Nice job on the radio today, Jon. I got a rare chance to leave school at 3:05pm today and go to hear you.

The opening question threw me--I wasn't sure what Ireland was asking until you answered but I thought you handled it quite well.

I actually liked Repko (even) better after reading some of his thoughts in the otherwise very fluffy chat on Dodgers.com today. Maybe it's just that we share the same affection for cold cereal. But I did like his honesty about things.

That reminds me of another Tomko/Maddux contrast. While Tomko was throwing Maddux an 80 mph straight ball, the only possible pitch Maddux could do anything with, Maddux struck Tomko out on a 70 mph Bugs Bunny curve ball almost as good as the one Gagne threw to Bernie Williams.

Fun to read a Cubs fan's blog on Maddux and the Cubs last night:
https://cubtown.baseballtoaster.com/archives/352393.html

The most important thing we learned about Repko from his chat today is that he doesn't like his chin.

The Dodgers should draw at least 4 walks tonight. All Dodger hitters should stand at the plate and not swing. If they can draw a few bases loaded walks and Derek Lowe keeps the ball in the park (unlikely), then the Dodgers might have a chance to win. Then again, there's always a chance that Lance Carter will pitch.

The Clippers game should be interesting. If they lose tonight, they clinch the 6th spot in the playoffs and home court advantage. Tonight's game should be kind of humorous, since neither team wants to win this game.

5 NPR just had a clip with the guy who runs Clipperblog; he said one of his commenters suggested the way to make tonight's game mean something to each team was to have them shoot at their own baskets.

Daryle Ward is batting cleanup and playing RF for the Nats tonight. Before you criticize Robinson too much, you need to recognize that he's gone 2-2 with a homer and a double

1 - too bad some of us didn't get to hear it.

6
The NBA has a rule where they do not count baskets where a player deliberately scores in to the wrong basket.

9 I'm not responsible for some commenter on another blog! ;)

No own goals in basketball? Tsk. Think of the point-shaving opportunities forgone.

10
That's one of the reasons the rule was put in. And wasn't there some guy who tried that recently so his team could get another possession so he could try to get a triple-double?

matt kemp hits his first AA homer. laroche gets a base hit too, but he continues to be Mr. Banjo Slappy.

8- It only lasted a couple minutes. Jon played it well, but I wonder what the point of the thing was. The question, after the one about whether the blog got him lots of chicks (it was a running gag), was who the internet savages were blaming for the team's sucking. Then Mason explained how important pitching is to Dodger Baseball, and everybody agreed that, but for Penny, the pitching has been pretty lousy.

13 -- that was really Mason and Ireland?

Jim Bowden arrested for DUI.

http://tinyurl.com/mrtrp

Make up your own jokes.

Who will be the first Dodger to three home runs this season?

Meaning that why are they stealing that annoying guy's morning shtick? People are more interesting if you actually let them talk.

15 - Ah, Kayaker - guilty of not reading the threads (or the Griddle) before posting news.

If Kayaker7 had read the Washington Post story, he could have checked their feature "Blogs linking to this story". The Griddle was the first one listed!

11 Yeah...I think it was Ricky Davis, when he was with Cleveland. He tried to get his 10th rebound near the end of the game by shooting at the opponent's basket and missing. It was a blow-out, as well, so one of the opposing players hacked him pretty hard as I recall.

18 19 Guilty as charged...not DUI, though. ;-)

19 - Now I get the incentive for all the Nationals fascination. Where do I jump on board???

the washington post is fast becoming my favorite newspaper.

I can neither confirm nor deny that the end of Jon's segment was signaled by a cowbell. It certainly did have a Lightning Round feel to it.

23 Understandable, considering the alternative: LA Times. I used to read the dead tree version of the Washington Post all the time, during my undergrad years. The crossword is a good way to pass the time on the Metro.

The cowbell guy is unlistenable.

26 Christopher Walken?!

...so I guess nobody else is watching six hockey games right now?

Neither will I get to watch Dodgers baseball, apparently. Curse you, Prime Ticket (or Time Warner/Oceanic Cable).

29 Is WGN blacked out in LA? Curse the cable conglomerates indeed, then!

29 - yes.

16 - clearly not Cody Ross.

Since I made such a pleasant first impression on Sunday (everyone loves to be corrected on his relative pronouns), here's a stupid question to firm up my position on this blog: what is "tinyurl"?

33 - a convenient way to pack large URLs and make them tiny.

33
And I didn't even do it! That's the amazing part.

The only way to post a link here is to just type the whole thing. But a lot of links are really long and if you post the whole thing, the formatting of the page gets messed up.

33 - three words. Best. Post. Ever.

Bonds is starting again tonight for the Giants. Alou is not.

The Evil One is pitching for Arizona. He Who Shall Not Be Named.

30 WGN is not on the channel list Oceanic Cable offers out here in the mid-Pacific. There are only two cable companies; Jones is the other, and it's on the neighbor islands.

33 Tinyurl is a tool which takes a humongously long link and cuts it down to manageable size so that it will fit onto a webpage without breaking the format/css. You can find it at http://www.tinyurl.com and drag it to your toolbar for future use.

38 - Will he be wearing leather pants?

Randy Winn got a leadoff single and then was picked off 1-6-3-4-1.

He Who Shall Not Be Named had thrown 8 of his last 9 pitches for ball and had walked two (obviously).

On the first pitch to Bonds, 4-6-3 DP.

i dont think we're going to win tonight.

bob brenly is a lot easier on the ears than steve lyons

GRRRRR, there's a reason they call them the New Jersey DEVILS!!! Argh!!

