1) Piazza '97
2) Robinson '51
3) Gibson '88
4) Robinson '49
5) Beltre '04

You might want to cut and paste Nolan.

Alex Cora is leading off for Puerto Rico (he's playing SS, too; is Jim Tracy coaching PR?) today. Sweet.

Grounder to second. Oh, the memories!

Bottom of the first, Oscar Robles trys to get down a sac bunt, but ends up safe when the catcher's throw is slow. Hooray for sac bunts!

Cora has batted leadoff and played short in all the games for the PR team. He was 4 for 6 in the opener, but I think he was 0 for 5 in the second.

The Venezuela-DR game later will be the big one.

Not that I can see it. I don't get Fox Sports en Espanol and I can't watch online because I own a Mac.

Hence I will go to the movies.

My Spanish is so bad that I thought, "En Vivo!" meant: live. Turns out, it actually means: two innings behind. Beware the gameday if you're watching the game.

6- Not that you wouldn't, but be sure to avoid Last Holiday. Somebody sent up that flare a couple weeks back, I think, but it just can't be repeated enough.

First spotting of a tuba--2:03p.m.

Oscar Corona with the RBI.

some halos blog is reporting angels have signed weaver!

yay for dodger fans! #26 pick here we come!

Cora muffs a Robles grounder, puting Mexico back in the lead.

OT: lots of FSeE commercials feature men in barbershops getting shaved. Do people still do that? It's an option on the board of my barber shop, but I've never seen any one exercise it.

I think Weaver helps the Angels a lot. Enough to make them leap frog the Rangers for second place in the AL West lol.

angel fans are so defensive. i made a post on the espn angels board about the good and bad that angel fans can expect from weaver next year. and they got all mad at me saying im just bashing weaver and etc. one poster even said "yea like odalis perez is much better". even though my post never mentioned odalis whatsoever.

I got into a fun drunken argument with an Angels fan on who had the better farm system. I am still waiting for this to be confirmed, but 26th pick sounds nice. Who could be around in that area?

Who could be around in that area?

most likely some prep power arms and outfielders.

LHP carmine giardina
OF Chris parmelee
OF cody johnson
RHP colten willems

maybe long beach st starter jared hughes.

"yea like odalis perez is much better". even though my post never mentioned odalis whatsoever.

My favorite phenomenon. When your point becomes their point.

The 26th pick for 2005 was Craig Hansen. So we could have a shot at a really good Boras reliever

The 26th pick for 2005 was Craig Hansen. So we could have a shot at a really good Boras reliever

what was the 26th pick in 2004? boras relievers are poo on a stick!

Maybe we can give it back to them.

im kind of excited. i went to bashars and they had fresh pumkin pies for sale today. i bought one. i cant wait to eat it. maybe with whipped cream and some vanilla ice cream as well.

pumkin pie with whipped cream and ice cream> signing jeff weaver

pumkin pie with whipped cream and ice cream> signing jeff weaver

>>> by a lot.

I am excited for the UFC PPV tonight Liddel vs Couture 3.

It depends on whether Scioscia tries to "turn him into a real man"

23
Did you pay for it? Keep me updated. When does it start? I hope Randy regains his title, then retires.

Yeah, I bought it and it starts at 7.

UFC is holding a PPV in Anaheim in April, I already bought my ticket.

Pacific time?

yeah

Thanks. I think Randy's the better fighter. He dominated the first fight. But is he getting too old? We'll see...

He tried to stand up with Liddel again, which was a dumb mistake. He has to take Liddel to the ground that is how he has to win. Because at least that way he can tire Liddel out so it is a much more balanced fight standing, which is what happened in the first fight.

Yeah, I thought that was a huge mistake for Randy to stand up. Not that Randy is bad at stand up, but that's clearly Chuck's strength. Randy needs to take the fight to ground early and often.

Wow. I didn't know people actually watched that stuff. UFC is the one where it's not staged, right? But with extra blood?

