I would get hung up on the name to the extent that even though the guy was around forever, no one could ever pronounce his name the same way.

Is it "Love-el-oh"? "Loh-voo-loh"? "Love-uhl-oh"?

2- Kitty Carlisle, next question.

3 - It's also easy to misspell.

Kitty Carlisle - not dead. She's 95.

I really hope the standard Depo is aiming for is a Cox/Shuerholz one -- not necessarily one of superior/subordinate, but where two men share a common vision and work together towards building a tremendously strong franchise.

My parents sat next to Kitty at a charity dinner less than three years ago.

Not that I'd be behind it in any way, but it seems DT'ers can't even fathom it. I don't recall any extended discussion here involving Sweet Lou.

I would really get a kick if Trammel replaced Tracy. How funny would that be, especially after reading this from Marty from below
http://www.yard-work.org/?p=412

Lovullo is about 5 months older than I. And we were at UCLA at the same time.

Maybe we had a class together.

Sorry, I figured that some playoff chatter would move over here.

If memory serves correct, Torey Lovullo used to have the nickname "Downtown".

Seems like a match to me. :)

Not like CSULB. Where you just a nameless, faceless number.

That way you can list them in your spare time or when you are bored at work.

Lovullo: Who?
Royster: Retread
Collins: Retread
Trammell: Retread
Washington: Yes-man

However one could easily foresee the following comments:

*Torre: failed NL manager, no Mike Scioscia
*Scioscia: poaching the Angel magic can't replace it
*Sparky Anderson, Leyland, Piniella: anger management problems
*La Russa: self-centered managers won't cut it in LA
*Cox: Not "clutch" enough
*Connie Mack: Not an LA guy
*Bill Belichick: Success in New England, but a failure in Cleveland. Will LA fans tolerate a .500 manager?
*Vince Lombardi: Obession with winning blinds him to character, chemistry, and the Dodger Way
*George S. Patton: Won't bunt enough
*Dwight David Eisenhower: Alienated Plaschke with comment that "There's a new Supreme Allied Commander"
*Theodore Roosevelt: might not have pulled Niedenfuer
*U.S. Grant: Alcoholic = bad character!
*Abraham Lincoln: No successful Dodger manager has ever had a beard; frequent battles with wife would never have been tolerated by Bill Stoneman
*Napoleon Bonaparte: Took haughty attitude towards scrappy roleplayers
*George Washington: Not an LA guy
*Gaius Julius Caesar: Too dictatorial
*Genghis Khan: Reliance upon armies on horseback conflicts with traditiona Dodger philosophy of pitching and defense, won't work at Chavez Ravine.
*Jesus of Nazareth: Sorry, but there is no way but the Dodger Way, the Dodger Truth and the Dodger Life.

I also want them to admit that they win games because of their superior pitching, not because of Smartball.

Go, Bob Go!

Hotheads like Terry Collins burn out fast, regardless of their record. However, he could be the kick in the pants this team needs, as long as he's not counted on for more than 3 years.

AL Sac Bunts 2003-2005
1 Detroit 159
2 Chicago Sox 154
3 Kansas City 149
4 LA Angels 148
5 Baltimore 137
6 Cleveland 132
7 Minnesota 130
8 Seattle 118
9 Tampa Bay 101
10 NY Yankees 90
11 Oakland 66
12 Texas 56
13 Toronto 52
14 Boston 50

I seem to recall that some key Angel players demanded Collins' resignation--can't recall much more. But the guy's 56 now. Maybe he's not such a hothead anymore.

22 Brilliant!

Can you post the NL list?

Another rant (this one from Jay Mohr) on evil Depodesta and how poor Jim Tracy deserved better.

Holy Cross, now Providence Holy Cross.

At least the graphic on TV said he was born in "Mission Hills, CA" and unless he was born at home or on the San Diego Freeway, we've got a match!

Hey Bob, has a defending WS Champion ever gotten swept out of the playoffs before?

1962 - Yankees win World Series
1963 - Yankees get swept by Dodgers

1965 - Dodgers win World Series
1966 - Orioles sweep Dodgers

1974 - A's win World Series
1975 - A's get swept by Red Sox in ALCS

And it usually works out OK.

Cuma?

This has been Today's Useless Stat of the Day.

