Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Jon's other site:
Screen Jam
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
The following chart illustrates in rudimentary fashion how many earned runs the Dodgers would tend to allow in a game depending on who starts the game for them. It takes the performances by their starting pitchers this season for however many innings they've averaged, and then finishes their starts with a bullpen that averages a 4.50 ERA. (Currently, the team bullpen ERA is 4.42.)
| Pitcher | GS | IP | IP/GS | ERA | ERA with 4.50 Bullpen Finishing Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Sele | 11 | 62 2/3 | 5.70 | 2.64 | 3.29 |
| Brad Penny | 18 | 108 | 6.00 | 2.92 | 3.44 |
| Derek Lowe | 19 | 120 2/3 | 6.35 | 3.88 | 4.06 |
| Mark Hendrickson | 2 | 11 | 5.50 | 4.91 | 4.75 |
| Brett Tomko | 15 | 82 2/3 | 5.51 | 5.12 | 4.88 |
| Jae Seo | 10 | 49 2/3 | 4.97 | 5.26 | 4.92 |
| Chad Billingsley | 5 | 27 1/3 | 5.47 | 5.27 | 4.97 |
| Odalis Perez | 8 | 38 | 4.75 | 8.53 | 6.63 |
Admittedly, the chart is skewed slightly because the longer a starter goes in a game, the more likely it is that the bullpen ERA will be lower. On the other hand, no Dodger starter is averaging more than 6 1/3 innings, which means that they all are vulnerable.
The knock on Dodger All-Star Brad Penny is that he doesn't go deep into games, but the fact is that he is averaging six innings a start and requiring the team to score only four runs to win. (Penny has not allowed an unearned run this season.) Penny may not be an ace in the traditional sense, but he's the next-best thing.
It does say something for Aaron Sele that he has surpassed Penny for a third of a season. Improbably, Sele has had an impact not unlike the one Wilson Alvarez had when he first became a Dodger.
Derek Lowe would have looked much better on this chart before his recent slump: 18 runs in 15 innings. Lowe has essentially had the July that I thought Sele would have, allowing nine runs in 9 2/3 innings.
Skipping down toward the bottom of the chart, you find that there isn't much of a difference between most of the pitchers, who are requiring the Dodgers to score at least five runs a game to win.
The solution for Odalis Perez, apparently, is to have Odalis Perez relieve him. Perez has a 2.25 ERA coming out of the bullpen. One man's fluke is another man's "what can we learn from this?"
As distasteful as most of the Dodger starting pitching has been, there is an important difference between throwing a 5.00 ERA guy out there and an 8.00 guy. A couple extra innings and a couple runs off the board give the team that much more of a chance to win. Not the greatest chance, but a relevant chance. It isn't a lost cause when these guys start.
In the end, any area the Dodgers can improve will make a difference. There's more room for improvement on the run prevention side than on offense, but if offense is where it's easier to make things happen, then let's gird our loins for some slugfests.
* * *
Hopefully all of those who have contributed to the Dodger Thoughts fundraiser have received e-mails from me, but I would just like to say another big thank you to all of you as I take your money and bid farewell to the site ...
Nah, I wouldn't do that. I'm sticking around. And thanks again.
And by the way, I looked up gird in the dictionary just to make sure I was using it correctly.
PINK FLOYD
The Scarecrow (Barrett)
The black and green scarecrow as everyone knows
Stood with a bird on his hat and straw everywhere.
He didn't care.
He stood in a field where barley grows.
His head did no thinking
His arms didn't move except then the wind cut up
Rough and mice ran around on the ground
He stood in a field where barley grows.
The black and green scarecrow is sadder than me
But now he's resigned to his fate
'Cause life's not unkind - he doesn't mind.
He stood in a field where barley grows.
"Rudimentary, my dear Johnson..."
2, etc. - isn't loin-girding what catchers wear?
Go Woodrow! Boo Zak Taylor!
Your wise 97 year old Great-Grandmother is still not old enough to remember the Deadball Era when scoring 3-4 runs a game was enough to win. Unless she went to a bunch of games as a little girl. By the time she started paying attention to baseball, Babe Ruth was king and run totals went way up.
