I was goign to post this on the last thread, but noticed at the last minute I was about to get LATed.

Who does everyone here think was the better pitcher in their prime, Koufax or Pedro?

I think Pedro. What he did in the Era of the 90's with unbelievable hitting numbers was amazing.

I was going to spell things right too. I'm always going to do a lot of things.

Anyone else notice that Young is playing 2nd Base in the intrasquad game today?

I also vote for Pedro for the same reason: going against insane hitting.

And as crazy/stupid it would be for Kemp to turn into a guy who bunted regularly, I think I would rather enjoy seeing our Bison laying one down and barreling towards the opposing first baseman.

If you compare eras, Pedro Martinez's peak years were insanely good.

Intrasquad game play by play here

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/prosports/2008/02/play_ball_1.html

Good morning and ditto to all of the above:

*Wills' comments be funky.

*Young at 2b sounds like Pedro G. at 3rd--entertaining.

*Pedro's peak years during the big hitting era were beyond great.

I think there's a colossal difference between Wills teaching Kemp to bunt (which is part of what Wills teaches everyone, I presume) and an expectation he'll ever be called upon to do it in a big league game. Similarly, I expect what Wills is saying is that it's easier to curb and educate an aggressive baserunning instinct than it is to instruct a timid one. Neither comment seems to me all that strange.

8 - The two comments on baserunning quoted above are at odds with each other.

Isn't a baseball fan following play-by-play of an intrasquad spring training game online akin to Barney Gumbel sucking the beer out of the ashtrays at Moe's Tavern?

Hu is on a roll! Maybe he won't get out all season.

Oh no, LaRoche struck out. Quick, somebody tell Gurnick it's only an intrasquad game.

10 - No, it's the equivalent of trying to get a buzz off tasters at the start of the evening.

"Before the game, Joe Torre said he forgot to put Matt Kemp in the lineup."

Wow. A DT worst nightmare come to life.

10. Whatever it is, I am really happy that it's available, as I have really been craving some baseball action.

But how funny is the first line of the post: "Before the game, Joe Torre said he forgot to put Matt Kemp in the lineup."

How do you forget Matt Kemp, yet remember Nook Logan?

Does anyone know the story behind "Fernando 'Don't call me Desgue' De La Cruz"?

16 "Let's see, who do I have to play OF for the Koufax team? Umm... Paul. Umm... Tiffee. Yeah, he's good. Let's see. Who else do I have? Umm... oh yeah! Nook Logan!"

I am going to the Rice Long Beach State game in a few hours. Any suggestions for a good place to grab a sandwich, or burger or such in Long Beach before the game? A Philleppe's or Apple Pan or any landmark greasy spoon?

Hey...we won! We won!

19
Did they put a roof on Blair Field? Or is the weather better in Long Beach than it is in Pasadena?

As of now, LB State says game is still on. Weather on the west side is getting better.

The 49rs Tavern on PCH and Bellflower has great burgers and sandwiches. They serve food until three. Only a few miles from Blair Field.

Admittedly, I have not been there in two years.

Joe Jost's on Anaheim

I've never seen a liverwurst on a menu before. The first time a teacher ever called my parents to rat me out for something, it was over my trading the liverwurst sandwiches that my dad packed for me, for peanut butter and jelly.

http://www.joejosts.com/menu.php

Happiness is a Joe's Special, two pickled eggs, and a cold schooner. Everyone should go there once in their life. And bring home a jar of pickled eggs!

Liverwurst sounds something my mom & dad would eat also (tripas?) I'm pretty sure I would have done what you did Andrew.

ps of course my mom & dad would call them "tripitas" to make it sound cute but still... Here's a pic [http://tinyurl.com/28485c] You ain't getting me to eat that!

27 Not a menudo fan eh?

So, does this mean that Juan Pierre has the LF job made already? :-)

Torre taking new challenge head on

>> I make up my mind on players based on how well they prepare and how hard they play. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2gsyae

From the press notes:

"Stay tuned in the next couple of days for a "Dodger Idol" competition organized by infielder/outfielders Mark Sweeney that promises to raise the bar for crooners everywhere. "

30
Events like this make me watch lots of college basketball this time of year.

We don't take kindly to your Giant traditions around here.

28

Not really, I'll eat it once in a while. 29 I don't know if any of you seen the new Dodger Vids but on one of them Ethier talks about his position with in the Dodger organization & he sounds very competitive to put it lightly, you gotta like that about him. It's a weird situation to be in when everybody knows he's the better option but...

Everything is looking up for Diamondbacks

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/23309928/

The History of Dodgertown (Video):

http://tinyurl.com/2dqfvg

Let's hope we can do something to make the snake's feel less complacent and feel their thinness in the high minors.

Lindsey went 3-3, 2 singles and a double. When is there going to be buzz for him taking the job away from Loney?

E-ticket bids a fond farewell to Dodgertown (Videos):

http://tinyurl.com/3as9lt

Pedro is (was) an awesome pitcher. Still, when I went out to the park to watch Koufax pitch, in the back of my mind - ever time - was the half expectation that I would see a no-hitter. Pedro pitched against some pretty good hitters, but take a look at the box score from the '63 World Series and see what Koufax did to the Yankee bombers.

39

I'd pick the lefty hard throwing Koufax over Pedro Martinez in a WS must win, no doubt about it.

39 I could never address the Sandy vs Pedro argument in an unbiased way. Like you I have memories of not only the '63 WS (especially game 1) but the '65 WS (especially game 7).

Pedro put up some amazing numbers. Looking at Pedro's ERA+ from '97 - '03 (7 years) vs Koufax in '61-'66 (6 years) Pedro exceeded an ERA+ of 200 five times. Koufax best was 190.

In Koufax defense he averaged 272 IP over those 6 years while Pedro averaged 201. Would you rather have an ERA+ of 291 over 217 innings (Pedro in 2000) or an ERA+ of 190 over 323 IP (Koufax 1966)?

Koufax was a great post season pitcher as well. In 57 post season innings (all WS) he gave up 6 ER's ;11 BB's; 61 K's and an ERA of 0.95 against the best teams in the AL.

They are both great pitchers and I sure wish Pedro had been a life long Dodger but Sandy will always be the best to me.

I love Sandy Koufax, but I think Pedro was better and it's really not all that close.

What was the velocity on Koufax's fastball? From the Leaves book, I recall somebody estimating that he threw as hard as 98 MPH. But a friend of mine who has seen plenty of Koufax footage says he was only throwing about 90 MPH, but that in the '60's a lefty throwing 90 was a really big deal, and the big pitcher's mounds gave the pitcher an extra advantage.

Sandy is the best pitcher I have ever seen. On two days rest he piched a complete game to beat the Braves in 65 to clinch the NL pennant and he followed that up by pitching a complete game shutout to beat the Twins in the World Series on two days rest. In 66 on two days rest he pitched a complete game on the last day of the season against the Phillies to clinch the pennant. I was there to see him pitch that game in 66 in old Connie Mack Stadium. Pedro is an excellent pitcher but I can't imagine him being able to match those performances by Sandy

Stan from Tacoma

Dusty Baker: 'The name of the game is scoring runs. Sometimes, you get so caught up in on-base percentage that you're clogging up the bases.'

there's an old school guy for you.

http://tinyurl.com/27g2gs

I have to admit after Pedro left the
Dodgers, I paid less attention than I should. But I perhaps cannot give an unbiased opinion between Pedro and Sandy.
I saw Sandy throw a few times as a young teen, and I couldn't for the life of me tell if the pitch was going to appear to rise a foot or drop a foot when it left his hand. And the best part was if the batter guessed right, he still couldn't get good wood on it.

I really want Brad Lidge to have a bounce back season but looks like that and a health Mets Phillies rivalry have hid a little snag:

ttp://tinyurl.com/ynk6yk

Hector's Place on Los Coyotes and Ximeno is really close to Blair, the sandwiches are top notch. Taqueria on 4th and Coronado is another Long Beach gem close to Blair.

