Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
How did San Francisco Giants bloggers deal with their team's recent success after so many predicted doormat status? My weekly posting at SI.com's Fungoes takes a gander.
Also, I pick up last week's NL West blogger roundtable and ask what their favorite player from their team to watch is.
Quick Dodger note: Today is Brett Tomko's scheduled day to throw on the side, reports Tony Jackson of the Daily News, so he could be available to help out in relief tonight against Arizona after Sunday's 17-inning 5K. (Come on, is it really a marathon if you don't hit 20 innings?)
Jackson surmises that Chad Billingsley, Takashi Saito, Rudy Seanez and Chin-Hui Tsao won't be available, but that Jonathan Broxton and Joe Beimel will. Here are the pitch counts from the past three days (not counting warmup tosses, of course):
Joe Beimel: 7 on Sunday
Jonathan Broxton: 19 on Sunday
Chin-Hui Tsao: 6 on Saturday, 15 on Sunday
Rudy Seanez: 22 on Friday, 26 on Sunday
Takashi Saito: 22 on Friday, 24 on Sunday
Brett Tomko: 90 on Saturday
Mark Hendrickson: 85 on Friday
Chad Billingsley: 53 on Friday, 37 on Sunday
Derek Lowe: 86 on Sunday
Indeed, Beimel and Broxton should have no trouble bouncing back. Tsao hasn't thrown many pitches, but one can understand resting the recently recuperated pitcher after two consecutive days. Seanez could be good for an inning; Saito as well, although his is an arm we want to protect. And then there's Tomko.
All in all, a roster move shouldn't be necessary before tonight's game. If Randy Wolf gets in trouble tonight, then the Dodgers might have to do something.
Most exciting player to watch in the NL West? I'm going to hold off on my vote until Lincecum gets called up. The guy has been incredible at AAA.
vr, Xei
I'm sure it evens out somewhere, but the end of the year looks tough:
The Dodgers finish the year with 22 of 37 games on the road, including a brutal stretch in Aug/Sept which has the Dodgers playing 16 of 19 on the road.
Since I was persona non grata due to daring to question the greatness that is Russell Martin, I watched yesterday's 17K from afar.
4 From what I read yesterday, Bob will be busy unwinding from his new promotion at the library.
I "got" to sit through all 17 innings yesterday. All I can say is I'm glad the Padres lineup had what appeared to be about a
.225 combined avg. The staium gun has bills at 95 (not the 100 that posters here mentioned that EI had him at). He completely overpowered a couple of guys. Martinez made as many good plays as I've ever seen a 3rd baseman make in one game so I'm glad we didn't lose on his error.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I will be at Chavez Ravine tonight. Time to pick up another blanket. It would be my fourth even though I've only been to three giveaways. One year, they gave away ones with the dates all messed up and celebrated Dodger World Championships in 1962 and 1966. I got to keep that one and they also sent out a corrected one.
This year we leave town with a big win after a long 17 inning battle and a bullpen that seems to be without a question mark like a Carter or Baez.
If Brandon Webb is on tonight and we get down by 4 or more runs, I think Grady will let Wolf go seven as long as his pitch count isn't well above 100. While Tomko could pitch an inning, I think Hendrickson is more of a real option if Wolf gets knocked out really early. You can juggle the rotation or give Bills a start instead of Big Bird's turn if you have to go to BB tonight.
Just my thoughts. We hit the ball hard yesterday, some shots might have left the yard in other parks (Kent in the 16th), but we couldn't string the hits together to put it away. Still, winning a game when on fumes builds character. I like the way we bounced back after three tough losses to SF. I think we get some gutty efforts tonight from the pitching staff and this is a the start of a big move forward. Yesterday could be that spark....
I'm not quite as confident in that now, but I still think they're good for 83-85 wins.
(The Dodgers' over-under, FWIW, was 87.5)
Thank you, thank you, try the veal.
I never said their prospects "weren't that good". I said their pitching staff isn't that good.
