Andrew, re 141 in the last thread -- are those MLE numbers? If not.... ick.

1 I'm assuming it's setting his BABIP to his line drive percentage +.12.

i dont understand how Hu's line drive percentage can be so low when he has 22 doubles and 4 triples.

in the spirit of yesterdays victory here is a quote from Dodgerdugout Dot Com witch was written 5-31-07 On another note, the more I watch him, the more I'm convinced that Andre Ethier is a major key to the Dodgers success this year. No, Andre isn't setting the league on fire with his .272 average. Nor is he belting monster home runs on a daily basis. Ethier is, however, that steady presence near the bottom of the lineup that gives you quality at-bats. He's the guy who flys under the radar; the guy that opposing pitchers don't fear - and he makes them pay for it. He, like Martin, is becoming that dependable bat. He's not usually the guy at the plate with the game-winning hit. He's the guy who scored the tying run ahead of it, or the guy who reached base earlier to extend the inning. Oh, and he plays some solid "D" too. Ethier is a pretty solid package, eh?

Juan is getting those bunt numbers up toward his career average.

It'd be nice to scratch across an early run here.

While I look at 29-year old prospects with a great deal of suspicion, I would really like to see Mitch Jones get a chance. He has been a slugger throughout his career, never hitting less than 21 HRs and hitting as many as 39. He walks plenty (career OBP nearly 90 points higher than BA). His pitfall has been a low BA (.245 avg), resulting from what looks like a a lot of strike outs (1/3 of the time).

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/J/Mitch-Jones.shtml

Obviously if we got the present .295/.397/.682 model he would be an all star, but even the .268/.347/.507 model would be quite a handy power bat.

Barring some serious injury, though, I don't see him on the Dodgers, as they would be foolish not to promote Kemp before him. Unless he can play 3rd base (something .397/

While I look at 29-year old prospects with a great deal of suspicion, I would really like to see Mitch Jones get a chance. He has been a slugger throughout his career, never hitting less than 21 HRs and hitting as many as 39. He walks plenty (career OBP nearly 90 points higher than BA). His pitfall has been a low BA (.245 avg), resulting from what looks like a a lot of strike outs (1/3 of the time).

http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/J/Mitch-Jones.shtml

Obviously if we got the present .295/.397/.682 model he would be an all star, but even the .268/.347/.507 model would be quite a handy power bat.

Barring some serious injury, though, I don't see him on the Dodgers, as they would be foolish not to promote Kemp before him. Unless he can play 3rd base (something .397/

Jason Bay reminds me of Pedro Guerrero with those shoe string catches.

Not only did I double post. I double posted a monster cut and paste type.

Sigh. Back to lurking.

What say we wreak a little havoc on those basepaths, and give the opposing defense fits?

Good job, Kent. Nice running, Juan!

steiner was way calm with that kent double off the wall.

It'd be nice to scratch across an early run here.

Nice.

And there you go!

10 I thought it was good enough to read twice! I just don't know who this Mitch Jones fellow is.

4 He has a .312 on base percentage. If he was giving us good at bats he would do things like not make outs more often than anyone on the team but Juan Pierre.

7/8 The humanist in me -- hey, didn't I kill him years ago? -- feels for Mitch Jones. The difference between him and a useful MLB bench player is very, very small indeed.

But as you point out, he has no role on the Dodgers. If Pierre loses his job -- and he should -- it will not be so that Mitch Jones (the "29-year-old 'prospect,'" if such a thing is not a contradiction in terms) can get a shot.

In other words, it's too bad for Mitch, but he needs a trade.

Ethier's had a couple of game winning homers in the last week+. That might tend to color people's perception.

4 17 I root for Ethier, just like I rooted for him last year... but last year, I sure thought that his year was looking like a fluke and was anxious about what he'd do this year.

I root for Ethier, but if some other team wanted him in a trade and was offering a player I like, I would encourage Colletti to listen to that offer and consider it carefully.

RIP Clete Boyer. You don't see too many Cletuses nowadays.

21 Some folk'll never eat a snake, and then again, some folk'll.

22 Heh, I was just thinking the same thing. Well, Boyer was no slack-jawed yokel!

22 - Exactly what sprung to my mind too.

Some folk'll never lose a toe, and then again, some folk'll...

The Pirates' announcers (Greg Brown & Bob Walk) are pretty boring. Bob Walk is particularly sleep-inducing.

Someone in the crowd was wearing a Chargers #17 jersey (Phillip Rivers) and Walk said "hey look, Drew Brees."

That said, they are better than Rick Monday!

D Lowe is painting the corners nicely

Yeah, we were talking about them here this weekend. They are not offensive, or all dumb, just incredibly dull. I literally had to turn them off while here at work because I was falling asleep.

Lowe looks really "on" so far. Hope it continues.

Speaking of Rick Monday, can I complain for a minute about the Aamco commerical he does on the radio?

There's this line in there -- "If your car has a problem, you have a problem."

This is a riff on a phrase like "If your neighbor has a problem, you have a problem," or "If your assistant has a problem, you have a problem." That is, even though the problems of the other person would not seem to affect you directly, that person is in a position to make your life hell; therefore, if you can help that person out of his/her problems, it will pay off to you personally down the line.

Back to the commercial: "If your car has a problem, you have a problem." Well, yeah. Whose problem would it be? My car is not a sentient being. It cannot take care of itself. If my car has a problem, I have a problem: namely, it is that my car has a problem.

Drives me nuts every time I hear it.

Derek Lowe is due for a dominating performance. vr, Xei

29 I hear ya, but that's not exactly Rick Monday's fault. On the other hand, if you're going to come up with a slogan that doesn't make any sense, who better to deliver it . . .

Is the way Rick Monday is pronouncing the Pirates' pitcher's name correct? Is it really pronounced Muh-HOLL-um?

D Lowe makes quick work of the Pirates 1-2-3.

it must have been pretty frustrating for Xavier Nady riding high with the Mets & then being traded to the Pirates, the Pirates are a team on the rise i suppose so it isn't that bad.

Sigh. Nomar, would it kill you to not swing at the first pitch once in awhile?

32 According to the bio on the Pirates website, yeah that's actually correct. I've never heard anybody else pronounce it that way, so good on Monday, I guess.

If your team's radio announcer has a problem, you have a problem!

If your team's radio announcer has a problem, there's always Jaime, Renee, Pepe, and Fernando over on 1330 a.m.

37

if i don't have a problem i make it my problem. :o)

Valhalla, er, Mahallo, er Maholm, is pitching pretty well, too, except for that Kent hit. I sorta figured this would be a pitcher's duel.

40 Its a getaway day for both.

Wow, they just showed a clip of Barry Bonds hitting a home run on this date in the 1980s, vs the Braves. It's freaky to see a pre-steroids, I mean, pre-bulk, Bonds.

43 pitches through 4 innings for Lowe.

41

witch makes it more puzzling on why "they" didn't choose to play this game earlier.

Dodgers pre-game win probability was 56.25% and after the first three full innings, the "win expectancy calculator" gave the Dodgers a 62.15% win probability.
vr, Xei

Who has two thumbs and thought we were in SD today?

THIS GUY.

I kept trying to convince myself this was SOMEHOW a replay of yesterday's game.

44 They only have a one hour plus flight to DC so they could schedule the game for more fan attendance at night and not have a really late check in.

Brady Clark is a better offensive and defensive player than Juan Pierre......it has become impossible not feel in any way good about Juan Gone...

I'm telling ya, it's because Jim Tracy wanted to punish the Dodgers.

Hey Nate, I just heard back from Josh R., he said there are just way too many folks on the blog to have a contest again and last year was unique with the three picks in the first 31 players chosen.

He hopes to bring on DaJon and the other development personnel online to update everyone on the progress of the minor league players.

47 Well, since the Dodgers will gain 3 hours flying west, they might get to bed only an hour later on the clock than the Pirates do. Not so a big deal, methinks. I do hope, though, that we sent tomorrow's starter (Wolf, right?) on the early flight to San Diego.

Sometimes you think you know what true love is, then you catch the early flight from San Diego . . .

hopefully Lowe won't get shaken up because of that play.

I know that if we get into most teams pens we can beat them. But when starters dom- inate us we are in trouble. And if this happens with a team like the Pirates it is not a good sign. And at the moment it is guys like Nomar and Kent in the early innings who are going down on 2 or 3 pitches.

The Pirates' marketing campaign seems to be:

1) string together various clips of Pirates' players
2) play "Desire" by U2

I like it.

Much better than the Nomar van commercial. And miles ahead of the Nats' commercial with the Lincoln Memorial complaining that he wishes he could go see the Nats but "I'm confined to this seat", and ending with the catchphrase "Pledge your allegiance!"

That's why we keep him around!!!

Argh! Abreu, buddy, what was that? I think 2nd base is starting to call his name again. Well, at least Lowe's still pitching an interesting game.

51 I think it's Schmidt.

That's the ol' pepper boy!

57 Right, well presumably Schmidt didn't fly out to Pittsburgh just to see the old neighborhood.

52 Nope, he wasn't.

ugh Abreu!

50

thanks for looking into that.

my first question for DeJon...Did Elbert's arm fall off at the shoulder and is that why we havent heard anything about him in a month?

Abreu's confidence, on the other hand...

I had to step out. Wha happened a DP? Great.
Whoops, so Abreu's a nervous rookie--what do you expect!

You gotta be kidding me.

That was partially Nomar's fault, it looked like?

1 out of 3 for Abreu in the 5th isn't bad!

Uh, oh. Someone call Hendrickson's shrink. I think we might have Saxy situation here.

I hate Abreu to Nomar. I miss Edwards to Phillips. Those were the days.

There we go, that's the way to throw to first, nice and easy...

That was weird, three ground balls to third in a inning.

69 A pox on thee for typing that second sentence, even in jest!

if i wear a teammate of Abreu i'd try to bust a dumb joke or something right about now (there headed to the dugout)

Lowe is pitching with a minimun of pitches and lots of ground balls so far.

66 - Yeah, Nomar got his glove to it so he probably should have held on. Tough play for him though.

68 There's nothing sexy about the current situation.

That was weird, three ground balls to third in a inning.

the ball seems the always find the Rooks.

Thank god I think I forgot who Edwards(69) was.

the rabbits are loose!

Speed kills. But with Pierre it usually kills us.

Rabbits Lose Alert

Furcal needs to pick up the pace if he's going to meet my preseason prediction of 125 runs scored. He's at 24 now.

Pierre has two pretty good bunts today.

81 Geeeez. Of course I meant, "loose", but Nate beat me to it, anyway. This is so not my day.

Yay! He didn't swing at the first pitch. {throw confetti}

i just noticed...kershaws numbers since that blowup on may 13...

23IP 8H 1ER 10bb 29k

still too many walks but pretty good.

and just like that, the rabbits are off the basepaths.

Theme for the game: want to get on base? hit is to 3rd.

"missed catch error"...? Good grief.

Meanwhile, Interesting Start for Lowe.

Ah the heart of the order with no outs and men on base.

