Still no rain in Altadena

According to the same Tony Jackson blog entry that featured Larry Bowa's quotes about Bob Watson, he notes that Charley Steiner said he remembered him doing this in New York a few times when rain was in the forecast there. He also noted that Billingsley could be lined up to pitch in relief if the game went deep enough.

What does this mean for Chad then? Wait another five days until his next scheduled turn or get moved up a couple days? Stupid rain.

That's almost looks like a soaking rain.

299 (last post) - Line Drive Loney works nicely

wow, ok, that's some real rain there

yeah, those drop-lets look big now, no sprinkles anymore...

What the heck is Andruw doing?

wow

ok, time to call the game off, right now.

I despise the way Torre has managed this game with the pitching staff. With it starting to rain, why bring in Bills for 1 innings or 2 innings max?

What in the world was Andruw doing there?

Ugly play. I wonder how much the rain played a role in that drop by Ethier.

Maybe that's where "chemistry" is supposed to kick in.

12 Jones played a bigger role in Ethier's drop. That was his all the way.

I'd be very very surprised if this game isn't completed with out any delays

I'm very very surprised, & I'm not kidding this kind of stuff just doesn't happened in California.

Torre might have cost us a win there. Bring in a guy used to pitching in relief (like Proctor or Broxton) and we get 3 outs before the rain.

14
Wow, you're right. I wasn't even thinking about Andruw on that play. I rewound it and, you're right, that should have been Jones making that play.

16 Over our vociferous complaints, Billingsley got plenty of relief experience last season.

I wonder if Bills could have gotten through 5 IP faster than G/Kuo and Troncoso got through 4?

The Kamenetskys have Larry Bowa audio and a vivid description of Andy LaRoche's hand.

http://sportsblogs.latimes.com/sports_baseball_dodgers/2008/04/lest-there-be-a.html

16

Obviously, but he hasnt been a reliever for a while. Totally different mindset and preparation, especially for the craziness of todays game. Bills is a astarter now- you either start him or you dont pitch him.

Is there a web application yet that notifies you when a rain delay is ending? If not, can we convince someone (MLBAM? FanGraphs?) to invent and program one? I had been mentally preparing myself for the rain delay, but once Bills came out all that work evaporated, and with Jones inexplicably not calling off Ethier... grr.

Comcast Sports Network is showing an interview with Jeffrey Leonard. I remember Jeffrey Leonard. I have fond memories of him. But this interview is not doing anything for me, and I'd rather watch "The Puffy Shirt" for the 34th time, commercial breaks included.

I am having a real hard time understanding this one. You make a interesting, maybe smart, decision to not start Billingsley because of the weather. You are obviously listening to someone who knows something about the weather. The strategy is working out fairly well, but the rain didn't reach the stadium quite when expected. Still, the radar is showing the hardest rain is still coming. You decide to throw Billingsley out there when the radar is showing the yellow about 5 minutes away? The Giants broadcast was following the radar all night, and you could see the rain cell coming closer and closer. You don't want to waste a Billingsley start but now you have so utterly and completely wasted Billingsley. Did Torre stop listening to the person he did listen to originally? And if so, why did he even listen to them to begin with? I am more than a little miffed about this. And just because the Giants did it first doesn't make it OK. This is beyond reasonable IMO.

The rain has already tapered off here in Ventura County. The doppler radar shows the last bands of rain heading over LA right now with the next band of rain currently heading toward the channel islands. After the tarps are lifted there will most likely be about a 2 hour window before we see more rain. Keep in mind I am lifting most of this from the National Weather service storm discussion page and I am not a weather man, I just like to pretend being one.
vr, Xei

20 - I don't agree that you can't use Billingsley as a reliever at all. I think Torre overthought things, but the fact is, preparing to enter a game at the start of an inning and possibly go five innings or so is not a totally different mindset.

The bringing in of Lincecum and Billingsley right before the rain started seems to have backfired. I do like the strategy of pinch hitting for your starter the first time he comes to bat and then pinch hitting for his replacement when he comes to bat. It's a good strategy to use for your 4th and 5th starter usually. Nobody does it, but it's highlighted in Tom Tango's (and other authors) book, The Book, Playing The Percentages In Baseball. Best baseball research book out there imho.
vr, Xei

22 And Bochy did the same with Lincecum. I don't understand it either.

If the delay is short enough to feel like a long half-inning, does Chad go back out?

KCAL ladies, such ugly outfits tonight. Sheesh.

I would have pulled Billingsley from this start for the simple reason of how pathetic the Giants offense is and the having won Games 1 and 2 of the series. You start Chad in Game 1 vs the Padres and Kuroda in Game 2, thus skipping Loaiza.

Was anyone else concerned that Chad was topping out at 92 and as the inning progressed his velocity was hovering around 88-89. Was he not loose? Was he holding back because of he weather?

I definately agree that if you pull his start because of the weather you give him the night off. At this point I would not send Chad back out if the game resumes. I would push Penny up by 1 day and start Chad on Sunday or Monday considering he has thrown nothing more than a bullpen session this far.

Tx

24

Ya, it is Jon. Everything changes from routine, to warm-up time, etc. Chad has had experience relieving so i dont think it was that big of a problem, but i think it had an effect on both Chad and Lincecum.

But jritchey is right and reiterated what i said earlier. It was a total waste for Chad to come in there, and just because Bochy did something stupid didnt mean that Torre had to follow suit.

22

I'd give a pass to JoeTo just because he's been in NY for so long...

I hate rain delays, time to build a dome

No, everything doesn't change. Some things change. Some things don't. And at any rate, the changes don't render a pitcher helpless.

Again, I'm not endorsing Chad's entrance in the fifth - but the idea that pitchers can't switch between starting and relieving is a myth.

Taking a look at the other local team with a lot of potential this year... Kobe is 3 assists away from his 15th career triple double, with 8:45 to play in the game

It feels weird having watched what was essentially a five-inning baseball game. Imagine if they were all like this to try and lure younger viewers? I think I'm gonna be sick.

