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About Jon
Thank You For Not ...

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

Welcome Back, Yhency (And Esteban?)
2008-03-04 21:28
by Jon Weisman

It was just an inning, but it was nice to hear about Yhency Brazoban's return to the mound tonight: three batters, two strikeouts, one groundout.

Meanwhile, Esteban Loaiza also had a good day, pitching two scoreless innings. Last week, Ken Gurnick told us at MLB.com that pitching coach Rick Honeycutt had altered his delivery, prior to Loaiza's poor Spring Training debut:

"Flat": That was the word right-hander Esteban Loaiza used after allowing three runs (two on a homer by Javy Lopez) in two innings Friday. ... Loaiza blamed his Friday problems on a tweaked delivery, suggested by pitching coach Rick Honeycutt. The adjustment changes Loaiza's knee raise to force hip turn, generate lower-body power and greater pitch velocity, but his fastball hovered around the mid-80s and he sounded uncomfortable with the delivery change.

"It's what Honeycutt wants me to do," Loaiza said. "I was too rushed on it, just did it in the bullpen two days ago and took it into the game and I wasn't my normal self. Next time, I'll have a good idea what I'm doing and not have things in my head. [Brad] Penny, [Derek] Lowe, [Tanyon] Sturtze, [Scott] Proctor are doing it [the knee raise]. If I'm not comfortable with it, I won't bring it into the game."

This week, we learned that essentially, Loaiza has rejected Honeycutt's suggestion.

Loaiza said he abandoned a tweak in his delivery, went back to his usual mechanics and felt better than he has since prior to last year's neck and knee operations.

"I just stayed tall and drove the ball down," he said. "I wanted to keep throwing, but Joe Torre said that's it. I was more relaxed today, going back to me delivery. I felt great. I wasn't happy with the results last week, and I didn't want people to be thinking negative stuff about me."

Finally, Dylan Hernandez of the Times rounds up the hopefully minor ailments of pitchers Hong-Chih Kuo, Takashi Saito and 2007 first-round pick James Adkins.

* * *

I'm pretty far past the age of getting addicted to video games - blogging pretty much eliminates the time for that - but my son, the car fanatic, likes to go to HotWheels.com, and I've found this game strangely entrancing. I have even played it a couple times after he goes to bed.

Comments (65)
Show/Hide Comments 1-50
2008-03-04 21:55:06
1.   Bob Timmermann
OK, I stink at that game.
2008-03-04 21:56:50
2.   Icaros
Goodness, that game is hard.
2008-03-04 22:00:14
3.   bhsportsguy
Oh good, it wasn't just me who thought that.
2008-03-04 22:02:58
4.   Eric Enders
My score was 32. I gather that's bad. I suspect that if I ever manage to figure out how to actually play, it will be higher.
2008-03-04 22:03:08
5.   Icaros
Those cars kept honking at me. I was trying to help them, but there were too many, and they wouldn't go away.
2008-03-04 22:09:49
6.   Jon Weisman
Yeah, you have to figure out the game - then you can play for, like, almost forever.
2008-03-04 22:10:13
7.   Jon Weisman
New post down below.
2008-03-04 22:12:15
8.   Jon Weisman
I wrote a reply to Tony in the older thread on his blog. Nate did a nice job with his reply in the newer thread.
2008-03-04 22:18:07
9.   fanerman
Nice reply Nate.
2008-03-04 22:23:05
10.   Jon Weisman
Plaschke, as if on cue ...
2008-03-04 22:25:36
11.   bhsportsguy
The campaign season has rubbed off, first Tony Jackson and now our old friend Bill Plaschke tells us that Juan Pierre was not the problem for the Dodgers last year.

That press conference that Jon attended seems like a long time ago.

2008-03-04 22:30:03
12.   Eric Enders
11,119 on the second try. So much better than 32.
2008-03-04 22:34:23
13.   bhsportsguy
By all accounts, Juan Pierre is a nice guy, doesn't cause any trouble, is in early, and probably never blows off a reporter.

Also, the fact that "bloggers" and "stat guys" argue against Pierre's playing time probably helps guys like Plaschke find even more reason to support Pierre.

2008-03-04 22:35:15
14.   Bob Timmermann
In the words of Al Swearingen, "I'll offer a bounty of fifty dollars for every logical flaw pointed out in Plaschke's column! With no upper limit.... And oh yeah, (Rule 1 violation) is half off for the next 15 minutes."
2008-03-04 22:40:26
15.   trainwreck
You guys are forgetting that Juan is a championship-level player.
2008-03-04 22:43:11
16.   jasonungar07
Deadwood quotes never get old.
2008-03-04 22:43:37
17.   Louis in SF
I just read the Plaschke article and have followed and made my own comments on the JP situation.

