Dodgers shooting for their first win with me in the stands since September 21, 2006. The Dodgers beat the Pirates 5-2.

That Joba Chamberlain is pretty tough. He set the Orioles down 1-2-3 while making them look pretty silly. I'd dare to say his fastball/slider combo is even better than Broxton's.

Hope Billz uses all his pitches tonight, I can't remember what game it was but he struck out some guy on 3 pitches 1 FB 1 Curve 1 12-6 Curve it looked really cool.

If anything I want to see some cool looking pitches.

please give us some feed back on how studly a pitcher Oswalt looks, I'm a huge fan. I'm hoping for a nice pitching dual though.

that was a cool pitch.

So, I was reading one of my many baseball books, when I noticed it was written by some guy named Enders. Somehow, I knew, whoever wrote it liked the Dodgers. I just had a feeling. Very nice work.

I am guessing ESPN's gun must be fast, because Bills is throwing 95 consistently.

Missed it, he'll have to throw it again with the same results.

The ESPN radar gun always seems about 2 or 3 MPH faster.

7

not that much faster. kcal 9 gun has him consistently 92-94

Sutcliffe says Ned has made no wrong moves.

11 He aslo said the Dodgers had no players in their 30's and that's what they needed.

PTL I think I will finally get to see a game tonight on DTV. As you know I am happy to be a D's fan on the east coast. But at this time of year I am faced with a lot of games that start at 10pm or later, often for weeks on end. Unfortunately I found I was drinking more to wait or nap after supper.
Fortunately I started taking long evening walks instead.
Unfortunately I found (this being a rather touristy area) that though much of my walk is rural, there are 5 Restaraunt/bars in walking range.
Fortunately I have been doing very well passing most of these establishments.
Unfortunately one has a cute and rather friendly bartendress.
Fortunately that place is a long walk away.
Unfortunately I found out she is a baseball fan.
Fortunately she likes the Yankees, with leanings toward SF (where she lived for 5 years.
I think I will be just fine.

oops russ.

13 - Sounds confusing.

chad's curve looks pretty wicked tonight.

13
Unfortunately I couldn't follow along with everything you said.

Fortunately I still get your point.

He aslo said the Dodgers had no players in their 30's and that's what they needed.

oh man, that one is priceless!

18
He actually said that when trying to explain their pickup of Hillenbrand.

So, which inning will the Astros score their run in? My bet's on the 5th.

He must have meant noone plays like they are in their 30's.

That has to be two errors yes?

Pretty soon Sutcliffe will be talking about George Clooney, Bill Murray and whether or not Matt Vasgersian should still be in San Diego.

20 The first inning. Tomorrow.

These umpires are horrible.
Berkman kicked 1st base.
That was easy to see.

That's a really bad call. Maybe we can score some runs if the umps like us that much.

it looks like the ump called Loney out at 1st glance from what I saw, luck is on our side for once it looks like.

did the dodgers just catch a break?

What is the name of the 1st Base Umpire?

Given a break, and a GIDP.

well so much for that.

22 It would be unusual to have two errors given for a batter reaching first base only.

paaaa

nice 2-0 hack there, kent.

Thats not exactly how you want to make use of a gift call like that

I'll take that back [as Kent hits into the DP]

We're living up here in the sticks (SLO) and Directv still blacks out the game. Thanks for nothing, Directv.
-Stupid blackout rules...

29 Jerry Crawford. He was union head for the umps when they tried the resignation ploy. He didn't lose his umpiring job, though. 30 years umpiring.

First Dodger RBI will be hit by Chad Billingsley.

Tim Wakefield is now 14-10 in 24 starts. How often does a starter have a decision in every start?

38

gracias.

I'll leave Crawford alone then.

Sutcliffe must have made that statement about the Dodgers needing players in their 30s, when I was on the phone, because I would've done a spit-take. That's despite the fact that they had a thing at the beginning, a montage of Kent, Gonzo, and Nomar - with the announcer Sciambi talking about players getting old. I think Sutcliffe talks like he has a glass of Merlot every half inning.

--
I was glad to see Martin have a good rip on the ball when he lined out, even though it still looks like he's missing balls he would've hit earlier in the year.

Just so, not good use of a gift. That's what seems to happen in these stetches.

43 or stretches.

Watching the Broncos-Niners game earlier, I saw the most pointless thing you can see in sports: throwing the red flag, calling for instant replay on a call.

Man, that was a beautiful inside pitch by Bills, wow!

45 In an exhibition game, I meant to add. Thus the extreme pointlessness.

Well, at least Sutcliffe's aware of Billingsley's 1-0 streak, even if he went off for another three minutes after that.

This is quite a dual, so far.

Nice max effort right there.

bills is throwing hard tonight.

if brad ausmus gets a single, you know things are going bad.

what does the espn gun have billingsley at?

Bills is throwing rocks tonight. The Astros hitters are dead in the water.

52 - Ludicrous speed!

This is quite possibly the best fastball I've seen Billingsley throw - plus velocity to go along with pin-point location. Second time around the line-up I expect him to mix in a few more curveballs.

52
92-95

I almost thought I found an exception to Bob's discovery about Los Angeles Dodger pitchers losing consecutive 1-0 shutout games... the Dodgers did suffer consecutive shutouts on days that Don Drysdale pitched on July 24 and July 28, 1968, but one of those two games was a doubleheader against Houston that Drysdale lost 8-3. A young Don Sutton took the 1-0 loss in the second game of the set.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/LAD/1968_sched.shtml

51 Ausmus has 67 hits this year, a .234, not great, but still, it's not like he's Mark Hendrickson.

As tough as things have been, they should pitch around him and get to Oswalt.

???

that cant happen

I'd say walking Oswalt is the bad sign.

FSN houston has Billingsley throwing 93-94 consistantly and up to 96. FSN Houston also has announcers who say that Billingsley has one of the best curve balls in the game, though I'm pretty sure they haven't seen him throw too much.

The Loney play was described on the scoreboard as "Failed FC".

I've never seen that phrase before on the board.

The BlackBerry is very balky.

55 Sorry for the jinx

61 It's certainly not a good one.

my god

Russell.

ahhh Martin! the ball bounces out of Martins glove.

That was just a few bad pitches from Chad - he needed to just throw straight fast balls around the plate to Oswalt and be done with it. I dunno what Honeycutt said to Bills but it was probably along the lines of, "Stop it!"

Argh, Russell! But a completely clueless fan reached in to interfere with him, too. C'mon, you dolt!

stupid fan get out of the way!

Now that dodo fan is on a cell phone, probably saying, "Did you see me on TV? It was SO cool!"

Oh well, they got out of it.

Bob, go down there and give that guy a talking to.

Ugh, 55 pitches in 2 IP is no bueno

Martin showed some good restraint right there, I would have broken rule 1 all over the interfering fans face.

Bartman in training.

Yes, we need more Rick Ankiel highlights ESPN.

Did the idiotic fan get booed?

If that happened in Yankee Stadium, he'd have to be escorted out for his own protection.

Cue 6 pitch inning.

74 Milton Bradley would throw a bottle at him.

I'm in Section 55 of the reserved. The game is mainly a rumor from here.

78 One hopes. One fears that Chad will overcompensate with strikes that are too good; Berkman and Lee are due up second and third next inning.

73 Worrisome.

I didn't hear much booing - but a few scattered boos, yeah.

Gonzo has been struggling so much lately, I would have had Kemp in there tonight, but what else is new?

Sigh.

god, right when it looks like nomar gets good wood on the ball. its 40 ft shy of the track.

I heard booing after the foul ball dropped by Martin, but I had no idea what it was about.

See now Sutcliffe is actually giving some accurate analysis about how the Dodgers are in transition. Maybe the Merlot is kicking in in a good way.

what's with the freaky camera angles KCAL is giving? it's making me dizzy!