43 - Gameday has 0-0 Nate, what aren't we seeing?

Do you think Vinny had Todd Walker confused with Larry?

45- its what you are seeing (dodgers lineup).

40 - He seems like more of a pleather pants guy to me.

furcal cant swing from the left side at all due to his finger.

49.
isnt ramon martinez here to give furcal a rest? what is he doing on the roster? he really is a good luck charm.

why was russ ortiz taken out in the 3rd?

51

He Who Shall Not Be Named!

"ARIZONA PITCHER XXXX XXXX LEFT THE GAME IN THE TOP OF THE THIRD DUE TO AN APPARENT INJURY TO HIS RIGHT CALF."

Sorry for the all caps. Cut and paste there.

well lets hope he is okay, we need him to pitch against the dodgers if we want to score runs.

Anyone ever have the "Your account has been logged in too many times!" error with MLBTV?

55
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/350455.html
See comment #1

I'm doing with gameday. Lowe seems to be getting groun balls--does he look OK or is it to early tt.

56- That is the problem but what is the Solution?

i think loney missed the hit and run sign...

and for punishment, he gets plunked in the shin.

The Reign of King Felix appears to be delayed still further. It's 4-0 Texas.

why would anyone do hit and run with Bill Mueller on base? He's one of the slowest runners in baseball. Navarro needs to stop trying to hit home runs. He has really had some horrible at bats this year. I'd love to see the Dodgers bring up Russell Martin soon. The best strategy against Zambrano is not to swing.

53 - why "he who shall not be named"?

57 Lowe's sinker has a lot of movement on it today. The strike three pitch just now on Pierre started way inside and ducked in over the corner. I'd say he looks good so far.

The Angels and Twins played a game that had 10 runs score, 24 baserunners and two mid-inning pitching changes and it still only took 2:24 to play.

63

Irrational hatred.

I just don't like the guy.

65 - Escobar threw 105 pitches and only lasted 6.2 IP, but Silva threw 109 and almost had a complete game. Silva just got hit hard.

guzman homers on a 1-2 pitch after fouling off like 4 pitches.

i dont understand why anyone would throw him anything but breaking balls away.

anyways, build up that trade value.

is it really that hard to throw out a runner? seriously, come on.

68
The world is coming to an end. Nate is calling for Dodger prospects to be traded.

The world is coming to an end. Nate is calling for Dodger prospects to be traded.

you must have missed my ultimatum i gave Joel yesterday.

Thanx 64.
At least it looks like Lofton's healthy enough to hit and isn't aged out.

Did Joel not get a BB yet?

71
Yes, I missed that.

69 Updated season stats for Dodgers catchers: SB allowed: 14. Caught stealing: 0. That's not too good.

73

49 ABs and counting.

Anybody else watching the Tigers-A's game? Justin Verlander is on the mound for the Tigers, and his fastball has reached 101 MPH. He is sitting consistently at 98-99 MPH.

77

verlanders FB is out of this world. every game ive seen him pitch, he has hit 100 and consistently sits around 95-98. And his motion is so easy. he just flips the ball to the plate.

13 innings in 2:58 so far this series.

aybar with a 2run hr. 4 homers on the year for aybar. nice power!

79
Just the way I like it.

80
How many homers did Robles have before being called up...?

78 -- Nate, does it concern you that Verlander's body is a little stiff in his delivery? It is not really a good thing for the arm to be doing all the work.

Good thing we don't have that bum Bradley anymore. Coming into the game today, his line looked like this:
.304/.396/.478
He's walked in his first 2 plate appearances tonight.

ethier!!! goes back to back over 400 ft sign in center.

can guzman go back to back to back!?!

Nate, does it concern you that Verlander's body is a little stiff in his delivery? It is not really a good thing for the arm to be doing all the work.

actually, it does concern me a lot. in the sickels verlander vs cain vs billingsley smackdown thread he had, i stated i think verlanders going to have future arm problems. his arm action is really easy but hes using all arm when he pitches. it just looks like somethings going to snap.

OMG guzman walks!!!

Ethier has some serious plate discipline, if the power develops, wow.

87- this is more exciting than a Dodgers win!

my new ultimatum- if Joel doesnt walk at least 5 times by his 100th AB, then off with his head.

the only thing the Dodgers have on the 51's is that Vin Scully announces their games

Wow--6 excellent starts in a row!

nice little poke drew.

Who did Ethier go back to back with?

Does JD Drew have a nickname?

A Dodger run, amazing!

I really like J.D. Drew, on and off the field.

94

ethier was on the backend of an Aybar-Ethier special.

95
Gimp

J.D. Drew's uniform is dirty – mission accomplished, Mr. Lofton.

Danka

Why would the Dodgers start Ledee when they have Cruz?

99. ill take that as a "no"

We should get a KeLorie for every Dodger.

102. Because Cruz isnt a 162 game player; first step towards keeping your players healthy is keeping your players fresh and rested. I only think Grittle shouldve substituted for Furcal instead.

91 The Dodgers also have better pitching than the 51's. After all, the 51's have Sele.

KeLorie?

I am thinking we need to bring back Phillips.

a KeLorie is is the amount of fire one must light under the butt of JD drew to raise his statistical value by 1 point OPS.

I am thinking that the real problem isnt the catcher at all

109 It should be pointed out that it is a Ke(nny)Lo(fton)orie. It's not immediately obvious. Well, either that, or I'm dense.

110- Maybe they haven't all been Navarro's fault, but of the 3 SBs tonight, he's only managed to make one throw. And it was bad.

