So, which is the Dodger Thoughts quote of the day so far?

"I fought because I knew it was not doomed to be a losing fight. It couldn't be a losing fight -- not when it took place in a free society."

"Yay! Baseball makes me so happy."

Raffy's back! He will most certainly jump start this offense.

I'm sad to see Betemit and Ethier sit this one out, but tonight's as good a night as any with lefty Wells on the mound for SD.

So I guess her blog title refers to the Dodger pitching staff.

I'll just repost this from previous thread...

Zach Duke's off to a fine start today vs. the Pirates. 5 runs in the first inning so far, after Bob's favorite, Russ Ortiz doubled in two runs. My co-worker/office-mate, a Giants fan, is torturing me with this game on the radio.

Danica in a heartbeat. I always crushed on Jan Smithers as a little one, too. (Assuming we're requiring the Siren to be from 80s culture...)

Oh, and I am in love with Alyssa Milano. That hot AND she loves the baseball and the Dodgers. How can you beat that?

At my last job there seemed to be 4 Giant fans for every Dodger fan working there. It was weird.

How can you beat that?

Well, Danica does the math...

1 Seriously, its great to hear that man's voice and his thoughts about his part in the history of this country.

4 Hmmm, Jenna Fisher too, but this should be a Screen Jam presentation (there is a TV reference here too)

3 Brad Penny said on the radio that he and Alyssa were and are "just friends" while he referred to his latest as his girlfriend.

5- She has the whole Brad penny's left overs thing going for her(agianst her?) too, Koufax would be a different story.

6 Well, I'm in SF, so it's less weird. But no less annoying. Oh Jenna Fischer in a heartbeat, if we're allowing modern day sirens, or Maura Tierney for that matter.

8 - Jenna could certainly be the 2000s candidate and Maura from the 1990s.

I don't know if there's a de facto rule limiting the pool to half-hour TV stars.

Justine Bateman warrants mention, if only for her role as Nellie Bluth

Alyssa Milano ruined Carl Pavano's career and temporarily stagnated Brad Penny and Barry Zito's.

D4P's wife better keep him on leash. From Milano's blog
I mean, where is Global Warming when you need it? Can we now admit that the weather is shifting at a dramatic pace? I am fine with most of the other repercussions but when this dramatic shift starts to affect my baseball -- it's time to buy a hybrid.

11 WKRP, Newsradio, and The Office.

All smart ensemble shows that had loyal audiences and should have been more popular instead of Happy Days and the like.

There are many sitcoms that lasted longer that were not as smart and funny as those three.

12 Justine Bateman, oh if I could tell you what Michael J. Fox told me once in a bar in Westwood over 20 years ago. All I can say is that I wanted to scream, "Buddy, she is your sister."

But then Matthew Broderick dated Jennifer Grey after Ferris Bueller so what's the harm.

Sorry for the triple post but maybe Jon can close out the comments on his last thread, 42 seems like the right number to end on.

Would love to see Alyssa Milano and Barry Bonds romantically linked for the next 6 months.

It would appear that Betemit will not get to swing the bat from the right side as a Dodger and he is working on not swinging the bat from the other side as well.

I don't think LaRoche will be ready until 2008, so either a trade for a third baseman will be attempted or Nomar, oh never mind.

17. Nice guy.

20

Is there anyway I can trade mark my handle?

I guess 20 must have been removed with the thought that attention will only encourage him. In which case, maybe I shouldn't be making this post.

21 I think you basically have...

Bonds now has 2 hrs off the Pirates today. Shawn Chacon, who is horrible anyway, is owned by Bonds and just gave up another homer to him. Good ol' Pirates.

Will be interesting to see how Furcal's return affects everyone else.

I do hope Betemit will get some more licks - and I kind of assume he will - despite sitting tonight. I'd give the whole 3b situation some more time before panicking...

And the crowd says "Booo-onds, Booo-onds."