But what is so crazy about the situation is JP's is doing what was expected of him-he isn't going to perform much better. Either may perform better, but even if his stats remain the same he contributes more to the Dodgers, defense power, position flexibility, etc. However, nothing is going to change because of the JP contract. I think the JP, Either situation will be a problem all year. Our best hope is for some team to have a centerfielder get injured and see if a trade can be made.

2008-03-04 22:49:59
18.   trainwreck
17
I do not think Pierre's contract is the problem. I think the fact that we still have no idea how to judge performance, is the real problem.
2008-03-04 22:51:21
19.   fanerman
14 I tried, but I can't. I just can't read it. It makes me want to cry. Everything is so wrong. So horribly wrong. The mind set, the execution, everything.

It's so depressing. It can't be real. This is just a nightmare. But soon I'm gonna wake up. Someone's gonna bring me around. Right? Right?

2008-03-04 22:52:58
20.   Dodgers49
Kershaw gives Dodgers a glimpse of his potential

>> but Kershaw used a fastball that topped out at 97 mph and a vicious curveball to strike out three batters, two with the bases loaded. <<

http://tinyurl.com/3agtl8

''A fastball that topped out at 97 mph and a vicious curveball," puts him pretty close to Sandy Koufax territory. I followed Koufax his entire career although I didn't see him pitch in person until 1962. Here's what I recall based on what was being written in the newspapers at the time.
When Koufax pitched for the Brooklyn Dodgers his fastball was probably in the 98-100 mph range. He had the best fastball in the Major Leagues. The problem was he couldn't control it. He didn't become a great pitcher until he developed his curveball and learned to take something off his fastball. But "taking something off his fastball" didn't mean dropping all the way down into the 90-93 mph range as some here have suggested. During the 1960s when Koufax was pitching no-hitters and striking out more than 300 batter per season his fastball was probably in the 95-97 range with an occasional 98. In other words, he probably still had the base fastball in baseball. It's just that he was throwing it a few mph less than maximum effort. Is Kershaw the next Koufax? Maybe not. But it's going to be a thing of beauty to watch if he comes anywhere close to Sandy.

2008-03-04 22:53:01
21.   fanerman
I think I was in shell shock for awhile.
2008-03-04 22:54:30
22.   jasonungar07
What it comes down to for me is that I feel they must know who the better player is. Enough people around dodgertown know, they have to right. There is not one situation in the game you would rather have Pierre hitting over Ethier. . I don't think it is right to say, well by June, Torre will adjust etc...That is what last year was for..Ned was here. It's beyond Juan Pierre now for me, it's what the situation represents.
2008-03-04 22:54:32
23.   trainwreck
Plaschke is like the Boogeyman. It is best to just ignore him and he will go away.
2008-03-04 22:56:04
24.   fanerman
23 If Plaschke is the Dodger Boogeyman, who is the Dodger Chuck Norris?
2008-03-04 22:58:02
25.   Yu-Hsing Chen
Aarrrragh plz be alright Kuo
2008-03-04 22:59:39
26.   Jon Weisman
"Details behind Wooden's injury"

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-dwyre5mar05,1,7465315.column?

2008-03-04 22:59:51
27.   fanerman
The other thing I don't understand is how everybody just ignores Andre Ethier. They talk about Pierre this and Pierre that, but they completely ignore Andre's ballplaying abilities and character. Like Pierre must play, and it doesn't matter if Manny Ramirez is the "other" left fielder. Pierre must play because he's the champion of the old school baseball guys, or whatever. Everybody else is irrelevant.
2008-03-04 23:02:38
28.   Icaros
Plaschke's article taught me that the only reason Pierre's arm was a problem was because we were the first fans to ever point out that it was a problem.
2008-03-04 23:03:13
29.   jasonungar07
18 really? not dissing..just like really? i mean look at all us, we can't be that much smarter (lol) on who is better..anyways like all the baseball guys around the team (everyone from trainers to advanced scouts etc) must know..Torre must see that Ethier is pretty darn good already..?

It's like the Play Juan Pierre press campaign has begun. It's like the wire. What's the Sun running? ok..Bill get on out there and do the Pierre thing but with your one line BS..make it better than Jacksons..

(as he is walking away)...his shirts are horrible..I need that by 4..
(Bill stuttering/laughing) it's basically all ready written chief..