34. Has the game been cancelled?
vr, Xei

33 Hard to believe he only has 14.

35 No, I'm just making an observation based on what we have so far.

Radar's showing the rain's almost over Downtown now, it should only be a matter of time.

And now the tarp's coming off the field! Time to finish this.

I'm out of town. Is it cold, or just wet?

RE: Michigan Congresswoman's SPOUSE. Strange how the news so casually ruins peoples' lives. As easy as telling us the dew point.

i'm not in LA, so any weather updates would be appreciated. kent brockman anyone?

37. Ok, when I read your past tense, I thought the game was called. One more rain band coming in, but it should hold off til late in the game or just after it's over.
vr, Xei

36 - I'm surprised that he's only averaging 4.6 assists a game over his career, with the exception of 05-06, he's been over 5/game each of the last 8 years.

Blown save for Hoffman in San Diego.

39 41 Rain's slowing down or already stopped, tarp's coming off the field, and as Xei said, one more band coming in but it should hold off long enough.

Here are the tri-county rain gauges for those of you out of town. The rain totals are around a tenth of an inch or less in most places. They should be able to get the game in. vr, Xei
http://www.vcwatershed.org/fws/trico12h.htm

3 run bomb for Berkman - not Trevor time tonight

I will withhold any references to Bob Dylan songs.

44 - couldn't happen to a nicer closer

So is Andrew Shimmin a D-Back fan now or what? I saw a post saying he was gonna give up being a dodger fan if Pierre would start.

Yes!! It looks like all of our division competitors will lose! Now we just need that W! :)

I strongly disagree with the decision to use Billz in the 5th if he doesn't come back out. Why not just leave Troncoso in and then pinch hit for him after that inning? There was no rush to take him out, he didn't throw that many pitches. And it had already started raining. I don't get it..

With Bills only going 1/3 of an inning, although it was a long 1/3, I think we will see him come right back and pitch this weekend. No big loss, we're in the 5th inning tied up at one, thats about what we would be hoping for even with him starting tonight and he would not have come back after the delay anyway.

Hey Quick is it you?? (from fan fest) if it is thanks for posting that pic of me at fan fest, from what I saw you took some really cool pics man.

53 It's me, was nice to meet you, man.

Don't know if this has been answered yet, but surprised that they didn't let Kuo pitch another inning. He was pitching pretty well and if you are trying to protect your starting pitcher from getting caught in a rain delay and want to protect your pen, shouldn't they have done something different?

Loaiza time!

Assuming they are done for the night, this is a very strange scheme that both Messrs. Torre and Bochy have concocted to limit the innings of their youthful starters.

And now Loazia is coming in?

Are the Dodgers carrying 18 pitchers today?

And now Billingsley is out. Whoops...

Lincecum and Loaiza warming up.

58 Thats good news. We will probably see Chad come back on Saturday now in his place.

Enough with the TV ads. Too many.

Son los tiempos de Loaiza!

55 G/Kuo threw 56 pitches and wasn't stretched out to starter innings this spring. 56 seems reasonable for a long reliever outing that happened to coincide with the start of the game. I agree with the idea in 51 though. Troncoso threw 19 pitches; couldn't he go two innings?

Loaiza's coming in. Lincecum stays in for the giants. Don't like bringing in Billz at all. Doh, just realized I got to change my name. It looks like the its "baby blue" when the ba actually stands for "bay area". ;)

Great catch by Sr. Jones

65 Send an email to support2008 at baseballtoaster.com, and I can change your screen name for you.

55 - I doubt Kuo had thrown 50 pitches in a game all spring, let alone 70 or more.

Jones gets amazing jumps.

66 - He does that alot, because he plays so shallow. Nice catch in any event.

loaiza hit 88

The Solution says, "You can go to Jacksonville, I like it here in LA"

54

it was nice meeting you to, I peaked at 73mph on some other gun but it's not recommended to throw the ball as hard as you can with out warming-up let me tell you (muscles tighten up really really quick, don't know why but they do) anyways, thanks for sharing your pics bro.

I am loving Dewitt.

How's The Solution's speed? He appears slow, but I'm not sure he is.

75 - he beat a throw from just behind the bag on that infield basehit.

76 - behind second base, sorry

and he did manage to steal third last night, that usually requires a decent allotment of speed

Lincecum looks like a slightly beefier waif this year.

Is it just me or does it seem like the leadoff spot gets a lot of at bats with runners on base.

Stealing third takes more gumption than speed. And as we all know, Blake Dewitt is nothing but gumption.

I have PA #15 for Russ' first hit.

is it just me, or does lincecum's delivery look like a more compact version of orel? i think it's the way he tilts his head back.

80

Thats what happens when your #8 hitter is an on base machine!

61 Penny pitches on Saturday. If anything, Bills might go on Sunday in place of Lowe.

81 - I would say it's equal parts gumption and speed.

80 - well, when your #8 hitter has an OBP of .700, that's going to happen.

Every time I see Lincecum pitch, I just can't help but think that his stuff is as good as anyone. I can't believe he lasted as long as he did in the draft, regardless of his size.

67,

Ok great thanks.

On another note, that curve Lincecum threw to Martin was sick.

81 - Me thinks Torre supplied the gumption on that one.

83 He could be Orel's son.

83

I love watching him pitch man, I just don't like it when it's against the Dodgers...

73 Tell me about it. Before the Fan Fest got busy and we were still waiting for people, I threw a few after playing half an hour's worth of catch the prior day. Every time it slowed down, I'd throw a few more. My arm's just about back to normal now, hah.

What was Vin's story about Gil Hodges? I am watching the game on MLB.com and they come back late after commercials. Is anyone out there noticing this season what a great flavor Vin brings to the game?

Maybe it's cause I just moved to Portland...but I love him!

Bob, what is the rule of where the coaching boxes are located on the field.

Here's what the Padres did today after last night's ejection of Larry Bowa.

The Padres repainted the third base coaching box at Petco Park on Wednesday, extending it about 20 feet toward home plate.