That was good--not?

How many double plays will we get en total today I wonder?

Nomar rarely hits it out of the infield anymore.

Can this pitcher be a real dominator?

81 83 I think you had it right the first time.

Nomar continues to pile up RBIs without doing much else of note.

81 - We need a color coded scheme for Rabbits Loose alerts.

but you gotta love the way Etanislao recovered & made a nice easy lobe (sp) to Nomar on his 3rd try

88 Have you seen this: phdcomics.com

It's never hilarious, but I'm terribly sympathetic to it. My wife, who actually toils in a lab for very little money, feels it far more than I do.

And as for your second sentence, shut up. Just, just, shut up!

96 I think we should just count how many times it happens. Probably fewer than the number of colors we would end up putting together.

wow, what a freaking play by Furcal!!!

holy crap the furry one!

Wow. That Furcal play was "interesting"

i hope lyons socked steiner.

THAT was sweet...

Sweet play by Raffy to rob him of a hit.

Dayum.....what aplay...Lowe looks like he is thinking about the No-No right now....

100, 101, 102 That play looked routine on Gameday.

105 doesn't exist.

TYFN 13) Saying Dayum.

105 DELETE! DELETE!

perma ban, please.

lol

98 - funny.

105 I will gently point you to Thank You For Not... #9. Please scroll down the sidebar. Thank you.

105 Burns: "You've made a powerful enemy, my friend."

109

i was gonna say, i guess Jon isn't here right now. lexinthedena we don't do that here! but i guess your new & don't know the rules.

Lexinthedena and the Pirates announcers need to read and remember Rule 9.

98
Haven't seen it, but I will take a gander.

Wow 105 with the almost perfect storm comment

116 Hasn't Jon stated that announcers are exempt from Rule 9?

Commenters are not exempt.

MLB.tv is killing me right now. The signal is coming in super-slow and choppy. ARRGGGGH.

118 Please don't draw attention to it. It must be forgotten for all time.

Remember when Tracy would leave Weaver in a little too long, this kinda reminds me of that.

josh bell goes yard.

Abreu has to be soberer than his Gameday photo makes him look.

119 Yeah, announcers are exempt. But it still seems like they read the "Thank You for Not..." sidebar and are making a conscious effort to flaunt it!

and then mattingly triples. his tools are starting to translate into production. thats like 5 triples already.

So I guess Hull won't even get a chance to debut, eh?

Be smart, Ned. Get rid of the Tombdrickson.

Lalalalalalala, I'm not listening lalalalalalala {covers ears}

C'mon Tony, let's atone for those errors now.

Maholm has lost the plate.

Gameday just "disappeared" Abreu

LoL....my bad...Hopefully Lowe didn't read it in between innings....

119 - Yes, that is correct.

Furthermore, "no-no" has never been a no-no. Strangely, I don't think anyone here has ever used it, though.

130

What is this, Argentina?

96 How about not a specific color, but maybe the phrase "aurora borealis." Both events seem to be very rare in SoCal, kind of like steamed hams.

I will be interesting to see if McDonald will move to Jacksonville to help them go for another playoff spot though a lot of these moves may wait until the second half starts as Inland Empire is going for a playoff spot too.

132 I prefer no mention of exciting events on the field. We ought to talk idly of lost loves and general managers until the game is over.

I thought that second, evil, word was decided against?

Gameday still refuses to admit the existence of Abreu's at bat and Martin is on third now. Watching Gameday is an adventure.

126 Do you think triples indicate speed or power or both?

Nice dance step by Rich Donnelly there.

Abreu hit a line fly out that got Martin over to third.

Soooo, do we want to pinch hit for Lowe here?

So an inference is acceptable?.....I'm confused...

How big is Mattingly?

143

listed at 6'3 205

141 That would be a highly uninteresting move.

Please see 122

142 Only if an inference is...interesting.

142 Jon cannot prevent inference, try as he might, because he has no control over our minds (not directly, anyway). However, the customary euphamism is to say that a game in progress is "interesting". But can we please shut up about this now?

138

both.

How was that ball hit by Clark? Was it a difficult play for the SS to make?

138 - Do you think triples indicate speed or power or both?

Chone Figgins led the Angels in triples a couple years ago, and his were clearly speed. Casey Kotchman currently leads the Angels in triples, and his are clearly power. I would answer "both".

Derek just wanted to go back to the bench as quickly as he could.

3 of 4 from the Pirates ain't too shabby. Dodgers just refuse to give up first place.

150 It was a little tricky, one of those "little nubbers" as Vin likes to say that wasn't easy to gauge the hop correctly - but all that said, he should have had it.

151

I would think you would need to look at the body type of the player. if its a player that has room to fill in and bat speed, its more likely an indication that he is developing power.

153 Your fanboy act has become unpalatable.

I can't imagine Colborn, Shelby and Donnelly really think Tracy is better qualified to be manager than any of them.

I actually want Juan to make an out....

154
In other words, it was the kinda play that has been going the Dodgers' way all season long.

ahhhh Tracy good ol' predictable Tracy.

122 Did the Dodgers get the big hit when they needed it? Yes. Was Muh-HOLL-um pitching pretty well until the 7th? Of course. Is this in any way my fault? I don't see how.

A nice diving effort by Duffy but he couldn't get it. And now Jim Tracy makes his customary delayed entrance to remove the pitcher.

158 You must be a happy man.

However good the Dodgers are or aren't, they are better than the Pirates. Of this I feel sure.

151 Preston is a lot faster than his dad.

The downside of putting people in a position to succeed is that they might also fail.

Triples are obvious indication of "the good face"

Nice double by Furcal to give us some insurance runs, the Pirates CF (Duffy i think) looks like he can go get 'em even though he didn't get that Furcal double.

161 Heh.

157 Um, maybe not Donnelly so much...

162 He wanted to leave him in to face Pierre in the next inning.

{Pause for chuckling]

Sorry Jim.

It's looking unlikely that Pierre will set the all-time outs record. However, I think there should be some kind of additional record, adjusted for position in the batting order. You can't reasonably expect Pierre to set the record when he's getting so many ABs in the #2 spot.

171 I disagree. I think the ONLY way he could set the outs record would be from the #1 or #2 spot. Any lower in the order and he simply would not have the opportunities. As #2, he can go 1-for-5, make four outs a game, and not lose his job. At, say, #8, he'll lose that fifth AB, meaning he'll either go 1-for-4 and not set the record or 0-for-4 and get benched.

Multiple rule 9 violations by Rick Monday.

Wonder if Lowe is upset at Abreu?

This game is no longer interesting.

Because I'd heard the Pirates had developed a stable of good pitchers, I was going to try to refute the idea that not getting hits off Pirate pitching is no shame. But in fact, it isn't. They're near the bottom in the NL for ERA, strikeouts, on-base-average against, slugging average against, WHIP and runs allowed.

This game is no longer interesting.

173 - and now it no longer matters.

it was nice while it lasted but at least it takes the golden sombrero away from Etasnilao Ebreu.

The TV broadcast cut away for a mesothelioma ad and we didn't see the hit.

No Hitters are for young stat padders not accomplished veterans.

I think it is pretty hard for a radio guy not to update the audience on what is going on in the game.

172
I mean that he would be more likely to set the record if he was a permanent leadoff hitter, rather than a sometimes leadoff hitter/sometimes #2 hitter.

Derek is making regretful monkey faces on the mound after that last one. He's sorta both frustrated and bemused.

There are so many people I'd like to blame for this.

180 Yes, now it matters all the more.

The long inning plus the stretch....

Fantastic play by Abreu just saved a run and got an out to boot. WOW.

Oh, no, it didn't save a run - didn't see that the runner at third came in. Oh well, still a great play.

175, 178 - deleted because of Rule 1.

173 - Broadcasters are exempt.

Can;t see the game tonight. What happened to break it up?

And NOW my mlb.tv video feed is streaming in just fine!

184 - even Monday acknowledged the danger inherent in his mentioning it to the audience.

Eric Hull gets to make an appearance before he gets sent out tomorrow? Maybe?

Did Kent not see the runner breaking for home there?

And another error....

192 - Freddy Sanchez grounder up the middle.

The ump was blocking Kent's shot at home there, yes?

A few too many oopsies out there today didn't help. You have to have your best D on the infield when Lowe's pitching. Keeps you on your toes.

Bad throw from Furcal, but some if not most of that blame has to go to Kent for the subpar toss to 2nd, making Rafael hurry.

Derek, don't cry.

Ok now the game is more interesting.

Rally stopper.

197 Thanks, just saw it on ESPN.

No-hitter gone, shutout gone: Quick, get Lowe outta there before he loses the Quality Start...!

Argh. I almost violated rule #1 myself but kept it to myself here in my office.

Nady- "out of play, run(s)"

*sorry for the violation, Jon.

Thank goodness that rally is over!

Good try, Derek.

Assuming Saito is resting, who's the setup man?

209 - Looks like Rudy.

It's pretty obvious with Lowe, the minute he gives up a run or shows tiring, get him out of there. I've seen him lose several brilliant games.

198 That could be what it was.

Derek can fall apart in a hurry, can't he? Well, a good effort, a valiant effort, up 'til then. The porous defense today didn't help. Say, shouldn't one of those runs be unearned?

What is the actual reason for not being able to talk about a no hitter though?

Wouldnt someone, if they just went to this blog and didnt know much about the game at hand, want to know if there was a no-hitter in progress?

As a sabermetrician, I cant possibly believe that talking about a no-hitter on a blog has any effect on the actualy no-hitter at hand.

forget about the no hitter i just hope we get the W. 5-3 Dodgers.

I remember in 05 against the Cubs Lowe threw a 1 hittier that would have been a no hitter had Mike Edwards fielded the very first ball in play properly.

214 - I've explained this at length multiple times in the past.

I feel terrible for Lowe. This looks like a mediocre start now in the box score, but he was filthy tonight.

Latin Gagne and then Georgian Gagne in place of Japanese Gagne.

214 - I'm sure the first thing someone asks during any random game on any random blog is whether a no hitter is going on or not.

A no hitter is romantic and talking about it while it's happening ruins that.

Kinda like some other things.

213 I don't think so. You can't assume the double play, so the nex batter would have come up. The error moved the runner from first to second, but the next batter hit a homer so the runner scores if he's on first or second.

HIS DREAMINESS!!

Russell Martin has just lost it!

im going to build a shrine and have daily sacrifices for our golden god.

i'm gonna have to vote for Russell Martin/Turtle??? a few more times on line.

"Russell Martin has just lost it." New Charlie Steiner home run call.

It's...different.

So far, this has to be "Russell's Road Trip".

Another bomb.

I have a theory that most no-no or perfect games are low scoring affairs. Seems long breaks are not good for pitchers. Anyone know if that is borne out by the stats?

There is a DHL commercial where they keep talk about Lofton being traded back to the Dodgers.

I wish it were true.

I'm gonna get a bumper sticker: What Would Martin Do?

Crush-el!
Watching that will make us stop feeling bad about the loss of the no-no.