No, it's not staged. It's actually quite interesting. The combatants are frequently masters (i.e. "black belts") in not just one but multiple disciplines. The different styles and techniques are intriguing. Course, some people just like to see fighting and blood, but there's much more to it than that.

Course, some people just like to see fighting and blood, but there's much more to it than that.

Sort of describes this website.

Who is your favorite fighter D4P?

34- Huh. No weapons, right? Do they have caged matches? Is there pinning, or do they fight till one person passes out, dies, or quits?

It is all in a cage and it goes till someone submits, is knocked out, or referee stoppage. No one has ever died in the UFC.

38- That's odd. How long has it been around? How many UFC combatants are there?

Answering my own question, looks like 121 UFC fighters.

who's pitching for the DR?

UFC has been around since early/mid 90's from what I remember. There are tons of fighters and there is never a fixed number of fighters as MMA (mixed martials arts) has a lot of fluctuation of talent between promotions. Pride is a Japanese promotion that has slightly different rules, but they are the biggest MMA promotion in the world.

The UFC octagon girls are pretty tough looking.

Bonus: for all your Valentine's day needs, UFC women's apparel
http://ufcstore.shopthescene.com/index.php?v=ufcwa

My favorites are probably Randy Couture and Rich Franklin.

I am a big Vitor Belfort fan.

19 2004 26th pick was Richard Robnett by the A's (Dewitt was 28th). 2003 had Brian Snyder go 26th...by the A's. 2002 was John McCurdy, yet again, A's. 2001 was Jeremy Bonderman...A's. 2000 was Corey Smith by the Indians

All those guys (obviously not Bonderman) have underperformed for the A's.

Vitor was quite the star there for a while, but he has kinda fizzled out.

Yeah, he has potentially the most raw talent and power, but mentally he is just not the same. He has become really passive.

On Spike TV they are showing the first two Coture liddel fights.

Question for Nate:

Sounds like the Angels will sign Weaver.

If so, what compensatory draft picks would the Dodgers receive? It appears the Angels earlier forfeited their first pick to the Nationals.

One other draft question: If Hochevar returns to the draft, would the LAD get a compensatory pick? (I doubt it, as I recall that happens only with first-round picks, but am not sure).

the replay fights are on Spike right now, if that wasn't clear

Nate said earlier that the dodgers would have the # 26 pick.

I doubt it on the second question as well but not 100% sure.

Hmmm...My Spike TV channel is showing "Rocky V"...

Oops, sorry, just saw the item about getting the 26th pick. Assuming Weaver goes to the angels, is that the only pick the LAD would get for Weaver?

It's hard to take seriously a sport that permits Joe Rogan to be the play by play guy.

54 wow mine is showing coture liddel # 1 right now and # 2 following.

you must not be in So Cal. because my Spike shows Rocky V at 8:30pm PST.

55- They get a supplemental, but I don't remember which one it's supposed to be. Seems like 31, but, really, I'm not sure.

56

That's what I thought at first but I guess Joe rogan is some kind of champion fighter. Or was before his acting days.

dodgers would get a first round pick and a first round supplemental pick.

so the dodgers will have the folling picks:
#7
#26
#31

we get the 31st pick because we have the worst record among teams with a type A free agent, or something like that.

we have the 26th pick because weaver is a higher rated FA then carrasco, so the nationals will now get the angels second round pick.

hey, since this worked out so well with my USA roadtrip and the million dollar highway, does anyone have any suggestions for a road trip around ireland? i'm thinking of the following stops: cork, galway, connemara, sligo/donegal, dublin.

56
It's hard to take seriously a sport that permits Joe Rogan to be the play by play guy.

Joe Rogan > Charlie Steiner

60 --

Thanks for the draft info, Nate.

One other question (but don't bother to research it if you don't know):

If Hochevar goes back to the draft, do the Dodgers get a compensatory pick?