I wonder what the winning percentage was last year for teams scoring 4 runs in a game. I assume it's under .500. I don't know if this is just to make the math easier, but five runs seems to be the figure used to "win" a game on paper.
And is she an ATLANTA Braves fan or a BOSTON Braves fan from way back?
I think they're both in Missouri...
And the results of the race:
1. Grover Cleveland
2. Benjamin Harrison
3. Grover Cleveland
Go monocle guy! Uh oh, here come's a tall one with a big hat . . .
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=56764
Five runs:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=10472
Six runs:
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/statistics/sortable/index.php?cid=33576
Right now, you need six to be safe. Everything's pretty much up for grabs at four and five. Dodgers are 3-8 when the score four runs.
Lurker Day
(reposted from Wishing Well thread)
Have been trying to push a small DT fundraiser, as Jon mentioned in the post up top. For lots of details, see the Wishing Well thread, and esp. comment 6. I'll have an update later -- bottom line, huge success so far.
I expect most folks who are able and who are interested in doing so have already taken the plunge. But I did want to make a special plea to to the many folks who regularly read the site but elect not to comment. We learned on Delurker Day(or was it Unlurker Day?), there's a bunch of you!
A few folks have offered that they enjoy reading but don't comment because they don't really feel they have much to add or contribute. Now, for one thing, that's hogwash; virtually every comment containing such sentiments has also included some engaging or thoughtful insight, story, or rant as well. And heck, I spend like one of out of every three comments bragging about my kids. For all his "SABR-this" and "Remember the Superbas" that, Bob posts pictures of his cat!
Anyhow, that said, I'll just toss out this thought: If you choose right now not to join the DT conversation, another way to support the site is by making a small (or, you know, if you want, big) contribution to the fundraising effort. (PayPal button at right.)
As always, of course many people will have many good reasons why this doesn't make sense for them. Totally understood (and as his comments in yesterday's thread make clear, by Jon more than anyone).
Thanks.
http://tinyurl.com/l8n5w
1. F.Liriano (2.46)
2. J.Bonderman (2.78)
3. J.Santana (3.05)
4. B.Webb (3.10)
5. C.Capuano (3.12)
6. J.Peavy (3.22)
7. A.Harang (3.31)
8. CC.Sabathia (3.43)
9. S.Kazmir (3.45)
10. B.Penny (3.47)
others of note.
12. J.Schmidt (3.56)
26. J.Jennings (4.02)
33. A.Cook (4.11)
36. C.Park (4.16)
38. M.Morris (4.19)
40. C.Young (4.25)
42. D.Lowe (4.26)
59. K.Rogers (4.56)
Ned found himself a bounty of nuggets that's contributed to us being amongst the top quarter of teams in the NL. It's good to see Jonnie shine his light on possibly our shiniest nugget, Aaron Sele.
Of the 30 teams in baseball I would have to give Midas the most credit for finding the most undiscovered treasures......
1) Sele
2) Joey Beimel
3) Saito
4) Ramon Martinez
5) Andre Ethier (a 4th OF? LOL....)
) Gio Carrara (to a lesser extent so far)
If you think logically, where would we be without these guys? I honestly believe, despite signing Nomar, we would be toiling in last place with a record 38-50.
How is the Mighty Casey these days? When Sam said "Bob posts photos of his cat," I thought to myself, "Bob used to post photos of his cat."
I don't think Midusa deserves credit for Sele. The guy was a non-roster invitee, who happened to pitch well in ST. It's not as if he was signed to a guaranteed free-agent contract before his audition. Every team invites crappy, over-the-hill "veterans" to ST. The fact that some happen to do well doesn't reflect "wisdom" on the part of the GM. It just reflects luck.
Beimel strikes out 2.73/9 innings, lowest on the team, and probably among the lowest in the majors. Seems like only a matter of time before he starts getting rocked.
Regarding Saito, keep in mind that Baez was acquired to be the closer, not Saito. It's not as if Ned went out on any kind of limb with Saito. He was just a bullpen filler, who has happened to pitch well.