224

what do you require?

No regression of Russell's power numbers for now.

214
lol I don't think being a sabermetrician has anything to do with that logic.

224 Can Joe Morgan be one of the first?

Keith Law did a summary of the 2002 draft on Insider on ESPN.com. I am going to summarize it later but as he closed his review, (and I am going to paraphrase it), one of best players in draft taken out ...junior college, Russell Martin.

I think that you get a Russell Martin out any draft, that draft is a success. Broxton, not a bad pick himself, makes it a great draft. Just waiting for Loney, Miller, Hammes, Young to contribute to make it all-time great draft.

Martin is OPSing .894 for the season. Wow. That guy is good.

235

if he agrees to it, sure he can.

even if he doesnt agree to it, im sure andrew has some kind of torture method that would work.

Lowe's still out there eh? Hm. I wonder if he said he wanted to stay in or if Little's trying to save the pen a little after that Martin home run (and Saito's hurting)...

Plus only 84 pitches, yeah.

Lowe, Penny and Wolf have given up more home runs in this series than they gave up in all of May.

230

I have this one.

http://tinyurl.com/296uyz

238 I thought Joe Morgan was a torture method?

Russell Martin since May 30:

20 AB
8 H
1 BB
1 2B
4 HR

.400/.429/1.050/1.479

239. Yes.

I can't believe he put Lowe back in!!

There goes the quality start.

Jeez. It seemed like a good decision after the first two batters...

Man, a CG would've been a real gift too.

The Quality Start has gone by the wayside.

Why did we trot Lowe out for the eighth?

224
I realize the Second Commandment states: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

But, come on, I think an exception is called for in this instance.

(And if you'll excuse me, I've got a lightning rod I need to install on my roof.)

Please delete 250 I was too late to have it stay there :)

248. And so it was. He looked fine and bullpen needs a rest and we have less of a bridge to the closer tonight.

I was cooking and I didn't realize Lowe stayed in until I heard the crack off the bat. Then I was in disbelief until I watched a minute.

Baseball Prospectus had a stat for managers which was something like quality starts blown, I don't think Grady has too many of these because last year he was pulling guys out pretty quickly. And just off the top of my head, I can't think of too many times this has happened this year.

Encino Man to the rescue.

All hail the Comebacker King!

Matt Kemp is now 24 for his last 48 with 2 walks. Doesn't take a sabermetrician to know that's pretty good.

254 I think it was okay, look its going to work sometimes, he is shortstacked (to use a poker term) and with the low scoring games and having the three guys pitching in this series that don't throw a lot of innings, why not try to save some guys, especially if you are not going DL Saito.

254 I think it was okay, look its going to work sometimes, he is shortstacked (to use a poker term) and with the low scoring games and having the three guys pitching in the San Diego series that don't throw a lot of innings (Schmidt, Kuo and Wolf), why not try to save some guys, especially if you are not going DL Saito.

Whatever happens tonight, just remember Grady saved the pen for 2/3 of an inning.

Oops, sorry about that.

234--It does, if the reason that you cant talk about a no-hitter is because it 'jinx'es it'. There's no such thing as a jinx. Some old school baseball thought may believe that though. Sabermetric thought wont. Comments written on a blog have no effect on the game at hand.

However, if the reason is #220, then I understand that. Although, its gotten to such a point that almost trying 'not' to talk about a no-hitter---using adjectives like 'interesting'---seemly defeats the purpose. Since that (the no hitter) essentially is what is being talked about.

263
To me it is common sense, not math related.

abreu has been hitting great, but the lack of patience worries me...when he stops hitting and goes into a slump, he will become very obsolete... i don't think he has one walk this year
but again knowing the dodger organization, batting avg seems to be everything

260. Plus it's not like it was a 1 run lead, it was a 3 run lead. And he had low pitch count. Made all the sense in the world to see if you could get one more out of him.

260 guy-yeah ,I can sorta see your point.
I have more trouble understanding Lowe than any D's pitcher for a while.

But, we don't talk about it because that's what Jon wants. No other reasons, logical or not, are needed.

Steve Lyons just said, Derek didnt get tired . . just lost location of his pitches.

Time for Betemit to go boom.

Tracy, just stop it. What is he doing? Trying to be JUST like LaRussa?

i didn't realize Armas was no longer a starter.

266 I agree.

So does Broxton come in for the 9th? I say bring in Hull! Well, okay, maybe not, but the sentimental side of me would kinda like that.

263. There is only one good reason not to talk about it here and that's because Jon has asked us not to do so repeatedly. I am totally with you but this is Jon's thing and he hasn't asked for much.

267 One thing though, Lowe does give them innings and to get into the 8th (we'll never know how that extra out when Tony threw the second one away played into whatever fatigue he had, though I think the long top of the 7th was probably more responsible, Lowe's is probably more upset about walking Duffy than the home runs.

273 Broxton FTS.

272 Shawn Chacon replaced him.

Think about that for a while (though last week, he pitched well against the Padres)

263 - Joey P, to make a long story short, the ban is not a grand attempt at being rational. Stop overthinking it.

The jinx is not rational but it is still a huge part of the psychology of being a sports fan. Ever since childhood for many of us...
No one wants to be the one "responsible" for jinxing a no-hitter. It may not be rational but it's ingrained as part of they mythology of baseball.

No more logical than turning hats inside out to change your team's luck during a game (i.e., the "rally cap") and yet now it's a fixture at games.

Armas no longer a starter... with an opp. avg. like that he won't be a pitcher much longer

More importantly, let's go Blue Ox!

Man, I'm missing Saito already...

Broxton tends to overthrow to the first couple of batters before he finds a groove.

Any sliders yet for Broxton?

Steiner: "Oh they're just gonna be talking about what we've been talking about for the last 3 1/2 hours".

Funny.

I like Charlie.

I want Charlie to be my neighbor.

we got the lead runner in Sanchez let's hope Broxton gets a DP with La Roche batting & Jason Bay at 1st base.

Ahhhhhhh... that was so close to a double play. Man.

Yeah, I think I saw one slider so far. Maybe someone can correct me.

Hey where's Greg Brock?

How does Pierre not catch that?

Juan Pierre.....

my biased towards Pierre makes me think he could have gotten to that ball. 6-5 Dodgers. sigh.

Pierre could have caught that. If he weren't Pierre.

Lyons: I think that ball fooled Pierre

they ALL do, Steve-o, they ALL do.

This game is almost too much to bear. I don't have any fingernails left to bite.

Come on, Ox! Stop this nonsense.

gotta love pierre... he's a gamer

I thought for sure that would be caught…

Then I realized who was playing center field.

Don't worry. Tracy will mess this up.

In fairness, it was hit extremely deep and far. On the other hand, Pierre looked like he stopped to ask for directions, got the wrong map from Mapquest, and then turned back again.

it looks like broxton is trying to blow people away just because it's the 9th inning..he needs to stop overthrowing and let his movement get people out

Broxton has some Elvis-like sideburns.

It's nice that Gameday seems to protest the last Pirates run.

the pirates broadcasters are all but sacrificing babies to the baseball gawds right now . . .

288
The real Greg Brock turns 50 next week. Man, am I getting that old?

That was a strike....

Sure looked like a strike to me.

I have to take a walk, I hope you guys understand. Some of our teams always won 7-2 or lost 8-3 but nothing comes easy lately.

i'm just really & truly not a fan of Pierre

100 MPH on the black and nothing for it.

Another strike....

the double play is back in order. (best I can do)

191 - yet broadcasters are not exempt from Rule 1 violations. Discuss. :-)

Oh come on.

he's definitely overthrowing....get squeezed doesn't hurt

really? not a strike?

Broxton doesn't get the corners cause he throws serious heat!

Doumit's like 4-31 slump.
Broxton should be able to get him.

Wow. Those were two pitches that will both usually get called. When Broxton proves himself a little more in the league, he'll get both those calls.

how is THAT a strike, if several of the last pitches weren't?

Step right up! Step right up!
Come see the incredible shrinking strikezone!
Smaller than a postage stamp and more fluttering than a hummingbird.

Step right up step! Step right up!!

Dodgers are praying for no extra innings. They've got a red eye to catch already!

Preparing myself for "he just needs to get adjusted to the role."

Okay, there's one more. Too bad it was hit a little too slowly for the DP. Come on, Ox! You can do it.

Thank you Jack Wilson.

WHEW.

unnecessary drama.

Thank God for Jack Wilson

pheeewwww!! that was close.

i am sitting on the edge of my mouse and keyboard.

That was a Shaw like save...

Happy Birthdya to me

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Everyone, {exhale} now. I'm gonna do a few yoga poses, downward facing underdog, whatever it takes.

I was just writing that no matter what, Chad will probably be the closer tommorrow due to the amount of pitches that Broxton threw yesterday and today.

328 No strikeouts for Broxton, that is very unusual. But hey we are in first place all by ourselves, ought to be a nice plane ride to San Diego.

the pirates broadcasters ended the game in agony, after praying for a ball in the dirt.

I have never heard anything quite as tormented as they were tonight.

I'm heading to San Diego tomorrow to see Schmidt pitch in person. Hopefully we can make this an 8 out of 10 trip.

We are blessed to have a quality human being like Juan Pierre playing center field for us.

3 1-run victories this series.

Dodgers are 14-4 in 1-run decisions this year.

330 - speed of lightning
roar of thunder
fighting teams with LOBs and blunders
Underdog!

which has a higher chance of happening : Dodgers win the San Diego series or San Diego Sweeps the Series?

i'm happy about the win, and i hate to be debbie-downer here, but teams that win a whole bunch of one run games usually eventually start losing a whoile bunch of one run games.

328 - jeff shaw had some people wanting to create a new category of "save"; if you let the tying run get on base (or in scoring position, or some such), then it wasn't a "save" it was a "salvage".

Is Broxton's nickname Ox, or Bull? Ox would be the most obvious choice, I guess, but Bull Broxton has a nice alliteration to it.

338--The Padres have an advantage of throwing their 1-3 vs Dodgers 3-5.

339

your a party pooper or as they say in my neck of the woods, snapper.

I am a little surprised that the dodgers leave a four game series in the east, getaway day is a night game, and fly to the west coast for another three game road series.

tough freaking schedule.

342 - exactly...so you think the chance of getting swept is higher?

Anyone think that dodgers can steal Jason Bay from the Pirates..wonder what it would take...Players I hope dodgers trade for: Cabrera, Teixiera, Bay, Holliday, Rios

337 Heh! Speaking of which, I need to take a super energy pill soon, I'm flagging.

339 Oh, I don't know. If you have a good bullpen you can keep up a good record in 1 run games, but of course, if anyone in the bullpen gets hurt or things go awry in the pen, then that can change of course.

344 Yeah, we were talking about that earlier. It's up to the home team to decide time, but I think it was Jim Tracy's call in particular to screw over the Dodgers. Does seem kinda cruel. Giants got to play theirs at 1pm (10 am PST) today.

i just saw this on prime/fox that Russell Martin is leading NL catchers in home runs (7) is this true?

