10 months apart?

Papa and Mama Aybar apparently are quite fond of each other.

Bengie Molina is just 11 months older than Jose Molina.

With the addition of Aybar, Ethier, and Martin, what an exciting lineup we have these days. With the exception of Cruz, I'm delighted to see whatever part of the batting order happens to be coming up in an inning. It's been a while since I've felt that way.

And with all that talent still ripening on the farm, this should be one fun year.

wow

Kemp might skip AAA and come to the majors...

http://tinyurl.com/ghd4k

Kemp's a center fielder, right? What's he doing these days?

I'm dreaming of a Kemp-LF, Drew-CF, Ethier/Cruz-RF...

Be seated when you read this from Plaschke:

"To get through the schedule, we have to have depth, and right now, our depth is not enough," Mike Scioscia said.

Sound familiar?

They have become, yeah, the DePodesta Dodgers.

And the Dodgers, who spent days last winter without a manager, a general manager, a future or even a clue?

They have become, almost overnight, brainy and balanced contenders.

The veterans that General Manager Ned Colletti hoarded this winter like canned goods, including Manager Grady Little, have turned the clubhouse into a sort of pennant preparedness kit, a safe and steady place for a handful of rookies who have been relaxed enough to contribute.

They have become, yeah, the Scioscia Angels.

Augggh! My world view has been upset! I feel a deep disturbance in the force!

Kemp's a center fielder, right? What's he doing these days?

something like 343/423/558 not including tonights game.

How bold was it for Plaschke to go out on a limb and assert the Dodgers are better than the Angels? Did I miss his column where he said the Ducks are having a better year than the Kings?

8-

I think that was a joke. Never can tell with Plaschke, though.

6 - Plaschke's still a drooling, moronic waste of half-thoughts and hackneyed cliches, so at least some things don't change.

10 - Ever feel like temporarily coming out of retirement to do a good old-fashioned fisking?

i actually wouldnt mind if they called up kemp if only he is going to be put in the lineup everyday. He is a superior defensive outfielder to both young and guzman and has outhit both players this year by a ton.

furcal
aybar
nomar
drew
kent
kemp
ethier
martin

looks good.

3- Very bad idea. This is the first year we've seen this kind of plate discipline from Kemp. At least give him a couple hundred at bats before calling him up.

I saw the movie Inside Man tonight. Anyone else see it? I thought it was pretty good.

8

I think the odds of Plaschke travelling with the Ducks to Edmonton are pretty low. There is an interesting article by Helene Elliott about how bad the ice is in Anaheim.

A humid day with thunderstorms isn't going to help much I think.

13

I didn't see "Inside Man" because I demand one thing out of my films now and that movie wasn't going to provide it.

13- I saw it about a month ago and thought it was really good.

The Aybar's have an amazing story.

Nelly Fruitado is the worst performer in the history of the world. Pretty much the Lance Carter of performers.

15-

Not enough self-flagellating albino action for ya?

13- Jodie Foster somewhat resembles a self flagulating, sociopathic monk murderer.

Well, now that everyone knows my tastes... I'll no longer use that phrase on DT.

Is Lance Carter the Gigli of pitchers?

There is a story about Adam Curry and his podcaasting in the LA Times Sunday.

There is one fact in there that I found shocking.

Adam Curry is 6'6". He always seemed so short when he was on MTV. Granted he was never standing next to anyone. But still, he just seemed like he should be short.

But he's taller than me!

And apparently, way, way, way, way wealthier.

20-

Lance Carter is a film by Ed Wood.

Ok, I now like Tomko (at least more than Weaver)
"It was a battle. I didn't have my best stuff," said Tomko, who's 5-1 with a 3.21 ERA. "The job Aybar's done filling in for Bill Mueller -- that's what it takes to win."

12- natepurcell said:
"furcal
aybar
nomar
drew
kent
kemp
ethier
martin"

There's something odd about this list. Can you see it? All the Dodgers are listed by their last name, except for one: Garciaparra. I wouldn't bring this up, except that I'm surprised at how consistently this happens in discussions of the Dodgers. There's Furcal, Drew, Kent, and . . . Nomar!

So--I'm guessing that either: a) a five syllable name takes too long for most people to say or write, or b) people just can't resist the sound of . . Nomar! (In this list, I have to admit that Nomar does look pretty cool after Aybar.)

6 - Let's see, the veterans that Neddy hoarded, Furcal, though never on DL, basically spent April getting over some nagging injuries, he has started to do a lot better raising his average 50-60 points this month. Lofton and Nomar both started the season on the DL, both back and Nomar has been great, Mueller, is now on the DL. On the pitching side, Tomko has so far surpassed expectations, Seo has been a classic 5th starter, Carter has been a bust and Baez is shaky and stirred.

All of this equates to a team 3 games over .500, they have started to play better because since the first 10 games of the season, the starters have generally pitched well and now that Nomar is playing and Kent has perked up, the 3,4,5 spots are providing pretty good punch.

I'm not saying that Ned and Grady are not doing a good job, I like how Ned is willing to call up the youngsters and how Grady is picking his spots but I think it is not accurate to say that all of Ned's moves have worked so far.

Its late but I have one ticket for tomorrow's game (I have the other one, anyone that wants to go, I will leave it at the Will Call by the Loge entrance, all I need is your name because you will need to show ID at the window to get the ticket. The location is behind home plate, reserve level, in the shade for those who don't want to get burned.

First come, first served.

BTW if you would like email me instead you can send it to Craigminlosangeles@gmail.com

Wouldnt this lineup be cool, if just for a week?