Lucille II has far exceeded his career numbers. Does Midusa deserve credit for that? I don't know, but if you think so, explain why he had any reason to think Lucille would do much better than he has for the rest of his career. I chalk it up to luck.
19
reminds me of this ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wlq_appsJE&search=monty%20python
19
does anyone know the whereabouts of mascotclubber (tm) Randall Simon?
In hot weather, my cat sleeps on his back with his stomach exposed and his legs pointing in the air not unlike a turtle flipped over.
I can tell you that from this position I have confirmed that he is a male cat.
(But he's fixed.)
From there, I went looking for things that can control home runs, and found the answer: Outfield fly ball/home run ratio. According to the Hardball Times, there is very little year to year correlation in this stat, so a low one, especially when you don't have a history of supressing this stat, can be attributed to luck. Sele's outfield fly to home run ratio would be the lowest in baseball if he qualified (5%). The lowest qualifier is Brad Penny at 5.7%
If Sele can keep his walk rate down, he'll be better than usual, but I would expect his home run rate to go up in the coming months.
Colletti, in a sense, made his own luck with Sele and Saito.
One of our cats (the skinny one) sleeps the same way in the hot weather. The other cat (the fat one) can't really sustain that position.
I guess the problem I have with giving Colletti credit for Sele is that Depo did essentially the same thing with Erickson: invite an over-the-hill veteran to ST, and sign them if they pitch well. Erickson pitched well in ST, but not in the regular season. Therefore, Depo was an "idiot" for signing him. Sele pitched well in ST, and again (thus far) in the regular season. Therefore, Ned is a "genius" for signing him.
But is that really fair? If the reason they were signed was that they pitched well in ST, why should the idiot/genious distinction hinge upon how well they pitch in the regular season? How can the GM really be held responsible for that?
It will be up there with
"skiing down Mt. Baldy" and
"Shaking hands with Abraham Lincoln"
One other thing, the Dodgers have won 6 games when they have scored 3 runs.
I rememeber when Tim Kurkijan thought the 2003 Dodgers had one of the more remarkable years pitching against such a horrible year offensively. That team either scored 1 run or was shut out 40 times that year, leading to a 2-38 record in those games, they were better than .500 scoring 2 runs (think about that) and they were 11-13 when scoring 3, overall scoring 2 runs or more, they had a 83-37 record.
This year the Dodgers have scored 1 run or been shut out only 8 times, and have scored more than 2 runs, 73 out of 88 games, leading to a 45-28 record when scoring 3 or more but as Jon said, it gets a little shaky until that 6 run barrier is reached.
At their current pace, this year's version should surpass the 2003 Dodgers in total runs scored by the end of the month.
Ned was not a genius for signing Sele, either. But that doesn't mean that it wasn't a positive thing.
The system needs to allow for more shades of gray than genius and idiot.
D4P. You have to understand, the aformetnioned players came in with no expectations. They're great success results in them being golden nuggets. Say Furcal was having a MVP season. He would not being considered finding buried treasure because there are expectations there. In regars to Raffy, we need him the 2nd half. I don't he's a flop as I beleive your implying.
Lofton has been GREAT IMO. But he's not buried treasures. He came to us with expectations. And while I'm on the subject. Imagine if we decided to keep Bradley. This would have meant no Lofton/Ethier. And with the oft injured Milty, our OF would have been Drew, Cruz, Cody Ross, and GOD ONLY KNOWS who else with an injured Repko. I don't know if Ned isn't GM if Kemp gets the call. But he has been struggling and is possibly on his way back down. Midas' greatest attribute this season is his construction of our outfield.
If Hammy would have panned out he would have been on the buried treasure list too.
Mueller got injured. It's part of the game. A healthy Mueller would be helping us out at 3rd tenfold this season.
I'm not giving up on Hendy after 2 starts.
Tomko has been as expected. He was brought in to be a 4/5. 4/5's are supposed to be .500 pitchers. That what he is. Before his injury he was on pace for an 11-11 season. Thats what you want. Thats why Midas went and got Tomko instead of going with Houlton. Tomko > Houlton.
