Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Jon's other site:
Screen Jam
TV and more ...
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
I'm looking forward to the time when I can inculcate him with Dodger fandom.
Here's a portion of the appropriate song for those of us who remember it:
Three is a magic number,
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number.
The past and the present and the future.
Faith and Hope and Charity,
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three as a magic number.
It takes three legs to make a tri-pod
Or to make a table stand.
It takes three wheels to make a ve-hicle
Called a tricycle.
Every triangle has three corners,
Every triangle has three sides,
No more, no less.
You don't have to guess.
When it's three you can see
It's a magic number.
A man and a woman had a little baby,
Yes, they did.
They had three in the family,
And that's a magic number.
3-6-9, 12-15-18, 21-24-27, 30.
3-6-9, 12-15-18, 21-24-27, 30.
As for the sound bites...awww. So cute. Jon, next you might want to teach her to say "cancel my subscription to the LA Times" after what they did to your alma mater on the editorial page.
Cesar Izturis
Alex Cora
Chad Fonville
Eddie Pye
Jody Reed
Jeff Hamilton
Steve Sax
Rudy Law
Derrel Thomas
Enzo Hernandez
Glenn Burke
Willie Davis
Elmer Valo
The Hee-Seop chant cracked me up. Very cute.
Elmer Valo
Chico Fernandez
Billy Cox
Stan Rojek
Fats Dantonio
Red Durrett
Babe Herman
Art Herring
Eddie Basinski
Tommy Brown
Red Barkley
Boyd Bartley
Al Campanis
Alex Kampouris
Pete Coscarat
Joe Stripp (the first Dodger to wear number 3)
During WWII, there were several players who used #3 during the seasons.
"The worst hygiene was at Atlanta's Turner Field baseball stadium, where 37 percent of men left the bathroom without washing, and 16 percent of the women did."
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2169046
Another jazz legend who wrote a Schoolhouse Rock song was Dave Frishberg who composed the epic "I'm Just a Bill".
I guess I should be more upset about the loss to UC Davis, but I'm mostly just amused. It's not like Stanford is good to begin with - it would have hurt much more if Stanford had something to lose other than pride - and I could not care less about what the Jim Romes of the world think of it. I congratulate UC Davis and thank it for keeping the sport interesting. And I hope we learn from it!
I wouldn't crow too much in Berkeley, though. Upsets have a way of evening out...
It's sort of like Steve with the Oakland A's.
Ultimately, you get disappointed either way.
- Any word on how Dionner Jr is doing?
- I thought Cal was probably the 2nd or 3rd best team last year, and was upset at the non West Coast bias when they didn't even make it to a BCS bowl game... then they lost their bowl game and I had to think otherwise.
- Any word on Penny's condition?
vr, Xei
"Paul DePodesta, Dodgers
• Survival odds: 60%
DePodesta has a target on his back after this miserable season. He's responsible for the horrid signings of J.D. Drew, Derek Lowe and Odalis Perez. But the farm system has been nicely restocked, and there's no reason why the Dodgers won't contend again next year.
The big question will be whether DePodesta even wants to come back. He has told friends that he's miserable. He has three years left on his contract, and owners Frank and Jamie McCourt don't want to swallow $2.4 million.
• Prediction: DePodesta stays, but if the Dodgers miss the playoffs next season, he's out."
Actually, that might have been yesterday, looking at the date again.
Apropos of that, it appears Brian Cashman and Lou Piniella could be looking for new employment opportunities. Anyone here favor hiring either or both? Cashman worked wonders when he didn't have Big Stein breathing down his neck, but he also worked his way up from the grounds crew in that organization, and might be lost anywhere else. Piniella's issues are well-known, but he's proven he can win with decent talent, and won his only WS in the NL (RED FLAG--this was the only time he had a really reliable bullpen). The best thing about him may be that he offers a bullet-proof excuse to get rid of Tracy.
Am I considered a journalist now because of my exciting three paragraph stories in the Daily News about prep football? If so, cool!
"Despite the fact that Dodgers backup catcher Paul Bako is missing the final four months of the season after knee surgery, general manager Paul DePodesta said Wednesday he is open to re-signing Bako this winter, a statement that casts further doubt on the future of Jason Phillips."
http://www2.dailynews.com/sports/ci_3050173
The main point remains; Bob is a priceless resource.
14 - that's reasonable, but put it this way. if you thought you deserved to play in a BCS bowl(and the rose bowl, no less) and then found out you got demoted to some relatively meaningless game instead, you'd have a hard time getting excited about it. granted, they should've won the game anyway, but i don't entirely blame them for phoning that one in. and texas tech isn't a bad team. this year they're ranked top-20 already.