3b-Aybar
LF-Cruz/Ethier
SS-Nomar
RF-Drew
2b-Kent
CF-Kemp
1b-Guzman
C- Martin/Navarro

Of course we'd have 17mils worth of banjos either sitting on the bench or DL'ed, but that would be one sweet lineup. Aybar seems to have a leadoff hitters approach, and look at the power (2-7). I doubt Nomar ever goes back to SS, but if Furcal were to get hurt I hope they'd do that rather than play Ramon Robles.

And if anyone would like to see some examples of the point I made in 24, see 25 and 28.

bringing up Kemp really doesn't make sense unless he's going to be given the LF job...which of course, opens us up to jettison someone via trade. If it was up to me, I'd just wait on Kemp and hope to upgrade LF through a trade at the deadline...

See, this all started on thursday when I told Erick and Willy were both going to make it and he gave me the thumbs up.

Gee Bob, phoning in the RGC when you could have done the 1952 Dodgers game? For shame.

29 Bruce, would you prefer Mr. Hamm ??? Or perhaps "Ramon, backwards" ??? j/k ;-)

Seriously though, I understand your point and like consistency as much as the next guy, but in this case do not see the need for a concern. To me Nomar identifies him 100% (which is the point). And frankly that is in any context, not just baseball. In other words, he is the only person I've ever heard with that given name. I realize there are very likely many, many more people named Nomar but in my experience -- certainly not exhaustive, but enough to avoid the dreaded "small sample size" label -- he's the one and only.

29 Bruce, btw you have a GREAT name!

I totally agree, jumping Kemp to the majors dosn't sound right. Are they becoming fans not coaches.

16

>>Nelly Fruitado is the worst performer in the history of the world. Pretty much the Lance Carter of performers.<<

she sure is nice to look at though.

Plan Nine From Lance Carter. Ominous.

11 -- Sure. But what can I say at this point? Plaschke wrote another paint-by-numbers thumbsucker? Well, sure he did. But I just said it.

Bonds was quoted as saying "I'm glad it's over" he stills needs to hit 715 no.

In the last week or so, I have added several new profiles of former Dodger players on my website. The players added include:

Bobby Darwin
Clem Labine
Eric Davis
Terry Forster
Mike Busch
Camilo Pascual

Check it out at:

http://dodgerprofiles.blogspot.com

Billy Wagner's corpse claims that he blew yesterday's game because it wasn't a save situation.

Nomar!
In the tradition of players known by their first name.

Like Ichiro!
Or Rickey!
Or Liza!

I have noticed that people are referred to by their first names either 1) if their first name is more distinctive 2) if their last name is long 3) if their last name is plain.

Hard for me to call Valenzuela anything but Fernando - I have to force myself. But I think we're bored with a lot of the more common first names - so "Eric" doesn't get a lot of first-name recognition.

41 -- Or Paul! But only if you believe certain ESPN non-talents.

Yhency!

Yuniesky!

Lance!

"Olmedo" lends itself to chanting in a manner similar to "Evita!"

And he's supposed to be immortal.

That's all we wanted.

Not much to ask for.

He kept his promise.

We'll keep our distance.

In today's lineup post, Josh Rawitch called Plaschke's article "pretty nice"

Rawitch is in PR, he doesn't want to anger the Plaschke Monster or else he will rise up and smite all of us in a sea of simplistic, moralistic analogies.

36 - Yep, she figured out the one guaranteed way for America to give her another 15 minutes.

Billingsly for Delmon Young!!

Alex Gonzalez, the slightly worse one that played for the Phillies this season, has retired

52

Was there a ceremony?

"furcal
aybar
nomar
drew
kent
kemp
ethier
martin"

I like the 1-2 combo of Fu-bar.

49 I couldn't help but gripe to Rawitch for feeding the monster...

Plaschke's column is just as oversimplified and unfair as usual- only for once he sides with the Dodgers. The Dodgers and Angels have both relied heavily on rookies this year- true. But since the Dodger rookies have produced they're "relaxed enough to contribute." The Angel rookies haven't hit so they're the DePodesta Dodgers. Completely silly observations- even in hindsight. Plaschke has kicked the Dodgers in the shins for 5 years now for all the wrong reasons (letting Beltre/Finley/Cora/Lima go?). He doesn't deserve any links from Dodgers.com.

44

Brazoban sounds better imo.

He doesn't deserve any links from Dodgers.com.

I wouldn't have put it quite this way, but that is judicious.

There are seven games underway in the majors now, but there have been just eight runs scored so far.

57 You would have said "The only place more ignorant than Dodgers.com is latimes.com/sports."

The Dodgers could take over the top spot in runs scored in the NL now, but it would be tough.

The top three are:
Atlanta 230
L.A. 229
Arizona 228

Atlanta and Arizona play each other today.

51

they wouldn't buge, they'd probably want the moon & the stars also.

60

high scoring game?

Vance Wilson is a smart guy. Adam Dunn was barrelling home on a grounder to third and when Wilson took the throw from Brandon Inge, he was able to get out of the way of Dunn and tag him and then spin out of the way, instead of getting run over by a full speed Adam Dunn.

62
1. Chase Field is a high-scoring park this year.
2. If the two teams are playing each other, it's likely that at least one of them is going to score a fair number of runs.

He does[] deserve [m]any links from dodgers.com.

Sentence fixed

Special to Steve:

Arizona recalls Kevin Jarvis from the minors!

Is anyone else watching the Brewers v. Twins game?

Former Ubber Giants prospects Boof Bonser is blessing the MLB record books with one of the better names in recent baseball times with his ML debut.

Its been a shaky start for Boof despite just surrendering 1 run in the first 2 frames.

I'm too wrapped up in the Marlins-DRays matchup.

I may fly out to Miami next Sunday. They're giving out Mike Jacobs t-shirts!

Actually, the Detroit-Cincinnati is pretty good. Harang and Robertson matching zeroes through seven.

