Bennett's career numbers are staggeringly bad. His SLG% is 46 points lower than Pierre's. I didn't even know that was possible.

That being said, Martin could presumably use the day off.

Is there any good reason (other than veteranocity) to bad Bennett ahead of DeWitt...?

Matt Kemp in the 2 hole. That's putting him right back in the thick of things. Actually, I like the idea of him batting second. Hopefully he can focus on moving Furcal over and playing a bit of hit and run to jump start his motor.

That Lara anecdote's pretty funny. Must be surreal for him. Speaking of which, was going to post this in the previous thread since it was related to your topic, but as it still is...

Someone posted this on the MLBTraderumors post about the Hull-Lara swap and I thought it was pretty astute (maybe it was someone from here?):

"In his call up last year, Hull actually showed some pretty good stuff, and he has a rather unorthodox delivery that could get batters in a tizzy. Control seemed to be his biggest issue. Still, he could easily interchange with some of the guys at the back of Boston's 'pen.

The Dodger end of the deal looks like a smart move. The Dodgers essentially have 1 1/2 back up infielders at the major league level because of injuries, with Hu and Young. Young plays second better than most think, but can't really play anything on the left side. Having someone else in the system allows a bit more flexibility."

"As a result of the deal and the suspended game, Lara will have started the suspended game on Lancaster's bench but will finish the game in a 66ers uniform."

That is awesome. I imagine it will be a nightmare for the guys who input the stats, though.

I seem to recall that the pitcher who lost the famous Pawtucket-Rochester game in the 33rd inning was a guy who had been in a completely different organization when the game started.

1 Presumably? I think he seriously needed a day off.

Bennett ahead of DeWitt probably is partially a function of experience, yah. Don't think it's a big deal either way.

1 Maybe he'll see better pitches?

I know next to nothing about Bennett, but it's still hard to believe there weren't better backup catchers out there.

They don't want to break Martin/Kuroda, but they also shouldn't break Martin/Bills.

3 It only helps if that person isn't completely hopeless offensively.

Is it possible if Lara pitched he could've gotten the save as well as the loss?

(Rickroll update in last thread)

6 - well, there was that guy, Mike somethingorother...

8 I'm assuming they just mean it helps in that our minor league teams will actually have enough guys to field an infield, not helps in the sense that Lara might make the majors this year.

2 If they want Kemp to get more comfortable at the plate, playing hit and run against Doug Davis who thows a ton of balls wouldn't seem to be an appropriate remedy to get him on track.

I must be a really mean person. In the last thread I was dumping on Bill Buckner, an object for pity if ever there was one, and tonight I find myself ardently hoping that a pitcher about to undergo cancer surgery gets thrashed in his final start.

dodgers 8, d' backs 1
furcal 2-4 rbi, bb,3 runs
kemp 2-5, 2b, rbi, run
ethier 3-4, bb, 3 rbi, 2 2b's, 2 runs
kent 1-2, bb, 2b, rbi
loney 2-4, 2b, 2 rbi
bennant 0-3 bb, run
dewitt 1-4, run

billingsley 7 ip, 6 hits, 1 er, 2 bb, 8 k's
kuo 2 ip, 2 hits, 1 bb, 3 k's (his bull-pen session for his start on tue. april 15th)

I'm still waiting for cargill's Box Score Simulator to predict tonight's game.

My prediction? Davis will have a terrific start giving up only 2 earned runs. However, that doesn't indicate who will win. =)

14 15

Wow!! It's as if he read my mind!

"Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that's a straw, you see? You watching?. And my straw reaches acroooooooss the room, and starts to drink your milkshake... I... drink... your... milkshake!"

Guess what's out on DVD today?

13 I know what you mean. It's hard to not feel bad rooting against Davis today, but I'm sure he doesn't want any pity when it comes to games. Everyone can support him spiritually when it comes to his recovery, off the field.

So, who is the first Dodger to activate the Cycle Alert System this year?

And what are the odds that it happens while Bob is looking for survivors of Oceanic Flight 815?

17 Buying it this evening. I had a screener of it, but it would only play on my computer.

14 a jones 0-3 bb, 2 k's

18 Bob's not looking for survivors. He's looking for the plane.

13
It's OK to root for someone to get battered (figuratively) if that person did not give up an earned run to the Dodgers until his 5th career start against them.

20

I hope you are wrong there.

By the way, I imagine they do not anymore, but does anyone know if MLBtv has a trial period, or is it pay up or shut up?

"At home plate surrounded by an ovation that came down
around him as if it was a waterfall of appreciation, he was met by his teammates who attempted to lift him onto their shoulders, but he slipped off into the arms of his father, Herbert Sr. and his mother Estella. 'I never knew', Aaron would say later, 'that my mother could hug so tight.' "

New York Times, April, 1974

17 Lions For Lambs?

Another day, another line-up. I actually like this line-up though, here's to hoping for the best.

