Hope Maddux does well today.

Stan from Tacoma

It's kind of cool that even someone on the inside who has been in major league ballparks for years can just sort of shake his head and feel that way. It's a big part of why his blog works so much better than so many official type blogs.

Of course, the comments there are as fouled up as ever. Truly bizarre.

Stan from Tacoma

Alternately, the Dodgers could assemble some sort of death squad to clean the place up. I get the feeling that one big kill would go a long way.

Could've gone either way.

The fly was very shallow, but Green's throw was off line by enough that he probably could have beaten it out. Bad bet, but it might have paid off, anyway.

he should at least swing the bat.

If you have cable, I have no idea.

I've got it on MLBtv though.

El Duque and Lo Duca
El Duque and Lo Duca...

34 Edgy!

Lucky guy.

"Independent film" is OK.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0126562/keywords

Turned out that I didn't miss it much.

I've always held a grudge against him since this game, the longest I've ever attended --

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B04130ARI1999.htm

mmmm...mmmm

Have we come up with a nickname for Martin yet?

I'm deprived of my opportunity to hear about Walter O'Malley and the geodesic dome.

Ken could just shorten it to idiot

He has that effect on people. It's the curse of Dodger Stadium's right field.

Dodger batters are submitting enough blanks for everyone today.

i feel that way about J.D. Drew, i swear does the guy have a pulse.

No, that's a surprise. I guess you have more respect for members of the Dominican Republic's Legislature than I do.

Its funny, but the best pitching I have watched this year has been several games where it was from 75 to 88mph. I admit I have not watched much but D's games
What does this mean?

Just like every kid was taught, yet only 30% of major league pitchers remember.

Where was this guy last year again?

He can see the future! Stone him!

Texas 66, Ohio St 0

I predict football with my heart, as Vinny might say.

trust a lot: Lofton and Martin
trust pretty well: Ethier and Furcal
used to trust, but not anymore: Nomar and Kent
don't trust at all: Drew and Betemit

As you always should. Why not try for a hit every time you sacrifice?

He'll always have that one great moment as a Dodger.

Pretty please?

Valentin, get's super kudos from me as well.

WWSH

Bring in Broxton to face Wright!

http://tinyurl.com/qtcea
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B04200SDN2005.htm

Tim Hamulack was the Dodgers Don Liddle there.

Grady doesn't believe in "crucial situations" necessitating Broxton or Saito in the sixth.

WWSH

Tomko!

Fingers crossed....

WWSH

Had you told me at the beginning of the season that such a comment would be serious and not sarcastic, I wouldn't have believed you.

Thanks, Grady.

he struck out Wright in my book

So I'm guessing it was the same pitch he threw to Wright?

I never get upset. This is baseball. The toy department. I get dismayed.

WWSH

i have to admit i chukled at that.

Well, does it matter if Maddux can still get through 6 IP with fewer pitches, even if he can't go 90-100 pitches at the age of 40?

It's still a one-run game. Hope still lives.

WWSH

Same here...

WWSH

I save my anger for the DMV and politicians.

You must have a short memory. Either that or you didn't see the game in San Diego last week...

Personally, the two times I have been most infuriated with an umpire are...

1) Jim Quick in the ball day forfeit game. The guy should've been fired, no questions asked. That game is the only time I've ever thought an umpire intentionally tried to throw the game to one team. Even after all these years, with the emotion subsided, I still think that.

2) Dan Iassogna in the Gagne game in Cincinnati. He gave the Reds a game on a silver platter due to sheer incompetence.

Third place would be Rick Reed and friends.

i refuse to do that today.

He's still better than having Lugo at 3rd.

Only Brad Penny can do that. In fact, he could probably surpass the 100K mark.

I think Grady just changed his mind. That's just how he is...

WWSH

Isnt walking Wright a no-brainer with 1st base open in that situation? Shawn Green was on deck.

He is what he is. You might as well get mad at a dog for having fur.

There's that.
There's also Penn State vs Notre Dame.
Then Texas vs Ohio State.

I only have a cat. Can I get mad at him?

WWSH

A far cry from today's pitchers who take themselves out after 90 pitches.

He tends to choke in clutch situations. See he was waiting out the pitcher, but he took two hittable pitches and then had to protect the plate.

I blame Billy Beane.

I didn't see the Gagne game, either, but have only heard about it since from traveling bards.

