Chad Billingsley has the same ERA+ as Sandy Koufax.

Broxton must have a tic or something. He is tipping his pitches maybe.

Broxton must have a tic or something. He is tipping his pitches maybe.

Broxton must have a tic or something. He is tipping his pitches maybe.

Nothing wrong with Broxton.

Oy vey.

The key is Penny hit, then came out after a leadoff double. I agreed with letting him hit, but I never expected that he would, like Billingsley, be pulled after one batter. Penny had given up other leadoff hits, but pitched efficiently. Maybe the length of the top of the inning had him stiffening up or something? The key question from the press better be, why did Penny come out?

I agree with you Bob. Krukow also made that point on the Giants' broadcast.

Shouse was called in to pitch to Jim Edmonds, but Juan Encarnacion pinch hit and Ned Yost had him walked. Francisco Cordero came in and got Ronnie Belliard to line out, but Scott Spiezio followed with a bases-clearing triple.

The Cardinals held on to win the division by 1 1/2 games.

I think it is incumbent on this team to play the best players next year.

I just think Little should've done everything he could to put runs on the board when he had the chance in the 7th.

Also, pinchhitting for Nomar? A forbidden act? Would lightening strike? Garciaparra's not been hitting for much since his return. I know Little was probably rooting for a festivus miracle there, but this isn't 2006.

Only the Cardinals are better (51-1, .981). The Braves are also 59-5 heading into today.

The NL winning percentage when leading after 6 innings is .846.

Also, couldn't the official scorer just award the loss to Broxton? Isn't there a little discretion there?

Despite my desire to see starters go deeper into the game, I think I might have hit for Penny in his last PA. If you've got a chance to break a game open, go for it. Though El Lay Dave is right, if Penny is going to hit then it doesn't make any sense that he come out like he did. There are some questions that need answers.

23 - Biemel should get an asterisk next to his loss total for this year.

All in all, this next week will be the most important of the season, three with the Priests, three with the Snakes. We'll know by Friday if we should buy playoff tickets.

I guess that Matt Cain kid is pretty good too.

There will be talk about Ethier striking out after being 3-0, with one out and Martin on third. (I was a little surprised that we didn't see a veteran PH for Abreu later, maybe Sweeney, in the later bases-loaded two-out situation against Cain.)

Your comments do have a history of assuming the worst, unless I'm misremembering. The situation wasn't much different from the Ethier game.

Oh well, have to enjoy the people who are getting some play, and keep going. Now that I have to confront it, it is hard being a pessimistic optimist.

I live in Seaside, which is on the Monterey Peninsula.

I know I should be doing something else, but I'm trying to get over this loss.

Now that my local Fox affiliate has switched to the Raider game, I get my Matt Vasgersian fix!

If he was gassed then, he certainly was gassed before the inning started.

He was just trying to avoid being the losing pitcher, and that's just gutless. And classless.

He's a good pitcher, but he doesn't have enough class to be a great DODDGER. You think Koufax or Drysdale ever pulled crap like that?

66 - Can we wait to hear if this is actually true before we slam him?

Isn't that another way of saying "trying to prevent the Dodgers from losing the game?"

I'm on the same page with Penny on that.

I'm guessing that Hershiser lacked intestinal fortitude after he left the Dodgers.

66 ,68 ,72 It's a little much to call a player "gutless". If you want to criticize performance, that's one thing, but I think it's a bit out of line to call anyone gutless.

Although his internal monologue probably used more "entertaining" words.

So either leave Penny in, or bring in Beimel and then leave him in.

Gospel music in an old black church is a great, great thing.

I mean, really really great.

Broxton with runners on: .209/.270/.278
Beimel with runners on: .270/.328/.348

Broxton has allowed 5 of 19 inherited runners to score (26.3%), but 4 of those were Thursday and today. I'm not sure what the league average is in that situation. Beimel has allowed 10 of 47 to score (21.3%).

Beimel has inherited 47 runners and allowed 10 to score, a lot of which is a function of him just facing one batter.

Did everyone forget last Sunday's game in San Diego that Broxton pitched?