62- I was being flip about Mr. Rogan. But it does seem like the UFC is where XFL marketing guys went when their league folded up. The sport itself I obviously don't know anything much about. The asthetics of the presentation don't make me wish I did. But, I'm not the target audience, since I've never paid per view. And only deign to watch boxing during the Olympics. Maybe if it had statistics I could use my laptop to manipulate. . .

Yeah if you are not a boxing fan then you probably will not be into the UFC.

64
Maybe you could be the UFC statistic pioneer...

I'm not really part of the "target audience" either, but I do find the sport to be interesting.

I think UFC is much more interesting than boxing. I don't care for boxing at all. For one thing, UFC (and mixed-martial arts fighting in general) has a lot more strategy and technique involved.

Even with the dubious commitment to Tomko, I'd give Colletti a B, maybe a B-plus on the Weaver machinations, assuming that the Angeles, in fact, sign Weaver.

Ned decided against signing Weaver to a so-called "discounted" three-year guarantee for $27 million with a vesting option for 2009.

As a result, the Dodgers get the 26th and 31st picks of the 2006 amateur draft (if the Angeles sign him as speculated).

To fill the Weaver void, Ned obtained a low-salaried RHP, Seo, for Duaner Sanchez and signed Tomko (close to $9 million over two years).

Small bonus: Cutting ties with Weaver rids the Dodgers of a Boras client.

If the Angels land Weaver, it's safe to assume it's for far less than the $27 million "discount" that Weaver reportedly would've given the LAD. That would give the Angels two Boras clients -- the Weavers -- signed at far less than what Boras sought.

Yeah, but the styles make such a difference. In the UFC you can have strikers versus stand up guys, like boxing it is just guy who is going to punch and guy who has to punch back. It is such an unfair advantage haha. UFC right now is better than boxing for me, because I am tired of seeing stuff like Roy Jones Jr. versus Bernard Hopkins.

61

Hey Vishal. This link might help you out. It's from a Notre Dame football board that I frequent but they have an Almanac and people have contributed on what to do in Ireland. Really informative about where to go and see in the whole of ireland. scroll down a bit and it is right after "How to fix a PC". If you can't access it I'll cut and paste and e-mail it to you. Good Luck.
http://www.ndnation.com/data/misc/br_almanac.html

Defense dominates Pro Boxing. except the hispanic fighters and fights, IMO

D4P did you want to know the results of each match or just the main event.

?

I've been checking the results online. But the main event is the only bout I really care about.

Vishal: I took an 18 day trip to Ireland in the spring of '05, starting in Dublin and going southeast, south, west and across from Westport back to Dublin. I found Dublin not so great, Galway oriented toward young kids who like to hang around and play music (not that that's so bad). A young kid like you (!) might like that part more than we did. The countryside, the coastline, the Dingle peninsula and so much more made it a marvelous trip. We also made a point of viewing prehistoric sites older and bigger than Stonehenge, and ancient monasteries. Perhaps the fact that we met relatives from three generations back that I did not know made it even better. I would be happy to fill you in more with an itinerary and more thoughts if you like.
Don

So who bet on #6 Illinois in mens basketball tonight?

60-Since Hochevar was a supplemental 1st Round pick, the Dodgers do not get a compensatory pick. I have seen that answer in Baseball America or chats with Jim Callis from BA.

Not a great day for either Dodger team. Colleti's crew was swept by the Diamondbacks. Colleti's Dodgers saw their losing streak grow to 8 in a row, dropping them to .500 for the first time this season. The Diamondbacks have won 10 in a row and now hold a one game lead over Depodesta's Dodgers who dropped two out of three to the "hated" ones. The Padres swept the Rockies and have managed to climb out of the cellar. vr, Xei
DodgerSims.Blogspot.com

Ok, I created a "Dodger Thoughts" Yahoo fantasy baseball league. It will be a roto league as opposed to H2H league. It is currently 5x5 but I will consider adding Holds and OPS as categories if interested. Feel free to join, and it would be nice if you named your team the same or similiar to your DT nickname. vr, Xei
--------------
To allow other managers to join your league, send them the League ID# and Password. In your case, the ID# is 35204 and the Password is repko.

