Whoops, sorry I was snickering over Abreu's health.

I'll stop now.

Here, here, Jon! Well said.

Maybe they're ready to live together, but not quite ready to go through the ceremony yet.

Maybe Abreu has a Costanza-like knack for staying committed to a fake injury?

It seems like you found a way to say what you wanted to say, unfortunately, the commitments won't come until 2007 at the earliest.

I suppose if Repko was healthy, he would play CF on occasion but other than that, Grady has shown little interest in moving Ethier or Kemp there (though Kemp played last year when Lofton took time off).

4 See what happens when you are thinking 2006 instead of 2007, of course I meant 2008.

What happens when Kemp realizes they're just not that into him?

Funny, I just got back from a wedding this past weekend. Two friends who finally tied the knot. She has lots of heat and is known to snap off some curveballs, while he has excellent stuff (from what I hear). Neither of them are anything fantastic at the plate.

For better or for worse, I suppose.

Kemp has played 15 innings in CF this year, over five games. It's a starting point.

Excellent post, Jon. The most frustrating thing about the season for me has been the double standard that's in operation regarding playing time. If you're a veteran and you struggle for a while, you're given multiple chances to fail, and fail, and fail again. And when you continue to fail, you're given yet more chances to fail.

If you're a young player who struggles for a while, you're either demoted to the minor leagues, or placed firmly on the bench with almost no opportunity to get back into the mix. And that's just the young players who actually get an opportunity. Some of them, like Meloan, haven't even gotten that.

All I ask is that the organization be run as a meritocracy. The only criterion for playing time should be whether performance-wise you're the best player for the job. As things stand, that seems to be the only criterion not being considered. Instead we get lots of blather about heart, and dedication, and toughness, and veteran savvy, and being good in the clubhouse, and consecutive game streaks.

It's becoming nauseating. It's as if the Dodgers are making every effort to avoid put a winning team on the field.

4 Stop looking forward to the present. Look sideways to the future.

And in staying with Jack movies:
Ned: Why can't we play the vets? What do we get from Kemp and Loney that we can't get from Gonzo and Saenz?

Noah Brock: The future, Mr. Colletti...the future.

Jon,

Have you or the L.A. press done a big story on the Dodgers' adhering to slot guidelines and the idea that McCourt is beholden to Selig in this area because Selig helped McCourt gain ownerhship of the Dodgers?
Forgive me if this has been addressed. What a shame it would be if the Dodgers are pulling back along these lines. They finally have the scouts in place who can make a go of it in the draft, but it seems like they aren't spending like they could or should.
The Red Sox and Yankees don't seem to be playing ball with Selig in this fashion.
I realize this is circumstantial and watery, but that's what I've been gleaning from posts here and reports in Baseball America.
I realize that the amateur market is even more inexact than the pro market. Logan White isn't infallible, but he seems to be an above-average scouting director, and based on his remarks, he has a very good staff in place. Why not maximize this franchise strength?

8 If there is one thing clear about this season, as long as Juan Pierre wears a Dodger uniform, he is playing CF. The only moves made with him was to move him down in the lineup (for very brief periods of time) but not to sit him down.

I can't see this being a directive by the front office, Grady is just going to keep writing his name in the lineup.

Jon

Yesterday I spoke about this using the phrase "placeholders". The pot is cool enough to eat, let's put the placeholders away and go with the real food!

9

Thats pretty much how I feel too. I just noticed today that one of the Boston Red Sox Blog is titled "Surviving Grady." How about that?

I'm just hoping they give some of the washed up guys the "It's not you, it's me" speech. Then they can spare their feelings but move forward.

If I were Loney, Kemp and Ethier, I'd make sure that the Dodger front office got tested before I accepted any marriage proposal.
vr, Xei

Blog = Blogs
Whom != Who

15
One day at work when the library's computers went down and nobody can access their records, my staff spent the entire day telling people, "It's not you, it's us."

Repeat that about 80 times per person over 9 hours.

That was a long day.

Good. Furcal's already got Durbin distracted.

I lose this argument all the time with Greg Brock, one, because I tend to look at things realistically and two, because he won't consider that Juan Pierre is still a Dodger.

Baseball America's Callis on the draft:

"The current system isn't the most equitable, but it is what it is. Large revenue clubs are foolish not to exploit the advantages MLB is handing them with the draft."

Are the Dodgers wearing a dunce cap?

Near as I can tell, when the Dodgers want to throw there weight around, it's so their panicky GM, the former PR guy, can give $45 million to a CF just because the genius Giants offered him $36 million, or $47 million to a pitcher with a bad shoulder who was recommended by the same trainer whose former club didn't even try to retain the bad-shouldered pitcher.

This year is shaping up to be one of the closest batting title races of all time.

Holliday-COL .336
Utley-PHI .336
Renteria-ATL .336
Ramirez-FLA .335
Young-WSN .333
Jones-ATL .331
Cabrera-FLA .330

20
Hasn't Greg Brock also declared himself to be the Paraclete of Caborca?

About four years into dating the woman who is now my wife we were sitting in a restaurant (Amsterdam's on NYC upper West Side, if anyone's been there) when she gave me a very serious look and asked the question boyfriends everywhere dread. Let's all say it together: "Where are we going with this relationship?" (This question most commonly arises when you are at the wedding of one of her friends.) Trying to diffuse the situation I thought a funny response in order. We had recently been to the horse races so I said, "Well honey, its like the races. You are the only horse in the race and everyday we get closer to the finish line but you never know when you are going to fall, break a leg and we're going to have to shoot you." I thought this was funny. Stupid me.

She loudly used a verb and a noun, both of which are big time rule #1 violations and stormed off. I was left sitting there with the whole restaurant staring at me. Not so funny anymore.

The point is that after four years I should have been able to commit to a woman who is so far out of my league that in hindsight I can't believe it wasn't obvious to me and I regret that we didn't start our life sooner.

I suspect, a year or two from now, Ned will be saying the same thing about Kemp, Loney and Ethier. The real question is will he have learned his lesson when it comes to Hull, McDonald Meloan and avoid the regrets and bad horse racing analogies.

In other news, Carlos Pena gets some rest from the field and DH's today while one Joel Guzman takes his place at first.

20 Looking at things realistically is overrated.

Some shoot for reality. I shoot for diaper wearing astronauts. Which among us is the more foolish.

Oh, me...Right.

He'd better have run through a stop sign. That was just awful.

20 - If Juan Pierre hadn't picked the Dodgers' coldest time of the year to have his hot streak, I am confident he would have been benched at least one game. He would have appeared to keep the streak going, but I feel strongly that there is a level at which Little will bench him.