I apologize for 20

I do not know Alyssa, but her brother Cory is pretty damn cool. He's a huge Dodger fan and makes some great music.

Hopefully Furcals return to the line up will bring something good today.

26

I didn't even know she had siblings.

I'm watching Angels/Red Sox and our pal J.D. is batting .400 and has hit safely in all nine Red Sox games. Funny, but I don't remember him starting off that way with the Dodgers. :-)

Did everyone (read: Miltie, where are you?) see what was not one of Carl Crawford's finer moments the other night?

http://tinyurl.com/379mrg

And this is just a cool little toy, sorry for the entry link being this particular race though, as I found it in a column about the Orioles:

http://www.baseballrace.com/races/MLB-1997-AL-Normal.asp

27 - Bluebleeder, are you changing your name to -42 on Sunday?

There's a post with 5280 comments at Terry Moran's blog. It's easy to see why so many people would be moved to comment, but still. Unless their spam filter is trash, that's amazing.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/terrymoran/

>>> San Diego's 'pen has yet to give up a single run this season <<<

http://tinyurl.com/yqyljg

The Dodgers will end that streak tonight.

30

I'm not worthy. :o)

Hope Tsao will eventrually get his fair shot at this bigs. he has little left to prove in the minors.

Ned was on AM-570 this afternoon, commenting on Furcal returning and what will become of Valdez, and said that Valdez, Hernandez and Betemit will compete for the everyday 3B job.

Hernandez ?

The Timeline on ESPN.com is really really lame.

I'm an idiot-- Martinez. Stupid, long week.

I knew there was a special reason I was rooting bigtime for Gonzo. It wasn't because we are both fathers of triplets. Its the fact that his triplets are 2 boys, 1 girl. Just like me. How cool is that?? It's going to be awesome to bring that up when I get his autograph. I bet he's never signed an autograph with some big feller saying I'm the father of triplets too, 2 boys and 1 girl. Just like you. I wonder if he'll belive me. Something tells me his trips weren't natural like mine. No special seasoning for the lady. LOL...

Hernandez. LOL...

I think you mean Martinez. And I can't see him as an everyday 3rd baseman. It's between Betemty and Valdy.

valdez didnt all of a sudden turn into a good player just because hes a dodger now. hes going to end up sucking sooner then later.

Neither Valdez nor Martinez are an acceptable platoon partner. If Colletti doesn't trust Betemit anymore, he should do something about it, not play pretend with reserve shortstops.

I forgot Bud Black was/is the manager of the Pads, shows how much I know.

41

His defense from what I hear has always been good though.

43- He's new this year. They got him after Bochy moved to SF.

6 At my current job, I have to deal with a ratio of about 10-1 Angels v. Dodgers fans. Of course, I do work a stone's throw from the Big Ed.

47 - I predict that Furcal aggravates his ankle tonight and is out for at least two more weeks. Just going on the record.

Why did I put 47 in front of my post?

in that spirit I think Furcal gets a jolt of adrenaline/focus & performance gracefully

so im not allowed to watch the dodger game tonight on mlbtv because tucson is blacked out by san diego. how can i get around this?

David Wells 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA against the Dodgers is very encouraging.

oh wow, extra innings is still in preview mode!?!? sweet.

It looks like Milton Bradley is out of the lineup again for the Athletics...... another booboo. LOL..

Lots of empty seats.

Brian Giles flies out weakly on a 3-1 count. I'm sooooo glad Neddie didn't try and outbid SD for this piece of washed up fodder. Thank the high heavens Neddie didn't give in and give him 4 years. That would have been disastorous.

NL hits leader, Orlando Hudson is 0-2 tonite. Good news for Pierre, who is hoping to hold onto to his NL hits leader crown.

I don't know, getting eight more hits than Orlando Hudson in 152 games seems nigh impossible. I mean, he'd have to get one more hit than Hudson every three weeks. It takes a special man to do that.

alert! alert! tony abreu has just walked for the 51s.

grab your children and head for the nuclear shelter!

