I am a bit late but congrats Jon. I hope all are doing well.

Stan from Tacoma

In the blogging world, we call this nesting...

i didn't read the last post, and sorry if someone already stated this but, from the torre interview on dodgers.com i get the feeling he maybe leaning toward ethier in LF. he was their starting LF yesterday.

3 whatever man, read my post that was LAT'd on the prev thread or I could just post it here.

"In reading Torre on mlb I can't help but get the feeling that Torre is leaning toward Ethier, Jones, Kemp. In fact I wouldn't be suprised if he's already made up his mind, but is just trying to figure out how best to deal with the situation. "

Congrats Jon!

When my first child was born, I had to sit there in the hospital and watch the Dodgers get swept by the Angels. Almost ruined my weekend. Almost.

4 ya i agree, 10 days away from the opener if he hasn't made up his mind already he is probably really close.

This note from today's LA Times:

Torre hasn't settled on an opening-day outfield yet with Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and Juan Pierre still competing for the two spots flanking center fielder Andruw Jones.

Going into the spring it looked as if Pierre's speed and experience would give him an edge. But he's hitting only .200 and has an on-base percentage of .279 while Ethier, who got a rare start against a left-hander Thursday and had two hits, is batting .352 and leads the team in home runs with five. Kemp is hitting .304 and leads the team in RBIs with 15.

"That's going to be my toughest stuff I have to deal with, the outfield," said Torre, who said he spoke to all four players early Thursday, then called Pierre into his office for a short postgame chat. "You have two guys that are experienced and talented. And you have the two kids that are inexperienced and talented. Whatever way you go there's going to be a starting outfielder that's not going to be playing."

3 reading between the lines (Gurnik's piece) it looks like they will start with Pierre but ease Ethier into LF.

8 that's fine. Let Pierre have opening day and then Ethier the rest.

The only thing that bothers me about Torre's comments is that he doesn't place Ethier in the veteran category and refers to him as inexperienced.

3 When Torre says things like this, I think he's leaning towards Ethier:

"I always think big picture over last year. If you decide somebody else should be playing, the decision isn't the hard part."

"A manager might have loyalty to a player, but loyalty to the team takes precedence. If there's a decision that makes the team better, then being loyal to one guy is not fair."

Of course, I probably could take some other quotes out of context and say he's leaning towards Pierre.

And from what I've gathered, the coaches seem impressed with Ethier, too, so this might help:
"What I will do, probably this week, is ask all of my coaches to give me their 25-man rosters and we'll have a discussion. Usually, their opinion on each player is pretty much the same."

I wonder if Tommy will be asked...

A little late with the Congratulations, Jon but Congratulations on the newborn boy. Hope he is healthy, happy and able to make the throw from the hole at short, LOL!!

Well, Dodger fans, as much as we like to agonize over the OF situation, we may have to let it play itself out, and let Torre see that Ethier is the better man, hopefully by early May and not by mid June. My concern right now is getting by at 3B by committee for the time being without Ned Flanders panicking and making a stupid deal that sets us back in the long run. Whether Abreu, Hu, Dewitt or even Young can be plugged in and contribute until Nomar can play some until mid to late June when hopefully LaRoche can be rehabbed to the point he can try and win his job back. This freak injury to LaRoche really set us back this year. Adroin really is this year's "Repko"!!

i think there is a very good chance that our june line-up would consist of jones, kemp, ethier, with laroche at 3rd.

stupid arodin

I couldn't get to a computer yesterday to say, congratulations, pops.

12 After some notes about trying Young at 3B, we've yet to see him play there in an ST game. I'm guessing that means that, at most, they tried it in infield drills and Larry Bowa or someone didn't like what he saw. Just speculating, but if DY's liability at 2B is more hands than range, that might be even more of a problem at the hot corner.

Not sure if it was mentioned by anyone else, but Ned was interviewed on "The Show" on XM yesterday afternoon. It was a typical Larry King(esk) interview by Dibble and Kennedy with a lot of basic questions, nothing new or shocking. The one thing I did take from the interview is in regards to the thirdbase situation. It seems to me if Kent is healthy they will try to make Hu/Abreu work at 3rd. The only way Ned would go out of the organization is if Kent isn't ready and Nomar will be out for an extended period. It seems they want to stay away from Dewitt because his lack of experience and the fact that he is not "roster eligible" as Ned put it.

The other thing I found interesting was Ned mentioned they did have some flexibility with the 40 man roster. He did not, however, mention the DL, but he said that there were some people on the 40 man that he could move and not be a big loss from the team (not an exact quote).

Mazel tov, Jon.

12 Having long years of experience with Torre, that would be his inclination. He prefers to give starting jobs to veterans - the old back-of-the-baseball-card system - and let them play themselves out of a job if necessary. But he will allow them to do that, and will make the change when they do.

Hah, Bronx Banter bringing back memories of Wilton Guerrero.

11 - Tommy didn't want Pedro on his 25-man roster.

17 - If Pierre hasn't already played himself out of a job, his future performance will be so predictable that he will be able to hang on to it. If Ethier hasn't played himself into a job already then the next opportunity to do so would seem to at Kemp's expense.

What interests me is that he spoke with all four outfielders jointly, but then later had JP in privately after he was used solely as a pinch walker. One can only speculate, but unless Torre is a real rat, I doubt he called him in to say "don't worry about not starting (wink, wink) you're my left fielder, don't tell the kids."

The new milb.com organizational report on the Dodgers' prospects is up.

Didn't someone ask about Bryan Morris a little while back? There's some encouraging text in the article: he's 100 percent healthy and ready to resume his climb up the Dodgers' ladder. He threw well in instructs, .... His fastball velocity is all the way back and he's got a nasty curve and a feel for a changeup that will improve as time passes. .... He's improved his mechanics considerably ....

http://tinyurl.com/yrzhpn

21 great point, gun to my head, i'd say etheir jones and kemp is our outfield trio more than any other combo this year. now let's just hurry up and get laroche at 3rd and we have nothing to bitch and moan about, espically if loaiza is true to my 20-7 2.74 era prediction.

tiger tied for the lead, at this moment. lock of the week- tiger wins.

Jon-your new arrival reminds me of when my daughter was born. When I realized that her expected due date was right in the middle of the World Series I thought, "Uh Oh, I see a conflict coming". But then the players and owners got together and decided to forgo the '94 series for me. Nice of 'em wasn't it?

Reading the Furcal piece at Dodgers.com reveals things that weren't common knowledge last year. And some things are obvious in retrospect. The Dodgers would have been better off with Hu playing SS with Furcal returning healthy probably around July. Of course at the time No one knew how Hu's offense would improve or how poor Furcal's would be. It sort of underlines for me the power a player has over whether he plays hurt. While I've been quick to criticize a few players who never seem to play through anything, there is another side.

re. the furcal article. it's alway funny when I hear someone say "we've got guys who want to win". Really, so there are some that don't want to win. I guess there will always be some guys who it is just a job and a paycheck.

"we've got guys who want to win".

See the bus scene in Bull Durham.

23 LOL..

joe torre is about to be on the mike torico show, for those who can't listen i'll try to remember some key comments.

30 I am listening as well. He should be on in a few minutes.

This is very difficult trying to find someone to go to the dodgers game with me today.

5 bajillion college students are out of town.

Congratulations, Jon. There is no joy like the birth of a baby. All the best to you and your bride.

This is my first post, but I have been reading Dodger Thoughts for over 3 years. I was about 7 when the Dodgers beat the ChiSox in the 59 Series. If I recall correctly, Vin did the national TV broadcst of the series, and it was his poetry at the mike that got me hooked, I think. That was the start of a life long passion for the Dodgers, fueled in the beginning by Koufax and Drysdale, of course. Best Dodger moments (so far) were Sandy's no-hitter on my birthday, and (much later) the day Gibson pinch hit the homer in the 88 Series. It was the same day that my beloved Syracuse Orangemen trounced Penn State in football in the Dome (for the first time in decades). Now, that was a good day.

Congratulations to you and your family, Jon.

Boring interview...no roster talk whatsoever.

oh...overkill...I searched the last thread for your email but i couldnt find it for some reason.

npurcell@email.arizona.edu

Lets get rowdy one of these nights.

Torre interview did not cover Dodgers' specifically (again this is a national show).

36 Just don't wear a DodgerThoughts t-shirt, Jon doesn't need any mugshots promoting the site. :)

38

I have two...so he's out of luck. Dodger Thoughts is going to be our official ruckus sponsor.

Belated congratulations to Jon on the kid! And a big 'un he is! Does he play third?

Alright, I'm going to the game today. I'll be wearing the blue DT t-shirt. If someone spots me....come slap my ass or something.

41 Not sure if I caught you in time, but I'll be there as well, just past the 1st base bag I think. I'll be in a white Dodgers jersey, #10 (a shout out to my man Betemit obviously).

It's been driving me a little nuts that I knew the Dodgers spending their per diem on silk suits reminded me of something, but I couldn't remember what. Then I did:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bS7o0U_Tas

3B Jose Castillo was waived by Florida (probably hoping Ned will bite). He was atrocious last year.

44 You never want to hear "we decided to go with Jorge Cantu instead".

43 - that is just ... odd.

44 , 45 - the Dodgers could place a fountain with a statue of Eros peeing into it at third and it would still be a better lineup.

Here's the thing about hiring Joe Torre as manager, he will definitely get on a lot of national radio and TV shows because he just left the highest profile managerial job in baseball. A lot of folks at the 4 letter network got to know him over that time so they will call him up time to time to check in.

This is a case where the person not the team he works for, comes first in the eyes of the media.

Its similar to Phil Jackson as the Lakers coach. Certainly both the Dodgers and Lakers, being the top two franchises for the second largest media market, are places where you will get some coverage anyway but media folks like guys who will give you lots of time, are glib and also have a lot of credibility.

So be prepared that when you hear Joe on these shows, at least until the season is a few months old, you will hear still lots of Yankee references and no one will ask if Delwyn Young is going to play second in the majors.

47 - also, this:

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/436440.html

33 Good screen name. I got Jimmy Lefebvre's autograph when I was about ten, and he lived in Westchester across the street from Airport Junior High (now Hertz RAC).

I'm ready for Ethier to start taking groundballs at third. We know Pierre doesn't have the arm for it..