25 That movie would've done better if it'd thrown in a crazy milkshake line. Or, you know, had been a lot less dull. (Although I still think it's worth seeing.)

When I said I liked this line-up, hopefully everyone picked up on the silent, "except for Bennett" that I muttered under my breath

27 I would have seen it, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it was about. Their marketing was atrocious.

Does the site that you get the Dodgers lineup off of, also have the DBacks lineup listed? vr, Xei

28 The "except for Bennett" goes without saying.

What I think you might mean is:

I like this lineup. Well, except for Bennett. Not that I think Martin should start today -- in fact, I'm grateful that Torre is resting him. I think Martin needs the rest. So, even though Bennett kinda stinks and I really wish we had a different guy at backup catcher... I like this lineup.

But that's kinda wordy. So you can go with the four-word version that you used earlier, if you'd like.

30 Tony Jackson has it.

29 - It really wasn't worth seeing.

Lions for Lambs was the equivalent of Gary Bennett.

34 How's the zone defense going? Have you started treasuring the few hours when all three kids are asleep?

14 Why do you think Kuo would start on the 15th? It looks to me like Penny would be taking his turn then:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/schedule?team=lad&season=2008

32. Thanks. I am having to rerun my simulation of tonight's game since Martin is setting. This way I have the correct lineups for both teams. Vegas (LV Hilton) says the Dodgers have a 52.38% chance of winning. vr, Xei

15. I have 3000 different box scores for tonight's game. Which one do you want to see? :)
vr, Xei

34 Hah hah. But actually, the script could've used more performance enhancing.

I was going to see the 66ers tomorrow, but I can't turn down free baseball plus a $2 game. Anyone else going?

38 I want to see the box score of the one that the Dodgers win 8-2.

30
For sake of inclusion, here is the D-Backs lineup:

Young. CF
Byrnes. LF
Hudson. 2B
Jackson. 1B
Reynolds. 3B
Drew. SS
Upton. RF
Snyder. C
Davis. P

They see our 5 homegrown players in our lineup and raise us one (of course Martin would make 6 for us).

35 - They go by too quickly to be treasured. Easier just to treasure their sweet faces (when they're not screaming or crying).

42 - does Ethier really count as "homegrown"? I thought he was pretty much ML ready when we got him

I think we should have started Gary Bennett last night - would have fit in with Pierre and Loaiza.

44 he was nothing before we got ahold of him

It's debatable, but Ethier played for us in the minors and has played his entire MLB career for us. If Pedro Guerrero qualifies as homegrown, so does he.

47 - For that matter, is John Smoltz a homegrown Brave?

48
I think Smoltz qualifies as homegrown.

47 - Ooh, I like that analogy!

47 Is Dave Winfield a homegrown Padre?

And if Christian Lara ever makes it to the big club, he'll be homegrown too! :)

Does Scott Proctor qualify as homegrown?

For those wondering, Ethier played 25 games and had 86 at-bats for the Dodgers in Vegas.

51
Yep.

So, basically, a guy has to play minor league game(s) for a team and then make his debut with said franchise to be considered homegrown?

I don't think there's one accepted definition. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

55 OK, how about this: Athena was born fully grown (and fully armed) from Zeus's forehead after he swallowed her pregnant mother. Is she a homegrown goddess?

Gary Bennett is one of the worst hitters on any major league roster. This has been true for each of his 10! years in the majors. Either his defense is absolutely astounding, or he has naughty pictures of Bud Selig.

41. Ok, I got it. In the 65th game the Dodgers won by the score of 8-2.

Box Score:
Player/AB/H/R/1B/2B/3B/HR/RBI/BB/OPS
Furcal/4/1/1/1/0/0/0/0/1/.650
Kemp/3/1/1/1/0/0/0/0/2/.833
Ethier/5/0/0/0/0/0/0/1/0/.000
Kent/5/2/1/1/1/0/0/0/0/1.000
Loney/4/2/1/2/0/0/0/2/1/1.100
Jones/4/2/1/1/0/1/0/2/1/1.600
Bennett/4/1/1/0/1/0/0/2/1/.900
DeWitt/5/1/1/1/0/0/0/1/0/.400
9Hole/5/3/1/1/2/0/0/0/0/1.600

Pitcher/IP/H/HR/K/BB/NP/WHIP
Billingsley/7/6/0/6/4/116/1.428
Proctor/1/2/0/0/0/16/2.00
Saito/1/1/0/0/0/13/1.00

LAD 0-6-0-2-0-0-0-0-0...8-13-0
ARZ 0-0-0-0-0-1-0-1-0...2-9-0

WP: Billingsley
LP: Davis

Notes:
No home runs in this game. Davis was knocked out in the 2nd inning.
vr, Xei

Pretty bad accident on the 210 E at Rosemead a couple of hours ago. If you need to take the 210 East home, find another route

"was born fully grown (and fully armed)"

Juan Pierre finds your ideas intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

56
I think homegrown ideally is drafted or signed and stays with a single organization, but I tend to also consider homegrown players like Ethier and Smoltz who have spent all of their MLB time with one club.