110- well on Pierre's stolen base, it was Navarro's fault. Lowe looks like he's quicker to the plate this year when using his slide step. Navarro didn't even make a throw.

Lowe has been very impressive tonight.

Love that "ball in play-out(s) recorded" on
Gameday

112. tonite, it has been Navarro. But the larger problem is that the Dodgers have managed to collect a bunch of pitchers that dont hold runners, a catcher can only do so much.

swisher's bat has thunder!

Um...does Zambrano have the same...uh, prescription, that Derek Lowe has?

And did anybody else watch Bonds^2 tonight?? Ray Ratto AND Plachke were on, now I know what they both look like! --shudder--

Sounds like one of the crowd mikes went out on the KCAL broadcast.

Or else they turned down the volume at the stadium by 90%

mueller is a professional hitter, 3bbs tonight.

ah, i thought that was a gapper!

Yay, Ledee is out of the game. There are not enough Ledee-haters here, so I think I will become the first.

At least he did not bunt, right.

wow... did everyone just see big Hugh with those bunnies?

Come on Navarro, two pitches?

Sweet... what a rally. At least Repko's in the game.

Does Navarro bring anything to the table? Not only does he not bring anything, I think he takes things OFF the table. He can't hit and can't throw a runner out. Anyone else up for a Russ Martin sighting?

4 hits, 5 walks, 1 run. I smell 2005.

There are not enough Ledee-haters here, so I think I will become the first.

And where are all the Kent-haters...?

Navarro really hasn't looked good on offense or defense since the beginning of spring.

Didn't the Yankees once accuse him of showing up out of shape after a good season in the minors?

117. I saw some of that, Bonds was talking about his scuffle with Kent. It really made Bonds look like an idiot, Bonds at first claimed that he had nothing to do with the incident and did nothing, then admitted to walking up to Kent and "choking him out". I think the media gives Bonds a bad rap, but he really likes the taste of his own foot.

128- I'm here

126 - So, will Cody Ross be your 2006 MVP? Dude, it's one game, relax. (I guess this applies to 127 too. Damn.)

The Padres have used 19 players in 10 1/2 innings in Denver. And it's just 2-2.

They have no bench players left. Two relievers, Dewon Brazleton and Trevor Hoffman, plus the other four starters.

uh, no.

And no, it's not one game. IT's been since March.

The wheels are coming off...

Cody Ross is my 2006 MYP. I don't know what an MYP is, but I'm pretty sure he's it.

you really can't score runs when you don't have anyone to drive them in. I love Furcal, he does his job well...but other than that we've got Lofton, Navarro, Loney, and a pitcher. That's literally half of our lineup that simply can't drive in runs.

Our only two power hitters are Drew and Kent...and even they're more 25 HR type guys.

123 - Yep Nate, the one on his left looked like....um...someone I saw in a movie once...nevermind.

133 - Bob, did you read all of those posts about that 33 inning game?? Nothin to worry about!

Neifi! with a clutch GIDP.

126.129.
benching a guy after 39 tough at bats is not how you handle young talent

Here's something you don't see everyday when following N. Perez' at-bat on GameDay: "Pitch 6 - In play, run-scoring play"

139-

Like I said, when you already have a lineup that is below average, can you really afford to leave that extra black hole in the lineup?

I'm listening to the Cubs' announcers on MLB Audio because the Dodgers' feed has problems tonight. One of the announcers just shouted "Beautiful!" after Neifi's productive force out grounder.

134. if we're making judgements on play since march, then Jason Repko is on his way to the allstar game!

143-

I've been on the BROtheR bandwagon since the day it was opened...

Actually, now that the inning is over, I'm glad Neifi beat out the throw to first. Had he been out, Zambrano might have hit with 2 out and 0 on. As it stands, we get out of the inning only allowing the 1 run on Neifi's grounder, and we get to the bullpen.

142.
... and now you understand why they havent won a world series since the Victorian Era

142.
... and now you know why the Cubs havent won a world series since the victorian era

145-

their bullpen is pretty good though...

You know, I've never bought into the idea that some pitchers just know how to win, and pitch to the competition. But, I have to say, after watching Derek Lowe, I think some guys know how to lose. He just always seems to pitch down to the competition. He can lose 2-1 in a well pitched game, or 9-5 in a terribly pitched one. But, he just always seems ready and able to do it.

1908 was the Edwardian Era, but it's a good joke anyway.

144. exactly, spring training + 50 ab's is not enough time to make accuarate judgements about anyting. Last year at this time I was sure the Dodgers were on their way to the world series.

141

I hear you, but with this bunch of sorry guys we have, it will take alot more than martin starting over navarro to change things.
Some serious changes need to happen to lite a fire under these guys (fill in the blank).
We need a better starting pitcher than tomko.
We need a couple bullpen guys better than carter and hamulack.
We need a cf better than lofton and repko.
We need a better 1b than what we have.
And yes martin over navarro also.

148 Zambrano was pitching really well, though. I think I'd rather take my chances against the pen than Zambrano, even if he is presumably tiring.

144 - Well... everything said by a proponent of BROtheR IS automatically logical.

139

Where in my post do I say that he should be benched?

I just want him to stop backhanding every ball in the dirt.

After watching the tail end of Nomo's career, keeping the game close is sometimes all you can ask for. Although I heard Sele knows how to win blowouts.

I am not a fan of an announcer who makes the call "And now the count is two balls and ......... one strike." Sounds like he has to look up the count each time. Give me someone who is more into the game.

So the Miller Beer commercial seems to think that there are three big events in life that change you from child to adult:

1) marriage
2) buying a home
3) buying an HDTV

Can I just do #3 and declare victory?