You have chosen for your league to take part in a live online draft on Sat Mar 25 8:45pm PST.

http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1

Hey XF, how will you determine who gets to draft His HeeSeopness at #1 overall?

80. haha! Draft order is random. You really think HeeSeop would go #1 over Jason Phillips?
vr, Xei

RIP "Grandpa" Al Lewis

70/75 thanks for the suggestions, guys. that notre dame site was actually quite useful, brendan.

and deburns, i would love to get some more of your thoughts. while i don't have any long-lost relations in ireland, i am definitely interested in seeing some countryside and some historic and prehistoric sites as well. i'll probably spend a few days hanging out in galway and dublin, but the rest of the time i'd like to get out and see the country. i have about 8 days there.

83 Vishal: contact me at deburns@attglobal.net and I will fill you in without clogging up the thread with OTT stuff.

79 Thanks for running a league, Xei. Now I'm going to have to post more here (rather than mostly read) to justify my inclusion!

85. No problema. Hopefully, some of the higher profile members will join so we can beat up on them. :) But all are welcome until we fill up. vr, Xei

86 Yes, I'm looking forward to proving my ineptitude against the true masters of baseball knowlege here! Most leagues I've played in consisted of more casual baseball fans. Anyway, in regard to your stat question: I suspect that very few here would object to the inclusion of OPS as a category, even to the exclusion of AVG. Just a guess. When will we be able to have a fantasy league with VORP as a category?

61 83 Vishal, you might also be interested in this site: A blogging friend went on a solo trip to Ireland in 2002. There's also a link to his 1998 trip there.

http://www.jonsullivan.com/misc/ireland.php3

Another reliever will be coming to camp, Takashi Saito

Source:
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/02/05/1343194.htm
Japanese Stats:
http://www.japanesebaseball.com/players/player.jsp?PlayerID=395

78 - Xei, the league sounds fun... however, I've never done any fantasy league stuff of any kind. I would like to join, but I need an Idiots Guide to Fantasy Baseball. Is there a link to such a thing? Thanks.

82. If you lived in NYC during the early '90s you knew just what a old perv Gramdpa Munster was.

Does anyone know if the line has moved? Is it still Steelers +4? Also, does anyone know of a site where the proposition bets are listed?

http://tinyurl.com/927d8

prop bets...

And the line has not changed.

Thanks Train

Has anybody heard any Super Bowl predictions from...Jim Tracy?

i assume tracy will go with the hometown steelers... if he picks th seahawks, he might be run out of town.

61 Vishal, are you traveling by yerself? If there's more than one, I'd say get a rental car, but that's much easier with two people your first time there. Ireland, like every place is changing fast. If it were up to me, I'd stay mostly in the west. If I weren't married, I'd probably be living in Oughterard, but that's me. For sights there's history in Dublin, cool ruins in Cashel, and the beautiful coast in the west. 8 days is not much to squeeze in everything. Cork is great, but if you are wanting to just take your time, you might want to by pass it and do Dublin a couple nights and then just cross over to Galway. IF the weather is good CLiffs of Moher is a must.

So where are we gonna do Super Bowl Thoughts?

Wow, this board is as quiet as the Steeler offense...

I'm watching the game and a friend said that the Stones were playing halftime for free. I laughed, but he said it had been in the Times yesterday. Looked it up and, sure enough, Steven Barrie-Anthony reports that they're doing it gratis, and picking up the tab for some of their own special effects. That's doesn't seem to be reported anywhere else. So, is it actually true? Or did somebody play a prank on the Times?

http://tinyurl.com/8fcfl

100

Considering that they have an album to sell and tickets to a current tour in stadiums across the U.S. I think the exposure they receive from the Super Bowl is their fee.