Maybe during the offseason I just forgot quite how good Vinny is, but MAN I feel like he is really on his game and it's only the third of the season! At some points in the past couple of years I've really heard his age come through during the broadcasts, but these past two games, it's like everything he says is perfect. I suppose just hearing him at all after so many months off is affecting me.

I've also noticed that Charlie Steiner on the radio has not bothered me nearly as much, but Monday is his usual self.

Letting Lincecum pitch after he had already pitched and then sat for so long is pretty foolish. That is just asking for an arm injury. I believe Joe Girardi did the same thing to Josh Johnson, and Josh Johnson's subsequent injury was blamed on Girardi.

Right now is the time when the dodgers play after the rain

I've been watching and watching these offenses is such a pain

You know and I know the rain don't have that long to last

And offensive prowess is only a figment of past.

(c'mon, someone's gotta get this one)

Good news: the Giants have a AAA lineup.

Bad news: Esteban Loazia is a AAA pitcher.

winn is 16 for 32 against loaiza

Winn is a Dodger killer, [gulps]

94
MLB.com hasn't added the rule to its website to include the new addition to the coaches box rule.

It was summed up this way:
"An added comment to Rule 4.05 requires that a coach, until being passed by a batted ball, must position himself no closer to home plate than the front edge of the coach's box and no closer to fair territory than the edge of the coach's box closest to the field."

99 - So he only gets a hit every other time (please don't let this be that time!)

phew, 16 for 33.

still, the run scores.

96 They had to bring him back. He's one of their better hitters.

103 - actually, it'll stay at 16 for 32, sac fly

You know, productive out

RAFFY!

The coaches boxes, according to the rules, are supposed to be 20 feet long and 10 feet wide and are supposed to be parallel to the baselines and start even with first and third bases.

Nice play by Rafael Furcal & it's not like the Giants pen is all that, judging from what Vinny said yesterday, I hope the Dodger hitters get timely hits.

I'm loving Furcal this year. (It just occured to me how this is one of those comments that at the end of the year you might wonder how/why you ever thought this.)

Still, I think Furcal is healthy and looking to land a big contract.

I'm loving Furcal this year. (It just occured to me how this is one of those comments that at the end of the year you might wonder how/why you ever thought this.)

Still, I think Furcal is healthy and looking to land a big contract.

106 oh yeah, duh. man, it's been a long offseason :)

101 I think a 25 foot coaching box might be playing with fire with MLB rules.

So I was at opening day monday, and when I got back to school monday, I tried the joke "I had a doctor's appointment, with Dr. Chavez Ravine, his offices are located at Dodger Stadium," and no one got it (sigh). Not even after I said "Dodger Stadium."

112 - I was going to let it go, but couldn't pass up the chance to use "productive out"

Who Is Karim Garcia, I've missed you. I just haven't posted that much over the offseason and after meeting you at DT day, I'm just happy to see you again.

I'm loving Furcal this year too. I picked the wrong years to have him on my fantasy team, clearly.

The Dodger coach boxes look small, get a measuring stick!!

Way to work the count, Andre.

way to battle Andre!

Andre needs a nickname

Well, good at-bat by Ethier. Question - if the Dodgers don't score this inning, is the game called, or do they continue to play until either the rain necessitates another stoppage or the usual 9 innings goes past?

... Nevermind, question answered for me.

Still waiting to see Jones tag one.

Was that Shawn Green at bat? Oh no, sorry, maybe Andruw just hits into a lot of double plays. Anybody with the stats to back this up?

Uncanny how Kent's body and batting stance echo his personality.

120 I suppose "Andre the Giant" is out of the question?

121 the usual 9, extra innings, or called for rain. Multiple stoppages do happen.

94.

Maybe a sarcastic response to MLB's new stiffer rule enforcement, kind of like how one might write taking up two lines with each letter after being told their handwriting is too small, or when one might just unplug themselves after being told to turn their instrument down.

Is it just me or what. but I think the Giant brain trust don't think of there young pitchers LONG TERM career.

Hm.... I wish some of our guys would work the count more. If we're not gonna score against Lincecum, at least we can get him out of the game soon.

120 3.5 becomes Everyday 'dre?

Hey, Nate, do you have the URL for the blog run by the guy who was known as "Gagne" at Fanhome? I believe his first name is Jared? I lost all my bookmarks on my computer and I can't remember the name of his blog, or if it even had one.

125 beat me to the punch...

God, Andruw has looked awful at the plate thus far this year. He's either out in front rolling over or he's late on fastballs. I sure hope he can get back to pre-07 form.

114
Perhaps your students know that Dodger Stadium technically isn't in Chavez Ravine.

http://tinyurl.com/36kxnb

126 - Right, thanks.

What's with Jones? Not exactly busting down the line.

123 - 160 GDP in 6414 AB coming into tonight. Averages about 15 a season. Could be worse, I suppose

131 I have it...

http://thinkbluela.blogspot.com/

120.

He's 3.5 remember?

131

http://thinkbluela.blogspot.com/

123 He's been in the top ten a few times in the GDP.

Grounded into Double Plays
2004 NL-24-3rd
2005 NL-19-6th

Does Jones have a nickname? If not, can he be something like el gordo fuerte?

I love watching Lincecum pitch, but I can't help but get the feeling one day his arm is going to detach from his shoulder and go sailing into the dugout.

138, 140 -- Thanks.

Line Drive Loney with extra bases. And the Robot made of Nails coming up... followed by The Solution.

unproductive out

T.J. Simer's says he teared up when he heard Plaschke won the sportswriter award. How do you just lie like that?

ok, someone with a wikipedia account needs to update DeWitt's entry to reflect his nickname.

Matt had some good cuts up there.

Blake DeWitt is Joe Torre's Bubba Crosby.

DeWitt is like Ethier Jr.

You cannot question The Solution!

The solution with a line drive in the box score

You can't blame Loney for playing it safe...

So, is everyone still glad we signed Andruw instead of Aaron?

