Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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TV and more ...
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
I can remember the first ball I ever caught in a game.
It was during softball at the after-school playground at Collier Street Elementary, I think during third grade. Undeveloped as I was then, I was playing catcher. A batter swung and foul-tipped a third strike into my hands and I held on. If you can remember how Timmy Lupus looked when he caught his ball at the wall, that's how I felt. And my schoolmates were equally amazed and excited for me.
That play got me going. A year later, I was playing second base and started a triple play with runners on first and second base by catching a line drive, stepping on second and throwing to first. I can remember following my throw to first base to slap hands with the first baseman before turning to run triumphantly off the asphalt.
I was getting better and better. I was developing.
Those plays were about 30 years ago. As far as I've come, I don't feel any more developed than that kid. In fact, about the only maturity I feel reflects the family I have to help take care of. Beyond that, I'm pretty much the same guy who was out there just hoping he could make the play and reveling when he did. From inside the moments, the experiences I had then were just as sophisticated and challenging, as mundane or remarkable, as the ones I have now.
Over the weekend, I was reading an issue of The New Yorker I missed from earlier this year and just before bedtime came upon a story from John Updike, "My Father's Tears," a story all about aging and death. Sometimes, I'm pretty dim and not really considering what I should read before the lights go out. The title might have been a clue. Anyway, there's a passage when the protagonist is describing his 55th high-school reunion:
... Sylvia, knowing me in my old age, recognizes that I have never really left Pennsylvania, that it is where the self I value is stored, however infrequently I check on its condition. The most recent reunion, the fifty-fifth, might have depressed Deb — all these people in their early seventies, most of them still living in the county within a short drive of where they had been born, even in the same semi-detached house where they had been raised. Some came in wheelchairs, and some were too sick to drive and were chauffeured to the reunion by their middle-aged children. The list of our deceased classmates on the back of the program grows longer; the class beauties are gone to fat or bony cronehood; the sports stars and non-athletic alike move about with the aid of pacemakers and plastic knees, retired and taking up space at an age when most of our fathers were considerately dead.
But we don't see ourselves that way, as lame and old. We see kindergarten children — the same round fresh faces, the same cup ears and long-lashed eyes. We hear the gleeful shrieking during elementary-school recess and the seductive saxophones and muted trumpets of the homebred swing bands that serenaded the blue-lit gymnasium during high-school dances. ...
It's not that I was so much older then or younger than that now. It's that I was so much smarter then, I'm dumber than that now. I'm moving backward in school, not forward. Even as I get older, even as I learn, life is more challenging than it was when catching a ball was the most glorious achievement. The sum total of my ignorance today could fill the gap beneath Hoover Dam. The world unfurls around me in profound detail like a flower blooming in time-lapse photography. I'm a speck in that flower, surrounded by light and dark I can't comprehend.
Maybe the biggest difference between being an adult and being a kid is that when you screw up, there's that much less of your future in front of you to make things right. Your ship is weightier and harder to turn around. And you see more clearly that where you want to go might be out of reach. (Oh, and in many cases, there are passengers on that ship, depending on you.)
I don't want to go back in time. I just want to catch up. It just gets harder and harder to know what to do.
The only solution is to always be a kid. Always judge yourself by your effort and intentions and not the results. Take pleasure in the good and regroup from the bad. Don't keep score.
But I find it really hard to live my life with that kind of integrity. Baserunners steal home on me while I'm in my windup, and even though there's a new game every day, it's hard for me not to feel bad. I can tell Chad Billingsley to write it off, but I can't tell myself.
I'm at a pretty advanced age (>50) for this cohort of readers, but nevertheless every Sunday I play full court basketball in a "closed" game at an elementary school. It is organized by a teacher at the school, and as us old guys strap on our battle gear (braces, wraps, etc.) I always glance over to the big sign on the wall:
IF YOU HAD FUN, YOU WON
Words to live by.
As we get older, our numerator increases. However, if we are "open-minded," so does our denominator increase at the same time. The more open-minded we are, the faster our denominator increases, to the point where our denominator increases more quickly than our numerator. Thus, as we add knowledge and presumably get smarter, the ratio of our information known to the total amount of information in the world from our perspective actually decreases, and thus, in a sense, we get "dumber."