I think that you're underestimating how good Arizona's prospects are compared to what the division offers. If Chris Young meets his projections, he'll be by far the best center fielder in the division. If Drew mets his, he'll be by far the best shortstop. The two big teams in the division, the Dodgers and the Padres, are below average offensively, so the Diamondbacks players don't have to make huge splashes to outpace the league.
A lot also depends on how Randy Johnson does. His numbers indicate he's due for a bounceback. If he stinks, then yeah, the Diamondbacks are in trouble.
Gotcha.
Each year there are teams that hang around until or just after the All Star break. They can tweak their teams to be competetive to the end. Arizona has a bright future (as does Colorado)but would have to make some improvements to dominate the division.
St. Louis and Detroit showed us again last year that the key is to get to the playoffs and if you play well then, you can win it all. Arizona is a team to not overlook.
vr, Xei
One should note, however, that the competition is:
Mike Cameron
Dave Roberts
Willy Taveras
And one other guy whose name escapes me for the moment.
As far as the rotation depth is concerned is Micah Owings, Yusmerio Petit, Dana Eveland and Juan Cruz any worse than what the Dodgers would have if they actually used their best pitchers?
So will Juan Pierre be announcing spring training games in 2020?
DaVanon is arguably the best fourth outfielder in the NL
Really? The entire NL?
Thanks
Matt Kemp maybe. If he was back in the bigs, of course.
Are those metric innings or statute?
No love for Steve Finley? Not saying he's the best or anything, but if there was a game on the line that really meant something, I'd rather have Finley at the plate than DaVanon.
The Snakes really do have some very good young players.
Agreed, but they haven't proven it on a major league level for a prolonged period of time. That is my beef with people thinking AZ can hang all year long. Giving too much credit based on minor league performances and about a month of baseball. It's too early to say one way or the other, but I just happen to think their young guys are just to inexperienced to carry this team to the next level in the NL West.
Don't buy it. Most of those deals are just window-dressing; in some wise, the Dodgers 2004 midseason deals didn't buy the team very much.
The real keys will be keeping the regulars healthy for the Dodgers, getting improved production out of the kids for the Diamondbacks, and keeping their rotation well-oiled in the second half for the Padres.
Normally I'd agree but in this case I think it will come down to deals. Both GM's could mortgage the future for the present and who or what they deal could be the key.
So let me understand this..Nomar can't play 3b cause of throwing? So we spent 20 million one a guy who can't throw, another 47 million on a guy who cant throw fast anymore and another 50 million on a guy who everyone in baseball knows can't throw?
It looks like Bernie has moved on from collecting shortstops to collecting people who can't throw.
If you had no choice but to start either Steve Finley or Luis Gonzlez in LF for one half of the season, who would you start and which half of the season would you start him in? I know it's like being asked if you'd rather go to the Dentist or to the Proctologist, but I'm just curious.
You forgot another 8 mil on a LF who's had Tommy John surgery and can't throw either!
Definitely the dentist.
The only game for sure that will be close to or sold out is the Friday night Beach Towel night (We love our giveaway games).
For a chance to see some "C and D" list celebs, Saturday is Hollywood Stars night.
Against the BlueJays it will be a weekend. Friday night is beach towel night so expect a large crowd. Saturday is Hollywood stars night and that also brings in a decent crowd. I would try using Ebay a head of time. You should be able to buy tickets for 1/2 the retail price of most games instead of relying on scalpers. If it was a weeknight game I'd recommend the scalpers and you'd really save some money but with a weekend game and a promotional game why take the chance.
Oh, and my favorite player to watch on the Dodgers would be Matt Kemp, of course.
And Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel were the hosts!
I went to a Hollywood Starts Night back when Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau played.
And you know what?
That event was equally boring as seeing Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel.
Can't beat that!