I think Blake DeWitt can sublease his apartment in Jacksonville

147 Its called sarcasm or in Simers case, his column.

Lincecum through 3 IP and Kuo had similarities. Both threw 56 pitches, with Kuo having 2 less strikes. Both walked 3. Kuo's 3 Ks were 1 more. Both had 5:2 GB:FB ratio. Kuo 1 hit, Lincecum 2.

Can DeWitt play any second base? Maybe he can stick around as a super-utility player.

Oooohhh, some poor fan bit it hard trying to get to a foul ball. Ouch.

another unproductive out

148
Done!

154.

Of course we can, we are sports fans!

147 No it wasn't sarcasm. He was trying to prove his admiration for Paschkie so he could criticize him the next paragraph.

159 No, they tried that once, though who knows, now they said Young couldn't play second either.

155 - I'd hope? three games in a season where Jones has looked mediocre offensively but pretty good defensively, and two vs. five. still don't see how you can start making arguments using a two and a half game base.

DeWitt's 3 for 3? Sign him to a long-term deal!

I thought Sweeney was a "professional hitter".

This has to be Lincecum's last inning, right?

Russ HAS to do his thing now.

Well, if someone is due.

Good time for Golden God to get his first hit.

Golden god...

Lets go, redemption Russ!

Come on Russell, papa needs a win from his $1 Loaiza!

Russ is hungry like a wolf...

155 Yes. Rowand's contract will stink in the long run. If Jones' stinks, his contract doesn't have a long run.

168
Even Manny Mota struck out 320 times in the regular season.

That was strikeout 398 of Sweeney's career.

OK Lincecum, make a sacrificial offering to the Golden God!

This is big time pressure.

Lincecum is trying to be a little too cute with two strikes

Or not.

Ugh, what has happened to our Golden God?

Ouchie wowchie.

to close to take Russ, if he'd swung I really feel he would have hit a dunker some where.

Sigh. Hopefully we'll see squishy underbelly of the bullpen in the 8th.

whaddaya know, the pitcher fooled the umpire

There's 160 games left and I feel guilty for being tired and just wanting to go to bed.

Argh.

How often does a team get a leadoff double, a 1-out double, have no double-plays or other forced outs (e.g. CS) and score zero runs in an inning?

Russ' slump is not working out well for us.

Somewhere, Dusty Baker is grumbling, chewing on a toothpick, and shaking his head. Called third strike indeed.

188 Sounds like something the Giants would do.

Proctor can not afford to gamble in this situation, go right after 'em Scotty!

182 Again, the big plays were Matt Kemp not being able to advance Loney and then Sweeney not being able to put the ball in play. Asking Russell Martin to come through with 2 out with a hit would have been a great first hit of the season.

189 ...or my fantasy team.

Ughh, it's going to be one of those nights.

Just want to add that it's fun reading the comments and watching the game with DT. It's like the old days before I had kids.

168.

In the same way Plaschke is a "professional sportswriter," and Ramon Martinez is an "experienced veteran."

193 bhsportsguy
Should have had Pierre PH for Kemp and bunt him over. :)

I think I will always have bad memories of Dan Ortmeier... instant hatred.

Proctor sitting at 91 MPH (which tells me the gun is slow again this eyar).

196 that's "award-winning sportswriter" to us mere blog commenters.

85.

With Loaiza pitching tonight Penny will likely move up to Friday on a normal 4 days of rest. The same could happen to Lowe, thus keeping Billingsley behind Lowe and giving him 3 days of rest after his 20 pitch inning.

Tx

Hello everyone. Well, here I am back in Santa Barbara watching a game that I was at two hours ago.

What a... well I don't want to say strange, but it was fascinating being at this game tonight.

We addressed the unusual pitching matchups tonight, so I'll address the atmosphere.

First a major tip of the hat to the guy who revealed his white Dodger Thoughts t-shirt, Superman Style. Whoever that guy is I must say you are very cool. He and everyone in Infield Reserve, Section 2, had some fun with these Giants fans towards the back. Even some of the ladies were having "fun" with them. Just the usual fun rivalry smack talk.

But yes, my pop and I were there and once there was a rain delay, that was that; we both had to work the next day so we couldn't risk hanging out until past midnight at the Ravine. So instead I'm back here, sitting at my usual spot in front of the computer.

199

Lincecum was normal velocity.

197 - no, just if either one of Kemp or Sweeney put the ball in play, a run would have scored. Instead, strikeouts left the runners where they were.

By the way, I think Sid the Sloth is a good nickname for James Loney

202 Cute story, nice to have you.

Time for Andruw Jones to earn his paycheck right here in this inning.

197 He could have PRed for Loney though. Hu went in for Kent in the double-switch with the game tied yesterday.

When all is said and done, it really does seem we need Proctor more than Betemit. He did well.

207

Andruw looks closer to 40 years old than 30 so far. I am hoping he is not relaxing after signing his big contract (because his walk year was so impressive).

191 - Not the Giants. They only have one double all season! This is a pitiful team (that we are losing to).

Tonight's game will be brought to you by productions of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal" and Christopher Nolan's "Memento."

200.

Ah yes, and Danys Baez, who was "an all star."

197 I'm just saying, Matt should have been thinking about the situation instead of pounding the ball out the ballpark. But he will learn.

They pressed the mute button to late, my virgin ears still heard the profanity

209 Would you say the same thing if DeWitt had gone 0-11 to start the season, looking bad while doing it?

211 'Tis a pitiful team, but it's also been a strange, bizarre game.

Me and Bob are looking like rocket scientists right now.

So I'm just getting back to this now...

Am I to understand the Dodgers have just five hits, and Blake DeWitt has three of them?

214 Bowa will learn him.

214 bhsportsguy
I agree with your thought in 193 .

Oh, and I think Andre Ethier should be "Snoop Dog" because he always plays that one song when he bats.

219 and scheduled starter Billingsley came in to start the 4th and pitched 1/3 of an inning. Then it rained.

So odd to come home at 930, watch the game from the beginning on Tivo, then fastforward through much of the recording (Sharks Report and some other nonsense), then see that my Tivo ran out in the middle of the last Dodger rally, then frantically turn the live TV on to rewind Tivo to where it left off (bless you Tivo!) to now be fully caught up with the real game at 11:14.