So when you steal second here, you take the bat out of Ethier's hands so Houston can face the pitcher instead.

Bad moons setting and rising. See update above.

Somebody got on base, and though my sound is now off, I think I know who it is. A friend of mine once said everyone needs a little head sometime. So I guess its JP and now he's stolen second----all for nought.

85
Then he goes on about how great Pierre is even though he can't get on base.

From the last thread regaurding Contreras...
Don't the White Sox need a Center fielder?

That last sequence was the perfect example of why having Ethier in the 8 spot is a horrible idea. If it was someone like Nomar there instead, either they pitch to him because they know he's struggling or we get a free walk to one of our weakest hitters. Having one of your best hitters there makes the decision for the opposing manager way too easy.

88 Ugh. I guess 4-4 just isn't good enough.

should be an interesting inning for Bills with Berkman & Lee coming up, I really hope he regains his control.

Thanks for the small tribute to the Queen Of Soul in your 'Who's Zoomin' Who' post Jon, if that's what you were thinking.

Aretha Franklin's 1985 album 'Who's Zoomin Who?' a platinum seller that gave us 'Freeway Of Love', the title track, and a duet with the Eurythmics 'Sisters Are Doin It For Themselves' which had some airplay on MTV.

who did the dodgers option out? for hillenbrand?

I hope I see Shea's Dodger debut! It will be ... different.

96 Delwyn Young

88
Are all their computers broken and they can't look up stats?

delwyn young.

Tony Abreu would have had that grounder.

Ned and Grady are driving me crazy with their decisions, as if the losing streak isnt enough.

Yeah, he went 4-4, but let's go with the guy who has been cut twice over the past year.

I was hoping they would make a change just to hope for another Merlin moment. Hopefully we can catch lightning in a bottle with Shea for at least a week or two.

I was assuming Saenz would be DFAed, but I guess this way we can just wait until rosters expand to bring Young back.

If I'm Delwyn Young, i want out of this organization as quickly as possible.

Hillenbrand gets a couple hits in Vegas and of course he gets a call up. It's like Hendrickson getting hot in Tampa, so Ned trades for him.

Well, at least we have a character guy now.

Chad's gotta be more consistent in terms of his tendency to nibble. You don't have to make a perfect pitch every time, sometimes it's okay to throw one down the middle on the first pitch or on a 2-1 pitch.

Isnt Hillenbrand Nomar v2.0 but hits for less average and has a foul temperment?

Hillenbrand will be the newest member of the Dodger-Angel club.

And he will be on his third NL West team. Sweeney is on his fourth.

105 Would you say that its a sinking ship, to borrow a phrase?

104 Hopefully we can catch lightning in a bottle with Shea

before he gets into a fistfight with Grady. Hillenbrand is washed-up AND bad in the clubhouse. What a waste.

Last time I saw Delwyn Young, he was coming out of the game with calf problems. Should he now come out and say his calves are pulled and ask for the DL?

We're already finding it hard to get Kemp in the lineup, what made you guys think Young would get much of a chance? At least this way we have a better backup at 3B than Lucille II.

It's only an 18 day demotion, I think Delwyn will live.

106 Roberto Hernandez pitched one scoreless inning for Vegas before being called up. Seems like Ned doesn't mind how bad they were previously in the year, as long as they're proven vets.

105. If I were Delwyn Young I'd be tempted to join Tony Abreu on the Restricted List.

112
Yeah, but you may be better than Lucille II. It really does not take much, I mean Shea Hillebrand can do it.

110

no, i'd say its not being given a chance. Its not like Delwyn is some young prospect being made wait hit turn. He's 25 years old and was tearing up the PCL. He gets promoted to a team that cant score, produces when given a chance, then is kept on the bench and then demoted for a guy who has been cut twice this year already. Not exactly a vote of confidence for his future prospects in this organization.

111 Hopefully Delwyn's agent isn't Boras.

112
Hillenbrand 2007: .254 .275 .325 OPS+ 61
Lucille II 2007: .171 .231 .200 14

Dog food is as good as steak to the starving man. But it is still dog food. The Dodgers and their fans deserve better.

Is it possible for Ned to make any logical decisions? Is there another plane of existence that only Ned lives on? How can he consistently make so many bad decisions one after another?

we really should have just kept Betemit (for the power & on base %) & just called up Meloan I don't know these resent moves or just weird.

ps Hillenbrand was let go by 2 TEAMS!! that's a red flag right there Ned!!

And for one night, the people of DT stopped hating Juan Pierre and instead started hating Shea Hillenbrand.

It was a night of magic. A night of wonder.

Such is the power of Shea.

How discouraging. You're a young player who comes up, you go 7 for 14 and then you're told that's not quite good enough so we're going to bring up the guy who was s-canned from two other contending organizations that need offense who is OPSing under .600 this season.

One thing I think we can say is "Chads going to be allright. Now we just need to develop a few more pitchers or pay 10 mil to a few guys who get lucky!

Is Shea Hillenbrand the guy you want to add to what I imagine is already a on-edge, prickly locker room?

I don't get this Hillenbrand move at all. Is Young still hurt? Or just too... young? Sweeney I was totally on board with, but bringing up Hillenbrand? And keeping Saenz? And Martinez? That's just... lame.

Oh well, at least we have each other to commiserate with when things go awry or weird or weirdly awry.

Everything would look better if they would just win some games.

So, anybody want to lay odds on a Tony Abreu/Jose Contreras trade in the next week? ;)

Tomo Ohka has been released three times this year. Do I smell Friday's starter?

121 We haven't stopped hating him. We've just stopped talking about him for a bit.

this might be Chad's last inning.

126-As long as Contreras isn't a Boras guy. Because it's good business for the Dodgers if Colletti just ignores Boras clients.

Everything's in place for the third straight 1-0 loss for Billingsley.

There's something particularly galling to me about this Hillenbrand move. It's not going to be a big deal in terms of our success for this year, but it just feels like this is the straw that broke the camel's back, at least for me, about my opinion of Coletti.

I've been willing to accept the, "Yeah, but he hasn't traded any stud prospects!" defense for a while, but this veteran infatuation is becoming really tired and annoying.

The stage is set for three straight 1-0 losses.

132
Feel the exact same way.

Well, except the part about not judging Ned before this lol.

Depodesta didn't trade any stud prospects and he didn't receive all the glad-handing that Colletti did.

So the BlueNotes guys wrote: "Mark Hendrickson is heading back to the pen, starting tomorrow. Grady wouldn't say who will take his spot in the rotation, but he would reveal that said hurler is not currently with the team. So it could still be AK."

AK? What/who am I missing?

Think it'll be Stults? Or are they trying to acquire a Contreras or something?

136 He traded our stud veteran catcher though.

mcdonald?

Nomar seems to be trying to get ejected.

And there he goes!

Yes i think the Shea is coming in!

Nomar got run from the game. Martinex, baby!

wow, you don't see Garciaparra going at it with an ump very often.

that veteran middle of the lineup puting some good at bats together, this is getting ugly.

I like that Nomar's fired up, I just wish he would use it on a call that was actually bad.

Or, you know, by hitting the ball hard sometimes.

Good of Channel 9 to postpone going to commercial so we could see that.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Shea Stadium!

At least Nomar's attempting to get the players riled up. I wish Nomar wasn't bad, he is a player you want to root for.

At least Nomar's attempting to get the players riled up. I wish Nomar wasn't bad, he is a player you want to root for.

That was the most excitement from a Dodger standpoint in the last two weeks.

137 Tim Harikkala is available, cheap. He's 36 !

Ball or strike, it was a great pitch from Oswalt. Borderline pitch.

