
Jon's other site:
Screen Jam
TV and more ...
Dodger Thoughts T-Shirts
On sale through February 16, 2008


Click here to order.
* * *
The Best of Dodger Thoughts
A 325-page book featuring the top selections from this website from 2002-2005.
Click here for more information.
* * *
Or, just make a donation to support the site. Many thanks.
"Dodger Thoughts, like TiVo, is one of those things you can completely do without until you start using it."
- Fanerman
SI.com
NL West Preview
Evaluating Defense
Colletti and Depo
World Baseball Classic
Minor League Broadcasters
Slow Starts
Eric Gagne
Groundball Pitchers
Dodger Prospects
Albert Pujols
Humbled Angels
You Be the Manager
Eric Gagne II
Unreliable Relievers
Revived Angels
It's Okay To Sell
Dodger Turnaround
Andre Ethier
Padres-Dodgers Showdown
NL Final Weekend
Mets-Dodgers NLDS
Postseason ratings
NL Wish Lists
Manny vs. J.D.
McGwire Controversy
Dodger Offense
Trainers Matter
Variety
Will Arnett
John C. McGinley
Laura Dern
Imelda Staunton
SAG Awards
Ellen Pompeo
Grey's Anatomy
2004-05 Rookie Dramas
Anthony Hopkins
NATPE
Scrubs
Award Shows
Topher Grace
Ashton Kutcher
Writing on Improv Shows
Rainn Wilson
T.R. Knight
Guest Actors
Animation Guests
Joey Carson and Tennis
Donald Trump and Golf
2006 Emmys Nominees*
*Comedy Series
*Comedy Director
*Comedy Writer
*Comedy Actor
*Comedy Supporting Actor
Blue's Clues
Lizzy Caplan
Ann Donahue
CMT: Giants
CMA Awards
Little Miss Sunshine
Actor-Directors
Freshman Series
Clint Eastwood
Showrunners vs. Censors
Little Children
Breaking and Entering
Tartikoff Legacy Awards
Jackie Earle Haley
Knights of Prosperity
Office Online
2007 Screenplay Noms
Friday Night Lights
Robert Benton
ABC Fridays
Rookie Actors
Global Casting
2007 Pilot Casting
Sublime Slime
Also ...
A Season in Savannah (Stanford Magazine)
Five Questions: Los Angeles Dodgers (2005) (Hardball Times)
Rick Monday (Baseball Analysts)
Baseball's Odd Couple (Baseball Prospectus)
Five Questions: Los Angeles Dodgers (2006) (Hardball Times)
Five Questions: Los Angeles Dodgers (2007) (Hardball Times)
Dodger home record: 39-30 (.565)
When Jon attended: 5-3 (.625)
When Jon didn't: 34-27 (.557)
Dodgers at home: 745-600 (.554)
Jon attended: 293-233 (.557)*
Jon didn't: 457-374 (.550)
* includes road games attended
Current Roster with Estimated 2008 Salaries
(updated March 28)
Most figures are estimates (some are wild estimates) but will be updated as information comes in. Corrections welcome.
More contract details here.
Starting Pitchers (5)
$12,300,000 Hiroki Kuroda
$10,000,000 Derek Lowe
$9,500,000 Brad Penny
$7,000,000 Esteban Loaiza
*$500,000 Chad Billingsley
Total: $39,300,000
Bullpen (6)
$2,000,000 Takashi Saito
$1,925,000 Joe Beimel
$1,125,000 Scott Proctor
*$500,000 Jonathan Broxton
$500,000 Chan Ho Park
*$400,000 Hong-Chih Kuo
Total: $6,450,000
Starting Lineup (8)
$14,100,000 Andruw Jones
$13,000,000 Rafael Furcal
$9,000,000 Jeff Kent
$8,500,000 Nomar Garciaparra
$8,000,000 Juan Pierre
$500,000 Russell Martin
*$400,000 James Loney
*$400,000 Matt Kemp
Total: $53,900,000
Bench (6)
$875,000 Gary Bennett
$600,000 Mark Sweeney
$424,500 Andre Ethier
$391,000 Delwyn Young
$390,000 Chin-Lung Hu
$390,000 Blake DeWitt
Total: $3,071,000
Disabled List
$12,000,000 Jason Schmidt
*$400,000 Tony Abreu
*$390,000 Andy LaRoche
Total: $12,790,000
Also Paying ...