357- sorry. shoulda known that it had come up ;)

is it better to take the metrolink to S.D. or drive your car over there?

340 - Jayson Stark noted that Gagne did not allow an inherited baserunner to score during his save streak. A refresher:

http://proxy.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=1835274

ahhh Stats. Just by reversion to the mean,or what ever you choose to call it, we are going to lose some of these tight ones. On the other hand, by the same token some of our vets are going to do something useful at some point. It should be a wash.

2003 was also another season with an incredible record in 1-run games. I assume it is somehow associated with a less than prolific offense and a great bullpen, but I am sure that is statistically unprovable.

Dodgers were 27-23 in 1-run games in 2003.

I decided to clean up behind my bed and found the letters section of the Times from January of 2005.

Many people were very upset that DePo signed Brad Penny for 5.1 million instead of Jose Lima for 2.5 million.

Ah, memories.

I treated my parents to a really nice home cooked meal, and almost missed a no-hitter. Almost.

wow, tony abreu is a scott boras client according to diamond.

Russ Martin is a call-in guest on Baseball Tonight, right now.

Dodgers were 27-23 in 1-run games in 2003
Finished 85-77.

Dodgers were 32-16 in 1-run games in 2004.
Finished 93-69.

Dodgers were 19-24 in 2005.
Finished 71-91.

Dodgers were 19-19 in 2006
Finished 88-74.

I love that Martin hit his homer off Sharpless.

Major League Baseball is special like that, where a guy will keep a name like Sharpless, but legally change his name to Boof.

I blame ESPN for breaking up Lowe's no-no. Every minute on the crawler after the 6th inning they had to mention it during the Yankees game and they took a couple moments during the game to talk about how it was in progress.

Joey, technically the Padres have their Nos. 2, 4 and 1 starters going against the Dodgers. Maddux is fourth in their rotation. The No. 3 guy was Hensley. He has been replaced by Germano, who is something like 4-0 with a 1.27 ERA.

Dear Jon and colleagues,

It's a simple rule yet I continue to break it. To wit:

INTERIOR--SB'S APARTMENT--DAY

(Dad gets home from work, disoriented and relieved--he is a teacher, after all. Son is on the computer. Dad sees opportunity to turn on television and watch the Dodgers. As he is watching, Dad becomes intense, then excited and he can't help but say...)

DAD: Hey son! The Dodgers have a pitcher and he's throwing a no-hitter!

Folks, I don't have to tell you the roof caved in on Lowe right after that. You may say I was just looking to share a wonderful moment with my son. So be it; you are all kind people. But I say this is carelessness, a malfeasance that should not be ignored.

I hereby ban myself from DT for twenty minutes.

Yours in the spirit of rules that should not be broken,

SB

Regaring all those 1 run wins.

When Nomar gets an extra base hit dodgers are 9-1.

(sample size =11)

Seriously, will they ever do something about this. 11 extra base hits all year. Martin has 6 since Thursday. Of last week..

Where we hit players in the lineup has to matter a little.

357

we have full control over him for a while right Nate? i'm not sure how that stuff works.

364 I continue to believe that unless Nomar turns it around...I'd say within 30 days...Loney will get called up.

"Turning it around" will be defined very liberally, out of respect to Nomar and the fans. But if he stays at this level, I don't think Ned will sacrifice the season for him.

Red Alert in Oakland for Mark Ellis.

Nate and all you other draft-niks, I'm sorry to say but I believe you have wasted your time in researching who the Dodgers should draft this week. You can have your Beavens and McGearys and Smokers, I have a LHP the Dodgers should draft. Name of Monica Abbott.

367
I'm glad I built redundancies into the Cycle Alert.

How cool would it be to have a draft with guys named Josh Smoker and Hunter Ovens.

Sounds like there's a chance Saito could be out for the Padres' series, but likely not any more than that. I hope he can even pitch in the SD series but only if he feels 100%.
http://tinyurl.com/yv79mc

370 Yeah, though as one of them there treehugger types I keep getting the latter name mixed up with this one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_Lovins

Btw, re: 368 Monica Abbott is 50-3 with 33 and 2/3 straight shut out innings. Unhittable.

Is there any way a softball delivery could be tweaked to make it MLB legal?

Damn, I'd neglected to think about that. That and the presence of, you know, boobs, makes my idea probably illegal, but still, by gum I'm sticking with it!

374
Tell that to Bengie Molina.

Justin Upton's alleged affection for clowns update: it's been re-disappeared from his wikipedia article. This time by someone who isn't me.

How cool would it be to have a draft with guys named Josh Smoker and Hunter Ovens.

and madison bumgarner and Sequoyah Stonecipher.

Will Carroll took a question about when he expected the first woman to appear in MLB. He didn't really answer, but speculated that the first would be what he called a "trick pitcher."

373 Dan Quisenberry?

I remember when Coors sponsored an all women's baseball team (go Silver Bullets!). I believe Lisa Fernandez used a softball delivery.

376

you are really obsessed about this clown thing arent you.

In his last chat, he took such a question. Forgot to finish the first sentence.

373 Dan Quisenberry?

I remember when Coors sponsored a barnstorming all women's baseball team (Go Silver Bullets!). I believe Lisa Fernandez used a softball delivery.

378

yea i bet...in the clubhouse.

Ellis gets fielder's choice E5.

um, yeah. Ignore that second one

380- I leave for Phoenix in the morning to search out the second person to add the clown thing. I'm driving, since I don't think I could get my interrogation tools bag past the screeners.

Sequoyah Stonecipher?

Is he a long lost child of Frank Zappa?

384 That was arguably a single. Tough play to make the stop, and then an off-line throw which, if accurate, might or might not have beaten the runner at second.

388
Yeah and he definitely was not going to get Ellis.

382

i kind of remember they did a mini-bio on the silver bullets, i was rooting for them when they were around.

Ellis may get another chance.

This is one of those rare games where the official scorer is going to be the most-sought interview after the game.

371

i'll be surprised if he pitches in S.D.

Ellis cannot bat in the bottom of the 9th. A maximum of 6 players could bat and he's due up 7th. So the game will have to go extra innings for him to get it.

378 What about the first woman blurnsball player?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Leela_of_Her_Own

Red Alert for the cycle for Mark Ellis reissued!

Matt Kemp was 3 for 6 today with a double. Delwyn Young was 4 for 5 with 2 HR's(!) and a double, and Daniel's fave Mitch Jones was 3 for 6 with a triple. Andy LaRoche returned and went 0 for 2 but, yep, had 2 walks and scored a run. Greg Miller had another bad outing, alas.

How do the A's (or anyone) go against Julian Tavarez and not win?

Kemp and LaRoche both played very strong defense (according to Russ Langer at least).

So how long will Kemp be allowed to tear up AAA, with Brady Clark sucking it and the Dodgers struggling to score? I give it another week at most, if they each continue on their respective paces.

I dunno, but I still think Kemp should be starting, preferably in LA of course. Clark has value as a late innings defensive guy and occasional spot starter. Is that what we want Kemp to be? I want them to find a way to get Kemp in there full time, whether it's platooning with Ethier and/or Gonzo (and you know who) or whatever it takes. I almost see that as separate from the issue of Brady Clark.

which dodger draft do you like better?

2002- loney, broxton, young, martin, mcdonald

2003- billingsley, paul, kemp, laroche,

400

everyone knows what the issue is but its not worth talking about since hes not going to be benched this year.

http://tinyurl.com/2ojkyw
Not since I wanted to kiss Susie Russell in 7th grade have I wanted anything this badly.

He Who Will Not Be Named, you mean? Yeah, him.

Let's go back to talking about Monica Abbott.

I like the '02 draft if I had to choose, but they both have their gems obviously. Here's to a repeat in '07!

403 Saw it premiered and demo'd at MacWorld this year and had to wear a drool cup.

405. If I had been there I think I might have just run up and pushed Steve Jobs over and taken his. He doesn't look that strong. Apple doesn't mess up much with product releases and this one is important. I think it will be as cool as it looks. Hope to be posting on DT from Dodger games by next month.

Ellis does it!

CYCLE!

Yes, the 2007 Bums remind me a lot of that 2003 L.A. team. For obvious reasons.

But more than that, 2007 reminds me of 1983, 84, 85, 86 -- great pitching and awful, awful defense.

These are the great moments in sport. Heading over to The Griddle, checking the "Last time a guy" list, knowing it's going to be there, and yes, it's there. Completely predictable, yet oddly satisfying.

Apparently the NBA may impose a 5 year ban on Donovan if his contract is rescinded.

Chavez with the walk-off.

The Cycle list is updated.

Whew.

Our Loons are heating up. Not only is Josh Bell going off but as Nate mentioned Mattingly is on a tear, but the biggest news is that Carlos Santana got two hits for the 1st time this year. I predict he will be the next Loon to step up and restore his prospect status.

Our AA Suns shut down Justin Upton with Paul showing good overall skills.

With Bigbie gone D Young decides to become the punisher with his league leading 20th double and threw in two rally killers to boot. I would mention Kemp but he already broke down the wooden door and is now facing a double steel door. It might take him all of two weeks to break down this latest obstacle. Loney now has 17 doubles but still just one rally killer. Who will hit their 2nd home run 1st, Nomar or Loney?

414 Since you are a far more level headed person than I, let me ask you...When do you become irate (okay, not irate...Seriously perturbed) with Kemp sitting in the bus leagues instead of the majors?

Is it soon?

413
I would have updated the list sooner, but I was engrossed in "The Sopranos."

416 I just watched the episode about an hour ago.

Great Caesar's Ghost. What an episode.

You guys might get a kick out of this. 25 things that have disappeared in the last 25 years. My personal favorite is #15. It's also why I don't watch the cable news.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/top25-disappear.htm

Unless I'm mistaken, ToyCannon's significant other is a teacher. If so, she should really check out a grant program called Donors Choose.

Instead of begging for state/government grants, Donors Choose is a private program where citizens look at teacher needs, chose the program they like the best, and give money to whomever they choose. My mother and sister, both elementary school teachers in LAUSD, just received LCD projectors and computer software in excess of $1000 dollars. It's a fantastic way to bypass the educational bureaucracy and find people who want to make education better.

Anyhoo, the website is www.donorschoose.org. She might want to take a look.

Caught up on the posts - looks like y'all covered all the bases. Just a couple side comments to add.

There was discussion about moving a pitcher into the field and back to the mound. The game I remembered was this one:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN198607220.shtml
where Davey Johnson, in extra innings, switched Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell between pitching and a corner OF spot, until the Mets beat Pete Rose's Reds.

In guessing who's the actor bhsportsguy and ToyCannon met, the name Eric Bruskotter ("Major League II") was incorrectly guessed. One degree of separation, I've worked with his mother for 17 years. Interesting way Eric met his wife (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0313620/) while filming "Starship Troopers"....in the shower scene....

Saw a note where Matt Dominguez is flying out to Pittsburgh at their invitation to have a batting practice session at PNC Park.