23 Are you a fan of the Tude sauce Icaros?

The only trouble I had with my baserunning was trying to get to the next base. The coach had trouble waving me in to score. I could never get to second to break up a double play. Matt Kemp can hit with power and run(the 2 things I could never do) and I agree with Wills, it's better to tone it down. I'd like to see him suprise bunting. I doubt there will be too many times he will be called upon to sacrifice. I'm not worried about his baserunning he'll learn. I just hope he can live up to his potential as a power hitter.

The game I saw Sandy pitch to clinch the pennant in 66 was remarkable. I remember in the first inning saying out loud, "Oh my God" when I heard the ball slamming into Roseboro's glove. I have never seen anyone faster in my life, including Sandy the many other times I saw him pitch. He kept that fastball throughout the whole game. He certainly gave me a great performance to remember the last time I was in the stands to see him pitch

Stan from Tacoma

43 "What was the velocity on Koufax's fastball? From the Leaves book, I recall somebody estimating that he threw as hard as 98 MPH. But a friend of mine who has seen plenty of Koufax footage says he was only throwing about 90 MPH, but that in the '60's a lefty throwing 90 was a really big deal, and the big pitcher's mounds gave the pitcher an extra advantage."

As I understand it, Koufax probably never was clocked on a radar gun as a player.

However, a recent Daily News story recounted that in 1986--at age 50--Koufax was clocked at 90 in spring training.

If he could hit 90 at age 50, you'd think odds are pretty high he could dial up an additional 10 mph or so more in his prime.

The Koufax mention is near the end of this==
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_8220160

A question: I've never known exactly what advantage the higher mound was supposed to have given pitchers in Koufax's era???

There's the typical LaRoche bashing from Gurnick at Dodgers.com in a new article talking about Nomar's "comeback."

Yah..

"That type of power makes him tough to pitch to," Torre said of the 23-year-old Kemp. "And he's got some speed. He goes after it and it's a little intimidating to the opposing team. He's got all the tools, it's a matter of refining it and he can only do that by playing."

43; higher mound means more downward trajectory on a fastball, and more ability to get curves moving downward steeper when they get to the plate. Downward trajectory means harder to hit, basically.

I love Sandy Koufax, but I think Pedro was better and it's really not all that close.

Obviously if your thinking long term I'd rather have Pedro BUT in a one game must win, IT'S KOUFAX no doubt about it.

Marty, Icaros and MC Safety, thank you for your suggestions. Unfortuantly I had to leave before I saw them. We went to Lucille's for BBQ and could not get in. So we went to some place next door, called the Roadhouse. It was not so good. (understatment)

First time tp Blair Field. It was great. Like a single A park. Everyone is very nice and people really follow the Dirtbags closely. I was with a friend from Rice so we were the enemy. Rice won 3-1.

Why are the other Long Beach State teams known as the 49ers but the baseball team is the Dirtbags?

55

I know I'm no professional but high mounds also means less stress on the body, believe me I've pitched on no-mound & I've pitched on mounds & it truly does make a difference.

57
How can you be a dirtbag if you play basketball? Basketball courts tend not to be dirty.

54 If the quotes are accurate here, There is absolutely no excuse for sitting Kemp for even one game!

Of course Sandy always was saving some for the eighth and ninth. In the tradition of pitchers in his time, he couldn't throw his best stuff in the first six or seven innings.

Sarah Morris has a blog. Two comments, so far; one of them is spam, but the other one might be interesting. It's a common name, though.

http://dodgerplace.blogspot.com/

57. They are if the Piston are playing.

They other noteworthy thing about Blair field is the exceptional beer value. 32 oz beer for $10.00.

63
Note to self: avoid driving near Blair Field when a baseball game ends.

I'm somewhat surprised you'd never been there. I don't live in Long Beach and I've been there a couple of times to see minor league games and I've played golf at Rec Park 3-4 times. One of the holes ends near the Field.

64. Every summer, three friends and I have a tradition of getting up around 6am driving to S.D. Tee off at 8:30. Finish by 1:00. Jump in car to Del Mar for first post. Then after last race drive down to Petco for game. Then home.

Locally, we could golf at Rec Park, gamble at Hawain Garden Casino and catch a game at Blair Field. With all the money we save we could go crazy on $10 beers. (And we could squeeze in Joe Jost's this time).

As a kid with my Dad, I saw Sandy Koufax pitch in the Coliseum when he struck out 18 Giants. I watched from way out in centerfield. There were something like 80,000 people in the stands, and I can't recall a game (at least one I've witnessed) when one player cast a spell like that over an entire stadium. Pedro Martinez was a great pitcher, but Koufax was an event. As for his fastball, I don't know what a radar gun would have said, but I recall the story that one time when Harvey Kuehne came back to the Cubs dugout after being called out on strikes, he was asked where the pitch was and said, "It sounded like it was on the outside corner."

65

And you could go to Los Alamitios Race Track in Cypress and still place those Del Mar bets. I think you could get from Los Al to HG Casino in 10 minutes top. Los Al would be in the sweet spot between HG and Blair Field.

I totally forgot about Los Al. A Los Al srop would be mandatory to such a day.

66
The crowd for Koufax's 18K game in 1959 was only 60,194.

Bench space appears to be at a premium

http://tinyurl.com/2xqf4o

69
Thanks, I stand corrected. I was 9 years old at the time, and I'd never seen so many people in one place. My Dad and I were so far away from home plate, we couldn't see or hear Sandy's fastball.

71
I'm sure 60,000 seemed like an enormous amount of people at age 9. Sometimes 60 people does at that age.

Torre seems to be making way to big a deal about Myers striking out Loney. It is just one batter and I bet Loney has never faced Myers before.

62

That blog is hard to read (visually)

74
Perhaps it was designed by the University of Oregon basketball team.

73 I suspect he's just trying to pump up Myers' confidence. :-) He kicked Myers off his team last year because he wasn't getting left handers out.

ginocimoli, if you can get your hands on the 1959 Dodger highlight record album, you can hear Vin's call of Sandy's 18th strikeout and Wally Moon's homerun that won the game in the bottom of the 9th. That album is pure gold.

Stan from Tacoma

76 In fact, Myers was so concerned about what happened with Torre last year that he didn't agree to join the Dodgers until after he got a call from Torre ensuring him that Torre wanted him on the ball club.

77
Thanks, Stan, I'll see if I can track the recording down. It's amazing to think that Vin's been with us this whole time, nearly 50 years since that game. How lucky can Dodger fans be? I only wish my Dad had made it too.

gino, you are welcome and you are so right about Vin.

Stan from Tacoma

"There were something like 80,000 people in the stands, and I can't recall a game (at least one I've witnessed) when one player cast a spell like that over an entire stadium."

I never got to see Koufax pitch, but I was at Fenway for plenty of Pedro starts and that's what they were like also. Except not quite 80,000. ;)

I seem to remember hearing that Koufax threw his fastball around 93 mph. It wasn't just the speed though, with his huge hands and long fingers, the ball had more rise. A pitch that looked to the hitter to be below the knees wound up above his bat when it was swung. And his curve ball went straight down and was thrown hard.

Roseboro said Peronoski threw a ball that bore into his glove and hurt more than a Koufax pitch. Peronosky threw a heavy ball and Koufax threw a light ball and I will leave the explanation up to those who can explain why.

Tony Jackson continues to give me indigestion:

Torre has hinted at being open to a regular outfield alignment of Kemp in right and Ethier in left, which would force veteran Juan Pierre and his $8 million salary to the bench. But the more likely scenario is that Pierre will play because the Dodgers need his speed in the lineup.

Meanwhile, club officials like the idea of Ethier and Kemp jockeying for playing time on the theory that each one will push the other into becoming a better player.

83 I don't know why Torre needs to "see" all these guys, but I expect/trust/hope that by June he will have seen enough of JP's "arm" and pop-ups.

83 - "Meanwhile, club officials like the idea of Ethier and Kemp jockeying for playing time on the theory that each one will push the other into becoming a better player."

Brilliant! Give the worst outfielder the most playing time, and force the good players to share time so one of them, in theory, gets even better. It's just crazy enough to work!

Except it doesn't. And won't. But Plaschke, Jackson & Associates will love it.

83-Yeah, I'd love to know who "club officials" are there, exactly. And why those same officials don't imagine, say, that forcing Pierre to jockey for playing time would push him into becoming a "better player." That's a nauseating speculation, indeed.