We've only got one year's worth of NRI signings to judge Ned by. I doubt he's any better or worse than any other GM in this regard, but any advantage or disadvantage he possesses can't be seen in only one year.
One thing my friends and I once did was to add "You do the math" to any two random sentences and create a completely false level of significance.
"Cats like milk. Izturis is slow on the basepaths. You do the math."
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/428888.html
Is that a good record for a genius with a relatively large payroll? You do the math.
My cat won't drink milk, so the math needs to be redone.
But shouldn't a Genius who turns everything he touches into gold and who has a large payroll have a better record than 46-42? Is Kevin Towers a Super Genius, given that his team has a better record and pays its players roughly $30 million less?
Eckstein the reserve, Furcal at home, 13 million dollars, you do the math..yada yada yada
I guess that means Jim Hendry ($94 mill/ 34-54)has down syndrome.
Is there no other level of compliment for Colletti that will suffice and save us hours of debate?
"The millions? Thirteen."
(sound of pitch hitting catcher's mitt)
"And you have to say to yourself, Eckstein a reserve when Furcal is at home, a ball and now a swinging strike to end the inning"
Is Furcal overpaid? Sure. But I'll take him over APerez or an untested Joel Guzman any day of the week. I'm not sure what FA's were out there. Royce Clayton. I'll pass. Furcal is a difference maker and that should be evident down the stretch drive.
I still think people ought to look at Jon's columnette (thanks to Tony Kornheiser) about Ned and Paul and you find out that you can measure the difference with a micrometer.
Yeah, it will take time to replace the Pennys and Lowes with the Tomkos and Seos.
"...and I'd like to conclude this team meeting with a call for volunteers to grow silly moustaches. What this team truly needs is more silly moustaches."
(Jeff Kent steps up)
With a roster composed by two GM's the payroll debate is bogus. You can't blame Ned for the 11 million that was blown on Gagne and silly millions thrown at OP. At the same time you can't credit Ned for the nice deals for Penny and Lowe. Lets stay with analysis that can be quantified to some degree instead of broad strokes that serve no purpose.
Ned is no Midas and he isn't an idiot. He's a 1st year GM who has made several great moves, some sideway moves, and some bad moves. At the end of the day we are in 2nd place, within easy striking distance of 1st place and in 1st place for the coveted:) wild card. That is a successfull 1st half even if some of it was accomplished with the Sele/Saito mirror.
If Ned inherited contracts such as "Gagne" and "OPerez," and if he can't be held responsible for those players because they're not his signings, did he not also inherit such contracts as "Penny" and "Lowe," and should he (by the same logic) not receive credit for their performances because they're not his signings?
Did he have a mid-game glass of milk? I missed this.
Free agency being what it is, your decisions are often in someone esle's hands. The best GMs seem to be the ones who can get out of their own way.
I'll be the first to admit I approach baseball from a SABR point-of-view, but it's been a long time since the Dodgers had a GM that didn't approach the job as if he were trying to justify his own existance.
The words "gonna go round in circles" seems to apply to non-game days on DT.
It's imperative that Ned bring in some help in order for us to win this division (or wild card).
Blind faith aside, we really only have one legit batting threat (Nomar) and will have no one reach 20 homeruns as a dodger since 1972! Sure Kent, Drew and the rookies are doing ok, but not middle of the order solid. At least Drew/Kent haven't been for a month or so and if it lasts another month, without help, we could be in trouble. I have faith in both guys, but faith and results are different.
We have 2 legit starters who both make me nervous in calling them legit. We have Sele and we know historically his second half's are awful. I won't talk about the others as that is depressing.
We have a rookie closer. We have no reliable set up men.
So if we stand pat I think we finish behind San Diego and the Giants (maybe Colorado and AZ too but I doubt it). We have just as good of shot to go to the World Series as any team in the NL.I love prospects and do not advocate on getting rid of any of them, but the last time prospects won rings is when? Maybe the mid 90's Yankees? I will judge the GM on what he does now and going forward more so than anything before. Will he hide and be Dan Evans or is he willing to be bold and be Paul Depodesta. I am hoping for something in between.