Navarro
Milton Bradley
Jose Cruz Junior
Then we have Willie Aybar and D Young from the minors and holdover Izturis.
In a strange scenario we could have a lineup next year of:
1st - Choi
2nd - Kent
SS - Izturis
3b - Aybar
C - Navarro
LF - D Young
CF - M Bradley
RF - Jose Cruz
Six switch hitters. I know it is doubtfull that we would have both Bradley and Cruz and that would certainly not be our optimal starting lineup but just pointing out the possibility.
Giving us six switch hitters.
I think the 65/66 Dodgers had a lineup of switch hitters with
Gilliam/Wills/Wes Parker/Lefebvre/Schofield
Schofield didn't really play much and would have replaced either Gilliam/Wills/Lefebvre if he did.
Cal's last Rose Bowl was inded in 1959, a 38-12 loss to Iowa.
Cal has not won a Rose Bowl since 1938, when the Bears beat Alabama 13-0.
Cal and Michigan are the only schools to lose the Rose Bowl in three straight years.
good to know that there is still a potential 50-year anniversary i can attend!
additionally, all three sound clips were some of the cutest things i've encountered all day. happy birthday to your daughter, jon.
by the way, the dodgers have really sucked this season.
i think cashman gets too much credit. bob watson built the team. cashman just filled subsequent holes with whatever big name free agent or high priced player expressed an interest in wearing pinstripes. with the possible exception of his signing of scott brosius.
I think a sign of Cal's problem in the Rose Bowls is that during their three year losing streak they came into the 1949 Rose Bowl undefeated and lost to ...
Northwestern.
They were undefeated the next two years too (10-0 and 9-0-1 [Stanford tie]) and lost those Rose Bowls as well.
his 53 runs batted in
Were those during games?
sorry for the horrible pun. couldn't resist.
That would be high quality theater.
I think your pronouns aren't agreeing there? Who remembers whose name?
Thanks. That makes much more sense.
true. however, it would have made me (and i'm sure many other dodger fans) feel a lot better if i would not have had to see jason phillips boot ground balls and try to shovel at pitches in the dirt with men in scoring position.
No formula but historically players with counting stats get nice arbitration numbers. I don't think out of the box stats such as VORP or WARP would be given much weight in an arbitration hearing. Could be wrong as I do not know what a arbitrator considers or does not consider. I can only look at the money they hand out and wonder what were they thinking.
What makes you think that the savvy general managers are not already doing that?
I'm also not convinced Phillips wouldn't be a better backup catcher than Bako, defensive issues aside. (Of course, I'd be willing to let Navarro play 100 games and Martin 60).
I was going to do a longer post on DePo today but decided to let my daughter carry the day. In short, I would reiterate that I do not for a moment think this is the time to abandon support for DePodesta (the way Rob at 6-4-2 seems to be). There have been some growing pains, but I still find the Dodgers to be incredibly well set up for the future.
28 - interesting. Thanks.
.804 vs. LHP and .600 vs. RHP. Choi's?
.771 vs. LHP and .799 vs. RHP
So is an extra 33 points of OPS worth Phillips' defensive stonehandedness?
More to the point, comparing season numbers is misleading when the choice is between Phillips at 1B or Choi at 1B, you should compare their numbers in those roles:
Phillips as a 1B (AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS):
.224 / .246 / .388 / .634
Choi as a 1B (AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS):
.262 / .346 / .483 / .829
Jason Phillips was a miserable-hitting first baseman for his tenure at the position, and Tracy just kept going with him.
You'll notice that Choi's numbers are much better as a 1B than his season totals. Logically, this is because Choi was a lousy pinch hitter:
.195 / .277 / .317 / .594
And yet Choi was used in that role 41 times. If Tracy wants to let Choi rot on the bench, he really needs to be serious about it.
Lineup order also reveals some interesting choices by Tracy. Choi's numbers as a #2 hitter:
.315 / .388 / .664 / 1.052 in 146 ABs.
That's pretty good. And yet Choi was placed in the lineup outside the #2 slot far more than he was used in it. Choi's OPS in the #3, #4, etc. slots was .000, .650, .405, .773, .429, .277 and .636 respectively - the last one presumably reflecting his use as a PH.
Is it possible to look at these numbers and conclude putting Phillips at 1B over Choi didn't cost the Dodgers some runs and/or games this season? Or that not using Choi effectively had the same result?
