http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/shareit/6Pkm

The Dodgers don't have a snowball's chance in Haiti of winning this series.

That's why they play the games though.

I can picture UCLA losing to BYU or Utah in the first two weeks.

I'm not an optimistic sort. I just want UCLA to beat Notre Dame.

Badly.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=259611

Does playing Stanford count since UCLA opens up the season against them on September 1st.

I can see George, but Pettite is just trying too hard.

I have become Brockian in my pessimism about the UCLA football team this year.

Literally!

http://tinyurl.com/2s5jdj

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1999/B06150CIN1999.htm

Some of those ESPN "Face of the Franchise" choices are quite baffling.

Look for Tomko to pitch a solid six and keep us in the game. That will set the tone for a rested pen to go after the last three.

Key match-up will be Howard/Beimel. Beimel gets him to hit into a double-play twice this series.

Proctor will start his scoreless innings streak tonight that will extend into the last week of the season. Big Ox and Saito don't give up any runs in the next 19 games.

Keys to the series:
1. Limit the need to go to Roberto and Seanez.
2. Work the counts. Get at least three walks a game. Are you listening/reading Mr. Pierre?
3. Let Kemp play all three games, Kent too. We should park the ball in the seats a few times in Philly.
4. Give Lieberthal a few at-bats to pay the Phils a little revenge. Maybe he starts the day game on Thursday?
5. Don't let Bills walk more than one and he'll have a quality start.

I smell a sweep!

Actually, Liebers WILL be starting the Thursday game, according to a recent report.

I smell a sweep too, but I don't know by WHO yet...

is it who or whom?

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/archives/2007/08/give_me_liberty.html

Weis says he plans to use three different QBs in the early going.

But Weis is a genius! He will figure something out.

Unless he's playing USC or LSU.

Then he's doomed.

I think UCLA goes 9-3 with loses to Cal, WSU, and USC. Sadly, I could see us doing worse than that not better.

Woman rejects ballpark marriage proposal

>> With the couple on display on the stadium's jumbotron, the male fan got down on one knee to present the ring. The woman, wearing a replica Astros jersey, appeared to dump a bag of popcorn on the man before hastily making her way up the stairs amid a chorus of boos <<

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7141730

I would love to pull that gag.

Who knows who will be the subject of a sweep by whomever wants it more this Thursday?

But I am alienating everyone here with my ridiculous interest in prescriptive grammar rules, so I'll stop.

Nah, won't work.

http://tinyurl.com/yug47s

man does anyone have a video of that? I'd love to see it!

Jim Tracy has made me amazingly patient with managers.

You're in your prime. Go for it. :-)

I suppose it is unrealistic to expect a PR writer to ask Pierre questions such as why, if he has such good bat control, is he terrified to hit with two strikes? My guess is that Pierre serves the early pitch into play so often because he is terrified of striking out. But wouldn't the risk of more strikeouts bring an increase in walks? And if his bat control is good, couldn't he at least foul off two-strike pitches or put them into play? It's not like he's driving the early pitches.

His fear of striking out is fueling a poor approach. Mechanically, he is consistently tardy. He doesn't load his swing early enough, resulting in defensive swats and passes.

I refuse to believe he is a lost cause. If he have changed his approach, he could improve his OBP. But judging by his quotes, he doesn't think he's doing anything wrong. So all of that great work ethic he is showing does nothing more than reinforce bad habits.

Sorry for being repetitive on this subject, but I just read the article and it struck a chord.

They have a beach?

I hope they lose.

Despite what appears to be very limited skills, in terms of what he does well, he has had himself a nice a little career and a World Series ring to boot.

Does it mean he should play everyday, no, but again, its not as if he came in like say JD Drew in Boston and then has been very disappointing in terms of his production.
(I looked today, Drew's VORP is 5.0 while Pierre's is 10.1)

The difference is Juan Pierre gets criticized for just being Juan Pierre. And in that respect, he can't really ever win.

I think there were several other stories a writer with that access could have chosen to write about but the Pierre story has basically been told and retold and there just isn't anything new to say anymore.

Aha, Willie Mays and Frank Schulte --- wait, who? I should have tried harder to look up the 20-20-20-20 club, but I was too busy typing in Jayson Werth's two middle names.

3 ---

I didn't mean to make things sound so pessimistic!

32 ---

Were they booing the dumping of popcorn on the man, or were they booing her excercising free will?

And thanks for the link, Jon. That's the most surprised I've ever been when opening up Dodgerthoughts. ;-)

Colletti and McCourt are in Jacksonville to watch James McDonald pitch. Presumably this is why the Suns shuffled up their rotation. I can't imagine why Colletti would go out of his way to attend two McDonald starts in two weeks unless he was seriously considering calling him up.

I know this, because until an hour ago I was going to take the day off and attend said game.

Grumble.

No player is going to say he should sit out and if anything, Juan Pierre has been remarkably healthy for someone who relies on his legs for his presence in the big leagues.

See Dave Roberts as just one example who always at least one nagging injury per season.

"Juan Pierre's 72-Game Hitting Streak Lost Amid Recent Flurry Of Baseball Milestones
LOS ANGELES—In a weekend that saw Alex Rodriguez hit his 500th home run, Tom Glavine notch his 300th win, and Barry Bonds tie Hank Aaron's career mark of 755 homers, one small but notable accomplishment was overlooked: Dodgers centerfielder Juan Pierre collected a base hit in his 72nd consecutive game, quietly shattering the previous record of 56 games held by Joe DiMaggio. "Huh," ESPN analyst Buster Olney said of Pierre's consistent barrage of at least one hit per game for a span of nearly three months, dating all the way back to May 18 and raising Pierre's average from .265 to .423. "How do you like that?" Reporters were unable to contact Pierre before press time, as they are waiting to see if Bonds will hit No. 756 off Nationals starter Mike Bacsik, who is seeking his fourth consecutive perfect game."