$1,000,000 Brett Tomko
$750,000 Odalis Perez
$540,000 Yhency Brazoban
$500,000 Randy Wolf
$487,500 Jason Repko
$135,225 Rudy Seanez
$100,000 Mike Lieberthal
$50,000 Ramon Martinez
Total: $3,562,725
Working total: *$113,268,725
*Rough salary estimate
ESPN BR
BP
Cube Alvarez
ESPN BR
BP
Cube Abreu
ESPN
BR
BP
Cube Beimel
ESPN
BR
BP
Cube Bennett
ESPN
BR
BP
Cube Billingsley
ESPN
BR
BP
Cube Brazoban
ESPN
BR
BP
Cube Broxton
ESPN
BR
BP
Cube DeWitt
ESPN
BR
BP
Cube Ethier
ESPN
BR
BP
Cube Furcal
ESPN BR BP Cube Garciaparra
ESPN BR BP Cube Hu
ESPN BR BP Cube Jones
ESPN BR BP Cube Kemp
ESPN BR BP Cube Kent
ESPN BR BP Cube Kuo
ESPN BR BP Cube Kuroda
ESPN BR BP Cube LaRoche
ESPN BR BP Cube Loaiza
ESPN BR BP Cube Loney
ESPN BR BP Cube Lowe
ESPN BR BP Cube Martin
ESPN BR BP Cube May
ESPN BR BP Cube McDonald
ESPN BR BP Cube Meloan
ESPN BR BP Cube Miller
ESPN BR BP Cube Orenduff
ESPN BR BP Cube Park
ESPN BR BP Cube Paul
ESPN BR BP Cube Penny
ESPN BR BP Cube Pierre
ESPN BR BP Cube Proctor
ESPN BR BP Cube Repko
ESPN BR BP Cube Saito
ESPN BR BP Cube Schmidt
ESPN BR BP Cube Stults
ESPN BR BP Cube Sweeney
ESPN BR BP Cube Troncoso
ESPN BR BP Cube Wade
ESPN BR BP Cube Young
ESPN BR BP Cube Alomar
ESPN BR BP Cube Alvarez
ESPN BR BP Cube Aybar
ESPN BR BP Cube Baez
ESPN BR BP Cube Bako
ESPN BR BP Cube Beltre
ESPN BR BP Cube Bradley
ESPN BR BP Cube Cabrera
ESPN BR BP Cube Carrara
ESPN BR BP Cube Carter
ESPN BR BP Cube Chen
ESPN BR BP Cube Choi
ESPN BR BP Cube Cora
ESPN BR BP Cube Crosby
ESPN BR BP Cube Cruz
ESPN BR BP Cube Dessens
ESPN BR BP Cube Dreifort
ESPN BR BP Cube Drew
ESPN BR BP Cube Encarnacion
ESPN BR BP Cube Edwards
ESPN BR BP Cube Erickson
ESPN BR BP Cube Falkenborg
ESPN BR BP Cube Finley
ESPN BR BP Cube Flores
ESPN BR BP Cube Gagne
ESPN BR BP Cube Grabowski
ESPN BR BP Cube Green
ESPN BR BP Cube Guzman
ESPN BR BP Cube Hanrahan
ESPN BR BP Cube Hernandez
ESPN BR BP Cube Hundley
ESPN BR BP Cube Ishii
ESPN BR BP Cube Izturis
ESPN BR BP Cube Jackson
ESPN BR BP Cube Karros
ESPN BR BP Cube Ketchner
ESPN BR BP Cube Ledee
ESPN BR BP Cube Lima
ESPN BR BP Cube Lo Duca
ESPN BR BP Cube Lofton
ESPN BR BP Cube T. Martin
ESPN BR BP Cube Mayne
ESPN BR BP Cube G. Mota
ESPN BR BP Cube Mueller
ESPN BR BP Cube Myrow
ESPN BR BP Cube Nakamura
ESPN BR BP Cube Navarro
ESPN BR BP Cube Nomo
ESPN BR BP Cube Osoria
ESPN BR BP Cube A. Perez
ESPN BR BP Cube O. Perez
ESPN BR BP Cube Phillips
ESPN BR BP Cube Proctor
ESPN BR BP Cube Roberts
ESPN BR BP Cube Robles
ESPN BR BP Cube Romano
ESPN BR BP Cube C. Ross
ESPN BR BP Cube D. Ross
ESPN BR BP Cube Sanchez
ESPN BR BP Cube Schmoll
ESPN BR BP Cube Sele
ESPN BR BP Cube Seo
ESPN BR BP Cube Shuey
ESPN BR BP Cube Stanley
ESPN BR BP Cube S. Stewart
ESPN BR BP Cube Thompson
ESPN BR BP Cube Thurston
ESPN BR BP Cube Valentin
ESPN BR BP Cube Venafro
ESPN BR BP Cube Ventura
ESPN BR BP Cube Weaver
ESPN BR BP Cube Werth
ESPN BR BP Cube Wilson
ESPN BR BP Cube Wunsch
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
Baseball Toaster runs on some experimental software called Fairpole. It's still under development.