50 Now that goes back aways. Jim was 1965 ROY. I know he played 2B but do you think we could get a few weeks of 3B out of him now? Sounds as good as some of our other options.

51 The lefty at third base gambit is a rare one.

Dodgers vs. D-Backs at 1 p.m.

Pierre, LF
Furcal, SS
Kemp, RF
Loney, 1B
Jones, A, CF
Hu, 2B
Abreu, 3B
Bennett, C
Park, P

52 Of course Jimmy didn't get along with Lasorda so that probably won't work.

Is DYoung in the doghouse?

Tony Jackson's blog updates have been AWOL

The bench-Pierre movement is starting to pick up steam. Jon Heyman: "It'll take quite an explanation for the Dodgers to give the starting leftfield job to Juan Pierre (.204 this spring) over Andre Ethier (.340, 5 HRs, 13 RBI)."

58 Even when major columinists are right about Pierre, it's for the wrong reasons.

Wonder if Repko has volunteered to take grounders at 3rd. Or Young.

As for how limited playing time would affect different players...trying to stay unbaised, I would think a slap hitter with speed would be less affected by scattered playing time than a hitter with a better eye and more power.

Doesn't seem like you'd have to stay in much of a daily rhythm to go up and hack at anything near the zone and use your legs.

59 Gurnick's guilty too- closing out yesterday's OF column with this...

Through Thursday's game, Pierre is batting .200, Kemp .304 and Ethier .352.

Sommer Mathis -- A girl after Bob's heart.

http://tinyurl.com/yudc7g

62 Two questions: Are you going to opening day/night at the new park?
If the answer is yes, how much time will allow for the security check?

59 I don't particularly care how they arrive at the correct conclusion, just so long as they eventually get there.

Hopefully, Torre will also find his way to the Land of the Blindingly Obvious.

For Repko, it's probably been too long since he routinely fielded grounders. Young might not be too bad at it if his prowess at 2B earlier this spring was legit. If he showed range at 2B, he would probably have good range at 3B as well. His bat should be as good as DeWitt's and Abreu's.

63 I am going. I expect it to be freezing.

I'll probably meet some friends quite early, like 4:00 pm, and walk down around 6:00 for an 8:00 pm game. Walk around the stadium some before sitting down and all that.

And I agree that a slap hitter would probably be less affected by sporadic playing time than a guy who depends more on power and patience.

Pierre upset about possible role with Dodgers

http://tinyurl.com/yst795

a team player indeed...

BTW, what did you guys think of `John Adams'?
I think Bart would be proud of his favorite son...as opposed to his other son, Jr., who spends all his time calling Moe's Bar and watching Krusty.

68 The writing's on the wall. I'm starting to think a Pierre-for-M-INF-and-salary-relief deal is becoming imminent.

68 "I don't expect him to be happy about it," said Torre. "He just wants to know my thinking. I told him when I know, I would let him know before somebody else does."

Anyone want to take a stab at reading between those lines?

Er, that should be, Pierre for a corner infielder and salary relief.

69 I did not know that John Adams defended the British soldiers being prosecuted for their part of the "Boston Masscre." (no not the Yankees sweep in 1978).

I think I will go out and get the book to read during my next vacation.

69 It's been really good so far. I'm withholding final judgment, however, until I see how they portray Alexander Hamilton.

69 I haven't finished watching it yet, but think it's great so far. Giamatti and Linney elevate their roles a great amount, and the period detail is fab. It could probably have been a bit shorter but so far I'm into it.

71 He's toast.

Waaaah! I make 44 million dollars to do very little. Team player, indeed, indeed.

I hope Pierre deals with it. It's actually exciting imagining him stealing bases off Hoffman's change-ups in important 9th innings.

hmm. If a player told me he didn't care whether he played or not, I'd think of him as a money-grubbing slacker. If he does care about playing time, even while making big-time money, he's whiny. Catch 22 I guess.

I wonder if Pierre doesn't understand how Ethier is more valuable, or if he simply wants to enjoy playing everyday.

"When we got Andruw, nobody talked to him (pierre)"

(and depo got killed for his lack of com skills)

Ned has to go. Just get out of the way already Ned and go.

77 I think he probably does think he is as valuable as Ethier, because he is only doing what he's always been told to do. A .300 batting average, stealing bases, bunting, making contact, etc. Why should he suddenly believe that he's not contributing enough?

He's been quoted repeatedly saying things like "Some people appreciate my game, some people dont." I take that to mean that he believes that he brings something to the game that could be perceived as being more valuable than what Ethier brings.

73 I read the book a couple years ago and I really enjoyed it.

58 Last year, it seemed like Jon Heyman only talked about the Yankees. Then we get Joe Torre and now all of a sudden the Dodgers are mentioned in every article he writes. Does anyone else think he has a contact in Joe Torre's entourage?

So the Dodgers knocked Randy Johnson out in the third inning. They're up 3-0.

Pierre actually has an RBI single (good!), and was also picked off and caught stealing (bad!)

77 No, it's true, I'd rather a player want to play and be disappointed he's not. But on the other hand, he's not sounding too team-player-ish.

Seriously, what is any player, particularly one who has started for his entire career, supposed to say in this situation.

This isn't about being a team player, unless you are someone like Sweeney or Bennett, you are going to probably want to start unless you are hurt.

83 Fair 'nuf. Definitely. I guess I just feel like they shouldn't be saying anything, not publicly. But maybe that's not fair either. Just as I didn't think Andre Ethier should be talking to fans about what he'd do if he doesn't start.

83
Hopefully, they ask to be traded. Do it, Juan!

71 First JP was insulted when the LADs signed Jones. Now he thinks he's not going to be the everyday starter in left either, and he's not happy. Torre hasn't made up his mind yet, but I'm guessing JP knows of what he speaks. If the streak ends somehow, he will demand that trade.

73
Didn't you go to a fine LAUSD high school and an exceedingly good college afterwards? Didn't you take a history class?

Pierre + Money + Pitching prospect or Loaiza = Hank Blalock?

One gets the feeling that Torre will do the right thing. And am I the only one who thinks that this year's edition might actually be BETTER without Kent?

The pitching is looking awfully strong. With an offense of Martin, Furcal, Jones, Kemp, Ethier and Loney, we can afford a little letdown at 2B if the defense is good.

87 My U.S. History class noted that John Adams was the second president and was Sam Adam's cousin.

Of course, it is really possible that I did learn that but it got pushed out by years of Simpsons and Seinfeld episode trivia.

Why do all these articles keep mentioning spring training statistics as the reason to start Ethier over Pierre? We all know Pierre isn't going to hit .200 and Either won't hit .350.

Ethier should start because of what he's done the last two seasons in the major leagues! I mean, come on, this is not a huge surprise that Ethier is a great player and Pierre has no value beyond stolen bases.

I don't follow the AL that closely. Is Blalock on the decline?

92 Blalock is 28.

91 While I agree, the scary fact is that NedCo decided that the spring would be a competition for starting roles at both third and LF. Given the rules, Ethier wins.

re:89 I remember reading someone who did the VORP math and found it possible for Abreu's bat and defense to provide nearly as many wins as Kent's bat and defense. I haven't seen Abreu play much, but I'm guessing his defense must be outstanding for that to hold true.

Did anyone see this:

http://tinyurl.com/3bpver

We should seriously think about claiming Castillo. And, as you know, the Dodgers care about my opinion in waiver-wire matters.

So much for Chan Ho's surprising invincibility. 3 run homer to Snyder. Monday says that Park's fastball "has lost its giddyup." And the breaking ball has lost its break.

I'm going to give Ned some props for this spring. It looks now like all his pro-Pierre talk was merely positive time-filler (which any good GM would do) and not the "Pierre should start" reality that some of us feared.

Ned also has shown a lack of panic in the face of injuries, and has continued to allow the youth movement to flourish.

While Ned may not fully understand some statistics we wish he did, I am starting to believe he is learning or at least allowing input from those that do.

98 Well he is a longshot to make the team, have we heard if he is willing to go down to AAA?

Now you have to assess whether Park was getting by on softer competition before, or if he's simply having one in five bad outings - certainly allowable for any pitcher, let alone a guy fighting for a bullpen or #5 position.

Looks like he'll get one more start before the season opener, no? Or do rosters need to be finalized much earlier?

Kemp singles and then steals second uncontested.

Hong-Chi Kuo is now pitching for the Dodgers.

Kuo walks first batter, gets double play, then a fly out. Not too shabby. Now back to work and/or NCAA Basketball. :-)

99 , You don't need to look at any fancy statistics to tell if Pierre or Ethier is likely to contribute more.
You can purely qualitatively assess their relative merits.

Defense: Ethier
Hitting: Ethier by a lot
Baserunning: Pierre by a lot

Now, without using statistics, you can still say that baserunning is not more important than defense & hitting combined.

As far as needing different skillsets to fill out a lineup, that is a false premise. You would prefer 9 Babe Ruths and not worry about what is "complementary" to what.

Good inning for Kuo.

I'm sure people have noticed Loney is going through a soft patch. I remember when he started at Vegas hitting .280 when the year before he finished hitting .380. He may be the type who gets better as the season goes on. Thank god he is established enough to get to get through normal slumps.
To see how awesome he was last September look at the video archives of those games at Dodgers.com. It is amazing!

Meanwhile, is anybody worried that Loney isn't really very good, or is that unmentionable?

To argue the case for argument's sake, although I don't really believe it:
He never had power in the minors, his success in the majors has come in pretty limited time.
He continues to make a shockingly high number of errors on easy plays.
He is hitting .230 in spring training, with no power.
If he were on some other team, we would not really believe he was going to be any good this year.

You're saying we would not believe Loney would be good on another team due to his Spring Training??

He hit the cover off the ball in the minors. True, he didn't show incredible power, but no one expects that from him. We expect something along the lines of a Will Clark / Mark Grace.

His fielding has been underwhelming thus far, I will grant you that. His track record is all smiles when it comes to hitting - be it in the minors or majors.

106/107 - I wouldn't worry about him at all. Especially not based on exhibition games. His swing is as pretty as any I've seen. His fielding is slick and yeah he does have some mental lapses over there sometimes, that could be something they need to work with him on. But I am not worried in the slightest.

he also has 5 doubles and a triple this spring, and was hitting the ball well until the last few days. And that's if spring training stats meant a lot, which I don't think they do. He'll be fine.