Great write up Jon.

I guess this is what happens when you hire a veteran bridesmaid as your GM.

So did that out at home that the Bison gave to the Phils, make up for the extra batters and run that Dobbs' error gave to the LAD?

I hope Kemp just didn't run through another of Donnelly's stop signs, like he did the other night, and get thrown out there. He would be benched for all of eternity I'm afraid.

20 And I don't pretend certain people aren't Dodgers.

I pretend they don't exist at all.

24
(Bob scratches that joke off of list)

Looks like the Windmill is back. Two guys thrown out at 3rd yesterday, and now Kemp at home. It's not like the team can afford to throw away runs. Ugh.

24 If you had just gone to the Empire State Building, you could have said that you are on floor 80 but King Kong may reach in and take you to the top.

24

LAT, I suppose it was a good sign when she didn't dump a bag of popcorn on your head.

34 I thought it was pretty clear that Pierre never looked up and Martin made a horrible play.

I would not like to try and stop Kemp once he is in full throttle.

31- If it was Kemp's idea, that's regrettable but something that can be fixed. If it was Donnelly's, it's over. They have to put him down.

Anybody with Tivo looking it over?

22 Can't forget Braun, if he can find a way to get the PAs (he needs to average 4.31 PAs per game without missing a game). He's currently at .337.

Why did Tomko start the last game? It was Lowe's (4 days rest) turn in the rotation. I would have preferred Lowe over Tomko. How much does Tomko have to screw up before he is the last SP to get a slot.

38 Why does the player get a break and the coach doesn't?

Furcal was holding his hand up, but I'm not sure what that means... other than that, I didn't notice Donnelly

Of course, also not on Tivo

40 He'd have to start sometime, I still think there is a 5/2 chance (shout out to LAT) that McDonald debuts in NY.

42 Hands up means don't slide.

41- Because the coach has been pulling this crap forever, and could be capably replaced by a mascot, or a series of contest winners. As opposed to the player, who's good at baseball.

18 You need to have your library buy a large supply of bright orange placards with the words "We're sorry, our computers are down. Please be patient." Stick them everywhere and avoid the pain and suffering.

If Lowe had started in place of Tomko, as he should have, then Stults could have pitched the following day, followed by Bills then Penny, completely skipping Tomko.

Edwin Jackson now has a lower ERA than Brett Tomko.

47 - that's just so crazy, it might just work. If, of course, we'd have tried it.

38 I went back and looked at it. Donnelly only appears in the picture one time and he is doing nothing. It's after Kemp has passed. It was an amazingly close play at the plate though. Looked to me like an exact tie. I would have called him safe.

46
I work in the telephone section. I don't see people.

It's strange to see the return of Windmill since he had been ultra-conservative lately in his decisions. I'm not watching the game, but getting a guy thrown out at home with Martin coming up doesn't bode well.

47 Who pitches after Penny?

51 Even easier. Insert a message on the phone system before it rings through to a real person.

51 I work in the telephone section. I don't see people.

Oh, and the obvious joke ... not even dead people?

52 In his defense, Kemp normally would have scored easily. The ball took a perfect carom of the left field wall. Both throws were also right on line. It was still a bang bang play at the plate and everything went perfectly for the Phillies.

50- The ball was halfway to Rollins by the time Kemp got to third, though, right? It was close at the plate, but a horrible decision, whoever made it, to send him. Unless I'm wrong, which is possible. I couldn't believe he was going; I'd started shouting profanity well in advance of the play's termination, so the judgment centers of my brain weren't operating in prime condition.

57 Actually looked like a good decision to send him to me. 2 outs, one of the fastest runners on the team, took a perfect play to barely get him. I don't think this was his typical bad decision.

I hope LaRoche is watching this so he can see that there will be no pressure for him to hit at 3rd base.

54
In the words of David Byrne, "Stop making sense! Stop making sense!"

I think if it takes a perfectt throw and relay to get a guy at home (and if it's really close at the plate), then I think you just need to tip your hap to the opposing team. It could be the right call to send him and still have him get thrown out by a great play.

If they held Kemp at third, Martin's ground-out would've ended the inning anyway, so it's not like anything was lost.

(caveat: I haven't seen the play in question)

Can anyone tell me why reaching base on an error doesn't count positively in OBP? They get on base right?

62 Bob?
This sounds like the type of question that would spark debates at SABR conventions.

Or it just could be that from the beginning of time, errors have always been seen as an out (just not recorded) for the batter.

62
1. You don't want to reward the player for the other team screwing up.
2. Reaching on an error hasn't been regularly tracked until recently.

I dispute the claim that the throws were perfect; they weren't bad, and Rollins' I'd call good, but Burrell's didn't seem impressive. I have to defer to some extent to Indiana Jon, since he has Tivo, and I'm a bit of a lunatic, but it looked like an average play, to me.

63 As I clicked submit, I suddenly recalled that errors once counted as hits or am I just hallucinating?

62 - that seems a bit strange, I know it doesn't count in batting average, but I would have thought it counts for OBP, like a Fielder's Choice - which counts for OBP, right?

I don't get to watch as many games as I would like, but it seems like every time I do Hillenbrand hits into a double play. Does anybody have any statistics on this? Is it just bad luck?

67 Uhh no, I don't think FC are tracked at all.

24 - The point is that after four years I should have been able to commit to a woman who is so far out of my league that in hindsight I can't believe it wasn't obvious to me and I regret that we didn't start our life sooner.

I had a similar story, but mine didn't end quite so happily.

62 - Can anyone tell me why reaching base on an error doesn't count positively in OBP? They get on base right?

Because the player reached through a defensive failure rather than an offensive action. Arguably, speedy players may have more reach-on-errors than slower ones.

63 Well how about this then. Can you tell me how Texas can score 20 runs in 8 innings while featuring Travis Metcalf and Marlon Byrd as their 3rd and 4th hitters?

66
You are misremembering my lesson about 1887 when walks counted as hits.

OK, I'm watching on a delay so I read the comments about the Kemp play at the plate before I saw the play itself. I thought the comments were harsher than the play warranted. It would have taken two perfect relay throws to get him, and that's exactly what happened. With two outs, I think that's a risk you can justify taking. Even with the good throws, it was still an extremely close play at the plate. (Oh, and by the way, on the replay you can clearly see Donnelly putting up the stop sign.)

71 Bob, 4 Rangers have 4 RBI in that game, is there a record kept on that type of occurence?

65 OK, I watched it one more time. I agree that the throws were not perfect. However, the carom off the wall was perfect. (I know this was well before the decision to send him.) Also, both throws were directly on line. Burrell's wasn't the strongest throw, but Rollins was about as good as you could expect. After about 18 TIVO rewinds, I now officially dispute the call at the plate. I think Kemp got his foot in there. Is it too late to file a protest?

