Man, I love morning reading almost as much as I love using the bold in my posts.

Thanks, Jon...

Oh, and Jon? You're right. Maddux didn't get his no-hitter and it's all your fault. Happy birthday to the youngun'!

Going for the triple...

Sean lost a lot of blood last week (the doctor said "I've never seen a living person with such a small amount of blood in them.")

That number again: 323-669-2441

Article on Colletti's "character" acquisitions:

http://tinyurl.com/qh8nj

Re: 1st Rain Delay

I missed the game entirely (because I was conviniently only at a TV during the second rain delay, not before or after) and like many people wondering what would've happened had the first rain delay not happened. That extra time lost might've given Maddux time to complete a no-hitter, but also could've reduced his chances of even getting a no-hitter into the 6th.

I'm brainstorming here, but I would imagine that a pregame delay might be somewhat of a distraction for players trying to focus on the upcoming game. If there's one player out of both teams that wouldn't have trouble focusing in spite of the delay, I'd say Maddux. So I say it's a possibility that the initial rain delay actually helped him.

Re: "I will tell you I believe that a no-hitter happens when a certain group of people don't screw it up by jinxing it. And since we don't know exactly who's in that group..."

If I had to guess, I'd say Hatteberg and Encarnacion might be in that group.

4 - Do you know who the writer was?

5 No! You've got it all wrong. It's not the guys who get the hits, it's the folks at home, watching the tube or the people in the park who blithely turn to their neighbors, slap their knees and say, "Dang me! That there Maddux is tossin' one of them no-hitters!"

These are the people that try men's souls, primeroMohican. These are the people that need to be stopped. Jon needs no excuses; he knows what he has done cannot be undone and we should leave it at that.

5 The frustration is with the ineptitude of the decision not to start the game. We would never have had to deal with the disappointment of a no-hitter being taken away by anyone other than a Reds hitter.

Jon, nice use of "effect", interesting and effective.

6 That was my question... I clicked a few links and couldn't figure it out.

6-Yeah, I know him somewhat.

8 - No, actually that was just a typo!

6-What a faux pas. I didn't even notice they didn't include my name.

10 - No, I mean, literally, what's his name? Is it a secret?

8 - That's another way to look at it... it being the gift-horse that's getting looked in the mouth.

I think I'm missing the (non-rational) point about no-hitters. Maybe that's because the closest things to no-hitters that I've seen live are 2 Odalis no-no's though 5 (I believe), and Lowe's most recent 2-hit CG. Just can't feel the magic, haha.

4 - Interesting, a commentary without a byline.

10 and 13 gets an LOL.

I think 10 is implying not too subtly that he knows the writer very well. Because (cue the ominous music) 10 is the writer of the said article.

Watson? This case is closed!

My name (the writer of the article) is John Scanlan. Usually the editor includes my name on there. The print edition has it. Not sure why the online version doesn't. I'll have to give him a ring and let him know.

I think it's facinating.. Baseball, a game that more than any other is about statistics and followed (especially here) by those with an almost scientific mind for breaking apart and studying the numbers... is also the game with the most superstition. I personally, have spent my adult life systematically washing those kinds of thoughts from my mind. But unweaving the rainbow can be very upsetting to some and to others, makes life downright dull.
I think the world needs scientists AND poets. Jon, I think you like being the former but love being the latter.

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/13458.html

... I've seen four no-hitters in person, including that Dennis Martinez perfect game in 1991, a game which was a double perfect game through five innings. In all, 15 of the 18 half-innings of that day were 1-2-3.

That was the weekend I had the luck of covering the Saturday Dodgers-Expos game for the Daily News, while others covered the nine-inning no-hitter by Mark Gardner Friday and Martinez on a Sunday. Still, I attended all three games. (Gardner lost his game in the 10th; I know MLB has since changed its rules to disavow its no-hitterness, but it was called a no-hitter when I saw it.)

A year before, I threw my sombrero to the sky in watching Fernando Valenzela twirl his no-hitter. And in 1994, I saw a most unlikely no-hit pitcher, Kent Mercker.

I had tickets to at least two other no-hitters, Ramon Martinez and Kevin Gross, but wasn't able to attend.

4 Thats the article I write in my brain all the time or debate with other dodger fans all the time. Although I don't really include off field behavior in the team chemistry equasion.

is there any way you can post it so we can hear it? I don't have XM Radio (you probably have to be a subscriber I bet)

ps great read.

17 - I agree with your line of thinking. The minute Colletti signed Furcal, a clean background check was no longer relevant. Rightly or wrongly, people who cared about it with DePodesta suddenly stopped caring.

I've seen those five-toe socks in Japan. Most people that wore them said that they ward off athlete's foot.

22-Yeah, but it's funny the Depo haters I know still use the character issue as a line of reasoning for why he needed to go. I didn't even get into Toby Hall's pouting and Tomko's rep as a malcontent.

A year before, I threw my sombrero to the sky in watching Fernando Valenzela twirl his no-hitter.

the thought of that alone is priceless.

7 "primeroMohican" - Ha! I'm not sure why but that struck me as hilarious. From one Bruin to another, you are on fire today Suffering one. :)

The radio interview just got moved up to now.

Thank you, Jon, for passing along Bob's research on the 3-5-1 dp, and thanks to Bob for the research and posting it. I watched on MLB tv and thus heard only the Reds' announcers. They didn't even confirm that it was Maddox who made the put out at 1st and it wasn't clearly visible on the tv screen. Was the play noted by whomever was in the booth for the Dodgers?

24 I do think that for whatever reason, sports teams (and most businesses for that manner) tend to view trangressions on the job much more seriously then off the field (or off the job) incidents.

I have seen only one no-hitter. George Culver pitching for the Reds tossed one in a game I saw at Connie Mack Stadium in 1967 or thereabouts. The Phils actually scored a run against him. As I recall he gave up quite a few walks in the game.

Stan from Tacoma

Jon, this is the kind of stuff I enjoy reading the most, when you tell us how the Dodgers affect your everyday life (admittedly when I open DT and I see columns with numbers, I skim... I'm still trying to understand VORP)..

The juggling act I do with the kids, Dodgers, Tivo, dinnertime, bathtime, reading DT... I'm glad I'm not alone.

Good interview. A little odd how it just ended, but good stuff.

Or... perhaps I wasn't listening to Jon, since I was on the wrong channel.

I also couldn't figure out why Jon was saying that "The Dodgers hope they can get something close to what they need out of J. D. Drew."

28

It was Ted Turocy who did the research. I just passed along the info.

I'm still trying to get confirmation that the DP was also Maddux's 84th which would be a major league record for a pitcher.

I just finished the interview now.

30
Stan,
Culver's no-hitter was in 1968 in the second game of a doublheader.

He only walked five, but the Phillies got a run thanks to an error.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B07292PHI1968.htm

Too bad for me that I was listening to somebody else for the first several minutes...

...what I heard of your interview was good, too.

34 Bob, according to BaseballReference.com and ESPN.com, the sources for Maddux's career through 2005 and current season, respectively, I count up 84 double plays.

35 Couldn't hear it, my office doesn't receive my XM too well, what was the general tone, was it about the Dodgers or about the blogging community?

I've lived almost all of my 50 years in the San Gabriel Valley and I've never heard of the Mid Valley News. What city is it out of?

Ah, I see the office is in El Monte.