109 - That said, I'm not expecting him to put up another .331/.381/.538 line like last year.

I have no problem with what Pierre said. But, I had no problem with what Ethier said, last week, either. Crummy situation.

He hit .296/.362/.430 in the minors. That's mediocre. Mediocre in the minors = bad in the majors. He had some great years. So to be mediocre overall, that tells you he also had some terrible years against minor league competition.

So his success in limited time in the majors and in spurts in the minors, and combined with his terrible spring thusfar, you might think that while he is capable of success, maybe he is not capable of sustaining success?

I imagine he'll be fine.

There has to be someone willing to take Pierre off our hands. Otherwise this could be a problem in the clubhouse, and I wouldn't blame either Ethier or Pierre if that were the case.

Someone must need a center fielder/leadoff hitter (White Sox). I believe Pierre has at least some value there. Not saying we'd get much in return, but he has no value here as a left fielder and #2 hitter.

Hopefully, Ned doesn't panic with Nomar out for a few days or one week to start the season. I just don't think that is enough to warrant a trade for a 3b.

Is there anyone who thinks that Repko and Young aren't adequate as 4th and 5th outfielders? If someone gets hurt, we could always sign a Shawn Green (longshot I know) or someone else as a 5th outfielder.

I wonder why they took out Kuo before the 6th inning was over. Koplove pitches two balls then a homer by Snyder. I thought we'd be through "bringing in cruddy pitchers in 6th or 7th to try out" by this point in ST. Maybe not quite yet...

Also, I'm tired of people talking about Ethier as a kid. He's 25/26 and had almost two full seasons in the majors.

From the play-by-play on the ItD blog:

Top 7: Dodgers Batting: Jailen Peguero Pitching:
Jones doubles down the left field line
Hu pops the sac bunt up to the catcher
Abreu strikes out swinging
Bennett walks
Mark Sweeney pinch hitting for Martinez walks on four pitches, bases loaded
Pierre grounds to second (The writing is really on the wall, isn't it?)
0 Runs 1 Hit 3 LOB End of 6 1/2 8-6 Dodgers

114 - The White Sox have a Carlos Quentin/Swisher/Dye OF right now, with Alexei Ramirez or Jerry Owens also possibilities in center.

I hope that Pierre takes his benching like a man, until a trade that is actually beneficial to the Dodgers appears. Someone will get a key injury somewhere in their OF, and a trade opportunity will open up.

Pierre should go on a Kobe Bryant-like "trade me" tirade. "At this point I'll go play on Pluto." Well, maybe not, but I'd find it amusing.

96 As a short-term replacement, maybe, but I think Blake Dewitt might outhit him. I can't get but so excited about a guy with a .256/.297/.380 line, because that's awful.

119 - with the gravity on Pluto, Pierre would be able to really drive the ball

Has anyone else reported on this Juan Pierre walking salty story? I notice that Gurnick's article contains zero Juan Pierre quotes, attributing statement only to Joe Torre, so it appears to me that JP is keeping this private and that it is only Torre that is talking about it.

... only Torre that is talking about it on the record.

Now if Pluto were a planet ...

Big news! BBTN just predicted the Dodgers will win the NL West.

Did anybody catch this?

"In another sign of the government's unease, 400 American Boy Scouts who had been promised they could onto the field following a March 15 exhibition game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres were prevented from doing so by police."

125 - ESPN Baseball Tonight produces fine analysis like this all the time. See below:

http://tinyurl.com/2xc8m3

From Tony Jackson:
http://www.dailynews.com/dodgers/ci_8645265

Torre said earlier plans for Delwyn Young to see a few innings at third have been scrapped.

126 - Link?

I was probably being too hard on Pierre before, at least in the way I phrased it. I think he wants to play, isn't used to not playing, and doesn't see what he's done differently than what he's always done. Of course, what he's always done doesn't really fit very well with "today's game" and people are more "on to him." But I don't blame him for wanting to start or play somewhere else that he could start. But, yeah, again, we haven't really heard that much directly from him; some of this is second or third hand, or via Torre and so on. Pierre seems like a good guy who just shouldn't be starting in left field.

What I predict is they'll keep him, maybe even start him to start the season, and then Ethier takes over and the Dodgers find a taker for Pierre before the trade deadline this summer, when some pennant contending team has an injury or gets desperate. That could be risky, waiting that long, though.

129 http://tinyurl.com/2ln64n

126 Man, I think you may have left out the most important word there! Was it maybe 'expectorate'? 'self-immolate?' ;)

127 - Yeah, I was kidding. FJM is a regular read for me. By the way, the analysts said the Dodgers biggest strength was Joe Torre. They really know how to dig deep.

I hate to sound totally naive but I didn't realize AAA teams had spring training exhibition games, too...?
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3608665

Where do they get enough players, with the # of guys who are playing in ML spring training?

132 Dunno, but I didn't want to second guess the reporter by editing it...

Joe Torre is a man who won an MVP playing third base. That's the key.

128 Was it reported earlier in the week that Young has a sore arm and is out of the infield mix for now?

135 Yep, now that the link is there, I see that it is the AP's mistake. Nice.

I predict DYoung will get traded soon for a fungible infielder.

Those of you with kids should mark the day April 29 on your calendars. That's when "The Red Balloon" is re-released in restored DVD by Criterion.

140
That's a kid's movie?

I must have seen a director's cut.

139 Yes, it feels like those trade winds are starting to pick up.

140 One of the most beloved children's films of all time, in fact. You must be thinking of "Behind the Green Balloon."

(Or are you thinking of the Iranian film "The White Balloon"?)

What do you want them to do, instill a permanent trade deadline? The Dodgers keep saying there are no trades planned right now, a lot will depend on 2 things, if Abreu can play regularly and if Kent is able to play in the fist week of April.

If I was Jason Repko, I would be more worried than Delwyn Young.

143
No, in the version I saw, the mean French kids stone the kid who has the red balloon. The balloon then morphs into a monster and kills all of them.

There's a possibility that that could have been a dream after eating too much Chinese food one night though.

I wonder what the going rate for Mark Ellis is?

Did anyone see that quote from Ozzie Guillen on the lack of trade interest for Crede?

"This game has gotten to be a bunch of political, a bunch of {expletive} budget, a bunch of {expletive}. They forgot about the talent." (as cited in Chicago Sun-Times.}

145 Hmm. The closest I can think of is that hilarious short cartoon "Billy's Balloon," which is different but does have a delightfully sadistic side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpc5vgi9zbM

145 Hilarious. I think I saw "The Red Balloon", in glorious 16mm, every sememster of grade school through the fourth grade. I thought it was required viewing in the LAUSD.

Oh, no wait, you're thinking of the sequel, "The Red Balloon Meets Mechagodzilla" in which the two square off and end up destroying the city, and the boy in the process. Good stuff.

145 You're thinking of the sequel, set 40 years after the original:

atomfilms.com/film/revenge_red_balloon.jsp

145
That is the Revenge of the Red Balloon made in 2000.

Dang, too slow.

146 Wow, at 98th Elementary all we got was Jorge on the TV teaching us how to roll our r's, as in carrrrrne asada.

I still like Billy's Balloon the best.

144
When I read 47 it made me laugh. Kent in his present condition is about as mobile as that statue. It's likely that hammy will linger, thus further limiting his range and foot speed. Is it reasonable to expect alot out of him this year? Moving him to first is not an option, nor is a move to third.
Is it reasonable to expect LaRoche to step up as soon as he is cleared to play?
Right now he only has potential.
If the Dodgers could pick up a solid 3b who is in a walk year (Crede?) that would seem to create some flexibility and some options. Abreu/Hu at 2b with good defense. If LaRoche comes around, then your walk year guy can walk or be traded?

They need to end this Pierre comedy fast. He needs all the time he can get putting his great work ethic to use in another line of work. Actually, I'd be willing to sell him one of my chicken-fried bacon franchises. It's going to be a license to print money.

Now that Marty has shown up, I'll mention I'm on the way to Papa Murphy's for a Cowboy take & bake pizza.

Speaking of balloons, turns out a helium balloon is not the best place to hide something valuable. Who'd a thunk?

http://tinyurl.com/24oele

Among many other things that made me chuckle on FJM, which I just caught up on, was this nugget:

>>There's a War Brewing
in Cincinnati. On one side: the Dustyites. On the other side: common sense. Articles are being written every day celebrating the folksy wisdom of a man who thinks bases are only good when there's no one standing on them. This is exactly what happened in L.A. when Grady Little was hired -- "He's folksy! He's down-home! He has a drawl!" (one year later) "He kind of stinks!" <<

144 Speaking of fungible infielders as mentioned in 139 , Morgan Ensberg might be an FA at midnight EDT. Might be a cheap stopgap. He may be done, but Ned will like 4922.3 innings of 3B experience at the major-league level.

"A non-roster invitee vying for a job as New York's first baseman, the 32-year-old Ensberg has a contractual out in his Minor League deal that allows him to trigger his release at midnight ET if he is not added to the club's 40-man roster."

http://tinyurl.com/ynsnfl

161 Commenter Tom Meagher pointed out Ensberg's availability on True Blue LA today. I think I mentioned him here the other day, but I didn't know that deadline was this soon.

158 Papa Murphy's! The only pizza we could get in Grand Junction!

Got back from today's game a while ago and I even ran into our resident prospect junkie!

- Pierre's RBI single was a 90-hopper up the middle and his other four outs were meager at best
- Neither Park nor Big Unit seemed to have much life on their fastball
- Kemp absolutely mashed his double, missing a homer by only a few feet
- Kemp also drove one to the track in right field on a swing that looked totally effortless
- Hu also hit the ball well with some solid contact although his bunt stunk

Going to the game in Phoenix tomorrow as well, hopefully I'll be sober enough to take some more notes.

164

Hey overkill! Great meeting you.

So yea...Druw's homerun was literally..5 feet away from me. Closest I have ever been to a homerun ball.