Regarding Lou, I had a pretty good seat to see him up close when he was with the Mariners. I did not think much of the way he made his exit from Seattle and his performance in Tampa Bay has been less than stellar. No way I would hire him to manage the Dodgers. I am on record as saying Tracy should be back. I don't think a manager merry-go-round helps a franchise. Bobby Cox in Atlanta, and Walt Alston and Tommy LaSorda with LA have been successful because they had a stong front office that did not panic when things did not always go as planned. Give most managers good players and they will succeeed.
Regarding the catchers, I see no reason to bring Bako or Phillips back next year. If Martin is as good as advertised, I would let him and Navarro handle catching duties next year. Phillips can't throw and Bako can't hit. Let the kids play until or unless they show they are overmatched.
Finally, I wonder why Babe did not wear #3 when he coached for the Dodgers. I have seen pictures of him in a Dodger uniform, and if I remember correctly he was wearing #36.
Stan from Tacoma
I think the key is you really need three adqeuate catchers in the organization to protect against injuries.
On Tracy: Izturis and his .300 OBP and .624 OPS got 401 ABs in the leadoff spot. I mean, ye gods. I don't know a team that would make the playoffs making that kind of bass-ackwards choice day in and day out. The Mets did it with Reyes (whose OPS is almost 60 points higher than Izzy's), and it almost singlehandedly killed them.
Thank you for allowing me to vent.
don't forget the billy hatcher miracle, too.
Best wishes to your 3-year-old Dodger fan on her special day! It's good to train 'em early to be Dodger fans.
Your adorable audio clips remind me of the days waaay back in 1963 when our family provided child care for my year-old nephew while his parents (my oldest sister and bro-in-law) worked.
Another sister (who was 13 at the time) taught him to say: "Yay Dodgers", "Boo Giants", and names such as Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Ron Perranoski, and Dick Tracewski. He would be rewarded with a bit of his dinner.
His dad was a big Giants fan from SF, and tried to undermine our efforts on the weekends...Of course, he failed miserably!
We have been "in it" for the last 6 years and won it one time (and that took some MVP type performances)
DePodesta decided not call up Martin.
He said: "He wouldn't have played," General Manager Paul DePodesta said. "There wasn't any point."
Not any point??? Some GMs will bring up their best prospects just to let them get the feel of the Big Leagues.
Secondly, Navarro had to leave the team because his newborn was sick.
Does he have ulterior motives not to bring him up?
No
Maybe
CAL got thoroughly whupped in their bowl game last season, but recall that they played with their top 3 WRs out. So Rodgers was throwing to freshmen who hadn't played, and they, predictably, dropped a lot of passes. At full strength, it would at least have been a game. Oh well.
I agree with those who say we should go with the kids at catcher next year. If nothing else, this will keep first base for first basemen.
As for the Saenz/Choi comparison, one thing I'd ignore is RBI. That has more to do with batting order than anything else, and Saenz was ALWAYS used in a run-producing slot. That's why we prefer OBP/SLG type numbers. Both guys were good. I think it's fair to say that Saenz would have been better if used less, and Choi would have been better if used more.
I absolutely agree with signing Bako over Phillips for '06. Bako's reputation is as a superb defensive catcher. When Navarro's resting, I'd prefer to see someone who knows what they're doing back there. He is also probably in a good position to teach Navarro a few things that Phillips, due to his ego as much as his skill shortcomings, won't.
Phillips had his chance and failed, as far as I'm concerned. He is a C- catcher, and a C+ hitter. Adios.
1. Because inept managers keep 'falling up,' getting hired and rehired based on reputations that are mostly mythical.
2. Because if such information on managers existed, I have to assume it would be showing up on Baseball Prospectus or some such. We live in the golden age of tranparency!
Gained immunity: St. Louis
Sent off the island (NL Tribe): Colorado, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati
(AL Tribe): Seattle, Texas, Kansas City, Detroit, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Toronto.
The Cubs must win today to stay on the island and they lead the Brewers 3-0 in the 7th.
77 - In Tampa the past 3 years Lou has managed the team to the following:
2003 = 63-99, .389, 5th place
2004 = 70-91, .435, 4th place (first ever non-last finish for TB)
2005 = 64-89, .418, 5th place
Average: 66-93, .414
His previous 3 years in Seattle:
2000 = 91-71, .562, Wild Card winner
2001 = 116-46, .716, West winner
2002 = 93-69, .574, 3rd place
Averages: 100-62, .617
What does this tell you about his, or any manager's, potential "ceiling"? While these numbers are definitely skewed by one of the best regular season teams EVER, has Lou gone from being a .617 manager to a .414 manager in 3 seasons? Or has he gone from a top-5 payroll team to the lowest in baseball?