Are you guys watching the same game I am? Because I would've called it "Maddux's brilliant baserunning move." He lured the Mets into throwing home on a ball that would've been an inning ending DP. With his baserunning he got the Dodgers another look at the inning with Nomar at bat.

I would need to check the replay, but I had the impression Wright was throwing home no matter what, and that Maddux could have made it back to the bag if he hadn't broken so fast.

WWSH

Stan from Tacoma

You get a big amen from this bobblehead.

The 16-inning game did happen, though... it famously ended on a homer by Willie Mays. But I doubt Marichal has any clue how many pitches he threw.

Kind of like being the tallest midget.
Or little person.

Dept of Redundancy Dept.

Bunting Valentin?
Giving an out to Joe Beimel of all people?

http://tinyurl.com/n54j8

Stan from Tacoma

Well Marichal was a Giant, so I guess he was a Giant liar too (or maybe he had a senior moment)!

Stan from Tacoma

Or at least discourage it. Perhaps a rule that if you bunt a ball foul, its an automatic out.

Turns out Marichal didn't pitch 11 innings in his next start 4 days later, as he remembered. His next start was 5 days later and he pitched 7 innings.

And in the 16-inning game, tangotiger's Pitch Count Estimator guesses Marichal threw 218 pitches.

http://tinyurl.com/mdh52

Just mull that over.

i don't agree

Hey, it's tough to beat a good team on the road.

I'll take a nap for a while.

Stan from Tacoma

Stan from Tacoma

Or no, wait, it's Grady's fault! He made every wrong decision he could have!

No, wait, it's the umpire's fault! Or it's that stupid slow Repko's fault. Or it's Nomar's fault for being listless. Or Maddux's fault for not being able to pitch longer. Or it's Hamulack's fault for, um... uh...

Seriously, why do we have to try to hunt down somebody to crucify for every loss? Sometimes the team just loses. It happens. Let's get 'em tomorrow.

I also concur with 289

i'm not gonna play that game today, NY is not that good & i like our chances against them.

"People explode. It happens."

Bob prime/fox has a good show at the moment check it out.

So what's the consensus pick for OSU-Texas?

ugh! dont' get me started on that whole thing, i love baseball & everything that comes with it.

See, I need a nap.

i know nothing about football

Messing with a good thing there.

... We'll obviously never know for sure, but I wonder if Saenz would have taken that last pitch if Grady didn't foolishly send the runner. It was an unnecessary move to make. I could almost understand sending an established base stealer in the 9th inning, like Lofton, earlier in the count -- but to send Repko on a 3-2 count with a hitter prone to striking out is a terrible move. And Grady should be held responsible for it.

Today was the only chance to split this series. Tomorrow, Grady's sending out the great Eric Stultz to go up against the team with the best record in the league. Forgive me if I don't feel all that good about the Dodgers' prospects for victory.

while reading you're post, my brain just thought, please be the good bluebleeder.

1) Avoiding the DP with the slothlike Saenz up
2) Repko's very fast
3) Lousy throwing catcher
4) Pitcher with a very high leg kick
5) Saenz is a fastball hitter and was 100% certain to get a fastball. He was very likely to make contact. (And, in fact, did.)

That was an extremely defensible move that just didn't work out.

Secondly, Lowe should be the one starting tomorrow. He's got a rubber arm and made <80 pitches in his last start. Three days is not short rest for him. Unfortuately, you are right in saying that Stultz will be the one who does get to start.

this game was ours Bob, NY is nothing to me, i'm scared of SD & STL. NY please!!!

NY's a good team. We lost. Simple as that. No need to worry over might-have-beens.

Tomorrow's another day...

WWSH

1-The chances for a DP, or even a ground ball, were remote. Wagner is not enough of a groundball pitcher and Saenz not enough of a groundball hitter to justify sending a runner to avoid a DP.

2-True. But he needs work and experience for his speed to translate into becoming a base stealer.

3-True.

4-The leg kick of Wagner is somewhat offset by a 100 MPH fastball getting to the plate very quickly.

5-Saenz is indeed a fastball hitter, but he's a strikeout hitter. Very questionable type of hitter to send a runner with the count 3-2.

I don't think the move is as defensible as you make it out to be, but I'll agree to disagree. It is a frustrating loss all the way around.

311

Exactly. How many times can we expect lightning in a bottle?