And I think I stopped caring about the game somewhere in the middle of fastforwarding through the rain delay and still have some work to do and yet here I still am, watching.

I still don't quite understand bringing in Billingsley at all today after they made the decision to sit him for safety's sake (which made sense to me), but I guess that's what happens when you play guessing games based on meteorology.

Ouch. Ethier and Martin 3Ks apiece.

219 And Loney has the other 2.

Stainer seems a lot better with his depth perception this year, good for him.

If Vin can bother with a suit at his age, Steiner can surely do better than a hoodie.

217 - Yeah, I should have gone to bed a long time ago, but the game is just so strange that I can't turn it off.

Now can James get his third hit?

And now the productive part of the line up is coming up with two outs.

228 - TV vs Radio, my friend

219 And how was the cocktail party?

That's a start!

Walk the sloth, pitch to the bison...

Line Drive Slo-ney

Make them pay, Bison

Make. Them. Pay.

Intentional walk to get to the bison? This can't end well for los gigantes.

interesting....

Wow. Walk a guy to get to Kemp. Big opportunity here.

Okay Matt, just calm down and look for your pitch.

222 You mean the one by Dr. Dre?

BISON TIME

This pitcher has a pretty big butt for a Viking.

241 - hmmm, The Doctor is in... left field. That has some potential

It's Bison time!

WWSH

222 - that song (unless they've changed it?) is "forgot about 'dre" by dr. dre.

Hard Ball Made Easy by Ron Stilanovich

{double-checking) yep, they intentionally put the go-ahead run on first. Interesting.

Wow. Walk a guy to get to Kemp. Big opportunity here.

I'm sure the Bison isn't taking that insult kindly...

The Maori warrior comes through (its the tatoo). Go Druw.

Kemp is now 0-3 against Wilson with 2 strikeouts.

Ouchie wowchie.

Let's see if the Dodgers are picking up good vibrations here.

Argh times 2.

I can just see the Plaschke column writing itself right now, as he drifts off to sleep with sweet dreams of Pierre in his head.

This is extremely frustrating.

D'oh! Not a very good at-bat by Kemp.

This MLB Extra Innings commercial is driving me crazy.

well, no.

Who's left to pinch hit after DeWitt gets on base to start the bottom of the ninth?

Not every action in a Dodgers game is reflected in the writings of Bill Plaschke. Nor should people care if it is.

260 Don't you need to rest up for tomorrow? Are you soothing your throat with tea, lemon and honey perhaps?

Kemp and Martin both look just a tad slow on their cuts so far this season. It's a little early to be freaking out about it though, frustrating as it is, as I'm pretty confident that will speed up just a bit very soon.

nate, what's going on with Arizona Bball? First the interim coach is designated replacement for Olson when Olson retires, and now it's announced he won't be back next year?

259

Juan!!!

Plashchke will be too busy writing about how Gasol is saving the Lakers' championship dreams by returning tonight.

207,
Well I hope he doesn't earn 18 million because of one inning! ;)

259 Chin Lung Hu

I can't think of anyone else who gets on base on awful lot...

259 JP and all the backup IFs.

259 Um, Hu do you think?

And then there's Brad Penny of course.

Oh yeah, and that other guy, the Chavez fellow.

And some other guy, some outfielder.

255 256

yeah, his approach at the plate wasn't exactly what we had in mind.

I think Vin is reading this thread... as soon as I asked, he answered on the teevee

260 - It's more the horses he chooses to ride. And considering the seeming willingness of Frank McCourt to allow popular pressures to affect his decision-making, I think it does merit some concern, as well as monitoring.

EDSP did his job, at least.

Nice work by Proctor.

That was a quick inning.

I really don't think Joe Torre reads or cares what Bill Plaschke has to say about anything. As far as I'm concerned that's all that matters.

It might be nice to be reminded, about now, that our catcher will eventually get a base hit and Kemp is not just "a basketball player trying to play baseball," right? Er...right?

270 How was it in his other at-bats?

272 Does he ride horses or merely serve as the back end of them?

I'm calling a Blaker home run right now. Not to jinx him or anyting.

I'm some how reminded of the song "the final countdown" right now.

273 Efficiently too. 20 pitches for 2 IP.

OH YEAH!!!

YEAH, DEWITT. On base machine.

The influence of Bill Plaschke is highly overrated. The incompetence of Frank and Jamie McCourt is, believe it or not, highly underrated.

Who's pinch-hitting?

Can we just say that The Solution has some real good protective Mojo working tonight?

222.

Even better, he is now Dr. Dre

286 Ignore that comment.

The moment of truth has arrived. Let Pierre pinch-run. Let Hu hit. God, this is a strange game. I've never seen managers so psyched-out about the weather.

Wow. DeWitt WILLS himself on base.

Ideally DeWitt will get another one of his patented doubles and Slappy can do what he does best and sacrifice him over to third.

Hmmm, I think I'd still have him bunt, even after Aurilia's gift.

272 I think there are those are clouded by Plashcke's rants against the LoDuca deal and his dislike of Paul DePodesta. What other moves has Plashke endorsed did Frank McCourt actually follow.

Now Juan Pierre can do what he does best.

reaching on an error, good for the OBP?

286 Some guy I've never heard of.

Anyone ever see "Angels in the Outfield"? There was a little kid named J.P. in that movie I believe. Pierre looks like him. Coincidence?

Is Pierre ACTUALLY a good bunter?

294 No, just caught up in the moment.

Lesson No. 1: Scrappyness.

241.

Perfect, Andre is now Dr. Dre

Let's hear it for The Solution! He's unstoppable tonight. annnd now here's Pierre.

oh well...

Vintage Juan Pierre.

No, he is not.

Write an article about that one, Billy Boy

No, he is not.

285 - Fair enough.

I think it's just one of those nights tonight. Le sigh.

what a bad bunt.

300 He's Dr. K tonight.

Wow, that was close at 2nd. I didn't think he was going to get him. Still not sure he did, but oh well.