Too bad we have no power.

Now it's time for Saito to blow the game. I would have brought in Kuo.

155. that was really more pointed at the notion of giving up on Navarro in favor of Martin.

You guys are cutting the Dodger lineup short. Its not below average, in fact the only positions on the field that should be below average offensively are CF and 1B. Compare the Dodgers lineup to the Giants and the Padres to for some perspective.

159 I like Kuo too, but Saito has pitched more effectively so far. Why wouldn't you bring him in?

Saito for President!!!

Saito's offspeed stuff looks pretty solid tonight. That was a nice-looking pitch to get Lee.

Saito has been real good since being called up. Now lets get some runs boys!

The reason why I don't think Saito will continue to be successful is because last year in Japan, he had an ERA around 4 and he's 36 years old. So far, major league hitters haven't seen him before, so maybe he'll continue to pitch like this for another month. Or maybe he'll have one great year, like that Japanese guy that the White Sox had a few years ago.

158- Those commercials don't make me want to buy beer (or get married, buy a house/tv) but they do make me want to listen to more Etta James.

now repkos going to bunt huh...

That was scraptacular!

Beautiful!

165

Shingo Takatsu

NO ONE saw this coming...

165 Agreed. After learning that his home run rate was terrible because he played in a sandbox, I'm fairly confident he can do well in his first time around the league. After that, not so much.

mueller's k:bb ratio has to be pretty darn good now.

This is where Loney can become a "real Dodger", and by that I mean ground into a double play.

Grits is an idiot! Olmedo can't hit RHP!

Saenz? Where is Cruz?

Make the Cubs bring in the lefthander! C'mon Grittle, what are you doing?!?

Olmedo's splits this year:

AB vs left: 13
AB vs right: 15

Speaking of beer commercials does anybody know the name of the song in the miller commercial were everybody is giving up there kid stuff? One guys gives the trashman his beer helmet and the other guy disinflates his inflatable chair. Its a blues song. Ive been trying to get the name of that song.

Will someone remind Mueller that this isn't Oakland? (yeah, I know it was an IBB, I just forgot to say it last time he walked)

What a professional hitter! If he wanted to pinch hit for Loney, he should have used Cruz. Grits is worse than Tracy.

ethier's having a HUGE day. 4-5, 2 doubles, 1hr.

179- Etta Jame's, I'd Rather Go Blind.

AAK! No apostrophe. Sorry.

navarro's swinging at pitches he would have never swung at last year. what gives?

181
LOL. Cruz was on deck.

7 left on base and 0 caught stealing.

185
Nate, Eddie. Eddie, Nate.

Is it just me, or is Navarro no good at baseball?

Way to give up that out Little...

185

We swing 3-2 up here, kid.

Why not use Baez here?

182

As i said before, if ethier develops power watch out.

183
Andrew thanks so much! I thought it might be Etta. Wow she has got like 3 or 4 songs in different commercials out right now.

Where's The All Star?

189

You'd better be careful saying that.

192 I imagine that was a rhetorical question. Everyone knows the reason.

If you used Cruz to pinch hit for Loney, then you still have to put in Saenz to play first.

If not, all the infielders throws would end up in the Cubs dugouts.

182. Id be nice if Ethier could justify trading Bradley and Perez

196 Whyso?

199 I think you're nice anyway.

198. ya, but then you get 4 outfielders!

If not, all the infielders throws would end up in the Cubs dugouts.

Some of those throws would bounce off the protective screen and stay in play.

And how many dugouts do the Cubs get?

ethier's ISOp is .215 now. so thats looking good.

Saito just made Murton look bad on that last pitch.

Is anybody else developing a small-sample-size mancrush on Saito?

New pitcher and Saenz leads of the ninth?

All we need now is a walk-off home-run. Good thing we have two mediocre leadoff hitters coming up in the 9th.

200 You'd better have a very good reason to call a 22 year old who has expirenced success at the major league level "not very good at baseball."

Navarro is out playing Ichiro right now. It's still very early.

Saito for President!!!

204. lets hope he can duplicate that when Drew takes his annual DL trip

203

You just opted to note the incorrect use of the plural form, but neglected to note that I left out an apostrophe after "infielders", but that was to correct Andrew's mistake in 183

197 I think 4 Ks in 2 IP is a good enough reason. Saito has been pretty darn good, and he didn't work too hard in the 8th. Baez should pitch the 10th. Or, given that it's 8-9-1 in the 10th, maybe that should be Kuo, and Baez reserved for the heart of the lineup.

the bull continues his dominance.

6IP .83whip 10k

Game over in Fresno. Broxton still sporting a fat 000 for an era.

212

Oh, I saw the apostrophes, but they're beneath me.

Kenny had his back to the plate as the pitch passed for a strike ... now thats "not very good at baseball."

i dont think we should judge Navarro by one game against Carlos Zambrano

A bad Lohman for the Cubs.

JD DREW!!!!!

212- I didn't know we got to balance out our illiteracy. This is very exciting news. Does it work if, for example, I write Puhols, then you write Yjency? Also, are we observing a strict platoon (whoever ends up getting Nate will have lots of fun 8^) ), or can anybody average out my errors?

J.D. Drew is a wuss.

OHMAN!

Thank god Lofton caused Drew to hit that liner! What a KeLorie!

And a loud collective EXHALE from Dodger Thoughts readers...

Nicely timed stolen base by Kenny Lofton.

For one day, I'm glad we have Lofton.

I'm very frightened of the media fallout however.