51 - Ic, we had a deal all worked out until your end balked on including APerez :)

57 - Sounds like there is a game of Can-You-Top-This going on: http://tinyurl.com/djm8g

And for those who are interested, Sid Crosby just picked up an assist. Pretty sure he is the first player born in 1987 to score an NHL point.

Of course by that time, the Dodgers were out of ammo.

Howard Zinn

"WHITE SOX
I'ts our turn"

[sic]

If he was "going to" the game already lit up then he's got a problem.

NL Sac Bunts by Non-Pitchers 2003-2005
1 San Francisco 141
2 Colorado 135
3 St. Louis 134
4 NY Mets 117
5 Montreal 114
6 Chicago Cubs 113
7 Milwaukee 109
8 San Diego 108
9 Atlanta 107
10 Florida 104
11 Houston 104
12 Cincinnati 104
13 Arizona 99
14 Philadelphia 95
15 LA Dodgers 89
16 Pittsburgh 82

Who are the Gm 3 starters for Sox^2? Chief Garcia vs Wakefield?

71 - You throw in OPerez, we throw in Lieberthal. Just warning you.

Hershiser told T.R. Sullivan of the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram that he'd "certainly be interested" in the Dodgers' vacated
managerial job if that club asked him to interview.

http://tinyurl.com/9foxu

Registration is required.

I guess these things logically fit together, but it's not a comfortable fit.

And if so, do you think he could put a hit out on Plascke and Simers?

They since have gone on to give up five unanswered goals.

and was John Lackey this weird-looking back in 2002?

And was it -cough cough- Roman Cechmanek that gave up the 5 straight? Cause that would be such a surprise...

I think the "person [that] is employed by another major league team that is not in the playoffs" is not specifically Washington, but rather Washington OR Geren, thus the ambiguity. If DePo named the candidate as Geren, then it would be widely assumed Washington is the new manager for the A's, or vice versa. I have a feeling Beane has long had his new manager in mind, he just hasn't announced it yet, and DePo is aware of it

Also, looking at Akron's stats, they were 3rd in most SBs and CSs, and 2nd in overall attempts. Not sure if that implies a lot of hit n runs or not, or rather a fast team. They also struck out a lot, and didn't walk much, although that could easily be due to player ability. Lovullo's team was great with pitching. This all probably means nothing, and I'll admit I'm intrigued with his involvement with the Indians, although I'm not sure what exactly he's responsible for, if anything

The designated King to be hated by the press, and even Plaschke has gotten into the game and he writes about hockey twice a year, is Sean Avery.

Roman Cechmanek isn't in the NHL this year I believe. He's certainly not on the Kings.

live dugout interview with Bud Black, fyi

But Jon Miller is confused about why there are so many managerial openings since the season ended and Bud Black is still coaching with the Angels. Oy.

(Sorry if someone else already made that pretty obvious point, but I didn't see it.)

Was Tim Wallach DePodesta's choice for batting coach? I forget.

And also, is some link in the Baseball Toaster chain working particularly slowly today?

Ironically, I remember when Tracy was first hired he was considered a cheap "yes man".

Steve Finley is 4 months older than Torey Lovullo.

Foolio indeed.

Others include Man-Ram, Ortiz, ARod, and I guess Pujols.

Rickey could do it from the on-deck circle though.

"Tim is a quality baseball man and a quality human being," said manager Jim Tracy, who made the hire after also interviewing Jim Lefebvre, Dwayne Murphy and Bob Mariano.

http://tinyurl.com/btez6

DePodesta was announced as GM on 2/16/04

It was a productive out!

Hypothetical: Could Jason Phillips score from second on a hit to center if Bernie Williams were playing there or would both Phillips and the ball die from exhaustion on the trip to home plate?

I suppose the ball has the advantage in that you can relay it. You can't relay Jason Phillips.

I taught Steve a new favorite word.

I hope I'm wrong, of course, and I have no real reason for suspecting that other than a gut feeling.

And A-Rod was out from here to the 57 freeway.

What if you just know who you want from the start? Do you have to waste some other guy's time just because he is a minority?

I'm still pulling for Wash (despite the book). The DUI moved Collins from runner-up to N/A.

LOST is airing a maniacally, psychotically cool episode.

I believe that interview of Samuel could best be described as "perfunctory".

Tonight is why God made VCRs and DV-Rs

To me, this process is even more insulting to people like Juan Samuel than just ignoring them in the first place.

I've been reduced to occasionally checking here and Yahoo!Sports for updates... JJ Abrams owns my soul.