56 I look forward to this update every night.

Is anyone having trouble getting the game on mlb audio? It's streaming but no one is home (no audio).

I hate the Red Sox and Rangers for those goofy trades the past 1+ years.

It's working now. The Dodgers better win this series. I have free lunch from a coworker, who is a Padre fan, if they do.

oh come on nomar. are you withering away defensively as well?

Nomar would've squeezed it at third ...

I'm sorry but I'm fed up with listening to how Termel Sledge got his name. I DONT CARE!! I HEARD ABOUT IT 9 TIMES LAST SEASON!!!

65

theres always the mute button...

42 Martinez made every play at 3B, even ones well behind the bag, enough to make me notice. That said, I thought the idea of platooning was to get more offense out of the position.

Could Betemit really hit any worse than Martinez has been hitting?

54

It's an old school stadium Andrew max capacity isn't 40k.

66 Or Rick Monday...

67 I mean: Martinez made every play Sunday when I saw the game ...

nice hit gonzalez!

LuGo in 2008!

GONZO!!!

GONZO!!!

GONZO!!!

GONZO!!!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111

Only 54 more Luis!

I think challenging Gonzalez makes him stronger.

If Luis can muscle some opposite field pop, he's that power threat many think we're missing.

I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!

76

i agree, i think he deserves an extension until hes 45.

68- The first weekend home stand usually sells pretty well. I won't be surprised if the official attendance is more than 50K. It's looking fuller now; could be there'll be some parking stories tonight.

Clark is doubles MACHINE.

I can't believe Neddie conned Milwaukee into taking Elmer off our hands AND he got them to pay some Brady salary. Neddie's a genius.

Have we already concluded that tskent is bluetahoe? I distinctly remember the "I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!"s from last year when he thought Tomko was going to win the Cy Young.

Just got here and see Ramon Martinez playing 3rd? I'm stupified. But he gets an RBI--never mind.

RAMON!!!!!!

yes!!!!!!

How 'bout that 7-8 combo?

Great call Grady!!!

Brady Clark: balding man.

80 Good to hear I wasn't the only one picking up on that. Very disingenuous.

67- I've got no qualms with Martinez's glove. He doesn't hit enough to be a starter at any position. His OPS against LHP has been under .700 every of the last three years, so he shouldn't even be a platoon player. He's a backup shortstop, which is fine, those are necessary; but the Dodgers don't have enough offense at any one position that they can afford an all-glove player at any position, in my estimation.

Are you honestly giving Grady credit for knowing that Ramon Martinez would hit a pop fly single?

I love how Wells just gave up on that one even though it was Lowe running, was a fat tub of goo (no relation to the original tub of goo).

And Grady lets Derek swing away on 3-1. Keep it rollin fellers.

*what, not was

86 Time to call shenanigans.

80- Once the Negative Nellie/Positive Petey dichotomy makes its encore performance, I'm going to cry.

Anyone think the Padres bullpen will give up a run tonight? If so, how many?

92 Count me in.

92 I'm thinking 6...4 on back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers in the 9th and then a 2-run homer in the 10th

Welcome to the majors Mr. Furcal.

Poopoo on Raffy. He started slow last season. I would have advocated an extra week of rehab. He'll be alright though. Life is good, very good in Dodgerdom.

So far in the Texas/Seattle game, five of the nine starters for Texas have hits. The other four are on my fantasy team :(

Me thinks Brady Clark will be 1981's version of Rick Monday.

Poopoo on Raffy.

who talks like that?

Ahhh, I love a good cutter

Nice play Raffy!

96 Take that, Negative Nellie

I guess I was a bit to gitty on opening day to notice reality but I kind of notice a limp on his steps today, am I delusional?

96 Dude, don't take this the wrong way, I'm just curious in case I need some of it myself at some point, but... What is it you're on?

---

anyone else having trouble with MLB TV? It's real erratic tonight. At least I can hear Vin's voice even if I can't see the game.