39 - 10 percent about me, 10 percent about Dodger Thoughts, 80 percent about the Dodgers.

Look: numbers!

What is involved in giving platelets? Is it any different than the normal blood donoring thing?

43
http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11892.cfm

Thanks Bob. I remember the no-hitter but I did not remember it being part of a doubleheader. Must have been a twi-light dh because I remember the no hitter being a night game.

George Culver went on to pitch very briefly for the Dodgers.

Still wish that Sandy had waited to pitch his no-hitter against the Phils in 1964 after the school year was over. I did not miss many Dodger/Phillies games during those years except when the Dodgers played in Philadelphia on a weeknight during the school year.

Stan from Tacoma

19 - I saw the Denny Martinez perfecto in person as well. I believe the last 3-4 innings to be the only time in my life I've rooted against the Blue.

Chris Gwynn's flyout to the warning track to end the game is a very vivid memory of mine.

42 How much of that 10% on DT was centered on the neverending debate of Pro DePo/Anti DePo and its subsequent discussions?

42. Yes, but so elegantly put together!

46 I was at the Dennis Martinez game as well. Must have been future DTers day.

47 - Zero. I was boosterish.

So, the Nationals game wednesday ended with the Nats clawing back to 8-6, getting a runner on, and bringing a PH to the plate v. recent National Mike Stanton. Stanton struke him out looking on a backdoor curve that was widely viewed by Nationals' fans as nowhere near the strike zone. (I haven't seen the pitch.)

Anyhow, Ball Wonk's game story consists of a single picture.

But it's a funny picture. http://www.ball-wonk.com/

If Rob Drake was drowning and being eaten by a shark, I would save the shark.

By the way, Rob Drake is the AAA vacation umpire and 17-year Walmart veteran who threw out Brad Penny for no reason last year.

43, I was a platlet donor for a short time. A platlet donor can donate every few weeks while a blood donor has to wait 56 days between donations. The process of donating the platlets takes quite a bit longer than a regular blood donation. I stopped platlet donations because my veins are not good enough for the more frequent donations. I still donate blood and would be a platlet donor if my veins were good enough. I don't know the actual difference between platlets and blood, but I gather the platlets are more valuable, especially for cancer victims.

Stan from Tacoma

43- Yes. It takes significantly longer than just blood. They separate the platelets from other blood components, and return the non-platelets to your vein, in cycles. It used to take me an hour and a quarter, but some people (for reasons I don't understand) take marginally longer, or shorter. Most collection centers are set up so the donor can watch a movie. It doesn't hurt more than donating blood (which is to say, it hardly hurts at all).

43 Marty, The Med people take out a pint of your blood and run it through a centrifuge, That separates the solids (salts?, blood cells?)whatever from the more liquid component of your blood. The liquid part (plasma?) is injected back into your veins.

I'm with Gio, I'm never getting food poisoning again. What was I thinking!?

I totally understand the jinx stuff - when I wa s a kid I used to get to the point where I would remove my hat in disgust if the (Dodgers/Broncos/Lakers) were losing and then if they started doing better I'd keep my hat off. It was the hat, I tells ya! Or wearing a certain shirt, or not wearing it, or...That sort of thing.

I still do this sort of thing, actually. I still blame my dad for that one loss to the Giants in SF a couple months ago, when he left before the 9th inning, saying something like "Looks good!" leaving me there to suffer through a Baez-implosion. [tm]

I think we jinxed the you-know-what by talking about the weather too much, actually.

Can you imagine Nomar with his trunk load of superstitions as a basketball player? LOL

I'm sure no one around here really takes the "jink" things seriously, but just in case you needed a dose of reason, do you really think there has ever been a no-hitter or perfect game where not a single person in the entire world uttered the phrase "such and such is pitching a no-hitter/perfect game" prior to completion of said no-hitter/perfect game?

Carry on.

59

I hope there are no lightning strikes near you today...

59
Uh, "'jink' things" should read "'jinx' thing"

60
Thanks Bob. 40% chance of thunderstorms here this afternoon...

Does In-N-Out Burger have a reputation on the East Coast, or is it only something you hear of when you live or visit here?

Okay folks, I want to organize another DT night/day at the stadium and of course would like to get as many participants as possible but I think it would be fun as we head down the stretch.

What does everyone think?

Jon, just curious, did Steiner contact you about appearing on his show? Too bad Vin does not have a an XM show.

Stan from Tacoma

63 I only hear on national sports talk shows by guys who used to live out here, frankly I did not really know about them until they opened up some outlets in the LA area.

63 From what I've seen, it's notorious on the East Coast to the degree that White Castle is down here.

Personally, I've never understood the In-N-Out hype. Sure it's better than McDonalds or Burger King, but that's about it.

63
Having grown up in Oregon, and lived in North Carolina for the past 3 years, the only time I have ever seen (or eaten at) an In-N-Out burger was last July near UCLA, after a visit to Dodger Stadium and watching Mike Edwards hit his first career HR.

On a related note: "Carls Jr." is known as "Hardees" on the East Coast.

65 One of my disappointments will be the fact that Vin will never do a book regarding his experiences in baseball, though maybe I should never say never but as far as I know, there is nothing in the works.

He also rarely does interviews.

And some of us who live in Southern California rarely go to In-N-Out Burger.

Mainly because I'm incredibly impatient.

59- "As I sit here today, I will tell you I believe that a no-hitter happens when a certain group of people don't screw it up by jinxing it. And since we don't know exactly who's in that group, we should all play it safe."

You can't refute that very particular superstition, by saying that somebody somewhere always does jinx it; only if you can prove that somebody from the only group (which nobody can know whether anybody is a part of) that matters jinxed it, without it failing.

When I came East for college in 1986, no one but no one back here had heard of In 'n Out. Now it's commonly known as an Out West/LA thing, like White Castle is commonly known as an East Coast thing.

59 - As I wrote above:

"A no-hitter happens when a certain group of people don't screw it up by jinxing it. And since we don't know exactly who's in that group, we should all play it safe."

63. They are strictly West Coast, in fact, I had kind of forgotten about it's existence after moving away until I started frequenting Dodger chat boards.

63 only found in CA, NV and AZ

Also, did anybody notice that Mark Langill at Inside the Dodgers jinxed it during the rain delay? Those guys will stop at nothing to get the upper hand during arbitration hearings.

I was looking at the September 16th game against the Padres, its also the salute to the 1981 World Series Championship team. I went to last year's salute to the 1955 team, my favorite moment was when Vin was introducing the players who were at the game and when he got to Sandy, he just said something like, I don't need to tell you about this man, Sandy Koufax, and let me tell you, the ovation he got almost brought me to tears, plus the fact that game featured Clemens vs. Penny and as I recall the Dodgers won the game on an Antonio Perez home run.

#62, better not go outside. #63, Jon, I have heard of them living here in Washington State. Of course, this area has plenty of ex- Californians.

Stan from Tacoma

71,73

Who's to say?

71 - And it's Andrew, by 27 seconds.

72 - I asked because I just read George Will making a reference to it.

67 - It's worthy of the hype that it gets, which is not by any means out of control.

65 - Steiner's producer contacted me, though Steiner wasn't the interviewer today. However, I did meet Steiner on Opening Day and he said he read DT. I was actually planning to call him today to get his thoughts about broadcasting yesterday's game, but work may not permit me to do so - I've already blown some time doing the radio interview.