I remember the same thing with Gagne. He fared badly when he would be asked to pitch innings before the 9th, deviating from the formula.

The Padres two of their best hitters coming up as well: Cameron and Gonzalez.

I think some of us here won't be satisfied until we've scouted some land on Golgotha.

Saito - 4 of 11 (36.4%)
Broxton - 5 of 19 (26.3%)
Beimel - 10 of 47 (21.3%)
Seanez - 16 of 35 (45.7%)
Proctor - 1 of 6 (16.7%) | 10 of 37 overall (27.0%)
Hendrickson - 3 of 10 (30.0%)
Hernandez - 1 of 3 (33.3%) | 6 of 19 overall (31.6%)
Tomko - 5 of 12 (41.7%)
Billingsley - 4 of 6 (66.7%)

If you subscribe to BR Play Index, you can pull up Broxton's gamelog and there is a red column that describes the situation when he came in and what the results were.

http://tinyurl.com/2cpoxf

Late inning loss got you frustrated, roll out our patented mat and "Jump" to your "Conclusions". Featuring such well worn hot spots as Ned Colletti's Signings, Grady Little's Managing, Brad Penny's Emotional State, Not Enough Youth, Too Much Youth, and of course Juan Pierre.

It's fun for the entire family and now comes with a deck of scenario cards so you can enjoy the thrill of Dodger baseball over the off-season. Get yours today!

138 I sense sarcasm. :)

I confess I've been guilty of virtually everything you've called attention to in your post. I suppose you're right--getting frustrated to the point where you jump to conclusions that later turn out to be less than well thought out isn't all that useful.

But.

Ain't this the place to do it? Provided we follow the guidelines, provided we take the advice of philosopher King (no, not that one) "Can't we all just get along?", we can get away with a few frustrations unleashed no matter how nonsensical they sound. I can count on two things here--sympathy and perspective. It's why I feel safe to blast Ned's penchant for signing vets, Grady's using of said vets, Brad's September biorhythms, young legs on the bench and, of course, Juan Pierre.

Keep posting, people. I'm reading when I have the time. Go Dodgers!

That's what they taught me in law school. Or possibly an episode of "Law and Order."

Someone should invent a widget that would allow you to rerun the GameDay in sync with Dodger Thoughts, with the option of speeding up, slowing down or replaying a section. To watch the remarks jump out of DT while you're watching the game would be fun.

New posts at Screen Jam and Season Pass.

http://weblogs.variety.com/season_pass/2007/09/curb-your-enthu.html

http://weblogs.variety.com/season_pass/2007/09/curb-your-enthu.html#comments

or just

http://weblogs.variety.com/season_pass

That certainly is an interesting colour scheme they got for you guys over there.

Not seen CYE since its premiere season, but I am on the lookout for the upcoming McEnroe episode. Could be interesting.

Malcolm Gladwell's second book was titled Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking

I knew that instantly.

Guess the game is about averages...it was was very unlikely that we would sweep every game at Phone Booth Park for the entire season, short of a Furcal error and Broxton being possessed with the ghost of Bombko, the unlikely may have been a probability.

At this juncture it's win or go home, the next 6 games will dictate whether we're still contenders or pretenders.

My last comment to relieve my pent up frustration..."The Gnats still s..k's even in a season where they s**k"

Ever since the Rams and Raiders' departure, I take much greater pleasure in rooting against certain teams than for them, and the two LA getaway teams are at the top of the list. The Raiders are establishing a dynasty of terribleness, and I couldn't be happier.

Haley Joel Osment.

well that's a lie, i can grow a beard!

It's incredibly depressing that I had to hear my Dad make a Neidenfuerer comparison today, while trying to estimate how many stories about Broxton would be made up here. The man is a very, very good pitcher, but allowing no home runs in 93 games is not normal at all and is due for a regression. Hasn't the fact that Broxton has been lights out for the last two years earned him any slack for a bad week?

"(Penny) had pitched far too good of a game to be put in a position to lose the game right there [when he was replaced]," Little said.
Grady learning the Pedro lesson? Only he left Pedro in to throw 124 pitches. Penny had thrown 82. Sometimes the cliche that you stay with the guy that got you here is still right.