你好, 我是Carolyn 。我喜欢您打棒球的方式!

Ever applied for a government job, Icaros? There are perfunctory interviews all the time.

Why?

Because them's the rules!

If Scioscia didnt tell Vlad to ground out, they never would have beat the yankee's.

I'm not saying anything new, though, just thinking aloud. Go Juan Samuel!

Fortunately, I've had more of the latter than the former.

Last Monday marked my 17th anniversary as a worker drone in public libraries as a fulltimer.

Man, I'm really old.

But not as old as Steve Finley or Torey Lovullo!

Is there a website where someone explains in a linear fashion what's happened so far and what it means?

Now I know why people gave me that exasperated look when I raved about "Twin Peaks."

I really need the Yankee's to win because i'll be driving to LA tommorow and i really dont want to hear happy sports talk radio hosts

Thanks, but I'm quite happy in my job. I would really hate to be manager of the Dodgers and have Steve second guess me all the time.

I would force the Dodgers players to listen only to music on my iPOD and every day I would force them to listen to 10 minutes of Mongolian throat singing.

"BP: As you noted, a lot of the pitchers who had success last year didn't have a huge pedigree. How much of the credit should go to (pitching coach) Orel Hershiser and his work with the pitchers? What types of lessons has he been able to pass along to the staff?

Daniels: (Hershiser) likes to say that he was a suspect, not a prospect. He was given a chance because someone else got hurt. He went into the Dodger rotation and never gave up that spot. He wasn't a power pitcher, but he had a heavy sinker and hard slider and made them work. Then he had the shoulder injury, and he was really the first of his kind to come back from that kind of surgery and really reinvent himself. He won a lot of games for the Indians in the mid-90s, helped get them to the World Series.

Orel's a very analytical guy. He's very into the biomechanical side of the game, very well versed in the field, with scouting experience. All of these are experiences that allow him to get through to people. He can get through to someone like Ryan Drese; he remembers what it was like to change his approach to get over the hump. With someone like Brocail, a veteran guy, he can help him, too, because he can share his experience of getting over shoulder surgery, what he needed to do, and Doug can use those lessons to get over the hump himself. It's not just Orel, either. (Bullpen coach) Mark Connor has worked with so many Cy Young winners--Guidry, Halladay, Schilling. It's a group effort, all the people in the organization helping with the pitching--they call themselves the pitching department.

BP: The method that got a lot of attention was the idea of keeping the ball down. How much did the pitching staff emphasize this idea?

Daniels: Especially in our ballpark, that was definitely a focus. Drese comes to mind. Orel helped John Thomson immensely the year before. In the bullpen you had Brian Shouse throwing from the left side--his sinker let him have some staying power. It's helped some guys who maybe needed a different look."

Note: Daniels is 28, youngest GM in baseball history, a graduate of Cornell, Finance Major.

And by that time, I will have gone mad.

The Wikipedia article on "Lost" is actually pretty informative and can catch you up.

And there are more babes in "Lost" than "Gilligan's Island".

It was fortunate that in that plane crash, mostly the very attractive people survived.

http://www.baseballjesus.blogspot.com/

Oh, just like real life.

There's a plan I can get behind!

But what should I do for my 40th birthday? Should I go to Disneyland or go to the office Christmas party at work?

Hmmm....

Push-ups.

The Diamondbacks announced tonight that the contracts of pitching coach Mark Davis and first-base coach Brett Butler will not be renewed

How it shapes it, I'm not sure

There will be an angry man visiting his cable TV office Friday.

Is anyone else as annoyed with the Michael character as I am? It's probably because of the guy who plays him, as his character on Oz was a bothersome waste of time.

Do any of the attractive women try to seduce any of the men only to learn that, despite years of celibacy, the men aren't interested?

181 Comedians cried when Clinton left office, but have profited even more from the misadventures of his successor. God takes care of DT posters, and he will provide a new target soon.

Since this wouldn't be a regular thing, I will gladly accept a copy.

But if you want to contact me about you can reach me at btimmermann@gmail.com to work out the details.

I think it's time to switch to TiVO.

Time-Warner is giving me a $20 credit. URGH!

Are you moving back to California to practice?

I was tempted to dump the DV-R and get a TiVO, but I think I would just be exchanging one headache for another.