Harang in the top 5 in K's in the NL! I didn't see that coming.

I'm actually casually interested in this Brewers team. They are young and have some exciting players. Fielder, Weeks, Carlos Lee, Capauano, Sheets. I've found myself watching a handful of their games this year while waiting for the dodger games to come on.

With ethier producing at the major league level, and kemp tearing up AA, and guzman playing some 1b, and martin our future catcher, and dewitt/aybar maybe being our 2b of the future, do you think ned might package navarro, loney, one of dewitt/aybar for a starting pitcher that we can hang onto for awhile, since other than billingsley we have no starting pitching prospects near major league ready.
It will probably be done in the offseason, since the trade deadline deals are usually for rental players.

22 homers for Pujols now.

I'm watching the White Sox Vs. Cubbies game, I like how both managers handled the whole Barrett & A.J thing.

just to let you guys know it's getting very interesting in chicago.

71

Pujols = superman

70 As fun as this team is to watch right now, it's just not as fun to dream up trade packages anymore. Let's hope Ned shows some creativity and sells high whenever he makes his first impact trade.

Old friend Mike Kinkade is off to a 333/412/492 start in 132 ABs with Albuquerque. Only 3 bombs.

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead on a walk, sacrifice and error, and an RBI single by Polanco.

Todd Jones is on to close it out for Detroit in the ninth.

Kearns leads off with an HBP on a weird play where both managers were ready to come out on the field to argue the call. Once it was ruled an HBP, Narron went back and Leyland argued.

Adam Dunn followed with a sacrifice.

As much of a fan I am of the sacrifice, there is no way in hell I would ever ever ever ever ever have Adam Dunn do it.

The Tigers won 1-0.

It was Dunn's second career sacrifice.

The Rockies have loaded the bases in the second against Toronto on a walk, a sacrifice and error, and a sacrifice where everybody was safe on a failed force attempt.

The Rockies have a chance to tie the Dodgers MLB record of three sacrifices in one inning.

For those who might be interested, I have (finally) put up my photos of the early May game I attended between the Bees and the 51's. Includes shots of Billingsley, Young, Guzman, Aybar, Martin, and Loney. See:

http://ilab.cs.byu.edu/zappala/bees-51s-3-may-2006/

Those are nice. Sounds like you had a great time. It looks like you really had to scramble to get a good seat. ;-)

79

ditto, power hitters aren't supposed to bunt.

Lowe takes over as the hard luck pitcher this year.

Boy, the Blue Jays are really rolling over and dying in that series against the Rockies. I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge from them. Well, maybe Colorado will be so tuckered out from rounding the bases in that series that they'll be tired when they come to LA...

Hmm... No Guerrero today.

83 Yeah, we bought nice seats right behind home plate, and quickly started moving around to other areas behind the dugouts so I could get better pictures without the netting in the way. My last experience was a July 4th fireworks game, so I guess that's why it was crowded.

The Cubs have scored four times in the 8th against the White Sox including a Barrett triple and a Jones homer.

They are trying to prove the superiority of modern uniforms to throwbacks.

Contreras will get a no decision in the game so his winning streak will live for another start.

I saw Lowe's record (1-3) and thought it couldn't be right. Has he really only won one game? He's pitched awfully well for very little to show for it, if that's accurate.

I don't normally read the "Sarah's Take" on Dodgers.com, but I'm glad I did today, because I found this line fascinating.

Although Furcal has many more stolen bases than Izturis, Izturis has played for former Dodger manager Jim Tracy, who didn't prize the stolen base.

Really? Jim Tracy didn't prize the stolen base?

And yet after thinking about it I think that's exactly right. Take the case of Oscar Robles, who Tracy repeatedly urged to steal last year even though he ended up 0 for 8. ( I think )

So, clearly, Jim Tracy prized the caught stealing, rather than the stolen base.

[87] Did you miss Simmers' article? "Vladimir Guerrero is pacing himself."

http://tinyurl.com/hbf6l

90

According to Steve Phillips, good pitchers don't get a lot of run support because his offense will ease up figuring they don't need to score much. When Aaron Sele pitches, the Dodger hitters know they need to score a lot, so they do.

Seriously, Phillips espouses this idea.

o.k. Lowe you've set up the DP.

93 That would explain all those great low-scoring games in the 1960s when Koufax/Drysdale were pitching, huh? It certainly wasn't that the Dodgers teams couldn't hit a lick after Tommy Davis's broken leg changed him forever.

Who put him in the pundit's chair? Nitwit.

91-

I'm starting the "let's-trade-izzy-as-soon-as-he's-ready" train.

95

Jose Contreras has won 14 straight because he is only so-so. The White Sox know they have to score a lot when he pitches! They are very considerate of him!

[93] The master plan is revealed. Phillips traded Kazmir to improve the Mets offense.

it amazes me that guys like plaschke and phillips get the positions they have....with one of the biggest newspapers in the country and the biggest sports network. Unreal. Shouldn't they be writing for small town papers in the back woods of Montana?

97

The Dodgers should be considerate on Lowe.

93 So was Phillips behind his former team signing Jose Lima? That would fit his theorem.

Sheesh, Lowe just completely ignored the baserunners there.

I hear this guy has good power to the opposite field, inside pitch would be nice.

The most amazing thing in that inning was McPherson drawing a walk. The least amazing thing was that the Angels failed to score.

Let's hope Lowe works out the little kinks

Jon will be disappointed that McPherson no longer has an identical BA, OBP, and SLG.

i picked up Martin on my fantasy team....let's get a few RBI :)

Oh, and you guys think that Phillips comment was bad....last year Harold Reynolds said OBP was absolutely UN-important for a lead off hitter. He basically laughed at anyone who thinks OBP is an important stat.