I wouldn't say they brought him back up too soon.

That's probably the closest Wells ever came to legging out a single.

Nice!

104

free preview of extra innings if you have digital cable! thats how im rolling tonight :)

Well, Nomar dropped one early, but still this defense is fun to watch sometimes. How about that play by Furcal?!

Lovin' Extra Innings today myself as well. If you missed the Toronto/Detroit game you missed a heckuva game.

104 To be honest, the picture on my MLB.tv has been freezing up a lot in almost every game I've watched this season. I was wondering if it was just me... Didn't happen last season, but I've switched from a PC to a Mac since then (wouldn't think that would be the issue tho, but feel free to hurl your anti-Apple insults now).

Anyone else tired of the "dropping balls" commercial?

112 I'm getting a PacMan commercial instead. Of course, that's the only thing I'm seeing tonight. But it beats the bouncing balls.

Drat. I'm at my girlfriend's who doesn't even have digital cable.

111 I have a Mac too and MLBTV is known to definitely be buggier for it. You should download Flip4Mac if you haven't already though because that makes it better (watching Windows Media on a Mac). Obviously didn't make it 100% better but tonight's the first night I've had problems.

icehouse.

lay off that 1st pitch Noamr. LOL..

Vin is so awesome

Regarding Wells being a Babe Ruth fanatic and Babe collector, I just can't see being a fanatic of someone I never saw play. An admirer perhaps, but a fanatic?

114 Sweet thanks man, I'll have to try that out.

WOW! Nomar stealing...never would have guessed.

I wonder if Kent's going to chew out Nomar for not going home, after this inning.

Geez LOUISE!!!!

you gotta score Nomar. Getter done Luis. You're disappointin me with RISP.

How pissed will AZ fans be if Gonzo has a big year.

Gotta love all the bleeders tonight, hopefully the karma doesn't swing back the other way later in the game.

Luis!!!

Luis!!!

Luis!!!

Luis!!!

I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!
GIMME a D

GIMME a y

GIMME a n

GIMME an a

GIMME a s

GIMME a t

GIMME a y

Bob has solved the mystery of what PFX is, over at the Griddle. It's less life-fulfilling than I hoped it would be.

Gonzo showing off the legs. YES!!!

Russy on 0-2!!!

Yes!!!

Wow, I guess they're using the "run on Wells" philosophy. Two stolen bases and and Pierre and Furcal haven't even been on base!

Forget Alyssa Milano. I'm in love with Russell Martin.

Wells not feeling so wells. Bud Black gets the hook.

It kind of figured with Wells ERA OF 6PLUS

I never seen worse third base coaching, especially if it was Donally on the 1+1 out at the plate game.

And on another positive note for the Dodgers and Derek....there's no sign of Lance "the stinky farter" Carter in the pen.

123 - or the series.

131

against the Dodgers.

Ok tskent, you can give Grady some props there.

I wonder if we should dial up that Interjections song from Schoolhouse Rock again now?

For those keeping track:

the 4 Rangers on my fantasy team - 0-for-11
the rest of the team - 7-for-13

why do the fantasy gods hate me so?

Yeesh. I can't believe how long the Giants left Ortiz in tonight. I realize they had a big lead and wanted to spare their bullpen, but 120 pitches?

The Aflac trivia folks need a refresher course on who/whom.

140 Ha! Good call!

138 - for the same reason God hates Bud Black?

139

Why would the Giants be worried about the health of a pitcher who is likely not going to be in the rotation at the end of the year?

Alyssa Milano is as her name would suggest, tacky and vacant. I mean, not that I've had anyone close to that, but still, her type grows on trees.

C'mon Derek! Don't give 'em all back!

Why are Dodgers vs. Padres games always like this?

Pitcher's best friend, as they say.

My brain just remembered Ross Porter on that double play.

144 Where are these trees of which you speak?

Long live Rafael Furcal.

The Padres first 3 hitters in the 4th all reached on singles. They did it on a grand total of 4 pitches. SHOW SOME PATIENCE!!! LOL..