It'll probably be McCourt. He's had an easy ride with Tracy catching most of the flak from DT, and DePodesta catching most of it everywhere else. It could also be Charley Steiner and Rick Monday. This is a target-rich environment.

Forgive my techno-ignorance in these matters, but isn't TiVO a DVR?

And perhaps most importantly, does Depo use one along with his new fangled computers and spreadsheets?

Plaschke probably doesn't have an iPOD.

I bet DePodesta reads more books.

On the DVR subject, I've got a ReplayTV, as do my father, sister and a few other friends. We all enjoy ours quite a bit. I think of it as a "Geek's Tivo", because there's a lot more that it can do than the Tivo, especially if you can plug it into a internet connection. Such as sharing recorded TV shows with other people (so Bob could get his episode of Lost sent straight to his ReplayTV). Maybe it's a little more complicated than the Tivo, but my sister gets along fine with hers...and that's saying a lot. Plus, it doesn't make those damn "boop boop" noises when you click on a button.

I'm such a geek; I'll stop now.

---

The Collins DUI thing was covered in the Times (and other LA media), IIRC. There was some speculation that he'd lose his job over it. The good news to be gleaned from that is it means the managerial candidacies of Raul Mondesi, Carlos Perez and Guillermo Mota still have momentum.

Royster does feel like a "quota" candidate, which is unfortunate. Maybe he'll be mollified with a majors-level coaching job?

BTW, I enjoy listening to throat singing, and have some on my Ipod as well. You are not alone!

RIP Hamilton Camp.

He used to hang out with Bob Gibson.

Not that Bob Gibson though.

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/latest.php

He had a memorable performance on WKRP, too.

Is there any chance he would be considered for the Dodger spot? Not that I recommend it.

Paul DePodesta: Frankie, are you pondering what I'm pondering?
Frank McCort: I think so Brain, but if they called them "Sad Meals", kids wouldn't buy them.

"they're frankie and the brain,
they're frankie and the brain...
one is a pauper, the other's insane.
they're conspiratory mice,
their teams aren't nice; they're stinky, they're frankie and the brain, brain, brain, brain, brain

before each season's through
their team will be the worst
the budget will be screwed
the fans will think they're cursed

they're frankie and the brain,
yes, frankie and the brain
their computer-based campaign
it cannot be explained
to prove their lack of heart
they'll tear the team apart
they're stinky,
they're frankie and the brain, brain, brain, brain, brain, brain, brain, brain, BARF!"

First of all, it does answer questions - it's just that it raises additional ones as it goes. Last night was a prime example. Second of all, it's as much a character show as it is a mystery, if not more. So seeing how the characters respond in uncertain circumstances is part of the enjoyment. Can't spoil last night's episode for Bob, but I certainly think that one was a great illustration as well.

I do think the September 28 episode was its weakest ever, though.

Veronica Mars had a terrific season finale last season and the conclusion last week was a great launch for season 2.

185 - Augustus Hill rules! And they've got him squared off with Adebisi again!

Michael hasn't been in a good mood, to be sure, but I think it's a little harsh to be annoyed with someone whose son was kidnapped only one night before.

I have the rest Tivo'd, but haven't brought myself to watch them yet.

I hope the new DVR will be operating then since I will be at a UCLA football game that starts at 4:30 and the chances of getting home before 8, even though I live a Repko throw's away from the Rose Bowl, are nil.

As for another poster's question on Rome. I'm watching it and it's not bad. Lots of nuditity. It follows pretty close to the Colleen McCullough books on Rome.

Alias, for the first couple seasons, had a total breakneck pace that was practically impossible to sustain over the long run without essentially becoming a parody of itself (which has happened). There were so many plot twists and turns (in each episode, to say nothing of each season) that I think the characters and plot possibilities became exhausted.

But with LOST, Abrams is taking a much more deliberate approach, and although LOST episodes often end on an intriguing note, they often avoid the sheer cliffhangers that Alias used to end on (like literally ending an episode in the middle of a bomb countdown).

Furthermore, if you at least take Abrams and his gang of writers at their word, they have an story outline in place for at least the first 3 years of LOST. I don't see anything (to date) that indicates that they're making things up as they go along (unfortunate examples being Chris Carter and The X-files and Abrams and Alias). LOST is answering questions as it goes, it's just that each question opens up other interesting possibilities.

I also think LOST is more of a philosophical show than Alias is.