Shea! whoopie

SHEA! SHEA! SHEA!

I didn't realize Hillenbrand was already with the team

137 AK? What/who am I missing?
I think this refers to the blogger, Andrew Kamenetzky.

but this veteran infatuation is becoming really tired and annoying.

very true, it also doesn't send good vibes to the youngsters. That's the one thing about Ned that really urks me.

You know what I like about Nomar did there - not striking out, and that was a borderline strike call, but it could go either way - but just that he showed some emotion, got PO'd, did something to get the team motivated and awake and angry for once. I think he was showing weeks of frustration bubbling up finally above the surface.

The bad thing he did there was forcing the Dodgers to put Shea Hillenbrand in there.

Shea Hillenbrand, number 28 in your program, number 8532 in your heart.

If Nomar doesn't want to be called on strikes, perhaps he shouldn't take strike 3 right down the middle. Can't believe he chose that pitch to get run.

The last time Hillenbrand made the majority of his appearances at 3B was 2002.

158 I am embarrassed for Wes Parker.

159

to be fair, it was pretty borderline.

155 Ah, yes, you're probably right. Still doesn't make sense though "It could still be AK."?

That was really annoying by Berkman.

Gonzo really ran that ball down!

Man, Chad's making a lot of pitches.

bad start to this inning, I'm guessing Bills is kind of up there in the pitch count department.

the way things have been going, my money's on Big David Wells starting for us Friday...

Whoever predicted the one run that would beat us would be in the 5th is close enough to win the beans. Of course I used to hope we could get into the opponents bull-pen.
But then it ceased to matter as the slump became all consuming. Its amazing--isn't it?

Jon, time to play the infield in.

i dont know, looked like oswalt made a perfect pitch that carved the inside corner.

162. Heart of the plate. Only possibility was low but I think you'll get rung on that pitch 9 out of 10 times. Nomar should recognize that. That was just pure frustration.

163 Down at the bottom of that post are the initials BK, so I think Brian Kamenetzky was referring to his brother, AK.

could that 1-1 pitch have been anymore right down the middle

Well, at least no 1-0 loss for Bills tonight.

So, how's the team been doing since I've been gone? (sigh)

There goes the 1-0 streak.

Hillenbrand played no 3B for the Angels. 26 games for the Blue Jays in '06; he made six errors.

This is the closest I have come to wanting to see a Dodger fail. I almost want to see Hillenbrand boot a ball and Oswalt make him look silly.

Or 2-0 either.

game

172

i dont know what AB you were watching but it was clearly borderline inside corner. but whatever, its done with and the dodgers look to be done in this game too.

ahhhhh!!!

Nomar ejection: that's on the ump. The player was restrained, was going to the dugout, did not appear to say anything that was worse than what was already said but the ump just had to stare him down and then toss him.

Up until that point, I thought the ump handled it well.

Billingsley is due up third in the bottom of the inning. How long will Grady go before a pitching change, if it comes to that?

perfect time to double switch, yank gonzo put in kemp.

86mph slider that hung as if it was on a tee.

184 correction, not if, when.

Roberto huh, well I guess Grady doesn't think we can score 4 or more runs.

Guess I can't blame him.

181 Yep. My post seems dang superfluous.

Jason Lane, prior to tonight: 171 .234 .350 .584

Yeecch.

183. As Scully pointed out, ump said "that's enough" several times. As demonstrative as Nomar was being, he easily could have been run earlier. I'm not trying to be disagreeable but seriously, he was begging to be kicked out.

That really was a strike that Nomar got steamed over, it's true. A tough pitch to hit as much as it was to take. (There was also a clear strike that Billingsley threw that the same ump didn't call a strike, right before the RBI single.) What the ump should have done, though, was turn his back and let Nomar walk off. Umps used to let players blow steam more, now they want to take center stage.

Hey, it got Shea in the game. He will take us to the promised land!

Loney disappears in a sea of fans

Good effort by Loney to almost disappear into the stands there. At least he still cares!

183

totally disagree. He told Nomar "that's enough" about 3 times and Nomar looked back twice and said something when being carried to the dugout. Cant blame the ump there at all.

Wow, lucky Loney didn't get hurt there.

191

i agree. Nomar was just being a nice guy and wanted to get SHEA!!! some reps at 3b.

Ausmus, Oswalt - Chad can still finish this inning and be PH for.

It's nice that Chad found some inner strength to get through that inning at least, but I'm kinda tired of seeing him have to find inner strength in the 5th inning after he goes over 100 pitches, again.

195 Dammit, man! We're Bruins! We cannot possibly disagree!

Looking over at the press box, it appears that Tony Jackson has ripped the letter L off his computer keyboard and is honing it into a blade in an attempt to slice his wrists open.

Argh, I wish it didn't make me and my fingers, and then my slow wireless connection, so long to post anything. It ends up feeling even more pointless than it did after it left my hands.

Umps used to let players blow steam more, now they want to take center stage.

I blame that frame of thought on television, everybody wants to be primadonnas, the one thing that REALLY erks me is when they take there sweet time calling balls & strikes, just call it DARN IT!.

116 pitches huh? awesome!

200

Lol. You're right, so just admit Nomar deserved to get rung!

Nomar and Hillenbrand were teammates in Boston. Wonder what Nomar thought of him, and if he was asked about Hillenbrand?

I still think Nomar tried to get thrown out on purpose to fire up the team and also because he's been entirely sucky these past couple of weeks.

I just saw this from Jon:

Instead of Wilson Betemit and Jonathan Meloan, the Dodgers now have Shea Hillenbrand and Scott Proctor.

I want to curl up in the fetal position and sob.

Pierre's a one-man offensive threat tonight!

Take that any way you like.

200. I'm a Bruin too so there is unrest in Westwood.

207
Yeah, I thought that was obvious.

So who's getting DFA'd on Friday: Saenz or Hernandez?

Can't buy a break.

Shea you
Shea Me
Shea Always
That's the way it should be

201 LOL.

212 c) both?

"Shea will soon be gone."
-- John from Cincinnati

The Princess Bride is on in 5 minutes on Cinemax. I'm going to watch that.

With the sound off it looked like perhaps small head was on first and Loney lined to second? Or maybe I'm out of synch.

Ethier lined to second, not Loney.

201 More efficient than trying to hang himself with his iPod cable.

217 I don't know Colletti instead.

207 So do I. He's been struggling for a while now and I remember him getting wrung up on pitches more questionable than that one. He seemed destined to be thrown out as soon as he turned around because he came out firing.

Unless the ump said something about Mia under his breath while making the strike 3 call, it looked like Nomar was simply trying to stir things up.

Well aright, Mr. Sweeney.

At least Sweeney doesn't suck.

---

I'm waiting 'til 10:30 for Californication on Showtime.

I still think we can win this game!

come on Furcal you can do it.

Vin sounds way too into Sweeney's pursuit of history as he runs down Lenny Harris's all time pinch-hit record.

110 That was a sly Hillenbrand reference, wasn't it. I missed it the first time!

From my distant perspective, Nomar committed suicide by umpire.

Rally caps, folks. Get 'em on.

if anything at least we won't get shut out, that's for sure.

Pierre almost got caught with his pants down there by not hustling. If Sweeney had been out, that run wouldn't have scored.

207 that's exactly what it looked like from club level...

Time for a few hits in a row. It's been done many times in baseball history. The Dodgers make it look rare, but it has been known to happen.

I disagree with Steve Lyons that home runs are rally killers.

Sacrifice flies are rally killers.

Lets go Russell!!

This man is due.

Ball 1 was a carbon copy of the last pitch Nomar saw.

Darn.

230 For a rally, we would have needed for Rafi to lean into that one inside pitch. There's otherwise a reason why they've created protective body armor for hitters.