As Nate, Canuck, ToyCannon and other draft followers know, Pittsburgh is thinking about drafting a position player with their pick (No. 4) in Thursday's draft because of their recent history with pitchers picked high in the draft.

Dominguez might be in consideration for that pick since he would probably sign for slot money (MLB recommended bonus) and that he is already a plus defensive player with good power potential.

I know that dealing with draftees is risky, so a lot of teams do not want to spend a lot of money on signing players, but maybe these teams that constantly lose should invest more money in their drafts.

Not like the Pirates are spending a lot of money elsewhere, might as well try to strike gold with prospects.

Another interesting draft note, listening to Kevin Goldstein on the BP Podcast, he thinks if Wieters, catcher out of Georgia Tech, doesn't go by the 4th pick, he could fall all the way down to the 18th pick due to signability issues with Boras, who may want a Stephen Drew MLB contract deal for his star catcher.

I could see the Blue Jays taking a shot on Wieters if he drops. They need a catcher and they are willing to spend money, plus JP prefers college players.

422 This year will be interesting on that front because certain teams, the Giants and Padres have so many picks that it would seem unlikely for let's say the Giants to pick Wieters at 10 because they have to sign 5 other players in the top 51 and they are not going to spend 6 million for one guy and then have to divide another 2-3 million for 5 other players.

Right now, it appears to me that Rick Porcello and Wieters are the two most mentioned players who could slide due to high bonus demands.

425
I like Porcello more than anyone in the draft, so in the small chance he falls I would be ecstatic. I had heard the Royals are willing to pay to get him, but that might have changed.

The small chance of him falling to us.

I just read this in a review for Tommy Davis' book.

* Vin Scully actually managed the Dodgers for one game – from the broadcast booth.

???

It was late in the season and the Dodgers were not going to change their place in the standings win or lose. He was able to give signals for hit and run, steal, bunt, etc. but he did not make out the lineup nor change pitchers, etc. Just had some fun with the fans.

I haven't sen any comments about Kent holding the ball at second instead of throwing out the runner at home yesterday. I assume someone said something here and it is burried within all the posts. Kent has been doing this all year but usually he does it after receiving a throw from the outfield and too casually allows runners to gain another base.

Llimited range, extended slump, casual play. Could it be that it is Kent and not Gonzo that should be retiring sooner than later?

If the Dodgers want to make a trade they seem to be adding tradable pieces such as D. Young, M. Jones, T. Abreu to the more obvious pieces that we hold more dearly such as Bills, Broxton, Loney, Kemp, LaRoche, Kershaw, Miller, Kuo, Elbert, Ethier, Martin.

This is kinda interesting:

The DRays have been outscored by 76 runs.
The Yankees have outscored the opposition by 22 runs.

They have identical 24-31 records.

Lance Berkman has ONE double and a 339 slug% in 189 at bats on June 5th. Sounds just about impossible.

419
Thanks for the info, I'll pass it on.

433
The number of former sluggers who have struggled so far this season is certainly noteworthy. There are so many that it seems unlikely to be the result of "chance". I also don't find the cold weather excuse sufficient to explain it all.

Mayo's latest draft projections still have the Dodgers taking Bumgarner, which I still am dubious about. He also has Smoker going way late, at the very end to SF (shudder).
http://tinyurl.com/2boovm

It's a hard draft to predict, I'll grant you that. But some of his picks seem a little unlikely. Damn I wish Heyward would fall but he won't.

Does anyone know where Andy D'alessio is projected to go? 2nd round?

435 From a May 23 South Carolina newspaper article about D'alessio

"Taken in the 10th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in June — the same round in which Cincinnati picked him out of high school — D'Alessio spurned signing-bonus offers in excess of $60,000, an amount only five other 10th-rounders received.

He is unlikely to be chosen as high again; a handful of scouts said D'Alessio has rubbed pro clubs the wrong way."

Any idea what they mean by "rubbed the wrong way"?

425 I sent you an e-mail yesterday. Hope you got it.

436 Hm, that's interesting, hadn't heard anything about off the field or personality issues. I only know he's talented and put up some great numbers at Clemson. He was picked as position player of the year in the Street and Smith baseball preview before the season. But maybe he has attitude problems? I had just assumed he'd spurned the Dodgers because he wanted to return to school but that could be wrong.

Damn, I wish I'd asked the BA chat guys this yesterday. Oh well.

438 Maybe an opportunity to buy low.

Video of Furcal's 6th play from last night is on MLB.com. Very nice play.

Random useless tidbit:

Julio Lugo has 17 SB and 0 CS this year. He also is sporting a .287 OBP this year.

401-Long term, the 03 draft got us the highest ceiling kids in the system (Bills and Kemp). But, obviously, 02 is paying off right now with Martin and Broxton. Tough call.

Gotta love this. The Dodgers DSL rookie just started and playing 3b is the one and only "Pedro Guerrero" age 18.

441 Was one of ESPN's web gems last night, too.

Steve Finley has been DFA'd. Time for a triumphant return to Los Angeles?

446 OPS .490 in 94 AB's this year. This might be the end.

And yet, Finley has more HRs this season than Furcal and Pierre combined.

448 I almost wrote that he has as many as the top 3 in our batting order combined.

Oh yeah, should have included Nomor in there.

Really? Wow. If Finley can be DFA'd who knows who else could be... Why, the possibilities are endless! Okay, maybe not.

I heard the Cubs are looking to trade Jacque Jones now. Hah! HAH!

I'm wondering about Bigbie. Was this a big mistake on Colletti's part? I mean, didn't he have a great spring training? Wasn't he doing great at AAA? Would he have helped the Dodgers this year if they had called him up? He's probably way better than Pierre, right? Where is he now, anyone know?

Jason Schmidt is back. Yeeeaaahh!!

No one's signed Bigbie as of yet. Other teams may feel the way the Dodgers do, which is his AAA numbers are likely a little inflated compared to how he might contribute on the ML level at this point. Still, I agree, he should be able to help someone - I mean, the Cubs, f'rinstance? Or the Royals? You'd think someone would take a flyer on him. I think the Dodgers also felt too lefty-heavy in the OF, which was one reason they trade for Clark when Repko got hurt rather than promoting Bigbie.

Actually, I meant the Orioles (his former team) not the Cubs, although maybe them too.

452 The Dodgers will miss Larry Bigbie about as much as they'd miss Marlon Anderson. Look at what he's done in recent years in the bigs. His great minor league numbers were fueled by a .404 BABIP, so those aren't worth worrying about.

He'll either end up on the end of some teams bench or playing for some other AAA affiliate. It's not worth worrying about.

452 Bigbie has to be as good as Clark. Every time I look at Colletti I think the lights are on but no one's home...

Bigbie 2005 (272 AB): .239/.301/.346
Bigbie 2006 (25 AB): .240/.321/.280

He really doesn't have to be as good as Clark.

454 The Cubs and the Royals both have packed corner outfield situations. They wouldn't need Bigbie.

Anderson, Martinez and either Betemitt or Saenz should be sent packing, replaced by Loney, LaRoche, and Kemp. Got to be an improvement.
Outfielders: Gonsalves, Pierre, Eithier, Kemp, Loney and LaRoche as backup
Infielders: Nomar, Kent, Furcal, Abreu, LaRoche, Loney, Betemitt (or Saenz)
Two catchers, 12 pitchers.

459. So basically you wish for Loney, LaRoche and Kemp to see nearly zero playing time which is exaclty what the guys you'd like to replace have seen. Can't play 25 guys every day.

459
I am admittedly a fan of hypotheticals (and of Saenz), but I do not think that Saenz should be shown the door until someone proves to me that he can no longer hit the fastball of the marginal relievers he faces 50-75 times per year.

I can certainly see the value of a youth movement given all the talent we have, but I personally would like to see Saenz given an extension of another year. Send Martinez and Anderson packing and go with Kemp and Abreu permanently. I think LaRoche could use a bit more time in Vegas.

Schmidt is pitching tonight but is not yet on the 25 man roster. I assume Hull is the odd man out. Is that official?

459 See my comment 400 above. Which is similar to Branch's comment.

No official move yet but I'd assume Hull will be sent back to Vegas. Though with Saito's status up in the air, who knows?

Saw on Diamond Leung's blog this note: "was able to squeeze in a call from the Dodgers' new scouting director, Tim Hallgren with the draft coming up on Thursday. Hallgren worked out 50-plus potential draft picks at Dodger Stadium last night from 6-11:30 p.m. From what I can gather, the Dodgers have narrowed down their first-round pick (20th overall) to six or so players. Look out for more details in Thursday's paper."

You'd have a hard time convincing me that youth is better served by sitting on a major league bench. Of course the player wants to be up because the increase in money is incredible so he will rationalize everything to make it sound like sitting on a bench is a good idea as opposed to getting 4 at bats every night or a regular turn in a rotation in the minors. If they aren't going to play in either a platoon or a semi regular basis then playing everyday in AAA/AA is the next best alternative. Every team needs it's Clark's and company. We have a nice bench of players who know their roles. My druthers would be Pierre and Gonzo playing their roles on the bench but I don't think removing our current bench players gains anything.

464
Wow, they really had 50 players working out at DS last night. That doesn't seem possible.

For those who follow such things.

In a bout with insomnia, I reviewed the BABIP/Line Drive percentage for Kemp and Loney while in AAA.

Loney 2007 - 20.7% line drives in BABIP
Loney 2006 - 25.3% line drives in BABIP
Kemp 2007 - 22.8% line drives in BABIP
Kemp 2006 - 24.5% line drives in BABIP

So it looks like what Jon wrote about what Russ Langer saying about Loney still hitting the ball hard is true, sure he's down about 20% in line drive percentage but he may still come on and raise it a little bit but if what I have read on DT is correct, we are still looking at a .300 hitter in big leagues.

The only thing Kemp isn't doing is hitting the ball out of the park. But his other numbers seem to be consistent with this particular measurement.

Okay, Andrew and the others who actually know this stuff, am I correct in my analysis?

428 I thought Eric Enders or Bob might chime in on this one but my recollection is that there was a game I think back in the Coliseum where Vinny called a hit and run play from the broadcast booth.

But Vinny is no Jerry Coleman on that regard.

Can Matt Kemp be any more on fire? If he can do 1/2 this much damage to MLB pitchers we need him up!

467

Kemp HR.

467 From what I was looking at earlier in the year, I think Loney's problem was that he wasn't hitting the ball well at the beginning of the year. Two or three weeks ago, his line drive percentage was down around 17%, so it looks like he's just starting to come around.

Also, a 20% LD% isn't necessarily a sign that a guy will be a .300 hitter in the bigs, you need to get up to where Loney was in 2006 to be reasonably assured of that.

Other than that, it's pretty spot on.

Man I'm so glad the blue is headed back to the west coast. Seems like we've had to deal with Steiner and Psycho for far too long.

472 Out here on the East Coast we need to get used to being up till midnight (or worse) again.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Pinch-hitter Alan Oaks homered off Vanderbilt ace David Price in the top of the 10th inning and Michigan beat the overall No. 1 seed Commodores 4-3 on Monday night to advance to the NCAA tournament's super regionals.