Dodgers Win! Dodger Win!

Drew must have been hungry because thats like 50 KeLories right there.

Damn Gameday is jammed but it looks like it is trying to say RUNSCORING PLAY

KeLorie?

Btw, I was surprised that I enjoyed listening to the WGN Cubs announcers tonight - the play by play guy is quite good and Bob Brenly's pretty decent, too. No Rick Monday and Jerry Reuss of course, but still... [sarcastic chuckle to self]

Lofton set a huge fire tonight!

...and the dodgers stay above .500 lifetime against the cubs.

198- then Grits would have made a double switch, had Olmedo bat 9th, and he would have led off the next inning batting 9th. The only disadvantage is that Saito wouldn't have been able to pitch.

The stolen base was meaningless, but I do think that Lofton distracted the pitcher. Nice job by Drew.

I hope Kenny was the first to slap Drew five after the hit. That's very important in maintaining a high KeLoric intake.

Lets be fair- Loftons the only one who gave any offense in the last couple of games.

229 - Brenly still starts every sentence with, "When I won a World Series in 2001..."

232 Why, was the ball off the wall?

[229]

someone correct me if i'm wrong, but i think KeLorie is a unit of energy measurement that indicates how intense a fire the presence of ke[nny] lo[fton] lights under the posterior of one j.d. drew

Not nec. meaningless, no guarantee Lofton scores from 1st on that hit even though it was a gapper (and he probably would have... but still.)

[236] yeah, would've been a double off the wall.

232. that stolen base was about as meaningful as a stolen base can be.

235

And "When I was an All-Star in 1985..."

229-- Yes, I was very impressed by "Ledee playing in Lenight", and the very poetic "Lowe throws a fastball... looow." And my all-time favorite "Furcal was trying to end this game right there." Watch out Vin Scully!

How about the Giants pitching the last couple of nights? Where was that this weekend vs. LA?

I rescind my Lofton comments.

a KeLorie is the amount of fire one must light under the butt of JD drew to raise his statistical value by 1 point OPS.

234- please explain. Lofton is 1-11 with 1 walk 2 strikeouts and 1 stolen base in his last 12 plate appearances.

I've just posted in the "Mars" thread - it'll never get read since we're two more threads along, but I couldn't resist, nor could I visit such non-baseball opinions upon another thread.

A pox on you, Dodger Thoughts. Thanks to Jon's writing and this community, I'm hanging out with you guys with the Gameday on, just because I'm wondering what's happening with the team and what y'all are gonna say about it. I like y'all so well that I'm even considering forgiving Vin Scully his stint on NBC.* I'm hooked.

*That's casting no aspersions on Vin's Dodgers work; I just think Joe Garagiola lured Vin into a tawdry Saturday afternoon underworld of endless Yogi Berra stories, at the expense of actually paying attention to the game on the field. Every week I'd pray that our NBC affiliate would get the Costas/Kubek game. I'm thankful that MLB.com's audio let me learn that there was substance to the Scully legend.

229 Agreed. They were actually pretty good, at least in a background sort of sense, they tended to focus on the game instead of the grocery list or whatever it is that Monday likes to talk about, and while they were clearly looking for a Cubs win, they weren't intrusive homers, seemed knowledgeable about the Dodger team, and occasionally tried to see things from the other perspective. Wow. I think I liked them.

How bout our pitchign for almost a week!

Lofton gives good meeting.

Yeah, the jokes were often corny, but their commentary was better than I would've gotten from listening to anyone not Vin on the Dodgers' radio - less annoying anyway.

The stolen base will get all the headlines. I'm more impressed with the walk he drew.

Derek Lowe pitched a great game. Grits is very lucky that the team was able to pull out a win.

251 Yeah, I miss Ross Porter a lot. I always enjoyed him a lot. I used to watch "Home Run Derby" on ESPN classic and always thought it was his voice introducing the show, but they never said, so I was never sure. Was that Porter?

246 That only highlights what the rest of the team has been doing.
I'm pretty sure Lofton scored or drove in a run in the last 2 games and scored tonight.
No one else did.

Was that a legit stolen base or was it defensive indifference?

255 Legit stolen base

254- nope, it must be a figment of your imagination. He hasn't been on base since the first game in the San Francisco series. He did drive in a run the "triple" thanks to Steve Finley's poor defense. It was the first run of the game. Lofton scored his first run of the season tonight.

Wow, nicely done. Aybar, Guzman and Aybar each had HR's, and 8 for 14 between them. Ethier's batting .452.

And now the Cub fans sit back and wonder why they can't hit our soft tosser.

OK point taken. But in the interval very few have an RBI and a Run.

Sorry if this is a rerun but it looked new, or at least I just saw it at the bottom of the game recap on Yahoo...

"Dodgers INF Nomar Garciaparra, sidelined with a strained muscle on his right side, took batting practice and infield. Manager Grady Little said Garciaparra might be sent on a minor league rehab assignment before being activated. "Before we think about activating a guy with the injury he's had, we've got to make sure he can play nine innings," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. ..."

258

aybar's and ethier's k:bb ratio are both very good as well.

Well... everything said by a proponent of BROtheR IS automatically logical.

Now there's pressure...

Does anyone have Saito's stats from Japan the past 14 seasons? My cursory Google search led me nowhere...

262 I'm thinking another reason the Dodgers don't see a place for Ross is that Ethier is not far from getting a callup, perhaps in early summer/late spring, or at first injury. I say Ethier, Aybar and then Guzman, in order of most likely offensive call ups when next opp's arise.

Nice game for Houston's Preston Wilson tonight - 5 K's in one game.