Ain't that the truth.
Yesterday I found myself thinking about going to grad school to enhance my employment credentials. Which wouldn't be odd, except that I'm 55.
Poster Herman said that he wanted them, but I haven't heard from him. My email is casey.barker@navy.mil, or just post to the board if you want them.
I have shot you a quick email to let you know that I would happily take the tix if the other interested individuals are still not in contact with you.
Er, Moises and Angel, that is.
"ESPNDeportes.com reports the Red Sox have signed two players well, though for smaller bonuses, in outfielder Angel Beltre and shortstop Moises Tejada. A source told Baseball America that Beltre signed for $575,000, while Tejada received $525,000. Meanwhile, ESPNDeportes also reports the Cubs signed Venezuelan pitcher Larry Suarez ($350,000) and the Marines signed Venezuelan pitcher Ricardo Ferrer ($290,000)."
Nada about the Dodgers so far?
Jon, nice post, btw. Well done.
Saticoy Class of 74'
Meanwhile Oakland GM asked for Billingsley and Kemp for Justin Ducscherer. then when i said no, he said billingsley and loney. then when i said no, he said just billingsley and a low level prospect. and when i said no he said kemp?
and then i bombed his house because i couldn't take his idiocy anymore.
This is what we're teaching our children these days...
Woof.
Have you guys seen the commercial with little Jeter, little Manning, and another athlete playing baseball in the backyard? They all have kid voices too.
I was just wondering who the girl in that commercial is supposed to be? She has to be an athlete, but the closest thing she resembled to me was Britney Spears' little sister. I dont watch women's sports, so does anyone know who she's supposed to be? Doesnt look like Annika Sorenstam I dont think..
Any clue?
A small unfocused blur, a standing chill
That slows each impulse down to indecision.
Most things may never happen: this one will,
And realisation of it rages out
In furnace-fear when we are caught without
People or drink. Courage is no good:
It means not scaring others. Being brave
Lets no one off the grave.
Death is no different whined at than withstood.
http://plagiarist.com/poetry/389/
15- Did you offer Steve's dog?
Thats all you need to know.
Its like moving Furcal down, good move.
Making Izzy/Lofton the top, not good.
Lofton, CF
Izturis, 3B
Nomar, 1B
Drew, RF
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Furcal, SS
Martin, C
Lowe, P
Izturis, 3B
Nomar, 1B (vote)
Drew, RF
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Furcal, SS
Martin, C
Lowe, P
Kemp on the bench....Boo.
Here's one for the request line:
At one point last year you put together a list of all the Dodger prospects at each level and I believe you rated them. It would be interesting to see how those players have progressed, or regressed, through the system.
As the Dodgers muddle around .500, I find my interest swinging more towards the minors again. Last year by the mid-point I was more interested in following the guys at Jacksonville than I was the actual Dodger games (although I still watched pretty much every game).
I'll stop now.
And only post this one time I hope.
You know Sanchez was benched the day after he broke the pirates losing streak?
Wow, Little, punishing Furcal for those dismal wavy swings he's been taking.
By the way, what did Furcal, Lofton, and Izturis hit combined on that road trip?
Tracy's line up would probably be:
Izturis, SS
Lofton, CF
Nomar, 1B
Drew, RF
Hall, 3B
Cruz, LF
Martinez, 2B
Martin, C
Oh how I long for Jason Repko...and I can't believe I just said that.
the MLB rolled back their schedule just to see if all five of their fans would notice.
7/25, 1 BB, 8ks, - furcal
1/22, 0 BBS, 3 Ks - izturis
5/19, 3BBs, 0 Ks - lofton
combined: 13 for 66 = about .196? ouch.
His very best days may be behind him, but he can still pitch better than most (especially most Dodger starters). Tons of postseason experience, a plus. Relieving may have saved some wear and tear. Reported to be good in clubhouse.
Ooops....not supposed to be driving the price up, am I...?
We're suckered into playing Lofton? That sucks, I can't believe I actually liked that signing. If I were a GM, I'd make sure to minimize the Furcal's, Loftons, and Izzys in the line up, and would have an Izzy because at least he plays great defense and is cheap.