73 That should end the debate on that play for tonight.

Rick Monday mentioned on KFWB that Kemp has run through Donnelly's stop sign twice in less than a week, including tonite.

74
The Retrosheet guys could run a fancy query for such a thing.

74 Okay, Salty now has 7 RBI in that game.

64 "You don't want to reward the player for the other team screwing up."

Which, of course, explains why walks and HBPs count toward on-base percentage.

But, you say, the batter also has some impact on those two events! True enough. But so do a batter's speed and how hard he hits the ball have an effect upon reaching on errors.

I'm firmly in favor of counting ROEs in OBP. Stick that in your double-error pipe and smoke it!

73 You're exactly right. I see the stop sign now as Furcal crosses the plate.

79 I didn't realize old friend Paul Shuey was still pitching. Unfortunately, it appears that it has been mostly batting practice.

I would guess that hitters get few enough ROEs that it would not really make a difference either way. Of course, Pierre could use all the help he can get.

Thanks Indiana Jon and Eric Enders. Even better than having Tivo is having other people willing to do the work for you.

I wish Kemp was seeing more pitches tonight. Is that 2 ABs, 2 pitches so far?

Kent's been hitting a lot of balls well, just not quite well enoguh.

3.5 is a man possessed.

The Rangers have 24 runs and haven't broken their record for most runs they've scored in a game against the Orioles!

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX199604190.shtml

Here comes the bride.

All right Andre, maybe he will never bat 8th again.

All right Andre, maybe he will never bat 8th again.

When's the last time the Dodgers had nobody hit 20 home runs?

I'm only watching on Gameday, but so far it looks like Derek Lowe is pitching an interesting game.

84 Too bad I didn't TIVO the Texas game. That could have kept me busy well into the night. It gets kind of boring at midnight or 1 AM when I'm normally watching the Dodgers, but they've already played on the East Coast.

The Texas game is the first of a double header...

Ethier is looking for an Anderson-like performance.

Bob, record for runs by one team in a doubleheader?

The offensive outburst pleases my fantasy team considering I've been suffering through owning half their offense for most of the year.

96 At least he's not literally looking for Anderson.

Meanwhile, it's the evil 4th inning.

98 Texas's that is

98 I have Cole Hamels AND Derek Lowe on my fantasy team...not to mention Chase Utley.

Well, that was nice. Who cares about the "interesting" game - I want another boring game!

Re Rangers-Orioles, here's to hoping that the Orioles mount a rally and don't pinch hit, since if so, Paul Shuey will come to bat.

Shuey has walked the first 2 batters to start the 9th. Looks like the Rangers 26 run record is in jeopardy.

105 And a single to load the bases. Still no outs.

105 Two singles, not walks.

7 Rangers have at least one RBI in the game, the next 2 batters don't have one yet.

26-3

108 Make that 8 Rangers with at least one RBI.

Still no outs, runners 2nd, 3rd.

The NL record for a doubleheader is 43 runs by Boston on 8/21/1894 (18-3, then 25-8 over Cinncinati). The AL record is 36 by Detroit on August 14, 1937 against St. Louis (16-1, 20-7)

I'd hate to be the guy who took the under on the Ranger's game...

107 I'm crazy.

On the other hand, that was a little too easy in the Dodgers' top of the inning.

Kinda fishy for Texas to go for the 2 point conversion just to cover the spread.

26! Still no outs, and Shuey is nearing 50 pitches. The Orioles probably want this over very soon, if they want any pitchers for the next game. Or maybe they have some AAA guys on the next flight to Baltimore, and will switch out some playersbetween the 2 games.

Poor E. Jax--The guy is throwing a 2 hitter and losing 1-0. The Rays have one hit through 4.

110 That's settled, unless the Rangers send up a pinch hitter, only 8 different battes with at least one RBI.

113 If I'm going to lose, I'd prefer to lose like that.

The AL record for runs in a game is 28!

Come on Salty. Hit it out for 10 RBI. That would have to be a record for a cather?

But no.

30 runs!

Most different players in a game with one RBI is 15 for the NL and 14 for the AL.

30-3!

121 It was 28. Now its 30. Paul Shuey may just pack up his locker and go home after tonight.

Sorry, that record was for most different players SCORING a run, not driving in a run.

Games like this make you wonder about the pythag formula.

When does Paul Bako come in to get the last out?

With the double header it's actually good strategy for Texas to keep rubbing it in to wear our the bullpen.

Holy cow!

No one has scored 30 in a major league since the 19th Century!

30 runs, 29 hits, 1 error. They need to work on their fielding.

Looks like 30 is it, unless the Orioles can mount a 27 run comeback.

Is that in Baltimore? I can't believe there are still Orioles fans there watching. Except for the 2nd game that has to follow it. Maybe there should be a mercy rule in such circumstances.

So can the Rangers score 7 runs in the second game to set a new AL record?

The Cubs alltime record of 36 runs in a game is safe!

The end of the scoreboard in the stadium in Baltimore shows a continuous set of numbers "63029".

And yet only 38 hits in Texas. We saw the Dodgers and Phillies combine for 40 hits last month at DS. What's the record for most hits in a game?

what has that game done to Shuey's career ERA?

Ned's on the phone with Baltimore right now. "We'll give you Tomko and Saenz...."

Way to work the pitch count, JP.

Wes Littleton trying to protect the 27-run lead for the 3-inning save

138. The Cubs alltime record of 36 runs in a game is safe!

Maybe not if Baltimore scores 27 in the bottom of the 9th and they go into extra innings :-)

There we go Matty!

The Rangers tied the AL record for most plate appearances in a 9-inning game with 65.

Headline on the Orioles website now:
Rangers chase Cabrera as O's seek rally

Jon, what do you mean by "using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively"?

142- It's up .15 on the night.

144 Jose Canseco could hold this lead. If he didn't throw out his arm again.

The Rangers have tied the AL record for most players scoring 2 or more runs in a game with 9.

I'm calling four touchdowns and a 31-30 win for the Ravens.

Wait...What?

142 From 3.71 to 3.84

I've got a lot of work when I get home.

Most hits for two clubs in one game is 51.

156 I can guarantee this will be the record for largest run-differential while still getting a save.

155 is right. I added 10 runs, instead of nine.

155 Excel is useful sometimes.

Russell gets a good pitch to hit and can't do much with it. It's amazing how much he's struggled over past month with runners on base after being so clutch earlier in the year.