For more information, please visit the Fairpole blog, or read the FAQ.
If you're on the roster, please let me know your position - via the comments. If you're not on the roster yet but want to be, let me know your number and position. (For entertainment purposes only.)
vr, Xei
My position will be National Anthem Vocalist.
Number 1965, please.
and since I was LATed:
323 - it's part of Colletti's baseball ideology. The theory goes that younger guys are happy just to be there (remember the cliches from Bull Durham?), the older guys have been there long enough to understand that winning is the most important thing, so they have a greater desire to win. This ideology breaks down when you run into guys like Gonzo who are more interested in getting stats that might make them marginal hall of famers. It also does not account for teams like the young Marlins a few years back.
I don't blame him for buying into the cliches, it's something that has run rampant in sports for a very long time - as an example, see Phil Jackson's preference for vets over younger players. It's usually wrong, when applied broadly as an ideology.
Position- Bench Coach
{No snide comments please}
Perhaps towel being is more PC in this end of the galaxy?
-FP
"Hey, if we get to choose our positions next, I want to be a power-hitting third baseman. ;)"
I will stick with that.
Position: Fifth Blernsman
If we're going for actual positions, I'd like to be a starting pitcher.
If for some reason management types also get numbers, I'd like to be Assistant to the General Manager.
I'll take #310 then
Statistician
I missed this train and don't have a number. I'd be obliged if the clubhouse manager would assign me one once she's got Eric squared away.
And I'll stand behind KG16 in right, which is pretty close to my actual baseball playing career.
What is your entrance song?
All closers should pick entrance songs.
Penny
Bills
Lowe
Kuroda
Schmidt/Loaiza/Kershaw
Good rotation that, with health, could be top 2-3 in baseball.
As for my poisiton, I want to be a power hitting 1B represented by Scott Boras.
Does that T in your name stand for Texeria?
I can be my own battery!
>>Jackson handles timeouts differently than his peers. First, he huddles with his assistants instead of talking to the players right away at the bench and drawing up plays. "I like to collect information from my coaches -- go over our past possessions, look at how many successful possessions we've had and how many turnovers we've got," Jackson said. "We're competing with a sound system most of the time, a dance crew, or something else going on that's a noise factor. So I like to tell the players that this is the time they can support each other, talk to each other, towel off and get a drink. We only need about 20 seconds with them, anyway. I mean, I'm not going to give them a lecture on how to play basketball. But if we have something we have to correct, we go in there a little bit earlier."<< (from AP story)
RCF
Martin's backup catcher (What can I say? I'm lazy)
4+1
Oh, and I also play second base.