In the end, I think the thing will speak for itself, and Torre will play his three best outfielders. But I'd be surprised if he did it out of the gate, I really would.

I am speculating that since both Ethier and Phewerre are left handed that platooning Ethier with Kemp will give Torre more flexability. Sad. Could have some influence on the decision. I believe that after Torre sees a couple of months of Pepe LaPierre, Ethier will end up getting much more playing time. Especially if he starts off 08 like he started 07. Ned should be taken behind the woodshed for the Pierre signing.

Has Jon or anyone figured out what Ethier's numbers would be if he had been given the same number of plate appearances last season as Pierre? Would those simple two lines emailed to Jackson et al make it easier for them to see how much more important more of everything is compared to more speed?

There are simply 36,000,000 reasons we'll see Pierre play 150 plus games this year. I'm very tired of all this speculation. He's our outfielder unless he's traded which is highly unlikely unless we eat his contract which we don't see willing to do at this point.

I just hope he has a Dave Roberts moment in the post season, a special play like a stolen base that has dramatic meaning. Then we can accept all the other stuff. Until we know more from Torre and company, I'm leaving this whole Pierre thing alone. Old news.

Bob, how did you like Rec? Theres also a 9 hole called Little Rec thats pretty fun.

83 Thats the stupidest thing I ever read.

It's not as if a player with a large contract has never been benched before.

How much did they pay Bernie Williams to sit on the bench?

Wow-That was discouraging. I just looked it up and in 2006 they cut Bernie's pay from $12 million to $1.5 million but he still had over 400 AB's (and OPS+ of 96). I feel like I must be missing something.

82 - Pedro also has very long fingers. I recall a photo in the LA Times - freakishly long.

That link Molly put up the other day to the FJM is even funnier with all this Pierre stupidity. I wanna know how the old scout feels about this. What a rollercoaster ride for poor Andre. I agree with Jim, Ned should be taken behind the woodshed x3.

92 In the second year of a five year contract? The only example I can think of is Russ Ortiz, and Pierre isn't nearly that bad.

92 Other than having defensive struggles, which prompted the move to left, what has he done to disappoint those who saw fit to sign him for five years at 9 mil a year?

They valued him at that and passed over cheaper and younger alternatives. What makes us think they will do an about face after a typical Pierre season in Dodger blue?

He can improve his bunting and plate discipline, which he is working on. He still had close to 200 hits, a .293 batting average, and all those stolen bases. He had a very solid year for what you would expect from him.

The only way he sits is if Torre doesn't respect that type of player and/or Ned and company admit a HUGE mistake. Neither have shown an inclination to even discuss it in this manner.

I think Ethier is the odd man out, but I hope I am wrong. I accept Mr. Slappy McPop-up as our left fielder. I just hope he gets on base more often and that Torre considers his a number 8 hitter. I am setting my bar of expectations low and I'll cheer for him.

It's not like Pierre's defense was unexpectedly bad either. The guy has no instincts but his speed gets him to a decent amount of balls. If the Dodgers scouted Pierre at all, they should have already known that's what they were getting.

among all this gloom has anyone discussed or saw that schmidt will be pitching a ST game?

Friendly reminder to season ticket holders:

Pre-sale for all tix starts at 10 am today. You can get four more opening day tix and unlimited for the rest of schedule.

Don't forget to have your account number, it is the password that gets you into ticketmaster's system.

I'm going through some old arbitration results and I've noticed that there's far less arbitration cases after the strike. Is there something that would have caused this?

102 I think owners have been winning a lot of those cases and players have been choosing to settle ahead of time.

Also, there are guys like Tulowiski that have their arbitration years bought out ahead of time, reducing the need for cases.

Pierre barely has Batting Average over Ethier - .293 vs. .284. That leaves just "speed."

And he lies too. He said while "I'm not that guy to hit the 3-run bomb, I'll be one of the guys on base driven in."

Sorry Juan, not with your OBP.

103 True, but I just thought it was odd that there were 20-25 cases a year pre strike then it drops to 7-10 right after. Just a coincidence, or a change in the CBA?

Regfairfield,
They did scout him and they did know what they were getting. That is why it is even more baffling and frustrating. Ned panicked when Drew split.

75

My wife and I were laughing at the uniforms this weekend. How did those get approved?

104

I thought the same thing when he said that in the interview

98 - I have no idea what will happen, but the difference this year is that the Dodgers now have a better idea of what Kemp and Ethier can do. Colletti himself said that a big part of the reason to sign Pierre was that he didn't want to go into the 2007 season with such an unproven outfield.

The competition this season is different than last year.

109

I am excited to see the competition, but I am worried that Ethier won't perform as well as he could without regular playing time.

97 - Five-year contracts are rare. Limiting the discussion to those doesn't give us enough examples. The point is, from Wayne Garland on, there has been a limit to how much tolerance teams have to play an inferior player, regardless of salary.

Let me put it this way. If you were Juan Pierre, would you go into Spring Training under the assumption that you couldn't lose your job? I doubt it. You think the Dodgers haven't noticed that 90 percent of baseball is panning the signing? At some point, an organization as sensitive to PR as the Dodgers is going to be affected.

It's easy to be cynical about this process, but to decide that change can't happen ... I'll not be that cynical.

For those of you who are season tix holders but are unable to get your opening day tix on line through Dodgers.com (there seems to be some kind of glitch), you can go directly to ticketmaster.com and enter your password there to purchase. My buddy and I just got 8 seats, four on reserve and four on the field level.

98 Other than having defensive struggles, which prompted the move to left, what has he done to disappoint those who saw fit to sign him for five years at 9 mil a year?

I think the Andruw Jones signing speaks volumes about this. The Dodgers went out and spent millions on a free-agent centerfielder just one year after spending millions on a free-agent centerfielder.

I just saw a 1990 birthdate in a baseball prospect story. Man.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7176

I can't get into the site for opening day tickets! Anybody else having problems?

111
Never has Pierre been characterized as a bad clubhouse guy, but I wonder if Pierre will brood a bit on the bench. Torre seems to be good at handling that sort of thing, but the best thing for all parties concerned would be a trade should Pierre not win the LF job.

There are a few of teams that would be interested if we paid about 40% of what is left on the contract (which is what he should have been paid to begin with).

At risk of violating Rule 8, the best thing for the Dodgers is an outfield of Kemp/Jones/Ethier with Young (for his bat) and Repko (for his defense) filling our needs off the bench.

112 You saved the day. Got mine.

116 - I expect he'd brood a little, but will it matter?

Something I have not seen discussed on here is what would most readers on this site prefer the outfield to be...

Option A: Pierre / Jones / Kemp (with Ethier platooning the corners)

or

Option B: Ethier / Pierre / Kemp (all pretty much full time)

Option B would be the Dodgers outfield if there was no CF signing during this offseason.

Marketa Irglova and Clayton Kershaw were both born in March 1988. I see that as a good omen.

112 thanks a lot!!

118
In the short run, not necessarily, but I wonder if it would turn into a "clubhouse issue". We all know those disappear when any team wins, but I can never get a handle on how much situations like this affect a team. Sometimes it seems minimal, and others it seems to be a daily issue that won't go away.

112
Thanks

113 don't you think the signing was more for the need of a power bat with no emphisis on the position?

119. I would choose None of the Above.
But if a gun was pointed at my head, I'd probably have to take the OF with Andruw Jones in CF because of his glove. You probably lose a win just by moving Pierre from CF to LF, but gain more than that by having A.Jones in CF.
vr, Xei

"Martin called the curveball "nasty" and could imagine Saito using it to start off hitters rather than his fastball-slider combination."

Martin tended to do this last year as well, that is, giving away strategy in interviews.

124 I think the power bat is definitely a big reason. But it has to be more than coincidence that the power bat we signed happened to be a CF.