96

I'm starting the "let's-trade-izzy-as-soon-as-he's-ready" train.

I'll join that train.

i love lead off bunt attempts....

30 pitches in the first inning? Lowe should pitch a complete game on the same pace - that'd be 270 pitches. His arm would fall off, but it'd be fun.
=-=-=
Now when the Devil Rays play the Marlins, sports announcers and the online news used "Kazmir shuts down the fish." But aren't they both fish? Why do things like this bother me?

What used to really drive me bonkers is when NFL reporters used to call the Dolphins "the fish" instead of "the 'fins." I'd yell back at the screen, "Dolphins are mammals, and smarter than you, you dolt!"

105 I think that was ruined yesterday when Dallas hit a homer.

nice! Lofton still has those wheels working.

Let's go JD!

Nomahhhhhhh esta en fuego!!!

Go rabbit, go!

110

Sorry, missed yesterday's game as I was at work and only pieced it together later.

Yesterday was a bad day at Black Rock.

Vinnie said Nomar is tearing up the Angels I think he's just TEARING IT UP PERIOD

Now when the Devil Rays play the Marlins, sports announcers and the online news used "Kazmir shuts down the fish." But aren't they both fish? Why do things like this bother me?

trust me, you're not the only one. I'm known in my circle of friends for going on insane rants about stuff like this lol.

For those still holding out hope for Edwin Jackson, he had a rough outing yesterday - 1 1/3 IP and 6 ER, leaving him with a 6.18 ERA in AAA.

117-

think they'll take Carter and Hamulack for him?

That should be
¡Nomahhhh está en fuego!

It's my daughter's 7th birthday tomorrow. As is tradition in our house, I asked her what she wanted me to make for her birthday. Instead of the usual hot dogs or mac and cheese, she wants ... quiche lorraine today and lasagna tomorrow. Hey, she has the good taste to appreciate her dad's cooking.

Wow, I never knew that "the hole" was supposed to be "the hold". I swear, listening to Vinny is at least 100 times better than listening to just about any other announcer doing baseball these days. It's really gonna suck when he eventually retires.

thanks Bob, how did you do the accent?

Delwyn Young isn't in the lineup for Vegas today. I doubt this means anything, but with the Repko/Kemp talk, who knows. Also, without him, Nate's dream for Vegas is being destroyed, as Guzman is the only non-AAAA player in the lineup

the Mariners just went up 3-1 on the Chan Ho Padres.

should we just pursue a minor trade for an OF to bridge the gap for when Repko and Ledee are back? Just seems to make more sense than starting the service clock on Kemp unless he's here to stay.

122
I have a Mac and I just changed the keyboard settings to Spanish.

Thanks Colletti, you've basically made Vegas a wasteland again.

wow. Great AB by Aybar....Mueller who?

Wow that was a cheap hit by Aybar.

Anderson is like Bonds in the outfield. Hit it towards his vicinity everytime.

You GO Willie!

124 Sorry, 4-1 now.

127 I'm more interested in how the Dodgers are doing, and they're winning.

It would be nice to promote Matt Kemp to AAA (and not yet to the majors) though.

I have a Mac and I just changed the keyboard settings to Spanish.

Yea, you would do something so sneaky....

Man is Aybar a hitter. I'm trying to think of a comparable player and plate approach. Mid 90's Baerga maybe.

Sorry, 7-1 Mariners now after an Ibanez 3R homer. Chan Ho's about to be Parked.

Eithier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

buh by!

Yeah Ethier!!!!

the giant returns for an encore!

Aybar just seems to have raised his level of play coming from the minors to the majors. Was he this zoned in at Vegas? He has quality at bats everytime up it seems. For a guy as young as he is, thats very encouraging.

WOO HOO! Go Andre!!

I am developing a man-crush on my fellow Sun Devil.

ETHIERRRRR!!!!

What a series for him too!
These kids are fun to watch.

I can also set the keyboard to Inuktitut.

I haven't found a use for that one yet.

Amazing.
Its too good to be totally true, but compared to people being called up and usually not hitting its got to mean something.

I'm guessing Ethier is here to stay for a while.

132 Those using Linux can call up the character map and type anything from Armenian to Tibetan.

Wow these kids are really "relaxed enough to contribute." Just imagine what Kotchman would have done in April with enough veterans in the clubhouse.

Was he this zoned in at Vegas? He has quality at bats everytime up it seems. For a guy as young as he is, thats very encouraging.

he was batting 385/409/585 and leading the PCL in RBIs at the time he was called up.

You know whats funny? At the end of 2004, Baseball Prospectus listed Willy Aybar as the 30th or so best prospect in all of baseball where no other prospect list had him anywhere in the top 100 saying he should develop the necessary power.

looks like they were right.

so... can they give a whole team rookie of the year?

Wow... feels good. Reminds me of something... what is it? Oh yeah, April 2005.

130 Astute observation, nate, but man it hurts to kick the Angels when they are down.

that ball took a funky hop on Furcal there.

Rookie of the Year: Dodgers' relaxed Rookies
MVP: Dodgers' wily Veterans

Фтвку Уершук!

I don't know if that will display, but I just set the keyboard to Cyrillic and typed "Andre Ethier!"

152 was a response to 148

149 - How so?

I'm afraid Tracy would be finding excuses to keep the rookies on the bench.

156-

Tracy would see that Eithier's HR wasn't a monumental HR, therefore he can't hit, and he'd put Jason Phillips in LF.

155 I'm just trying to keep from getting too excited is all.

Hey I'm relaxed enough to contribute too, but - well the difference is I'm just not a very good baseball player.

Furry had the right idea!

Anticipating a question, yes Lofton is still credited with a GIDP there.