470 Yep, speak of the devil! Kemp just hit one out. So too did Daniel fave Mitch Jones, for his 19th! Loney's in RF today and has a hit so far.

471 How many guys reach 25% even in the majors?

But if you are a guy like Kemp who not only is hitting around 23% line drives and he can run to beat out those slow rollers to the left side, that must make him a good candidate to be able to hit for a decent average with power? Or should I go back and reread the Hardball Times article?

472 Hey, I get to deal with 9 innings of Monday and Reuss on the radio out here. Though, I like Jerry Reuss as an analyst with Monday, they have a good rapport as former teammates and Reuss has a lot of good things to say.

Let's put it this way, while Steiner and Monday are generally pretty comical (they try to be funny and sometimes get to talking about the Yankees in the 5th inning when they do the scoreboard), at least Jerry Reuss tries to talk about pitch location or what defensive adjustments are being made, etc.

476 Very few.

Does Monday ever talk about the '65 draft. He was the #1 pick.

479
I've never heard him mention it.

It must have been a heck of a thrill. Do you know what his signing bonus was?

479 He's talks about Charlie Finley and growing up in Santa Monica but not too much about the draft.

478 According to Russ Langer, Kemp's homer was a line drive over the fence. Loney's hit three liners, two for hits, one caught in the outfield.

I find Reuss very tedious. He's got some stock phrases that annoy me. Like when giving scores, he can't just say XX leads YY 4-1. He has to say XX leads YY by the score of 4-1. He's got a few like that that are like fingernails on a chalkboard for me.

Buddy Carlisle is pitching right now, and the Marlins announcers have been going on for about 5 minutes now making Who's on first style "buddy" jokes. (Do you have any buddies named Buddy? Are they on your AOL buddy list?). Now they're just naming everyone they can think of named Buddy. I'll take Steiner and Monday over this nonsense.

484
I'm not sure Steiner and Monday are "above" that kind of nonsense.

BTW - We should be seeing the Juan Pierre batting leadoff for the next 2 1/2 weeks because the Dodgers are not scheduled to face a lefthanded starter until the Tampa Bay Sereis on the 22nd.

Some of the pitchers the Dodgers will face in the next 5 series include Chris Young, Greg Maddux, Jake Peavy, Roy Halladay (twice), Orlando Hernandez, John Maine, Bartolo Colon, Jered Weaver, Kelvim Escobar and A.J. Burnett.

Sounds like fun don't it. And don't you love interleague play?

Roy Halladay twice?? And the Angels again. That's fair!
At least there's no decent pitching in our own division. :-/
Yeesh.

486 For some reason we do okay against aces. Maybe its just my selective memory, but its the losses against total scrubs that drives me completely insane. The starter on that list who's going to make me the most batty is Maddux. I have a feeling hes going to go deep into the game on Wednesday because we lack patience.

B. Carlyle is making Jon proud.

Sure would have been nice to face Seo/Fossum before Tampa revamped the rotation.

yeah we face Halladay twice and something tells me the Pads won't have to face him once....

490 Considering they don't play the Blue Jays, you are correct sir.

We can only hope that they get to face at least two of the top pitchers for the Red Sox (Beckett, Schilling and Dice K). With the Dodger's luck they will face Wakefield and Tavarez.

Another schedule note, two great pitching matchups this Sunday, in LA, Jason Schmidt and Roy Halladay and in Phoenix, Randy Johnson can't seem to get away from the Red Sox vs. Dice K.

492 Unfortunately for the fans in the Bronx, that means the Randy Johnson will not be pitching in Yankee Stadium during the following series with the Yankees.

Serious question: How good of a bench player would Pierre be? My guess is, pretty good. As a pinch-hitter, he probably wouldn't strike out and is a good bunter. He would be a good pinch-runner. Defensively, he should return you above-average range in LF and average or better range in CF.

Obviously he would be hugely overpaid, but maybe that's where this ultimately will go, Pierre as a bench player who sees spot duty in CF and LF.

Would love to read more about whether Kemp has improved in CF. That's one of the selling points of keeping him in Vegas. Working with Easler in a less pressurized environment is another.

488

I don't think failed patience is the culprit for losing to Maddux. It's not like he's going to walk you. Hitters have been swinging early against him for many years because he throws so many strikes and it's no fun at all hitting against him with two strikes. More than anything, it's very hard to read the ball off him because of the late life.

494 We could get rid of $1.7 million of his salary by giving away or trading Clark because we would not need him anymore.

I would be all for Juan Pierre as a bench player, mostly because it doesn't matter a whole lot who a team's bench players are.

Does anybody out there like Pierre? Seriously, has anyone seen anything written that actually takes the position that Pierre has been good for the Dodgers?

There was Bill Shaikin's piece that said, "Hey, the Dodgers are in first place, and isn't that what matters?," but that's not the same thing.

495 Hence the frustration I guess.

I hope we do well in this series. The Padres are on a 12-2 run that has got to come back down to earth soon. Im hoping our starters can go deep into some of these games and have Billingsley set up Broxton for the late innings.

I actually like Pierre's game in general, if he was playing it. Sure it would be nice if he walked more, but I can handle .330-.340 OBP if he was doing some of the other things that he used to do. For me- the way he is useful is if he:
Takes extra bases, steals bases, slaps the ball all over the place and puts pressure on the defense/pitcher. But he isn't doing that. He is station to station on the base-paths, has what 3 or 4 SBs in the last month? and he pops the ball up or bounces out to second 90% of the time. It's got to be frustrating, even to the people who wanted him in the first place.

Chris Young's ERA in May is 1.13 over 40 IP. He's a big part of their recent success.

You'd have a hard time convincing me that youth is better served by sitting on a major league bench. Of course the player wants to be up because the increase in money is incredible so he will rationalize everything to make it sound like sitting on a bench is a good idea as opposed to getting 4 at bats every night or a regular turn in a rotation in the minors.

good point TC.

500 And we beat his brains out on Jackie Robinson day. I hope JP, Furcal and Martin can get on base and start stealin'. We're gonna need any advantage we can get to win.

I will ask the assembled masses here since this was posed at the Griddle?

Is it standard now for 8-year olds in Little League to have a pitching machine instead of a player pitching?

Does anyone know which number Eric Hull wore while he was up on the big squad?

504

57

505
Hull has fared better than Steve Howe in many respects.

M.H.R.I.P.

497
Always in moderation: http://tinyurl.com/yrue73

504 You used the past tense (wore). Is it official?

509
Yes. Hull down and Schmidt reactivated.

503 In our league, for the 7-8 year olds, the pitching machine is used in the first half of the game, then the kids pitch during the second half. Needless to say, the pace of the game hits a brick wall about halfway thru.

This division also does not keep score until a double elimination tournament at the end of the season.

510 Probably the right decision but too bad he didn't get into at least 1 game.

Last night was another case of the Dodgers living up to their name and their team DNA. A 5-0 lead in the 7th with a no hitter going turns into a 6-5 squeaker with the tying run on 3rd and winning run on 1st. IF YOU HAVE A WEAK HEART, THE DODGERS ARE NOT THE TEAM FOR YOU! LOL! Dodgers probably lose more fans to heart failure than your average team. The Dodgers always seem to take the hard road even when given the option of the easier road, they opt for tougher path to follow.

So, I guess Tomrickson or Hendko are relegated to middle and long relief for now. Bills, Beimel and Rudy are our set up men for The OX until Saito is healed. BE STILL MY BEATING HEART!!!

511
My nephew was playing on a diamond laid out so that during most of the summer, the batters are looking into the sun.

Always a good way to improve the batting eyes of youngsters.

503 Yes. Little league generally goes from T-Ball to Coach Pitch to Machine Pitch to Kid Pitch, with the kids pitching around age 9. Before that age, there would be way too many walks, hit batters, and wild pitches, and very little hitting or fielding.

I know a lot of people want Billingsly to start, but he is going to be soooo important in the 'pen over the next week or so.

514 I played 1B on a LL team in the High Desert. Any throw from 3B in the late afternoon was sure to be right in the middle of the sun. I always hated to see the ball hit to 3rd.

When I played little league, they didn't allow 8 year olds.

And we liked it!

Loney is back in RF today, Kemp in CF, LaRoche at third, and Jones at first.

Can a 30 year old rookie hit his way to MLB? Jones power is needed. Could he have stepped in front of Loney on the first base depth chart?

518
And you had to run uphill to first base. Both ways!

519 Like others, I read Mitch Jones's story and I root for him to make the majors -- with some other team, in the American League. The guy clearly deserves one shot at the brass ring... I'm just not convinced that his shot should come for the Dodgers. If he gets the call over Loney or Kemp, there's something wrong.

Gaslamp blog seems to think they could trade for Adam Dunn by giving up Clay Hensley. Seems to me that it would take much more than that, as there would probably be competition from a few other teams for his service if he were to be on the market.
vr, Xei

Peter Gammons suggests Porcello could possibly fall to the Yankees. If he falls to us we have to take him! I do not care if we do not like Boras. Just give the kid money and let him pitch.

Once upon a time I was talking with my grandson and I told him way back in 2007 when I was just a kid I once warmed up in the bullpen at Dodger Stadium.

519
Not our roster but the Yankee's might take a shot at him. Or Brazel from the Royals AAA team. They are the Pickering of 2007.

A 200Mill roster and they are playing Phelps at 1st base and starting two rookies back to back in the rotation who have no business being in the bigs yet. I wonder if Cashman looks at Carlos Pena and bites his nails. Could've had him for peanuts.

507
Mark Hendrickson is dead, Doctor?

521 - Is there a short version of Mitch Jones story?

519 In 1965 the Dodgers brought up a 30 year old named Lou Johnson. He had played about 100 games over 3 years in his mid-20's so he was not a real rookie but pretty close. He had 3 great years for the Dodgers including a WS game 7 HR with Koufax on the mound. He also scored the only run in Koufax's perfect game in '65.

Sweet Mitch Jones

526

M.H. = "May He"

527 Career minor leaguer, tons of power (500ish SLG year after year), won the 2004 AA and 2005 AAA Home Run Derbys, but unspectacular BA (.260) and OBP (.330)... never made the majors, not even a cup of coffee.

As far as the Yankees taking a flyer on him... he was a Yankee prospect until last year. (That's partly why he never got a callup, I suppose.)

Steinbrenner might be quietly enjoying a --so you think you can do this without me--view of the Yankees this year. When will he jump in and do something stupid that the Dodgers might take advantage of?

532
I don't know what the Yankees have that could help us. I do not want to trade a ton of prospects just to have A-Rod for two months.

531 - The Yankees have been wanting a right handed bat at first for a while but they like to pay big for other team's big hitters more than bring up an unknown, or so it seems.

528
Your not a Dodger fan if you don't know the Lou Johnson story. Has any player, played so briefly and yet is more fondly remembered?

Maybe RJ Reynolds?

you can't beat live pitching Bob, but the machines are good for mechanics hand eye coordination & so on.IMO.