68 Does Hardees have the same menu as Carl's Jr.? I think they used to run their own show and eventually got bought out by Carl's. I went to one in DC about 7 years ago or so and they had a variety of foul foods you could pick up, but it definitely wasnt the same as Carl's.

I routinely talk about no-hitters. If it is against the rules on your board and I am watching one, I'll remeber not to do it - but, even if I am not doing it here I'll be talking/writing about it somewhere, so you are not saving yourself anything. The superstitious will have to hope I am never part of Jon's unknown "group that matters" on such things. :)

81 No, they seem to have even more amazingly fattening items, including the much hyped Monster Thickburger. 2/3rds of a pound of meat, cheese, bacon, a hearty dollop of mayo, and a buttered bun.

Interesting article on Hiroshima's struggles with whether and especially where to build a new baseball stadium.

http://tinyurl.com/lnz5q

The Washington Post -- A Good Newspaper.

81
I don't actually know, as (1) I've never been to Hardees, and (2) I rarely went to Carl's Jr. I just know the restaurants look the same and have that "star."

Quick In-N-Out note... they used to purchase one national 30 second commercial durring the Super Bowl despite only having outlets in California at the time. They did this because the owner was a huge NFL fan. I can think of better ways to express my love of a sport but, well, that was his.

No ma, just ain't the same without the butter on the bun. Sort of scratchy, plain. Bleh.

I think I jinxed Greg Maddux's no-hitter attempt. I never try to follow the games at work pitch by pitch from work, but with the no-hitter going, I had to and the rain delay. If only I would have continued working . . .

81. They have always been owned by the same Southeast based operation, but their menus were somewhat different, the parent company has been more strict about trying to get the restaurants more uniform in menus and they are now all required to buy their menu items from one supplier based out of Mansfield, TX who also does most of the meat supply for Denny's and the meatballs for Quizno's subs.

82 - I guess that's all I can ask :)

86 and where is the owner now??

Even though there is an exception for announcers, Krukow and Kuiper will not discuss a no-hitter or perfect game in progress when they are the announcers at that game. They will point out that one is in progress at another stadium.

Jon Weisman

Great stuff you have here. Been reading it for what seems forever.

I've never understood the attraction of In N Out. There's so many places around town that are miles above it. I agree with Reg that it is better than McDonalds, but what isn't?

One of the things I've noticed is that college-aged kids on the east coast seem to know much more about it than the older crowd might (though it has somewhat infiltrated the national consciousness, not the least thorugh the help of the movie The Big Lebowski).

Significant numbers of CA ex-stats (well, whatever the state version of an ex-pat is) pine for them daily, regaling their peers of tales of the tasty Double-Double and others. But it is viewed very much as a West Coast phenomenon, as others have said.

On another note, did anybody else notice Hatteberg's line from last night? 1-1, with 3 BBs - out of the 3 walks Maddux allowed, 2 of them were to Hatty, and he picked up another in the bottom of the 9th. He's having one heck of a career year at age 36 (he's OPSed just over .800 twice in the past, he's over .920 on the season this year).

94 - In N Out is really good (certainly the best relatively widespread chain), and they've improved the service time dramatically in the last 10 years.

It's now possible to get through a full drive-through line in less than 15 minutes.

One of the owners of In n Out died in a plane crash. He was about 350 pounds, as is his brother. Which sort of makes sense considering the business.

93 - Thanks!

94 - Can you have too many good burger places? And do you always have to have the best burger? Or can you enjoy eating many different kinds of good burgers? They don't have to all be Koufax burgers.

In-N-Out is good. I don't see a debate here.

Of course, then I learned I had high cholesterol two years ago ...

97 - And now, as you know (since I would always read about it in the Times), there's a big battle for control of the company.

94 - I guess the attraction is that it's a chain that seems to manage to produce a fairly reasonable level of quality at a moderate (depending on which In'N'Out you go to) price.

Though there are tons of places to go that serve better food, I'm not sure how many of them would classify as fast food chains.

In n Out vs. Hamburger Habit.

Choose your side.

91. Yeah, that guy died. He and his wife ran it and she is now about 90 years old and in poor health. The kids and step kids are now emroiled in a power struggle that seems worth of it's own Fox primetime soap opera.

101 - I choose the Apple Pan.

98 I guess I mean that I don't think they are that good, so I would rather go to the others. You don't have to have the best all the time, but why would you settle for an inferior (admittedly, just my opinion) one when it's just as easy to get a better one?

Oh, Jon said that. Must be lunch time given the talk here.

I like In N Out, but don't go that often. Less often, in fact, after I read this:

http://tinyurl.com/ehmrd

106 - Some things are better left un-posted.

96. I see it as about as good as Culver's a burger chain out of Wisconsin, which makes better custard than burgers. Personally, I just think that when people go off somewhere, especially kids going to college, they get extremely defensive about the things that make where they come from distinct and certain things, like In N Out Burgers, Chicago and New York style pizza, New York delis, and so on get blown out of proportion in terms of how good they are. The only exception I've ever seen is BBQ, which is as big a deal as people from the hotspots make it seem.

I seem to recall, when I was going to school back East, that Hardees bought up a fast food chain called, "Roy Rogers." So, the menu started to incorporate fried chicken, in addition to the burgers. I liked the fixin's bar, where you dress up the burger which is served on a naked bun. You can add as much lettuce and tomatoes as you want, and the horshradish sauce was good.

I gotta check my cholesterol, I've never checked it, I kind of like to think I stay away from fatting food but you never know.

109 Cassel's in Koreatown is like that. They cook the burger to order and you make up the bun. They also have this horseradish-laced potato salad that is great. That is one of my favorite burger places. Especially since I can get there from my work by taking the red line.

In n Out and Five Guys here in the MidAtlantic are a lot alike. And Five Guys is worshipped. (Better fries than InO.)

This past year a Five Guys opened about 10 blocks from house, across from the new baseball stadium site.

109. I was going to school out east when Hardee's gave up on Roy Rogers and sold the remaining open restaurants to McDonald's. When I left, the last Roy Rogers I knew of was in the Baltimore Airport.

I'll put this in a main post later, but happy to report that Dodger Math (aka Regfairfield when he comments here) has moved over to the True Blue L.A. blog at SBNation:

http://www.truebluela.com/

not to change the subject of burgers, but how is it that we couldn't win one game against the cardnials, when their pitching staff is constantly exposed as being borderline bad against all other teams, and looks like 5 cy youngs against us?

And now, we're scoring better, on pitchers with similar stats to the weaver's, suppans, and marquis, do the cardnials know something about us that we don't even know?

115 You had a perfect storm, Nomar was in his first slump, Kent was hurting, the Dodgers can't pitch to Pujols. But I still think had we figured out a way to win that first game when they had the 2-0 lead and then had a chance in the 10th inning, we would have probably split that series and who knows what would have happened, but after losing that first game on the Pujols home run off Odalis, thinks went downhill from there.

On their pitching, as I mentioned before, we are a much better fastball hitting team than breaking balls, and when they started losing, they started pressing and not taking pitches.

But I don't think there any real secrets, just bad match ups.

I had mine checked a few weeks back. I fully expected it to be near 200, but it was 128, which I was told was a pretty good score.

My diet stunk at that time, and the anxiety over what I thought would be a high score prompted me to make some positive changes.