Posted on another forum from an ATL fan on what to expect from Andruw. Credit "Soapy" at Huzzah!:

1. He came into camp heavy....because last year he came into camp light and in shape and
played like crap. Well....that is Andruw in a nutshell.....LOL
2. Andruw smiles a lot...especially when he makes an out in a crucial situation. Don't take it personally.
3. Andruw swings at anything low and away...and pulls the hell out of every pitch.
4. Andruw will screw himself into the ground or fall on 70% of pitches.
5. Andruw will give you hope by taking pitches to the oppo. field in several games...but then
he goes back to pulling.....your thirdbase coach should beware.
6. Andruw catches the ball with one hand and then pulls the glove down quickly...this leads fans to believe he will drop the ball....this only happens rarely. :P
7. Andruw will not run out a DP ball, even when the game is on the line....so forget about it happening.
8. Andruw has a quirky habit of moving his eyes funny while on base....although he hasn't stolen one in 5 years...so don't get your hopes up.
9. Andruw will play every game...even when he's batting .195. :(
10. Andruw is a great addition to the Dodgers by subtraction from the Braves...enjoy him!!!

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/team_audit.php?team=lan

i have no idea how vorp is calculated and what a good or bad vorp is, but pierre is 5th on this list at 16.3. please explain what that means, doesn't seem like that's too bad?

re:128 but how does he look in jeans?

cargill, I believe VORP goes up the more you play. So most players with as many plate appearances as Pierre would have an even higher VORP.

116 118 - Juan Pierre is not going to walk salty around here.

Value Over Replacement Player.
In baseball, value over replacement player (or VORP) is a statistic invented by Keith Woolner that demonstrates how much a hitter contributes offensively or how much a pitcher contributes to his team in comparison to a fictitious "replacement player," who is an average fielder at his position and a below average hitter. A replacement player performs at "replacement level," which is the level of performance an average team can expect when trying to replace a player at minimal cost, also known as "freely available talent."

116 An outfield of Kemp/Jones/Ethier with Young and Pierre on the bench would be just fine with me.

129 VORP is a counting stat, like runs or RBI's. The more a player plays, the more VORP he gets (assuming he's a net positive value over a replacement player). While Pierre is a better than replacement player, Ethier is better than Pierre. Ethier's VORP may be lower (13.8 vs 16.2 for Pierre), but his VORPr is higher (.117 vs .096). VORPr is VORP converted into a rate stat. If Ethier had as many at-bats as Pierre, he'd have a higher VORP.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/glossary/index.php?search=VORPR

For example, Martin has 3 times the VORP of Pierre while having less at-bats.

133 ok but what does the 16.3 mean? what is a good vorp?

129 It's a counting stat so as long as you aren't terrible it will go up if you play more. It was actually an above average year for Pierre offensively because he actually stole bases successfully.

136 The Dodgers scored 16.3 more runs with Pierre in center than with a replacement level player. I generally consider 30 to be a good VORP.

128 You'd think someone who has pretty much wrapped up a spot in the Hall Of Fame at age 31 would get more respect.

Juan Pierre is worth at most 0.6 wins above replacement (or 6.3 runs). This is not very good and a player of that value should get $3Mil per year on the FA market (for a one year deal). He's a 4th outfielder.
vr, Xei

This is OT, but I had my fantasy baseball draft this morning. My first overall pick was Johan, followed by Braun and Martin. Other dodgers and old friends were Saito (6th round), Kemp (10th round), Gagne (14th), and Lowe (16th). I think I had the steal of the draft with Thome in the last round. I can't wait for the season to start.

139 I think Jones is going to be tremendously frustrating for Dodger fans to watch, though. I've never noticed him refusing to run out DP balls, but a lot of the other things in 128 are things I've noticed before. Jones seems to go out of his way to give the impression that he isn't putting forth any effort, which to the casual fan will make him appear like a less valuable player than he actually is. Sort of like the anti-Juan Pierre.

More fantasy questions. I'm in a league that has a salaries cap of 85 million based on last years salaries. Right now, I'm in a position where I can blow a lot of money on Hideki Matsui, but it will hurt me in the later rounds when I might have to use bench players to fill out my roster instead of expensive mediocrities like J.D. Drew. Is it better to have an expensive stud and a potential zero, or a less valuable player and a guy that's going to play every day.

Also, the Dodgers are disappearing rapidly in this league, with Martin, Loney, Bills, Kemp and Saito all going in the first 90 picks. Could be a good sign for this year.

143 Anybody take JP yet? (Besides Ned)

144 No, but I assume it's going to come soon. Heck, I might have to do it since the only source of steals I have right now is Martin.

143 Where do you play in that kind of fantasy league (with a salary cap)?

120 They were born the month of eye-black incident.

146 Someone put it together, it's not part of a service. If for some reason you're the only person who cares about other people's fantasy teams, you can follow the draft at lozoball.blogspot.com.

144

Not sure about Pepperdine's league, but in my first draft this year, it took a while for JP to get drafted. He got drafted in the 16th round, after Rick Ankiel but before Fukudome.

I was in a fantasy league in 1984. In January '84 the Mets released Dave Kingman and nobody signed him until the A's did on 3/29 so that when we held our draft in March he did not have a team. He had not play very well in '83 so everybody just assumed he was done. He wound up hitting 35 HR's in '84 but nobody had the guts to draft him in a late round.

126 Martin also could be setting people up. He may or may not start hitters with Saito's curve, but he's given them something else to think about.

Especially if he actually does it occasionally.

142 (and previous)
"You hope to build on your mistakes as a player and an organization. You lean back and are complacent, anybody who's complacent is not worth being a professional athlete." - Jeff Kent in his interview about a week ago.

What's the over/under line on a Kent/Jones clubhouse incident?

150

How did you do fantasy baseball back in '84, when they didn't have the internet? That always intrigued me.

153
People waited for the Tuesday and Wednesday issues of USA Today which had cumulative stats for all teams.

Then they were added up by hand or by people who had really fancy computers or abacuses.

153 You actually met in person! Shocking, I know.

Seems to me a true platoon of Kemp/Ethier is unlikely to be used much. As a lefty Ethier would get far more ABs than righty Kemp since most pitchers are right-handed.

Surely they want Kemp's power in the lineup as often as possible.

Surely...surely....surely??

152
If they are winning I expect to see little problems in the clubhouse. When they hit late August and play 26 games from Aug 8th - Sept 3rd with only one day off, and if they are losing, then, I'd say we'd have a better then 50% chance of some kind of incident.

151
The advanced scouting reports will quickly note the pitching tendencies, not what Martin has to say in February.

154 Pish! Before I had a computer, I didn't bother with an abacus. I just computed everything in my head!

153
I used to hand enter the data from the Basebal Weekly magazine starting in 1986 or 87. Which is why most leagues used the Mon-Sun format because they would show cumulative and weekly stats. It was a tedious process but I became a 10 key wizard.

153 It was a bunch of guys in 1 office. We did our draft during lunch (bit of a long lunch but the Director played so it was OK). It was pretty simple but we did have Lotus 1-2-3 ver 1A (precursor of Excel) to keep track of our limited stats. We ran the software on an IBM PCXT which cost $20,000.

153 - That question, combined with my fruitless efforts to explain to my daughter why I couldn't fast-forward through the commericals of a live show last night, just set the tone for the rest of my life.

154 In the mid-80s, we ran a 12-team Strat-O-Matic league, complete with statistics since we access to computers at work. But we didn't have access to a Excel-like program (in those days VisiCalc or the early Lotus?), so we wrote our own programs with rudimentary data entry screens and basic database management. We played the games with the cards and dice though, more fun that way really.

Back before the internet we used a stat service for our league. It was quite costly and we'd get standings sent to us through the postal mail every week, but the standings were always one week behind.
vr, Xei

I have never played fantasy baseball in my life. This should play big with the anti-nerd crowd if I ever run for political office.

Ah, Lotus 123 version 1A. We had it at my job at the time running on a DEC Rainbow with CP/M. Now that was back in the day.

My 11-year old nephew wants to start a fantasy baseball league with me and four of his friends. If anybody else has kids of that age who might be interested in participating, drop me a line and I'll see if I can set up a relatively simple league without a lot of categories.

It's a good way for kids to both learn math, learn baseball, and develop extraordinarily geeky habits.

165 Today Lotus seems pretty primitave but what an upgrade it was from a pencil and a calculator.

How much of Odalis's salary did the Dodgers end up eating? Something like sixteen million dollars, right? Including the opt-out penalty on the option year. Colletti didn't sign that contract, so it's not the same. But with the way Grittle went down, it doesn't seem like it would take too much of a fight to provoke the swift and terrible justice of Mr. Ned. Diamond Leung needs to get Pierre on the record dissing white neckties, and fancy t-shirts.

