I'm envious.

This time I'm just sort of numb. You know, like the way Gagne wishes he was right now.

http://tinyurl.com/n37oj

When I went to work at the Beverly Hills Country Club (formerly Westside Racquet Club) it still had the old Burroughs calculating device which printed out bills on cards.

A guy with bad math skills like me.

With Edwin and Tiffany gone, Hanrahan long forgotten, Miller seemingly slowed by the injury bug, and Kuo, Broxton, and Billingsley either here or close, I don't really know what the depth chart looks like for the young hurlers now.

That's what an uncle told me.

http://tinyurl.com/ney42
"We have to win a game," said manager Charlie Manuel.

blake johnson is a big sleeper and sickels tabbed him for a breakout year (if hes healthy).

I like orenduff as much as the next guy (well probably not as much as oldbear), but he just doesnt have the same cieling as elbert, billingsely, etc.

If you want to look further down the minor league system, the columbus staff have a bunch of live international arms in on their staff. Maybe one can breakout from there.

LA doesn't visit Colorado until mid-May, though maybe Nomar will be on injury #2 by then.

PS: BallWonk spent the game switching between MASN and ESPN to see who is worse, our local Tweedledum and Tweedledee or Joe Morgan and Ed McMahon. As bad as T-dum and T-dee are on MASN, Morgan and whoever his chubby white-guy sidekick happens to be in any given broadcast are worse. At least the MASN announcers actually notice what's happening on the field between their minutes-long bouts of uncontrollable laughter at their own japes.

One moment in particular stood out. When the home plate umpire finally left the field in shame to commit seppeku, the only way any member of Rick Reed's crew could restore his honor after the horsecrap calls they inflicted during the series, MASN viewers had a pretty good idea what was happening, even down to whether the Metropolitans pitcher would get more warmup pitches and why Tim Tschida took the ball from him. ESPN viewers got to listen to a quarter hour of Joe Morgan and Ed McMahon talking about how, gosh, they just didn't know what was going on and gee, isn't this unusual.

www.ball-wonk.com

In a similar, but nonfractional fashion, I have just turned 20!

Ugh.

Who's going to protect David Bell?

Also, there was a pretty hilarious Charlie Manuel quote in the latest Jayson Stark article. Comparing Howard to the greatest hitters:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2399480

"He's right there with any of them," says Charlie Manuel, a man whose previous coaching and managing stops came with the Indians and Twins. "He's there with Thome, with [Manny] Ramirez, with all those guys. I'd put him with [Kenny] Lofton, with [Kirby] Puckett. He's there with all of them, man. He's got that kind of potential."

Kenny Lofton? Stop elevating guys like Manny to Lofton's level. Lofton is an all-time great.

Or, Philadelphia fans should be crying themselves to sleep.

If they win tonight it'll be... well, it'll be a pleasant surprise, let's put it that way. Hope Tomko is at the top of his game.

Hooray!

LOL...Repko batting leadoff. Whats the difference between Little and Jim Tracy?

Steve?

Anyone?

But he does, and when he is without Gameday access he keeps score anyway, using advanced statistics to accurately predict what is happening during the game.

Um.. back to work.

Does gullyin' hurt?

A lot.

At least Walton's dad was really good.

58 Don't you use a pencil to score, Bob?

See, DT is the one site where I will go back and read all the comments.

And what do they all have in common?

They are usually unrecognizable messes when I'm done.

Walton actually has had 1 great game in his career that was at least meaningful. Game 1 against the Pistons in 2004.

So far....

Johnson is likewise struggling, 4 runs and 5 hits in 3 innings, striking out 4. Has allowed 2 homers. Dewitt has doubled

Mario Alvarez gave up a homer in the first, but struck out the side. Godwin, Mitchell, and Perez each have a single good for a run, but Soto, the #3 hitter, bunted

It must have been because I flunked the one question on the exam:

1) 2006 - 96 = ???

I saw the Klimts (some of them, at least) in Vienna and was shocked by how different these paintings -- art I'd seen 1000 times in photographs and reproductions -- looked when I saw them in person. It's an amazing experience.