Sure, it's good for peripheral reasons. And I wouldn't expect them to make a billion dollars for playing three songs. But do they really not get paid? It just doesn't seem probable. I don't know how to look in to it, though. Why would the Steven B.-A. (it's possible that my bias against men with hyphenated names is responsible for most of my suspicion) be the only one to report it?

None of the artists at this Super Bowl (or previous ones) are paid. The exposure to 100 million viewers, plus the endless promotion by ABC, makes it worthwhile for them. Plus a lot of them like sports and want to be a part of the Super Bowl.

103- Alright. Seems odd, but, there you go. Keith Richards said that the Stones' favorite sport was tiddlywinks. If I had to play a gig in Detroit and didn't get paid for it, I'd find a new agent the next morning.

I saw the Stones do pretty much the same three songs for free when I was in NYC in May. They were doing the 'tour kickoff' promo spot so they had a motive. It was a nice thing to do on vacation tho.

They've borrowed the referees from the Rose Bowl.

Is there such a thing as a good football referee? I'm not even sure it's possible to be good at it, since there are too many things happening, all at once, for anybody to be able to watch each of them. Other things that nobody is really all that good at: soccer and the oboe.

Alex Cora has shared some of his insight: "We're gonna go back to 'small ball.'" And it seems he's not real happy with his replacement in Los Angeles (even if his comments are factually incorrect)

"I know the game," Cora said, "and with everything going on with the steroid policy, there aren't going to be too many more 70 homer seasons or second basemen with 45 homers."

While it's possible that Jim Tracy wanted the Steelers to win, it's also possible that because Beltre plays in Seattle and was one of Tracy's favorite players, then he may have been rooting for the Seahawks.

Bill Cower bears an uncanny resemblance to Bob Brenly.

I don't think any 2B has ever hit 45, maybe Sandberg

109 - Cowher took a lot longer to erase his unclutchitude than Brenly did.

110 - Did Cora ever lose a job to Bret Boone?

George Bell played one game at 2B in 1987 when he hit 47. Rhino hit 40 in 1990.

Alex Cora received a Ph.D in the Jim Tracy School of Excuse-Making

113 - Yeah, but can Alex Cora interview himself?

114
Maybe not, but can Jim Tracy hit an 18-pitch homerun?

Davey Johnson hit 43 HRs for the Braves. Played 156 games at 2B that year.

That a team would have you on their roster, then believe it necessary to go out and pay Alex Gonzalez to do what you do, but worse, is all one needs to know about Alex Cora.

[109] wow, that resemblance is even better than conan o'brien and the new finish president tarja halonen.

[97] i am indeed going alone. sort of on a whim. i definitely plan on going to the cliffs of moher. i wish i had more than 8 days, but i'm a little restricted by the spring recess schedule and plane ticket prices. i'm pretty sure i'm going to get a rental car regardless. if i should skip cork entirely, where should i head to straight from dublin? i'd like to head to the southwest, maybe see the ring of kerry.

What an awful game. Neither team deserved to win. The quality of the QBs was especially bad. Looks like it was quiet here. Too much beer?

[119] seattle played better, but none of the calls went their way. on the other hand, the steelers made the big plays. all in all though, it was pretty boring. i was more excited about say, the sugar bowl this year than the super bowl.

115 Did Jim Tracy ever look at 18 pitches in his playing career...

..tongue in cheek, he did have 185 ABs with 25 BBs.. apparently old Jimbo sort of knew how to take a walk, he just wasn't much of a hitter.

Separated at birth?
http://tinyurl.com/9ff5r and http://tinyurl.com/bxh74

Too much shouting at the tv, LAT. By my count, the 'hawks lost two TDs to bad penalties and the Steelers gained one on an awful look at Roethl...er, #7 not crossing the line on that jump.

Pretty clear who the league wanted to win this time. I'm just glad Brady got booed.

I think the NFL had someone in the Grassy Knoll too.