Kuzmanoff with a dribbler to end the inning.
Am I the only one glad to see Barfield out of the division...league??

147

I should say "on that Dodger double play"

139 Good point. But I was thinking more that they could have almost lost. Not that I really care.

Whew, bases loaded, no one out, and only 1 run. Whew.

Unhitch the trailer Derek!

Welcome back Raffy!!

see juan, thats how you are suppose to hit. mimmick furcal!

They're showing too much respect for Cameron.

Orlando Hudson remains 0-2 after 3 PA. I'm gonna give Juan a poopoo on that. If he wants to hold onto his crown he's gonna have to turn it up about 6 notches.

first runs off the SD bullpen!

Nomar swings away on the 1st pitch!!

Silly Willy!!! Show some patience!! LOL..!!

I think Furcal is in his second trimester.

Pierre will not, can not hit the ball like Furcal. He can't hit the ball higher than the infielders head unless he is popping up. Weak pop up or weak grounder, hard grounder. Thos are your only choices.

148 - You can find these trees at any bar, brothel, B movie, gym, dog park, or your local high school

That was like dead in the middle of LF territory.

I'm so very glad they brought back the "Furious tiki god" commercial. I don't think seeing it 350 times last season was quite enough.

164 I get what I want! I know what I neeeed!

give betemit some ABs.

As long as the cow-molesting Carl's Jr. commercial is gone, I'm happy.

164 - But I think it's nice that we watched the same commercial at exactly the same time and don't even know each other.

Vin bit his tongue!

BRADY!!!!

I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!!

I think you can add Milwaukee to the list of ChC and TB who don't want to deal with Neddie anymore.

167

i always have to shake it along with the cow whenever that commerical comes on.

167. True dat. That was creepy and wrong to go along with annoying. Bad combo.

Small sample size, but I like what I've seen out of Brady Clark so far. I'd love to see him get 300 at-bats as the 4th outfielder and spot-starter against lefties instead of wasting Kemp in that role. I'm not saying he should have a strict platoon with anyone, but I'd like to see him give all three outfielders a rest every once in a while.

Just got home. Checked the box score. Every Dodger with a hit except one. Hmm.

171. You're in college. Dirty dancing with cows is probably a mellow night for you.

174

its okay, orlando hudson didnt pick up more ground on him.

175

you dont realize you are dancing with cows until you wake up the next morning in their pasture.

Have you guys really forgotten the atrocity that was Taylor Hicks as the Chevy spokesman from last year? The Carl's Jr. was at least funny the first few times I saw it, but a 30-year-old guy who looks like he's 50 singing in a spotlight about trucks just plain rubs me the wrong way.

Mariano Duncan still has a great arm, judging from what I saw on opening day.

174. We're winning. And Juan hasn't turned it up yet. Be happy. Life is good. Dodgers are cruising. The dynasty has begun.

I'm sorry. I rescind my apology for 20

My Dodger Mojo is in tack, I predicted that.

Poopoo on me. Great call Neddie on bringing Raffy back today. Glad your the GM instead of me. LOL..

Don't want to over-react but Furcal massively changes the complexion of this lineup, even with Ethier and Betemit sitting.

Clutch hit here Juan. LOL..

the old phrase "punch & judy hitter" needs to be revived just for Pierre...

I'm not convinced Pierre is even fast.

Pierre almost broke his leg there.

186. More punch and less Judy would be nice.

if teams put the *"pierre shift" on whenever juan comes to bat, he probably wont hit .250

*5 infielders, 2 outfielders in the gaps.

Orlando Hudson grounds out in the 9th to go hitless for the day. Juan Pierre breathes a sigh of relief. LOL.. Still trails by 8.

It looks like we're heading to soul possession of 1st. YES!!!!!

191

why do you care so much about the hits leader?

167, etc...

Thank goodness for Jack in the Box and Gieco.