I'll take Vin's analysis of the Home Run records over Tim Kurkjian's (sp?) offensive tirade this morning on ESPN.

Cabrera giving Martin a look like, darn you almost got me out.

Did Vin just say Kent threw it to Izturis?

vinny just called furry, izzy....

Can't knock Kent.

I think Vin misses Izzy...

So, if Nomar keeps it up this year, will Ned re-sign him? I imagine he will try, but it will be at a much higher salary. I just wonder if the Dodgers have a worthy 1B prospect to bring up.

Bob--- answer that AFLAC question. I was just wondering that the other day.

what's with all the flyballs from Lowe?

169 For those of us not watching/unable to watch, what was the AFLAC Q?

169

The question is phrased funny because it says "Post-1900". The guy Ruth passed in all time home runs was Roger Connor, who hit 138 home runs.

They were all in the 19th century.

If it's all 20th Century, then I believe we're looking at Gavvy Cravath who had 119 from 1908 though 1920.

Just in the nick of time!

168 I'm sure he will try if Nomar remains healthy/productive. I wouldn't be surprised if the Baez/Gagne/Lofton money was spent on Nomar, then Loney and other players would be used on a pitcher.

Personally, I want to see what happens with Aybar if he keeps hitting. Kent has 2B next year, Mueller has 3B, and Drew and probably Ethier will have OF spots, with Repko/Young/Guzman/FA in the last spot. Does Colletti trade Aybar? Mueller?

Vinny was just pimping kemp!

I bet Aybar becomes Figgins+power for the Dodgers.

Not to pick on you Nate, but I prefer "promoting" to "pimping". What is it with language today?

Vin doesn't "pimp". He's 79 years old. He's everybody's grandfather!

nice to see vin's getting in on the prospects-hype too

okay fine. "promoting" it is.

Oh my. If Kent and Drew collide. It would be like that movie "Death becomes Her".
Is that the title?

Little brother Aybar coming in.

Kemp getting his props.

176. i dont see that, Aybar the younger actually fits that description though

I can remember way back when Vin was working NFL games for CBS and he had to read a promo for "60 Minutes." They were going to do a story on the Lee Marvin "palimony" case, which was a very big deal at the time. Vin was appalled to be reading aloud a promo about such a tawdry matter. It was pretty funny in retrospect.

I hope I don't have to explain who Lee Marvin was.

The Dbacks pitcher who gave up 9 runs in the first inning in his last outing has improved considerably this time out. It's almost getting interesting... the game is on TBS, just in case it gets any more interesting.

185. no, thats what wikipedia's for

I would wager large sums of money that the game in Arizona won't end up all that "interesting."

Oddly enough I was named after Mr. Martin.

I like seeing Lofton an Nomar(first name)
trying hard to get something going.
I know I harp on this, but many teams get five in the first and then can't do a thing till they "wait and see what happens".
This sounds a bit like J. Phillips philosophy, so maybe I'm full of ____.
I hope so.

189
You were named after Russell Martin? Your parents must have been big Canadian baseball prospect scouts!

Garrett Anderson is a big part of the Angels problem, he hasnt been an asset offensively since he signed that big contract, if memory serves me

Pads-M's just got pretty interesting.

189 xaphor Almighty?

192

But Garret is one of my homeys! He's from the G.H.!

He used to roll with me when we would have rumbles with the kids from the M.H. over by the Safeway on San Fernando Mission Boulevard.

Ahh... the old neighborhood.

[191] [slaps himself] Shows you how much I appreciate my namesake.

196

Or did your parents name you Michelle Triola?

There goes the PG and Francoer to work on the unsayable.

197 Brutal, Bob...just brutal.

But a definite hahaha

Vin made a funny broxton joke.

Is Murphy the Angels version of Jason Repko?

nice play by Martin, gotta love this kid

Chan Ho Park saw his sub-4 ERA flash before his eyes today.

Michelle Triola is now married to Dick Van Dyke.

I think in fantasy baseball, they should allow you to be able to take out your starting pitcher during the game he's pitching.

Its hard watching your own guy get bombed. Its like 4-5 good starts can be wiped out by 1 bad start.

Murphy is the Angels' version of Mike Edwards. There is no reason for him to be getting this many at bats.

Park 5.1 IP 10ER....
King Felix: 6IP 7ER

Look what I got.

I think the Angels CF got away with one.

The Braves finally got on the board against Arizona, are up 1-0 now. Let's see if Hudson can make it stand up. Still batting in the 6th.

The Braves have gone ahead 1-0.

This means that the Dodgers right now lead the NL in runs scored by a +3 margin.

Cleveland scored 61 points against Detroit today.

23 in the second half.

it just seems like nomah is toying with them. first inning, they were shading him towards left so he hits it in the right center gap. This inning, they were shading him towards the right center gap, so he hits it in the left center gap.

lol

the 2 rabbits scored right now.

10-9 M's in the 8th after a homer by the immortal Josh Bard.

The Bull!

Careful Vin. watch the Jinx.

Jose Molina pinch running?

Jose Molina is the PR? I'm assuming he's much faster than his older brother, as Weaver could have easily PR like he did so much for the Dodgers

Wow, I get to correct Bob. It's only 10-8.

Bard's shot was not cheap, it hit the windows of the "Hit It Here Cafe".

Brox looks like a starter to me.

that pitch that just goes straight down at around 86-88, what is that? it doesnt look like his slider.

I'd guess some form of cut fastball, except his velocity is so high (Nate)

Molina running for Anderson and then staying in to play first is one of the craziest things I've seen Scioscia do, but I guess it doesn't matter today.

Whose this guy pitching? Up for a cup of coffee?

Oh, Bulger--thought it was Bolger.