Name Team GP GS Innings
Russell Martin LA 23 23 212.0
Jason Kendall Oak 23 23 209.0
A.J. Pierzynski CWS 22 20 183.0
Brian Schneider Was 21 20 182.0
Miguel Olivo Fla 21 20 181.1
Joe Mauer Min 20 20 178.0
Brian McCann Atl 20 20 176.0
Bengie Molina SF 20 20 175.0
Gerald Laird Tex 20 20 173.0
Ivan Rodriguez Det 21 19 178.2
Jason Varitek Bos 19 19 166.0
Michael Barrett ChC 20 18 170.1
Yadier Molina StL 19 18 166.2
Jorge Posada NYY 21 18 164.0
Brad Ausmus Hou 19 18 158.0
Johnny Estrada Mil 18 18 157.0
David Ross Cin 20 18 155.1
Ronny Paulino Pit 18 17 162.1
Paul Lo Duca NYM 17 17 148.0
Dioner Navarro TB 17 17 146.0
Its early yet, but most teams are generally playing their number one catchers about 70-75% of the time.
I wish the Dodgers would bring back Old-Timers Day but that seems to be something that is reserved for special events like the anniversary of a World Series team, etc.
It cannot have been as bad as last year. Didn't they play baseball instead of softball?
One year the event was hosted by Kevin and the Bean.
I thought David Eckstein met his wife at one of these events.
The only catcher to have a higher percentage of starts (and he is the leader in that position over the last few years) is Jason Kendall.
And right now, Martin has started 92% of the games so that figure would have to drop down just to match last year.
Basically, if they all reach their potential this year they will probably win the west (as long as their pitching doesn't totally stink). If all the rookies show that they're not ready yet, they'll be toward the bottom of the division. The more logical conclusion is that it will be a mix of the two and they'll be about a .500 team. Personally, I feel that Young and Montero will fall short, Drew and Quentin will meet their expectations, Byrnes will fall off some from last year, and their pitching will be sub-par, resulting in a .500 team.
Final prediction: 81-81 (3rd place in the NL West)
It is very scary to see Martin and Kendall next to each other. While we'd all love for Martin to fight with McCann over the next 5 years for the best NL catcher what if he turns into Kendall who was kind of like Russ when he 1st came up. From age 23-26 he had a good avg, good OB, okay power, and he had speed with OPS > 800 every year. Now I can understand the broken ankle sapping the speed but why did the rest of his game go into the toilet? He is in Brad Ausmus territory these days.
Kevin and Bean actually hosted their own KROQ night last year during the Mariners interleague series. There was a post game concert from the Pink Spiders who were predictably awful. They let people onto the outfield grass to watch the concert after the game. Most of the people who stayed for the concert were more interested in playing in the outfield. I witnessed an overweight couple attempting to get grass stains on their clothes. It was some of the funniest belly-flop slides I'd ever seen.
In retrospect I'd take those 1st four years from Martin if he could emulate Kendall as long as he signs with the Giants as a FA and emulates Kendall's early decline phase somewhere else. Those were 4 dang good years.
Now, Lieberthal should be fine as long as he is not batting 4th in the lineup, I would hope to see him more once the Dodgers start playing the NL East since he should be more familiar with those players.
While I don't see foresee a situation where Martin would always sit once every 5 days, I would hope that when they play 15 out of 16 days, he would get more than one day off.
The seller emails them to you for a modest fee, typically $5. You print it out and take it to the game.
Two ways. If you purchase to close to the game to be mailed then if it is a season ticket holder they email the tickets via ticketmaster and you print them out. The bar code is what gets you in now that the Dodgers have joined the 21st century.
If it is far enough way then the old way of mail/fed ex works fine and you get the hard tickets.
If your going the hard ticket way make sure your Ebay seller has at least a 95% feedback and read his feedback.
I would never meet with an Ebay seller and exchange money. My 1st choice is the email since you don't have to give your mailing address to the seller but some people want the hard ticket in which I case I'd use my work address and never my home address.
Padre fans are great. Great park, nice fans. Great city, God I wish I lived in SD:)
.267/.333/.384 clip
with runners in scoring position
.294/.378/.435.
You say clutch, I say unsustainable.