And the wearing of dead animals on one's head.

166
In our Burbank League we let our commissioner give his son a team in 2006. He was around 15 and came in last place but he was setting his team up nicely for 2007. Proving he was a quick learner he came in 2nd last year and won about 2000.00.

Off-topic research project of the day: When's the last time the regular season Pac-10 men's basketball title came down to a head-to-head, winner-take-all match on the final day of the season?

168 odalis and eating just seem to find themselves in a sentenance together often.

171
Last year, when Oregon played USC for the conference championship in the Pac-10 Tournament.

I'm guessing this isn't the answer you were looking for.

Oh, rats - Stanford's playing UCLA on Thursday? Never mind.

I just read that Liriano hit 97 MPH in his bullpen sessions. Man, if he's back to '06 form, look out.

173 - Did I not say "regular season"? ...

175 who should be looking out? the royals?

177 AL CY Young candidates.

177. Or Bob's fantasy team. If Bob plays fantasy baseball, he should let us name his team.
vr, Xei

178 unfortunatley the writers who vote on cy young still value w-l record very highly, don't you think even if lirano has a great statistical season it would be really tough for him to get 16 wins?

175 Question: if Liriano is back to his '06 form, should the Twins have kept Santana for the final year?

I'm in the camp that thinks that IF the Twins have no shot this year, then the trade is a good idea.... but with Santana-Liriano providing a one-two punch, would they really have had no shot?

179- Given that he didn't even let us help name his cat, that seems improbable. He's really not a team player.

175 From Joe Posnanski's 2/20/08 blog entry:

You might remember [Ambiorix] Burgos came to Mets' spring training last year, and on one of the early days he was blowing 100 mph fastballs by hitters and leaving everyone slack-jawed. I got an email from my dear friend Mike Vaccaro that basically wondered how in the hell the Royals could have traded a guy with THAT GOOD an arm.

My reply: Just wait. I'd seen Burgos' act up close and personal. And on my blog at that time, I also asked: "By the way, what kind of goof throws the ball 100 mph before the end of February? I'm not crazy, right? Isn't this like walking up to a doctor and saying, 'Hey, would you mind cutting my ulnar collateral ligament? Thanks.'"

Why Greg Brock love Joe Posnanski and, perhaps, why Andrew Shimmin might not:

You know, I think my favorite Coen Brothers movie might be "Hudsucker Proxy."

183 Omar sure could have used Bannister's innings last year. Didn't the Mets let go of Lindstrom right before that too? What a series of events.

Although the moment has passed for Jon, the Nameless Ones beat Oregon State 87-60 in Tucson on the final day of the regular season to force a tie for first place in the Pac-10.

Barry Bonds possibly to the Rays???

I was just going to start rooting for them!

186 - What year?

188
Sorry about that.

1990.

could tb sneak to 85-90 wins with barry?? i think so.

190 They have serious pitching talent coming up shortly, so yeah.

He'd be a perfect fit for them if Rocco can play RF and not have to DH.

Get your questions for James out:
(from ItD:)
Chat with James Loney on Dodgers.com tomorrow at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET

"James, what's your official nickname from your teammates?"

189 - Was that a Jud Buechler vs. Gary Payton tilt?

In 1979, UCLA beat out USC by one game for the Pac-10 title. It didn't come down to the final game, but if the teams had finished tied they would have had a one-game playoff at the Forum.

No tiebreaker formula!

190. Even without Barry, they could sniff/sneak 85-90 wins.
vr, Xei

195 Guessing, but I want to say they were both out of school by then.

184 Hudsucker Proxy I'm pretty sure is the least well-liked Coen Brothers movie. I was proud of saying that I liked both it and Big Lebowski while Lebowski was still considered a theatrical bomb.

195
Matt Muehlenbach was the leading scorer for the other guys.

On March 9, 1974, UCLA met USC at the Sports Arena with the Pac-8 title and the lone berth in the NCAA tournament at stake.

UCLA led 47-13 at halftime and won 82-52.

So that appears to be the last true "winner take all" game on the last day of the Pac-10 season.

Hi everybody,

Anyone have any idea when BP2K8 will be in stores? Having no luck today calling booksellers...

I'm not sure where all these reports that Sandy Koufax's fastball was only in the 90-93 mph range are coming from. During the 60's when Koufax was at the top of his game I remember reading several reports claiming Koufax's fastball was believed to sometimes exceed 98 mph (there were no radar guns being used). He was considered to have the best fastball of his day. In fact, if you search on Koufax's name today you'll find lots of references to the blazing speed of his fastball. Why would anyone consider a 90 mph fastball to be blazing?

Payton's first NBA season was 90-91.
vr, Xei

181 I don't think it matters. The Indians and Tigers are too good and the Twins have zero offense outside of Mauer and Morneau. (And even then, Morneau isn't anything special).

198 I really like Hudsucker, too, and yes, we're probably still in the minority, but I don't think it's even close to being the Coens' least-liked film. The Ladykillers, Intolerable Cruelty, The Man Who Wasn't There are all less favored, I know very few people, even those who generally liked them (like myself) who embrace them in any way.

Btw, the Coens' next one has quite a cast: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand included.

203. Morneau. I'll bite my tongue this time. :)
vr, Xei

199 - Thanks. Maybe next year, they can do a 35th-anniversary story on that game.

203
He may not be special but he provides solid offense at a position that is not that strong in the AL. Kubel was coming on strong last year, so I think the Twins are being undervalued. Mauer is the best offensive catcher in the AL, combined with Morneau, the sophomore season for D Young, Kubel, Cuddyer, and Harris, it might give them enough offense to compete if the young pitching holds up.

Just because Morneau isn't as great as the perception, doesn't mean he doesn't add plenty of value. The AL is void of premium offensive 1st baseman.

207 - http://www.truebluela.com/story/2008/2/25/115210/495

Toy, if I'm reading this right, PECOTA likes the Dodger hitting better than the pitching?

Tim Robbin's 2003 Press Club anti-war speech was good. However I'm still puzzled by his decision to deliver it with a British accent. The guy was raised in New York. What an odd thing that was.

207 Wow, I didn't realize how relatively luckluster AL 1B were. And Tex was traded, of course.
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/j6Zr

I got around to watching Notes on a Scandal over the weekend, and I loved it. But now that I'm making the rounds, reading about it, I wonder if I horribly misunderstood it. Was it really a drama, as IMDB has it? Jon called it a "high-end soap opera."

I laughed the whole way through--I thought it was absolutely a dark comedy (and a terrific one!). Nobody else over at SJ seems to have made any mention of it. The person I watched it with was laughing, too, so I can't be entirely alone.

212 I found it boring because I never fully believed the teacher/student relationship to begin with.

I guess I'm talking to myself. Back to lurking.

207
Someone asked me the other day who my favorite sleeper this year was. After a lot of thought, I said the Twins for the reasons you just stated.

The other guy looked me square in the eye and with a straight face said "Mine's the Giants." I think he talked after that, but I was contemplating how to get away and not waste any more of my precious time on Earth.

Paul Blair on Sandy Koufax:

>> "No question, he was the best pitcher I ever saw," said Orioles center fielder Paul Blair, now the baseball coach at Coppin State. Growing up in Los Angeles, Blair had often watched in awe when Koufax took the mound. "He could throw close to 100 mph and still pinpoint the fastball. Plus, he had the best curveball in baseball." <<

http://tinyurl.com/2yllpy

Yeah, the Giants are a sleeper all right.

204 Oh yeah, the Ladykillers. Even I didn't like that one. I blocked it out of my head entirely. I thought "Man Who Wasn't There" was pretty well reviewed at the time. I remember it being long on atmospherics and short on much else. I think I dubbed it "The Movie that Wasn't There." Actually, I'm sure there were at least 1,000 people that beat me to that joke, but you get the idea.

211 - I don't think it was intended as a comedy, no. I don't recall laughing.

216 The Coens seemed to conveniently forget about the Ladykillers during their speech last night when they were talking about the only adaptations they'd done.