Hey, does anyone know if MLB radio is free for a period of time to start the season? I seem to be getting it without paying for it, using my registration/log in from last year. Hopefully I didn't just pay for it without realizing. Give it a try and see if it works for you...

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/live/MLB_20060407_LA@PHI

I seem to remember somebody mentioning an automatic renewal, but I'm not sure.

Nate- people praise Kent for his leadership, his quality at bats, for being a "proven 100 RBI guy". The first two are completely fabricated. When you stick a pretty good hitter behind the likes of Barry Bonds, Lance Berkman, Jeff Bagwell, it's inevitable that they're going to drive in a bunch of runs. Kent is a horrible defender and few here seem to fail to recognize this. All I ask for is defense up the middle (C, SS, 2B, and C). Kent has been asked numerous times in his career to move to 1st base, but he has refused to do this because he wants to put up the numbers at 2B, because they boost his hall of fame credentials.

As for Kent, he could be in some pain, but unlike a pitcher, his pain isn't going to curtail him from doing what he needs to do.

And I don't even get that free SI subscription they're now offering. Bastahds!

so kent being our most consistent bat and driving in 100 runs last year was a fluke? I just think you are giving kent way more flack then he deserves. Sure hes not the best person in the world, or even the best teammate; no one is disputing that. but he is a very good hitter that knows how to drive in runs.

But that would be unethical.

Jobe said a sensory (medial antibrachial cutaneous) nerve just below the skin, near the elbow, had developed a neuroma, or benign tumor consisting of nerve membranes, that had pinched off the nerve like a rubber band and caused pain with every pitch.

i never knew ned sounded so much like a wise guy.

140 - I know how to drive in runs, too. You hit the ball when somebody's on base, or over the wall at any time. =P

Snark aside, I'd say Kent was a good pick-up last year, when he managed to have solid success despite lacking a proven additional bat to protect him in the lineup... or were pitchers just fearing the possibility of JD Drew coming into the game for the last half of the season? My biggest worry comes from the fact that eventually he's going to lose some production from age - and maybe it's just me, but a lot of the players that play well into their later years, once they DO start declining drop off at a very steep pace.

the fsn commentators are really hard on the ears

What about Rogers Hornsby? What about Nap Lajoie? Neither was known as a good fielder. Second baseman was a power position for quite a while in baseball history.

Not to mention guys like Ryne Sandberg or even Alfonso Soriano (before this year).

Kent is among the best hitting second basemen of all time. And his desire to stay at the position isn't all that unusual.

151 Underbruin.... are we related? ;-)

"You don't notice how important a first baseman is until you don't have one."

The first baseman keeps all the throws from the infielders from ending up in the dugout.

Floyd is gone Santana is in i believe

3.2 IP, 7 hits, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 Ks, 2 HRs

better hitting 2B than Kent in no particular order:
Jackie Robinson
Joe Morgan
Rogers Hornsby
Roberto Alomar
Rod Carew
Eddie Collins

Carew actually played more games at first base than second.

He wasn't a very good second baseman and he was the anti-Mazeroski at turning DPs.

178 - How are you defining "better hitting"? I'd agree all of those players are better than Kent, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have more power than he does (going back to your 'most HR' note). Just taking Eddie Collins as an example, though Kent had nowhere near his ability to hit for average or get on base, their OPS for their careers are fairly close, with Kent coming out on top (.860 > .853).

I'm not saying that Kent's a better hitter than Collins, only noting that the definition of what makes the best hitter is sometimes not all that easy to pick out.

I don't have a problem with this at all. His job as the cleanup guy is to get runners home. I don't care if he's doing it out of ego, it's also his job, and something he's been very consistent and successful at for over a decade.

Of all the criticisms of Dodger hitters, grouching about Kent's early-count swinging strikes me as one of the weakest.

cr

2.2 IP, 8 hits, 6 runs, 3 BBs, 6 Ks, 1 HR

I believe that comes out to a .778 BABIP, so it last all bad luck...

Steve Lyons suggesting Bonds in prison, you stay classy Los Angeles.

Bonds, Guerrero, Pujols, Manny, A-rod

The thing is, all of these guys know the strike zone (except Vlad, but he's a freak).