Not a great bunt by Pierre but he was on the bench & is not use to those situations.

298 - see, that doesn't make sense to me, logically, I'd think that errors and FCs would help OBP, since the hitter got on base and all.

297 No, and that is not based on that bunt.

Though that being said, that was not a good play by the Giants, Dewitt looked safe to me.

311 I was thinking the same thing...you know the "on base" part...

Well, Pierre's a better baserunner than DeWitt, right? 98th percentile baserunner?

Does he end up stealing a base, get driven in and look like a hero?

If he gets picked off, I am lighting my torch.

Time for Pierre to embrace his new role as the world's most expensive designated stealer...now

293 - Well, to be fair, what other 'moves' has Plaschke endorsed that an owner would actually have a say in, other than the choice of a GM and/or manager?

300 He's still 3.5

Send Juan here

[yells from the bench] play for the team Furcal!!

OUT BY A MILE.

Slappy McWorthless

KILL.

I'm speechless

i knew that was gonna happen.

FCs and ROEs don't count in OBP because the batter didn't do anything positive to get on base.

ugh, what a bad ending! good night.

Ouchie wowchie.

VINTAGE JUAN PIERRE, UGH

... Argh.

And the dodgers do not sweep the giants. Honestly, I'm not sure if I've ever been less satisfied with taking 2 out of 3 in a series.

Hoping for havoc to be wreaked.

crud.

well, so much for the Bums being undefeated in games started by The Solution

I hope to god Joe Torre learned his lesson tonight.

What a bad way to lose...

311 Pierre's OBP would skyrocket with all his worthless FC's if that were the case. OBP is a merit-based stat, not a way to keep track of how many times a guy touches first.

Pierre accounted for two outs that inning. Pretty good for five minutes worth of work, even by his standards.

And... Scene.

That was actually a fitting way to end a game that felt like a comic play anyway.

Bleh.

332 That's how I feel exactly =/.

Pretty bad for Pierre to fail in bunting AND stealing. So what exactly is he good for then???

332

absolutely. outside of Kent's bomb, the offense has been anemic.

What a miserable game! Even though they were only down by one run, I never felt like they were going to catch up. Other than DeWitt and Loney, everyone looked like they were asleep.

You know what? I really don't know how good this Dodger team is so far. We'll find out more about them over the weekend. Hardly an "impressive" series, when you consider how bad the Giants are. However, holding our own against their top two starters; I think I can see some positives there.

308.

Ok, nevermind. 3.5 is cool enough

Yuck.

(And I have to add your comments above about the last minute made me laugh. Almost makes up for the pain of the UnSolution.)

Juan Pierre is way down the list of reasons why the Dodgers lost today but go ahead make him into the scapegoat.

Let us be done with the charade that Pierre has ANY value to this team (or any team) at all. Let us campaign, immediately, for his release. Surely it should be evident even to Ned Colletti that Pierre's value as a bench player is less even than his value as a starter...which is saying something.

I realize JP is not the reason we lost this game, but he brings nothing at all to the table at this point. Let us be done with him, forever.

342 coachjpark
Bad bunt. But, Furcal has to take some blame on taking that pitch.

Not that kind of havoc. I hate the strike-em-out, throw-em-out DP. Especially to end the game. Yuck.

I said it yesterday and I'll say it today, anyone fretting too much about the Dodgers offense based on the first few games - or even the first week of games - should take a deep breath. Some tough pitchers, some of the Dodgers don't seem quite ready yet either, it's a little early to be panicking. But I do agree this was not the most satisfying of series wins.

Time to beat the Padres.

The Giants can pitch, it will be a pain in the butt to hit against them especially at AT&T.

Despite my newspaper's claim, this thing wasn't televised out here. I think I'm glad.

Bleah. Caught stealing to end the game, with the bat in Martin's hands? Huh?

Dodgers sign Marcus Giles (For real)

http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10756833/rss

What a stupid move.

haha, the new gameday is showing four outs....

And I agree with BH, Pierre blew it by being thrown out, but blame should be spread around for the loss, Furcal taking strike three, and many blown opportunities by other hitters. There should be at least 6 or so goats in this game.

Baaaa!

Night all.

Also Martin, back with the bases loaded. A close pitch, gotta protect the plate.

Let's face it, there are many reasons why the Dodgers lost tonight. But when Pierre made the last out, I had to laugh -- it's the perfect capper for a miserable game.

The wretched thing is, there's no game tomorrow. Bring on Friday!

349 - agreed, this one starts with Torre and his pitching strategery. The fact that the only hits came from the 6 and 8 hitters doesn't help. And the rain also hurt, I suppose.

But people always remember the end not the beginning or middle.

356

I like Dewitt.

356 - Well, that little bit of news really tops off the night,

What was it Pierre said? Something about how what he contributes is best appreciated by people who are close to the game? I think he's right. I'm sure Bruce Bochy and Dave Righetti really appreciated his contributions tonight.

To be fair, from looking at the box score, pretty much everybody stunk at offense tonight.

Martin and Kemp are slumping.

Druw isn't helping much with the bat either.

Its only 3 games, no need to panic...yet.

Way too early in the year to have strong feelings either way about a game like this. Everyone just go to bed. Next one who posts is a Nebraskan wheat farmer for the rest of his life.

356 Why does that feel like salt in my wounds?

356.

Why?

356 At least that article doesn't say anything about Giles starting immediately. I don't (necessarily) have a problem with him going to AAA as another option in case of emergency.

361 Even that, the Dodgers only gave up 2 runs, Billingsley may pitch this weekend for all we know, we saw that Kuo might be a viable 5th guy, Loiaza showed that he might be the one of the more expensive middle relievers.

The Dodgers lost because they could not make some plays in the field (Furcal's error, Jones not catching the sac fly) and a lot of strike outs.

361 KG16
(Dodger)Pitching is not what hurt the Dodgers.

nate, did you see my question about the Az coaches situation above?