67 Yeah, if they had a four man rotation for the three spots, that would be better since Kemp only gets 50% of the starts in this current setup.

Jacksonville has done a pretty good job in both producing players and winning, they remain in contention for their 3rd straight playoff appearance (they could also be the 1981 Cincinatti Reds, a team with a better record than both of the other teams who qualify for the playoffs from their division)

http://tinyurl.com/2cf3j3

I imagine he'll get into the game tonight for sure anyway. Pinch hit and then take over right field with Ethier moving over to left. Or... he can pinch hit for Slappy again. That was fun to see, even if he did strike out.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that they have signed a fully-integrated marketing and broadcasting deal with Liberman Broadcasting Inc., according to Dodger Chief Operating Officer Marty Greenspun. The deal is believed to be the first-of-its kind for any sports franchise and will make KHJ/La Ranchera 930 AM the new Spanish-language broadcasting home of the Dodgers and provide the club with marketing tools on four top-rated local radio stations and one local television station.

"Finally some news to report in this dump of a town. The Dodgers have a new radio station for next year, but in typical Dodger fashion, they picked a station that broadcasts in some weird foreign language. What good is that? Ridiculous. That's why this is a second-rate franchise. And while I can't prove it, I'm sure Wilson Betemit had something to do with this. Or Chad Billingsley. Or Paul DePodesta."

KWKW 1330 has been the flag ship station for the Dodger ever since I could remember (although I think the Dodgers left 1330 for a few years if I remember correctly?) It seems like they got a good deal with "La Ranchera" though.

IIIIIIIIIeeeeeeeeeeee Like it!

That is the story. And that is interesting. How a player as bad as Pierre, has been able to fool the old school baseball GMs into thinking he's a useful player, when in fact he is horrid.

It'd be really nice if 710ESPN had jingles styled like the original KMPC jingles... it'd go "E S P N radio 710". Then drop the Angels and pick up the Dodgers; they'd go together with the Trojans Coverage quite nicely!

I'd love to see the rating numbers comparing the Spanish language broadcasts with the KFWB numbers.

I do wonder, with the rise of XM and internet radio, how much that has impacted the value of over-the-air broadcasts?

Where's Philip Michaels injury chart?

I don't think they are fooled, no one who gets him thinks he is going to become Willie Mays or even Steve Finley.

Maybe that is irksome to many of you but I have never felt that Ned believed Pierre was going to be anything but what he is today, a player who plays everyday, works hard, does steal bases and scores some runs. Can he throw or hit for power, nope. But he couldn't do those things when he was drafted, played in minors, played in the majors for 6 years either.

Perhaps that gnaws at you but I don't think it causes anyone in baseball who signed him, traded for him or coached him to have a sleepless night.

Obviously they need a sponsor like "Living Spaces." I can imagine Grady picking up the phone and saying "Grovy grove", that alone would take about 10 seconds of the commercial.

But the Dodgers moved to KABC in the mid 1970s.

I believe KLAC was the Dodgers first station, but as history tells us, the Dodgers switched to KFI because O'Malley couldn't get the radio broadcasts at his home in Lake Arrowhead.

Gene Autry wanted to get another team to broadcast on KLAC and he went to the baseball owner's meetings to see if he could negotiate with the new AL team in Los Angeles, which was supposed to be lead by Hank Greenberg.

Instead, Autry ended up leaving with the Angels.

I may have left out a few steps. I pieced this together mainly from sugar packets.

105 Have you tried these stations?

KCBL 1340 Fresno
KXTY 99.7 San Luis Obispo
KEZL 1400 Visalia

Man, I am really old. :-) Due to a severe hearing loss I don't listen to radio anymore. But back when I did KHJ played top 40 hits and was one of my favorite stations. That was more than 30 years ago. Before Greg Brock was even born. WOW!

I hope you are right. In his last four starts, Tomko has allowed 16 earned runs in 22 innings, an ERA of 6.55. In that span, over the first two innings he has allowed 11 earned runs in 8 innings, an ERA of 12.38. Over the next four innings -- he has not reached the 7th in any of those games -- he has allowed 5 earned runs 14 innings, an ERA of 3.21. However, all 5 of those runs came in the 6th inning in his most recent start. He did not retire anyone in that inning . . . If he can reach the 3rd inning without having been hammered, we have a chance.

Before I was born too. By the time I came into this world, KHJ was country full time. I read up and listened to some KHJ history, so I knew the essentials. In a way I did get a taste of it through KRTH 101 back in the early 90's.

For some of us, it's easier to get the Padres on radio than the Dodgers. THAT's why its such a money loser for KFWB, their signal is pitiful.

During the late 60's I lived in San Jose for four years and could pick up the Dodgers on KFI pretty easily after around 7 or 8 pm.

I'd be shocked if KFWB has better ratings than KWKW as far as Dodger programming is concerned.

Lloyd: Hit me with it! I've come a long way to Philly to see you, Brett. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?

Mary: Not good.

Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?

Mary: I'd say more like one out of a million.

Lloyd: So you're telling me there's a chance.

Penny
Lowe
Bills

ps am I missing something here?

It also helps that he's gotten more PAs than all but seven other players, this year. Of the eleven people who have at least 550 PAs this year, Pierre is the least VORPy. You have to go down to Felipe Lopez at 27th most PAs before you find someone less VOPRy than Juan. Twelve of the top 100 PA-getters are less VORPy than Juan.