1. Kicking and Screaming
2. Pulp Fiction
3. Say Anything...
4. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
5. Mask

Also known as, "Two guys who have zero chance of ever winning the Clemente Award."

I don't think it was really a fluke Kuo pitched so well. Nothing's guaranteed, but looking at his minor league numbers as a starter in AAA, there was clearly promise there.

As for Stults, well, I think we'd need the lightning in a bottle there. But ya never know...

WWSH

Maybe if he does well, he could be nicknamed Forrest... ;))

Or maybe even if he doesn't....

:o)

153.1 IP 153 H 10 HR 68 BB 128 K 4.23 ERA

In Vegas, the numbers aren't horrible by any means. Of course, it's still AAA. We'll see, I suppose...

WWSH

Kicking and Screaming is one of my pet films, and a neglected classic. (And I do mean the real "Kicking and Screaming," not the unrelated Will Ferrell nonsense.) It just came out on Criterion -- everybody should check it out.

And no, I don't think a lefty who throws 95+ with a sharp breaking ball is a fluke either.

I was a man of my word. I see that Notre Dame is not as bad as they were last week.

By how much will UCLA lose to Notre Dame on Oct. 21? UCLA is traditionally very bad against good nonconference opponents on the road.

Actually, I just messed up.

http://tinyurl.com/sysq8
"CHICAGO -- Greg Maddux was sharp and succinct for most of Tuesday night, bringing back memories of when he dominated the National League ... all the way back in April. And when his 40-year-old body acted up, he listened and took himself out of the game."

http://tinyurl.com/s95hx
"As Baker said in his postgame comments, Maddux took himself out of the game by giving the manager the prearranged signal. Maddux has had the leeway to do that since he returned to the Cubs last year"

http://tinyurl.com/otfg7
"'The fourth time through the order is tough,' said Maddux, who
took himself out of the game. 'They hit a lot of balls hard but
they were right at people.'"

http://tinyurl.com/qkx2b
"For most of the day, Maddux had maddening movement on everything he threw. Fastballs looked like sliders and the breaking stuff was pure Playstation. But something flattened out and then Maddux took himself out."

That is no hyperbole.

I guess you are supposed to not interfere with the fielder but stay within arm's reach of him in order to let him tag you.

And now Giles ties it up.

Well, in a sense that is what you are supposed to do. You can only deviate from the basepath to avoid getting hit by a batted ball.

Even Lucille is on Wikipedia!

Aren't "crazy reasons" part of the Orioles team development philosophy? How else can you explain that mess of a franchise?

I really like it today.

I shouldn't be this excited about a Giants win, but I am.

That is correct.

Pass interference in the end zone in college football puts the ball at the 2. Unless you're inside the 2, then it's half the distance.

But Syracuse was using it's Xeno's Paradox offense.

Maybe I'll just pick up my book with OSU-Texas on in the background.

Makes it really hard for the equipment managers to clean up.

Since I lived in Westwood for a couple of years, I suppose I should root for UCLA, huh?

I don't ask for much from my legion of 3-4 loyal readers except for them to root for UCLA when they are heavy favorites at home.

Who am I kidding? The teams which have left the WAC over the past three or four years have left me embittered. Embittered, I tell you!

The Owls haven't been to a bowl game since 1961.

One thing that raised my eyebrows when Grady did it and I have not heard anyone mention is giving an intentional walk to Beltran. That goes completely against the book, walking the tying run. I might do that in some sutuations, but not with one out and Delgado and Wright on deck.

Stan from Tacoma

On a scale of one to ten, how is everyone's confidence about a second rookie lefty burning the Mets this weekend? Mine's about a 5.

And now that the Giants have taken two from the Padres, I find myself unable to root for them any longer - they're too close to the Dodgers in the standings now, and I live in SF, so the thought of them sneaking past them makes me physically ill. Please Dodgers, don't let it happen.

Meanwhile, I hope Eric Stoltz, er, Stults, does us proud tomorrow. I have to choose between that game and the Broncos-Rams in the morning so there'll be a lot of nervousness all around.

Stan from Tacoma

Any takers?

Stan from Tacoma

Stan from Tacoma

Stan from Tacoma

Okay, I'm off - gonna finish watching Thieves Highway (classic Jules Dassin) and then Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, followed by trying to write and staring wistfully off into space, occasionally drooling.

Stan from Tacoma

Stan from Tacoma

Moving the tying runner into scoring position.