---
Normally I would agree with this but I think the type of hitters we have we should maintain it (somehwt maintain it). Nomar, Kent, Gonzo can be pitched around a little with no one on, but when they see fastballs they usually hit them and they see more fastballs with runners on. What do u guys think, too small a sample size, luck or is there something to it?
Either by mail, if it's early enough, or will call. I've gotten some great bargains by buying tickets on Ebay; if you want good seats but don't want to pay out the nose, it's a good place to try.
You know, the Germans discovered it in 1904. They named it San Diego, which of course is German for...ah, nevermind.
Thanks.
I'd take the MetroLink for that road trip. Forget the traffic!.
Neither can afford to. Both are mid-market teams, Arizona tending toward small market, and a "go for broke" move makes zero sense for them, especially considering the total rejection of that approach by the current ownership group. They have done everything imaginable to distance themselves from the Colangelo era, even down to changing the uniforms to those "Really! We're Not The Astros" uniforms. And what do the Padres have in the farm or at the major league level that they could use to make a big trade with? You have 20 minutes to complete your essay.
Nomar .330 with an .954 OPS
Kent .305 with an .915 OPS
Luis .292 with an .880 OPS
The Dodgers nominated Chin-Hui Tsao for NL Player of the Week.
-- Brian V., Visalia, Calif.
Abreu already has played some third base at Triple-A Las Vegas, and the way he's been hitting down there (.400 territory), I'd say the Dodgers must be considering it. I'm guessing as to why management is appearing so patient with Betemit, but it's probably because if a move is made with him, it could be permanent -- meaning, to send him to the Minor Leagues involves the risk of losing him completely to another club via waivers. You don't make that move based on one bad month, but rather on the belief that the player is not likely to ever get it together. That's not so easy to do with a player who hit 18 home runs in the Major Leagues last season. So the issue isn't whether they have confidence in Abreu, but whether they've totally and permanently lost confidence in Betemit.<<<<
I thought that was pretty telling.
I didn't include the Padres in the GM discussion about deals because your right, they having nothing to deal.
It doesn't have to be a big trade to tilt the wheel when a game or two might be all the difference at the end. If Ned hadn't traded for Marlon would the Dodgers have tied the Padres? Or if he hadn't traded for Lugo and Hendrickson would we have won by more then one game?
Of course he's already dropped to 357 which is what happens in April when you have back to back o fers.
On the subject of Ethier and first pitches... he had four ABs yesterday and on every one of them he took first pitch fastball down the middle. He then went 0-4 while flailing at various other pitchers while behind in the count. That has got to stop.
i like your idea but his defense is kind of shaky, have you seen Etanislao play D?. Long term La Roche is probably the answer but for now why not play Etanislao there.
April J.D. Drew 4
May Jeff Kent 5
June Matt Kemp 7
July Andre Ethier 5
August Wilson Betemit 7
September Marlon Anderson 7
Last year's production by Wilson is buying some time but probably not much.
The other thing glaring about that list is the lack of power produced by the system aside from Kemp.
And another acquisition is going to lead the Dodgers in home runs this month unless Russell Martin starts and hits three homers.
Robert
Wuhl
Not sure why you think he's picking it up, he had a terrible weekend.
.270 .327 .455 .782 (beltre's career avgs)
.262 .330 .417 .747 (wilsons-2007 stats inc)
LaRoche just had a bad spring training in terms of defense. He has not had those kind of problems during his minor league career.
LaRoche is generally regarded as our second best prospect, behind Clayton Kershaw. He is seen as a potential 30+ home run guy and a cornerstone for us.
ToyCannon has gone on record as saying he sees a Ron Santo type career out of La Roche.
fair enough
You said he was coming on strong which is not the case. He had one good week and then went right back into a slump. Of course he's our best position prospect but he's not coming on strong.
129
I think I said he reminds me physically of Ron Santo and that I'd be pleased as pink if he had a Ron Santo career. I don't think he will because that is a HOF career and I doubt that David Wright will even have that career. Course i say alot of things so it is possible I said that.
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