"No boy! Stop! It's too low! Your backbone can't take it!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRlfmV9nkvA

You're either in or you're out.

Except for Purgatory, but that's more like a waiting station.

I hope someone tells Dante about this.

Penny
Lowe
Bills

ps am I missing something here?

Also, maybe thinking too much about this but Ned going to see McDonald pitching twice in a month sure seems to be a hint on what could be happening sooner rather than later.

Maybe Jon is trying to procrastinate as long as possible so he can determine whether a "this ship is sinking" post or a "we've got a pennant race here" post is more appropriate.

Last thread's comment 41- "Kemp has gone 8 for his last 20 with 5 RBI and 2 HR... let's pencil in LuGo instead!"

If a Dodger youngster gets into a game--or a groove--and does well, odds are pretty high he'll be right back on the bench, maybe the next day (maybe even in Las Vegas), or at least out of the lineup as soon as a veteran "needs" to play. It's happened several times. It will again. And if you're a young Dodger and mess up much at all, grab a bone on the way to the dogouse, and beware of fleas.

I try not to get too carried away about this stuff, since it's typical of old-school, long-established, barnacle-covered organizations like most of MLB. You know, x-number of years of tradition totally uninterrupted by that progress thing...

But this from Dodgers.com after Sunday's game made me roll my eyes so far back in my head that they got stuck and I was temporarily blinded. (OK, maybe beware of rule 6 there.)====

"Martinez, who has struggled all season, hitting .180, stood at the plate with an entire stadium rallying behind him. The veteran did exactly what veterans do -- he took a pitch and collected his nerves before smacking a fastball into right-center field to drive in Ethier and Martin and put the Dodgers up, 4-3."

ARRRRGHHHH!

Let's see. Is losing track of both where the ball is and how many outs there are (see Sweeney) also doing "exactly what veterans do"? How about going 0-fer at cleanup Sunday (see Hillenbrand) after being put there following his four-hit game Saturday? Is doing a gas can impersonation as often as not (see Hernandez) "exactly what veterans do"? And how, pray tell, do other grizzled veterans (see Tomko, Hendrickson) come through so often? What, "exactly," is their secret?

I know Martinez has been hurt. But he got the .180 BA the old fashioned way...he earned it. At least Dodgers.com got the "struggling" part right. It is great that Martinez came through, but still...

While I'm ranting, Dodgers.com lately also has mentioned that when hitting third Kemp gets better pitches and more fastballs because of the rabbits ahead of him. Gee, do ya think ? At least one post on DT mentioned that might happen months ago with Kemp third.

Note to Grady: lately Ethier has been about as good a hitter as the Dodgers trot out day-to-day. Might it be a good idea to bat him fourth (being LH, even) behind Kemp's power RH bat, at least good enough to try? You know, that could have happened Sunday and not caused all that "nerve-collecting" by wily old vet Hillenbrand. Too many "nerves" for young Either to handle? Right. Ethier couldn't possbily have matched that veteran 0-fer. Not a chance.

And who will bat cleanup next? I know--Juan Pierre! It makes perfect sense. If Saenz and Hillenbrand and whoever else can hit fourth, why not JP? I mean, he's a veteran and he's in there every bloomin' day. He probably could "do what veterans do." Or, why not Martinez at cleanup next time he plays?

I will now exhale. And try not to write a short novel next time. Carry on.

Mostly, I know what I want to write about, but I haven't had a good chunk of time to think through what I want to say.

And Jon, if I took time to actually think through what I said here, I would use the "edit" function more often.

I usually use it to correct spelling errors so I don't get ridiculed by others.

Of course, getting ridiculed for what I say is a right of passage here on DT.

For my divine penance, I will now read all of Dante's Inferno, followed by the Bill Plaschke archive at latimes.com. I doubt I'll be escaping purgatory anytime soon.

The team we've got now is pretty much the same team we had when we had the best record in the NL, minus Betemit and Wolf, plus Proctor, Sweeney, Hildegard and Stults. It wasn't the best team then and isn't now, but it is capable of passing bubble-burst Arizona.

This isn't the same denial vs. acceptance debate of 2005. Denial had potential consequences that some of us wanted to see avoided. This year, I'm pretty much okay with whatever happens, except I don't want another massive slump. If they get close, but fall short, hey, I got my money's worth.

Besides, I'd rather see the Mets lose to the Angels in the World Series than the Dodgers.

3-0 Mississippi, top 1st

And Gonzo drives in run number 2.

Maybe hold off on that crap till Hillenbrand is hitting, what do you say?

Thanks,
Andrew Shimmin

Maybe we don't want him to give the score.

Tomko got 'em out 1-2-3 this inning. Is it a good omen for the entire game?

Er, yeah.

FIRST INNING
triple
walk
walk
strikeout
strikeout
seeing eye single, X. Paul throws ball into the stands
strikeout

SECOND INNING
strikeout
strikeout
walk
single
popup

On Willy Aybar, I certainly hope no matter what happens on the ball field, he has his life straightened out, I will be rooting for him. Thanks Jon for the link.

I think all of the announcers are having a hard time believing what's going on.

I never thought I'd type that. But there's a first for everything. I'm liking this game so far. So far! (he adds, ominously, with a thunderclap in the background, worried about jinx)

I'm guessing I'd be passed out by the third inning.

D'oh!

if anything root for him to straighten out his personal life, nice touch to it BHSportsguy, & thanks for the link Jon.

Not to be a stickler, but a walk is a plate appearance, not an at bat. {ducks}

Wow.

Well, this was fun while Tomko was throwing a no-hitter. Oh well, time to comeback!