Just what I thought, yeah, hard to score runs when 1/3 of your line up sucks.
But wait, speed never goes on slumps right?
Loney OPS: .979
Guzman OPS: .774
Does Guzman still project as one of, if not THE, top prospect in the organization? It surprises me that he is OPSing sub .800 in the PCL. If nothing else, it seems like it's time to come up with a nickname other than JtD for Guzman. I still like Guzman, but have downgraded my expectations somewhat.
I meant, the only reason I might have an Izturis type, is because he plays good defense, and is cheap, which allows to get a better player.
I'd sure hope not, he hasn't hit as well as he was supposed to at all.
Expect Russ to catch fire for the next 7 games, because he hits .337 at home, and .235 on the road. Wonder why his splits are so dramatic?
We've actually done that before. My suggestion was "Joel the Slight Discombobulator."
The also say that Lofton lites a fire under JD Drew.
i hadn't noticed that. thanks for the interesting #s. maybe the gordon biersch garlic fries give him wings.
I've got no problem with Furcal. He'll probably have close to his normal numbers by the end of the year. The biggest problem is Izturis, it's essentially like having two pitchers hit in the lineup. That's two automatic outs before the game even starts. Why Kemp isn't playing over Lofton is just beyond me...at least mix it up so Lofton and Izzy aren't in the lineup at the same time.
speaking of JDD, is it just me or does he look uninterested and lost at the plate right now? not to invoke the intentional fallacy here; i obviously have no idea whether or not he is uninterested... but his numbers are just OK, and compared to his last two years, it's another "down" year.
Exactly, he is just an ok player right now. And when you're making 11 million dollars, I'd kinda expect more than ok.
But then again, Furcal...
It's quite simple. Veteran leadership+Speed = spot in the line up.
And quite frankly, it'd be the best if we can avoind Furcal/Lofton/Izzy altogether.
You're right, it's just too bad we didn't know what Kemp and Ethier could do before we made the signing.
If we didn't expect that, why did we pay him 11 million dollars then? Memo to GM's, don't give an obscene contract to a guy who has had but 1 great year (Beltre, Drew).
Pitching is our problem, and i have no solution for it, but 3 slappies in the lineup makes things worse.
Drew, kemp, ethier outfield.
Aybar/saenz platoon 3b.
1B James Loney AAA Las Vegas (Dodgers)
How much does a first baseman have to hit if he doesn't have a lot of power? Obviously one has to take into account a number of factors to answer the question accurately, but I'm guessing Loney's .380/.421/.558 line is more than adequate. After going 8-for-12 with five doubles and a pair of home runs over the weekend, Loney is now hitting .438 since May 10, though he still trails some guy named Kendrick in the Pacific Coast League batting race. Because he's 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, he just looks like he should mash balls over the fence, but he doesn't with any sort of regularity. And because that doesn't fit in with what we expect from a first baseman, Loney gets unfairly criticized, when he's doing so many other things so well.
Before he slips or something and is out the rest of the year :(.
yeah, because getting beaned in the wrist was really his fault.
I have no problem with Furcal. He'll be fine. But as martinbillingsley said you can't have three lead off type hitters in a lineup unless your pitching is dominant...and ours certainly isn't. If we could make a deal for someone like Carlos Lee and just put Aybar/Saenz at third I'd be ecstatic.
That doesn't matter.
Drew, cruz, ledee, repko, and you had to figure a prospect being ready, that's 5 outfielders and all you need.
And you have other prospects (guzman, young) in the minors in case of an injury.
Plus martinez is an emergency outfielder.
Absolutely no reason to sign lofton especially since he blocks either kemp or ethier from starting.
Now if lofton was designated as a bench guy then fine you sign lofton, but i read that lofton demanded a certain amount of playing time and was granted it by ned to get him to sign with us.
(for Ned): Shiny available All-Star leftfielder with two home runs and a sac fly tonight!
If Lofton was expected to be a bench guy only, then paying him four million dollars (or so) would have been dumb.