162

Here are a few projections for Ensberg this year (via fangraphs):

Bill James: .270/.377/.498//.875
CHONE: .242/.357/.419//.776
Marcel: .251/.363/.454//.816
MINER: .231/.348/.409//.757
ZIPS: .313/.370/.446//.816

166
Torre to Bowa: "That guy kind of reminds me of Scott Brosius".

Bowa to Torre: "Yeah, he kind of does to me too, but it's Morgan Ensberg".

166 For a stopgap that costs nothing but a relatively small salary until LaRoche/Nomar are healthy, I'd take even the worst projection.

168
No matter his average, he always seems to have some power.

I guess Chan-Ho will accept an AAA assignment, at least for a little while. Per Gurnick:

Park could secure a staff spot as a long reliever if the club keeps 12 pitchers. If not, he could be sent to Triple-A until May 15, when he has an out in his contract.

http://tinyurl.com/2w33qd

Does Ensberg really come with no contract obligations?

Now 11:51 EDT.
Ready for Ensberg launch.

171 I believe he would be a free agent and come with a negotiation. Maybe a bidding war!

Does Ensberg have anything left? Houston, San Diego and now the Yankees have cut him loose. There may be no there there.

174

See 166 Besides, he's only going to ask for a one-year contract, if he stinks, the Dodgers can DFA him.

I'm very suspect of any projections for a player who's been with three teams in a year. He sounds like Shea Hillenbrand to me.

I know you shouldn't take anything from ST stats but Erik Bedard's are hideous...

18IP 30H 7hr 5bb 8k

176 .230 BA and at least 6 HR's until the All-Star break.
No one gets traded and LaRoche is back in action.
Was the Ensberg launch successful?

178 Nope. Yanks put him on the 40-man, so looks like Mr. Ensberg will make another $1.75M, this time from the Steinbrenner family.

http://tinyurl.com/ynsnfl

177 Aren't you supposed to be busy in some Valley of the Sun cougar bar?

Ok ...
Dioner Navarro gets hurt and Russell Martin takes advantage of his opportunity, having played only 26 games at AAA.

So ...
Andy LaRoche gets hurt and will Blake DeWitt be able to take advantage of the opportunity, having played only 45 games at AA?

Torre benching Pierre is the most positive development of the spring.

A shade of Dodger blue hits the desert

http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8645269

Tony Jackson's take on JP/Torre meeting is a little different:

Torre's message was simple: Don't read too much into anything, because other than the fact Jones is locked into center, Torre is a long way from deciding how to align the outfield.

"(Pierre) wasn't happy about not starting, and I sensed that," Torre said. "We just talked about the fact that when I know something, I will certainly let him know before anybody else lets him know what my plans are. Right now, I'm trying not to think. I'm just trying to get a sense for what I have."

http://www.dailynews.com/dodgers/ci_8657268

Alright. It's been two days. We need pictures of the new baby.

184. Jackson is rattled. Didn't he guarantee us that Pierre would be the starting LFer? Looks like he's not so sure anymore. I'm not saying his change of heart should be interpreted as any sort of change in reality, but it's always funny to watch blowhards climb down from absurd positions.

185
The papparazzi have been foiled so far.

overkill!! Maybe I will see you and the other dodger faithful at the game in phoenix today. The weather is a whole lot better than the service at this motel 6.

Anyone seen the latest rumor on Yahoo? Mark Loretta.

Best to the Weisman's. I meant to post this when Jon gave the ally-ally-in-come-free for us lurkers, but hadn't even registered. Air Force brat early years living in Texas, Japan and Hawaii. Played ball in the street with my diapers (had better things to do than be potty trained). Came to the Dodgers when we move to San Berdoo. Wally Moon was early favorite. In school, Dominican nuns (the order, not the country) were fanatics, plastering classroom with the Life photos (was it 62 or 63?). Hated the Giants, but loved Mays (and how he loved the game), the high-kicking (and bat swinging) Marichal and Willie MAC (Drysdale's nightmare). Learned to value superb pitching and base stealing (its was another era) and played APBA religiously. First game in Dodger Stadium (we called it Chaves Ravine, cuz after all the Angel's played there as well), was Sandy's perfect one. Saw Dick Stuart, the perennial future HOF born a decade too early, hit one out as a Dodger. Keep following after moving to San Cali Ding Dong and got to see them beat up on the Padres all the time, including the Toy Cannon getting the hat trick. After school in Mexico, moved to DC and took up with the O's (had admired them since 66). Spoiled by, again, superb pitching, Cal Jr. and Eddie. Added the Baltimore special and dropped base stealing. Still followed the Bums in the boxscores, but the day after on the east Coast, and watched as these two once storied franchises succumbed to bad ownership. Back in Mexico now, found DT about a year ago and have been lurking ever since. IMHO Furcal's table setting will be a key this year. Like how Jon manages you guys (the best, the brightest, and the crankiest, when it come to Ned and JP).

There are lots of decent options available for 3b: Belliard, German, Castillo...Loretta is all right, but he's not exactly a glove wizard and he has no power at all. We've got to sign someone. Abreu isn't going to cut it, in my brilliant opinion.

And please, please please start the season with Ethier in LF.

You can be my Mark Loretta.

Etta Etta ay ay ay

You can be my Mark Loretta.

I haven't read the comments on ITD for a long time, because it always makes my chest tighten up. But, it being my birthday and all, I spent this morning reading all 441 comments from the most recent post. There is some serious anti-Pierre sentiment going on there. I was surprised, but pleased.

Dodgers vs. Angels at 1 p.m. (KCAL 9 in Los Angeles)

Pierre, LF
Furcal, SS
Ethier, RF
Loney, 1B
Jones, A, CF
Martin, R, C
Dewitt, 3B
Abreu, 2B
Lowe, P

WHERE IS KEMP???

I have a feeling this is going to be a trend during the regular season...just fill-in the blank with him or Ethier.

I just received my Dodger Thoughts shirts. They are marvelous. I have the long sleeve white & the short sleeve blue. It's good to know that the Poney Express is still active. Thank You.

Speaking of Anti-Pierre Sentiment...

http://www.firejoemorgan.com/

Plaschke gets the treatment.

Moved to LA in 1957 at the age of 13. Picked up on the Dogers in the spring of 1958. Attended my first Major League baseball game and the Dogers lost I believe to the Giants 6-3 but I was hooked anyway. Moved to the Hemet and San Jacinto area where I listened to the games religiously for the next 4 years. I especially remember listening to the 1959 world series in High School, it was great, even the teachers were involved at my school. I joined the Army in 1962 and because of training I lost track of what the Dogers were doing, I can remember I was shocked to find out Koufax and piched his first no-hitter as I remember him as a great strikeout pitcher who was very inconnsistent. I have been lurking on this site for the last few months and have decided to join the commentary which I have found interesting although occasionaly off topic. As a fan for over 50 years I have seen many players come and go but the team remains and baseball is a team sport that highlights individual accomplishments. I feel that the Dogers will have an excellent team this year if the best players available are played. Go Dogers!

190
Where do you live in Mexico?

195 Dude, it's an exhibition game. Everyone's rotating in and out throughout the rest of these games. We should save the freak-outs for the regular season. ;-)

197 Yay! Like shooting fish in a barrel, but still.

200 It's an exhibition game, but it's also a TV exhibition game. And I want to see Kemp play.

201 Ah, well, I understand that disappointment then. Maybe he'll pinch hit for Pierre and hit a Bison Shot.

197 From that FJM piece:

{Plaschke:} "Fans don't appreciate him. Statisticians can't calculate him."

No. No no no no no no no. They can. They really can. They did. They are. The fact that you, Bill Plaschke, for some reason believe that Juan Pierre plays an entirely different, incalculable, unknowable, ineffable, ethereal, spiritual, intangible, holy, effervescent, incorporeal, bioluminescent, antioncogenic game that is emphatically not baseball does not make it so.

They have run the numbers, and they are ugly.

202 Yeah fans can't calculate him, but Plaschke can cite all kinds of splits to make his point. Excuse that .311 OBP in the 1st half- he had a .356 OBP in the 2nd half when it counted! And how about those 41 RBI?! Convincing metrics there Bill.

I took a shot at the Plaschke article a while back - looks like I'm on the same page as fmj on this one

203 http://www.firejoemorgan.com/2008/03/this-column-is-eternal.html

Read it and laugh. Hard.

>>"(Plaschke) Pierre adds an irreplaceable speed component to the top of the Dodgers order. And, in left field, what Pierre lacks in arm, he can overcome with that speed."

That too. What Pierre lacks in OBP (twenty points to Ethier last year), he can overcome with speed. What Pierre lacks in EqA (eighteen points), he can overcome with speed. His zero homers -- well, he's fast. His 32 extra-base hits -- he's speedy. His team worst 75 OPS+ -- guy can motor.<<

"Pierre also brings something that, during last season's doldrums, everyone seemed to forget.

You can find it in a locked box in his Fort Lauderdale home."

It is the severed finger of Angela Lansbury.<<

lol

"Johnny Damon never had much of an arm, we moved him to left field, it worked out fine," says Torre. "You can offset that kind of arm with your aggressive play. You can get good jumps, get to balls that other guys can't."

Johnny Damon is on the downslide. Johnny Damon is 34 years old. Johnny Damon was never a big power hitter. Johnny Damon has like fifty-nine different injuries. Last year Johnny Damon out-OPSed Juan Pierre by 62 points. It was Johnny's worst season in seven years.

Angels down 1-2-3 End of top of first
Angel 0
Dogers 0

Question for anyone knowledgeable about the CA newspaper business--

Is the Daily News also a part of Singleton's operation? If so, is it also likely to be hit with layoffs and other management specialties? Thanks.

Quite an at-bat by Pierre against the great Shane Loux. And then Ethier hits a single.

End of 1
Angels 0
Dodgers 0

Vinny tells us Pierre arrived at the ballpark at 6:15am today.

Maybe he'd see the ball better if he slept until 8 AM.

Bottom of Second
2Ks for Lowe
Angels - 0
Dogers - 0

Russell M with a long double to the wall.

Staying all these extra hours or arriving early really does not help the fact that Pierre can't hit.

And DeWitt grounds a double down first base line, drives in Martin.

215 I bet Plaschke arrives at the LA Times' office really early, too.

End of Second
Double for Martin
Double for Dewitt = Martin scores -Picked off
Abreau HBP
lowe GO

Angels - 0
Dogers - 1

Ugh, DeWitt gets picked off at 2nd. Napping out there and Napoli nails him. I believe he'll be chatting with Larry Bowa in the dugout.