59 10! years

10 factorial years? Gary Bennett has been a major league baseball player for 3,628,800 years?

60 6 runs in the 2nd. Book it!

60 No home runs... but two triples -- one by Jones, and one by... Gary Bennett!

BTW - Their Chris Young was developed in the White Sox system, similar to Ethier

Catcher - AZ yes, LA no
1B - Both Yes
2B - Both No
3B - Both Yes
SS - AZ yes, LA no
LF - AZ no, LA (Minors no, MLB Debut, yes)
CF - AZ (Minors no, MLB Debut, yes, LA no
RF - Both Yes
SP - AZ no, LA yes

59 - Does "10!" mean that Gary Bennett has been in the majors 3,628,800 years?!

64 - Nuts!

Speaking of Winfield, I feel bad that he and Tony Gwynn are lumped in the the other crappy Padres' retired numbers (besides Jackie Robinson of course):

Steve Garvey: I know he hit the huge HR in the '84 NLCS, but he had a 100 OPS+ in 2439 PA.
Randy Jones: First Cy Young, but thoroughly ordinary otherwise. A 104 ERA+ in 8 seasons with SD.

See, now y'all are making me seriously root hard for Gary Bennett tonight. Which was not a position I was prepared to be in, but there ya have it. Go Gary!

66. Bennett had a double and AJones had a triple. vr, Xei

64 ,68
Danica McKellar approves of this thread.

{67] If Martin was playing, both the teams would have "homegrown" talent at C, 1B, 3B and RF, they would each have one outfielder who made their MLB debuts with their club (Young and Ethier) and the Arizona would have a homegrown SS while the Dodgers would start a homegrown pitcher.

64 - now that is what I call some PVL

I consider myself homegrown and organic.

Hang on. I just looked at Gary Bennett's career counting stats, and they really stink for a player who's been around for nearly four million years.

I can say that I hope to be quieter and less judgemental tonight. I see two channels assigned to the D-backs/Dodger
game by DTV which means I will probably get Vin which will be helpful. If only Bills doesn't give up much in the first two innings I should be fine.

77 - Durablity counts for nothing, huh?

Bad news for Yankee fans.

Jorge Posada could be heading to the DL, his manager says he can't throw right now.

70 The Padres actually unretired Garvey's number after his PR problems of the late '80s. Have they gone ahead and retired it again?

76 So where are you taking the kids for dinner on Tuesday, Phillipes, dim sum, Dodger Dogs?

Staying positive, Gary Bennett has a running 3-game multi-hit streak (7 for his last 11 with a 2B & HR in 2007) and has a hit in his last four starts, and six of his last seven starts.

In his last nine starts, Bennett has hit .419/.424/.581. Mission control, we are ready for launch!

80 This is where I would usually make a Gary-Bennett-to-the-DL-also joke, but now underdog is making me feel bad.

81 From their website on Petco FAQs

RETIRED NUMBERS
The San Diego Padres have retired five numbers: Steve Garvey's No. 6, Tony Gwynn's No. 19, Dave Winfield's No. 31, Randy Jones' No. 35 and Jackie Robinson's No. 42, which was retired in 1997 by Major League Baseball in perpetuity. In addition to the retired numbers appearing above the Batter's Eye, the initials of RAK, honoring longtime owner Ray Kroc, and the "star" recognizing longtime broadcaster Jerry Coleman, celebrating his trademark "Hang A Star!", are displayed in front of the Press Box on the Toyota Terrace Club.

82 We'll do dim sum some other day, and I'm open for suggestions. Is Phillipes kid-friendly? Possibly El Cholo.

One list Pierre didn't make: worst #2 hitters since 1957.

http://tinyurl.com/56u63e

81
At Petco just beyond the CF wall, the retired numbers displayed are 6, 19, 31, 35, and 42. I'm not sure if they had a re-retirement ceremony or not.

83 It's the steroids.

Oh, now I feel bad.

Since Mitch Jones and Travis Denker have gone away, maybe I should root for Gary Bennett now. He seems appropriately down on his luck.

80
Forget Yankee fans! That is horrible news for my fantasy team!

86 Phillipes is fine for kids but there is always a big line before Dodger games. If you are planning to get to the game as early as possible, go there first, pick up the food and eat it there.

Not a big fan of El Cholo but I would not recommend the Western Blvd. location before the game.