Unfortunately, Billy Preston passed away just last month .... :-(
Alomar
Lofton
Carrara
Kent
Carrara is 3 days older than Kent.
Do you suppose Grittle made him get rid of it? Did he take away Martin's two-tone Ricky Ricardo jacket as well?
Drew
Kent
Nomae
Kemp
Ethier
Granted Kemp may well be sent down and Ethier would need to up his power ratio, but I consider it a real possibility.
It was competing with Ned's silly stache.
A .735 OPS, and bad defense has been GREAT? Good at most.
I'll set the line at 50. I'm going slightly under at 40 more at bats.
your attack on Drew has just gotten to the point that it's laughable...basically since you have nothing to back it up.
Russell Martin, perhaps?
In the DH era, here are the players with the fewest HRs while still knocking in at least 100 in a season
SEASON
1973-2005
RBI >= 100
HOMERUNS YEAR HR RBI
1 Tom Herr 1985 8 110
2 Paul Molitor 1996 9 113
3 Willie Montanez 1975 10 101
T4 Willie McGee 1987 11 105
T4 Keith Hernandez 1979 11 105
T4 Jeff Cirillo 2000 11 115
7 Thurman Munson 1975 12 102
T8 Edgar Renteria 2003 13 100
T8 Ted Simmons 1983 13 108
T8 Hubie Brooks 1985 13 100
and maybe Nomar?
he said drving in 100 runs isn't important.
no problem on debate..
Drew -I would sure hope he can hit 11 in the second half
Kent- Ditto..he is my biggest hope for power.
Nomar-I would be suprised if he dosen't reach 20 too
Kemp-I think he will be sent to minors
Ethier-In a way, I hope he dosen't reach 20, he dosen't seem to be that kind of hitter.
Guys like GA, Salmon, Glaus, Percival, K-rod, Erstad, Washburn, Lackey, and Molina made up a pretty good chunck of the team.
I like Drew, but doesn't he seem to be striking out an awful lot lately? I don't know how to access the numbers on this (my bad), but are these K totals consonant with his career figures?
As for
110
Maybe Martin and Saito? (As far as having no one who is reviled or harped upon in the comments here) And Nomar worries some, even if he doesn't have any "sworn enemies." Saenz, too, perhaps.
You know, Garret Anderson drove in 96 in 2005 with a .743 OPS.
I'm not saying it's not important, but that anyone batting 4th can get 100 RBIs.
His lack of power is a problem.
Cool stat. How did you come up with it?
Of all the many problems on this team, JD Drew isnt one of them.
Neither is Izturis at 3rd. A lot of teams struggle with that position. That is why you have 2nd basemans playing 3rd like Edgardo Alfonzo and David Bell. It's pitching which no one has enough of.
SEASON
1973-2005
RBI >= 100
OPS YEAR OPS RBI
1 Ruben Sierra 1993 .678 101
2 Joe Carter 1990 .681 115
3 Joe Carter 1997 .683 102
4 Tony Armas 1983 .707 107
5 George Bell 1992 .712 112
6 Hubie Brooks 1985 .723 100
7 Tony Batista 2004 .728 110
8 Derek Bell 1996 .729 113
9 Bill Buckner 1986 .733 102
10 Glenn Wilson 1985 .735 102
Tommy Herr batted third on a Cardinals team that had Vince Coleman and Willie McGee on base ahead of him most of the time. And they were both stealing bases like it was nobody's business. And even #8 hitter Ozzie Smith wasn't too shabby in 1985.
Lee Sinin's Sabermetic Encyclopedia
lee@baseball-encyclopedia.com
CAREER
1973-2005
RBI >= 1000
OPS OPS RBI
1 Tim Wallach .732 1125
2 Bill Buckner .732 1126
3 Gary Gaetti .741 1341
4 B.J. Surhoff .745 1153
5 Buddy Bell .751 1070
6 Graig Nettles .751 1062
7 Lance Parrish .753 1070
8 Ruben Sierra .766 1318
9 Bret Boone .767 1021
10 Alan Trammell .767 1003
Thank you! Good info.