"It was in all of our minds that we would take him out (of) there if there were any baserunners," Little said. "The leadoff hitter hit a double. But the wild pitch was the key to that whole sequence of things."
Did they (Little, Honeycutt?, Jauss?, Penny?) think Penny looked like he was losing something? Jackson calls Grady on the silliness of the wild pitch comment:

It allowed Frandsen to move into third, which forced the infield to move in. But even that didn't make much of a difference given the way the rest of the inning played out.
Does one pitch to Bonds differently with the runner on third or second? After Bonds is walked, does one pitch to Durham differently? (I don't remember, did the Dodger play infield in or double-play depth with Durham up and one out?)

"I was trying to throw him the same pitch, down in the dirt, and I just left it up," Broxton said. "It was the right pitch, but I just didn't execute it like I should have. I feel fine. I'm not tired out there. I just made a mistake, and it cost me. I have no idea (why the sudden tendency to give up homers). I'm just not executing pitches. (Friday) night, it was a fastball right over the middle of the plate, and it cost me there, too."
Sounds like Broxton missed by a lot on that slider then. Jackson also points out that this was Broxton's four consecutive appearance.

I have a more plausible theory along those lines. Upon hearing of his impending DFA, Tomko kidnapped Broxton and took his place in the bullpen. That's been Tomko out there wearing a Broxton suit this whole time, while the real Broxton is watching TV chained up in Tomko's basement, like Sloth from "The Goonies."

This is the only rational, realistic explanation for the spike in Bull's HR rate. I mean, has anyone seen Tomko and Broxton together in the same place at the same time since Tomko was DFA'd??? I didn't think so.

It's interesting that the only Dodger starting pitcher in the past four days left to get himself out of his own late-inning, one-run-lead jam was Wells, right?

I have thought a lot about the situation and it still makes me uncomfortable. But the truth is we probably won't know a lot of things That the people involved do, such as how Penny was feeling and who he had discussed it with. I also realize that I was influenced by the announcers I was listening to. I saw Penny's look toward the bullpen and dugout, but I was listening to the spin being put on it. These guys implied it was a prearranged move to avoid Penny's taking a loss. Hearing that may have influenced me more than it should.

I'm still not happy about it. I guess I would feel better if at that pitch count(low for Penny) Grits had left him in, or Penny, not known for hiding his emotion, got pissed about being pulled.

To avoid several rule violations I held out until this morning. Now about yesterday's game: This was frustrating. Thats about all I can say and still be "legal".

I'm gonna a short break from Dodger Baseball and hopefully they can rally a bit while I'm away. Hey we all have our superstitions

How can I be so sure? Deadline to get money in for playoff tickets is Friday Sept. 14.

PT Barnum says I will buy play-off tickets.

I won't get the discs until Thursday so I only have a week to catch up!

At least when you put in Broxton, you've got a great track record to back up the decision. With Hillenbrand, you've got nothing to recommend him over the other options. If we blow this, he will be the Early Vacation Poster Boy in my mind.

Is there anything I should know prior to going? Do you guys have any tips or tricks to make sure I get the most out of the experience?

Repeat until you pass out

Works for me every time

0.750 W. Betemit
0.748 N. Garciaparra
0.736 Tony Abreu
0.689 Andy LaRoche
0.668 R. Martinez
0.626 S. Hillenbrand
0.513 Wilson Valdez
0.333 Olmedo Saenz

Advanced people can add nine beers on to that.

5 of those, sure I could see that, but 9? Good gravy! (mmm...gravy...)

http://tinyurl.com/3n3pu

This year, he's SLG'ing way more than his career numbers.

He's having a career year SLG'ing.

So what?
Unless they think he can sustain it, it could just be a blip in the radar.

Also in Beltre's favor is that UZR has him as the seventh best defensive player in baseball since 2003. If the Dodgers could have signed Beltre for what he's making now, it certainly wouldn't be a bad thing, but we'd probably just be swapping one hole for another one.