It seems like we rarely got a starter through 6 innings last year. Seemes like everyones doing it this year. Nice change so far.

Ok, someone with MLB.TV help me out here. I get that the pacman is a baseball, but what are the ghosts supposed to be? Psychedelic hotdogs?

195

Man, I feel like I'm really missing something watching on cable.

The Rox behind Jfogg go into Az and defeat Az and Webb.

Soul possesion of 1st is 1 hour away. Do the happy dance. Shake your hips. Do a swirl. Touch your toes. Get down. Dont frown.....do the happy dance.....do the happy dance. slow it down..

196 You really had to be there. ;-)

Soul possession must be it.

181. There is no 20. It must have been a dozzie.

181. There is no 20. It must have been a dozzie.

I think I'm delusional cause this west coast 1st place thing is a breeze. :o)

198 Just to make sure, you're not Piper Perabo from the classic movie Lost & Delirious are you? Cuz that would be awesome...

http://imdb.com/title/tt0245238/

Meanwhile our starters are averaging something like 6 plus innings no?

My girlfiend is snorring in the next room...loudly. One of the harsh truths of adulthood is realizing how many girls snore. They don't tell you this in school, then all the sudden it's like, wow, how many women, otherwise cute and dainty, are secret snorrers?

espn tells me Giambi was bunting!?

The Pads traded Barfield for this Kouzmanoff clown???? LOL...

THANK YOU SWEET JESUS!!!!!

206 whoops--two games at once--well, maybe you folks can explain the wisdom of that decision....

Last year, I ask one of Dodger Thoughts most loyal commenters, Bluebleeder, to stop posting for a while because his comments got out of hand, for reasons that I'd prefer not to rehash but had nothing to do with his sentiment for the Dodgers. It was a hard decision to make, but I felt it was the right thing to do.

I'm asking Tskent to now withdraw himself.

205. They fart too. Sometimes smelly ones.

Why the fantasy gods hate me, part III...

my four players on the Rangers - 0-for-16
rest of the team - 9-for-18 with 4 RBI, 5 runs scored, and 2 walks

We're all going to feel bad if Jon decides he has to take a weedwhacker to this thread, but really, what are the chances he's (a) for real and, (b) not who we think he is?

It reminds me of the consensus after Xeifrank's anti-tv-talk crusade, that people should just ignore the stuff they don't want to read. Why is it so hard? I blame the media.

A play it again, Sam, 1-2-3! That never gets old.

210 - Sorry I brought it up. That was unpleasant.

Bottom of the 9th comming up in Seattle with Ranges leading 5-2. Will there be a Gagne sighting?

Gagne alert in Seattle

Oops. Sorry.

The domino effect of that Barfield trade pays dividend for the Dodgers once again as M Giles goes 1-2-3. GO BLUE!!!!!!!! I love this team. Great job guys!

212 Nothing wrong with posters being enthusiastic, but when one somehow attributes all positive happenings to Flanders and slags everything that doesn't fit his agenda? A bit annoying.

213. Just reality. Or is only my wife? I'd ask but I'm not that brave.

Gagne hits 93 on the FSN gun

205

Mine is a talker/shouter, she is so polite when she's awake though....

Bob -- are you attending the Jackie Robinson celebration game? With Frank Robinson throwing out the first pitch with Henry Aaron? Do you clap or not?

Oh no! Gagne's whole arm fell off!

(just kidding, I'm just trying to convince myself that Otsuka will save 30 games this year)

204

Because I have nothing better to do, I just went through all the box scores and calculated the average of our starters, and they've averaged 5.833 innings per start, assuming Lowe doesn't go more than the 7 he's pitched tonight. What's really holding the average back was Lowe's 4 inning start opening day and Schmidt's 4 inning start on opening day at Dodger Stadium.

Gagne gives up lead off single

Gagne let his hair grow out. I'm always apposed to that, but it's not Beimel bad.

Gagne's WHIP right now - undefined

Wow, Gagne is still in blue. He looks bigger than I remember him.