220

Sort of like Friday's game, I have lost count of the runs scored.

Molina has played at first base before.

223

whatever it is, it looks like it can neutralize lefties pretty well.

I woke up 20 minutes ago. I am so hungover.

227 You're too busy counting the runs not being scored in Arizona!

222. I think that is his slider, i hear he has some good stuff

The Braves have 2 runs now, so the Dodgers are +4 in runs scored.

The Dodgers haven't led the NL in runs scored since 1978.

The Padres are tied for last place after going 13-1 to start May, now 14-6 for the month. The New NL West.

Luis Vizcaino just walked Jeff Francouer on four straight pitches.

Second walk of the year for Francouer.

Hull and Kuo combined to give up 3 runs to give Albuquerque the lead in the 8th, but they struck out the side

So how did Lowe look today? Why is Fookie the only one in the starting lineup who doesn't get on base (by a hit or walk) when we score 7 runs?

97mph, strike three, game over. I think it should be obvious that he's the best arm in that bullpen.

Why did we just waste Broxton for 2 innings? Isn't that a spot to use Carter?

As Vin said, there must be seventy five successful pitchers post Tommy John surgery.
This elbow tendon/ligament or whatever damage must be due to the unatural force of some fairly mocern pitch. It seems that they should be able to find some preventative regime/exersize.
Hot damn-we win again! I'm stupified!

Da Bull!

I'm stupified, as my spelling shows.

240 I second that. Broxton is no mop-up guy.

The Angels really ran wild today. Good thing that nobody with even half a brain gives a crap.

241

I think pitching arms can't be preserved any better from injury than you can keep a race horse from breaking down.

Fortunately, it's a lot easier to rehabilitate a human.

"The rookies last year were looking to do bad. The rookies this year are looking for good at bats." Holy moley

Pscyho Lyons said yesterday the Angels are losing because Erstad, GA and Salmon have been out. Mmmm, yeeeah that's it.

Poor, poor Angels

I am pretty sure the Angels prospects are doing bad because the good ones are not getting many at bats, while the bad ones are.

Such brilliant prospect analysis on Dodgers Live.

This is from the New York Times story on Barbaro's surgery:

When the operation is completed, the colt will be lifted from the operating table by a sling and placed in a recovery pool. He will be suspended in the water as well as fitted with a raft for 45 minutes to an hour until the anesthesia wears off. This will prevent him from thrashing or reinjuring the leg and reconstructive surgery. He will then be lifted by a sling and placed on a monorail, which will carry him to his stall. There he will be lowered on all four legs.

This can explain why most horses in Barbaro's condition are put down. And that apparently still could happen.

Holy god! Why is Hudley on?

Hudler

Gubicza needs to lay off the espresso before he goes on.

Doing things like batting Adam Kennedy third and playing Tommy Murphy in center should start ringing some bells.

Andre Ethier gives long answers.

I'm fine with using Broxton there. As effective as he's been, his fastball accuracy needs improvement. A less pressurized outing such as today's could help. As good as that slider is, the fastball's still the key.

251 For another good description of that treatment read Dick Francis's novel "Comeback."

As I understand it, horses don't lie down naturally, but putting weight on a leg which has been broken like Barbero's was is just not on.

Carlos Santana hits his first homerun for the Dodgers this year.

258
A horse needs all four legs to stand on. They weigh too much and their legs are too skinny to support them as it is.

I'm fine with using Broxton there. As effective as he's been, his fastball accuracy needs improvement.

have you been watching his outings lately? His fb accuracy has improved a ton since last year. He is painting the low outside corner a ton.

Carlos Satana has hit his second homerun. I really want him to make it to the bigs with that name.

The Kemp item is a provocative one. I see the merit of bringing him up for 3-4 weeks to expose him to the big leagues without asking him to be a core producer. Who knows, maybe he goes Miggy Cabrera on everyone. Although he's got the tools and a slim but promising track record defensively, there's no certainty that he would be a good defender -- there is an adjustment to major league ballparks, speed of the game, extra adrenaline etc. that can cause good young OFs to struggle. But if Kemp got settled in, he'd probably be the second-best defensive OF on the team, behind Drew, which presumably would be a big part of promoting him. (Ethier is a pretty good OF, but Kemp is faster and his arm is as strong, if not stronger).

I'd probably just leave Kemp in Double-A, but this is a very interesting one and I tend to think Henson's account is spot on. If they chose to call up Kemp, however, there's got to be an easier way to clear a 40-man spot than moving O. Perez.

Once again, it's a beatiful thing when you have promising young talentd from Single-A up and also situations that allow you to promote into a stable situation, rather than into a crisis.

262 Who is he? When did we get him?

Nate, yes, I've been watching. He's improved. But it'll need to become automatic if he's going to be the elite set-up man envisioned.

Take that Rockies game, when some said he should've worked two innings instead of one. He wasn't hitting his target with the FB, but the Luis Gonzalezes of the world didn't pick up on it. Again, that slider is awfully tough.

265

we have to remember he is 21 and he has been improving and will improve. thats all you can ask for from the kids, to keep improving. I think hes going to be very good barring injury.

R-H-E lines for the subway series:

Angels
7-24-2

Dodgers
31-45-2

Subway Series?
Whoo, that's a bad brain spasm.
Freeway Series.

It's a really long subway ride from Anaheim to L.A. too.

When the teams hook up again in late June, it could be quite different. You never know who will be healthy and who will be hot.

But the Dodgers caught the Angels at their nadir.

If this isn't their nadir, then I worry about them.

If you ever worry about Lance Carter pitching, consider that the Braves use a Lance Carter equivalent as their closer in the person of Chris Reitsma.