Dodger runs are like dog years. One seems like seven.

The sacrifice fly eases the pain.

At least with Lurch in the bullpen we'll finally have a long guy again. He's really a pretty competent reliever.

You've gotta think Saenz will be the one DFAed come Friday. Lucille II makes some sense as well since guys like Wilson Valdez provide the same amount of defensive value and offensive crappiness.

229

[chuckles] the reserve level is giving you a certain edge today Bob that I can't quite pin point. :o)

212 Hillenbrand, after he picks a fight with Matt Kemp and writes "this is a sinking ship" on a clubhouse white board. (Thanks still bevens.)

The run scores, but the sac fly LOWERS the OBP with RISP.

ou've gotta think Saenz will be the one DFAed come Friday.

the Tomato is much respected by upper management for that to happen in my honest opinion.

i was really dissapointed in john from cincinatti. the 1st 2 episodes were good. went downgill after that.

And that, ladies and gentlemen watching on television, is what separates Vincent Edward Scully from virtually every name announcer working in baseball today. His main gift is really something that anyone can do--have enthusiasm for what you do and for what you are seeing.

241 The sac fly is the opiate of the baseball masses.

240 Are having a contest for best lines of the season? 'Cause I'm nominating that one.

246 Then who, Hernandez?

I'm hitting the road home. There are 33 miles in my commute, about 26 on the 405. How many time will Rick Monday give me the score? (Rhetorical question - I am not going to count.)

Is Hernandez throwing hard, or are my eyes just slow?

Hunter Pence = Pedro Guerrero

248 Can you imagine what that 2,000-member Sym-phony game must have sounded like?

If the Astros are bad enough to make Roberto Hernandez look good, how bad are we?

250. Sure, now that you know I'm a fellow Bruin! =)

252 You won't have to count.

252 You'd probably hear the Dodger score more often if you tuned it to another station.

we're only down 3 runs I truly feel we can come back I know we've been slumping of late but one clutch hit or home run can really change the tides, I really feel.

256

Superbad?

253 GD+ has him at 92 on the fastballs, 83 on the breaking stuff.

At least Hernandez did what Chad didn't or couldn't - go after Roy Oswalt.

260. I feel like a million bucks. Unfortunately, I am not a million bucks.

Does anyone else find Kent's choice of batting song funny?

c'mon jeff find a gap

Coletti's fetish for men in their late 30s and early 40s is almost kinky. He's been on a rampage lately: Hernandez, Hillenbrand, Sweeney, Moeller, plus his inability to part with Saenz. Ned's going to hit bottom soon and he'll need SVA*. For a team that's mostly known in the baseball community for its great young prospects, it is weird that we are fielding a team that resembles the aged Giants.

*Seasoned Veterans Anonymous

c'mon luis find a gap

man, Kent has been killing our chances today. sigh.

Outside. Nice frame, though.

is the draft signing deadline 9pm PT tuesday night?

Mark Ellis has more home runs than anyone on the Dodgers.

Shea Time!

254 Pence has one of the goofiest swings I've ever seen on a major leaguer. It truly baffles my mind how well he can hit with such an unassuming cut.

271
I thought it was Wednesday night.

For a team that's mostly known in the baseball community for its great young prospects, it is weird that we are fielding a team that resembles the aged Giants.

Yep.

Time for Shea to right this ship!

I want a SHEA!!! shot.

how ironic, Hillenbrand up representing the tying run.

267 Heh. Maybe so. Though I think Moeller was just signed as 3rd catcher insurance when rosters expand because the other guys they have at the AAA level are pretty bad.

Be nice to see Shea quiet us naysayers down for a little while.

Hillenbrand is only 32? Seems like he's been on the skid a lot longer than that. I remember rumors about the Dodgers trading for him back around 2001 or so, and he was a journeyman then.

Or so it seems to my enfeebled mind.

But, he doesn't.

That's about right

Sure glad we got that guy.

Great debut for Hillenbrand.

Shea fits right in!

Now that was one hard hit ground ball! (Just trying to stay positive...)

267 The aged Giants... plus a bunch of world-class youngsters.

Not many serviceable youngsters are available on the waiver wire, I don't think.

Lame.

he did hit it sharply though. Not the result we wanted.

Shea Happens.

271 Diamond Leung says 9pm on Wednesday.

It was a good pitch to hit. He just missed it.

281 He wasn't a journeyman in 2001 - that was his first year in the majors!

He had 20 hrs and 97 RBI's in '03.

Hillenbrand's Angels stats were on the board briefly and then removed. Presumably they are going to start over since he switched leagues.

So now he will get to bat with a nice .000 on the board.

I miss Mike Edwards.

They're showing Rob Reiner on ESPN - maybe we can bring him in to hit.

281 2001 was actually Hillenbrand's rookie season.

Free Delwyn Young!

dewlyn young was perfectly capable of hitting into a DP right there.

I took a self-enforced mental health hiatus from the Dodgers for about a week, not following the progress (or lack thereof) of the games. I return to see Shea Hillenbrand -- Shea Hillenbrand? -- batting. It might be time for another week off for me. Excuse me, but wasn't Young hitting about .500? Maybe Little needs a bunch of guys closer to his age to play poker with.

um, that was one of the better throws from Gonzalez

295 I miss Mike Edwards.

Heck. I miss C--i. At least he would have TTOed there and could have made one out.

276 It really is ridiculous. The wheels have come off Colleti's head. A smart GM would look at the current situation and say, "Yeah, we're technically still in the pennant race, but this team will not close the deal. Let's play the kids -- Young, Abreu, Meloan, McDonald in addition to Loney, Kemp, Ethier, Martin -- and see how it goes. If we're lucky, they get hot, and we go into the postseason as massive underdogs but with a lot of upside. If not, they flail around but get valuable experience to be put to use next season." Isn't that what Bill Plaschke essentially invited Ned to do in his famous column? Step back from the mania to win a pennant in '07 and instead play the younger guys?

Hillenbrand is a statement from Colleti, in two parts:

1) I'm in this pennant race to win it, and I'll pull in all the seasoned veterans I can get to put us over the top;

2) I have no idea what I'm doing.

296
Plus we could say, "You've just be Reiner'd."

303 I vote for 2)

Y'all who are not watching the ESPN telecast missed Sutcliffe's scintillating Barbara Eden story.

304 At least it would keep him from making more movies.

303 While things look bleak, there's still almost 7 weeks left to play. While it may be true that the kids could do just as well, the only place where (currently) it would seem to make a difference is playing Kemp over Gonzo. I'm sure if they're still 6 games out of first come September we'll get a healthy dose of the youngsters, but for now there's still at least some hope.

307
Please tell me you saw the South Park episode with him.

303 It reminds of what Bill James once wrote about a team (I think he was writing about the Angels): "They start winning with the kids. They keep winning with the kids. Then, they bring in the vets which tells the kids, 'Thanks, but we're going to go with the guys who know how to win.'"

I mean, I hate to tap into a topic that I'm sure by now has been tilled to death but is there any good reason why Shea Hillenbrand is on this roster?

Plus, most of our quabbling seems to be about the 25th man on the team. I know we all love to micromanage, but does it really matter whether Delwyn Young or Shea Hillenbrand is on the roster?

I would not be surprised to see Matt Kemp optioned to AAA on or before Friday.

303

it just seems like he's over thinking right now (common sense will set him free) I still have faith in our sophomore G.M.

305 2) is the necessary corollary to 1). The idea that this team is close to being a contender is accurate, but the idea that Shea Hillenbrand will make any kind of positive difference is delusional. Every minute he plays is a waste of our time. The additional player we need this season is not available now from any other team at a price we can pay. The player we need might be in the minors. He might be Delwyn Young, for example. Odds are not in favor of that, but it's still the best available bet. Amazing that Colleti doesn't see that. That's why I think he's on some sort of old-guy bender and needs an intervention.