Aw, sorry, didn't see we had a play by play man here already. ;-) I'll be stepping aside to go to soccer practice anyway. Go bums!

I can watch the game today! I went home to SoCal for the weekend.

One of the first things I saw was Juan Pierre slap a pop-up to shallow outfield.

BTW - Duke lost. Really.

219 - DeWitt wasn't napping, he jus too a ridiculously agressive secondary lead.

Hey lookie, our next Fernando...

Left-hander Javier Solano, considered the best pitching prospect in Mexico when the Dodgers signed him for $250,000 earlier in the year, is living up to expectations. Watson said he's thrown "exceptionally well" and is "very advanced" for a 17-year-old, with an above-average fastball and curveball.

http://tinyurl.com/33euq3

Top of Third
Lowe has retired them in order; however he has been allowing a lot of FO
Angels - 0
Dodgers - 1

224 So no arrests, bar fights, cougar sightings last night?

I see the Angels lead-off man is hitting .333. Ours could be too if it was Furcal.

Well, .328 is still better than .194.

When was the last time Pierre walked on an eight-pitch at-bat, eh?

Freethier takes the extra base on a single by Loney. My what great baserunning skills he has!

Bottom of Third
Pierre - weak GO
Furcal - GO
Either - walk
Loney - single - Either to Third
Jones - GO
Angels - 0
Dodgers - 1

Yeah, but he doesn't have a ring in a box.

Andruw hits a hard grounder but Chone gobbles it up and throws to second to end the inning.

Your Washington Nationals Opening Day starter . . . To inaugurate the new ballpark before George Bush and Joe Morgan . . . one Odalis Perez.

anyone else posting from the game with me?

Nice backhand by DeWitt.

Dewitt looks really big compared to a video I have of him from one of his Catfish games in 2005.

Kent would not have made that play.

Top of Fourth
GO to Dewitt
Walk to Matthews
FO to Jones
single H&R Hunter Matthews to Third
GO greatPlay by Abreau

Angels - 0
Dodgers - 1

I am doing an inning by inning update.

238 there are a lot of plays that Kent won't be making this year

Bottom of Fourth
Rodriguez PITCHING
Martin - K
Dewitt - GO Swinging bunt close play at first

Abreau - GO
Angels - 0
Dodgers - 1

SWEET play by Abreu.

Ethier is now CF (woohoo!)

Another great play by Abreu.

Top of Fifth
Either playing Center
DY in Left Jones out

GO to Abreau good play
GO to Furcal good pick by Loney
GO to Abreau another good play
Angels - 0
Dodgers - 1

246 DY in Right

(199). En el DF now, but building a house on the Pacific Coast. Have lived previously in Cholula.

Bottom of Fourth
Lowe - single
Pierre - FO to center
Furcal - TL single Lowe to second
Either - GIDP Lowe got lost about where he was suppose to go. Pitchers are a hazard on the basepath

Angels - 0
Dodgers - 1

Correction that was the bottom of the fifth

Top of Sixth
Morales - single to center Caught Stealing on PO
Figgins - single on GB up the middle throwing error on Furcal Figgins to second
Matthews - FO to Center
Anderson - single over Dewitt's head scoring Figgins
FO to Right field short of track

Seeing eye inning Lowe deserved better the run is not earned

Angels - 1
Dodgers - 1

Bottom of Sixth
Spier pitching for Angels
Loney - Po CF first pitch
Young - K
Martin - K on full count

Angels - 1
Dodgers - 1

Thanks for the correction on where DY is playing.

Giants Claim Infielder Castillo On Waivers

http://www.nbc10.com/mlb/15677005/detail.html

Top of Seventh
Hu in at third replacing Dewitt
Saito Now Pitching
Willits - Bunt single
Kendric - sacrifice to Loney Willard to Second
Napoli - Home Run
GO to Loney
Moralles - Double to right
Haines - Ground ball single due to Saito being late covering first Moralles scores from second.
Haines steals second
Wood - K

Angels - 4
Dodgers - 1

Bottom of Seventh
Hu - infield single
Abreau - GO to First Hu to second
Sweeney - GO to second
Pierre - Double down left field line Hu scores
Furcal - GO 2B

Angels - 4
Dodgers - 2

Top of Eigth
Troncoso Pitching

Evans - GO
Budde - GO to Furcal
Willits - K

Angels 4
Dodgers 2

Bottom of Eigth
Either FO on first Pitch
Looney - GO to first
Young - GO

Angels - 4
Dodgers 2

208 Yes, the Daily News is part of the Singleton group in So. Cal. They already got hit hard, losing about 20 editorial jobs, not to mention a lot of non-editorial jobs.

Top of the Ninth
Myers Pitching
GO Loney to Myers
Faulkenberg Pitching
PO
FO

Angels 4
Dodgers 2

Hendrickson gets Marlins nod

>> Mark Hendrickson was chosen by manager Fredi Gonzalez to start the Florida Marlins' season opener March 31 against the New York Mets at Dolphin Stadium. <<

http://tinyurl.com/3bg3b3

Bottom of the Ninth
Merrick Pitching
Martin GO to second on good play
Hu - GO to second on full count
Martinez - single to left
Kemp - single to center Martinez to third
Pierre - GO

Angels 4
Dodgers 2

261
I never believed in contraction, until now.

Saito looked a little flat but Lowe was excellent. Pierre was 1-5 and Loney 1-4 continued his slump but looked good in the field. Kemp got as many hits in one at bat as Pierre did all day so why is Pierre playing? If Pierre's speed is so great why did't he beat out that high bounce grounder in the Ninth.

261

Its hard to fathom Big Bird being an opening day starter for any Major League team.

Kent not rushing his recovery

>> With Garciaparra down, injuries leave the possibility of an Opening Day infield that includes Tony Abreu, Chin-lung Hu or Blake DeWitt starting two of the positions, with veteran Ramon Martinez backing up the backups.

The dual injuries increase the chances of DeWitt sneaking onto the roster out of Minor League camp. He's impressed coaches and Torre is intrigued, although he's still unconvinced, because he's seen so little of DeWitt because of the China trip. <<

http://tinyurl.com/2zhmaa

hendrickson as an opening day starter isn't that bad - I mean its not as bad as Washington running out old friend Perez - is it?

I have found that ignoring most things in spring training is a wise mood. So the following cherry picking is stupid, but cheers me up. First, Lowe looked very good.
And then Saito is bound to have a few flat spots, so far better now than vs. Colorado in September. I was so amazed when he gave that 2 out 2 strike tater in the ninth to whoever, but he had been far too good up til then.

266 do the right thing Joe - start the kid, think of it like you did when you took a chance on that Jeter kid

269
Jeter was not an unknown prospect when he started in 1996. He had been called up in 1995 in September because the Yankees expected him to be able to contribute the next season.

265 261 Its hard to fathom Big Bird being an opening day starter for any Major League team.

Too bad Florida isn't opening the season against the Nationals. Big Bird vs Odalis could be a matchup for the ages. :-)

270 - shhhh, don't remind Joe about that part

I'm curious if I read this or dreamed this.
Did I read somewhere someone saying O.Perez was in the best shape this spring of his career?

273
You did read it.

It would have been scary if you did dream that.

On the roster spots for 3b...
let there be sanity.
If we have a ready 3b in Laroche and we're talkin 20-30 games of a 162 game season...all we need is a number 8 hitter who can pick it and not hurt the overall defense.
You get the fringe benefit of important big league experience for likely starters Abreu and Hu in 2009.

Play Dewitt and back him up. He seems capable at 3b defensively. Can't he keep within a bit OBP of marginal guys like Inge?
Isn't he capable of playing some of the time? Of course

Scary indeed. Today I have a sort of prediction.________________________________________________________. Its actually a comparison, but it could be a jinx, so I will wait and refer back to here if it comes true. Also that way I am blameless if it is wrong.

Rumor: Esteban German for Jonathan Meloan & Miguel Pinago

This was reported by the K.C. Star.

I thought there might be a chance Kershaw would be on local TV tomorrow since they bypassed Loaiza's turn and announced Billingsley would pitch a simulated game. But they changed the plan. Billingsley goes tomorrow and Loaiza will follow him. That should mean Kershaw on Monday following Kuroda.

Lowe stellar for six against Angels

>> Up next for Dodgers: Chad Billingsley starts on Sunday in Tucson against Micah Bowie and the Rockies. Esteban Loaiza, who is competing with Chan Ho Park for the fifth starter's spot, will follow Billingsley. Billingsley comes into the start with a 7.43 ERA, although pitching coach Rick Honeycutt said that he's pitched better than the number indicates. <<

http://tinyurl.com/3cs32v

273 I remember during the WBC how people were saying that Odalis was in great shape. And, to be honest, he looked like he was. But we know how that turned out.

277
I don't want to give up Meloan for a short-term stop gap.

277 Actually spelled Pinango.

What's the marginal benefit in terms of runs produced and prevented by bringing in player x instead of a mix of 2-3 guys at 3b, all in the system, cheap and benefiting from roster time...for a month and a half?

10 runs? 5 runs? 0 runs?

PVL...loss of a promising player...increased payroll. Wasted roster spot if both Nomar and Laroche are healthy...

Its a marathon, not a sprint. Short term fix for a long-term loss.

Folks, again never believe what appears in a hometown paper.

199 . So busy with my own bracket that I forgot them in responding to Toy Cannon: Right now living in El DF, but building a house on the Pacific Coast. Previously lived in Cholula.

I would love to say this is wishful thinking in Kansas City. But how they would get a hold of those names unless there was some reality is hard to fathom. I remain in prayer, Gen3blu or something similiar.

Why we would want a guy whose basically a 2nd baseman whose OPS+ was 90 last year over HU/Abreu for a few months escapes me.

We have an uncertainty at 3rd base (Laroche and Nomar out, Abreu/Hu's unproven major league bat) and an emerging uncertainly at 2nd base (Kent's readiness for regular season pitching). I would have to think that Ethier has an edge over Slapping Mc Groundout in making the starting lineup.

If the Dodgers don't make a trade to plug the temporary 3rd base hole, I think things are looking up for Ethier.