90 Where's Mitch Jones now? I heard that he didn't hit a lick in Japan last year... is he still in Japan?

Have you met Mitch Jones
Someone said as we shook hands
He was just Mitch Jones to me...

91 No confirmation on the DL but Girardi said that Jorge will not play tomorrow.

90 - I thought you were a Lindsey man.

I saw this quote from Grizzlies' majority owner Michael Heisley via ESPN's TrueHoop blog:

"You know Major League Baseball had fallen behind basketball in popularity after the strike when Selig put it in. I have a friend in baseball who said not one team lost money last year in Major League Baseball because of revenue sharing."

I don't doubt that nobody lost money, but it's nice to see that in print, rather than hear the usual "woe is me" line from MLB owners.

That's okay Eric, you can mock him, I'm just telling ya that I'm rooting for him harder for each, er, mock.

But 90 makes me think of that Bugs Bunny cartoon with the penguin, where Humphrey Bogart keeps appearing. "Pardon me, can you spare a dime for a man who's down on his luck?"

Or maybe we can trade the Yanks Gary Bennett and call up Lucas May.

A propos of nothing, I just noticed that Todd Hollandsworth is out of baseball. And has been for over a year.

The last time I saw Doug Davis pitch it was a memorable game. It was Justin Upton's 19 year old debut. I think it was the best game Chad pitched all year but he lost 1-0 when I think Snyder dinged him with a home run. The Dodgers looked completely lost against Davis.

97 and call up Lucas May

Yes! The Silver God!

97 What movie was that from?

And no, Bugs Bunny was not in it. Neither was the penquin.

101 Badges? Badges?! We don't need no stinking badges!

92 Does Dodger Stadium allow me to bring in food? Drinks?

95 There's enough room for more than one hopeless case in my heart.

99
I was busy that night watching the magic of Scott Hairston at Petco. With the Padres down 3-0 in the 8th, he hit a 3-run jack, and added a solo shot to win it in the 10th.

103 Yes on food, drinks, only water in sealed containers.

101 http://tinyurl.com/6aevbo

103
From Dodgers.com:

"Food is permitted from outside the stadium provided it is not in bottles, cans, coolers or thermoses. Unbroken, factory sealed plastic bottles of water and other non-alcoholic beverages of 1 liter or less are permitted."

Juan Pierre's current OPS+: -65.

106 I forgot that I brought a Diet Coke with me on Opening Day.

Basically, despite Bluebleeders earlier escapades, they try to dissuade people brining in alcohol.

According IMDB.com, Paul Thomas Anderson's favorite film is The Treasure of Sierra Madre and he watched it every night while writing There Will Be Blood.

I have not seen There Will Be Blood, does Daniel Day Lewis ever dance a jig around a oil well?

0 - I know that Jon is trying to keep this from us, but I went to the Diamond Leung piece and it actually says that both Martin and Pierre are getting a rest today. ;)

It occurs to me that a person or persons could help me out in updating "The 2007 Dodgers" into "The 2008 Dodgers" on the sidebar.

It's pretty easy - it's just busy work that I've put off for more than a year. I could provide the instructions, or you could just figure it out with the View Source function on your computer.

Any takers? No guilt if no one volunteers.

111 Hey Jon, email me the instructions and I will give a shot tonight.

Shouldn't you be watching a basketball game?

Fred C. Dobbs never says nuthin he don't mean.

Probably should update those rules as well, as some people are worried about jinxing the cycle.

Btw, that 8 Ball Bunny cartoon is a bonus inclusion on the recent Treasure of the Sierra Madre DVD and on March of the Penguins. Neat!

Go Stanford, Go Dodgers. Ciao.

How can you have a Rule 9 for the cycle, though, since there is always a potential cycle in progress for literally every batter of every game? You'd have to ban the word "cycle" altogether.

People seem to be ignoring rule 6 a lot lately so maybe we shouldn't add yet more rules.

103
Mr Lindsey has a 26 game carry over hitting streak from last year.

Yes, but you can't bring in a backpack and all drinks can't have been opened and must be in plastic. I use a see through plastic bag.

What game are you going to?

For anyone with kids I have 4 tickets available for the Saturday Night Russel Martin TShirt night. Must be 14 and younger.
http://www.truebluela.com/2008/3/11/1270/07303

I just noticed the "Game By Game Heroes" section at the bottom of the sidebar. Very cool, Jon.

114 - the Griddle's Cycle Detection Warning System is well recognized as being jinx free. Just ask the good folks at Thief River Falls, Minnesota

116 - I guess we'll just have to stick with Bob's color-based alerts.

117 - That's an understatement.

116 Bob has cleverly designed Cycle Alerts in such a way that you never have to say the word "cycle" at all. From the "Yellow Alert in ballpark x" to "Stand Down!", Cycle Alerts are "cycle"-free!