One suggestion. Maybe Jon can set up a recurring monthly option? That way Sam won't go broke trying to motivate us procrastinators.
Yes, that Aaron Boone. He of the .314 OBP (and four homers) in 80 games.
Izturis at 3B suddenly doesn't sound so bad.
I don't recall Depo being portrayed as an "idiot" for giving a low-risk deal to Erickson. What did he have to lose?
Izturis at 3B suddenly doesn't sound so bad.
This is precisely why Izturis needs to stay at third. Besides Aybar, which is a debatable proposition, anything that Colletti can do could only make the situation worse. In fact, he'd probably trade Aybar for Boone. Because he is, after all, an idiot.
Kim Ng wouldn't make that deal ...
Expounding upon your points, the Dodgers' groundball ratio is the second-highest in both the NL and the majors. Mr. Izturis, you are welcomed.
I think we're supposed to look for something in between "idiot" and "genius." I suppose semi-idiot would meet that criterion...
Darn, couldn't get the site to appear, but thanks.
that would be Steve Phillips
http://www.baseball-encyclopedia.com/
Thanks, got it this time.
New topic: What's My Line? I'm thinking of someone. Each commenter gets one yes-or-no question. Go.
Have you compared the two side-side between last year and this year?
There's not much of a difference.
46-42 is nice.
Its still not as nice as 93-69.
Aw, I don't think it was that bad. So far as I recall, Schmoll pitched pretty well at the beginning of the year. Houlton even out-dueled Roger Clemens during an Astros game at one point (I'm trusting a slightly faulty memory here), and had some pretty decent arrows in his quiver. Erickson was awful, I admit. But Schmoll and Houlton showed much promise at different times during last season.
Is this person a current MLB player?
Ned is usually pretty good about keeping is intentions hidden, so I would be more inclined to believe that if a move happens, it will be something that has not been talked about for weeks.
I think by now we know that are those who dislike our GM because of his moves that involved trading younger players regardless of their current status. There are others who so disliked our past GM that anyone who stepped in and did not do things like acquire SABR friendly players and trade "heart and soul" players was going to be better.
Maybe we can see how this plays out, analyze and discuss any future moves on their merits and not on some philosophy and support the team regardless.
Just a voice from the Inner Reserved.
If this happens, do the Giants still allow him to play out the season?
Let's do up to 6 billion or so processes of elimination. I'll go first.
Is the person me?
Did this person grow up during the television runs of "Wonderama" or "Hobo Kelly"?
Is this person a current MLB player? No.
Is your person an athlete? No.
Does this someone work for the Dodgers? No.
Are you a sports figure? You may only know me as a sports figure, though that's not what I'm most famous for.
Does the person have more than 5 letters in their first name? Yes
Did this person grow up during the television runs of "Wonderama" or "Hobo Kelly"? You could say that.
DT comments What's My Line = getting on with day?
I like your day more than mine today.
Guess that does it for my questions.
Is it a real person? Yes.
Is this person male? Yes.
Was this person born before the 1970s? Yes.
"Well, I think Steve and Edie are performing tonight at the Waldorf ..."
"But isn't Dana Andrews opening up a new picture soon?"
"Well, I just had lunch with Noel Coward ..."
[i]Was this person born before the 1970s? Yes.[/i]
Oh, so it's Bea(trice) Arthur.
(And for the record, that was not a question.)
190 - Given the time frame of the competition, they are neither eligible nor useful. You had to have elicited a laugh through an on-screen appearance by December 31, 1975.
Hm, I guess the answer's not Bob Uecker, his first name's too short. I just like that Jon came up with a way to get people off the previous topics!
Given the timeframe qualifications, most of us young'ns would be wise to go with original cast SNL.
Is this person alive? Yes.
Man, this really does take a long time, doesn't it. Half an hour to establish living male entertainer born before the 1970s with more than five letters in first name.
I suppose that's a question in itself. Let's see if Jon answers it!
(playing in Tampa may still count as being on the DL though)
198 - you may have one question every five minutes.
So then...who thinks Julian Tavarez is destined to wear Dodger Blue this year?