"Have you met Mitch Jones?"
Someone said as we shook hands
He was just Mitch Jones to me
Then I said, Mitch Jones,
You're a guy who understands
Center Field don't come for free
And all at once, then, Juan Pierre
Grounded out to second, where
Upon I gave someone else a try

Now I've met Mitch Jones
And we'll keep on meeting til we die
Mitch Jones and I

I think the key to getting AROD if it were to happen is to trade payroll meaning Penny, Pierre, Kent and either LaRoche or Betemit.

Boras wants A-Rod to hit free agency. There lies the problem. Plus, we have a GM and an assistant GM that do not like the guy, which will hurt us.

538 I think the key to getting A-Rod is giving up an unacceptable lot of young talent: something like Kemp and Loney and LaRoche and Billingsley. Obviously, the Dodgers would never do this trade, but without all of them, why would the Yankees trade A-Rod? I wouldn't.

535 - Your not a Dodger fan if you don't know the Lou Johnson story.

Huh? Those are tough standards you're setting there.

532 - I think George is quite sick these days, of the "not of sound mind" variety. I'm really not sure how much control he has over the team these days, outside of figurehead status.

When ARod hit free agency, which teams can reasonably be expected to be able to afford him?

536
This 41-year old stepped into a batting cage for the first time in three years this past weekend.

The results were ...

humbling.

540 - I don't think the Yankees will trade AROD nor do they want to trade him. But if they truly believed he will leave after this year they are either going to have to pay most of his future salary or take players with high salaries. Prospects have basically zero salary.

Sweet Lou Johnson was my mother's favorite Dodger.

542
Red Sox, Yankees, Giants, and Angels?

So, who would we be willing to give up for someone like Dunn? Bills, Loney, Kemp, Abreu, Laroche, Broxton?

Because of Abreu's recent success, does it help his chances of being traded for someone else at third, or should we turn our attention to the problems at 1st and in the outfield (calling Matt Kemp)

UCLA got a commitment from a 6'7" offensive linemen named Jonathan Martin.

Oh, Ethier should be in that list too

Since I have no desire for Dunn to be a Dodger I would not offer anything for him.

546 - Cubs, Dodgers, White Sox?

543

Don't get discouraged Bob, keep on going & trust be you'll get better.

550)

Well, then that leads to the other question. If we were to trade for someone, what position should it be?

553
It depends who we are willing to trade, but I would prefer to trade for an outfielder.

554)
Who are feasible options right now?

I wonder if the Yankees would have any interest at all in Nomar? There is also the 'in your face' thing at the Red Sox. Nomar and Tomko for...what?

556 - Nomar and Tomko for...what?

I don't know much about this "what?" guy, but he sounds like a good return for that package. Consider it a deal.

555 - I think Rocco Baldelli will be the guy. He "fits" Ned more than Dunn.

555 Please, for the love of everything holy, no more trades with the Devil Rays.

that should have been directed at 557.

555
Carl Crawford and then there are rentals in Hunter and Dye. Dye may come cheaply.

557 Ugh. No more Devil Ray veterans! No, I put my foot down. And I used to be a Baldelli fan. But he seems all broken down and unreliable this year. (Unless they want Hendrickson back for him.) I'd rather us just play Kemp if we're looking for an outfielder.

428 "Vin Scully actually managed the Dodgers for one game – from the broadcast booth. ???"

Gary Kaufman talked about this in his famous Salon article on Scully.

http://archive.salon.com/people/bc/1999/10/12/scully/print.html

"The golden age of the transistor radio made Vin Scully's voice an overarching presence at Dodger Stadium. So many fans brought radios to the game, the broadcast could be heard in every corner of the ballpark.... He used that power only rarely. Once he had the crowd sing "Happy Birthday" to an umpire, Frank Secory. In 1965, on the last day of the season, with the Dodgers having clinched the pennant the night before, manager Walter Alston let Scully manage, over the radio, from the booth. A very hung over Ron Fairly drew a walk ("He didn't trot to first base. He didn't really walk to first base. He sloshed to first base"), and Scully thought it would be fun to have Fairly, slow-footed in the best of times, steal.

"For those of you in the ballpark with transistor radios listening," Scully said, "watch Fairly's face when he looks over to third and gets the steal sign." After a double take for the ages by Fairly and a foul ball by the hitter, Scully had Fairly go again, and he made it, thanks to the catcher dropping the ball. At that, Scully retired from managing: "All right, Walter," he said, "I got you this far. Now you're on your own.""

(Except Carl Crawford, I could see the value in adding him... but I'd rather not send any more kids to the D-Rays.)

559 - At least they'd be getting a halfway talented player in return this time.

Now if Ned can get him without giving up Billz, Kershaw, or Kemp...

I won't bring up Dukes even though we could get him for peanuts.

If we could get Crawford for Elbert, Ethier, and Betemit, I would do it.

Speaking of Elbert, anybody know the story with him?

565 Is that true?

What is the deal with him? I don't mean his off-field problems. What are his talents? How good could he be expected to be?

566 - I don't think that gets it done, not with Elbert's arm troubles.

Doesn't a package start with Billingsley or Kershaw, add another live arm for the pen, and a hitter at a position of need?

Billingsley, Meloan, Abreu for Crawford?

568
Yeah, the D-Rays feel that he needs to badly get out of Florida and away from a lot of people. The guy is extremely talented. A prototypical 5 tool talent.

569
Yeah, it probably does not get it done, but that is what I would offer. I would not trade Billingsley at all.

567 - "Scott Elbert" and "shoulder" returns 39,600 results on Google. Probably not a good sign.

Attn Andrew Shimmin, Better than Chicken Fried Bacon:

Here is the special burger from a newly-reopended hamburger place, Hawkin's House of Burgers, in my neighborhood.

The Hawkins Special: 3 - 8oz patties, 3 eggs, 2 hot links, ridiculous amounts of bacon and pastrami, pickles, mustard, cheese.

All for 12.50

573 does that include a balloon for the angioplasty afterward?

For me and this is simply from what I have seen with my eyes...I would not trade Bills or Kemp for anyone other than Puljos or Cabrerra. Someone could probably come up with a few other young players that can fit with those two, but no one comes to mind right now.

I think I started sweating grease from just reading about that

567 According to Tony Jackson's Org update on BaseballAmerica.com (premium content so no link), he said that Elbert has been in extended spring training (translates to working out in Vero Beach area or someplace similar) and a MRI showed no structural damage to the shoulder, still recovering from tendinitis in the front of hsi shoulder.

535 - This was well before my time, but thanks to the internet I'm a Dodger fan by those standards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Johnson

This was a funny aside in Josh R's new post on ItD:
"As for Charley Steiner jinxing the no-hitter, I have to say that I'm just not that superstitious. If you want to blame anyone, blame me because after six innings of no-hit ball, I called Jason Repko to talk about a few things for the upcoming community program that he's launching and I asked if he was watching the game. When he said he wasn't near a TV, I told him about the no-no and he assured me that I had jinxed it. About five minutes after we hung up, the first hit came and I got a text message from him blaming me for the loss of the no-hitter."

While Chris Young is pitching 0 (zero) base runners have been caught this year in 16 SB attempts, 4 were caught in 45 SB attempts last year. I read somewhere that he doesn't really care about that fact and considers stoles bases somewhat trivial. He may or may not be right, but I really hope every runner with speed we get on advances tonight!

Get used to this lineup, outside of some off-days due to only a few scheduled off-days, it is the one you will see until they face a lefty starter in Tampa Bay.

Pierre, CF
Furcal, SS
Garciaparra, 1B
Kent, 2B
Gonzalez, LF
Martin, C
Ethier, RF
Abreu, 3B
Schmidt, P

581 Or until there's a trade!

Russell Martin: best 6th hitter in the NL?

583
In baseball.

The penultimate ItD post got over 300 comments. It's a laugh riot.

583 In the Galaxy.

So here's a question that I'll rephrase to avoid beating a dead horse. Does hitting in the third spot increase or decrease Nomar's value? He's clearly knocking in runs. Could we get someone in there to do hit the ball harder, or do Nomar's singles count for just as much?

583 Of the 10 MLB batters in the 6th spot with over 100 plate appearances, Martin ranks 3rd in OPS (behind Mike Lowell and Brad Hawpe), tied for 3rd with Pudge (again, behind Lowell and Hawpe) in RBI, 3rd in Runs but leads the other 9 players in stolen bases with 4.

So I guess he would rank 2nd behind Brad Hawpe in the NL.

581 - Is Betemit done starting for the foreseeable future? I admit I haven't watched a lot of games on this East Coast swing. Is Abreu now getting all of the starts, left and right?

583

is there such a thing as a 5 tool catcher?

587 While Nomar still does a pretty good job driving in runs in the 3rd spot, he's tied for 5th out of 32 players with 100 or more plate appearances, the other component of batting 3rd is scoring runs too.

This is where Nomar is lagging behind and its hard to tell what exactly is causing this to happen. For one, Nomar's OPS in 30th out of 32 batters. He's tied for 21st place in Runs.

But as Jon pointed out the other day, there are a lot of big name players in this showcase lineup spot that are off to poor starts.

589 Abreu is going start as long as he his performing but I would guess that Betemit will get a start somewhere in the next 15 games against righties.

591
Wouldn't Nomar do better in a different slot where he would leade off more innings and where his penchant for not striking out would do us more good. I may not understand the mechanics of the batting lineup as well as others here, but here would be the lineup that I would like to see:

Furcal
Nomar
Kent
Martin
Gonzo
Ethier
Abreu
Pierre

591 - He's only got a .329 OBP overall, with 11 XBH's and 1 SB. He's simply not getting on base and into scoring position often enough to score any runs.

He's hitting .350 with runners on (but only a .410 SLG%), so that's how he's getting his RBIs. About the only productive thing he's doing offensively is getting a lot of singles with runners on. Outside of that, it's a barren wasteland (a .566 OPS with the bases empty).

I guess it's good that he's making his hits count at least, but his inflated RBI total is putting lipstick on an otherwise brutal season.

Why the Pierre - Furcal switch? I've been camping for a few days so forgive me if this has been beaten to death but it surprised me.

You know, it will be kind of funny if Nomar ends up with 9 HR and 100 RBI.

591

Those 32 playes, are those first baseman or 3 hole hitters?

597 Guys batting 3rd.

596- at this rate, 9 would be a power explosion.

593 Unfortunately, that lineup will never happen because if Pierre's only value is when he can steal a base, you just don't steal batting 8th. If this was the AL, then it might make some sense because you don't have the dead spot.

599 Yes, but think about the comedy factor. A Martinez would be able to boast his predictive powers -- just one season off!

596

That's pretty crazy

Funny for who, The Padres? The D-backs?

596 - I'm sure that would warm the cockles of Steve's heart.

Last year, somebody -- I think it was A Martinez, never really found out who it was -- predicted before the season that Nomar would end up (last year) with 9 HR and 100 RBI. He was roundly ridiculed for this prediction.