Beaten by KG16. I've hit a new low. Just kidding.

112 - Hasn't started yet. And, I'm at work.

124 - hey now, while I don't always get there first, I usually get there with style.

It's time for Stanford Women's Basketball.

Amazon 1: Here stadium where our women basketball teams play.
Amazon: We no can dunk, but good fundamentals.
Amazon 2: That more fun to watch.

Zapp, Fry and Bender burst out laughing.

Andrew Lambo is 3 for 3 today with a walk, he a has a double (his 4th of the year) and a triple.

Its early but the Midwest League is not a great league for hitters, if he does well in the first half, he could get moved to San Berdoo for the summer.

Justin Miller pitched well again today. Pedro Baez, who probably has never spent this much time in a cold climate, had the day off.

Now, back to men's baseball.

How about them O's! Apart from who they are playing (does it matter when you are the worst team?), they can't be all that different, except for a litle bit of potential in the outfield, from the team that went 0-21 to start the season once. Shows you how much stock to put into one week. Trembley for manager of the year! In that 1988 season, Cal Sr. got canned after going 0-6 and was replaced by Frank Robinson who accounted for the rest.

According to Tony Jackson's blog, Nomar could be ready to go by next week if he suffers no other setbacks and has a good rehab in Sacramento with the Vegas club over the weekend.

If he comes back and is going to start, do you, one, send Park back down to AAA (he could refuse and be cut loose) or two, send the Solution down to Jacksonville or Vegas (probably Jacksonville but who knows).

There is no option regarding releasing Pierre, Loiaza or Nomar.

129 - what a mixed up world baseball is, where someone is "rewarded" by being sent to San Bernardino for the summer.

I'm actually interested to see if Bennett really exists tonight. I won't be surprised to see Kevin Spacey catching.

132 - let's be realistic, does anyone here expect Nomar to avoid any setbacks?

135 This is a guess but it is possible that Nomar does not want to wait for full recovery (no pain) because he sees Dewitt (who has slumped a bit but I doubt he has ever seen Peavy, Chris Young and Dan Haren before except for Playstation or Wii or X-Box) and LaRoche getting ready to stake out their claim on his position.

132 Send Dewitt down to Jacksonville, he needs at bats.

As if it was any big surprise, Love and Collison appear to be leaving.

http://tinyurl.com/652cat

137 - I think DeWitt is getting enough at bats where he's at.

Mark Grace loves Billingsley...He would take Chad over any other young pitcher in the NL west!

His word is God's word!

139 Once Nomar displaces him he won't be.

138 The bigger loss (at least one not expected at the beginning of the year) is Westbrook leaving.

I always thought that Howland coached this team to win the title this year. Even with a great recruiting class, my hunch is that you will see lots of playing time spread out between 8-9 guys and if they can get away with lots of 3 guard lineups.

141 To be clear, you have no problem with that move right.

So Lambo's the only one hitting so far down in Great Lakes.

143 None whatsoever. Blake Dewitt is not ready yet.

144 Well, Mattingly is hitting above .240.

141 - yeah, but that'll only last a couple of weeks until Nomar pulls a hammy. Probably better to have DeWitt a four hour drive away in Vegas... you know, just in case.

Actually, in all honesty, where would he likely see better pitching, Jacksonville or Vegas?

127
Jon, why are you setting yourself up for disappointment. You know the Lady Vols are coming home with #8.

Enjoy the baseball game tonight big man, cause the women's basketball game's going to be a tough one for ya.

May be something to do with when I became acquainted with this site, but after Jon and Bob, if ToyCannon and Underdog are on at the same time, things seem right. As well as many others in this great community.
I guess I feel bad about getting a bit emmotional last night, after being down 4-? in the first inning again.

Booo, AZ announcers again tonight. It should be noted that when he was reading the Dodgers' lineup card, he said Furcal, Kemp, good move, Ethier, etc.

147 Jacksonville.

The umps are against KemP!

152 Is that your heart or your head saying that?

ridiculous. Those are not strikes.

surprising strike three on kemp.

153

Those were not strikes.

Time Warner is doing their best to prevent me from seeing this game. According to them, I don't have the Extra Innings package I ordered two weeks ago.

So now I must wait to watch a game involving my favorite Dodger. TW is on notice.

154

Matt's always had an "enlarged" strike zone. I dont know why, but every umpire seems to expand the zone when he is up. Not only was the third strike outside, the first pitch was, too.

155 Where have you been?

157 I got Time Warner too and they said the same thing. Then I looked at the Hockey channels, and I found baseball so that might work for you.

159 I am fairly sure you are speaking of Sam DC . . . .

159 No, I remember you, just have not see you around lately.

that wasn't a strike either to Young.

bills just put one in the exact same place that kemp took strike three; the umpire DID call it a strike, to his credit, but the az announcer guys had a minor stoke over the call.