Congratulations, Jon.

Someone mentioned that perhaps Ethier should pick up a third base glove. Is there anything in his minor league or previous history that would preclude this? I know this is somewhat irrational, but as was pointed out, JP wouldn't have the arm for it.

289
If you can find a third baseman's glove for a lefty, by all means stick Andre Ethier there.

Better make it Kemp then. He can't be that much worse than Pedro was.

290 Darn, it doesn't make it better but some outfit is trying to stuff a righty onto Ist base I think.

Ethier's not going to play third base. Ain't gonna happen. Move it along people, nothing here to see, move it along.

I actually like Esteban German - well, let's say he'd be a solid backup who could start and play well when needed, and would be better than Martinez. But I wouldn't trade Meloan for him either, and I can't see how - if Abreu's healthy, how he wouldn't be just fine as a stopgap for now, or Hu. But I do think German's a good player.

Is anyone live drafting in the H2H league in 20 minutes?

Miguel Cabrera just signed a 8 year/$153.3 million extension.

WOWZA.

Congratulations!

Whose behind the insanity---Detroit?. Thank god it wasn't a pitcher.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

280 I really hope the Dodgers are that desperate...

err that should be are NOT that desperate, oopsy

8 153 mill doesnt sound that bad for a position player dose it? Speacially for some one like Miggy, I can see the concern in the weight department but besides that he truly is an impact player

3 for 3, yes...

I would prefer Orenduff and Pinago for German.

303

I would prefer we just stay put.

I just checked Yahoo & foxsports they dont mention anything about the extension?

Honestly, for a couple weeks of games, no sane team would make a trade. Except it is to start the season, and somehow that makes people stupider.

In Peter Gammons "Players keep the game great" column today (ESPN.com $):

> Nomar Garciaparra insists he will be physically ready to open the regular season, but even if he is not, Dodgers GM Ned Colletti is not going to rush into a trade for a third baseman.

> "We're not going to make a long-term move because we believe [Andy] LaRoche and [Blake] DeWitt are going to be here for a long time at that position," says Colletti.

And:

> Andre Ethier has had what appears to be a breakout spring, but with Juan Pierre's contract untradeable, the Dodgers will open the season with Ethier, Matt Kemp, Pierre and Andruw Jones in the outfield mix and let manager Joe Torre deal with one daily unhappy camper.

307 thanks for that link Daeley.

Also this:

> As for Clayton Kershaw, it sure sounds as if the Dodgers believe he will be a factor this season; the issue will be limiting his innings early in the season so that he is fresh come August, which means 150-160 innings for the whole season.

266 - How do we get both DeWitt and Ramon Martinez on the 40-man? You can always push Schmidt to the 60-day for one spot, but is Ramon really worth bumping someone for?

295 - I guess it seems crazy, but considering that contract only goes through his age 34 season, it's not really that bad at all.

311 - Actually through his age 33 season (he's 32 when the season starts). Even better.

Thought this part of the Dodgers.com article on Saito and the bullpen today was intriguing:

>>Like Saito, Rudy Seanez is behind after struggling with a strained groin earlier in camp. Seanez allowed a home run to Justin Upton on Friday, which made the Saturday appearance of relative unknown Ramon Troncoso intriguing for a game so near to Opening Day.

Jonathan Broxton and Joe Beimel, who have made the club, pitched two innings each in a simulated game without a screen on Saturday so they could get in their innings while management looked at such pitchers as Troncoso, who is sneaking into the picture as a middle reliever with a hard sinker and the early makings of a cutter.

Troncoso, a right-hander who split time between Class A and Double-A last year, gave the brass more to think about. He threw a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout on a cutter and has allowed three hits in 6 2/3 innings this spring. Brian Falkenborg also pitched well, retiring the two batters he faced.<<

With Seanez wobbly, Brazoban bloated and rusty, Troncoso could have a better shot than I'd originally imagined.

My own speculation: They're willing to deal Meloan because of Troncoso's success as a late inning reliever.

Of course, that rumor might be made up entirely.

313 Troncoso looked great today. I wonder if they may have been showcasing him?

Sweet! Craigslist saves my butt again.

Dodgers and Rockies tomorrow!

This time I will arrive early and hopefully secure a nice present for the DTers.

316 Your favorite pitcher is starting tomorrow, too!

317

I know. Its on TV....so the guy that is streaking onto the field and slaps billingsleys ass....I'll be carrying a stick with the DT shirt as a flag.

Jon will love the free advertisement.

Oakland 10, Hanshin 2.

305 I just checked Yahoo & foxsports they dont mention anything about the extension?

Try ESPN:

Cabrera set to ink Tigers' biggest pact: $153.3 million

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3307289

Wally Moon will be back at the Coliseum Saturday:
http://tinyurl.com/yvcyq8

Are the Dodgers leading baseball in Spring Training HRs? Trying not to get too excited, but thats sonething.

322 maybe just the NL....

If we are looking for one of our outfielders to play 3B, Repko was drafted as a SS.

if we could get crede for pierre - not a horrible deal for the white sox (wink, wink) - i wouldn't cry. laroche could still play, partly at 3b and partly in LF. by mid-season we could trade crede for a prospect or a middle reliever or whatever. if the sox won't take pierre for crede, maybe they'd take pierre and money for all of his salary... in any case, i don't think getting a solid 3B, even for the short term, is the same as saying we don't believe in our youngsters. i think ned has us all gunshy in that regard... on another note (ha, i make small, pun-style joke) does rockband have ANY good songs in it? my kids got this for easter (don't ask) and what's left of my sanity is about to go on vacation...

wait, bowie is in this thing. nevermind.

If it is a straight swap of salaries I wouldn't mind Crede, or even Inge. As long as they knew comming in they would not be considered the starters, more like competitors for the position. Bonus, at least one of them can back up at catcher. Plus Ned would not have to take as big a hit if has to DFA them.

Granderson to the DL. The Tigers need a CF.

325:
i don't know what idiot wrote that, but there is a caveot: in my mythical deal the 3b we pick up, whomever he is, has to be better than hu would be right now. that means no esteban german, no wes helm, no pvl who has an advantage only because of age/service time. crede or even inge is, for our purposes, a solid major league player, not a kid learning on the job. i think that's fair. i do believe laroche will be very good very soon, much better than anybody on the market. i also think hu is going to be a really solid major league player, probably better, at his peak, than crede. but that peak is a few years off.

328
I believe Aerosmith said it best:

http://tinyurl.com/32xvsf

i'm wrong about rockband, too. there's a lot of cool stuff in here. nirvana, radiohead, clash... my children are in fine hands.

329 You think Crede is going to be better than Esteban German? Crede's best OBP in a full season is .323.

325 . IHMO opinion I for one think that the jury is still out on the Druw gamble and the Dodgers should hestitant about unloading outfielders at this point, even the dreaded JP.

332
yeah, i know, german has higher obp - but that's as a part time player. he's about two months older than crede who, in his last of five full full-timer seasons, hit 30 HR and slugged a tick over .500.... crede also is viewed as a decent defensive player. (or so i once heard on TV, i don't claim to see him enough to actually know)... at the risk of sounding unsabermetric, i think a 30-hr guy with low obp as a full timer is better than a part timer who can get on base. not leaps and bounds better, but a little...

garbage is in this rockband thing... garbage the band, i mean. not garbage, you know, blue oyster cult or whatever... i sorta like garbage.

Good points. I think I like German better because we can use him at 3rd for a month or 2 and then move him to a utility role when Laroche gets back. I think if we trade for Crede then we're going to deal with him starting all season.

John Perrotto from Baseball Prospectus runs a weekly article called "Every Given Sunday" where he talks about happenings in MLB, and floats some NL rumors and rumblings. What caught my eye is his statement that Juan Pierre appears to be the odd man out in the Dodgers outfield. Heres to hoping it becomes a fact.
Torre has to make a decision soon, as they usually want to get the everyday lineup playing together for at least a few games, no?

336: the point about crede is fair. in my perfect world, we'd trade him when laroche is healthy and hitting... my problem with german actually is his versatility... his presence would clog the best path for abreu/hu... i think abreu and hu should spend this season in the bigs, backing up certain PVLs who might not be dodgers in '09. my fear is the presence of a german type (or, god help us, another f-ing season of ramon martinez) unnecessarily delays the development of abreu/hu... but, hey, i'm dinosaur school.

We're back:

http://juanpierreoutwatch.blogspot.com

338 Yeah, I'm concerned that even if we didn't trade for someone like German, we'd still hinder Abreu or Hu's development so that we can have Martinez on the team because "he can play every position!" If someone is going to keep them in the minors they may as well be good.

As per ItD:

Pierre, LF

Abreu, SS

Loney, 1B

Kemp, CF

Ethier, RF

Hu, 3B

Bennett, C

Martinez, 2B

Billingsley, P

I'm glad they seem to be doing a pretty strict permutation of Pierre, Jones, Kemp, Ethier. Every day a different one gets left out. (And a sensible backup for Jones as CF.) Truth will out by the end of ST. Pierre might be given one last go-round the first week of regular play.

Don't know if this is a repeat, but here's some photos of the Coliseum getting ready for the game.

http://tinyurl.com/2nasks

Sorry to all the UCLA alum/fans that it links to Pete Carroll's site, but the pictures are cool.

342
Thanks.

Pete Carroll doesn't bother me. Maybe I should make him a Facebook friend.

342 The best part of the Coliseum game will be a MLB attendance record booing JD Drew.

My brother-in-law played football for the Bruins, so maybe his irrational hatred of SC has me a little paranoid. Seems to be more UCLA grads at this site.

USC fans, such as myself, are a distinct minority in these parts.

Tony Jackson says that Kuo 'looks like a lock." Bullpen???

Kuo
Proctor
Biemel
Broxton
Saito
Seanez
Brozoban/Hull/Torasco???

The UCLA fans here tend to be younger a bit more strident. Those of us who have been around the block a few times aren't as strident.

341 that's not too bad of a line up - I could see something like that once a week during the regular season. I'm just wondering how this is going to play out; even by the traditional standards of having a great spring training, Ethier is miles ahead of Pierre and when you factor in production from last year, it really shouldnt be close

Here's hoping a deal is in the works to move Slappy McPopup

About Saito, I'm not to worried about him once the bell rings he'll be ready.