303. I usually agree strongly with your posts. But as has been pointed out before, the Dodgers ARE playing kids. I won't name them all but go through the list. I agree that Hillendbrand is no savior but we have played more kids this year than I can ever remember. If he doesn't play every kid in the system, that doesn't mean he is against playing them in general. And there are only 9 guys on the field. If D. Young is the future, isn't possible he's better served playing every day in Vegas?

The crowd is in a surprisingly good mood. Then again, few are paying attention.

Boras got 7.3mil out of the Tigers for Porcello.

Btw, this was BK's response to my commenting on BlueNotes wondering why the heck we needed to bring up Hillenbrand (and not keep Young, and not bring up Meloan). I generally really like Brian's postings, but wondered what y'all thought:
"Meloan might be up sooner than that. Young wasn't needed, great game aside. They won't get him regular at bats. It's not a question of not trusting youth. If LaRoche was healthy, he'd be up here (and currently playing third now that Nomar has been tossed). Or Abreu. They need a guy who can play the corners, especially w/ Saenz apparently unable to hit. There's no eqivalent in AAA. Given all the young players that have been through or are currently on the roster, the notion that they don't play or trust youth is a little tough for me to accept. Every young player, with the possible exception of Young and Meloan, who can help is here."

Beimel is amazing with those come backers, Greg Brock is smiling some where in southern california watching that.

also a major league contract! officially INSANE!

I haven't had Orangina in awhile, this stuff is great!

The Dodger site healine is "Pierre Produces Run in the Fifth."
A run is a headline now. Sad.
Plus it sounds too much like he's having a baby, or something.

315 I think that's fair. And as I posted above, BK seems to think along the same lines. I did respond that "they wouldn't have needed a back up 3B with some pop if they hadn't traded Betemit in the first place" as part of the domino effect of moves, but I did see his point (especially after Nomar got tossed tonight).

new favorite DT Beer behind newcastle....Blue Moon with a orange slice...has to be from the tap though.

317 and 320
Holy...

Well, I guess the Tigers liked Porcello as much as I did. I know it is a huge risk, but the possible pay-off with that guy is tremendous.

Juan Pierre, Dodger star of the game.

324
My friend got so mad that the bar we were at last week did not have orange slices for our Blue Moon.

This ump's homeplate moves around more than a hippie's hackysack.

Hey give Slappy some credit, he's getting on base tonight - more than most of these guys can say.

poor adres just hits line drives right at people

325

i like porcello alot too but he's not worth 6mil more then Kershaw.

"Hit 'em where they ain't."
Sigh. That could be on this year's team's epitaph.

317 320 Unbelievable. Scott Boras must now hypnosis or something.

My friend got so mad that the bar we were at last week did not have orange slices for our Blue Moon.

thats blasphemous!

In the words of Reggie Jackson, "If you're going to stand on a corner, you have to swing the pole."

Discuss.

Use Shea Hillenbrand as an example.

ESPN is really pimping our youth.

315 Obviously, you're right on the fact that we are playing a lot of kids. But it seems like Coletti is trying to achieve some kind of mythical balance between exciting young players and relatively worthless veterans. If Troy Glaus had shown up instead of Hillenbrand, I might not like the deal, but I could see how it might help us win this year. It's Colleti's obsession with these marginal aging players that bugs me. If we're not good enough to make the playoffs, fine, we're not good enough. Play the kids more and more of them, and get their experience curve behind them. But Colleti has seemingly fooled himself into thinking that if he plays these marginal role players, he's giving the Dodgers a better shot at the playoffs.

I realize a lot of our slump is due to bad luck -- injuries, hard-hit balls finding gloves, etc. But it is what it is. We're very unlikely to catch Arizona and San Diego and Chicago. But if we think Hillenbrand or Hernandez bring us any closer, it's absurd.

Watch Kemp's hips. His first move is backwards, even on a fastball away. That has to change if he is ever going to be great.

330
True, but I think that says more about the type of person Kershaw is.

Meloan struggled tonight, walking two and hitting a batter in an inning of work. Took him 34 pitches to get out of the innning.

337

His swing has gotten all screwed up since he's gotten irregular playing time. Its pretty obvious. He just doesnt have his rhythm. Oswalt's first pitch he would normally crush, but he swung rigt through it. Thanks to KCAL, we didnt even get to see him hit the ball.

The problem is not that Coletti brings in veterans, it is that he seems completely unable to deduce which veterans would help the team.

I hope to read tomorrow that I should have stayed awake and watched a great comeback.

Night all.

If I were Grady I would just bench a lot of starters, tomorrow. Play Hillenbrand, what the heck. If they still had DYoung I'd start him. I'd start Lieberthal, even. Keep Loney in there. Put in Kemp for Gonzo... Er, I'm trying to find a way this works without bringing in Martinez, though.

Heck, if he hadn't come in tonight, I'd start Broxton for 2 innings, rather than what will be 2 bad first innings of Tomko. Mix it up. Go crazy!

336. I hear you. But if you think about it, at the point you are playing all the young players you think can make an impact (along with your free agent vets) and it's August and you need to make some moves, what real choice do you have? You can't pick up hot young talent off the waiver wire. You could call up the marginal young players, but they are just that and calling them up early could actually hurt their growth. Guys like Hillenbrand really are your only choice. I'm not saying I agree with it completely but I see how it comes to this.

336. I hear you. But if you think about it, at the point you are playing all the young players you think can make an impact (along with your free agent vets) and it's August and you need to make some moves, what real choice do you have? You can't pick up hot young talent off the waiver wire. You could call up the marginal young players, but they are just that and calling them up early could actually hurt their growth. Guys like Hillenbrand really are your only choice. I'm not saying I agree with it completely but I see how it comes to this.

339 Shhh! Don't tell management!

And hey, at least guys like Hillenbrand haven't cost us anything.

Kemp is 3 for his last 35, with 0 RBI and 1 run in 36 PA (since July 21). Here's hoping he snaps out of it soon.

Only one lefty starting for the Astros this series -- Wandy Rodriguez on Thursday. Dodgers will face another in Jeff Francis on Sunday.

On the Hillenbrand situation, I think LaRoche will be up as soon as he's healthy, and that Shea is only here temporarily (unless he replaces Saenz).

The quote from BK in 318 is right on.

AK (Andrew) added this note to the BlueNotes comments thread:
"I have to admit, I was also surprised by the Hillenbrand signing. Colletti truly does put a premium on "character/clubhouse" guys and that's certainly not Hillenbrand's rep. Granted, I'm only going by what I've heard, because I've only talked to the guy a couple times and it was fairly brief. But again, that's the proverbial word on the street.

Maybe the fact that Little managed him in Boston and he's been teammates with Lowe, Gonzo, Nomar, Billy Mueller. added some security. Or the obvious and desperate need for a theoretical bat trumped any insecurity. haha"
---
Man, it's depressing to see Roy Oswalt get another at bat this late in the game.

344

The problem is, there was no need to bring in Hillenbrand. We already had a no-hit backup 3B, and his name is Ramon Martinez. Shea's a redundant piece blocking a potentially useful offensive player in D. Young.

The problem we have with this team is hitting, and Hillenbrand does not solve that.

I'm getting my money's worth for this game.

win expectancy of 8%. In other words, we still have a fighting chance. vr, Xei

348

I broke it down earlier, but his slump started when hed ropped the fly ball and didnt start a game for 3 days. Since then, hes been pinch hitting and spot starting. Definitely not a coincidence that he started struggling.