Ya, i dont think the umpire likes young black outfielders.

163 So I guess the ump has to get home early.

165 Did not want to go there but almost did.

162 sorry. it's often Sam DC that people inquire about.

I was here last night. I must have made a strong impression ;)

165

Milton Bradley, is that you?

At least Vin did not say the pride of UCLA.

I've got the D-backs announcers and Vin. Guess who I'm listening to.

168 I was out.

A lot of people around here seem to be down on Mattingly. Granted, he didn't perform well last year, but he is still young. Having seen him a couple times in person, I think he has a chance to be pretty good. He's extremely athletic and has plenty of potential. Seems like he needs to work on patience more than anything, but he'll improve.

nice pitch, better hit.

I agree with Kemp having a bigger strike zone...

I am now able to watch. You can blame the Dodgers' lack of scoring on San Diego's Time Warner office.

164 that's all we ask for...

173 I agree, its early but you worry when a top prospect can't hit in lower classifications.

can somebody PLEASE post the score every now & then, PLEASE!?

Mark Reynolds owns Chad.

I am sensing a pattern here.

At least I have Mark Reynolds on my fantasy team.

179 Sure its 3-0 Arizona.

OK, Time Warner owes me something.

Eric not watching: 5 consecutive outs
Eric watching: 2B, HBP, HR

3-0 dbacks, after that HR by reynolds.

Ow.

Man, did Reynolds hit a couple out yesterday?

throw strikes!

Chad is throwing a lot of pitches this inning.

What a read by Kemp!

anybody's extra innings directv signal go out?

And you wonder if Mark Reynolds would be playing if Chad Tracy did not get hurt.

I've got to think that not starting a game in 2 weeks has had at least a little effect on Chad.

Tony Jackson is licking his chops right now. So is Will Carroll.

how about some props for Derek Lowe for managing to be the only Dodgers pitcher the last four games to not give up 3+ runs in the first inning?

Ugh. I have to hear both the D-backs and Trailblazers announcers tonight.

kent let the ump hear about that strike three call. grace says that one "looked like it actually got some of the plate" . . . as opposed to . . . . ?

So apparently the Dodgers did not take batting practice against a curve ball throwing, getting ready for surgery, lefthander.

At least Loney cares about making me happy.

191 My DTV signal has been fine. My perception of these early innings seems to be bad, but it could just be a quirk this early.

Damn, I should have played that stupid hitting streak on MLB and just stuck with Loney.

eek. caught loney leaning. he was a leaning loney.

So will Loney soon be chastised in the media for his poor base running like Kemp? That was nearly another pickoff.

Druw is ALWAYS smiling.

so weird.

203
He knows he's got a good scam going.

Reynolds has a long swing I bet the pitch he hit out was right down broadway, pitch him up & in!!

Gary didn't strike out.

202 Loney's chastisment would tend to point out that he's the only Dodger on base. Where are the vets like Kent and Jones?
Actually thats unfair--Kent has been pretty good.

204 - that's what I was saying last night. you'd be smiling too for $36 million.

Is Druw trying to make Pierre look like a good deal?

207 And it really is unfair to Jones too.

Jackie Robinson's #42 will be "unretired" again for next Tuesday, April 15. Any player in MLB can wear #42 a week from today if they so choose.

http://tinyurl.com/6759v6

203 the unnatural smile and the tats that look like something out of an acid trip . . . it all makes for an odd picture.

Strikes, Chad, strikes!

I guess folks are nervous since no one is typing.

his release point is all messed up. He's going overhead, 3 quarters...he is not consistent tonight.

If you write it Jone$ you can really get your point across.

We got the bad Chad for now.

217 He never really has been the model for consistency.

218
Nor has his usage been the model of consistency.

That pitch hit Davis' bat- not the other way around.

I blame Gary Bennett.

not really.

219 But really that can't be a reason why he is not throwing strikes.

Chad's throwing his change up a lot this inning.

209. So that´s a Colletti move because Pierre isn´t looking so bad right now. And Mr. 2 for 36 is also making the Braves GM look like a genius.

224 Great, let judge all baseball moves on the first week of the season.

2225. By the way, I think Jones will rebound but I´m a bit worried.

This isn't spring training Bennett, stop calling for pitches he can't throw.

What a scoop! OK, this is weird. Dodger Thoughts is loading fine for me, but the 3 other websites I'm trying to get to on Firefox won't load.

This is not good. Not good at all.

So who is our long long relief guy. Bills will be done by the 4th.

I don't think I can handle many more of these Billingsley innings...and neither can his arm

do you think that chad is spooked since the homerun?

Heck I gather Ned is already out there looking for another CFer.