264 Why, I just so happen to have that right here.
http://www.japaneseballplayers.com/en/player.php?id=tsaito

The guy is my age, but fortunately he pitches better.

264 They're linked from here

http://dodgermath.com/?p=262

Does anyone have Saito's stats from Japan the past 14 seasons? My cursory Google search led me nowhere...

www.thebaseballcube.com has his stats.

Loftons triple must have been on Saturday.

Has Cody Ross been claimed yet?

269 Yeah, Lofton's triple (Finley's misplay) was on Saturday. I remember because I waited in line at Dodger Stadium from the 3rd inning to the 8th inning for some garlic fries. Pretty ridiculous actually. I would have missed the entire game waiting in line had I gone to the Maddux game! Perhaps because it was a Saturday night's Giants game that service was that bad, but my hunch is that relative to other stadiums, Dodger stadium food service is subpar. Anyone agree or diagree?

Drew should have been credited with another double there in that last AB. Raise that OPS!

I was at the 51's game tonight, and got to see the young guys coming up. Guzman had a homer and a double, popped out and something else. He looks kind of raw in his swing and a little erratic, but he's got natural talent and power. Martin had 2 throw downs. Both were in the dirt (at 2nd) and he got one runner by about 4 feet and the other was safe, but the ball got by the 2nd baseman. He had a double over the third base bag as well. He has a great arm, and I think he will be up before too long. Ethier has a reeeeally nice swing. He had a homer and a double off the wall and I think a base hit too. He may make a few of you forget about Milton before too long. Broxton pitched a funky 9th, but no runs scored and he looks okay?? Kind of overweight and doesn't really drive with the back leg. Delwyn Young, I am not too sure about him really. K it's bed time.

how about aybar?

271 agrees with my memory. That is ridiculous service indeed. Pushing 2am on the E coast, I'm going gone

I can confirm that Kenny's triple was on Saturday since I was there and kept score. ;) It was in the third inning with two outs, with two balls and two strikes. It also gave him an RBI by driving in Furcal, who was on first thanks to being walked.

Oh, and eat dinner before coming to the ballpark, then just buy snacks from the guys wandering around the stands.

When the crowd is less than 40,000 like yesterday, no problem getting food, but when it goes near 50,000, it is pretty tough not to spend some time in line.

Haha, Dodger talk callers are so dumb.
"Put Izturis at second base and Kent to 1st. If that doesn't work out, trade him for Barry Zito or Dontrelle Willis"
Is the average Dodger fan really this clueless?

Is the average Dodger fan really this clueless?

Greg Maddux isn't the only one throwing softballs.

278
Is the average Dodger fan really this clueless?

You've been to dodgers.com, right?

271 I've noticed that is hit and miss. During the freeway series last year (spring training version), my buddy and I spent about an hour in line and missed a handful of innings.

I'm not one to speak on the subject since I rarely get food at the stadium anymore. I went to about 15-20 games last year and probably went to the concession stand during 4-5 of them.

Is it just me or does it seem like the smell from the garlic fries stand is actually better than the fries themselves? I like the fries, but I can't finish them.

280- no, I've never really gone on their message board. I'm glad I haven't, because from everything I've heard about it on here, I'd probably lose a few IQ points if I did.

Missed the game tonight, had a softball game that we won 12-10. Someone told me that one of Depo's players knocked in the winning run (who was one of Colleti's players). Is that the case? Sounds pretty exciting. Guess the bigger question is, which team had more LOB? vr, Xei

281 Sometimes when I go to a Dodger game, I'm there more to eat the food and take in the atmosphere than to actually watch the game. If I actually wanted to WATCH the Dodgers game, I prefer watching in the comfort of my own home... although now that I'm a DIRECTV MLB package subscriber, it's hard not to flip around to see how many fantasy players are doing!

Unlike Jon, I enjoy the fantasy baseball conflicts that arise, even if I'm starting Maddux against the Dodgers. Call me a traitor to Dodger Blue, but I wasn't unhappy about Maddux's dominance. I would have been unhappy had Maddux been rocked and the Cubs still been the victor, but if the Dodgers were to lose, then lose big time at the gain of my fantasy baseball team!

-Another caller wants to trade Furcal for a catcher at the deadline
-Another caller wants to start Olmedo Saenz at first base every day instead of Loney
-Another caller asked why Loney didn't bunt with 2 on nobody out

I am embarrassed to be a Dodger fan tonight

284. My "Friends of Dodger Thoughts" fantasy team is mired in mediocrity at the moment. Seems like all the star players I drafted are all off to slow starts. Or it could be that I'm the Ned Colleti of fantasy baseball. Every player that I touch turns to stone.
vr, Xei

285. Was Jim Tracy disguising his voice on all three of those phone calls? vr, Xei

from gurnick's notes:

Little said the key stats he looks for in hitters are on-base percentage, slugging percentage and a combination of those.

!?!?!? whaaaa!

286 I've run into some incredible luck with some of my moves. In one league with 7 bench spots, I'm able to platoon players and spot start guys. With some of the Dodger players, I've done quite well with Olmedo Saenz vs. lefties at PNC Park, and oddly enough, the day I decided to pick up Bill Mueller, he decided to go yard 2 times. That Saturday game, I picked up Odalis because I had a "gut feeling" he'd outduel Schmitty.

Too bad I didn't have the foresight to pick up Cody Ross's 2 HR/7 RBI game! I actually was tempted to do so. I even picked up Ramon Martinez for a spot start the day Grady announced that he'd get a start (he got a squib-hit dunker to left field basehit RBI for me).

