, it's because the Dodgers aren't currently equipped with a batter who fits the 'leadoff hitter' profile. Reason No. 2 is the great start he had to the season. When the Dodgers were scoring runs, Izturis was scoring and/or driving in a fair share of them. Tracy probably thinks that's the 'real' Izzy, who but for injury would be still doing that.

Are any of the Suns good at getting on base, can steal a base without getting caught half the time, show good plate discipline, with occasional power? When that guy shows up, Izzy's days as leadoff hitter will end.

I'm exhausted with this Dodger team. Just like the 90s team; kinda good in spots, but nowhere near good enough. Only two real stars, one of them out for the year, the other a reader of motocross magazines. I hope there are some Pujols, Crawfords, Ryan Howards, John Pattersons, Zack Dukes, Jake Peavys, etc., somewhere in the minors for us. It's been a long wait for a dynamite team to come together again.

Bout time we start converting those 3-x counts into walks.

Good job Valentin.

274 I like Werth --he's a great blend of speed and power. I'm just so bitter after all the injuries I like to mouth off about him being brittle.

285 Michael Young, Bobby Crosby, Jhonny Peralta, Khalil Greene, Pedro Feliz, Russ Adams, Aaron Hill, Julio Lugo, Carlos Guillen, Rafael Furcal, Bill Hall, Jimmy Rollins, and maybe JJ Hardy (although he's doing terrible this year)

Is Valentin slow? The COL booth crew keeps refering to him as slow. I know he's old but he can't be as slow as a catcher, right?

282- Meathead, you mean? Not a very nice way to address the next Gov. of California!

Perez didn't need to be greedy, he could ultimately cost us the tying run...

We got another run! And I've got to get to dinner... c'mon team!!

So, who's at the game jinxing us tonight? Dummy APerez makes a baserunning blunder. Kent should get in his grill, but of course doesn't know how to treat brown players.
vr, Xei

buyah, bench boy (thanks to tracy) delivers.
sorry, i think perez should start everyday.

297

I'm safely at home.