2008-03-04 23:05:22
30.   trainwreck
24
When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for the Minotaur!!!
2008-03-04 23:06:54
31.   Bob Timmermann
Jon is correct. You can play that game forever. Back to Day 8 of my auto repair empire.
2008-03-04 23:10:10
32.   fanerman
30 TrueBlueLA has a pretty cool picture of a Minotaur. I'm not sure if it's "the" Minotaur, but cool nonetheless. Maybe I'll print it out and put it over my bed to ward off Dodger's Boogeyman.
2008-03-04 23:11:41
33.   trainwreck
26
Maybe UCLA needs to re-hire Lavin so Coach Wooden won't have to get himself so worked up during March Madness.

Just stay safe, Coach.

2008-03-04 23:12:49
34.   Bob Timmermann
16198 and I better cut it out for tonight.
2008-03-04 23:12:54
35.   bigcpa
He finished with 41 runs batted in, the same as in the championship year.

Please Bill, take the buyout. Please.

2008-03-04 23:16:56
36.   Daniel Zappala
I'm still going on that game, and I have to stop because my finger has stopped working. Dumb trackpad.
2008-03-04 23:36:31
37.   Andrew Shimmin
28- Hey, I'm sorry I misread you, in the last post. I read the question as taunting (like when I used to, very obnoxiously, ask my sister what being ugly was like). Because of In Treatment, I know that it's called "projecting," when you see overly familiar traits in other people's words. If you feel you have to sleep with your boss to get back at me, I'll understand.
2008-03-04 23:44:09
38.   bhsportsguy
34 24000+, thanks Jon, makes me forget all about Plaschke and Tony Jackson. Now, should I open the repair shop or just keep improving my gas station?
2008-03-04 23:47:58
39.   El Lay Dave
From Dylan Hernandez's article:
"He [Kershaw] gave up a home run and had the bases loaded, but he didn't back off one bit," he [Torre] said. "That's good insides for me."

That's the famous Belly Full Of Guts, isn't it?

2008-03-04 23:56:20
40.   Eric Enders
38 "Now, should I open the repair shop or just keep improving my gas station?"

You should trade the gas station, the repair shop, the tire store, and the snack bar for a new Datsun. And sign the junkyard to a 5 year, $44 million deal.

2008-03-05 00:01:08
41.   jasonungar07
This is great for wire fans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwxIZbXdWCQ

1 min long. (NSFW) (sheee)

2008-03-05 00:12:45
42.   bhsportsguy
40 1/2 this site is wondering, what's a Datsun?
2008-03-05 00:26:53
43.   Louis in SF
18

I don't know if you call me a Dodger conspiracy person or not, but if JP's contract was exactly the same in years and he had produced the same stats, but was being paid 3million a year instead of a tad over 9million, the talk in camp would be I think at minimum, will use Either for situations when we want more power, and when we feel we need more speed will use JP. Ethier would be a central part of the conversation, JP would have to compete for the job. However, since he has the large contract, Ethier has to do something incredible and he still will not be guaranteed a spot, or even a platoon.

2008-03-05 00:48:41
44.   Andrew Shimmin
Every time Bob mentions his Dead to Me/On Notice list, I go look at it, and my fury at Tony LaRussa is reignited. How could he not pinch hit Albert Pujols for Rowand?! Some day, all this Pierre business will be like that.
2008-03-05 01:13:36
45.   overkill94
So apparently I'm stuck in Detroit since my flight to Cleveland is now re-scheduled for 6 am...THURSDAY MORNING. I'm now contemplating whether my bags are now sitting on a carousel somewhere, whether if I leave them alone they'll still end up on my flight, or whether I should just go try to retrieve them no matter what. For now I think I'll just go back to sleep after receiving a whopping 3 hours last night.
2008-03-05 03:41:41
46.   Suffering Bruin
Bloggers downright brutalize him.

Because Bill Plaschke would never, ever brutalize anybody in print. It just wouldn't happen.

Yeah, right.

2008-03-05 03:42:42
47.   Suffering Bruin
43 Exactly.
2008-03-05 04:57:02
48.   Ken Noe
There was a time when fans listened to reporters and columnists.

We were famous. We went on ESPN. We were king.

If someone was on steroids, we could hide it.

Then came the internet. A series of tubes.

On the internets they hate Juan Pierre.

I like Juan Pierre. He has a ring in a box.

Don't read the internets. They have no ring in a box.

They don't go on ESPN.