208
Not sure which one they like better or not. I haven't really analyzed the data, just presented it at this point.

From an earlier BP article we don't have any outstanding starter but we do have the only rotation in the NL with 4 starters with a VORP > 20. They love the Giant rotation with good reason but they still fall short of 4. I expect the total value is higher then ours which is offset by the worse offense in baseball.

214. Yeah, the Twins are definitely a good sleeper. I'd also throw in another team that gave up some good players recently, and that's the A's. Mostly because I think the Angels and Mariners (especially the Ms) are a bit overrated. Now that Santana is gone, the Twins have very little chance of winning the AL Central. Like pointed out earlier, with Santana and a healthy Liriano, they'd have a decent shot at the AL Central, not the favorites but atleast a decent shot. With the small bounty they got for Santana, why not keep him, atleast until the trade deadline and see if you can make the playoffs, and with the worst case being a draft pick (or two?) for him.

vr, Xei

They probably meant the only successful adaptation they have done. Hasn't everyone in that movie conveniently forgotten their place in it. I'm sure Tom Hanks doesn't mention it, in his resume.

216 - The Giants do have a really nice rotation. I'm not making any predictions, but remember that the 2003 Dodgers won 85 games. I don't know that San Francisco will embarrass itself as much as people think.

I have a list of WAR for each NL West team and a complete breakdown player by player for the Dodgers over at Dodger Sims. I did it as an excercise to see how closely it would match up with what my simulator predicted for each team. Four of the five teams are very close in WAR to the simulator output, but the Diamondbacks had a WAR quite a bit higher than what the simulator predicts.

vr, Xei

212- I've made my peace with finding women who sleep with teenage boys inscrutable. Maybe I'm too willing to suspend my disbelief over it, but it didn't bother me, here. If the movie had gotten bogged down in the boy, I would have had trouble with it, but it seemed to me it spent as little time focused on him as was practicable. And moved right back to the sweet spot: the crazy lady scheming her way to love and happiness. Inexpertly.

217- Andrew Sarris of the New York Observer thought it was; If I'd ever heard of him, I'd be happier. A couple of the reviews of the book it was based on allude to elements of dark comedy, without putting it squarely in the genre.

If it wasn't a dark comedy, then there's no excuse left for the score.

222
...but the Dodgers had a world-beater bullpen that year and pretty much everyone in that pen stayed healthy with Mota, Gagne, Martin, Shuey, and Quantrill having outstanding seasons.

I don't see nearly as much promise in their pen.

222 That thought has occurred to me from time to time as well, but when I reflect further, I don't think the 03 Dodgers are good comparison. The Dodgers had a great rotation, a stellar bullpen, and great defense particularly on the infield. The Giants have a great rotation. Plus the division is a lot tougher now.

220 They probably aren't a true sleeper, but I really like the Braves' chances to upstage NY & PHI.

Hopefully a former opponent, who I respect, will feel better and a certain blog probably can't wait to get pictures of someone instructing Brandon Phillips how to read an upcoming pitch-out.

http://tinyurl.com/2ycpcj

217 - He's a legitimate critic.

225, 226 - I'm not saying there's not a difference, but I'm not feeling comfortable getting cocky.

224 Andrew Sarris is actually one of the two or three most famous living film critics.

214 any possibility he was doing the same to you??

224- Bruce Newman of the San Jose Mercury News called it a "pitch black comedy." Andy Klein of Los Angeles CityBeat said it was a "wicked comedy."

Maybe it's like a color blindness test, where only defective people can see it.

230- Oh yes? Well, there you go! I'm declaring victory and going home.

230 The others being?

232 - I am color blind. And my memory isn't great. So maybe it was funny and I just don't remember.

231
Possibly...but I'm more smarter than him.

Tomorrow, Diamond Leung will live-blog the 2008 debuts of Kuo and McDonald:

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/prosports/2008/02/breakfast_at_dodgertown.html

The Verizon commercial with the girl checking college basketball scores is pretty funny. " I'd really like for my sister Nancy to talk to me again, but I'll settle for a ride home."

234 Anthony Lane is the best--and wittiest--reviewer going. His collection, "Nobody's Perfect," is howlingly funny.

235- Sorry I called you defective.

at this point last year we were set in stone LuGo/Pierre/ Either-Kemp last year our two constants were LuGo and Pierre heading into opening day. At least we're taking steps in the right direction with our 2 constants being Jones and Kemp, maybe next year another step will be taken.

240 - No need - no offense taken.

241. Kind of like potty training. This year the Dodgers are only wetting the bed.
vr, Xei

Someone probably has answered this before...and probably more than once, so forgive me....

Will the pre-season games air live on the radio (now that they are with AM790)?

243 Are we back to potty training chat? Yippee! This weekend was a big success. 2 1/2 days of big-girl-pants. One accident. I think that's setting a reasonable standard for the Dodgers in your analogy.

244 http://tinyurl.com/ysparc

245 Is this the big girl who loves malts?

246 That's the one. Next time I bring her to a game, I'll spend half the time chasing her down the aisles, half the time feeding her malts, and the other half the time accompanying her to the bathroom.

241 Now that is a hopefull thought.

Cannon thanks for the Pecotas, which I hadn't been able to wangle any other way.
Jon's question about Pitching vs. batters had me looking at both when I noticed something odd. I appreciate counting vs. rate stats, and I understand how relievers get a boost in general by being able to throw their best stuff harder when they know they only have to pitch a few innings.
but it still seems strange that Hulls ERA(obviously a rather simplistic stat) is lower than Penny's, Lowe's and Kuroda's. Is this straight ERA, and can anyone take a stab at why this might be so?

242- Well, I think you're only saying that so that we don't have to kiss in front of everybody. But, alright. The Andrew Shimmin Dodger Thoughs Los Angeles Jon Weisman Memorial Celebrity Colorblindness Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race for the Cure 5K is still on. And it's mandatory, people.

THE MINOTAUR is on the cover the L.A. Times Dodger page.

249
Is it a power walk 5k?

ASDTLJWMCCAPAFRRFTC is a catchy acronym.

248 even if ethier and pierre split time their outfield is a signifigant improvement from last year right? i mean hey after the weather yesterday and stepping outside today it helps me have a positive outlook on life.

Not sure why this is only in the San Diego paper at the moment, of all places, but here's a new piece on Jason Repko:
http://tinyurl.com/yrd96f

>>It's been a while since Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Jason Repko felt this good.

The 27-year-old, who missed all of last season because of a torn left hamstring, credits his good health in part to some changes in his training regimen and also to a recent life change.

Repko returned to workouts Monday after taking four days off for the arrival of his first child, Tyler Jason Repko, who was born Thursday in Washington. The birth was done by a scheduled C-section so Repko could be sure to be there.

"Right now, it's hard to explain because I feel like I'm in a dream world, where I was here focusing on baseball, and then all of a sudden I'm back home having a baby – the most amazing experience in your life – and then within that quick of a snap, you're back," said Repko. <<

oops. That should be:

ASDTLAJWMCCAPAFRRFTC

248 The average reliever has a lower ERA than the average starter, and Hull looks pretty prime to be an average reliever. PECOTA also hates Penny and Lowe, which contributes to that.

I'm colorblind too. If I understand the gene thing correctly, Jon's maternal grandfather had to have been colorblind, and while there is no chance that any of Jon's kids will be colorblind, his daughter's male children have a good chance to be.

Andrew Shimmin Dodger Thoughts Los Angeles Jon Weisman Memorial Celebrity Colorblindness Awareness Pro-Am Fun Run Race for the Cure 5K

I noticed how you put your own name in there. And how you're presuming Jon is dying soon, since you call it a "Memorial". Don't think I'm not wise to your ways, Andrew. I will be placing extra charms in my comments to ward off the evil spirits you're bringing here.

continuing on my positive thinking...

-kuroda+ schmidt/loaiza >X5 than tomko/hendrickson
- if laroche can meet our resonable DT projections, huge upgrade at 3B
- Hu/Abreu upgrade over lucielle II
- Furcal has nowhere to go but up
- Arizona had one of the luckiest seasons ever (79-83 pythagorean record)
- potential bullpen upgrade with mcdonald/meload
- sd, and col did nothing to get better.

only cons i can think of
- Loney, Kemp, Kent, not expected to have the same level of OPS this season
- potential penny decline

and the '07 club was in the race for 85% of the season.

now the only question when i go to vegas next weekend is what % of my paycheck do i put on the dodgers winning the WS

257 - That's generally how it goes, though I don't know if those rules are rigid.