And Littleton gets the Seo!

From the game preview:

"The Rangers hope their struggling offense can get back on track Wednesday when they face the Baltimore Orioles in a doubleheader at Camden Yards."

Heh heh.

How did he end up with a save there? I thought it was 3 runs or less? Didn't he enter with a huge lead (14-3)?

The second 9 scariest words in the English language: And Jeff Kent rounds third and heads for home!

Wes Littleton made 43 pitches in 3 innings to get the "save"

Paul Shuey and Rob Bell made 115 pitches in those last 3 innings against the Rangers.

Loney shows some clutchiness though! With a seeing eye hit. Kent looks like he needs to change his carburetor or his oil but he made it home.

And Dave Trembley was given the Orioles manager job on a permanent basis earlier in the day.

Shea Hillenbrand, intentionally walked. Freeze this memory.

Littleton's save has to go down as the most egregiously wrong save in ML history.

And I bet no one will mention that Gabbard made a quality start either.

its kind of interesting to see that all of Loneys, Martins and Ethiers are nearly identical (a baseline of 295/365/465). They are all basically the same type of hitter with Matt Kemp walking less and supplying a bit more power.

170 There were two outs, so they didn't need the DP.

171 There's probably a worse one. At least he pitched well.

165 As long as you pitch the last three innings of a game you get a save.

It used to be up to the official scorer whether the pitcher was "effective" for those three innings, but Bob threatened to withhold library cards if they didn't change the rule and of course MLB complied.

165 If you pitch the last three innings of a game that your team wins, and the leading team does not change over the course of those innings, and you are not the winning pitcher, you have satisfied one of the qualifications for a save.

all their rates

People really hate the three-inning save it seems.

I, for one, enjoy it.

Stan Belinda enjoyed his save in a 22-3 game. Dave Goltz got one once when he gave up 8 runs.

The hopeful girlfriends so far today:

4-7 with 2 walks, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored

Check Humbug for all your O's-Rangers miscellany.

Diane Firstman will have some stuff up soon.

I think that we should include Betemit in the conversation about "hopeful girlfriends." That trade is my biggest disappointment of the season. Well, that and the fact that the one Dodger game I attended this year was started by Tomko (3 innings, 8 runs).

I understand what the official qualifications for a save are, and so he earned one in that sense. I only think it defaces the true spirit of the word "save" when your team's up by 27 runs. Call me crazy!

Two almost-double-plays for the Dodgers and instead with 2 outs the Phillies are threatening. C'mon Derek!

The save is kind of a lame stat anyhow.

Reading Honeycutt's lips on that visit to the mound he asked Lowe, "And your hip's okay?" "Yep."

186 "And I'm on tonight
You know my hips don't lie
And I'm starting to feel it's right"

Beltran helping Dodger cause. 2 run double. Now 4-2 SD

Jose Mesa feels like the Roberto Hernandez of the Phillies, except maybe not quite as bad.

185 Not if you were at Dodger Stadium from 2002-2004.

192

Actually, I lived in Australia for 02 and 03. I only ever saw Gagne start.

I lived in Europe in the fall of '88. Hmm...

191 Joe Table pitched his first MLB game when I was in the 5th grade.

Martin needs to take this personally.

C'mon Russell, make 'em pay like you used to

He really does look like RHern.

How can Charley expect his excited comment about the Dodgers winning such and such percent of their games when leading in the sixth inning, to have any meaning if he doesn't give us the league average?

Phillies think Ethier is Babe Ruth.

No team has ever lost when leading by 27 runs in the 9th.

From Tony's notebook for 8/23

On McDonald, Ned has seen him pitch 3 times so far.

``He looked really interesting, in a good way,'' Colletti said. ``This kid had a great feel for pitching. He has four pitches, and he throws them for strikes, he changes speeds, he changes eye levels, he throws on a downhill plane, he puts a lot of thought into what he does, and he is successful doing it.''

McDonald is 6-2 with a 1.65 ERA since his promotion from Single-A Inland Empire. But he also has thrown 125 2/3 innings this season, and his velocity, which reached the 92-93 mph range earlier in the season, is topping out now at 87-88. That probably is a sign he is tired, and that could be enough to dissuade club officials from calling him up this year.

Well, I think they're trying to set up for a double play... but so much for that. That was assuming Mesa had any kind of control.

And Roberto-se Mesernandez departs.

202 Nothing about character. We won't be seeing him for years.

The giants aren't the only ones with a LF who fills the box scores with intentional walks.

202

yea maybe we should rest him. Put him on a weight gaining program this summer with tons of long tossing and see him touch 97 next spring.

this summer means this winter.

Edwin Jackson with another qaulity start. 6 innings, 1 run. ERA now under 5.5. He'll probably lose again because Tampa never scores for him, but a pretty unbelievable turnaround on the year for him.

Speaking of Ro-Hernandez, we may actually see him tonight. But under these circumstances I won't complain.

I won't be happy until we have 30 runs!

How do you not pull Lowe here?

211 Heh. I was literally just about to type that. I'd be happy if the Dodgers score 30 runs over 4 games.

199 How about just the NL West for now.
Dodgers 51-3
Arizona 50-6
Colorado 48-10
San Diego 46-11
San Francisco 46-9 (after 7)

209 - I've always liked Jackson. It really, really annoys me that the Dodgers traded him.

Yeah, don't want to wear McDonald out.

212. He's going great. We don't need anymore offense. He has only thrown 77 pitches (13 ground balls). The bullpen needs a rest. Why would you pull him.

209. Will Edwin turn on his team like Odalis?

If Lowe is going good, ride him till 100 pitch count. Then Rudy or Roberto could mop out...remember 7 consecutive games to go.

215

i like jackson too but when the net result of that trade was Betemit, i wasn't too mad in losing Jackson. But yea....

209 His start is over as he's already thrown more than 100 pitches. The DRays have otherwise scored 45 runs in his last 10 starts. I don't otherwise know what you mean by "unbelievable", but his start was so wretched this year that all he could really do was improve.

215

what about when it turned into Proctor? lol? Upton just hit a 2 run homer, so he could get the win. Since the AS break, his ERA is like 2.75. not bad, especially with 2 games against the Yanks and 1 against the Sox

209 The DRays just scored 2 for him to give him the lead.

I was going to say that EJax would fit in fine back with the Dodgers given the lack of run support, but then the Dodgers went and scored 10 runs for Lowe today. Still, yeah, I wouldn't mind having him back either.

223 Plus that.

Come on. Double steal.

my god, kemp is just OOZING with talent.

Bison's roaming today!

Matt Kemp is fast.