288 I think DePo and Grady would have worked well together...

I'm flying down to Orlando for a wedding next month, and I finally got around to booking a room and a car. Very exciting news: the car is a Hyundai. I'm going to be living it up Steve style. Might even visit a Walmart.

This is my first car rental, so I need to know how much I can get away with. Will they find a way to bill me if, for example, I tear out the radio and sell it? What about the hubcaps?

The best thing about a rental car is that if it gets stolen, it's really not your problem.

Unless you have a lot of your own stuff in the car. Then you hate life.

Replace the hubcaps with mags (do they still make mags, or call them that?) and they may call it even. Same with the radio: put in XM or Sirius and it'll be ok, I'm sure.

I used to have a running disagreement with my boss about the size of car to rent at LAX when we were both in town for a week. His theory was the bigger the better so he wouldn't get killed when he got hit, while mine was the smaller the better so I could be nimble enough to get out of the way.

I used to hate it when he'd leave on a Wednesday and I'd have to drive that blasted 1987 Lincoln Continental for the rest of the week.

293- I didn't have that problem. If it would have saved me five dollars, I'd have rented a moped.

So, it looks like my options are grand theft auto, or upgrading the car. I think I'm going to pass on both (unless somebody knows a super professional chop shop in the Orlando area that would never rat me out; email me). I'm thinking, actually, about washing it, just so that I can say that I washed a rental car. But that may be too much bother for a not very funny joke.

You shoulda seen the parking lot in that condo we stayed in (Century Park West); that's one reason why I didn't like big cars.

I just noticed that Werth still can't swing a bat and is considering second and third opinions, hoping his career isn't over. That would be a really sad thing to happen to the guy.

271

Not that anyone's still up to read this, but at tonight's game I noticed that the concession lines are ridiculous on the outer sections of the stadium (my seats are in RS 35) but when I went towards home plate on the Reserve level, the stand selling the "grilled" dogs was only 3 people deep. Just a suggestion.

271 Some visiting family and I went to Saturday night's game and got 15 seats in the upper reserve level. Two brothers stood in line for about three innings, maybe four until finally I called one of them on their cellphone and offered to relieve them. Another two brothers and I took over and waiting another two or three innings, including the 7th. The server took excruciatingly long to serve each customer -- post office slow. Watching her pour nacho cheese for the group in front of us was like something out of Fawlty Towers. Then it was our turn. By the time she was done with us, the seventh inning was over, which meant everyone behind us was told -- no beer. We had six cups. We barely got out of that line alive. It was like "Old Man and the Sea."

The food lines throughout the Loge Level were absolutely terrible Monday night, all game long. Very slow service.

It took45 minutes for us to get food on Monday night. That is going to be a huge issue going forward one would think

they need to contract with In-N-Out to be the official burger of the Dodgers. forget carls jr cafeteria style.

Can a state designate a national burger?

geez, i need to eat something.

Man, I have so much paper piled around me and so much to do this morning. The sun is shining so bright outside. I wish I were sitting in the upper deck of that beautiful ballpark in Pittsburgh right now, watching them get the field ready, counting the supports on the Clemente bridge, and waiting for the Cardinals to extract some revenge for the drubbing they took last night.

sigh.

301. state ...state burger

300 D.Hobbit, you mean In-N-Out, Eventually ??? That would only exacerbate the problem. I've spent three innings in line there as well. In the drive-thru line. Literally.

Trying to be the most amateur of economists here, but isn't the market for food at a baseball game not elastic? People are going to buy stuff regardless of the cost to them, whether it's in out of pocket costs or even opportunity costs (such as watching the game).

I know there is a price at which food could be sold that no one would buy, but from my experience, it seems that somebody will buy it.

And there eventually has to be some capacity that the stadium must reach when it becomes impossible to sell the food from the stands any faster.

So, does the approach to making the lines go faster have to be one of economics (i.e., making stuff really expensive so fewer people will want to buy it) or one of engineering (i.e. finding some way to get people to buy stuff faster.)?

The Dodgers I believe do have a system where you can just tap a machine and have a MasterCard debited for the appropriate amount, but it is so little publicized that I think that a negligible amount of people use it.

I think lines for food at baseball games is like traffic. It's hard to avoid. There are just too many people who want the same things all at the same time. Unless you force people to patronize the concession stands at particular times, (Section 8, you can go between x and y, section 10 goes between y and z), you are just going to have to put up with lines.

Or bring your own food.

1) Plenty of people are clearly willing to pay the high $ that the Dodgers charge for food.

2) The actual time required to complete the payment transaction is slow.

3) The problem is the slowness with which the food is served. Each beer being filled, de-headed, topped off. Each slow walk to get nacho cheese for the nachos or salt for the pretzels. And so on. They do not have an efficient system for delivering what's on the menu to the counter.

The team needs to have some people devoted to having some food items ready in advance as demand dictates. Not hours in advance - just five minutes in advance. Stay 10 beers and 10 nachos dishes ahead. That, I'm almost sure, would have a dramatic effect on decreasing the lines.

306 - Sorry - major brain cramp there. The actual time required to complete the payment transaction is very little.

no, i think you're right bob. the demand is fairly inelastic, as you can tell by the already inflated prices and long lines. therefore it IS an engineering problem.

306

Regarding point (3), I don't know if the Dodgers concession stands are equipped with enough space or sanitary storage facilities to keep all those beers and nachos ready to go.

The hot dogs already take up a lot of space as do the ice cream products.

I also think that the people at the concession stands just don't get enough practice in serving people in an efficient manner. They are low paid and low skilled workers who probably don't get a lot of training.