And by positive changes, I mean no more glass of hot fat each morning.

just bad match ups

No, I really think we aren't actually a vastly infierior team to the cardnials at all. I think we can beat that team. But some how, we consistatly can't beat Jeff Suppan, and Jason Marquis. How is that even possible? Case in point, Marquis gives up like 10 to the braves. He gives up a combined 2 runs against us in 15 innings. I just don't know how that happens. And it's not like Pujols had 5 RBI every game, we let guys like Chris Duncan, Yadier Molina, and Juan Encarnacion beat us.

I really don't think the cardnials are a great team at all. They just got lucky against us. Really.

80 Hi Charlie! (Just in case you're reading this - don't tell Rick Monday any of the critical things I've said about him, I'm sure he's a wonderful guy.)

Man, I wish the game tomorrow was on TV outside LA, I'd love to see how Chad does in Florida.

The past week tell us that despite all analysis, small sample size, VORP or scouting, there is simply no way to predict what a small change can make to the fortunes of a ball club.

Now, could the Dodgers go back into the tank, sure but they could just as easily start a solid streak of good play.

I sometimes think that I play it too safe, never willing to go over to one side (stats analysis) to the other (scouting/baseball people). Maybe its because I think you need a little from column A and column B, but it does make navigating these waters a little dangerous.

So here we are, a few days before they return home and I am already thinking about buying tickets and going to a few games during the next homestand and frankly, that is why I love the game, I love the history, I love the analysis and I love being a fan. I like looking at the progress of the kids, I like checking a batter/pitcher matchup before they face, I even like debating those on this site who may have a contrary opinion to my own.

Here's to another good baseball weekend, thanks Jon for the site and now its time for double/double.

117 I'm pretty sure mine is good, I just wanna check it.

Interesting related information:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/bvsp?playerId=1800&teamId=24

Greg Maddux versus the Cards.

119 The Braves had the Jones boys that you have to pitch differently than the Dodgers middle of the lineup. (A Stevian point, homers do matter). If you throw soft stuff, you are just more likely to give up home runs as a byproduct of good control but against this year's Dodger team, that threat is just not there, especially when Kent is not in lineup.

But it is not that guys like Suppan did not do well against us in years when we hit more home runs.

117 Oatmeal, its seems pretty simple but just eating more of that and avoiding McDonalds does a lot for the old c-count.

112 I went to GW from 89-93, and don't recall "Five Guys." Is it new?

I like you Charley. If I didn't, you'd know by now.

D4P, on the other hand, look out for that guy in dark alleys.

124.

Well, didn't Suppan get hit by the cubs?

122 - Family history plays a big part.

125 - Yes, that was my experience too. I lowered my bad by nearly 100.

I heard shrimp has cholesterol (that's weird to me)

my dad was a stud in that department, I'm not sure about my mom (gonna have to ask her)

126. It must be, I went to school in DC from 96-00 and never heard of it either.

I like you Charley. If I didn't, you'd know by now. D4P, on the other hand, look out for that guy in dark alleys.

I guess I feel bad now that Charlie reads DT, but some things just need to be said. I'm sure he's crying all the way to the bank...

130 - All shellfish is bad.

133 - I'm sure he's heard worse. I wouldn't sweat it.

In-N-Out is fantastic. In 2004 they committed to building in Washington, Utah (just outside of St. George), but nothing has happened yet as far as I know. Many people inquired about them coming up closer to Salt Lake, but the problem is that they ship everything fresh from the LA area and we are too far away. They are big on quality control.

I have very good cholesterol since my mom forced me to brown-bag every day and I can't shake the habit.

Yesterday, one team was awarded a claim on Andruw Jones. Now the Braves have two choices -- either work out a trade with the team who placed the claim by Saturday or pull Jones back from waivers. If they pull him back, they cannot trade him again for the rest of this season.

The reason why the Braves might look into this is because Jones becomes a 10/5 player on August 15th (10 years in the league, 5 with the same team) and thus gets veto power over any trade and that is a contracual right in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

http://tinyurl.com/e5532

Charlie, if you're reading this, good work, but please tell Steve Lyons to put away that TV marker, we can see what's going on during the game. Also, tell Lyons to pay attention to the radar gun, and hopefully he'll see that Saito is NOT a soft tosser, and DOES NOT "basically pitch at 88-90," he pitches at 90-94 always.

Five Guys isn't new, but it used to just be a few places and now has expanded quite a bit regionally.

Just some more wood for that fire on whether or not Maddux influences a clubhouse.

http://tinyurl.com/fp52e

Despite my 18 months of back-and-forth between Hawai'i and LA in the mid-1980s, I missed In-N-Out somehow. I did get to the Apple Pan once. There are a couple of Carl's Jr. places out here. There was a Hardee's next to the UofA campus when I went to school there in the late 1960s-early 1970s.

But! Thanks to Sacramento relatives, I have t-shirts from both In-N-Out and Tommy's!

Wonder who the Orioles will get for Javy Lopez. I've heard good things about this Player TB Named fellow.

130 People confuse dietary cholesterol and blood cholesterol, which is not really cholesterol. Blood cholesterol is actually a lipoprotein, a fatty acid attached to a protein particle. Not that that is all that important to the layman.

Bottomline: dietary cholesterol is not strongly linked to blood cholesterol levels. If you eat more cholesterol, your liver makes less. If you eat less cholesterol, your liver make more. Saturated fat intake has a much stronger influence on blood cholesterl levels. If you don't have a genetic predisposition to high cholesterol, I wouldn't worry about dietary sources of cholesterol. Eat all the shrimp you want. Just avoid the melted butter dip, and the deep fried stuff.

I go to In-N-Out maybe 3-4 times a year. I don't eat fast food (besides In-N-Out), don't drink soda, don't eat candy, and don't smoke. I do however enjoy consuming large quantities of alcohol in short periods of time.

135--I have very good cholesterol since my mom forced me to brown-bag every day and I can't shake the habit.

I love fruits & vegetables & hate fried chicken so those are good habits my mom gave me.

In terms of reputation and regional loyalty:

In-N-Out : West Coast :: White Castle : East Coast

In terms of actual product however, the two can't be compared. White Castle burgers are disgusting. And as much as I love In-N-Out, I'll take Tommy's any day of the week.

Another West Coast-only fast food joint I miss living on the East Coast is Del Taco.

Funny In-n-Out story:

Way back when I was in middle school, my small, Visalia, Episcopal school obtained a massive (pallets) quantity of In-n-Out water and soda cups for pennies. They held liquid rather well, and so they were used for hot lunches, at sporting events, and other places where disposable cups. It seems that the Snyders had rejected the cups because they lacked the requisite bible-verse reference on the bottom.

In-n-Out is also the first, and sometimes last, place I usually visit when I visit family in CA.

I've not tried five guys yet but since Sam says there's one just off of my commuting drive, I might stop in for a pickup to go.

139-
"We've been sharing locker space for three years,'' he said. ''It's kind of weird not having him there to talk about golf or talk about pitching, farting on each other, whatever it is."
The key to good Clubhouse Chemistry™

143. I do however enjoy consuming large quantities of alcohol in short periods of time.

Well, everybody needs a hobby...

Oh... I also really miss El Pollo Loco.

147- that was a quote from Ryan Dempster

145 I liked Naugles much better than Del Taco (I find their spokes guy a little annoying)

142

thanks for the info

151 I've never even heard of Naugles.

I saw Dan the Del Taco guy at a Japanese restaurant in Sherman Oaks last week.