KEMPMANIA!!!

Kemp ain't ready, and there's no room for him with JP anyway.

Save some offense for the rest of the week, though guys.

I still don't think of Matt Kemp as a no. 3 hitter but as long as he keeps producing, go for it.

Matt Kemp. Matt Kemp.

Bench him again and I'm taking hostages.

OK, Dodgers, just 17 runs to go.

Okay, it actually feels sort of safe enough for me to now go home and miss the end of this thing (hopefully I'm not jinxing it by saying that)...

Steve Lyons: "Another thing my dad used to say, "Son, keep your head up, that way you'll never have to lower it."

Even for lamo dad sayings, this one is especially lame and nonsensical.

I'm just happy they've held the Eagles to a field goal so far.

234 He probably won't play tomorrow.

Lieberthal! Holy cow! A Mike Lieberthal sighting.

Aww nice at-bat by Lieby, how sweet of Condrey to groove that one for him...

And the Lieberthal 2-woman fan club in the upper deck applauds for his base hit. (Seriously.)

hahahaha

"Thats a LOONEY!! LOONEY! LOONEY! LOONEY!"

drunk phillies fan.

243 Or a drunk Canadian

244 I was aboot to type that, too.

Way to break out the bats tonight!

"In comes Kemp, in comes Ethier, Martin safe at third as Loney gets another hit."

I could get used to hearing that for the next 12 years.

This seems kind of like a waste of Proctor, but better than ever seeing Hernandez I guess.

Kemp and Ethier have hit for the cycle between them and are a combined 8-5-5-5 with two walks. It will be interesting to see if Gonzalez plays tomorrow. If he doesn't, I believe it will be the first time Kemp and Ethier have started back to back games.

Is that the NFL Direct TV guy yelling in the microphone?

How much do you want to bet Webb gives up a run in the first inning?

notables:

Adkins: 3IP 1H 0ER 1bb 3k

Sextion: 4IP 4H 1ER 0bb 4k

holy crap orenduff struck out 12 today. thats probably what i get for trashing him today.

okay after a kemp bomb, we don't need anymore runs.

I guess this outfield should get a chance to repeat itself tomorrow.

Lyons: "Earhole". For some reason that's an very funny word.

"Rich Doobie, the pitching coach"

I'm sure he doesn't spell it that way. It's still funny.

http://tinyurl.com/yutu2q

In reality, it's Dubee.

248 Kemp and Ethier started together on June 22 and 23 in Tampa Bay. Gonzalez did DH one of those.

darn, i thought Ethier got all of that. it would have been gone if he pulled it.

258 I knew Either DIDN'T get all of that, precisely because Charley went nuts.

250

1-0 Brewers... boy did I call that one

The streak is gone. Nice call.

Orel can bust out some champagne.

Even with this streak as it is, this is a very remarkable feat by Brandon Webb, considering the era and the volume of great hitters in the game today. Congratulations to Brandon for making a run at history :)

Yay! A win!

Just the usual 10 run win for the Dodgers.

I am ecstatic that Webb gave up a run. Nothing against him, it's just that Orel's run was so special to me, as a fan, that I'm selfish about it. I never want to see the record broken.

The Orioles have gotten exactly what they needed, Garrett Olson is at 60 pitches through 3 innings.

i cant believe chris young has 26 homeruns already.

92 The last Dodger team not to have a 20-HR hitter, excluding strike years, is 1970 when Billy Grabarkewitz led with 17.

The 1972 team lost 7 games to the strike and had Willie Davis and Frank Robinson tie for the team lead with 19.

[looks around for Greg Brock]

uh... we, uh, win?

http://tinyurl.com/2gl438

Dodgers sticking with Tomko.

SD leads 7-2, but Mets score a run in the 9th, and with a couple of runners on base, the Pads turn to Hoffman. No rest for him tonight.

I belive the Dodgers should have pulled Lowe after 6 to prepare him to start on short rest down the line. When you're up by 9 runs you have to have somebody you can bring in who can pitch 3 innings with an ERA below 27, but whose not worth much otherwise. That's why you have a mopup guy.

7-5 now with Beltran on first and Delgado up.

273 The right role for Tomko?

Delgado struck out to end the game. Mets lose 7-5.

Braves lost, so the Dodgers gain on them. Rockies losing to Pitt 8-1 in the 4th.

The Dodgers are now 1/2 game behind the Braves.

Ay minorleaguebaseball.com, Jonathan Mayo has a really good, and lengthy, article up about Miller and Kershaw at Jacksonville together.

FJM took on the Jayson Addcox penned Juan Pierre article that Jon aptly described as "tortured". (I got a thanks!)

I've got to believe that the Dodgers have half a dozen guys in the minors that could be at least as effective as Tomko. I don't remember Houlton being good, but a bunch of 5 innings, 3 runs games come to mind.

The Rangers are at 5 runs after 4 innings, bringing them one short of the AL double header runs record.

What do we think about tomorrow's game?

I don't like Billingsley's chances of success against that Phillies lineup.

I DO like the Bums' chances of scoring at least 5 or 6 runs against Fabio.

On an unrelated note, why don't all pitchers throw two-seam, sinking fastballs? Seems like all the sinkerballers around the majors are successful, or at least mildly effective.

273 I don't think there are any plans to shorten the rotation right now.
For the next 17 games:
Chad - 8/23; 8/28; 9/2; 9/7
Stults - 8/24; 8/29; 9/3; 9/8
Penny - 8/25; 8/31; 9/5
Tomko - 8/26; 9/4; 9/9
Lowe - 8/27; 9/1; 9/6

Now, Tomko will have only one more start before the rosters can expand so perhaps after September 1st, we will see Houlton or someone else fill in.

If you think of how much Paul Shuey had to go through in the last two innings of the first Rangers-O's game today, think of what Roberto Hernandez was feeling in the loss to the Rockies.

Those guys are both relatively old, don't throw that many pitches normally, and were just trying to get guys out with pitches that had almost nothing on them.

Hernandez's 14th inning could have been a lot worse than just 5 runs.

You know not much gets the attention of my friend, who I'll refer to as "football boy." Not much in baseball gets his attention until October. Now, 30 runs by one team in a game, I think he's gonna be talking about that one tomorrow.

"Football boy" is a Giants fan, incidentally.

The big story for tomorrow: Will I get to have my coffee before the first pitch?

280 Houlton gave up runs in 7 of his 10 appearances this season, all in relief.

In 2005 he had 7 "quality starts" in 19 starts. Maybe 5 other starts that might qualify as good enough for the fifth starter (e.g. 6 IP with 4 runs, 5+ IP with 2-3 runs).