-beats self within an inch of death with giant foam finger-

Anyone know why Seo isn't our #4 starter?

I hope he got a nice bonus check that year.

3.2 IP, 10 hits, 7 runs (6 earned), 1 BB, 6 K, 1HR

Alvarez, Johnson, and Orenduff combined for 17 Ks in 10 IP. They also gave up 19 runs

I am new to Dodger Thoughts and don't know how to put the number of the post I am referring to in my message. Sorry.

I like one of those two sentences. The other one, not so much.

216 - put brackets around the number of the post you're referring to, [like this].

But how come Wily Mo has only 1 AB? The O's have a LHP in there too.

And an innings-eater!

Cruz Jr. seems to be doing quite well in Choi's #2 spot ahead of Drew and Kent.

my over/under was set at 2.

On another note, that was a very bad inning to go 3-up, 3-down, as I don't like Tomko's chances against the 3-4-5 now that he has remembered he is Brett Tomko.

In a way I hate to bring this up, but I feel it may be relevant. It is known as holding on syndrome. It actually makes the most sense in hockey or soccer where one must play offence and defense at the same time. At anyrate, in these sports there is a well known phenomena of a team getting ahead and then failing to have any further offense while it tries to hold onto the lead. I swear I have seen this also in baseball many times.
If a team gets a generous or even adequate lead, they often fail to generate further offense. This happens even though
a) they are facing the same pitcher they faced when he was fresh several innings ago.
b) they are facing a middle reliever who logically should not be as good as a teams starter.
c) they appear to have a much better situation but blow it anyway.

This is one of the wonders of sports and if you observe carefully you will find that it is pervasive. I never knew it so influenced your American sport of baseball but it does.
Most people feel it is a blessing for it is one of the things that keep competition almost always closer than one would think.
This makes for better games and competition in all sports.

The problem with this mindset that I see is that it seems to assume implicitly that all hitters are thrown the same ratio of balls to strikes. But has this assumption ever been examined? What if, for example, some players are thrown mostly pitches in the strike zone, while other players are thrown mostly pitches out of the strike zone? Should we really hold it against the first group of players that they don't draw many walks?

Nate, where is Hu playing, with Jacksonville? I hear he is an incredable fielder.

Obviously that conclusion ignores the fact that Bonds has a great eye for the ball and a great ability to hit for average as well, but I think the concept still holds up for the most part - players more likely to be valued by sabermetricians for getting lots of walks are either skilled at working counts and avoiding bad pitches, or they see so many balls because they can hit for power, which means they have high SLG value anyway.

An exception to this case (or proof that it doesn't work, your call) might be a Hee-Seop Choi, who clearly has excellent power, but seems to invite pitchers to challenge him because of a perceived 'hole' in his swing. However, he still has a high walk rate - perhaps not only does he have a good eye, but pitchers aren't quite as willing to actually attack him as the conventional thinkers might like to think? (Note: this is not intended to start a Choi discussion, only using him as a good example of where the analysis might both be applicable, and where it might break down)

yep hes at jax. and yea, hes suppose to be amazing with the glove. He also can hit too. he has hit for high average, shown gap power and doesnt K. He just needs to work on the walks.

-quick jump, cut to-

"So I throw the ball to Hu?"

"Naturally."

"So I throw the ball to Naturally?"

"No you don't, you throw the ball to Hu!"

Was it an out? Foul? I finally deduced it'd been hit foul as the batter was still up and the crowd didn't react. Sheesh.

Repko winning over the crowd, it seems.

Steiner and Ned talking about how strong our bench was earlier in the game made my stomach turn. Ramon Martinez? Sandy Alomar Jr.? Jason Repko? Seriously?

I am ready to fight a futile losing battle over this.

http://tinyurl.com/mtufc

These guys swing at everything that moves.

Hey, wasn't S Victorino a one-time Dodger farmhand? "Siddown, meat!" as Mike Krukow likes to say on Giants broadcasts.

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/tw.html

i really hope colletti can get good value for one of young catchers.

repko does deserve praise. hes been playing really well.