My brother's colorblind too.

'30 Rock': Where Are You?

http://weblogs.variety.com/season_pass/2008/02/30-rock-where-a.html

Also, as others have pointed out before, the Dodgers will have some previously injured prospects healthy this season. This will give L.A. playing-time alternatives as well as some trade chips come summer.

259 I agree with your positives there, those are all potential improvements (I say potential for not wanting to jinx them with injuries), though it's hard to know if McDonald or Meloan will be in the bullpen to start the year. I can definitely see Meloan, at least, coming up within a few months. As alex notes, there's more potential positives with the other young guys they have in stock.

But don't bet on your own team for God'sakes! Talk about jinxing things... I learned long ago, the hard way, never to do that.

263 If the odds haven't changed recently, the Dodgers really are the only good bet this year, unless you really want to roll the dice with the Reds.

If you're going to bet on baseball, the best way to go is the team's over/under win total. And the best advice is always to bet against the Yankees -- there are so many Yankee fans betting that they tend to skew the odds to where the number is unrealistic.

A couple of years ago, I won a bit of cash betting the under when the over/under for Yankee wins was 104. I mean, that's a ridiculous number -- expecting a team to get 104 wins?

To paraphrase Kevin, if someone gives you an over/under of 104 on ANY team, you take it.

264 I'm talking superstition here, not the odds. Betting on one's own team can set in motion a very dark outcome. Beware!

256 Thanks Reg--that helps a bit.

266 What's the worst that can happen, the Dodgers don't win again? I'm pretty used to that by now.

266 so is your answer to my 259 0%?

269 My answer: 100%. Go for broke!

268
Now THAT was funny...

Other possible negatives:
-Haren to the DBacks.
-R.Johnson can only get healthier.
-DBAcks youngins improve
-Rockies pitching staff is healthier
-Rockies young players improve
-Mark Prior is healthier (yeah right!)

Other possible positives:
-Giants lose Bonds
-Edmonds is old
-DBacks possible downgrade at closer
-Bob racks up frequent flier mileage.

vr, Xei

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I had success betting AGAINST the Dodgers at certain times over the last two years. I was very in-tune with Grady's weird lineup rhythms. I knew that when he was going to be benching a number of players at the same time (like Martin and Kent, etc.), that he was pretty much mailing in that particular game.

A fan ought to know his team better than any bookmaker. I root with my heart, but I bet with my head.

Okay, fine, any of you want to jinx your team go ahead - but I sentence you to having to watch "The Hottie and the Nottie" as your karmic punishment.

Yeah, I agree the over/under is a bet you can win, it just doesn't pay very good when you take into account the juice. I've made three pre-season bets in Vegas on teams to win the championship. They were...

1. Dallas Cowboys the year Troy Aikman won his first Super Bowl.
2. Philadelphia Phillies the year they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in the W.S. And yes, Mitch Williams is on my list. :)
3. Baltimore Ravens the year they won the Super Bowl (20:1).

#3 I won $800 on. Those are the only three times I've made such a bet.

vr, Xei

Before the 1997 season I was telling people to bet that the Marlins would win the World Series and everyone just laughed at me.

So the average player sees their salary almost double in second year arbitration and go up 33% more in third year arbitration.

If Martin asks for six million we could end up paying him 18 million by the time he reaches his fourth year of arbitration.

If anyone is going to Vero Beach for Opening Day and NEEDS a ticket... I just had a friend back out on me and I have an extra ticket for the 2/28 game vs. Atlanta at Holman Stadium. I am 1st row on the 3rd base side so we should get good autographs.

Email me at LVproduction@yahoo.com if you're interested. Thanks!

276. How much did you put on them and what were their odds?
vr, Xei

So, 4 years, 45 million dollars. I bet Colletti's spurned offer didn't look like that.

272
How am I getting the frequent flyer mileage? I will make it happen!

279
I was 12, so I could not bet. I was just telling my extended family to bet on them because they are into gambling on sports.

Obviously, I would not trust a 12 year old either, but I turned out to be right.

282. Oh a child prodigy sports gambler. :)
vr, Xei

281. Seems like you've been flying all over the world and country of late.
Europe, St Louis, North Dakota (or some place off the beaten path), Hawaii, am I forgetting anything?
vr, Xei

284 sounds like the next Wes Anderson movie.

286
If I'm in a Wes Anderson film, you can be sure that he had compromising photos of me to force me to do it.

287
Like you in a USC sweatshirt?

288
Like me selling enriched plutonium to the North Koreans.

Actually if you had 284 + 285 then you have the next Wes Anderson film.

add, not had.

Sigh, my fingers are not getting along with my brain today.

289 Or building houses for Saddam.

Vegas sets the Over/Under on the NPUT at 318.5. Place your bets.
vr, Xei

Over!

294. I'm going to wait til Jon places his bet.
vr, Xei

Any of you guys see that Eduardo injury over the weekend?

I feel like Jeff Kent right now, I don't know where exactly to direct my anger/disappointment/sadness.

265. The Russell Baze approach to baseball betting.

Ok, lets try this.

In other injury news, Jerry Owens tweaked his groin.

Get well soon Jerry, but I think Juan Pierre might be able to teach you a thing or two about not getting a tweaked groin. Make it happen, Ken!

Why the Internet is a bad thing sometimes.

Check where UCLA is ranked in a poll of Yahoo sports voter.

http://tinyurl.com/ypbmpj

299 And yet if you click on "view complete results," they're #2.

300
In the words of Kent Brockman, "Democracy just doesn't work."

299
Good thing the Pac-10 is on FSN.

The Bill James Online site does have some interesting stats.

Which Dodger drove in Juan Pierre the most last year? (And it wasn't Juan Pierre, but you knew that).

Answer to come later on.

Those Yahoo rankings (after clicking View Complete Results) have 3,142 comments.

304
I went through a few pages of comments and it is just people saying their college will win the championship.

I guess no one objects to UCLA being ranked 21st.

Young Dodgers look up to Andruw Jones

http://tinyurl.com/35zsuj

Torre gives Delwyn Young an infield look

http://tinyurl.com/2um368

Just another reason why Andrew despises MLBAM.

http://tinyurl.com/2ydqog

303 Okay, no one bit, so here is the answer, Jeff Kent, he drove in Juan Pierre 26 times in 2007.

306
"While Pierre noted that his game at the plate was "not pretty" and therefore often unappreciated (he didn't hit a home run in 2007)..."

R.I.P. Omar Little

You took it to the streets and the streets got you.

309
I thought Kent was the only answer, but I thought it had to be someone not obvious since you asked.

Too bad Vin won't be calling the Friday game. How long will we have to wait before getting the definitive word on whether Jones has "Cow Man" tattooed on his arm?

Tony Jackson on Jason Schmidt:

>> Jason Schmidt won't pitch in a Grapefruit League game until after he pitches in a simulated game on the minor-league side, and Joe Torre said he isn't sure when that will be. But Jason remains right on track in his rehab, and if he doesn't suffer any kind of setback (which he hasn't come close to suffering yet), it's tough to imagine he won't be ready to join the rotation by the start of the season. <<

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/

312 Nahh, I only ask the obvious questions.

Also for Nate and Canuck, today's note mention that Bryan Morris was throwing today with Kershaw, Adkins and Akin in front of Dodger management, including Torre.

308- Let's just all thank Ch-i that "formal press conferences" are exempt from the new restrictions. Because that's what baseball is really about.

Some day, MLBAM will get a corkage fee for people drinking beer at home while watching the game.

311 The people at Salon.com have proclaimed him the greatest character in television history.

311
Well, I guess I won't be surprised by that when I watch the Wire from the beginning.

311 This seems to be a spoiler of some kind. Shucks.

308 That picture of Jeff Murad won't cause me to avoid any similar content--though its close

Dodgers Notes: Sweeney introduces Idol idea

>> Sweeney first cleared the idea with veteran leaders Nomar Garciaparra and Jeff Kent, among others, <<

## The younger Piazza is now 39, unsigned, rehabbing three tears of his rotator cuff while playing the role of father to 1-year-old daughter Nicoletta. He had only eight home runs last year while battling injuries as a designated hitter for Oakland after 15 consecutive seasons of double-figure homers for a career total of 427.