153 I believe Del Taco bought out Naugles some time ago.

My brief defense of Brad Penny keeping his number 31 for the short term.

1. Of players on the 25-man roster now, Penny has the longest continuous service with the Dodgers except for Olmedo Saenz. (Carrara and Dessens leaving and coming back)

2. Number of World Series rings owned by Penny and Maddux: 1 each

3. Penny was the NL All-Star game starter this season.

It's really a small matter, but I don't see why Penny has to fall on his back to Maddux as if he were a puppy encountering the alpha dog in the pack.

88 and Jon,

I think I may also be apart of the group that jinxed it last night. I was watching the game with my kids and after Maddux's last out, I decided to take a short break to put them in the tub. I turned on the water, walked back out into the living room to glance at the t.v. and sure enough, it had begun to rain.

143 I do however enjoy consuming large quantities of alcohol in short periods of time.

I echo you're thoughts :o)

147 147- that was a quote from Ryan Dempster

I just became a Ryan Dempster fan.

Baseball sure is a humbling game. We've risen from the dead. Hopefully the pieces are falling into place. I'm trying to stay on an even keel though. Don't want to get too excited only to be letdown. But I'm looking forward to a sweep in Florida. I'm wondering if we should play 2 Saturday because I think a storms a brewin down yonder.

Remember when it was funny to cut up an In-n-Out Burger bumper sticker and have it on your car as "In-n-Out Urge" ? When I was 12 and in Santa Barbara that was funny. Now I'm not so sure.

155. Russ Martin needs to give Giovanni Carrara his number back. LOL.

154 To my best recollection, the Del Taco buyout of Naugles was 20+ years ago.

If Charlie Steiner really reads DT, I wonder if we had anything to do with last night's broadcast, where I distinctly heard him talk about Edwin En-Car-Na-Ci-On. Good on ya, Charlie!

155
I agree. Who cares about the number anyway? If you arrive at a new team, you shouldn't expect any of the existing players to forfeit their number on your behalf.

You're getting paid millions of dollars to sit on a bench most of the time: wear whatever number they tell you to.

155 According to what I read, for Penny it's a matter of trying to work out deals with other players for their numbers at the moment. The ongoing saga:

http://www.celsius1414.com/node/770

I have much experience with 5 Guys, In-n-Out and many other burger places because I have lived on the east and west coasts and am a fast food burger lover. I just spent a couple weeks in No Cal and hit InO 3 or 4 times. They are amazingly consistent and just awesome. The quality is great and they toast the underside of the buns as perfectly as possible. The reputation of InO reached further into the east coast when they opened the Las Vegas outlet, although that location became too popular for its own good, IMO.

My former gf, now my wife, lived down the street from the original 5 Guys on King Street, Arlington. I always loved it but from a consistency stand point, they needed some help at the time. The fries are the best part, but IMO that's not necessarily a great attribute of a burger place.

For me, a burger is best from a fast food place. I grew up going to the Woodland Hills H. Hamlet with my dad, but it just doesn't feel right to be eating a burger in a sit down restaurant with waiter/waitress service.

I drove past Kirk's in Campbell last week and remembered the conversation on Jon's site from last year. Jon is/was a big Kirk's fan. So I stopped in, in Jon's honor. The burger was excellent but was disappointing because the meat patty wasn't large enough for the bun (I special ordered it on a french roll). Otherwise, very tasty. But expensive for a fast food burger.

Most people prefer a flame cooked burger but I like it cooked on a flat grill - nice and messy. Also, it seems to me that if you compare InO to McD's or White Castle or Hardees/Carl's, you're probably not a huge fan of fast food burgers because they are nowhere near the same quality or freshness level.

I am living in Bratislava, Slovakia for a couple of years and most of the time can only dream of a great burger. Sigh...the things you take for granted...

159 - "...I think a storms a brewin down yonder."

Apt word picture, given all the discussion of various fast-food burgers.

Carrarra had some bad chinese food? That's ironic because the other day I had some bad mexican food that left me filling ill. Is he planning on staying away from chinese food in general or just the "bad" chinese food? Perhaps Plaschke could look into the details on this one. Speaking of Plaschke he is in his glory with the Maddux gem pitched last night. The only thing that would arouse him any more than he already is, is if the Dodgers had traded for LoDuca. That 3-5-1 double play reminded me of one I turned in softball this past tuesday. It went 6-1-3. Wonder how many times retrosheet says that's been done before.
vr, Xei

6-1-3? Describe that play!

If the Dodgers are going to strip the names off the back of the uniforms, the mind as well strip the numbers off too. Heck, just get rid of the shirts altogether and we can recognize the players by their tattoos(sp?).
vr, Xei

165 You're probably right, maybe 2-3 years less. I definitely remember the merger and the rediculous ad campaign (Viva! Naulges, Viva! Del Taco) when I was in elementary school and Im 27 now.

168. I'm playing SS. Batter pops the ball up to me. I notice that the batter isn't running the ball out, so I drop the ball on purpose. The 2B was caught off guard and wasn't covering secon base, the pitcher had backed up a bit in case he had to catch the pop up. He saw me drop the ball (on purpose) and it happened to roll away from me a little bit. The pitcher ran to cover second base, we forced the runner (who was on first) out, he threw to first base and got the hitter (who ran late) out by a step. If you play slowpitch softball long enough beleive me you will see it all and most of it's not pretty! :) vr, Xei

Wikipedia says the Naugles/Del Taco merger came in 1988.

Penny should insist on getting #5. :)

171. There's no infield fly rule in your league?

113 There are still some Roy Rogers around, at least there are on the Jersey Turnpike. I don't go to Roy's for the burgers, but for the roast beef sandwiches.

White Castle was a staple when I was in college in NJ, because they were the only place open after midnight. I only know of the In n Out through my invisible internet buddies.

I seem to remember a Roy Rogers in on Beach Blvd. in Huntington Beach back in the 70s.

174. Infield fly rule IS NOT in effect with only a runner on first base. Sorry if that was not clear in the narrative. :)
vr, Xei

171 I was going to say earlier that the only no-hitter I've ever witnessed in peerson was one that was thrown against my slowpitch softball team. That was embarrassing.

114 Thanks for the advertizement, Jon.

173 I already can't tell Brad Penny and Hee Seop apart from a distance, giving him number five would just make things worse.

178. haha! wow, that's amazing. Was it a co-ed league, or a no height limit on pitches league? We had a game that we scored only one run in, but never a no-no. vr, Xei

175. Yeah, I was reading in a fast food journal a couple of years ago that there was a movement afoot to revive Roy Rogers, the only thing that stood out from that article was that Cincinnati was the only place that had one east of the Appalachians.

Anyone else like the chili-tamales at Tommy's?

I've actually never had a burger there, but lots of tamales. There's just something good about a tamale covered in chili, cheese, a thick tomatoe slice and a pickle.

has anyone heard any rumors about the dodgers trying to get andruw jones. one unidentified team has the opportunity to trade for him now. anyone?

182 - I've had them before. They're pretty good - I'm more of a burger guy, though.

Al Bundy -- you'd like Marty's in Rancho Park -- Pico and Patricia. Very messy, very flatgrilled burger stand.

We've actually had this entire burger thread before.

This is where LAT and I started talking about how Howard who runs Marty's was making book on the side.