They're probably look for Hall to get 300-400 at bats backing up Weeks, Hardy, and Koskie. I'm pretty sure PrOPS had him as one of the luckier players in baseball.

Cole Bruce, Chris Westervelt, Xavier Paul, and Jamie Hoffmann each hit a homer in the 8th for Vero, scoring 8 runs. They lost 9-8 though

and i think there probably a reason why its been that long. (a big yucky, gross reason)

1-0 A's

antonio perez made an error on a relatively easy backhand play but blanton struck out the next batter to end the inning so it the error didnt make a difference.

Incidentally, I had to google "medial antibrachial cutaneous nerve" and of course Wikipedia has an entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medial_antibrachial_cutaneous_nerve

If you have the stomach for it, click the Duke link at the end of the article for actual pictures of a surgery on this nerve.

Still don't think I'd like to have it taken out. Doesn't sound like it's an extra thing like an appendix. Basically gives you feeling on your skin from your forearm down to your wrist.

[cackle, cackle]

I actually quite like brussel sprouts.

Gee I wonder why America is so fat.

Also noticed that Nomar's teeth are incredibly white.

Please wish my son good luck on his Babe Ruth tryouts tomorrow. He's a small kid, but has a lot of heart. Think Repko as a 10-year-old.

ethiers 3-3 with a 2b, guzmans 2-2 with a 2b.

martin is 0-8 on the season.

im a big fan of asparagus cooked in butter and garlic sauce. zuccinni's good too.

Houlton didn't have a bad game, 4 IP, 3 hits, 2 ER, 2 BBs, 5 Ks, 1 HR

Cauliflower is the Count of Cruciferous Vegetables.

Broccoli is the Prince of Wales of Vegetables.

He gave up 6bb's in 2.2 ip.

Blanton pitching great tonite but the M's lineup isnt very good.

I wonder if Macha will let him go for the shut out.. 7ip 2H 0BB so far.

BTW, they clearly don't have the same standards as Jon. Thank you for keeping this civil.

Bavasi might give Jim Bowden a run for worst GM in baseball.

Allard Baird and Wayne Krivsky say hello.

The Mariners have actually spent money the last several years and dont seem to have a clue.

and if they dont mess up, they will get andrew miller in the june draft.

Blanton had thrown 98 pitches, but he doesnt get a chance to go for the shut out.

Ever.

Until the end of time.

Francoeur, like KOTH pointed out, really outperformed his AA line from last season at the MLB level.

I just hope Navarro doesnt regress the same way, but at catcher the Dodgers really arent expecting as much from him.

Tracy would love for one of the young center fielders to get hot. That probably would earn a run of playing time for that person.

"I'm very in tune with that," Tracy said. "When a guy gets on a roll and stays on a roll for a little while, you ride that out."

what a hypocrite.

i like frenchie, hes an exciting player but he seriously needs to readjust his approach.

Cain's cutters are missing,
Bonds has gone away
Bonds gone reality show
Staying in a big hotel
People in San Francisco
Got many sad tales to tell

cain and billingsley both have similar builds and very similar stuff. Billingsley is a little bit shorter, but stockier (more muscle mass in the butt/thigh area). their deliveries are pretty similar as well. Billingsley works just as quickly as cain. I personally like billingsley's cb more then cains. Billingsley has more of a spike or downward break to his curve whereas cain is a little bit more side to side. Cain has more run action on his fb, but both can dial it up to the mid 90s when the situation calls.

I think I have read upwards of 2000 posts on here over the last two days, and I think...did you guys miss Tampa Bay picking up popular Old Friend Marcos Carvajal?

(buried pretty deep in here): http://tinyurl.com/mhbvr

Doesn't nearly make up for signing TOMAS PEREZ instead of bringing Upton back up, but it's progress...I suppose...

It's not the eating them, it's trying to keep them down.

Back in the clubhouse, the manager delivered the bad news. He was taken off the roster to make room for Gregg Zaun, back from an injured calf.

"Go talk to somebody who matters," Phillips said brusquely as he threw on his street clothes and headed out.

I doubt he's ever hit 107 but 100 wouldn't surprise me. I'll take mid 90s right now.