Brady walks. Stat padder. Its moot now.

224 Instead of the average, calculate the median.

Strikes out Ichiro. Beltre's on deck.

Gagne vs. Beltre match up.

Gagne just K'd Ichiro on only fastballs. His breaking ball looks flat though and there's a guy on. Now its Gagne-Beltre.

Gagne K's Ichiro - 93 mph fastball - good for him

Double play keeps Beltre from his chance to strike out on a slider in the dirt.

Beltre hits into DP

Wait, was that Beltre? I thought he was on deck. I didn't know they had him batting 2nd, this year.

I wonder if Gagne realizes a bunch of us just switched away from the Dodger game to see him pitch for the Rangers.

229 - Tskent, please read 209.

Load em up for Raffy!

230

The median is 6.

The power of stats!

239. I apologize. I just get overexcited when the Dodgers blowout a division rival who whooped us up last season.

Does Lowe have a higher OBP than Pierre?

Lowe's OBP is .571

I think he has the whole team beat pretty easily.

Shall we all bow our heads in silence for Gagne's first non-Dodgers save of his career?

Wow, Vinny compares Pierre to Nomar (both hard to strike out), but throws in the fact that Nomar hits 20 home runs while Pierre hits 3. Then adds, as he grounds out, that Pierre is 0-5 tonight. I don't remember him pointing out player flaws before, certainly not one signed to a large free agent contract.

I got a little wistful there, seeing Gagne pitching well. Then I realized a) our bullpen's fine; b) we're blowing out the Padres tonight and don't need Gagne and c) have Broxton and Saito. That said, I still miss the guy.

I'm actually feeling a little sorry for Pierre at this point.

Vinny never really speaks badly about any certain player, but he's not shy about pointing out their defincies or when they're playing poorly. That's what makes him the best.

At least Pierre has two diving catches to his name for tonight's game...and they were legit!

Well, there - he just did something halfway decent, at least.

I don't know, the way Pierre grounds out every time, doesn't inspire sympathy. He's annoyingly predictable.

This Green fellow looks like a fishing luer.

So is Lowe going for the CG here?

My cat is both snoring, drooling and twitching (mimicking my girlfriend) and I'm assuming that's his way of saying "yes" to the above.

Another good thing about a blowout score - no parking gridlock!

Aw, man...I can't believe I missed most of this thread.

It's been, um, interesting reading.

Talk about Lowe taking one for the team, not a ground ball in sight during that inning, I would have to think that we will have a Rudy Seanez sighting in the 9th in what should be a better end than the last time the Dodgers and Padres faced each other and he was on the mound.

Tonight may not be the best read on the parking because I am guessing people starting leaving after the 6th inning.

256 If there's an 8+1 game tonight, I'll probably swear off baseball for a long while.

So why does Lowe leave the dugout and go inside. I would hang out and enjoy my victory. Maybe Carolyn Hughes is at home snooring and waiting for him.

Ethier's song is nice.

Boy, that was a high strike. Poor Betemit.

My cat predicted incorrectly about Lowe, it would seem.

I would assume that Lowe went back to the clubhouse to go ice down his arm.

I wonder if Larry Bigbie will have a cool song.

Can't he do that in the dugout?

259 Wikepdia diferentiates between the ballplayer Ethier and the Canadian singer/songwriter. I'm not sure I can right now.

I'd hate to lose this without Mo getting the ball...

263
I don't think he wants to take off his shirt in the dugout. Because that would be really gross.

So now that Lowe has pitched 8 innings, instead of the 7 that I assumed, the average Dodger starter has gone 5.933 innings. The median stays at 6.

266

Not if he was painted blue.

The old "Leadoff walk in the 9th inning with an 8 run lead."

Goodness.

263 Pitchers don't put their arm in a bucket like in the Bad News Bears. They wear this insane looking giant apparatus that looks something like a body cast. They get a full treatment from the trainers that is really an ordeal that couldn't happen in the dugout.