I'll take play by play broadcaster.
Juan Pierre and I will lateral the ball while we run it into the infield.
Does "stat guy" for Vin & the Prime Ticket broadcast crew count as a position? If so, I want it.
I'll take David Wells' spot.
Granted, I never studied ancient languages, but where I come from, we don't not dislike double negatives, especially when they don't not unfit with the meaning of the sentence.
And I hit like one too ... that is, the Cesar Izturis variety rather than the Alex Rodriguez.
and can i be # -2
Downhill right-fielder, especially in DS where the bullpen can't check out the "fans" as much. I can also double as fullback for the Galaxy Thoughts team-- though I'm sure there are more qualified folks on here.
I also want to make out the lineup.
So there you go. I'm #4. Bat Boy.
http://tinyurl.com/3wdq4
I will play the stadium light in right field so I can be somewhat responsible for people being able to see all the highlight plays that Matt Kemp will make.
It also looks like we could use some pitchers. Where's my Koufax/Drysdale combo?
Center Field, because I throw like a girl.
Pero, en idiomas come espanol tenemes que decir "no hay nadie."
(There is not nothing.)
Good to have Joe Ferguson in the house.
Kuroda certainly appears to have a greater upside than the other Free Agent pitchers, and will only cost the team money.
I would have to think Saito would help make the pitch pretty effective.
Why do I qualify for this job? Three words: hard working, alpha male, jackhammer, merciless, insatiable.
Kyle Lohse: Will be 29, 5.70 K/9, 2.66 BB/9, 1.02 HR/9
Kuroda certainly is better, but it's not like he blow Lohse or Silva away, and the age difference is hugely in Lohse's favor. Especially if he's like Igawa and has a terrible out pitch.
I'd say Lohse should get something around what Meche got, maybe for 1 less year. And the uncertainty around Kuroda might keep his contract a few $M and/or a year below Lohse's.
"I ain't got nobody,"
Louie Prima
Catcher ... number 55 ... Russsssellll Martinnn!
Igawa was a much younger and better pitcher than Kuroda in Japan.
Since I'm around 6'5" - 265lbs I've always thought I'd make a decent catcher. Not many runners would bowl me over at the plate. Not sure how good of a game I would call, though...
Have you taken the homerun rate into account with the stadium Kuroda has played in? Aren't Japanese stadiums notoriously smaller than MLB stadiums?
*Number 0 please
Japanese stadiums aren't all that much smaller than American stadiums now, with the notable exception of Hiroshima.
However, the ball is slightly different there and in the domed stadiums, the ball travels very well.
The biggest difference I think is that NPB fielders aren't nearly as good as MLB.
I haven't really watched him yet. I'll get back to you on that later today.
http://prospectinsider.com/2007/10/20/the-japanese-scouting-report/
The "has trouble keeping his slider down" part is really troubling.
...I did stay at a Holiday Inn..."
The Mets made a strong run at Orioles left-hander Erik Bedard at the general managers' meetings, but at the time Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail was not ready to make a move. MacPhail reportedly gave a similar response to a recent inquiry on Bedard by the Dodgers, but he could jump once he concludes that he can't sign the pitcher long-term. A package of youngsters headed by the Mets' Carlos Gomez or Dodgers' Matt Kemp would be enticing . . .
I am an overachieving, soft-tossing, right-handed relief pitcher.
Network. Go to the GM meetings. I have buddies who are in Phoenix and all they do is go to AFL games, do the scouting thing and network.
Or do what Carlos Gomez (Chadbradfordwannabe) did from BTF. He just got hired by the dbacks as an area scout.
Hi dee, hi dee, hi dee ho!
The other way is to do something really cool, like Jeff Sackmann did with Minor League Splits, to get your name out there.
By the way, I'm assuming here that every one