I don't know Das, I have a hard time buying into the conspiracy theroy. I agree the offensive interference call in the end zone was a bad bad call but the Seahawks just gave it away. Hasselbeck's int was a killer, Stevens couldn't hold onto the ball, and I'm still trying to figure out how Herndon didn't return that int for a TD. When the Seahawks couldn't do anything after their first two possessions starting on the 50 yrd line, you knew they were in trouble.

Either way, the best part of this Super Bowl is that its over, putting baseball just over the horizon.

BYW, who knew the Cliipers played and won an exciting OT game tonight? I didn't

dodger news, i don't think i saw anyone mention it... the dodgers are close to signing japanese righthander takashi saito to a minor-league contract. he might turn in to bullpen filler:

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/02/05/1343194.htm

True, a champion team would have worked around those penalties instead of letting the other team back into it. Pittsburgh may have played four teams that were better objectively this winter, but they were ahead in all four games when the clock ran out and that is all that matters.

This seems a LOT like the ChiSox vs Astros World Series, or even the Tampa Bay vs Calgary Stanley Cup series in 2004, in that it was a matchup none of the media "experts" really wanted but it ended up being quite the matchup regardless, and I for one enjoyed all of them.

Now where is Nate to observe that the most-bearded QB was the one who ended up winning?

123 It sure as heck looked like the nose of the ball got over the front edge of the goal line.

On a play like that, the refs seemed to go a pretty good job with the information they had on the field. Though I thought the replay looked like he was in, it certainly wasn't conclusive. I would lean towards him being in, but there is no way in heck that I would take the TD away from him and overturn the call. It was too darn close either way.

I know how to translate "Takashi Saito" into English, but will not do so as I am on notice.

Baseball Musings has the defense ratings for catcher up. Interesting to see who is on top of the list, and who, um, er, ummmm, well, er, ummmmmmmmm, isn't.

128 - Haha, but go back to AJ and the dropped strike 3, when there were some of us on both sides who swore we saw different things.

This is why they play the games on the field, not in computers :)

128 Except that the official on that play was initally running in with his right hand in the air clenched in a fist. Only Roth moved the ball up did the LJ's other hand go up to signal touchdown. I'm not saying anything... I'm just saying...

This is why they play the games on the field, not in computers :)

Don't tell Frank and his simulated Depo v. Ned series.

I'm amazed at some of the competition that Phillips beat out. Namely McCann. But it's good to know we have the worst/oldest catcher should we need him at some point

129

is that the japanese word for "scrappy"?

129

Oh middle reliever? I thought it said outfielder.

Oh yeah don't translate it.

125- The Clippers are playing great

125 I'll second your suggestion that the best part of Super Bowl 40 (XL is a size) is that it's over. When do pitchers and catchers report?

129

You make it sound like I'm keeping the TSA "Do Not Fly" list. It's a whole other kettle of fish.

The better part of valor is discretion

134 -- I will confess to have had someone else in mind toward the bottom of that list. The sort of player who actually deserves all of the adjectives usually used to describe Hee Seop Choi.

140 I know who you mean (he just lost out to another catcher who could 'replace' him). I was more surprised that Phillips wasn't terrible than I was that a certain other catcher wasn't great (or good, or even mediocre)

It's not like three outs a year even matters. It's just that this is the sort of unnamed catcher who people will say is worth eight wins a year for his defense alone.

Of a catcher's total defensive value, how much of it is in his handling of grounders? I'd guess ability to catch runners and not allow passed balls/wild pitches mattered more. But that'd just be a guess.

142- Should've refreshed.

Anyway, I think the most common praise Lo Duca gets for his defense is his handling of pitchers. Which may be even less quantifiable. Perhaps because it's made up.

You bet. When the pitchers are good, it's the catchers who get the credit. When they are terrible, it's the infielders who get the blame. Apparently, Dodger pitching has not advanced much since the 1860's and they are still lobbing soft toss, which is hell on their DIPS ERA, if we did or didn't believe in such a thing.