309 - If that's the case, those are simply problems they must solve. They have played plenty with the space and setup of the concession areas in the past. And the training problem obviously has a training solution.

Being abstemious, I would have to ask? Can you have beers poured ahead of time and ready to go that people will still want? Even in stadiums where beer is sold in the stands, the vendors pour it out in front of the customer.

People seem to want to see the beer poured for them. We don't seem to buy as demanding about soda.

You really have no idea how good things are at Dodger Stadium until you've tried to get something to eat at RFK Stadium during a busy game. At the home opener, they ran out of hot dog buns on one level and at the same time people on the level below were told that the hot dogs weren't cooked yet. In the third inning. It's really unbelievable how bad aramark has performed.

I don't mind a pre-poured beer -- I think those plastic bottles things are very popular these, and they don't need pouring at all (though they are less profitable than draft I'd guess).

I don't get beer at the game either, but I think as long as people see the beer being poured in front of them, it doesn't have to be their beer. That's why you can't have 100 old beers sitting around, but you can be a few beers ahead.

I would say, though, that I do feel the same way about soft drinks. I don't like the ones that appear to have been sitting around, with the ice melting inside them. (I can't believe you say soda, Bob - I rarely hear a native use that word.)

We live in "Soda" land:
http://www.popvssoda.com/countystats/total-county.html

Do you have a map like that for sneakers/tennis shoes?

No, they only do that for important topics. ;-)

314 - The natives have been overrun. People from Los Angeles do not say "soda."

Jon's trying to get booked on Lou Dobbs.

I've always said "soda" and I'm a native southern Californian.

Other than the peanuts, I hate the food at Dodger (or for that matter any) Stadium, so I always like to eat before, or bring my own. And I can get peanuts from the aisle vendors. I'll buy a couple beers before the game or in the first inning but usually not after because of the time involved and the driving to be done afterward.

My family has said "soda" forever, but we originally come from the heavy "soda" territory that is on either side of the Mississippi river around St. Louis.

318 - Yeah - we must close the doors on those people from Illinois taking over my backyard. (But wait, my Dad's from Illinois. Internal conflict!)

Okay ... let us now retreat from a discussion I only get into offline. We were talking about soda! Curse you, Sam, for goading me.

Man that's some lineup the braves are running out v. the Mets today. Tony Pena at short; Brian Jordan at first; Todd Pratt catching; Pete Orr at second.

I put the "Soda vs. Pop" map link on the Griddle's sidebar if anyone wants to look at it again.

[317] yes, we do. i grew up saying "soda", anyway.

what did jon grow up saying, i wonder...

322

The Mets are starting "old friend" Jose Valentin.

Monday night, Eric Karros on ESPN said that the Mets are the "most balanced" team in the NL.

I don't think "most" was the intensifier he was looking for. "Best balanced" maybe?

I can't imagine ever using "pop" instead of "soda".

When I was a kid it was also okay to use "coke" when referring to soft drinks in general.

Anyhow, everyone stop bothering Jon. If he doesn't get a new post up soon, he's going to end up in the sidebar cellar.

You're either balanced or you're not, correct? How can you be more balanced?

Since I spent much of my childhood at my father's store and we sold many different soft drinks, I had to come up with a word to differentiate between brands, so "Coke" to me literally means "Coke".

We also sold more Pepsi than Coke at the store, primarily because Pepsi gave us more price breaks.

The only weird holdover we had was that for a brief time in the 1970s, Pepsi sold a 64 oz version in a glass bottle called "The Boss" and from then on "Boss Pepsi" became the word to describe all large Pepsis, even when they switched to plastic and became 2 liters instead of 64 fluid ounces.

306 - Unless my memory is shot (which is always a possibiltiy), I recall at one time, there used to have concession stands where the cokes, hot dog, fries, etc. were already prepared and you used to pick them up like a cafeteria and proceed to the cashier who was sitting outside the stand.

I think once Carls Jr and other licensees took over, that practiced stopped.

An aside, it probably would be cost prohibitive but it would be great if Dodger Stadium could sell In N Out at the games, they might outsell Dodger Dogs.

In-n-Out brings one of its monstrous mobile homes to the Rose Bowl before UCLA football games.

Do they do the same for USC games at the Coliseum?

Everyone I grew up with said "soft drinks." Pop and soda were distinctly eastern or midwestern. I can't believe what I'm hearing from you people.

Anyway, I'm moving on. I'm putting up a non-soda food thread up now.

331 - Yes, that's all true. At the same time, you could request extra grilling for your dog. People could jump ahead of you while you waited. It was a better system.

[327] pop at least makes sense though. the whole phrase is soda pop, right? so you can pick which half you want to shorten it to. referring to dr. pepper or 7-up as a "coke", however, makes no sense at all to me. crazy southerners.

My parents are both from Chicago, and let me assure you, they say "pop" there. In fact, its one of the ways that I can tell if someone is from Chicago. I don't know where Jon is getting this soda thing.

On the subject of food lines, I recall in my youth, before for the days of the dreaded "food options," every concession stand at the stadium was cafeteria line style. In other words, you progress through a line helping yourself to prestocked items, and then pay at the end. I believe the employees still poured beer and SODAS. This seemed to work really well, but my memory may be very flawed. These type of concession stands mostly died out when they started carving out space for the Taco Hells and Carlses. What an improvment!

Also, they need to bring back the crank oninon and relish things, but that's another topic.

336 - I didn't mean to imply that people from Chicago didn't say pop. Just that soda and pop are not terms people I knew grew up saying.