And then, there was 2007...

Whatever happened to Steve? I miss him.

600
What do you think about the position of Nomar at #2?

598 thanks.

Cajun, Nomar's OBP when no one is on base is .275 and he is hitting .225

606 - I checked www.firenedcolletti.com.

No sign of him there, and I'm fresh out of ideas.

I sent the Ninja an email the other day, but haven't heard back.

Our lineup configuration will always look odd to me, because we have no true clean up hitter. I mean really Martin is seemingly our best option for batting 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.

I would flip flop Martin and Nomar. Nomar batting 5th or 6th. Even when healthy I think thats the best spot for Nomar.

608 - Why would Nomar's stats with no one on matter if he was hitting secon...oh, wait.

For those interested in the low levels of the farm system. Most know that Preston Mattingly got off to a horrid start to the season this year.

In April, his BA/OBP/SLG was:

.224 .242 .310

But the last ten games he has been tearing it up to the tune of:

.450 .500 .800 in 40 ABs

Got to love that turn around. Josh Bell is on a similar tear after a poor start to the season.

608
Noted. Just wondering how to maximize his innate singlezaniness. I guess that would be actually in the 3 or 4-hole, huh?

Note of frustration: I have been a Dodger fan for 5 years now (since I moved here) and we have yet to have an offense that I get excited to watch. We have players that are exciting ('07 Martin, '05 Kent, '06 Furcal) and awesome bullpens, but not a great or even good offense.

With Hunter, Jones, Abreu, Dye, and possibly AROD all FAs, hopefully we can end this.

I personally prefer seeing low scoring pitching dominated games, so our style of play does not bother me. I just think we should play our best players.

With LaRoche, Loney, Kemp, Abreu, Ethier and Martin all under our control for at least 5 years, including this one, we should have an exciting offense without too many signings or trades sooner rather than later.

Just say no to Hunter, Jones, Abreu, and Dye.

618 - J H A D - JIHAD Coincidence?

I think not.

615 I guess its how you measure offense, last year's team set franchise (L.A.) records in several categories aside from home runs. They hit, hit with runners in scoring position, doubled, walk, left men on base, scored one of their highest total of runs in the 40+ years of being in L.A.

Now, these are not the teams that had 4 guys hit 30 home runs nor is there a player like Pedro Guerrero or Mike Piazza or Raul Mondesi on the team. I think the main thing is that this team generally requires a few guys to be on in order to be productive and very rarely can one player carry the team like the others I mentioned (should also put Sheff, Shawn Green and Beltre, in that category when they were playing well)

596 immediately brought to mind the 1985 season of Tom Herr...8 HR, 110 RBI for the Cards.

I looked up on Baseball Reference for recent 100 RBI, sub-10 HR seasons, and there have only been 3 since 1950:

1996: Paul Molitor (Min) 9-113 (I completely forgot about this year from the HOFer)
1985: Herr
1950: George Kell (Det) 8-101

Dixie Walker had back-to-back such years in 1945-6 for the Dodgers:

1945: 8-124
1946: 9-116

D4P, how did you like the WEC event?

618 - Though I think you forgot Ichuro.

Jones, Ichuro, Hunter, Abreu and Dye

JIHAD.

Coincedence?

I think not.

We have players that are exciting ('07 Martin, '05 Kent, '06 Furcal) and awesome bullpens, but not a great or even good offense.

I don't think it's fair to say our offense isn't at least "good". We're pretty solid 1-8. I'd love to nab a nice power hitter to throw in the middle of the order, but we can probably get by with what we have.

The question is, if we go after a power bat who the heck are we gonna go after? Dunn? Dye? Who knows what's even available.

Things are not looking good for Tsao. He experienced more intense pain trying to just toss the ball around.

If any of your guys are fans of The New Pornographers... a song from their new album is available for free download today at Salon.com.

620
I never got to see Green when he was actually good, and Sheff/Mondesi were playing past my bedtime when I was growing up in Louisiana.

624
Rather than "good" I should have said exciting or fun to watch, though if I am being fair, I would rather see us score 4 and win than 6 and lose.

615 - Welcome to the wonderful world of being a Dodger fan. Last year's offense was the best I can recall LA having (going on 20+ years now), so if you're waiting for something better than that you should probably (in the words of a wise man) "pull up a chair and stick around awhile".

624 The Dodgers have scored 254 runs, making them 18th out of 30 teams. That's my evidence when I say:

With good OBP and poor SLG, the Dodgers have an extremely average offense.

629
If I had to choose all over again, I would still rather have the 2 years watching Gagne coming out of the pen than just about anything. Now it's Saito...I guess our type of fun starts with the swinging of a gate in left rather than the tap of a bat on the plate.

630-

and we're also what, 57 games in?

I think it's a little early to call this offense "extremely average".

627 That's depressing to me that someone used the term bedtime when talking about seeing Raul Mondesi play for the Dodgers. I don't even want to talk about using it when talking about Sheff's time as a Dodger.

616 Good news, I see that the CSU Fullerton vs. UCLA Super Regional will be on the ESPN properties all weekend (game on Monday if necessary) The first game on Saturday afternoon will be on ESPN and Games 2 and 3 will be on ESPN2 (Sunday/Monday).

632 I chose my hyperbole carefully.

632 - That's over a 1/3 of the way through the season, and the best chance for the offense to improve is if a bunch of guys get hurt.

Call it what you want, but "average" seems to be a nice way of putting it.

632
It could work both and actually get worse if we don't start hitting some gaps soon.

635-

By having a bunch of guys getting hurt you're assuming that the players brought up will immediately produce. Sure, Loney would be a great bat to have in the lineup...but do we know for sure what we'd get out of Kemp? Will Abreu keep it up? All these guys are question marks....and while I'm no fan of Gonzo and Pierre, it's tough to just assume that the players that replaced them would put up better numbers.

Ned really painted us into a corner with the Pierre and Gonzo signings...but I don't even there's no point in even discussing it because we're stuck with the guy for five years. So if we're talking about simply what we can do at this point, I don't see how the replacements for these guys (if they got hurt) would outproduce what's already there.

Looks like we could hit 700 posts before the new Game thread opens. vr, Xei

617-Martin and Ethier will be "five-plus" players to begin the 2012 season, so they will still be under control.

Thankfully I came from a household, mostly due to my mother, that there was no bedtime if the dodgers were still on. Of course I live in LA Area so its much easier.

637 I won't speak for blue22, but he didn't make any assumptions. He said, "the best chance for the offense to improve..."

...chance being the operative word. It would be just that: taking a chance.

Colletti chose to go with a few known mediocrities than take a chance on the young players, who might fail completely, might be mediocre, or might be great.

I believe blue22 was hinting that with the current known mediocrities, there is no chance for improvement and that he would roll the dice on the prospects instead. He likes those odds.

So do I.

637 It seems for now that the Gonzalez signing has been considered to be okay considering that it is for one year, there is no option year in the deal and he does produce especially against lefties.

*I believe blue22 was hinting that with the current known mediocrities, there is no chance for improvement and that he would roll the dice on the prospects instead. He likes those odds.

So do I.*

I completely agree...but the problem with that is that it simply won't happen. Is Pierre going to get benched? Nope....The Gonzo signing has really put us in a bind though which gets more and more irritating. That could have gone to either Kemp or Loney and if it didn't work out, then you make a trade for a LF.

I'm just trying to figure out ways to improve this offense realistically. Right now, the only scenario I see is either trading for a third baseman or if Gonzo somehow goes on the DL and we trade for a LF.

637

It sure looks like Kemp is ready to out produce, well, everyone... but he has been a tricky case. Last years AA/AAA #s were phenomenal, but when he came up that changed in a hurry (after the 7 HRs in June). Near the end it was painful to watch. I suspect that's why management is waiting (maybe too long) to bring him back. Going in to a nasty K-ridden slump a second time might be pretty tough on the kids confidence. I think we need to go for it at some point soon though and give him a shot.

644 - He seemed to be doing alright this year till you know the whole wall incident.

Fair enough. Pierre isn't going anywhere.

Gonzalez could very well get injured. If he does, I think it's close to 100% that Colletti will call up Kemp and at least give him 40-100 AB to win the job. If Kemp fails, then Colletti will pull the trigger on a trade, but I've got to believe that's Plan B.

Same thing if Nomar gets injured, except it's Loney who'll get called up.

That's why I wonder if all this trade talk is for nothing. What position is open? 3B? Who's available for the price you're willing to pay? LF/1B? Would Colletti really trade Gonzalez/Nomar and block Kemp/Loney some more?

I just don't see a big trade happening. Maybe I'm wrong.

absolutely agree. The only way I see a trade happening is if Eithier goes and we make a RF upgrade...but what RF is available? Dye? He's a free agent to be....any other trades will block kemp/loney like you mentioned.

Completely agree with you on the Gonzo thing. I would never wish injury on anyone, but it'd be nice to see Kemp get a shot at LF.

Nah, I think your right. 646 My only saving grace for Pierre is maybe the idea that Ned couldn't sit still with Danny Baez. Other than that, no hope. My gosh, 4 more years of closing my eyes when the ball is hit out there and when he is not already on base.

D4P, how did you like the WEC event?

It was all right. I've gotten to the point where I'm not all that interested in actually watching the fights: I just want to see who wins. The only bouts I get excited about are those involving my favorites or other big names.

Maybe they can put Gonzalez on the DL with a pulled gennectegazoink. Don't root for him to get hurt... but two weeks to rest up for the second half/see what Kemp can do...

633
Good to hear it will be on TV. I had to watch the game against LBSU on my laptop.

Anyone care to guess which Dodger pitcher currently has the fifth best VORP on the team? Hint, it is simply mind boggling.

652 If you are talking hitting, I think it is Jason Schmidt.

I am talking pitching VORP.

653 I looked it up. It's not Jason Schmidt. As a hitter, Schmidt is the 10th-highest on the team in VORP.

The highest pitcher in VORP (as a hitter) is Brad Penny (7th). Yes, the 7th-most-valuable hitter on the Dodgers is Brad Penny.

Any guesses as to which player has provided the least value to the Dodgers so far this year? Go on, guess.

656 I know its annoying but I am not sure what we gain by continuing to go down this road.

The fifth highest VORP for a pitcher for pitching is Rudy Seanez. He is only behind Penny, Wolf, Lowe and Saito. What kind of world do we live in where Seanez can be better ranked than Bills or Broxton or any one of any real talent?

BTW- Roy Halladay gave up 8 runs and 12 hits in 3+ innings today. He threw over 70 pitches in that short time.

658 Hence the debate between stats and scouts.

657 It's not him. It's Lucille II, by quite a margin.

658
It is still early in the season. Plenty of time for Bills and Bull to move up.

659 Good news for the weekend, bad news for my fantasy team.

The game in Atlanta is no longer interesting.

Isn't VORP not as good for pitchers anyways?

So Gary Barnett gets beaned and Kelly Stinnet goes from being at home to crouching behind home plate of the defending World Series Champions.

Guess what?