"I've never seen a father like him," said the elder Piazza. "He pushes her in the stroller every day. I don't know whether he'll play again. He had an opportunity in Japan, but didn't go. I was hoping he'd come back to the Dodgers and go into the Hall of Fame as a Dodger." ##

http://tinyurl.com/2z9cbj

I didn't intend to be a spoiler. Sorry folks. I honestly figured the only people who knew the name were those who watch religiously and therefore couldn't have gone to sleep without watching last night.

I tend to save up Wire episodes so I can watch multiple episodes at once. Fortunately, I'd already seen this one a week ago.

Some of the things that may not be so bad about being a small market or even a moderate pay-roll team. In this case we probably would have been forced to use Houlton, Stults and Hull instead of Tomdrickson and Loiasa.

Kershaw is fitting in at Dodgers camp

http://tinyurl.com/3xwogs

It's like they don't want anybody to go to their games.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/429786.html

325 Torre's outlook on bringing up young pitching was encouraging.

317 - And in doing so, do they consider other characters in TV history? Or is it just, The Wire is so great, this must be the greatest character in TV history?

Everyone needs to check out this hilarious video right away. Sorry if this has already been mentioned...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JW7q0JzWaoY

Standards of parenthood:

Vince Piazza, on his son, new parent Mike Piazza:

"I've never seen a father like him," said the elder Piazza. "He pushes her in the stroller every day."

http://tinyurl.com/2z9cbj

329 - It's cool - this made the rounds last fall thanks to Sons of Steve Garvey. Tony Jackson just discovered it, so it's making the rounds again.

328 The latter. It was a couple of people making asides; they didn't have a comprehensive discussion of the issue.

328
It's pretty much an offhand comment I think. It's not a thorough look at TV history.

331 I think the reason Tony Jackson just discovered it is because it was shown to the players during the Dodgers' most recent team meeting, according to Gurnick.

334 - Yes, Tony Jackson says as much.

I'm not certain Omar is even the greatest character on The Wire. You'd also have to consider Bubbles, D'Angelo, Stringer Bell, Frank Sobotka, and Freamon.

293 Oh, the over won, obviously. You could probably make a lot of money on this by bribing Jon to shave posts.

Can someone please remind me why we traded Mike Piazza? I don't seem to recall.

The Spurs scored five points the first quarter of their game against the Hawks.

Unnamed sources are reporting that Matt Kemp will be interviewed tonight by Joe McDonnell on KLAC (570 AM Los Angeles) between now and 11 p.m.

i find Gurnick's answer in his mailbag to locking up young players long term, rather amusing.

315

I wonder where they are going to start Morris off this year.

340 Let's hope he shares some of his newly learned bunting tips.

338 Because we didn't want to pay him like he was the best player in the game even though he was.

340 I can't believe McDonell has a job still. I thought when I heard him on the Sunday morning show on Angry Liberal radio it was the end for him.

336 McNulty is interesting, so is Bunk, Griggs, and Avon. Michael Lee and his gaggle of hoppers carried the show through the education season. I also like Daniels and his Hamsterdam idea.

Anyone here with experience visiting Coors Field? I just found out I'll be in Denver on business May 4th which is the last game of the Dodgers trip there. The game is at 1:05 local. I was just wondering what time I would need my flight to arrive in Denver to get to the park on time. I also found out I'll be in Huntsville in April when the Suns are in town. This is shaping up to be a good year.

Kevin Durant needs a new cell phone. Or ESPN needs a new board op.

338 - Because life sucks?

344 Beyond AM...beyond FM...beyond XM...it's AL! Angry Liberal!

My wife and I just started watching The Wire, from the beginning. We're almost through Season 1.

So, basically anything any of you say about it is a spoiler, because, if nothing else, it tells me that certain characters are still around in the current season.

I recognize that it's my problem for starting so late, not yours.

and I don't know if I missed it, but Josh Rawich mentions that there's a James Loney chat tomorrow at 5PM local time, which is of course 2PM in LA.

Google says it's a 35 minute drive (in traffic) from the airport to the stadium. Given the way Coloradans drive, though, I'd guess ninety minutes, easy.

http://tinyurl.com/257ljh

341
Someone needs to introduce Gurnick to Grady Sizemore.

The only lock up deals I can think of that didn't work out in favor of the club are Eric Hinske, Bobby Crosby, and Rich Harden. And Crosby & Harden haven't been a huge hindrance to Oakland anyway.

Tulowitzki's deal is sure to save Colorado money. His first year of arbitration is 2010, and he's set to make 3.5/5.5/8.5 through his arb years (not to mention one FA year bought out, plus an option for a 2nd). I'm 100% certain Tulo would make more than that if allowed to go to arbitration each year -- especially given Howard's recent win.

I can see not wanting to lock up non-stars (like Ethier), but someone like Martin needs to be locked up. It will save the Dodgers a ton of money.

350
Kind of like how I just started watching Lost, even though I have never seen the first couple of seasons.

Hard to ignore Lost, when everyone talks about it. Might as well just start watching.

352 Yes, I already looked it up on GPS as far as estimated driving time. I was just looking for real life information such as, how slow is it to get out of the airport, how accessible and quick is parking at the stadium, and how long are the concession lines so I can have my beer and dog.

346 I go there every year. it is an easy 30 minute drive once you get the rental car. That should take you 30 minutes from the gate.

There is a lot of little lots within 3-4 blocks of the stadium for $10 or less. Lots of concessions, not many people at day games. In RF corner there is a western themed restaurant with a kick ass pattymelt

Surely folks considering starting fanatsy leagues will want to explore the offerings at Jon's new advertiser . . .

Nats radio guy Charlie Slowes responds to fan complaints that he doesn't provide the score often enough.

(Which is a very, very fair complaint by the way.)

http://tinyurl.com/342phk

Just kind of like that such complaints reached him and he is willing to engage.

Bret Boone comments on the alcohol problem that forced him from the game. http://tinyurl.com/2ruylm

I'll stop now with the Nats notes.

4 minutes!

Single game Nats tix go on sale next week. Dodgers in town in August.

360
Being an alcoholic and taking steroids cannot be a good thing for your mind and body.

Consistency, confidence boost Loney

http://tinyurl.com/226v6o

Dodger fan asks Selig to squeeze team for exit date

http://tinyurl.com/ypgtkc

I believe this is what's known as a "leap comment."

OK, so Billingsley starts on Thursday vs Atlanta. If he throws too many pitches, will a certain beat writer overanalyze it?

Sports talk radio this am suggested Sosa would be a good fit with the Padres. He has no team and might go cheap with an incentive type contract. He OPS'ed .779 last year with 21 HR in just over 400 AB. Interesting.

Happy 93rd birthday to Preacher Roe! His 1951 season with the Dodgers was quite good.

368 The .311 OBP and 112 Ks are very ugly.

360- In one breath, Boone says that his alcohol addiction forced him from the game. And then in the next breath, he says: "I got to a point where I could tell the difference in myself and I wanted to get it before it became an issue."

One would think that an addiction that has ended one's career has already become an issue.

371 Isn't "denial" one of the stages?

370 Padres team OBP last year was .322 D'Backs was .321 and Giants were .322. He'd fit right in.

346 - I live in Denver. DIA to Coors Field is probably around 45 minutes. Day game traffic is minimal. As 357 noted, don't park in the official lot. I usually park in a lot on 18th and Market for $5. This lot has the benefit of being between a lot of the pre-game places to hang out and is only about 3 blocks from the field. If you want a bite to eat before the game go to Swanky's or LoDo Bar & Grill. The first has good beer deals and great food (nachos & habanero popcorn shrimp), but is a dive. The men's room is wallpapered with Playboy centerfolds. LoDo's is neither good, nor reasonably priced, but it does have a nice rooftop deck if the day is nice. Best tickets for the money in my book are right field first level. But the place will be empty and the ushers are usually cool with you moving around.

New post up top.