My argument is, there is a lot more that contributes to a successful baseball team than simply who the field manager is. Anyone care to compare Pat Gillick's W-L records to DePo's?
Ok, mini-rant over.
So, that would be the ulterior motive. DePodesta wants Navarro and is keeping Martin out of the picture. Baseball is so political...
It's not politics.
It's just who you know.
1st inning: retired in order
2nd inning: 2 out double followed by runner being thrown out at plate on single
3rd inning: retired in order
4th inning: 1st and 3rd with no outs and no runs scored
5th inning: Leadoff single followed by DP
Take an SD off their caps and you've got the 2005 Dodgers.
Okay, serious answer: Martin needs to play full-time. It won't be with the Dodgers next year. This doesn't mean DePo favors Navarro over Martin, long term. I'm he hopes Martin kicks butt in Vegas next year.
At the end of 2006, DePo might have the perfect situation--two desirable young catcher with low salaries. Can you imagine what one of those two baseball equivalents of bling-bling would bring in a trade with the right team?
I like Bako as the backup next year. While a Navarro/Martin tandem would be nice, I don't trust them to be consistent. At least with Bako, we know what we're getting every 5 days (or however often he catches). Plus if he's injured again (old catchers do tend to get injured), we have Martin ready to take over. If Martin or Navarro were injured, we'd be seeing Rose, Bellorin, or some other AAA catcher that we sign in the offseason. Look at Arizona, they thought they were fine with Snyder/Hill based on last years production, but they had Stinnett as a backup
He's starting the New Orleans Zephyrs today.
Brandon Watson leads off. Ryan Zimmerman bats cleanup. Rick Short bats fifth.
He has Carlos Baerga batting third.
I have to agree. Navarro and Bako is the way to go next year. (At this point)
I still would have called Martin up for the remainder of this year...just to take a look.
But I don't remember him being special in any way, before he got injured. Depending on how powerful the lineup is next year, can it survive the offensive black-hole that is Paul Bako?
My question is: Will Robinson let Bonds get out of town w/o getting hit?
Do we really want a guy with a career .640 OPS playing every fourth or fifth game (or third, as was the case this year)? If we have no other options, sure, bring Bako back. But, if Phillips comes cheaply enough, I don't see why we can't hold on to him, especially if we can be confident he will be the backup catcher/third string first baseman.
Manager Jim Tracy: signed a 2-year deal worth an estimated 1.8M (including poss. incentives) thru 2006 season on 11/24/04- + he will make 750K in 2005 and about 1.1M in 2006 (he made 575K in 2004, the final year of his previous deal)- + he can exercise an escape clause in his contract following the 2005 season to pursue other baseball-related endeavors (the opt-out clause must be exercised within a week of the 2005 regular season finale) Agent: Alan Hendricks
So he stands to make an additional 350K if he stays. He better be sure he can get another job if he opts out.
---------------------------------------------
Odalis Perez: signed 3-year deal worth 24M thru 2007 season on 1/7/05- he receives a 4.5M signing bonus payable between November 2006 and Nov. 2007- + he will make salaries of 3M in 2005, 7.25M in 2006 and 7.75M in 2007- + the deal includes a Team Option for 2008 worth 9M or a 1.5M buyout- + he can earn performance bonuses in 2006, 2007 and 2008: 150K each for 185 and 200 IP and 200K for 215IP Agent: Fernando Cuza Service Time: 6.027
----------------------------------------------
How's this for a complicated contract.
Jose Cruz Jr.: 2-Year worth 6M thru 2005 season- + he will make 2M in 2004 and 4M in 2005- + he can earn 500K in performance bonuses in 2005: 100K each for 400, 450, 500, 550 and 600PA- + somewhere between 500K and 1M of his 2005 salary will be paid by TAM via cash traded to ARI in the deal in which ARI acquired Cruz- + another portion of 2005 salary paid by ARI via cash traded to BOS in deal in which BOS acquired Cruz- + after trades, LAD pay a little less than 1.4M of his 2005 salary Agent: Hendricks Bros. Service Time: 7.063
We can do better then Philips or Bako. Todd Pratt is a FA. He is 38 years old and I'm sure will NOT be looking for a full time gig at his age. He fills the role of backup catcher perfectly and when he plays he has some pop.
Someone mentioned Mike Piazza but if he isn't a DH in the AL next year I'll be shocked.
Ken Huckaby
Gary Bennett
Kelly Stinnett
Alberto Castillo
Todd Pratt
Ramon Hernandez
Keith Osik
Sandy Alomar Jr.