During my vacation in LA at the beginning of the month, the timing was such that GF and I saw the Angels at the beginning of their slump, and the Dodgers at tne end of theirs.
Angels have lost 17 of their last 22.
Dodgers have won 12 of their last 15.

Arizona gets on the board but loses anyway.
Dodgers' lead in runs drops to +3.

Game report:
1. Russ Martin has great lateral movement and even the his one throw to 2B was right on but the runner was going on 3-2 and Lowe doesn't do a great job holding runners on.
2. Lowe was shaky in the first but after the 5 run first, pounded the strike zone and gave up only a couple of hits and walk.
3. Never watched Garciaparra much in the AL but he looks like the best hitter to wear Dodger Blue since Sheffield was in RF.
4. All the kids show great patience in the plate and Aybar and Ethier both drove in runs with 2 outs and 2 strikes on them.
5. Liked Grady's little chat with Derek Lowe in the 7th, had Broxton ready if he needed.
6. Hard to tell how impressive today's victory was because Santana really awful splits in day games and away games, no Vlad in their lineup and from about the 4th inning, I think the Angels just wanted to get out of town.
7. The elephant in the room to me is what are they going to do with Odalis Perez? I know there are issues with Dionner Navarro and Cesar Izturis but how long can they carry a pitcher with no defined role on the team and owe him 17MM for the next 2 years?
8. Overall, nice sweep and good momentum into a big Rockie series and the battle of the Seoul schoolmates.

(272) Watch the news; Perez is going to be moved in next two days. Questions in my mind are who he is going to take with him and who, if anyone, we get in return. We are going to have to throw in somebody (in payment) to get someone to take him.

The latest Dodgers Notes piece on dodgers.com indicates that Izzy is close to a rehab assignment. It says that Jobe prefers him to move to 2B, because of both his reconstructed elbow and an arthritic issue that I remember reading about also, but Izzy seems set on only playing SS and doesn't want to play the OF.

What do we do? Izzy played 2B in the Toronto system, right? I guess he could take over Robles' spot--in principle, he should be able to play 3B--but I don't know if he'll accept a utilityman's role. Even if he was willing to play OF, I don't see him as a great option, anyhow, with Repko a month way, and Kemp (or Guzman/Young) perhaps on our radar screen. Izzy's bat is much too feeble for even a 5th OF.

I think we should trade him, but what team will want him, unless they see his glove back in action at SS? Could we get scouts to go to some of his minor league rehab games? And what could we realistically receive from him? It doesn't strike me that we actually need any big pieces on the starting club, or, at least, anything we could get with just Izturis. Maybe a few more good young arms for the minors?

WWSH

274 - Source(s)?

Re: 274

Has there been any media reports out of NY regarding the rumor I remember about sending OP to the Mets? It strikes me that we'd have to send some of the money over there, and I don't see us getting much value in return. I don't think Perez's value is very high, especially with his salary.

WWSH

Re: 277

I looked up the NY Post, and found an article from today that indicates Minaya has no real desire to trade for OP, but is frustrated by a very thin market in general.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/64054.htm

WWSH

266

I'm bullish on the Bull, too. As for the improvement -- my point was that an outing such as today's can be an excellent way to help bring about improvement. Low-pressure innings can be of help.

All this talk about trading this guy or that guy. It can be fun, but equally fun would be to watch an entire organization fend for itself for the entire year, without swapping talent with another club. A two-trade limit per franchise for the entire baseball season would be fine with me.

I don't think it would be a good idea to move Perez right now unless we get something useful in return. Do we really want to rely on Sele for an entire season? That's like playing with fire while wearing a gasoline suit (kind of stolen from Pete Rose).

I haven't seen any articles, I'm just speculating on my own. Grady and Flanders have made it very clear that they are not going to use him. They have to pay him but they can't afford to let him just set there eating up a roster space, they have to do something. If he doesn't play, they can't 'showcase' him and they can't fake an injury and put him on the DL. Hence, he WILL be traded soon. We won't get much and we may have to carry part or all of his pay, but he is toast as far as the Dodgers are concerned. I'll bet there's been some great behind the scenes exchanges that we'll never hear....

Re: 281

How I think we might deal with roster in the next month or so:

Izzy for Robles (Utility IF--if necessary, promise Izzy we'll look for trade partners)

Navarro for Alomar (I dunno if Ned will do this--he seems awfully wedded to Alomar--but they've shown some flexibility on other things)

Repko for Beimel OR Hamulack (the former doesn't strike out enough batters--the latter walks far too manY)

Gagne for Carter

This would put us down to 11 pitchers, with two lefties in the pen. We can ride Sele as long as he's effective, with Odalis waiting in the wings. If Seo continues to be erratic, we can also swap him and OP.

WWSH

280,275 I appreciate your wanting to put a limit on trades, but it's better to let the market work.(Although with idotic owners and managers I may be wrong). In principle,
we shouldn't need to make any moves, and should only make them with teams that desperately need them. Therefore we should get excellent value. And prospect arms would be good.
But please remember that we should ascertain Izzy's health first, and when he was healthy he was better def. than Furcal.
I hate to say it because it uses a small sampling, but he was also better offensively than anything Furcal has showm us this year, so careful of the assumptions.

Joe Morgan "Bunting is a lost art"
"Gary Sheffield is the most feared hitter in the Yankees lineup (even more than A-rod)"

But please remember that we should ascertain Izzy's health first, and when he was healthy he was better def. than Furcal.

Yes, Izturis makes a few less errors but the other defensive numbers are similar.

I hate to say it because it uses a small sampling, but he was also better offensively than anything Furcal has showm us this year, so careful of the assumptions.

over and over and over I ask: what's the fascination with Izturis? We might as well be talkinga bout Royce Clayton or Alex Gonzalez here. Izturis is a whiz with the glove, but he can't hit if his life depended on it. The guy shouldn't be anything more than a utility infielder/ defensive replacement in the first place. Get him healthy, and hope someone will actually give us some value in return....