227 Chad can shake him off, can't he.

(Actually I know Nate knows this, he's just protective of Billingsley)

As I feared, he's worried about what AZ did to Loaiza's fastball early in the count. Completely self-defeating pitch selection.

we get to listen to vin on the AZ broadcast. ahhhhhh.

230 Tonight it will be Kuo.

And the Arizona broadcast switches to Vin's feed. Beautiful.

Nice piece of hitting by The Solution.

chad's pitch count - 53 pitches, 23 for strikes

Will Tony Jackson wait for the game to end to rip Billingsley or will he blog by the 4th inning?

Chad has had better nights.

That is not going to help Chad's psyche.

241 Again, if he is reporting the game, what can he say.

239 last I heard someone referred to as "The Solution" it was trent hubbard . . . .

241 - it's well deserved either way.

DeWitt looked safe to me.

Crede will be in blue by tomorrow morning.

247 I thought he may have gotten his foot in, too.

Why we do we suck against Doug Davis!!!

Folks, the gods of baseball will not allow Doug Davis to go into surgery on a bad note.

Wow the Dodgers look out of sorts--top to bottom.

sigh Not our night. It's still just three runs, though, and we have a good pen.

WWSH

245 He could report the facts and not color it with his selective memory.

He looked out to me on the on the TiVo.

245

I don't know how to get fancy and put the TM thing on the end of it.

Short Chris Young's contract details:

$1m signing bonus
2008 (2nd year) - $406k (this was already signed; the rest is an extension)
2009 (3rd year) - $1.75m
2010 (1st arb yr) - $3.25m
2011 (2nd arb yr) - $5m
2012 (3rd arb yr) - $7m
2013 (1st FA yr) - $8.5m
2014 (2nd FA yr) - $11m option ($1.5m buyout)

Totals: 5 years / $28m

This is just ugly all the way around.

This is not easy to watch. I can't imagine what it's like for Torre or for that matter, other managers who five times more competitive as me, at least.

248 Doubt it, he's played in every game and is doing this.

.393/.419/.679

Just when you think it can't get any worse . . .

the little things..

not throwing strikes, not getting bunts down, giving away outs, making errors in the field.

I should stop watching.

Maybe the Dodgers should have had spring training instead of going on a three-location world tour. The D'Backs are making us look liks clowns. Our fundamentals are weak: Getting picked off, caught stealing, not being able to sacrifice, not knowing which base to throw to, and all those strikeouts. We are not pleased.

This doesn't seem like the Dodgers' night.

Great now we're getting the death by a thousand papercuts.

254

Exactly. The idea that Jackson merely reports is laughable. His favorite pastime is gloating whenever Billingsley has control problems.

it would be nice if anyone on our team could hit a baseball right now.

Just when you think it can't get any worse . . . (Part II)

263 This team lost twice to the Reds, okay one was against Cueto.

This lob back to the pitcher is just driving me nuts.

Adversity is what makes a ballplayer, at least that is what I have been told.

DeWitt had no business fielding that ball. It was Furcal's play. And Furcal may have turned two.

Pretty sure with the NO loss that the Lakers control their own destiny now for homecourt in the West.

Groan

ungood. very, very ungood.

272 If that is true, that's a rookie mistake.

Defense didn't help, but Chad has nothing. Get him out of there, Torre.

266/254 - yeah, he is biased, but it doesn't take away from the fact that this complete lack of control is happening.

Chad, just throw a fastball for a strike and hope they hit it right at someone.

WWSH

andruw jones can still get back on a ball. and he can get it back into the infield without rolling it in.

Come on Chad, just get out of this inning without giving up another run, so Kuo can take over. Then at least we can make a game of it, if our offense decides to wake up.

WWSH

You've got to be kidding me, Bills.

278

Am I debating whether it's happening? I'm pointing out how happy it will make Jackson to point it out. Make sense now?

I wonder if that HBP was frustration . . .

273
I think you are right. New Orleans is now at 54-23. If the Lakers win out, the best NO could do is tie the Lakers at 58-24.

Head to head tiebreaker will be 2-2, so we'd have to go to the conference records. Tonight was the Hornets' 15th conference loss, and the Lakers have 14 so they win that tiebreaker.

272 - I'm not so sure about that, Furcal would have had to throw against his body, likely would have only got one - though one would be better than none.

Meanwhile, at real speed, this is just getting ugly. Can we get Arizona moved to either the AL West or the NL Central?

Calling all Kuos. Calling all Kuos.

Bills is awful out there. I hope this doesn't color Torre's perception of him.

You gotta wonder how this would have looked if Torre hadn't been playing Willard Scott last week.

Not that its the problem tonight, but I bet Martin catches him next time.

Yes Arizona will never lose game.

272
That was probably Furcal's ball, but I doubt he could have turned two.

Haha, Vin, "So much for logic."