It seems that this team must be on their way to setting a team record for sweeps in a season (being on the good or bad side of a sweep).

I just calculated that they've played 33 series of 3 or 4 games and 12 of them have been sweeps. This doesn't include two 2-game series which they were swept in both.

183. Yeah, 6-4-2 has a piece up on that. We'd probably have to give up someone good like Joel Guzman for a slugger like Andruw Jones though. :)
vr, Xei

Capdodger -- the Five Guys by the new ballpark site is at New Jersey and M SE. It's a little hard to spot, as it's part of the groundfloor retail of a large office type building.

167 But Carrara is a Venezuelan, of Italian extraction. :)

Sam - yep, I recall. I got excited because I just went on a burger splurge during my 3 week stay in the US.

The only thing that would arouse him any more than he already is, is if the Dodgers had traded for LoDuca.

Discussing Plaschke's arousal on any level, especially at the thought of LoDuca, must violate the DT code of conduct. I know it violates the laws of nature.

So Marty -- has Tiger really not started his second round yet?

We've actually had this entire burger thread before.

So I'm reading a re-run?

When did DT go into syndication?

My understanding re potential compensation for Andruw is that if it's not a player who's not on the 40 man roster, the compensation also has to pass through waivers. I'm not holding my breath that there's adequate compensation out there that would cause the Braves to pull the trigger.

163 - I agree as I made a similar comment last night on another thread. I also think this is a media-driven controversy and that Maddux probably did no more than inquire about the possibility, nothing more. He doesn't seem like a prima donna type to me that would be negatively stirring up the clubhouse.
116 - The Dodgers just faced the Cardinals at the wrong time when we were at our weakest, Nomar slumping, Kent hurt, Drew with a power outage-the post all-star break blues. Their best chances to win any were the two extra inning games in St. Louis-games 1 and 3 when they had numerous chances to win but couldn't capitalize. Out here, we had no ammunition in which to compete with the Cards, offense was completely dead in the water making average pitchers look like Gibson, Drysdale & Koufax rolled into one.

191 - I second that point.

(193) I think the previous edition was much more Tommy's- and Kirk's-centric.

192 Sam, you're confusing me.

165 - The only Kirk's I vouch for is the original one on California Avenue in Palo Alto. And I believe the ownership may have changed since I was in school. But in its glory years, it was amazing.

193 - "When did DT go into syndication?"

Buy The Best of Dodger Thoughts today!

This might be opening a can of worms, but...

If you could trade JD Drew (possibly plus a low-level prospect) for Andruw Jones, would you? Drew's better at getting on base, but Jones arguably has better power numbers. It really depends on if you believe Drew's power stats this year are evidence of a likely permanent decline, or just a hiccough (which is my opinion). I just wanted to put the question out there...

From Inside the Dodgers:

"Also, from SABR's Rod Nelson and Ted Turocy, last night's Saenz to Betemit to Maddux 3-5-1 double play is only the sixth since 1957, according to Retrosheet, to include the third baseman as the pivot man. So just think, if you were bummed that you didn't get to see a no-hitter last night, you actually got to see something a lot more rare!"

192
Tiger just teed off.

Coming in late on this, but:

1) If Maddux is going to throw a no-hitter, he doesn't need a cushion.

2) If Maddux isn't going to throw a no-hitter, then there's no reason for him to pitch the last three innings.

Dodger Thoughts + Kirk's

http://www.all-baseball.com/dodgerthoughts/archives/017244.html

201 Probably. Drew's probably better when he's healthy, but Jones plays far more often than he does. Of course, Jones is much worse at getting on base, and he doesn't play great defense any more (his career low rate2 prior to 2004 was 109, he hasn't exceeded 102 since).

200

Already bought it.

204 - Well, yeah. But you don't know in advance whether he's going to throw a no-hitter or not. And that cushion helps you bypass the decision.

207 - I was just answering the "when."

180 Nope, no such luck, All guys, limited arc. It was awful.

We also turned two triple plays in the same game once, and still lost.

Sam,
Right at Navy Yard? I bet there's about zero parking there. Eh... probably better for a day when I get hungry halfway home. It's a long way back from Suitland.

209

I got you. Just letting you know where I stand :-)

200
Ewww... Clip shows...
(jk... don't ban me!)

201-It's probably just hypothetical anyway, who's to say the Dodgers are the team that claimed him. If it's them, who's the source? Let's not get crazy now with Andruw rumors. We have a younger potential Andruw type in AAA with Matt Kemp. Centerfield will be in good hands with either the speedy Repko or the speed and power of Kemp.

213 - Could we at least get a song-and-dance routine like in the Simpsons (at least, I think it was the Simpsons that did it with one of their clipshows)?

Centerfield will be in good hands with either the speedy Repko...

Let's not get carried away. If Repko's the future, I want Andrew Jones.

We also turned two triple plays in the same game once, and still lost.

I'd join a better team if I were you.

211 Yeah, quite close to the Green Line stop. But I think it's actually quite easy to park on the street there now, because most of the area has been demo'd in advance of stadium related redevelopment.

Marty -- I think of you as a Tiger guy. I was just surprised to check the leaderboard and it showed he hadn't tee'd off and I wondered if I was missing something.

214 - Oh, it's highly unlikely in my opinion that the Dodgers are the team that claimed Jones. It's not like we're lacking for outfielders right now (gotta have something to trade away for shortstops). I was simply wondering what people might think, if it -was- the Dodgers who did claim him.

Though, I'd also like to think that the Dodgers would be in a position of strength in the bargaining because of the 5/10 issue... Maybe they could get him cheaper than Drew. That'd be one heck of a highly unlikely, albeit amusing to wonder about, outfield. Drew, Jones, Kemp, with Repko as the 4th OF.

RIP Arthur Lee.

218
Hmm... Good to know.

I am a Tiger guy. I just hadn't thought about golf for awhile.

When I saw your post I immediately thought "Did I post something and forget about it? Wait, is the British open this week? no, they already had it. What's this week?"

221 - Aww, dang. Forever Changes was a great album. I heard he did one of the first Hendrix recordings - this true?

I'm not sure what amazes me more, that I just wasted a half-hour of my work day reading posts about In-N-Out or 178 statement that there was a no-hitter in slow pitch softball. A no hitter - in softball?
How is that possible?

I'm a not a big fast food fan but I'm definite In-N-Out proponent. Nothing beats sitting down to a single with cheese, fries, and a chocolate shake while on a road trip. Another good thing about In-N-Out, for anyone who's read Fast Food Nation, is that it's a pretty well run company (although I'm not familiar with the current soap opera status). They treat their employees as well as you can expect for an entry level job, use the same food sources consistently (assuring better quality), and refuse to go into franchise status, which at least according to the Fast Food Nation author is the root of all evil when it comes to the rest of the fast food world. I'm not religious so the bible quotes on the cups aren't my cup of tea, but I can easily put that aside in the name of good food, good prices, and (gasp!)a fairly socially responsible company.

220 - Poor Three-Point-Five can't catch a break!

225 - In'N'Out is socially responsible?

Welp, not eating there any more. =P

224 I hadn't heard that. I just watched a youtube video of Love doing Little Red Book on some Shindig-like show.

RE My own post 225
When I say "waste", that's speaking from management's perspective. To me, it's a perfectly good use of my time.