Get him healthy, and hope someone will actually give us some value in return....
Agreed.

I'm watching the mets game and gammons said mets needs starters and "they cant get a starter without giving up milledge."

well thats not true. I am sure Colletti wouldnt ask for milledge in return for odalis.

Honestly, if the mets can just give a low level prospect and take all of his contract, then thats a good trade. Because then we can use some of Odalis' money and give it to hochevar. So basically the trade will be Odalis for Hochevar.

who wouldnt want to do that trade!!?!?

Izturis' career OPS+ is 69. Furcal's is 96. Also, I think we need to remember that what we've seen so far from Furcal includes a month of nagging injuries.

WWSH

Re: 288

I think he meant a starter the Mets actually want. The NY Post article I mentioned really made it sound like Minaya wanted nothing to do with OP. I'm pretty sure we'd have to send money back with Odalis to get a deal done.

WWSH

Odalis Perez wont be traded until he reclaims his rotation spot and Izturis wont be traded until he proves he can be a plus defender at either SS or 2nd. I dont think Ned has any intention of actually keeping Izturis, Furcal is obviously a better player at SS, and Kent cant move to 1st with Nomar hitting .360. Unless someone gets injured (very possible) there is nowhere for Izturis to play. I think the talk of him moving to the outfield or Furcal moving to 3rd (also rediculas with Aybar white-hot at the plate) is just make it seem like the Dodgers don't HAVE to trade izturis. But in reality, there isnt any other option.

I think the Mets are a logical option once Perez can get back on track and Iztris can settle in at 2nd. Both are weeks away, but its still May and the Mets arent desperate, yet. Boston is an option for Izturis, as they need a SS and have enough offense to accept his anemic bat. The Cubs could be an option as well, Dusty loves his scrappy defensive players and isnt really a fan of Todd Walker. I like the idea of a Izzy-Walker swap, we could either keep Walker or spin him off to another team. It wouldnt be the greatest move on the Cubs part, but this is a team that thinks signing Tony Womack is a good idea.

291-

I agree that Odalis is still a possibility for the mets in the next month or so. As for Izzy in Boston I completley disagree. Why do they want him when they've got Alex Gonzalez...Izturis is no better than him.

288. who do Mets have left as far as lower level prospects? Im assuming Pelfrey and Martinez are off the table.

292.
- Izturis career rate 101
- Alex Gonzalez career rate 94
- the Sox were/are reportedly interested in Izturis

293

anyone, I dont care. The prospect the Mets give back doesnt really matter. What matters is that the mets take the whole contract and the Dodgers use the savings to sign Hochevar.

Ill throw out a random name: 1b in A+ Mike Carp. Ask for him. He isnt very good but baseball notebook had him in the top 10 of his top prospects in baseball based off his prospect analysis metric.

Re: 294

Gonzalez is hitting .197. Izturis is no great shakes with the bat, but he'll do much better than that at Fenway.

I didn't realize Gonzalez's glove was so below average.

WWSH

WWSH

Re: 295

But the Mets aren't going to take that contract. OP just hasn't pitched very well as of late, and he's got a very sizeable contract. Why take on that contract for someone who hasn't pitched all that much better than Lima, who just got cut? It's clear from Gammons' reports that the Mets prefer internal options, which, in my view, makes sense from their perspective.

If OP goes to the Mets, we have to pay at least part of his salary.

WWSH

286 Practically its largely the way you say.
I just hope we get something for him, and we are now in a position to.
I must admit anybody who gets traded from the D's is doomed to stink, but this streak should end.
Bradley's disabled; Perez hasn't had enough at bats, but what he has is terrible; Jackson gets worse every month; Tiffany looks awful.
We have lucked out and even Baez and Carter look like diamonds conpared to what we gave.
Still we are in shape to dictate terms of any trade.

295. I wouldnt mind dropping Perez and his contract for nothing either, but I think his trade value can be higher than Mike Carp. Remember that we currently have Aaron Sele and Jae Seo in the rotation, so its not as if Perez wont get another chance to start. How many more times does Sele have to pitch successfully to interest other team in his services?

If OP goes to the Mets, we have to pay at least part of his salary.

thats fine. You still save money. he has 13.75 mil left AFTER this season.

that 13.75 mil consists of:
- 7.75 base salary for 2007
- 4.5 mil bonus payed between 11/06-11/07
- 1.5 mil buyout for 2008

I would offer to pay 6 mil of the contract- the 4.5 mil bonus and 1.5 mil buyout. they can pay the reasonable base salary.

You still save a good chunk of money.

297. Perez's value is at its lowest point right now. Coming into the season he was the 3rd starter. Right now his trade value is next to nothing, so your right, no one would give the Dodgers anything unless a hefty check came with him. But he's far from a lost cause, focus on getting him back on track in the rotation and move from there. The real reason we're talking about trading Perez isnt just because he's overpaid, its because we need to make a spot in the rotation for Chad Billingsley once Sele's pixie dust wears off and Perez isnt as good as Penny or Lowe and isnt as cheap as Tomko or Seo.

The crazy nature of this game tells me to hold on a while. Very likely:
Injuries make Izturis valuable.
Someone gets needy and crazy enough to pay OP's salary. Who worked that contract,anyway.
I really don't see where we have to rush it.

302

Hochevar deadline is in 10 days!

298. we do have to give credit to Ned for listening to White and others and trading the right young pitchers. Jackson's progress has been stuck in neutral since 2004 and Tiffany was terrible in AA before going on the DL. Now Ned just needs to get over his proven closer fetish.

Is t