If you ignore that these are small sample sizes in that chart, could a person have a reasonable argument that the starting pitching would be pretty much the same if we started out with a starting rotation of penny, lowe, perez, seo, billingsley, and then when perez blew up we brought up sele to replace him in the rotation?
The reason why i'm asking this is that we would have avoided signing tomko to 2 years and we would have avoided trading navarro for hendrickson.
I didn't want tomko for 2 years, and i didn't want ned to trade navarro for hendrickson and i was willing to use sele as insurance for the rotation.
We'll not be playing this game again, that's for sure :)
He was also in a movie, and it's the movie that some of you might know him from.
Was that show on a cable channel? No.
But if I could erase the past hour from Dodger Thoughts, I would.
And speaking of getting on with my day ...
Was he a child star? Yes.
Was he in a baseball-related movie? Yes.
Was he an older child in that movie? Yes.
Was he a main character in that movie? No.
Was that movie made in the 1970s? Yes.
Was the TV show made in the 1970s? Yes.
Is his last name the same as a current Dodger? Yes.
Seems much more likely that A Boone would be destined for SD then LA since they have Castillo doing his death march at 3b with only Blum and Bellhorn to help keep him on his feet as he staggers to his last 81 games.
Even with the extra seasoning he did get this year, the lad clearly is more thrower than pitcher at this stage. Better to get some time in Triple-A to calm down and refine a bit, than start out with a big-market club.
Beyond the baseball reasons, if you start his arbitration clock on Opening Day, as opposed to June, you move him into an earlier arbitration class and subject yourself to much higher salaries in his fourth, fifth and sixth years.
Sele's good pitching was critical for several reasons. One is he bought time for Billingsley. As a small bonus, perhaps, Bills has gotten to watch Sele win through accuracy.
Can I take my mask off?
LOL, Jon.
Programming Reminder - Today's All-Star game chat is at the Griddle.
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/429125.html
or "He could have killed that kid."
And speaking of opera -- my brother is the one who is the conductor for the great money pit "Grendel." It opens at Lincoln Center in NYC tonight and I get to see it this weekend.
My mother gave it a great big thumbs down. She went to the aborted "premeire" in LA, which turned into a dress rehersal which cost the patrons full price. I'm sure that went over well.
I think it was the last acting appearance by Arlene Francis.
And it's NOT listed on the IMDB.
But what I have in common with Jim Tracy is that my gut instinct is usually wrong.
I don't get it, but then, I don't get a lot of things around here.
Although I like your thinking. Getting a slugging outfielder would be a big boost to this team, right behind adding a good starting pitcher and slugging infielder in priority. I think Lofton represents a prime opportunity for an upgrade, allowing Ethier and Kemp to platoon or spell Drew.
Offensively, this team was constructed using a lot of redundant parts, especially in the infield. This has been discussed before, but I don't think this team needed to add three shortstops during the offseason and NOT pursue OFs or 1B. Nomar's been nice at 1B, but he'd likely be just as nice at 3B. Then we could have Izturis at SS or 2B where his bat plays less terribly, spelling Kent and Furcal. Now we don't have enough places to put the middle infielders and none of them are seemingly attractive enough to net much via return trade.
The uncertainty regarding Izturis' elbow made some of these decisions more difficult, I'm sure, but I feel that we got a little too much insurance and perhaps not enough talent.
Fundraiser Continues -- See Comment 25 and refernced comments
This'll be the last day, I'm proud to announce -- too successful to continue!
Glad to hear the "Spend Sam DC's Money" fundraiser has been a success. Maybe Jon can use some of the funds to lure Danica "You Do the Math" McKellar into a DT chat event someday...
I do, however, agree with Blu2 that Lost's Yunjin Kim would be a good addition to the Dodgers :)
The show started off as a one-hour drama and then came back as a half-hour sitcom. And it wasn't very good in either format.
A man who rose to fame on the Letterman show joined the cast when it became a sitcom.
99mph?
I really hope he doesn't get hurt. I hope the Dodgers told Garner no more than 1 inning.
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/429125.html
I'll just assume he's setting up for Nomar.
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