Re 227
Well, we're talking relative to the rest of the fast food world. I don't think they're hosting meet-ups for PETA or staging fundraisers for Nader's 2008 Presidential campaign.

Mmm.... burgers. My general rule for eating out is not to waste time or money on something I can easily make better at home. So, my hamburger intake is generally limited to drive-thrus on road trips (usually between LA and Northern California). For that reason, I avoid In-n-Out. The burgers are good, and fresh, but when I'm driving 6 hours through the Central Valley, the last thing I want to do is wait 15-20 minutes in line. They should call that place "In-n-Wait...n-Wait...n-Wait." Good, but not enough better than other options to justify the wait.

I've live about 4 blocks from Apple Pan for nearly 4 years now, and within a few miles for 12 years, but I only just tried it for the first time a couple months ago. And likely the last time. It was decent, but nothing like the hype (and way to expensive for a decent, small hamburger. Definitely violates my "shoulda stayed home and made it myself" rule.

I live even closer to that Marty's stand, but I've only ever had sausages there. I'm "working" at home today, and fresh out of ground beef, so I think I'll wander over there this afternoon and give it a test drive. I love that the suggestion for a place 2 blocks away comes from a guy in DC. Oh, and it's Pico and Prosser (one light west of Patricia).

Hmm....be right back...

Seriously doubt the Dodgers are the team to claim Jones. I know Yankees fans on Bronx Banter have been freaking out about the idea that it's the Red Sox. Could be the Astros. Could be... well, we'll see.

Don't the players the Braves would trade to them in return have to clear waivers, too, or is that not how it works?

226 - Gah. Knew I was forgetting something. Thanks for the catch. So rotate between Ethier and Kemp, Repko can be a pinch hitter or a utility guy.

Prosser . . . it makes me so sad I botched that.

I grew up on Dunleer. Meanwhile, you and LAT will probably turn out to be next door neighbors . . .

231 - The Bronx Banter boys need to calm down. There's almost no way Jones got all the way through the NL (as is my understanding, he has to clear all NL teams first) then got all the way to the BoSox in the AL.

234 - I think most people need to calm down. As I understand it, a great deal of veterans are passed through waivers (and I'd assume most would be claimed at some point, and waivers then revoked by the player's team).

I don't think I understand why this happens. Is this done by the player's team as a "just in case we can work something out", or is there some other benefit?

234 Boston has a better record than any NL team save the Mets (they have the same record), so no matter how it goes (NL first or everyone), they'd still be towards the very end. There's very little reason to believe he got to Boston. Personally, I can't believe Andruw is going anywhere, as the players the Braves would want probably wouldn't make it through waivers. You can do the PTBNL tactic like the Red Sox and Orioles just did, but then you can't use someone in the majors (thus Billingsley, Broxton, Martin, and Ethier are safe from being PTBNLs).

235 It's used as a smokescreen so other teams don't pick up their intentions. If you only passed one player through rather than all 40, the teams would know a deal is about to go down and a team could block it.

My general rule for eating out is not to waste time or money on something I can easily make better at home.

You've hit exactly on my policy. I've gotten better at cooking over the years, so I have ended up eating out less and less.

237 - And that would be the other benefit. Thanks, that does make some sense.

236 - Right. Though I'm not so sure Andruw's not getting moved - that 5/10 can be a bit scary, especially for a guy with a contract as large as his. They might be trying to pick up more youth, not that they'd need it...

Don't all the players involved in a post-July 31 trade have to clear waivers?

I consider myself a pretty good cook. Weirdly though, hamburgers are one thing I never seem to be able to make as good as ordered out.

241 - Only those on the 40-man, if I recall correctly.

221 - I take it you don't mean the former Stanford point guard from North Hollywood.

238 - I follow that policy. Unforunately, it only applies to scrambled eggs and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for me. And I don't make myself scrambled eggs anymore - because of cholesterol. So there you are.

Only roster players must go through waivers, but that leaves only AAAA players and extremely young players available without the hassle of waivers. Not many teams are willing to deal their stars for Mike Venafro and some kids my age (unless you're the Phillies).

My girlfriend banned me from cooking after I fumbled a turkey and dropped a hamburger into the grill.

She wasn't nearly as receptive of my "small sample size" argument as she should have been.

Yeah, I guess my point is that I don't see Jon Lester clearing waivers. And if he did, I would be decidedly more upset with Ned Colletti than I already am.

True love is the greatest thing in the world, except for a nice MLT - mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich - when the mutton is nice and lean, and the tomato is ripe. They're so perky. I love that.

OK - back with my Martyburger. The (iceburg) lettuce is fresh and crunchy. The meat is OK - a very thin patty. Not bad - not too greasy - and not pre-cooked like most fast food garbage, but nothing real special. I think I'll just have to go with double meat next time to improve the meat-to-fixins ratio.

Still, a quick, satisfying lunch for $3.50 (went with the cheeseburger). Thanks for the tip, Sam!

Oh, and yeah, I'm aware that LAT lives close by. I kind of like the mystery. I walk the dog around the neighborhood 2-3 times a day, and it's fun wondering if she's peeing on LAT's lawn (I'm a good neighbor, and always pick up after her, but well, pee happens).

Interesting segue there, from lunch to, well never mind....

Oh, but speaking of Marty burgers and dogs, how's your pooch doing, Marty?

247
(Sample) size matters.

OK - back with my Martyburger. The (iceburg) lettuce is fresh and crunchy. The meat is OK - a very thin patty. Not bad - not too greasy - and not pre-cooked like most fast food garbage, but nothing real special. I think I'll just have to go with double meat next time to improve the meat-to-fixins ratio.

Still, a quick, satisfying lunch for $3.50 (went with the cheeseburger). Thanks for the tip, Sam!

Oh, and yeah, I'm aware that LAT lives close by. I kind of like the mystery. I walk the dog around the neighborhood 2-3 times a day, and it's fun wondering if she's peeing on LAT's lawn (I'm a good neighbor, and always pick up after her, but well, pee happens).

Interesting segue there, from lunch to, well never mind....

Oh, but speaking of Marty burgers and dogs, how's your pooch doing, Marty?

This post from Jon reminds me of my appology I made to DT for moving from one spot on my couch to another during one of the Clipper's losses against the Suns, thus causing the clipper's run to fall short that night.

Following that appology, Jon assured me the DT readers appreciated my mea culpa. Which of course marks the day I looked up what mea culpa means in the dictionary.

I still don't know whether I was being belittled by Jon for acting immature on a serious blog, or whether he was indeed humored by my post, and thought it would be appropriate to reply.

Reading this story from Jon, I now believe it was the latter.

Hmm... not sure how that happened. Sorry 'bout that.

243 - Correct. Any on-roster player would only have to be cleared by the Royals, Rays, Indians, Orioles, Pirates, Cubs, and Nats before Atlanta could finalize.

248 - Scott Elbert, for instance, would not though.

If the Dodgers were in fact the team that claimed him, an Elbert-for-Andruw could happen.

248 - Atlanta comes before LA on the waiver wire. We don't get a chance.

253 - No belittling on my end.

252 - I've only gotten delicious hot dogs from Marty's - never burgers.

255, 257 -- Ah. I get it. Thank you.