347

hard throwing lefties are always welcomed I just hope that, 1 he throws strikes & 2 he stays healthy all year long.

346
A smaller group, but notable for our good sense and self-assurance.

With basketball season now over (except for the Lakers) we're looking forward to spring practice.

341 . He has been moved out of center and now, hopefully, out of left, but dealing JP right now for the sake of moving him may not be in the best interest of the club. What sort of deal are you thinking of? I for one fear that moving him for a third baseman will create a problem there once Andy comes back and I would prefer a stopgap using someone already on the 40 man. We are also thin in the outfield, even if Druw pans out. Granted JP is not the fourth outfielder nor bench player that I would prefer, but I would be queasy about going in with Repko and Young.

I've been living under a rock the last few days, any news on the 5th starter slot? will it be Loaiza, Park or maybe a dark horse?

354 While both have pitched well, Loaiza and his $7.5 million contract will be #5.

Billingsley's struggling a bit in the first vs Rockies, but he's gotten better as the inning's gone on, and the ump's got a tight strike zone which doesn't help. Posednik has a solid hit, then a sacrifice, then 2 walks, a groundball out RBI. Another walk.

And a foul out to end the inning - nice grab by Gary Bennett.

349 But at the moment Pierre is playing 3 days out of 4, not once a week. They might continue with this rotation 2 or 3 weeks into the season, I suppose, or until it's obvious to all whom to drop as a starter. Hopefully sooner.

I felt 2 of the last few pitches Bills threw to Torrealba were borderline strikes BUT because he wasn't throwing strikes to begin with they were not called, I've said this in the past & I'll say it again Billingsley mechanics don't impress me all that much.

Hu triples in Ethier, game tied.

Woo Hu!

Chin Lung Hu gets a standup triple into the gap to drive in Ethier, tied 1-1.

by the way, Sarah Morris has a nice read on Jason & Ed Repko...

I have just the solution for the Dodgers temporary third base issues: Abre-Hu.

[364} Amazingly, it looks like NedCo agrees with you.

Solving the 3rd base problem from with in is the best way to do it IMO.

That wasn't exactly a vote of confidence for JP from Vin. "Some people think that Ethier and Kemp will score more runs." Nothing about JP's speed or ring in a box.

Pleased to announce Daughter has been accepted and plans to become a UCLA Bruin. One of 4,700 out of 55,000 applications according to the letter. Not sure how her Bear and Trojan parents had this outcome, but we are all excited. She's already drinking the baby blue kool-aid -- she advised me that Kevin Love is the best player in college basketball. Son disappointed by non-acceptance at UCSB. On to Moorpark JC for awhile and then try again.

From DB dot Com >>Meanwhile, the competition for the last spot in the outfield is over. Andre Ethier has won. Now someone just has to convince Joe Torre of that.

That was a good one...

Bases loaded for Ethier.

370 DP. Rats.

368
Congratulations to your daughter. She joins the exclusive Bruin family of people like me, Greg Brock, and bhsportsguy among others.

I'm sure she'll come out OK anyway.

Save your breath for when the games really count Hurdle...

368 Big life stuff. Congrats and hope it all sorts out in a good way for son.

That was odd. A runner leaving too early on a sac fly, called out. In exhibition game. Dodgers fortunate to still be tied.

372 And me! If grad school, and also having played in the arcade during junior high and gone to four straight mardi gras, count.

376
Again, I'm sure she'll come out OK!

Apparently, the layoffs at the Los Angeles Times have taken their toll:

Jazz stage comeback to beat Boston

March 23, 2008

* at New Orleans 113, Boston 106:

http://tinyurl.com/322qwe

Future roster cut Ramon Martinez has struck out twice today.

Er, non-roster cut, that is.

372 374
Thanks. She's very excited. She gets to join a formidable student body -- past and present.

Identical #'s for the Rox & Dodgers 2 runs on 5 hits.

381
Is she going to live on campus the first year?

obvious observation but an observation non-the-less Billingsley is not throwing strikes & leaving his off-speed pitches UP, that formula is not good no matter were you play...

Slappy bunts for an out and you'd think that when the catcher and third baseman nearly take each out, the guy would be safe at first

381
Yes. All personal referrals, insights, websites for information are gladly accepted. We don't know any recent dorm residents to get their advice.

Down & in to a left handed batter, sweet...

Something is terribly wrong with Chad today.

378 Pistol Pete had 38.

386
The dorms are much nicer than they were in the 1980s.

My oldest friends are people I met during my freshman year at UCLA. I've gotten to the point where two of my friends married each other and now one of their kids is starting high school next year.

What happened? I feel like singing "Sunrise, Sunset."

well, if your gonna have games like this it's always good having them in the spring (mama said they'll be days like this?) hopefully Billingsley learns from this outing & works/builds on it.

I would be able to root for a player like Blaylock but I would rather watch Dewitt struggle some than someone that won't ever do much.

390
As long as she doesn't pull a Hodel in the near future I'll be happy. Leave the marriage stuff for (much) later. Her boyfriend is at Cal Poly SLO and she barely considered going there.

Man, who's working with Kemp & Loney & Ethier, those were beautiful looking swings!

393
I don't want to scare you, but there are male students at UCLA.

What does she plan to study? Or has she not gotten to that point yet? I will humbly recommend that she become a History major.

wasn't there a teacher who told you [Bob] that you wouldn't amount to anything if you took history as your major? man, what kind of teacher does that, wow...

396
I guess that's why she won several distinguished teaching prizes at UCLA.

I wouldn't be a good historian. All I have are boring historical anecdotes.

Ugh, Loiaza's not looking too good either. Ah well...

354 - after that performance, I think Loiaza's leash will be mighty short.

She's not super focused on a major yet, but possibly something in a pre-law direction.

For the twins' graduation presents, are the dual operating systems of an Apple laptop worth the price premium over non-Apple brands?

396 My advisor says the same thing to me all the time. But I imagine that's more a comment on my abilities than a statement about the field.

397 No, you wouldn't be a good historian because you have interesting historical anecdotes. The good historian only makes use of the boring ones.

This is getting ugly. This has to be one of the worst stretches of Pierre's career.

400
History is the king of pre-law majors! It really helps out with the writing part of the job.

My sister-in-law who is a law professor was an English major.

I have a Mac that handles both Mac and Windows. If you wait until your daughter is enrolled at UCLA, she can buy one at a discount.

She tore up both years of IB History, so ya never know. I was a Humanities major for two years before switching to Econ, so the english and history roots are already there too.

Are there any don't-miss summer orientation seminars or events for an incoming freshman not routinely advertised?

404
Since freshman orientation for me was in 1983 and all that I remember about it was that I was upset that I missed Fred Lynn hitting the first grand slam in the All-Star Game.

The highlight for me was going to the arcade one night when they set all the video games on "free" for about three hours.

if I ever go back to school I wanna do psychology.

406
That was a good major in my day for meeting girls.

I humbly endorse History.

If she's looking to go to law school I'd suggest either history or poli sci, english would also be good. But it also depends on the kind of law she wants to practice - if she is looking at IP go technical because then she can do patent work

406
Guys in my psychology classes envied me because I had biology classes - It was where all the hot girls were.

Guys in my biology classes envied me because I had psychology classes - It was where all the hot girls were.

It was the same in both fields, just psychology had a greater quantity of females, not necessarily quality.

The grass is always greener on the other side...

strike, I am a third year at ucla so if you have any questions feel free to ask. Congrats to your daughter, she'll have a great time no matter what she studies or where she stays.

Billingsley will be fine. He was just working on a changeup today (L.A. Times reported it).

She did mention Psych as a possibility. It may have been after I told her the most successful attorney I know frequently wins lawsuits against major insurance companies and he was a Psych undergrad.

Thanks all for the info folks, and the offer ucladodger.

I read a great follow-on the other day... the grass really may be greener on the other side, and remember you may be the one to have to mow it.

402 , I think Pierre REALLY suffers when he tries too hard. When comfortable, he may perform fairly well. .360 OBP, chasing down balls, etc.... But when trying to impress, he does incredibly badly. That's not really indicative of a championship player; more of a Jeff Weaver.

So he has been trying too hard now for 3 season's going on a 4th?

408

OH Ken Noe, you are so know-eth

from rotowire:

According to the Denver Post, the Rockies are trying to trade Marcus Giles to the Dodgers.

Jayson Nix has locked up the Rockies' starting second base job, making Giles expendable. "That's what I'm hearing," Giles confirmed when asked about the trade talk. He could start for the Dodgers in place of the injured Jeff Kent. Mar. 23 - 8:10 pm et

wouldn't that create a log jam in the near future once every body is healthy? It dose not sound like a good idea IMO.

388.

Yes indeed, rebels from the north have been threatening N'Djamena lately …

Throwing a new changeup into their strategy…

396 I was a history major and I... wait, she might have a point.

417 - that's about three years too late, I would think. MArcus Giles is not what the Dodgers need right now, in fact, he's pretty much the exact opposite of what they need right now.

421 Amen.

And the choir said--Halleluia!

422 - of course, as I think about it... giving another team in the division the exact opposite of what they need is a pretty good strategy.

Perhaps we should look within the division for a new home for Pierre...

Here are some of Billingsley's quotes from todays game>>"This spring I'm really working on things," said Billingsley, who also struggled to find his release point today. "The last couple of innings I was throwing my changeup a lot more. I really want to develop it and add it to my repertoire because it's a pitch you're going to need. Right now I'm just trying to throw it for strikes and keep it down in the zone.

"I've gotten beat on it a lot this spring. [But] I have to throw it to prove it. I don't really want to give up on it because you need that pitch."

I hope Bills will be allright and continue to progress.

How can a guy decline as fast as Marcus Giles seems to be. Was his peak a freak?

Rotoworld on OBP Juan:

Juan Pierre, who recently had a meeting with Joe Torre to ask for more at-bats, went 0-for-4 while playing a third straight day on Sunday. He's 2-for-14 the last three days and is hitting .188 in 69 at-bats overall. It's not a lack of playing time that's the issue, as he has more at-bats than anyone in baseball this spring. Maybe it's that his job could be on the line for the first time since his rookie season, but the pressure is on and he's not responding.