2008-03-05 05:32:19
49.   gpellamjr
35 He also had the same getting into bed/getting out of bed (gib/gob) ratio of 1 as in 2003. The guy is just incredibly consistent. And as we all know, consistency is the key.
2008-03-05 05:53:40
50.   StolenMonkey86
He's [Pierre is] one of only three Dodgers with a World Series ring.

Plaschke must only be counting active players, but even then, Nomar has a WS ring.

As for other people with the organization. Joe Torre has a few WS rings. Rick Honeycutt has one from 1989. Tommy Lasorda has a couple.

Plaschke clearly isn't a numbers guy.

Show/Hide Comments 51-100
2008-03-05 05:58:30
51.   StolenMonkey86
He [Furcal] also couldn't move Pierre along the bases as a good No. 2 hitter should do.

Plaschke doesn't really remember last season. Pierre almost always batted 2nd. Why does he get paid to have opinions again?

2008-03-05 06:01:00
52.   Jon Weisman
31/36/38 - Those comments really made me laugh!! I'm glad I'm not alone in being sucked in, even temporarily.

I've gotten over 100,000 a couple times, at which point the game starts to malfunction on my computer and becomes even more difficult - cars get trapped at various places and you can't move 'em out.

2008-03-05 06:52:48
53.   StolenMonkey86
45671. I'll play again tonight, but I've got class pretty soon.
2008-03-05 07:00:27
54.   Bumsrap
The Dodgers current lineup is loaded with right hadned hitters so they need a left side hitter down in the line up to break up the right side hitters. Loney and Ethier are needed somewhere in the 3 to 7 spots more than the team needs two leadoff hitters in the first two spots.

The best thing Ethier has going for him is Martin, Kent, Kemp, Jones, and LaRoche/Nomar. The thing most going against Pierre is Furcal--the team already has a lead off hitter.

2008-03-05 07:06:44
55.   Terry A
Wow. I went to check on the fun at Tony Jackson's Dance Party (while completely ignoring Plaschke, as usual), and I noticed that, according to the Daily News, Davey Lopes has prostrate cancer.

In other news, Tony Jackson seems like a fairly nice guy. It's kind of sad that he doesn't grasp the silliness of his faith in Pierre.

2008-03-05 07:33:43
56.   Penarol1916
I'm going to have to check out that game tonight with my boys as their obsession with Thomas is slowly but surely giving way to an obsession with Hotwheels. I wonder if we'll here anything about how Brazoban is feeling and if his fastball has gained any movement. If I recall correctly, the biggest problem with him was that his fastball was really straight.
2008-03-05 07:52:21
57.   Icaros
37

You didn't misread. It was taunting.

Others took it literally. It's all a mess.

2008-03-05 07:54:05
58.   hotblackdesiato
John, I'm glad to see you offering some balance over at Tony's blog. This whole debate is giving me an aneurism.

For what it's worth, I added my buck-two-five:
http://tinyurl.com/2zf4rl

2008-03-05 07:56:57
59.   JoeyP
What are the chances that Chan Ho Park is the Dodgers #5 starter to begin the year?
2008-03-05 08:19:31
60.   regfairfield
59 Zero. The 40 man roster is crowded enough as it is. Putting Chan Ho in the mix makes things a bigger mess. As it is right now all the NRI's are fighting over one spot.
2008-03-05 08:27:40
61.   Improbable88
The pointed scrutiny you fellas have added over on Jackson's blog is tremendous.

Though I contribute very little, such a show makes me proud to be a part of this online community.

2008-03-05 08:36:11
62.   bhsportsguy
Today's lineup against the Mets.

Young RF
Loney 1B
Jones CF
Kent 2B
Nomar DH
LaRoche 3B
Ethier LF
Bennett C
Hu SS
Penny P

2008-03-05 08:43:36
63.   Jon Weisman
New post up top.
2008-03-05 08:53:40
64.   Ken Noe
I like Jackson too, but I do wonder why all these writers are circling the wagons around JP. Because he's more accessable? He's nice? They hated Moneyball? Are blogs such a threat to the newspaper community that we have to be put back in our place? There just seems to be more to this than a left fielder.
2008-03-05 22:20:10
65.   Joe Pierre
Loaiza could be the ? for team this year. Brazo is another one. He'll have to take 2 steps backward. The first step would lead him back to the Gagne' replacement time. NO NO that's no good. 1 more step the promising young right hander with the golden arm we picked up from the Yanks. Don't think he can go that far back? You neeehver knoooow.

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