And it's not as if Izturis' trade value is increasing with him getting all these PAs.
That's the problem. Our best case scenario with him is to hope to get ANYTHING back for him so we don't have to DFA and eat his salary.
As far as veterans are concerned, i'm sure all GM's know what any certain veteran is all about.
Now prospects are a different story, i believe production does dictate trade value for prospects but i just don't see it in veterans.
Am i missing something?
I don't buy it. The guy has never been able to hit and all anyone does is make constant excuses for him. Let's face it, he's a great defensive player and a far below average offensive player. In other words, he's Royce Clayton.
As far as veterans are concerned, i'm sure all GM's know what any certain veteran is all about.
Well, until this year, BJ (aka Mark Hendrickson) was all about being a very bad pitcher. But all of a sudden, give him an ERA under 4, and he's got a GM trading Dioner Navarro for him.
couldn't have said it better myself.
Yep your right.
I guess there are dummy GM's out there and unfortunately we have one.
I am going by their 2006 Baseball America ranking but I will sneak in some other comments from John Sickels.
1. Chad Billingsley SP- Started off in AAA, now part of Dodger rotation, still looking for first win.
2. Andy LaRoche 3B- In tonite's lineup after missing a few weeks. Combined AAA/AA stats .310/.416/.500 13 doubles 11HR 44BB 34K
3. Joel Guzman 3B/OF - Disappointing, after the proverbial cup of coffee in LA, I think his stats reflect an immature attitude than being overwhelmed at this level. His selection to the Futures Game is based on his past achievements and his potential rather than what he is doing now. Stats .280/.339/.435 12 doubles 8 HR 20BB 57K
4. Russell Martin C- short summation, is entrenched as starting catcher in LA.
5. Jonathan Broxton RP - after an impressive first month in Vegas, has been one of the few steady guys in the LA bullpen.
6. Scott Elbert SP - He's only 5-5 but beginning to post dominating numbers, 2.49 ERA, 93Ks and only 55 hits and 4 HRs allowed in 79 innings. Still needs to watch his walks but I think he could go up to Jacksonville to help them win the playoffs.
7. Blake DeWitt 2B - Though not as disappointing as Guzman, he has had a slow first half in Vero Beach. .266/.343/.409 14 doubles 9 HRs 35BB 57K.
8. Matt Kemp OF- Had a great 2 months in AA, after a fast start in LA, has slowed down but since he is a favorite of Grady's, hard to say if he will go back to AAA.
9. Tony Abreu 2B - Spent first half in AA, posting okay numbers .282/.351/.408, 17 doubles, 6 HR, 26BB 51K.
10. Chin-Lung Hu SS - Named to Futures Game after his appearance in World Baseball Classic, Hu posted .261/.333/.332 in the first half, certainly has the reputation of a great fielding shortstop.
I'll report on the others in next hour.
James Loney 1B- Second in batting in PCL, one of the more interesting stats is his low walk and strikeout totals, in 260 plate appearances, he has 18 walks and 21 Ks, he is making contact but still with enough power (21 doubles, 6 HRs).
Greg Miller RP - 40 combined innings for AA/AAA, 31 hits, 31 walks, and 37 strikeouts. After pitching well in AA, has has had some rough outings in AAA, while the hits you could discount a little, his control or lack thereof remains a concern.
Josh Wall SP - Drafted in the 2nd round in 2005, only pitched in 5 games in GCL last year, this year starting in the Pioneer League joining Bryan Morris and Steven Johnson as pitchers to watch this season.
Cory Dunlap 1B - After missing a month or so in Vero Beach, he has not hit for average at all and he is striking out 25% of the time. His walks and HRs in limited at bats still show his potential but because he has to be put on the 40 man roster at the end of this year, the second half of the season will determine what the Dodgers do with him.
Willy Aybar - Did everything but hit righthanded for the Dodgers, should be considered as a valuable spot starter if not an everyday player.
I meant that there's no way to know what drew is really thinking and that for me to superimpose what i thought he was thinking as an explanation for his performance would be both impossible and fruitless.
while i do believe there is a "mental" part of the game that some players excel at while others crumble, i think it's overplayed by the media and fans alike.
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