John Flaherty
Brad Ausmus
Eddie Perez
Einar Diaz
Paul Bako
Mike DiFelice
If Phillips could get us anything in a trade, I wouldn't mind paying some of these guys 500K as a backup. I don't want to pay Phillips arby, but I don't want to nontender him at the same time. The Pirates gave up Leo Nunez for Santiago, I'm not going to give up on Phillips trade value
Jason Phillips 2004 OPS -- .624
Jason Phillips cannot hit, and comparing him to Paul Bako is no evidence that he can.
Since Bonds isn't playing today, I think he's safe.
4-0 Rockies in the 8th over the Pads.
And the Cubs won today meaning they're not dead yet. And Maddux got the win so he'll have two more chances to get to 15 wins on the season.
Still checking.
vr, Xei
It won't happen, but I'd love to see Billingsley get 1 of them. If not Bills, how about Duaner starts and goes 3 or 4 innings? With the offspeed pitch he developed, he might be a decent option in the rotation next year.
I assume Jackson will get the starts, but I don't think he'll be ready to contribute next year so not that interested in seeing it.
Nice.
Cook went 8+ and gave up 10 hits with 1 K and 0 BB.
Who wouldn't want a catcher who can't hit or throw and is slower then the Angel manager? Anyone ever thought that the goggles are a hypnotic device? The Met's also played him at 1st base so something is going on.
Padres magic number remains the same: 7.
The Dodgers still could be eliminated by the end of Friday.
It would be interesting to know why the pitchers were upset with Phillips. Was it because he just isn't a good catcher (throwing, etc) or was it because of pitch selection?
If it was the pitch selection thing, someone needs to go Earl Weaver on the pitchers. In effect, he said that the pitcher needs to "call" his own game.
Up until '04, he wasn't a terrible hitter.
Dave Ross, your life is calling.
Apropos of which, Nate Silver has a cool article on BP about aging patterns among hitters by position. Too much to summarize really, but it shows which positions evince earlier (younger) or later peaks and which show flatter or steeper improvements and declines. Average peak is still at ages 26-27. Later for 3rd basemen, earlier for 2bmen. And so on.
True, his 2003 season was solid, which was why I applauded the trade in the 1st place. I detested him playing 1st place but had no idea he was having such an all around bad year until the facts were pushed under my nose here at DT and BP. A month ago I thought he'd make a fine backup catcher, I no longer harbor that thought.
Nor have they gotten a runner to third.
1) Nightengale is a credible, well-sourced reporter, so I think he gets a little leeway on the issue. (If you have info to the contrary, fill us in.)
2) I think the context indicates that DePo's misery is not due to bad weather, or his shoes being too tight, or whatever. It seems clear that it's addressing his situation as GM of the Dodgers. Even if we're getting that secondhand, it's a data point worth considering. As an editor, I would question whether that should be in the story, but as a reader I'm gonna file it away.
Plus, considering how he's been demonized, in many ways unfairly, how could he possibly NOT be miserable? I halfway expect to see him hanging in effigy from freeway overpasses, which can't be a big thrill for him.
And why do we keep seeing anonymous sources despite the conventional wisdom about how bad they are? Because without them, we wouldn't know much. I might not give them full weight as a reader, but I don't dismiss them either.
With Aybar batting leadoff (and also getting on-base a lot), putting Robles third has the good possibility of Kent coming up with multiple men on base. Of course, this could also be achieved by a Aybar-Robles-Kent top of the lineup... but we really don't have a solid #4 bat.
Worst single AB decision: having Perez pinch-hit for Choi, and then asking Perez to bunt. If I was Choi, I'd be beside myself.
Worst multiple AB decision: having Izturis hit leadoff 401 times. The leadoff man typically gets the most ABs in a season, and Jim Tracy chose to give those ABs to arguably the worst hitter on the team. Willie Randolph took a lot of heat for putting Jose Reyes in the leadoff spot, yet Reyes '05 was a better hitter than Izturis '05, and Tracy took surprisingly little heat for this decision and gets praised for his game smarts, professionalism, yadda yadda.
Alt.: leaving DJ Houlton in one pitch too long again Colorado last week.
That was a twilight zone moment. Absolutely bizarre. The bunt did not turn out well, if I recall correctly. Kent was thrown out at third.
(That's a good thing...)
(That's a good thing too....)
About the Indians' recent surge, Guillen said [para.], "I'm not worried. I'll get worried when we're one game behind." Uh, what if that's on the last day of the season? By then you won't have anything to worry about. Guillen is as brilliant as he is charming.
;)
That community does not deserve that team, and they never have.
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