He's been decent in Vegas this year; a 3.87 ERA there is pretty good.

284

yep; I feel kind of bad for Shuey myself, him being a former Dodger and all.

On Yahoo Sports, I found the following quote in the narrative for the Rangers record setting night.

"Texas also set a team record for runs scored in a doubleheader -- before the second game even started."

This isn't true according to Bob in 112 .

"The NL record for a doubleheader is 43 runs by Boston on 8/21/1894 (18-3, then 25-8 over Cinncinati). The AL record is 36 by Detroit on August 14, 1937 against St. Louis (16-1, 20-7)"

53 283 If Lowe had started instead of Tomko on 5/21 then Tomko would have started after Penny on 8/25.

What that would have done was to give Stults one MORE start and Tomko one LESS start by the end of the season. Whether that would have made a difference in the standings by the end of the season I do not know.

Although I prefer Stults over Tomko any day.

288
The Rangers set a TEAM record, not an AL record, for runs in a doubleheader.

284 I did feel bad for Roberto; he really is a one-inning guy and asking him to go out for a second inning is true desperation.

This does sort of tie into 273 . Roberto is clearly the last man in the pen, but he is a one-inning guy. Aren't most last men in the pen long relievers that it is realistic to believe can go three or four innings in a situation like the Colorado game? Might not D. J. Houlton be a better last man than Roberto? Or start Houlton and make Tomko the last guy (again)?

290 I took that to mean any team. I guess they mean a franchise record.

290 And now Texas has tied that AL record.

I think I have the solution for the Tomko situation, if the team feels it needs to continue using him: Start Tomko, pull him after 2 innings, then bring in Hendrickson for 3-4 innings.

From the AP article on O's giving the interim manager the full-time job:

Before committing to making Dave Trembley the manager of the Baltimore Orioles in 2008, Andy MacPhail wanted to see how the team reacted to failure.

MacPhail, the club's president of baseball operations, never got much of a chance.

Until today.

291
The problem was that the Dodgers last guy in the pen ended up having to be used early in that game: Hendrickson.

So the "last" guy was Hernandez, who is more of a penultimate guy.

The Pirates have scored in each of the first six innings in Colorado and have hit six homers.

Mark Grace & who ever joins him in the booth seem really snarky these days, or maybe it's just me.

296 But Grady is using Hendrickson as the penultimate guy, in situations where it's too early for the one-inning guys, the game is not out of hand, but the starter needs to come out. Like the Colorado game, or yesterday. So if you're going to use Hendrickson that way, isn't there a need for another 3 inning type of arm?

271

you would think they'd give Houlton or McDonald a shot but I guess it ain't happening. On my 298 I just looked up snarky & that's not the word I wanted to use.

Not many teams have two 3-inning guys in their bullpen anymore.

At least not before September. I think that's why teams have 12 and 13 man pitching staffs.

Relievers like Brian Holton in 1988 are very rare.

by the way the Brewers just tide it up over in Arizona 2-2 with 1 out & a man on 2nd.

300 I think they will evaluate things after Sunday.

They will probably skip his turn and have Penny, Lowe and Chad pitch against the Padres and then you can open up the Cubs with Stults so you have until the following Tuesday to decide who will pitch in that spot again.

Old Friend Matt Herges finally gets the Pirates without a run scoring in the 7th.

I'm concerned about the cavalier use of penultimate. If there's more than one guy left in the pen, you are not the penultimate pitcher.

Thinking about it, you may be next to last pitcher used even though there are more than one left in the pen. Nevermind.

With September call-ups around the corner, I'm looking forward to seing some young arms get a shot...

I hope anyway....

Roberto Hernandez has a role varying from ultimate pitcher to penultimate pitcher to antipenultimate pitcher.

Use of penultimate always makes me look up because my brother insisted on using penultimate when he meant ultimate. I finally had to yell at him "Stop it!. It means next to last!"

I thought that word just meant a really nice writing utensil.

299 I wouldn't officially rule out the possibility of Randy Wolf being another potential 2-3 inning reliever. Sounds like he won't be starting this season, but could come back as a reliever.

As far as I'm concerned, this game should have taken place last night, when Lowe pitched on his regular rest.

Congrats to Brandon Webb on a heck of a run.

Also, I'm glad you failed, Failie!

Bob, isn't the Griddle going to post that the Rangers set a modern record for runs in a game?

Some nice thoughts on Kansas City, the Negro League museum, and Sir Buck O'Neill, from Cap Punishment. http://tinyurl.com/2e63zb

(Considers one of a number of marriage-related witticisms and/or cracks.)

(Wisely declines to offer such witticisms or cracks.)

315 How did we do tonight Sam?

And who were we playing?

Who had the RBI's when it counted.
Ethier
Kemp
Kent
Loney
Martin

314 I'm taken to understand that the Toaster's coverage of the Rangers/Orioles Cataclysm will be handled by Humbug for your reading pleasure.

See sidebar.

Oh goodness. Rex Hudler just said that MRI stands for Magnetic Renaissance Imaging. And he was serious because he was explaining what it stood for using a Google search.

316 Tough 3-2 loss to the Astros. Wily Moe went 0-4, including a horrid looking strikeout in the top of the 8th with runners at first and second.

Tomorrow night is the fourth game in the series (Nationals won the first two). Oswalt just scratched and instead it's Juan Guittieriez in his first major league start. Nationals send John "I Beat Barry" Lannan to the hill in his 6th ML start.

Texas now up 9-7.

Um, Wily Mo, that is. Sorry, Mr. Mo.

319 The Wonderdog knows not of these medical terms. The Wonderdog is there to be enthusiastic and cater to 10-year-old fans. He's like Fox's "Slider" but real.

320 Thanks. Go Nats!

319
Hudler also couldn't pronounce "anatomical". He also tried to explain what a CAT scan was without saying what the CAT stands for.

323 No relation to me, just want to make that clear.

What about underbruin? You takin' ownership there?

Hu hit his 8th home run tonight in Vegas, as the 51s give Spike Lundberg (and his Orchestra) some much needed run support.

FJM is on Hudlergate already. Between this and Steiner, I'm convinced there's an FJM mole around here.

328 El Lay Dave has been known to give FJM some stories (per 279 ).

And let's all take a moment and thank Daniel and Ken for our ability to click on that 279 in 329 and be taken right to the comment, hidden screens bedamned!

The Dodgers and Phillies have now split their 15-3 games this year. How will the tie be broken?

330 - I guess I need to start using the brackets now.

Ah. Prizzi's Honor. One of my favorite movies.