Seanez looks straight and off target. Like Eddie Murphy on Sunset.

Wow, Vin stopped talking for 7 seconds there. Wonder what happened to him.

272
He probably had nothing to say.

Or he had to sneeze or cough.

272. A 9-1 game that was over in the 4th happened to him.

I know I must be late in realizing this, but seeing Seanez wearing Gagne's number and pitching in the 9th inning is probably worse for me than seeing Gagne in a different uniform.

And now we're in first place. whoo hoo!

Ethier saves Seanez some embarrassment. And the game's over. Hurray!

So who had Mike Thompson in the "First Padre reliever to give up a run in 2007?"

277- Not me. But I did have John Patterson in the first National to bat while his team was leading, this year, pool, so: I've got that going for me.

Is it too early for the Dodgers don the yellow jersey?

279
Glad to see I made an impression. Actually it was my brother's idea. The Mets own the checkerboard jersey.

wow, just got back from a three week trip to China (more on that for another day). Wasn't able to follow much news over there. I had about 20 minutes one evening to send out emails, check news and check sports highlights. At that time the Dodgers were 1-2 and UCLA had just lost in the final four. I am glad to see the Dodgers are 7-3 and seem to be doing well. I was surprised and happy to see Kemp doing so well and not to surprised to see Pierre struggling mightily. Tomko seems to have pitched well in his one outing and the other starters look to have decent stats, and Saito looks to have picked up where he left off last year. Is there any news with the team that I may have missed while gone? It's nice to be back home, but I had a great time overseas. vr, Xei

281- Bad news: Kemp's hurt. He ran into the wall, trying to catch a long drive. Went to the DL with a grade 1 dislocation of his right shoulder.

281-
*Wilson Valdez has been hitting like Willie Wilson. He'll eventually go back to hitting like Wilson Delgado.
*Luis Gonzalez is an awful fielder, but he has been one of the Dodgers better hitters this year
*Ramon Martinez has five times as many at bats as Olmedo Saenz
*Wilson Betemit is losing playing time to Wilson Valdez and Ramon Martinez - Andy LaRoche is struggling in AAA.
*Juan Pierre is under contract for 4 more years

Brad Penny has an ERA+ of 527.

If you can get past the first ten or so paragraphs (no mean feat), there are things of interest, and maybe importance, in this BTF piece. It's billed as a 2007 preview of the Dodgers, but it isn't, really. It's a rehash of 2005 vs. 2006, flavored with Colletti/DePo relish. Nobody can get enough of that, right?

Only 35% of the Dodgers' 2006 games came against teams with winning records vs. about 48% of their 2005 games. Is there more to it than winning teams face more losing teams than losing teams do because, by virtue of their winning, instead of losing, they create more losing teams? Plus, with interleague play, any 2006 NL team with a winning record would have been about the same, right? Three of the Dodgers' four interleague opponents were better than .500 teams, so they weren't lucky on that end.

Anyway:

http://tinyurl.com/2zwtzh

Juan Pierre is under contract for 4 more years

Four more years!
Four more years!
Four more years!

Small sample size thoughts

Dodgers score first 5-0
Opponent score first 2-3
Lead after 6 innings 6-0
Trail after 6 innings 0-3
Lead after 7 innings 6-0
Trail after 7 innings 0-3
Tied after 7 innings 1-0
Lead after 8 innings 7-0
Trail after 8 innings 0-3
One Run games 3-1
Pitcher makes a Quality Start 6-0
More hits than opponent 5-0
Dodgers homer 2-3
Opponents homer 2-3

Dodger bullpen is tied with the Giants with the fewest decisions (1) thus far.

More small sample size thoughts:

There are currently 20 teams with team ERAs under 4. Last season, there were 3 such teams.

Last year Cleveland played all of its home games in Cleveland. That won't be the case this year.

Loney is now leading the 51s with 11 rbi.

290
I'm guessing that no part of his .189/.200/.351/.551 line is leading the 51s.