Even though the double play was already in order.

AFLAC trivia.

435 There are people who readily know the numbers on these situations but I'm not them. I'm pretty down on the IBB, esp. when you're not just filling in behind a runner on second with one out. It's true Cabrera is a much bigger threat to hit one out than anyone behind him, but by putting him on, you're making so hitting it out is no longer necessary.

But it's easy to argue the other side.

Walking Howard in that situation, however, was insane, no matter how locked in Howard is right now.

Oh well, Arthur "Ken's Favorite Reliever" Rhodes is about to render it all moot anyways...

Anyone know who was on it? Thanks!

Vaporized trash...It's time has come.

"Few And Chosen: Defining Dodger Greatness Across the Eras" by Duke Snider with Phil Pepe

"The fifth book of a series in which author Phil Pepe partners with a legendary member of a team to create that organization's all-time roster.

"Duke Snider, the Hall of Fame outfielder of both the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, is the logical choice to break down his all-time Dodgers team. Of course, many of his teammates -- Gil Hodges, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Resse, Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale -- made the cut.

"But most baseball experts would place them on the all-time Dodger team too. Snider also had his eye on the present when he placed current closer Eric Gagne as the best Dodgers reliever of all-time. Snider adds anecdotes and historical perspective to his team. A great read, whether or not you bleed Dodger blue." (Triumph Books)

Didn't find full listing of team.

Lifted from an ebay auction for the book:

His selections are hard to dispute, beginning with an infield lineup of backstop Campanella, first bagger Hodges, second baseman Robinson, shortstop Reese, and third sacker Vaughan. His outfield has Medwick, Reiser, and Furillo. Drysdale and Koufax are the top righthanded and southpaw pitchers, while Gagne heads the relief staff. Perhaps most surprisingly, Dressen stands as the leading Dodger manager, followed by Alston and Durocher. Modesty produced the most glaring omission, the Duke's necessary placement in the centerfield station.

I've seen him at work, & it's not fun nor funny

After tonight's UCLA game, I'm ready to fight each and every one of you. Let's go.

Plasma vitrification is not the holy grail of garbage disposal and there are quite a few serious issues with the process.

- The cost to construct one is extremely inhibitive.
- Claims of zero emissions have been given before and turned out to really mean minute emissions. The problem lies in that emissions from this process tend to be carcinogenic which are dangerous even in minute doses.
- The solids created can be laced with heavy metals which pose serious health risks.
- Those currently in service have had chronic operational problems.
- Past claims of producing surplus energy have proved difficult to meet.
- In an attempt to keep the plant profitable it will turn into a garbage importer.
- It discourages recycling.

The DOD rejected this method for chemical weapon destruction on the basis of being unreliable and creating hazardous waste. However, I believe the Navy is looking into plasma as solution to an international law banning garbage dumping at sea.

The plants in Japan mentioned should be, if I recall correctly, medical waste disposal units. Medical waste is a unique case in that breaking down compounds to their base elements is imperative in their disposal. There is also a current plasma medical waste unit in Hawaii which notably had an operational failure that lead to the storage of ten times its legal limit of waste, including a bunch of it basking in the sun on the facilities parking lot.

Plasma is not a new method of garbage disposal, just an upgraded incinerator. With energy prices soaring the temptation for waste to energy incineration is hard to resist despite the serious health and environmental concerns.

After tonight's UCLA game, I'm ready to fight each and every one of you. Let's go.

I'm so ashamed.

I'm a true greenie, but I lost my environmentalist card when I told people that nuclear power is good.

Football teams that run the option.

We Whigs support nuclear power.

It came with a lot of warnings on the bottle.

Hey Bob, how about those Bruins?

{sticks head in oven}

The person I met who was taking was an older man with cancer of some type.

But I didn't think the game was all that bad. I was hoping that Justin Medlock would get a chance to tie John Lee's record for field goals in one game. But he finished two short.

Still, nuclear is far better on the current environment than fossil fuels, but those cooling towers instill a fear of imminent death in your ordinary folk which has proven hard to shake.

Maybe Kasten ought to take this approach with Jim Bowden. Trading for an outfielder with a career OPS of less than .650 -- $25. Sening one of your top three hitters to the minors in favor of said outfielder - $50. Not sure what the fine for getting arrested should be.

And is the highest fine possible being traded to the Reds?