(I'm responding to Jon's post. I just got back from the desert. I had to listen to Rick Monday's bad announcing, combined with Jerry Reuss's stratagem of repeating what Rick Monday just said, only using different intonations, to make you think he's doing analysis, when in fact all he's doing is echoing the play by play.)

As for the outfield romantic polyhedron: I think Grady Little would say, "I'm just playin' hard to get." If he awards Kemp, Loney or Ethier a permanent spot in the lineup just because they're hitting better, they might not respect him in the morning.

I got back home in time to watch Steve Lyons and Kevin Kennedy make pretty much the same point, although they seemed to have a hard time with the idea of benching Luis Gonzalez more than occasionally, just because he's...he's...Luis Gonzalez. But even they can't ignore Ethier and Kemp's hot bats.

I have the ninth inning of Game two of the Orioles Rangers thing on. I just saw a sleeping person in the crowd. And there's another lady I am kind of worried has passed on.

A few empty seats in the old Yards. If this was at Dodger Stadium, man would we be hearing about all the folks who left early, after only 6 and a half hours of losing baseball or what not.

Os get a baserunner. Just think, a Melvin Mora home run here could get us some free baseball.

And I expect the remaining members of the home crowd just might start booing if that happened.

On his blog, Tony Jackson just advocated Luis Gonzalez becoming the permanent fourth outfielder.

Making Ethier and Kemp regular starters was also a hot topic on Dodger Talk this evening.

335 Loop closing -- game over -- no extras.

By Luis Gonzalez, he meant Juan Pierre of course.

Ah, whatever, the Dodgers' biggest problem these days is still the back, back end of their rotation, and the turnstile at third. But hopefully Kemp and Ethier both get the majority of starts these days.

Team USA is taking it to Venzuela at the Tournament of the Americas.

I hope we can pull out a third place finish in this tourney.

Interesting USS Mariner on hot streaks and playing time and watching your team start Raul Ibanez over Adam Jones. http://tinyurl.com/3bpjuu

Also, they continue to work hard to manage their comment threads: "Before I go, I'm going to make a request - please don't turn the comments into another chance to rehash the same old argument we've been having for the last three months in the comment threads. If you feel that Ibanez should be starting due to clubhouse chemistry, veteran experience, or if you never felt that Jones was better than Ibanez, that's fine - that's also not what this post is about. The topic is about the predictive power of hot and cold streaks. I'll be a much happier author if that's what we talk about in the comments."

Team USA squeaks by, 112-69. Whew.

332 And if you'd been using them all along, all of your old comments would suddenly, magically work now! For shame!

Rivera is pitching in the bottom of the ninth in ANA with a 7 run lead.

Thanks to Bob and Marty (posts 207, 208 & 210 from the last post) for the help in trying to find a map. My dad was able to find out the info he was looking for from a family member.

Way to stick it to the 21st ranked team in the world.

346 So it's an upset? Sweet!

We really could not find two better players than Mike Miller and Tyson Chandler?

According to the other LAT, the speculation is over:

"Despite the need for pitching, Little says right-hander James McDonald, who been strong in the minors, isn't ready for the majors."

349 Good. Let him shut it down, work hard this winter, and come into camp ready to compete.

Where he will promptly get beaten out by Russ Ortiz.

oops I see that story was released at 7:20 pm. I'm sure it was throughly hashed while I was off line. I'm sure it is Juan Pierre's fault that McDonald isn't called-up. I'm just not sure how :-)

Little still thinks Tomko should be good.

345
You're welcome.

I hope my fellow DT'ers aren't looking forward to a McDonald spot in the rotation. They wouldn't even put their most polished pitching prospect in a decade (Billingsley) in the rotation until months after he should have been.

McDonald has no shot. But he's a heck of a meteor, and I can't wait to see what his ceiling is.

350
If Russ Ortiz pitches for the Dodgers next year (or even this year), I will send one complaint letter to the Dodgers every day until he is released.

355 I thought you were over Ortiz. Or was it Robinson that you have made peace with?

I can't keep up with your grudges. Except for peaches. That is a hate that will never die.

354
Of course, he won't get a shot until whatever cruddy veteran we sign or use gets hurt.

350. Well of course. But not before Russ gets a 3 year $15M deal.

Actually Russ' season ended today.
"Russ Ortiz has a torn tendon in his throwing elbow that likely will sideline San Francisco's right-hander for the remainder of the season. Ortiz was placed on the disabled list Tuesday for the third time this year..."

His career ended 4 years ago but Sabean did'nt get the memo.

It's interesting to see how often the team-centric bloggers divert from the WWL herd in choosing the "Face of the franchise" thingy deal.

I've found the bloggers consistently more entertaining and well thought out. Except for Jon's...Russell Martin? That guy stinks!

358
I hope Ned got that memo, because I really think we may invite him to spring training.

My Russ Ortiz grudge came back.

I'm not sure why.

359 If it was Greg's Thoughts, it would have been Fredo.

3 years ago it would have been Goatee
6 years ago it would have been Sheff
11 years ago, Pizza man
20 years ago Pedro and Fernando
30 years ago Garv and Sutton
40 years ago Drysdale

I just noticed this (From the Face of the Franchise thingy):

The Dodgers recently completed a youth infusion, giving right fielder Matt Kemp (.311/.352/.480) and James Loney (.324/.377/.495) a chance to play every day.

Oh, really? Every day? Sorry, you're injecting common sense into how we do business. They don't play every day. Even Loney sits.

When ESPN presupposes you have common sense, and you don't, it's time to rethink some things.

ESPN...More competent than our front office...Think about that.

361. See the preceeding comment. That is why.

as the Ned bashing continues... atleast the Ethier trade is looking pretty good right about now. vr, Xei

362 Russell Martin was the perfect choice. Totally representative of the young kids coming up. Which is what a lot of the bloggers did. Like the Reds and Bucs bloggers. They chose symbols of their franchise's success/failure/philosophy. Perfect.

I never would have picked Fredo. Fredo is the symbol of our GM. But since we will win despite him, he's irrelevant. And he won't be here after next year.

363
This is why I thank the sports gods everyday that UCLA has Ben Howland.

366 Where's he going, out on a cannoli run?

366
You really think Ned will be gone after next year?

367 Don't tell that to those who wonder why Josh Shipp is going to start at the 2 guard this season.

368 I said it the day that person was signed. If he's starting in year three of that deal, I'll eat my hat (no big deal, I wear a fudge hat).

Four million dollars a year to another team rids us of him. And he'll be gone.

369 For some reason he refuses to acknowledge that Frank actually likes Ned, they are like peas and carrots.

Somehow he thinks Frank will go all 2004 again but I don't see it.