350 True, and yet, to play devil's advocate here, I think what AK was saying above is:
Look, Young doesn't play third; Hillenbrand is a better hitter than Martinez (he is). The question could be more, why do we still have Martinez and Saenz PLUS Hillenbrand. I can see bringing in the latter, again, if we get rid of one of those other guys. That's sort of what I question here at this point, not as much Hillenbrand vs. Young.

What's most baffling about our current slump is that we always assumed there would be some points in the season where we'd lose a few due to not getting the key hit (due to lack of power hitting), but our offense is just plain not producing AT ALL, let alone with runners in scoring position.

remember when - say, late last season - the Dodgers would be down 3 with 2 innings left and we'd feel like they had a chance? I loved those fleeting days of yore.

350. Nobody is going to solve it this year. Hillenbrand is not the answer but A-Rod is not on the next flight out. Trading deadline has passed. Ned is throwing (fill in the blank) at the wall and seeing if anything sticks.

Hillenbrand looks like the little green martian that use too come out on old flinstones cartoons.

I just wish that we had had the good sense to have Pierre steal second and third last inning. We might despise the man, but with the team absolutely not hitting, his speed is the one thing that might work to our advantage when he gets on base.

Pierre has half our hits tonight...I think I need another drink

358. The Great Gazoo.

357

Exactly, so why not see if a guy we know has potential to be a good hitter (Young), gets hot, rather than bring in a guy we know is not a good hitter.

357 I'm right with you BR, I think people are just grasping at straws trying to find new ways of expressing their frustration with the current state.

362 He does not play 3B

Oh well. Only 30 minutes 'til "Californication."

Which sounds a little like how I'd describe the Dodgers' past few weeks.

358

yup. :o)

Kent is 0 for his last 22. That hurts.

366. Actually, I was predicting Ned's next pickup.

363 I've grasped at so many straws in the past month - many of them last ones - that I have to start over with a whole new bale of hay.

353 I don't remember when Kemp dropped the flyball, but since the AS break, Kemp has played in 25 of 29 games (including tonight) with 14 starts.

The only consecutive games Kemp has missed were Aug 5 (Ari) & Aug 7 (Cin). He hasn't started in any of the last four games, although he has appeared in all 4 games.

367 It feels like everyone is 0 for their last 22

Sad to see Sammy in there in this kind of situation. If we can't see his smile tonight will we see a mild frown? A concentrated grimace? A good natured smirk?

364

You're missing the point. We already have a black hole at 3B, adding another bad hitter at that position does nothing. D. Young, however, can be reasonably expected to hit better than Luis Gonzalez, at least momentarily. Why not try him for a few games, rather than build up the Bizzaro All-Star Team at thrid base?

Nobody's saying Young is the Messiah, all I'm saying is I'd rather have him up then Hillebrand.

369 Which is the problem. We've already exhausted the "sit Pierre/Nomar", "rest Martin", "bring up the kids", "DFA the veterans", and "adjust the batting order" mantras so many times that we don't have any real issues to discuss anymore. Hence, whining about a 7th infielder vs. a 5th outfielder.

you decide [-http://tinyurl.com/24l3xo-]
[-http://tinyurl.com/2hgwvk-] 361

373 If we want to sit Gonzo, we might as well give Kemp more consistent playing time. If we want to sit Nomar, what are our options? Hillenbrand may not be a great hitter, but he has had success in the past and it's not out of the realm of possibility that he'll put together a couple good weeks and help spark the offense.

353

He dropped the ball on the 21st, where he also hit a 3run homer. He didnt start again until the 25th, and has started about half of the rest of the games with pinch hitting appearances mixed in. Starting consistently (as he did in his hot streak) is so completely different than playing every other day. From the mindset, to the physical aspects of the game, its a total 180. Add tothat hes young and probably pressing, and thats not a good recipe.

374. Yep. It was indeed a pleasure playing with you gentlemen.

374 I'm looking to pick a fight about the Dodgers' bench coach Dave Jauss. I don't like the way he sits in the dugout.

Discuss.

Brox and Sammy have to come in just to get some work. You have to use them or they will shrivel up.

Hmmm, Lidge has been pretty shaky this year, maybe we have a chance?

Then again, if we can't hit Reds pitching, Anthony Reyes, or Doug Davis then even if Russ Ortiz got on the mound there wouldn't be much to hope for.

Nobody's saying Young is the Messiah, all I'm saying is I'd rather have him up then Hillebrand.

you can argue it that way or why couldn't we just keep Betemit, it's just weird. We just need to start winning it's the cure all that ends all.

did Lidge get demoted again?

379 If he crosses his legs one more time...

383 Lidge pitched in the last three games. Unfortunately.

Go Shea! Woo hooo!

I just got home. How does a game with 13 total hits take 3+ hours?

Help us Slappy-Wan, you're our only hope.

376

Hillenbrand is OPSing barely .600 this year.

Like, I stated earlier in the thread, it's not this single move that I find infuriating, it is an accumulation of these types of moves. A GM who thinks he might get something out of this player is a GM who doesn't know when to say uncle. Anyway, I'm done, good night all.

Another dreadful display, but against one of the best pitchers in all of baseball I guess it's not a shocker. Tomorrow even with Tomko going I think the Dodgers have a chance. I'd say final score of that one should be 7-5 or so. Except it could also be 7-0.

Bad team, man. We got a bad (rule 1 violation) team.

Dodger hitters tonight:

.194/.235/.194 for a whopping .429 OPS

Boy am I glad I'm going to the next two games :(

Californication!

There, I just wanted to say that.

I'm gonna do something more pleasant and less stinky than watching the Dodgers these days - change the cat litter box.

Night all.

387

Bills made a lot of pitches, he looked really sharp in the first 2 or 3 innings but then he started nibbling.

tough times to be a dodger fan. tough times.

Matt Albers generall stinks, so even with the Dodgers the way they are I think they have a chance, but again, Tomko has to keep his bad innings to a minimum.

Sigh. Is this what we're reduced to?

Dodger OF since the AS break (29 games including tonight):

Pierre - 29 starts, 125 PA, .288/.347/.333
Gonzo - 23 starts (25g), 95 PA, .213/.242/.270
Ethier - 19 starts (26g), 86 PA, .355/.419/.579
Kemp - 14 starts (25g), 67 PA, .250/.284/.453
D.Young - 2 starts (8g), 14 PA, .500/.500/.571

393

I just think "red hot chili peppers" everytime I hear that name.

I wish I still got Showtime.

This team is little more than a urinal biscuit.

389 Yeah, and the guy he'd be replacing has a .689 OPS (going into tonight).

I never claimed that Shea is a good player or that I expect him to be. What I do know is that he has had some success in the past and even mediocre players get hot for a few weeks. No one's "expecting" to get anything from him, but they are hoping they can.

If Kemp was not around, I would think it was a terrible idea to send Delwyn down, but as it is we already have a promising young outfielder ready to step in if we want to attempt to change things up in the outfield. At this moment, at third base, we do not.

any ways good night all, I just hope the baseball gods are preparing a great scipt for us Dodger fans this year. If not i'm game for next year.

400 I'd go so far as to say they are the type of said biscuit that seems to splash and ricochet in all possible directions, making for many an embarrassing situation.

395 Probably the toughest since I became a hardcore fan (2003 or so). In the past we had teams that I knew were mediocre so I didn't get too bummed when they stunk, but this team showed such promise early in the year that it truly pains me to see them struggle so much right now.

397 You left out Furcal. To illustrate Grady's obvious stupidity when it comes to game management, we move Pierre down exactly when his OBP is rising [his OBP for the month is .364 (prior to today)]. Meanwhile, Furcal's OBP for the month is .271 but he stays at leadoff and continues to swing for the fences.

Well, yeah, lot to be said for the notion that this is whining on the margins of margins.