But I think Lost has successfully created an Almost Anything Goes* atmopshere, and I am in no rush at all for a resolution. As for advancing the plot, if you look back, a lot has happened since that plane landed - and you have to factor the backstories into that.

*Who remembers "Almost Anything Goes?"

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2182576

"As a first step, Sternberg said parking would be free at Tropicana Field next season."

Apparently, directions and signs are not important to the people of St. Petersburg.

On this topic, I was told by my friend who went to the USC game in Hawai'i that the Honolulu PD's idea of directing traffic is to sort of point half-heartedly in one direction and then take a nap.

* What good does firing Chuck Lamar accomplish? And why fire the manager 3 weeks before you fire the GM?

* Parking at Dodger Stadium is the obvious Achilles heel. If I were McCourt, and had more money, I would love to build a multilevel garage abutting the stadium with a fan concourse on top. And/or a tramline going from the hill to a parking lot in Chinatown. But now we're getting into Bongo's Fantasy Bedroom territory.

* Plaschke's gotten so bad that blogs devoted to other teams have now taken to bashing him:

http://ussmariner.com/?p=3034

Interestingly, USSM also talks about the power-hitting left fielder issue. Their answer is: platooning Jacques Jones (who can rake RHP) with someone like Marcus Thames. A pretty interesting breakdown, and the guys on the site do their homework.

And don't they Raul Ibanez? What position does he play?

I was assuming USSM was talking about Seattle platooning Jones in LF, but Ibanez seems to be a good bat. Wasn't sure if he was their LFer.

216 "Rome." Finally, you're discussing a show I do watch. (It has more to do with when things are on. A 8 p.m. show has almost no shot with me.) It has opened up nicely. Compared with the Sopranos and Six Feet Under, it got off to a slow start--it seemed at first like "I, Claudius" but with porn--but the episode before last was truly great, and last week's wasn't a bad follow up. The two soldiers Pullo and Vorenus are great characters, and they're being put in intriguing situations. It doesn't give away anything too crucial to say that the choice of having Pullo become Octavian's "tutor" has led to some unexpected developments for both characters. The guy who plays Pullo is a find--a combination of Russell Crowe with Mel Gibson. Indira Varma, who plays the wife of the cuckoled Vorenus, is quite wonderful. I also liked the scene when Caesar is looking for auguries from the Roman priests, but ends up staging the flight of the birds so they'll bless his reign. A stunt worthy of James Carville or Karl Rove.

Also, I am fine with the pacing. I'm not in a race to get answers. I watched X-files for years and enjoyed wondering about Mulder's sister etc. I also watched Carnivale for the two seasons it was on and that first season was glacier like.

Also, I am fine with the pacing. I'm not in a race to get answers. I watched X-files for years and enjoyed wondering about Mulder's sister etc. I also watched Carnivale for the two seasons it was on and that first season was glacier like.

223 It's no Deadwood, but really, what is? Probably a couple of the seasons of Sopranos, but I can't think of much else.

225 I decided to give Alias a chance last season, and my opinion of the show goes down all the time. It's like every time they need something new to do, they either (1) turn a bad-guy good, (2) turn a good-guy bad, or (3) make everyone think a good-guy turned bad when he really didn't.

Regarding baseball news, there's really not many GMs in baseball that needed firing more than LaMar, so it's not exactly shocking news. Any attention I pay to a replacement will be curiosity whether they hire a retread/Jim Bowden type, or a young/sabremtric type.

Or "The Bus".

The one complaint I have for Rome is after hearing some of the accents, sometimes it seems Rome is located just west of London.

Except that was the English version and it was about soccer and didn't have Jimmy Fallon in it.

I highly recommend the book even if you aren't familiar with soccer (and certainly there's plenty of details about UK clubs and personnel that will totally go over the heads of anyone not familiar with British soccer from the 1970s and 80s). But the book delves wonderfully into the concept of fandom and it's easily applicable to any hobby or sport that one is devoted to.

And the walkway leading up to the ballpark is kind of cool. And it's hard to beat air-conditioned baseball or $25 walk up seats that are literally two rows from the field.

I think LaMar went today because they noticed us talking an Abreu trade and saw how much more we could get for him than he did :)

it blows me away how fast the cycle has gotten; M.A.S.H. was about korea and it came out in the '70s. this one's about what's going on as we speak. and while the storylines aren't necessarily "ripped from the headlines" à la law and order, it's still all too real. i like how it's political without being necessarily unbalanced.