369 No, the player he signed won't be here. The Mustache will still be around.

The Mustache will not leave us for a long time.

370
I don't expect it to last. He can't guard twos. Even if he does start, Russell is going to see a lot of minutes because he is too good.

372 I don't think I've ever said Ned will be fired. In fact, I know I haven't. Ever. Once. One time. Never said it.

I'm talking about the center fielder. One more year.

Wait, if Pierre is Fredo that means you had to have some previous love and faith in him.

375 I apologize for that accusation.

I will surprised if we get rid of Pierre that quick too.

*I will be

376 Does it? Well, I have to think of a new name for the guy.

Hmm...Somebody whom I loathe, yet is a good but misguided person, judged by the wrong metrics, and is vastly overrated.

Mother Theresa?

377 Being bhsportsguy means never having to apologize. Like you have to apologize.

You're a pal!

366 I think Nomar is a better symbol. Older player, signed to a contract you really can't hate too much because it's short term, yet manages to block a player that was, at the very least, the exact same thing, just younger and cheaper.

380
You could call him Nomar.

380 I could name a certain football coach but if Juan Pierre shall be nameless, I don't know if Brock even admits being on the same physical plane as him.

382 Good call. And not just younger and cheaper, but projected to do better (if only marginally).

2007 Weighted Mean:
Loney: .296/.350/.473
Nomar: .289/.346/.461

It's not like people didn't see this coming. And these were cautious projections.

384
If that "coach" is vastly overrated by anyone not on BRO, then I am very scared.

386 As someone who tries to keep up with the goings on in Westwood, it just shocks me that anyone (Pat Forde) could predict them to be 11-0 when they play USC.

Look, I hope they play well and I expect a better season but if they get passed Cal in good shape, then I will believe in them.

384 It's not that I don't care about UCLA football. I love UCLA football.

I'm just not going to be a part of a fundamentally amateurish operation. And I'm not going to bother everybody here by going crazy over it. I'll watch completely dispassionately, and let the chips fall.

I heard we know how to practice now. How refreshing.

387
I have been really positive about UCLA football because of our 2008 recruiting class and because we really should be good this year.

But we just won't be as good as we should be until that coach suddenly changes his personality or he is gone.

By the way, Dorrell being all snippy to Tracy Pierson was very unprofessional.

If the stress is getting to him already...

And yet no one wants to buy my UCLA-Oregon or UCLA-ASU tickets.

I'm so disappointed.

390 Learning on the job...Year FIVE.

Down's kids have a steeper learning curve.

And along these lines, RIP Burr Baldwin.

393 My sister edited that story for the Bakersfield Californian.

Bill Murray got a DUI while driving a golf cart in Stockholm.

So far, there are no reports Rick Sutcliffe was with him.

395 But at least he sympathizes with the cop who arrested him.

392 Maybe some aren't as talented as some suspect. That's the other alternative, well, that's one of the alternatives. I'll otherwise allow you to explain why Terry's most talented teams didn't beat USC and didn't win the Rose Bowl [had to settle for a Freedom and Aloha bowl].

398 I think you need to look at Terry's teams. Terry Donahue won 5 Pac-10 Titles. And look at his bowl record.

Terry Donahue may not have been Knute Rockne, but comparing his record to Dorrell's is, frankly, a joke.

Comparing Donahue to Dorrell is a downright insult. And it's wrong. And fraudulent. And insane.

398 That was kind of harsh. I took a mean tone, and I apologize.

But if Terry Donahue was an underachiever, what is Dorrell?

Why can't we name DeWayne Walker coach now?

Give him this year as a test to see if he is the guy.

401
Now you want the older guy!

Sorry, Greg, but no need for me to look at Terry's teams as I was there at the time and so have already seen it. Every one of those Rose Bowls, if played again 9 more times, we win 2, our opponents win 7. His third best team went 8-3-1 and the '83 Rose Bowl champs were 7-4-1. 7-4-1? The Rose Bowl years were, for the most, us getting crushed by the good non-conference teams, us playing in a down PAC10, and then us overachieving and the other team rather underachieving [simply remember our man from Iowa fumbling, well, how many times was it again?]. Oh, and that Aloha Bowl year, well, we managed to scrape out a victory against a Florida team that really only had Mr. E. Smith. Lastly, what was Terry's best year? 10-1-1? What was Karl's best year? Sorry, almost forgot, but what was the record in Terry's 4th year? 5-6-0. And what about '89 to '95? Mediocrity or worse defined, with the single PAC10 champion getting dominated in every phase of the game by a good Wisconsin team. And so no wonder why the NFL wasn't beating down the door to have him coach in their league. He's probably the most-overrated coach in college football history.

400 I'm not all that sensitive to tone, so need to apologize.

402
Uhhhh, I mean let's hire Steve Sarkisian!

Terry Donahue = underachiever

Karl Dorrell = non-achiever

406 I'm not saying that he's the best coach ever, or even a superior coach, but when he took over, our program was in complete and utter disarray. Somehow, I think that we ought to cut the man a little more slack than we otherwise would were that not the circumstance. Perhaps I am otherwise simply biased in the one direction as a result of my familiarity with the Bruins Nation aka FireKarlDorrell website, as that site cuts the man no slack whatsoever [and forgets that he did have a year that rivaled Terry's best]. And, well, how do I say this, but I was reading something there on that site about our fantastic and best ever secondary this year and, sorry, but Eric Turner was better than all of them combined [and God rest his soul]. And so perhaps I'm bitter also, as that team with Aikman, Norton, Turner, Lake, Anderson, and the rest wasn't quite what it should have been...and I blame Terry.

Here we go again:

>> Tomko went back over video of Tuesday night's loss and compared it to last year, when he started the season 5-1. He said he spotted mechanical flaws that made him "look like a completely different pitcher." <<

http://tinyurl.com/2gl438

Unfortunately, if he successfully fixes those alleged flaws, he'll still only look like Brett Tomko.

Which does us no darn good and explains neither why Colletti signed him in the first place nor why Little continues to run him out there in the second place, though it does help explain why the Dodgers are idling in third place.

Happy 97th birthday to Lonny Frey, who is the second oldest living old friend. Frey played for the Dodgers from 1933 to 1936. He somehow managed to commit 62 errors as a middle infielder during the 1936 season. He later became a three time all star at 2nd base for the Cincinnati Reds.

Can we talk about how useless Juan Pierre is as an outfielder! We all know bout the OPS, but his lack of fielding skills really hurts the team! The double by Burrell was a tough play but compleatly catchable for someone who is a good outfielder!! We know he has no arm, but where is the range!