Apparently there was an attempted trade involving J D drew last Monday. This leads me to believe he does have a no trade clause or the Dodgers simply were asking more than the other team was willing to pay. That is to say, I don't believe the two year option out clause he has was a factor. If he were traded, and if he opted out, he would not find anyone to offer more than $11M bases on his output the last two seasons (including this one). The other team must have had some interest in what he could do for them this year, and they would have had as good a chance as anyone else in retaining or resigning him for next year. Ergo, the price tag or the no trade clause had to be the reason for failing to complete the trade.

250 Thanks for asking. He comes home, hopefully for good tomorrow. He still needs a lot of help and more therapy, but I'm going to see if I can handle it. He's walking very well but still is weak in the hind legs. Everyone I talk to seems to think he's doing remarkably well and thinks he's on the way to a good recovery. I can't believe it's only been 3 weeks, it seems like two months already.

I would not put it past Colletti to do something silly like claim Andruw Jones, but it is not us.

259 - OT, I hadn't noticed just how badly the AL beat the NL in interleauge play until I started looking at the combined standings. Ouch.

262 - I'm going with the Astros.

261 That's good news. Here's hoping the recovery continues apace.

I know I'm jumping in late re the potential Maddox no-hitter. But having watched every pitch of the game, it was clear that the home plate ump was one, squeezing him, and on top of that, was wildly inconsistent. For instance, a ball that was a strike was called a ball; then the identical pitch was called a strike...as if the ump realized the earlier mistake. Maddox even had a between innings conversation with him as he walked off the mound. I can only guess that was the subject. I believe the above caused Maddox to conclude he couldn't trust the ump, and therefore wasn't going to jeopardize the win by returning (after a one hour six minute rain delay and this at the age of 40) with only a two run lead and Griffey and Dunn due up. Maddox's actions were admirable and team oriented. Especially when he's gone something like 677 starts without pitching a no hitter. I was one of the ones who was depressed to see Izturis go, but nevertheless -- and yes, I know it's only one start -- I'm glad we have Maddox. Gotta go, my crow's burning in the oven.

Fur-kel
K-Lo
Yugo

back at the top of the lineup.

OK, I'm confused on the whole waivers thing. My understanding was that in order to trade a player on the 40-man after July 31, that player had to clear waivers - every team has to pass on the risk of taking that player's contract. Thus, if Atlanta wanted to trade Jones to Boston, the Sox would have to avoid putting a waiver claim on Jones (and Atlanta would have to do likewise for any player on the 40-man coming back from Boston). If Boston put in a claim on Jones, he couldn't be traded, although Atlanta could simply not withdraw the waiver request and Jones and his contract would ship out to Boston - albeit with nothing in return. Is that off-factual?

(All I Really Know About Waivers I Learned From Rob Neyer):
http://espn.go.com/mlb/s/transanctionsprimer.html

My understanding is that Atlanta would then be able to work out a trade with whoever claims him that gets the rights, i.e. if he fell all the way to Boston and Boston claims him, they can work out a trade.

I know it's just the Buick Open, but your guy Tiger is having a pretty good front nine.

"Maddox" reminds me too much of Maalox, so let's keep his name as Maddux.

270 - "Just the Buick Open?" And I suppose your mother was "just a mother."

Julio Lugo has played a total of 39 innings in the outfield (20 in LF, 2 in CF, 17 in RF--all for Houston). He has a 1.000 fielding percentage as an outfielder!

Would an outfield of Ethier-Drew-Lugo or Lugo-Drew-Ethier be a lot worse than Ethier-Lofton/Repko-Drew?

Assuming he could play LF or RF when (and if) Kent and Nomar come back, LA's lineup would be pretty strong:

Furcal (SS)
Lugo (LF or RF)
Garciaparra (1B)
Drew (CF)
Kent (2B)
Ethier (LF)
Betemit (3B)
Martin (C)

I am a pretty bad cook. I can cook spaghetti, anything in a can that just has to be heated up, frozen food, and eggs. I tried to make grilled cheese in a pan once and one side was completely burnt. I hope my future wife is a good cook, otherwise I'm going to have to go out to eat every night.

Add an (or RF) to Ethier in 273.

271- You're right. I must've had Lester Maddox on my mind. Bats, ax handles...

272 Hey! I was all excited before and then Marty was all, "What, there's golf on, oh that whatever." And so I was like, uh ok, whatever. And like where were you then, Mr. Buick Open?

273

that line up works for me.

277. Or something.

279 Yeah, that didn't really work. I knew as I was hitting submit that I wasn't going to think it was funny in the end.

277 - Ah, heck, I don't know what I'm talking about :)

So in 270 you say, Tiger's having a pretty good front nine. But is he having an interesting front nine?

What's the no-no equivalent in golf? An attempt at a fifty-na na?

I am rooting for Izturis to do well, but he went 0 for 4 with an error today.

282- Izzy has to still in a state of shock. Alone, adrift. Wearing the same clothes every day. All these coaches expecting him to be the next coming off Ozzie Smith (when he finally could hit). The pressure (especially abetted those lovely Cub fans) must be intense.

That should have read "still BE in a state of shock..." Sorry.

283

yeah, I think He'll settle down.

Just curious: If the theme of today's post is that you, Jon, are not a rational person, how would you know that?

Your title was "the illusion of control." Except, for you, it's no illusion. Are you simply conceding to the skeptics, the debunkers in our midst? Or are you a house divided against yourself?

285 - Settle down to what though? That's what I'd be worried about as a Cubs fan.

286 - "a house divided against yourself?"

That is an excellent way to sum up my feelings about myself.

274 Oh, come on, you can learn to cook a grilled cheese sandwich. Just turn the heat down low if you are burning it.

In fact, I would wager that anyone, if you really wanted to, could learn how to cook. You just follow a recipe, it's not like you have to figure anything out yourself. Maybe I'm being too harsh? Are there really people who have tried to cook something simple, over and over, and continually messed it up? Is it like being Chevy Chase trying to walk down stairs?

288 Well, according to old Abe, you'd better sit down then. Cuz, you know, standing will be tough.

Settle down to what though? That's what I'd be worried about as a Cubs fan.

when you know his glove will be magical, his hitting will improve also.

291 - 2004 - Izzy's only halfway decent year offensively just happened to be his worst year with the glove.

2003 - brilliant with the glove, but oh that .213 eqa...

289 Well, there was a reason behind The Food Network's airing a show entitled "How to Boil Water" in its early years.

Game thread is open.

Teaching yourself to cook spaghetti is as easy as watching the Godfather again. As Clemenza teaches Sonny, so too can he teach you.

282 - As for the hitting, baseball is a game of failure. He'll have better days.

The fielding will probably come with time. Wrigley's infield is rumored to be, well, odd. Apocryphally, it has unusual grass, extremely long infield grass, slightly off-kilter dimensions, etc.

Verifiably, it does have a slightly different dirt suface than any stadium to which I've been. I have no idea what, if any effect this might have, but there you go.

294

I don't see it Jon?

I really can't believe that Lofton actually starts.

I am forever amazed that In&Out was my favorite hangout after work 30 years ago in high school in the late hours of the night and now my 18 year old niece and her friends also frequent it at the same time. I think only one thing is constant and that is the shape of our teen age mental condition which leads me to believe that In&Out is the munchy place to be and it is the munchy reflex that causes people to continue to frequent it long after they have stopped a certain excess, cause it surely is not that great a burger.

I found it.

That was an awfully quick catch and throw by Betemit.

Aww even the New Yorkers are cheering for CHASE!!!! UTLEYYYYYY!!!!!!!! :(