369 I thought the plan was for him to play a few games at 3B and see if he can field it without getting killed.

I think the roster spot we are talking about here is Angel Chavez's so Blake can continue to collect his MLB pay for a while.

370 371 - except by not starting Bills, it meant that Young pinch hit in the 3rd, taking a stronger bat away for a higher leverage situation.

Brace yourself for all the mainstream writers tomorrow bending over backwards to defend Pierre, talking about how he failed because he's in an unfamiliar role and hasn't been able to stay sharp on the bench.

I can see where if you can't hit, can't field, and can't throw, then you market yourself as a guy who contributes with bunting and baserunning. But if it turns out you're also bad at bunting and baserunning, then what good are you to anyone? What reason is there for you to even exist?

372

I honestly have no idea. Very weird season for Arizona basketball.

You know who did the national anthem tonight at DS? A violinist! That had to be a sign of strange things to come.

The Raiders should get Chad Johnson.

Repeating something I said last night, the NL West is a division that will make pretty good hitters look pretty bad with some regularity. If the division's doormat can throw Cain and Lincecum at you, that tells you what kind of division this is.

376 Thanks. Thought you might have some insight, as you're closer. I don't get naming a successor and then saying he's not coming back next year.

366 Yeah. It's too early in the season. Too weird a game. Disappointing, but, let's move on.

370 In revisiting the written play-by-play, it seems that only two strikeouts were really key, Sweeney's because there was only one out, and Furcal's because JP was running. The two out Ks could just as easily been other outs. The bugaboo was poor PAs with runners in scoring position and less than two out. Jones' FC before Loney's RBI single. Kemp's GB to 3rd with Loney on third. Plus Jones' not taking the FB that resulted in Ethier's fielding error.

It was an imbalance of the elements. There was earth (the field), wind (with the fast moving storm) and water (the rain delay), but nothing fiery with Bowa suspended.

Today's game is bound to make Ned do something stupid. Oh wait...

At least Minotaur pitches on Thursday. HOOWAH!

380 Maybe Lute decided that it one thing to have a successor in place when you are still in charge, its another to have one who just was the head coach while you were out.

Also, I think next year is a big year for Arizona, not tooting the UCLA horn too much but they have beaten Arizona 7 times in a row and now have gone to 3 Final Fours, yes they have Jennings coming in with an impressive class but UCLA has probably the number one class.

The one thing that Lute mentioned about next year was that he was going back to an open style of play. That was a direct shot at O'Neil who wanted the team to play defense.

So in the end, he could not keep someone who would not continue in his style.

383 But who supplies the heart?!?!

387 The Golden God provides the heart and soul. ;)

386 Oh. Hmm. Weird way to run a program, methinks.

377 Not a fan of the violin?

Not Hilary Hahn? Itzak Perlman? Vassar Clements? Sugar Cane Harris? Ray Nance? Jean-Luc Ponty? Gidon Kremer? Henryk Szering? Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg? Darol Anger? Doug Kershaw?

I think the violin is the closest instrument to the singing voice, but it can do so much more. The national anthem should be performed only on the violin for the entire season, as far as I'm concerned.

388 So you're saying we're only a Larry Bowa's fire away from summoning Captain Planet? Do you think he'd be a good baseball player?

I return to a whole lot of seemingly bad news, aside from Kuo.

Marcus Giles, uggh. Losing to the Giants, uggh.

390

The violinist did a good job, actually. I've just never seen one perform before a baseball game.

A national anthem without Nancy Bea's organ is somewhat disappointing, though.

At least Kuroda pitches on Friday. Petco will make him look like ACE.

386 , 389 Did you guys see the CBS Sportsline column on Olson and O'Neill by, I believe it was, Gregg Doyel? Without going into specifics, it accused O'Neill of backstabbing Olson and criticizing Olson behind his back at every opportunity. It essentially ended with a plea for a gentleman's agreement to bar O'Neill from coaching college basketball again. No sources were cited, and they must have retracted the article because it no longer appears on their site so far as I can tell.

While Padre fans are no doubt laughing about the Dodgers signing Marcus Giles, maybe he'll seek some revenge against them this weekend. Who knows? I don't mind the signing if he just gets some spot starts. I think DeWitt is doing fine, but having some infield depth that isn't Angel Chavez doesn't seem like a bad thing to me.

Okay, the Benadryl is finally kicking in. 'Night for real...

395
From what I have read it appears that Olson was constantly undermining O'Neil, because he hated his style of play. O'Neil apparently did not even talk to his assistants. Two totally opposite approaches to the game that simply cannot co-exist.

my basset hound was named Nadja. alrighty, goodnight. good series, good pitching, love the blue's lineup depth.

I don't know who was backstabbing who, but I hate Olson's style of play with a passion, always have. Playing defense is optional, almost discouraged -- just try to outscore the other team. College kids do love playing that way, though, which is why Olson has had such great recruiting over the years.

What I wonder is if these guys were such antagonists, both personality-wise and basketball-wise, why did Olson hire O'Neill as an assistant not once but twice?

399
I think Olson realized that he needed to make his teams tougher and play a little more defense. Then he had the personal issues and O'Neil was the only logical choice to coach the team. O'Neil coached the team like a head coach should. He wanted total control. Olson did not like his idea of total control and got mad.

I agree with you about the style of play. Olson has continually made fun of UCLA and USC for their style of play and kept saying they can play like that and I will just steal all the recruits. Well Lute, you just keep losing so it does not matter which recruits you get. He hates and almost refuses to praise defensive minded teams.

356 Tony Jackson says the latest Marcus Giles rumor is just a rumor, with Ned denying there's anything going on there.

Angel Chavez has been put on waivers, and Chan Ho Park has been called up.

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/archives/2008/04/chan_ho_park_co.html

In 89 ABs thus far in 2008 (including spring training), Matt Kemp has 2 BBs and 24 Ks.

Yikes.

And one international incident.

You just knew when it started that it was going to be a weird game, what with the rain and the change in starting pitchers. And then it just got more weird as it went on. You knew nothing good was going to come of it. But, you just couldn't turn it off and go to bed. It was like you had to tough it out with the boys, stick it out to the bitter end (and oh what an ending with JP, what a nightmare) and not just be a fairweather fan, as it were. Its going to be a long season. But that's what we like about baseball.

