Not the other guy who played around the same time.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7163

As do I.

Next at bat I did it again!

http://tinyurl.com/2doddq

j/k

12 Didn't everyone in LA say Bynum was going to burst onto the scene? From everything I heard through Kareem, that opinion was pretty common, no?

Also this nugget from his blog, if you say something long enough, it becomes a fact.

"On my way back from lunch yesterday, I heard Paul Harvey's The Rest of the Story on the radio.

It started out with Dodgers GM Buzzy Bavasi calling a young pitcher named Tom into his office to send him to the minors, and Tom responding by saying they should keep him and send that left-handed kid with the control problems to the minors instead.

I didn't have to listen any further. I immediately recognized the story as one I had heard a hundred times from Tom himself.

I believe the story is essentially true. I doubt Lasorda knew the intricacies of Koufax's contract back in 1955.

Rob Neyer is coming out with a book on baseball myths and I'll see if he covers it. Neyer has a chapter about whether or not Don Drysdale said to Walter Alston after being taken out in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series, "I bet you wish I was Jewish too now don't you."

DODGER DUGOUT CLUB
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· Unlimited access to complimentary high-end Wolfgang Puck buffet and Levy food items
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· Complimentary preferred parking
· Early entry to stadium (30 minutes prior to general public)
· Exclusive access to private seating area
· Complimentary playoff tickets with multi-year agreement
· Complimentary all-expenses paid Dodger Road Trip with multi-year agreement

$80,000 Per 4 Person Box

>> Also caught up with Clayton Kershaw, who said he thought there was a chance he could have been in major league camp as a non-roster player. "I can control my own destiny," he said. "If I pitch well, I can force them to move me up." <<

http://tinyurl.com/39s5sz

Does the italic start at the very top of the post, or partway down?

But then thought crossed my mind that it could happen, and I allowed myself to get kind of giddy in my chair.

It's back to my regular scowl now, obviously.

By the way, Stanford will play Oregon State on national TV August 28. Should be huge ratings.

Stanford has four home games remaining after that.

In center field, he's definitely the best in the business -- no offense to Juan Pierre."

http://tinyurl.com/2ktgrt

I mean, what are we supposed to say? We can't complain about anything. We've already acknowledged that he's the Golden God and that he has the coolest middle name in the history of history. There just isn't a lot more to discuss.

In other news, I'm IMing with Diamond Leung, and he just called Clayton Kershaw "a really sweet kid. Super humble."

Nice.

"Leland Stanford, a former California governor who made his fortune during the Gold Rush by selling equipment to the '49ers, founded the university after his 15-year-old son, also named Leland, died of typhoid fever at age 15 on a family trip to Europe. The morning after his son's death, Leland turned to his wife and declared: "The children of California will be our children.""

Or at least the rich ones.

http://tinyurl.com/2cub4x

I did not put "cub" in the URL - tinyurl did.

If you come into a position of power, though, don't try to scare me. That's all.

50 I absolutely believe he still has that in him. Probably for a few more years. Hopefully 2 anyway!

Torre, however, said he's hopeful Jones remembers how to use the entire field while hitting because he's gotten "homer-conscious." And he said Jones reported to his first Dodgers camp "a bit" overweight, but "I don't think he's overweight to a point of a problem by the time we leave here."

http://tinyurl.com/2ktgrt

This is similar to Webster's two directly conflicting definitions of "literally":
1 a : in the literal sense : without metaphor or exaggeration : EXPLICITLY
2 : in effect : VIRTUALLY

Yeah, thanks for nothing, Noah.

>> Matt Kemp is now ready to get advice on how to run the bases from the guy who made the biggest base running blunder in Dodger playoff history. <<

www.billjamesonline.com

"The five hottest hitters today are:
James Loney 109°F
Ryan Braun 101°F
Brian Roberts 99°F
Tony Graffanino 99°F
Alex Rodriguez 96°F"

I have no idea what that means. Is it worth $3 to find out?

57 , 60 - "Hoi polloi", in the original Greek, most certainly means "the general people", sort of an epithet for "the great unwashed masses".

http://www.billjamesonline.net/toursite/HottestHitters.asp

And, actually, while the rate is three bucks a month, it's billed quarterly, so you're out nine dollars up front.

I remember getting so irritated when Tony Gwynn looked like he ate Miggy Cabrera. Sure he could still hit but his once superb defense became a joke.

Someone on BTF said: "I subscribed, and I'm glad I did. There are a lot of articles already on there, and I'll read anything Bill James writes, whether I agree with him or not. And most of the articles aren't short, either."

*
But there was something else, something he felt in his gut during the season: "I wasn't that strong."

Told by Boras that he should lose weight to make himself more attractive on the free-agent market, Jones spent the winter leading up to the 2007 season lifting lighter weights and running more. He lost 15 pounds and reported to camp at 225.

That Jones struck out 138 times wasn't a surprise; he has struck out at least 100 times every full season that he has played. But in previous years, when he whiffed on a pitch, he often felt that he would've crushed it over the wall had he made contact. Not last season.

He dedicated this winter to rebuilding his strength and adding the 15 lost pounds, weight that he said won't affect his ability to play center field.

"My whole career, I've known how to carry my weight," he said. "I know how to run balls down."*

Taken from this article:
http://tinyurl.com/29a3s7

>> Last year, he was the only consistent power source on a club that finished 15th in the National League in home runs. But since his arrival in 2005, Kent's range at second base has diminished precipitously, and his outspoken, often-prickly personality has at times made him a lightning rod for controversy.

Perhaps more important, the Dodgers have a stable of promising young middle infielders - Tony Abreu, Chin-lung Hu, Ivan DeJesus and Preston Mattingly - who are already in the majors or within two or three years of being there. And if shortstop Rafael Furcal is re-signed this fall, that would further negate the need to hold on to Kent. <<

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_8318831

Tuesday intrasquad: Penny, Park, Kuo
Wednesday simulated game: Lowe and Stults
Thursday home opener: Billingsley and Jason Johnson
Friday on ESPN: Kuroda and Loaiza

I subscribed because I have always enjoyed Bill James writing about baseball, has interesting take on Jeff Kent's chances on being named to the HOF.

If there is something pertinent to post here I will do so, adhering of course to Jon's rules about posting subscribser content.

>> Joe Torre's New York Yankees teams knew how to work the count, forcing opposing pitchers out of games early and allowing the Yankees hitters to feast on mediocre middle relief.

"Yeah, we were a pain in the (rear)," Torre said Tuesday.

By contrast, these Dodgers have at least two established veterans with star power - second baseman Jeff Kent and third baseman Nomar Garciaparra - who are notorious early-count swingers.

But Torre said he doesn't plan to force a different approach on anyone.

"I never try to take away from the individual abilities of a player," Torre said. "I never try to hamstring them to the point of, `We want you to do this,' but I do want to plant a seed. No one wants to put themselves in a compromising position by falling behind in the count all the time, but if you regularly swing at the first pitch, a lot of times you won't get a first-pitch strike.

"It's just about making people aware. But at the same time, I don't want to try to clone everybody and make us one-dimensional." <<

http://www.dailybreeze.com/sports/ci_8309387

I forgot all about that. Torre's Yankees were pretty good at extending the game by working the count. Just from that, one would expect Andy LaRoche to be a favorite of his.

Kent had all of 20 HR, a whopping one more than Russell Martin.

Also, since Kemp & Loney were called up in June:

Loney - 15 HR
Kent - 11
Kemp - 10