410-Ha! I double-majored in psych and bio. But I dropped to a psych minor when I realized that no one in the real world cares about double-majors, and my senior year would be filled with bloated egomaniacs talking about the theories they came up with 50 years ago if I didn't.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Bandura

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Zimbardo

And the hot girls are definitely in pysch. Bio is too difficult and time consuming. There's not a lot of energy left for being hot.

404 She should go to UCLABruins.com and sign up for the Bruin Den which is the student section at the football and basketball games. However, basketball games are not guaranteed, apparently you have to buy your tickets by a certain date to enter a raffle.

One class she will certainly take in her freshman year is Psych 10 (they must still have Psych 10).

Tell her that she is entering with the best freshman class of basketball recruits in the country.

One thing, is there still an arcade at Ackerman?

429
There is still an arcade in Ackerman. There is still Psych 10.

I did not take Psych 10, but I did take Psych 15. The lowest grade I ever got at UCLA was in Psych 15. But of the big undergrad survey classes, I did take Anthro 11, Geography 1, and Astro 3.

430 What happened to the deep-dish pizza place at the Coop?

431
When I was there this fall, the pizza place was being remodeled. But for over 20 years, that place made pizza ... the ... exact ... same ... way.

425
I've noticed that some of the guys that have been mentioned as possibles for the Dodger 3b needs have gone from HR totals in the 20's to HR totals in the teens, or less the past two years (2006 & 2007 seasons).
Could it have something to do with "supplements" that they dare not use any longer?

430 Did you have to take English 10 or did you test out of that.

BTW, if the new freshman wants to see athletes (supposedly), be a sociology major. Some are history majors but there are not many English majors.

428
I double majored in biochem and psych since a neuroscience major wasn't offered. Lower division bio & psych classes are where I saw the most attractive girls (sorry to sound shallow) but when it came time for upper division, none of them were interested in bichem or the cognitive sciences but seemed to gravitate towards marine bio, ecology, and social & childhood psych. It was in my upper div classes I heard the most complaints by guys.

The difference was obvious to me since there were about 5 females total majoring in biochem. I remember one of them having a monstrous head. I just assumed she was smart and stayed away. Didn't want to risk having her rest her head on my shoulder during class and inadvertently breaking my collar bone (only 8 lbs of pressure allowed).

Anyone see that Seinfeld episode where Laney dates a guy who's a bad "breaker-upper"?

434
It was English 3 in my day and I didn't test out of that. I did test out of "Subject A," aka "Bonehead English."

English 10 is a 3-course survey of British literature. I never took a literature course in college.

In my day, history was a good major to meet members of the UCLA football team. I recall John Lee being singled out by a professor of mine for cheating.

From The Onion's "History of the Bench-Clearing Brawl:"

"2006: In a brawl between the Dodgers and Brewers, 78-year-old Tommy Lasorda unexpectedly storms onto the field screams loudly while running around in circles, causing both teams to slowly retreat to their dugouts and look around nervously."

http://tinyurl.com/2oq9uk

...now that I am finally caught up on DT for now, congrats to Jon and to Lex for their young future DTers!!

(and which would the board rather have happen, Helms for a Mike Myers slash Joe Biemel or JP + at least one pitching prospect for Inge?)

I was an electrical engineering major at UCLA...and there were absolutely no hot girls in that major, as you would expect.

Finished up my 3-game road trip to Arizona today. I'd like to thank the Dodgers for not showing me ANY wins.

I'd do a reliever for Helms; in fact I'd rather have him in general over Inge, if that was an option.

435 My wife was in the first UCLA graduating class of Neuroscience majors in '94. She says there were 5 people... very brief ceremony.

I was an Electrical Engineering major, but also took most of the CS major. I didn't have a lot of free time. I also never got credit for the CS because I didn't know you could double major or even that you could get a minor.

443 While I was there, they didn't allow engineering majors to double major (at least within the engineering school). We did have the possibility of a CS specialty or something, which consisted of something like 5 extra classes.

Back when I was at college, someone from the science or humanities sides going to psych was like Ned trading Hu for middle relief pitchers. (not that I didn't do something like this during my academic career.)

On a dif. note, is our pitching going to play well in this division? I just can't decide. I think our depth is up there, but I worry about the top of our rotation.

Hey everyone,

Half an hour ago, I was angrier than I'd been all year. Strangely enough, it's over a basketball game.

The Lakers fall behind by 26 points, then come back to take the lead, all this in the second half.

Then when it matters most, the Lakers fold on defense. The Lakers have played like this in close games all year. Even Kobe couldn't save them this time. Will the Lakers ever defend a three pointer? ever? EVER?!!

---

For the Dodgers, I like what I see from the rotation lately. I read an article in the local paper this morning (probably an AP report) on how Chin Lung Hu could be a frontrunner for the 3rd base job.

A philosophical question: would you go to a preseason Dodger game at Dodger Stadium? I'm so eager to take in the experience again: the dodger dogs, the organ, the diamondvision, even the beach ball.

446 - to answer your philosophical question: maybe. I think I've been to a freeway series game at Angel Stadium; but never made it up to Dodger Stadium. Then again, I'm lucky to get to the Ravine more than a couple times a year.

Lakers gave one back tonight.
After a great win in Utah, to drop this one is tough.
Now Golden State and Lakers play again Monday night in Oakland. Lakers need that one.

446
I went to one of the preseason Freeway Series games with ToyCannon last year. It didn't get a big crowd, but it was the first day with the new parking system.

And the Angels blew out the Dodgers. It's a much different type of crowd. And it tends to be colder.

449

The temperature or the crowd? ha ha

It's funny that they play a final exhibition game on 3/30 and then play their official home opener the next day! It would be like taking your finals and then starting the next academic quarter the day after.

450
I don't think the players find it a big deal. Usually the last exhibition game has a lot of AAA players in it. And is started by the #5 guy.

http://www.dailynews.com/dodgers/ci_8666444

According to Tony Jackson, Joe Torre will make Jeff Kent pass a test:

Torre said Kent will have to be able to sprint from first to third before he would be cleared to play in a game.

When was the last time the thing Kent does in going from 1st to 3rd called a "sprint"?

It's funny, if the Lakers win the West, their probable reward would be to open the playoffs against Golden State.

I could see them having trouble with that team....

452 It's sprinting from first to third and not continuing to home plate when Larry Bowa puts up the stop sign.

Sad words from Keith Law, right before the gate:

Eric Gagne threw in yesterday's game and continued a disturbing trend that started when he went to Boston last summer. Gagne faced four hitters, and went to two strikes on three of them. He threw two fastballs and one curve, but did not go to his changeup, his out-pitch during his dominant years with the Dodgers. His refusal to use that pitch in obvious changeup counts causes two problems. One, hitters can sit on his fastball, which he throws at least 80 percent of the time, and which has little movement. Two, it's a sign that he doesn't trust his change, which no longer has the great tumbling action it had when he was in L.A.; it's an above-average pitch, but he's not going to miss many bats with it. The Brewers are looking to Gagne to be their closer, but his stuff isn't going to produce the strikeout totals and quick innings most teams expect from that role.

From Kevin Baxter is this morning's LA Times. Take it for what it is worth:

"But contracts are not likely to sway Torre's decision in picking a starter in left field where Juan Pierre, in the second year of a five-year, $44-million contract, is battling Andre Ethier, who will earn $424,000 this season.

Both players will make the team but it's becoming more and more likely that Ethier, who is batting .344 and is tied for the lead among National League players with five spring homers, could start over Pierre, who is hitting .188 with a .253 on-base percentage."

456 After some indecision, the Yahoo Dodger team report lists Ethier as the starter in left. But it seems to be just a guess.

The Pierre-Ethier-Kemp soap opera is becoming more dramatic than March Madness. Every day there's a new twist or suspenseful cliffhanger.

Canter's Deli will have a stand on the field level at Dodger Stadium this year:

http://tinyurl.com/yoh8hc

458
Cue Gus Johnson!

Spring Training Stats (things that jump out):

Good:
Ethier's line-- .344/.459/.623
11bbs/3ks in 61 Abs.

Furcal's SLG%: .651 in 63abs
Jones: 11bbs in 41Abs.

Bad:
Kemp--1 bb in 56Abs
Lowe: 5 GS, 5.68 ERA, 3HRS
Billingsley: 5 GS, 8.31 ERA, 6HRs in 17 ip.

459

THAT's a pretty good reason to go to a preseason game! Corned beef sandwich, here I come!

Of course, the Corned Beef sandwich already costs 16 dollars. How much more could they charge for it at the ballpark?

As great as Canter's is... Why can't the Dodgers bring back King Taco??

now saito's fastball is reported to be down in velocity, i'm starting regret trading for rios, peavy, and saito for braun, lincecum, and borowski.

did i make a mistake?

it's only spring but i would feel more at ease if lowe, bills, kuroda, and saito were having better springs.

464 He's only pitched 4 innings. It takes awhile for a pitcher's velocity to move up. I'd give it awhile before panicking. Lowe looked fine Saturday, the best he's looked. Bills was working on less familiar pitch a lot yesterday.

marcus giles and mark loretta rumored to come to LA??

466 if all you want is a .700 OPS why not just go with Hu??

464 Spring Training means less than nothing. Don't worry.

468 i know that, just looking back a year ago i think penny's sping ERA was in the 10's, but when i hear loss of velocity that always concerns me.

"Smooth as a Jamaal Wilkes jumper from the corner, unbelievably mellow as a summer afternoon (at least for the first two hours), our new boy has brought us serene amazement. A new season has begun, and we're dazed but not at all confused. Welcome to the lineup, little one.

"21 inches, 8 pounds, 1 ounce, 10:50 a.m."

What understated eloquence!

I know I'm way late to the party, but heartiest congratulations to Jon as well as to other DT commenters who have had recent family editions.

Ethier and Kemp not flanking Jones in the starting OF--or at least getting the lion's share of playing time--is about as likely as Odalis Perez and Mark Hendrickson being named opening day starting pitchers for major league teams!

Um, well, um...

I posted 2 Coliseum tickets in the Ticket Exchange thread if anybody interested. Will listen to any offer.

472 - You can repost that in the new thread up top.

471 Poor Big Bird. He finally gets an Opening Day assignment and the other team starts Johan Santana.