Wow, what a mess! MARCUS GILES signed afterall!!

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/04/03/giles-signs-with-dodgers-almost/

I know it's early. But Russell Martin's 0-11 start to the season combined with his underwhelming production at the plate during Spring Training has me at least a little bit concerned.

Hopefully, a strong series this weekend will fully restore the brilliance of the Golden God's celestial aura.

Um, just because Juan Pierre gets thrown out on one steal attempt does not mean he can't steal.

As for Giles, why not just wait to see what the Dodgers announce, rather than parsing through unsourced media reports?

Scoring 9 runs in 3 games is just not going to get it done. It puts pressure on every little situation, most of which are relatively low-percentage to begin with. As ironic as it is to see Juan Pierre fail to bunt and fail to steal, you can look at the team's batting line and see they need to hit some HR to compete.
.278/.368/.371 so far. With 4/5 stealing.

That's effectively a lineup of 9 (best case) Juan Pierre's! And it can be seen to suck.

That's effectively a lineup of 9 (best case) Juan Pierre's! And it can be seen to suck

But we're on pace to win 108 games this season...!

I'm disappointed that we couldn't get the sweep, and yeah, some of our guys have looked unimpressive at the plate so far. That's ok, it's early. Obviously, we all would've preferred that the entire lineup started the season off on a rampage, but that just would've meant that the inevitable slump would've happened later rather than sooner, probably against a better team. Look on the bright side: Martin, Druw, Kemp, et al went through their cold spell against a team so lousy, we still took 2 of 3 games.

On another subject, I noticed this bit about the pitching change in the AP wrapup of the game: "Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt approached manager Joe Torre about the plan they eventually used with Billingsley. Then Torre went over to Giants skipper Bruce Bochy to give him a heads-up on what they were doing and why."

Now, I'm all for professional courtesy, but why give Bochy a heads-up on this? Why should Torre care if Bochy gets befuddled by the pitching change? Let him think Torre's playing mindgames with him. I see no reason for the Dodgers to open their book up to the Giants.

All's fair in love and war, right?

As nice as it would have been to sweep this AAA club, we all knew that they have a couple of superb, young starters, even when used in relief. The season is young as well. Did we learn anything knew, I'm not sure (small sample size). During ST, we saw a growing cockiness from the Bison that we hoped meant, somehow, maturation on his part, but the question of plate discipline remains. JP remains in a funk and is living up to our worse nightmares of him. He can't even seem to do what he does. While Loney seems steady (but needs a nickname), we all knew that it was unlikely that Ethier would continue his ST roll, but great to have him as a regular. Druw reminds us that it was actually a gamble, given the year that he is coming off. We love the Golden Glove out there, but for a veteran he seems strangely tentative and non-pulsed (we are used to hard ass PVLs). Speaking of which, I think we are all glad that Kent is back in the saddle, and its seems like Furcal is capable of carrying this club. Dewitt is more than we could have hoped for and doesn't seem overmatched, as many had feared (or right assumed). The Golden One is struggling at the plate right know, but seems ready to burst out. Finally, the pitching, albeit, against a AAA club, seems to be the upgrade that we all hoped for.

Again, the season is young. Bring on the Swinging Friars!

410 - I think it's not so much that Torre told Bochy what they were doing, because Bochy does need to know who the starter is going to be, but that he then explained why. That's going a bit too far.

Jones is pulling off of everything. Might be a a few weeks before he finally fixes that and comes around, assuming he eventually does.

As for Martin, Torre saw Jeter go through a much worse spell, so I don't worry about the slow start having any significance or Torre over-reacting to it.

Strike 'em out throw 'em out is probably the worst way to end a ball game, aside from a triple play I can't think of a worst way to end a ball game...

Break up the Nationals!

A agree with most everything you said Alex...

410 - It's a major breach of baseball etiquette to switch your starter at the last minute, so the explanation was needed.

To revive an old point.

Schulman's article gives us more background on Bowa's blowup. Not that it makes the blowup right, but it does give us more info.

http://tinyurl.com/2563ye

I still think the blowup was entertaining.

413 he never really fixed it last year.

417 Hmmm. Was it still necessary to tell him that Billingsley was going to come in and relieve after the anticipated rain dealy?

Broxton plays a role in John Walsh's latest at HBT ( http://tinyurl.com/2b3mbe ), also liked the bit at the end "players submits a comment" where Brian Bannister commented about a previous article.

is anyone else as concerned as me that kemp may have a tough time getting and keeping that OPS above .800 this year?

Here are some observations from the first 3 games:

--Russell Martin looks thinner to me this year. Maybe its just my imagination, but his face doesnt look as round or body as stout as last year.

--Andruw Jones---looks old. Still with great instincts in the OF, but looks big and slow. He's going to have to hit home runs this year to be a true difference making player.

I think this Giants series was probably an indicator of what the year will bring. Lots of low scoring, close games. Dodgers just dont have the consistent big home runs guys to always get offense.

Last night's 9th inning was a joke for other reasons than for what were already stated. Forget Juan Pierre (who shouldnt have even been up), but giving up an out down 1 run isnt a very smart play.

And why did Joe Torre wait until the 5th to go to Billingsley? They do have TheWeatherChannel in the clubhouse right? It was probably a pretty good bet that there'd be a rain delay. Why warm up one of your best starters to only pitch him 1 inning?

Bizarre game.
The Giants are a really really bad team.

422 I don't think it will be that much of a problem, he hits the ball too hard and is too fast to hit below .280 or so. Getting it much further than the low .800s is the issue.

NPUT

Only two games of watching him, but Kemp just seems a little antsy and is swinging at pitches just off the plate (mostly a bit high, and inside pitches).

Pitchers are challenging him, and Kemp's minor league numbers show a 3 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio. Thus, he's unlikely to improve on that anytime soon, we just need him to start crushing the ball more often to balance that out.

He's 23 years old.