What it comes down to is, in 2006, Coletti had DePodesta 2004 luck. In 2007, he's having DePodesta 2005 luck. But whereas in 2005, things looked like they were going from bad to worse, in 2007, despite the current hell-hole of a season, the future looks good.

I predicted we would end up third, so I guess this should not be a surprise to me.

so who will pitch on friday? Stultz? McDonald? o.k. I'm definitely going to sleep already. late.

I guess tomorrow's Jacksonville game will go a long way toward seeing who the Friday starter will be vs. Colorado at Dodger Stadium. James McDonald last pitched August 8, and is scheduled to pitch tomorrow, which would take him out of the running for an improbable Friday start in LA.

But, if McDonald doesn't start tomorrow, it's time to start the countdown!

hopefully macdonald

How many Passens and Rosenthals have already written the second half of their "Best & Worst of 2007" articles?

I don't think Grady moving Pierre and Furcal up and/or down in the order shows him to be stupid - and Pierre did bat lead off last week one game. Grady's tried a lot of different mixes with the hand of cards he's been dealt. The fact is the Dodgers need Furcal to be hitting, to be contributing, and he hasn't done that enough, most of the season. When Pierre bats lead off he usually does nothing. How is it Little's stupidity that Furcal is struggling and Pierre is erratic? Now, he could get real creative and put in Martin lead off - except Martin's struggling a great deal, too - or Loney, though that leaves a hole later in the line-up, or... who exactly? Again, I think people are grasping for straws due to the frustration of the team slumping so badly, and I understand where that's coming from.

406. For me, this season is far more disappointing than 2005. In '05 I thought we were still on the upswing. This year, I foolishly thought we had arrived.

Stults started on August 10, so he might need a bullpen outing tomorrow to get ready for Friday. He has been terrible since being sent down (4 games / 3 starts), giving up 15 ER in 13.1 IP for a 10.13 ERA.

I really hope it's McDonald on Friday. I just hope the nickname council can convene before he gets the nickname "J-Mac" as he takes the baseball world by storm.

I'm looking forward to Lieutenant Frank Winters in the upcoming NBC Series "Life".

414 Would you rather Big Mac? It's even bovine related!

I have nothing.

Any thoughts on why Kent is 0-22 or is it just the same thing that happened last year he is not ready to play yet?..Anybody notice anything different in Nomar's swing this year? I wish there was something tangible to fix, but am begining to wonder if we are not just cursed this year

This really has been a dreadful run for the boys in blue, but let's look at the positive: they are "only" 6.5 games behind the division leader, a team that has been outscored on the season; and they are a mere 3 games out of the wild card (albeit behind four teams).

I am expecting us to make a big run at Carlos Zambrano. And even though we would probably have to overpay, I would be really happy to see that guy on our team.

I don't believe in curses. I believe in jinxes, hoodoos, and omens though.

Highlights for the night...

Carlos Lee hitting a batting practice shot onto the rooftop of the pavilion.

Nancy Bee playing "High Hopes".

...then the game started.

bhsportsguy and I went Timmermann hunting at the stadium. To no avail.

And Shea Hillenbrand. Yeah. Um, grrrr....

I was shocked and, to use the colloquial term, "completely fouled out" to see Hillenbrand at-bat. Personally, I'd just throw all the young guys in, see how they do, and if they don't succeed, at least they'll be primed and ready for next year. Then again, that's probably not gonna happen.

The good news is I got to see the game (at least parts of it) since it was nationally televised. I'm usually happy to watch a game, even if they lose, because at least I get to see them play.

As Juan Pierre was at-bat in the bottom of the 9th, I explained to him that somebody on DT nicknamed him "Slappy McPop-Up." Juan Pierre proceeded to slap a pop-fly to the left fielder, ending the game. My roommate was in hysterics.

423 "him" in the last paragraph should be replaced with "my roommate"

You didn't find any 6'5" librarians in a yellow jersey keeping score?

You didn't find any 6'5" librarians in a yellow jersey keeping score?

It wasn't me. I swear.

On July 26, the Dodgers were in 1st place, one game up.

I then purchased a Chad Billingsley road jersey.

Since, Billingsley iss 0-4 and the team has dropped 7.5 games in the standings.

I accept full responsibility.

425 BH was leading the search. He had some intel as to the librarian's 20. We ended up in some section just around the corner from the ionosphere.

BH attempted a "Bob" shout, but it fell on deaf ears. And there were some loaded dudes out there.

428 . A witch! A witch! Burn him!

Maybe the worst Dodger moment tonight, Loney foolishly nearly flipping over the rail for a ball three rows up. Whether he's trying to light up his teammates or hoping to make ESPN highlights, it reinforces management's perceived need for veteran balance among the young wall crashers. Perhaps veteran Shea can demonstrate the technique a few times and the team will just need to take its chances.

Lefty here too by the way.

428
I purchased an Edwin Jackson jersey and then we traded him.

This game, or Margarita Monday?

I think I made the right choice.

I was pretty hard to miss. I was sitting by myself in a yellow shirt and a UCLA cap.

I was in section 55.

"The 5s and 3s in Bob's scorebook talk to my father."

John from Cincinnati

I like to think of Bob in many different disguises much like Hanibal from the A-Team. He'll be found when he wants you to find him.

Speaking of the A-Team, I wonder what their standard fee was? I'm sure Face reduced his fee in exchange for more womanly services, but it seems to me the cost to hire the A-Team would be prohibitive.

Even A. Martinez and the Harvey guy were scratching their radioheads about Hillenbrand. Martinez said something like "Maybe they feel like they need a veteran bat."

That's when I almost careened into an embuttment.

So when do Plaschke's scapegoat articles come back?

The New Beverly Cinema is running a "Strangelove/Being There" double feature this weekend.

Kubrick, Sellers, Ashby...Yes indeedy.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, put everyone's name in a hat and start drawing, that's the batting order. Supposedly worked before.

In the alternative, my suggestion would be:

Ethier
Furcal
Martin
Loney
Kemp
Kent
Nomar (at least until LaRoche gets healthy)
Pitcher's spot
Pierre

433 At Acapulco's?

431 Have you ever tried to run forward while looking straight up? It's damn hard. I'm just glad he didn't flat out lose his balance and slam head-first into the wall.

Can't you guys start purchasing Diamondback jerseys instead? I mean, c'mon, you see what kind of mojo we're up against here - get cracking!

440 Alphabetical order works almost as well:

Ethier
Kemp
Kent
Loney
Martin
Nomar
Pierre
Pitcher's Spot

it worked in third grade, it can work now!

443 - you forgot Furcal, but yes, it does seem to work well too.

Since I missed the game thread, I've gone back and looked at this a number of times:

Instead of Wilson Betemit and Jonathan Meloan, the Dodgers now have Shea Hillenbrand and Scott Proctor.

This makes me a bitter, bitter seed.

439 . Easily his two best, but I like the continuity of "Strangelove" with "The Mouse That Roared".

445 To make it fair, it'll turn into Hillenbrand/Proctor/Meloan instead of Betemit/Meloan/Hernandez soon enough. It's a bit misleading to simply substitute Proctor for Meloan.

444 You're right, I guess all these vodka/tonic/Tampico's are taking their toll. Damn you Dodgers for making me the way I am!

446 I'm a huge Hal Ashby guy, so "Being There" holds a special place for me.

Plus, Jerzy Kosinski's life story is fascinating. Wrote a paper on him in college.

448 Fair point. I still take Betemit/Meloan/Hernandez.

Betemit is gone, so no use crying over spilled Boom, but that deal still bothers me. A lot.

Ah, forget the Dodgers for the rest of the night. Go talk about your favorite all time TV shows on Screen Jam. Or continue your Peter Sellers chat, that's always good, too.

I think the highlight of my summer, truly, so far is teaching middle schoolers the art of scriptwriting and showing them some clips from Dr Strangelove and blowing them away with Peter Sellers. A couple of them had seen that film before but to the others it was like a total revelation, to their credit, and the fact that Sellers was playing all those roles, and could be so funny in each, was pricless. They loved the "Of course I'd call you just to say hello Dmitri" phone scene.

Now I'm really going to bed, feeling a little... Blue, as usual, this month.

359 I just wish that we had had the good sense to have Pierre steal second and third last inning.

Right. JP stole when Ethier was up with two outs, taking the bat out of his hands and leaving the Dodgers at the mercy of Oswalt pitching to Billingsley. Later, no steals attempts when he's at first with no outs, Ethier up and a PH sure to follow. (Grady have a stop sign up down three?) I know conventional wisdom says don't take such risks down three, but with the offense sputtering like it is, I think you have to try it.

Charlie Steiner gave the score often enough during my drive home. Unfortunately it was always the same one.

On the bright side, Dodger pitching recorded 13 Ks, with the pen allowing only 1 hit and 1 BB in four IP.

439 I should go because "I like to watch."

440 I've been meaning to suggest that Grady needed to try the LaRussa thing, because #9 is the most natural spot for Juan Pierre. You beat me to it!

454 One day, my friend, Ashby will get his visage on the Rushmore of '70's directors. Coppola, Scorsese, Altman, Allen, and Ashby.

Got back from the game, haven't been to the Stadium in awhile....must say the team looks disinterested? Even with Nomar getting booted, felt that Grady should have backed him up and throw a tirade to get tossed also. He had an oppty. to fire up the team but let the moment past. Like this season, it will be a thing of the past. Can't believe we were in 1st place for the better half of the the season. Guess we are left to "remember the good times."

The only thing good that can come from this season is McCourt letting Colletti go at the end of it.

Juan Pierre and assorted high priced mediocre vets have killed a golden goose.

457 The "good times" are Loney, Martin, Kemp, Billingsley, Meloan, LaRoche and, ultimately, Kershaw.

If missing the playoffs is a necessary condition for playing these kids, we should all accept it with aplomb.

When all our players are making $600,000, we can sign Santana.

459 - just so long as the Dodger remember they are a big market team come time to resign the kids in a few years...

457
Actually, the team looks uninterested. If the team looked disinterested, it would have stayed neutral in the game.

Then again, both of those could apply here.

460 You are absolutely spot on. Sign Martin to an extension beyond arbitration in November (Wright/Reyes style). If Loney produces next year, do the same for him. Build...You know, actually build...A team.

Stop waisting resources on 34 year old pitchers and disastrous slap-hitting centerfielders. Then you can allocate resources toward the Santanas and Zambranos of the world.

456
No Argento or Bava?

458 Won't happen, McCourt signed off on this possibility.

459 Also won't happen, at least the part about a dominance of low priced players.

I can see maybe 8-10 players but by the time all of them are here, Russell, Broxton, Ethier will be making more, Chad will be close and the team will always have veteran players along with younger players.

463
Bertolucci also deserves consideration.

462 But what if they don't want to come here. Its a dangerous game to play if you are planning to hold out until certain free agents become available, there is no guarantee that they will take the money.

If there is one thing that can be said about this run, they are doing it as a team. Its not just Juan Pierre or Jason Schmidt being out, its kids acting like kids, vets showing their age, good pitching no offense, no pitching, no offense, its a game of inches and a game of just some bad breaks.

461 Right now, I'm more interested in my Miller Lite..and some shut eyes.

464 We had this argument at the game tonight, sitting side by side.

The Dodgers drew 3.5 million fans while losing 91 games two years ago. Nobody cares about veteran this or that. We have one playoff win in nearly 20 years. People just want to win.

The term "Veteran" should be taken out and shot in the face with a bazooka. Veterans serve in wars. The term "Veteran" in baseball is as useless as Danys Baez. "Veteran" whatever is a false premise that needs to die.

Shea Hillenbrand is a veteran. He is also a gigantic turd.

Yes, I believe the film Mount Rushmore should include Italians.

468 - you're right about winning. But there's also a question of how they win. This market wants a winner but they don't want a rental winner like the Marlins have been twice. They want something that can sustain itself (see Lakers circa 1980-89).

But I've suddenly got this sinking feeling that there is going to be an unneeded level of panic in the front office this off season ("the youth movement experiment has fail!") followed by a lot of moves for guys with a couple of seasons left who get to the World Series only to be run over by the Yankees. I don't know why I have this feeling, other than the erratic nature of the last couple of off seasons.

My off season moves are simple, though not easily accomplished: sign A-Rod (should he opt out), get Zambrano or Santana, do not resign Gonzo or Nomar, trade Pierre and who ever else necessary to get a real center fielder.

Line up in KG's world:

Furcal
Ethier
A-Rod
Martin
Loney
Kemp
LaRoche
CF TBD

Rotation in KG's world:

Schimt
Penny
Lowe
Santana/Zambrano
Billingsly

How many "veterans" do the Diamondbacks have?

Because last time I checked, they were pissing on our faces. We are six and a half back. But we have a mix of veterans and young kids. And that's essential. You need to have veterans and young kids. It's a nice blend that means exactly nothing.

I'm just some guy who believes in playing the best players. I know not of this veteran magic. I'm a stat-nerd...A tool that believes you play the best players. You promote Meloan because he is a stud. You keep D. Young because he is a better hitter than Hillenbrand. You don't bench Matt Kemp in favor of a 40 year old LF who is falling apart.

The Dodgers deserve to miss the playoffs.

472
Well I could not have said that better.

And even if LaRoche was healthy and ready to play, he would sit behind Nomar.

And let's not pretend we don't know why.

Ah, to follow Brock in posting. There are easier things in life.

472 I'm not going to improve on that. It's been a great discussion, I've been on both sides of the issue but I'm with 4-7-2.

I'm off to all-day teacher training. I can honestly say that I would rather do the teacher training--"professional development"--than watch this team play. It doesn't mean I'll stop watching any more than I'll stop doing the training but I do both only because I have to.

I have to watch this team.

(sigh)

Zappala is a fairpole icon!

OK, perhaps that's an overstatement.

The Jacksoville website lists "TBD" as the starters for today's game (even though McDonald would most likely go). Hmm...

Nevermind, the Vegas website says the same thing.

Job opening in Jacksonville:

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=88953

I don't really understand Brock's Ashby fetish. Being There? not bad. Shampoo? OK. Last Detail? Nice start to Randy Quaid's career. Coming Home? Hated it.

I don't get it. But that's why they race boxers, or something.

480 -- So, Jon, you couldn't just summarize -- in one line -- what the article says? Instead of that I have to grab pen and paper and write down the URL and then type it into my browser only to find that the article won't come up for me anyway? Sorry to be testy, but I've always HATED the fact that links can't be posted in this comment section.

Canuck, if you have Firefox, there's a nice add-on called linkification that automatically links any url posted in a comment.

Also, if nothing else, highlight the URL and copy and paste it into URL window rather than typing it.

483 -- Thanks, but since the article isn't coming up for me anyway (my computer is junk so I know it's to blame), I still need somebody to tell me what it says.

482 - That, indeed, was testy. Sometimes, I just like to tease the article. But you don't have to write down the URL, you can just copy and paste with your mouse.

484 - Here are the first three paragraphs.

A Jacksonville Suns fan went to the ballgrounds to catch a game, but he caught something else.

Police say a juvenile told an off duty officer he saw a man smoking marijuana in the stadium during Saturday's game.

It turnded out to be Ray Zerba, Assistant General Manager of Personnel for the team.

New post up top, by the way.

481 {cough} Harold and Maude! {cough}