283 - Fair enough. I guess I'm just upset enough about this performance that I don't care if Jackson spins it with his negativity.

As a human, I feel great for Doug Davis.

Someone on our team should get non-dangerous cancer so the baseball gods can be on our side too.

295 I agree.

And this still sucks.

294

I shouldn't care. Usually I don't. I just hate that stupid shirt he's wearing in that stupid picture on his stupid blog.

If you're going to be down five runs, the earlier the better.

I'd love to see Kuo have some good innings here. As utterly pathetic as the team has played, win tomorrow and you get out of here 1-2 and not that much harm done.

Davis' career line: .070/.086/.088.

I think the baseball Gods have decided it's his night.

298 Yeah it's an awful shirt.

Again, not starting in two had had some effect on Chad. 3 innings in 2 weeks is poor managing by Joe, and no amount of side work can replace game innings. His release point was all messed up and he looked terrible out there. I don't put all of it on Torre, but a large heap has to be directed at mismaning Chad terribly.

A first pitch strike, a novelty tonight.

303

that should say two weeks

If we can wear him down and make him throw a lot of pitches, we can get him out of the game and attempt a comeback against their bullpen.

I have Chad with an unofficial game score of 25 tonight, which is the 2nd worst of his young career.

He had a 24 game score in his last start last season against the Giants when he gave up 4 runs in 1.1 IP.

I hope Kuo stays in a while. I'm not sure I've seen him bat since the flip.

305 I don't buy it, this happens a lot in April. And Chad's history is not one where he pitches with great control thus far in his career. He just had a bad night and that is on him not because of some weird scheduling.

That Firestone commercial began with the line: "Leaders do not follow?" That's a penetrating observation.

303 This isn't the first time he's had this problem. Think of last start last year.

Welcome back Matt!

That's why they call him the Bison

This is one of the reasons I'm glad the Lakers are solid again. If it works out right, they'll be finishing up around June 10th, at which point I can start really paying attention to the Dodgers. And hopefully, the Dodgers will have figured it all out by then... or they'll be out of it.

kemp gets a nice clean base hit; but I suppose he needed to go 5-4 with 7 HRs to stay in the lineup.

313 - I thought it was because he's tougher than a robot made of nails?

Take a look at Kemp's splits, if he hits the ball fairly in the first two pitches he sees, in his career, he hits over .500.

Now its true that generally, if you hit the first pitch, a lot of guys hit for a high average but not that high and we are talking over 100 career at bats for that stat for Matt.

I can only think of two players who ever hit 20 HR and stole 50 bases.

I feel a bomb coming right here...

295 I remember Dave Dravecky pitching a gem in his next-to-last last start (http://tinyurl.com/54y39a). In his last start he broke his arm while pitching and eventually lost his pitching arm to cancer.

Putting rather crudely I'd say fighting an illness like cancer is apparently a great motivator and, for tonight, I say fair play to Doug Davis.

Dang, got it in on the hands a little

318
Eric Davis and Barry Bonds at least, plus did Eric Byrnes reach that last year?

C'mon Loney, hit it out.

318 Add one guy that I hate to that.

318 Eric Davis, Rickey Henderson, Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, and...Jimmy Rollins? Barry Bonds?

318

Morgan and Eric Davis?

318
Here's the complete list of 20/50 seasons:

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/Hxgn

322 Yep, Byrnes is the one I missed. Eric Davis is the other, a few times I think.

The ump has been a little inconsistant tonight. Some of Chad's pitches looked a lot closer than what Davis's do....not that it would've helped tonight.

327 I guess the biggest surpise there I see is Ryne Sandberg.

Been MIA for awhile. Did a nicname for Loney coalsce from the 'sphere yet?

328
Was that the question on the Dodger broadcast? I have the AZ feed.

Sorry, nickname.
and coalesce.

331
Not really. "Line Drive" had some traction, but maybe after tonight his nickname should be scoop.

Wow, Cedeno did it three times by the time he was Matt Kemp's age, impressive.

Yes, the question was which 4 have done it multiple times. Davis, Henderson, Morgan, Cedeno.

314

Lakers aren't faring any better so far tonight. Of course, they never play well in Portland.

Gagne blew 2nd save as a Brewer just now .... Corey Patterson took him deep, tying the game.

327 I guess Vin got a little confused when he tried to change the question to only one season of 20/50. Davis and Henderson were easy, but Morgan and Cedeno? Who knew.

Byrnes' appearances as a "commentator" last year creeped me out.

339

How about when he almost drowned that dog at the All-Star Game?

339 that double was your fault

335
I love that Eric Davis and Rickey Henderson (twice) are the charter members of the 20-80 club.

I miss 1980s baseball sometimes.

According to Charley Steiner, Torre told Martin that he was going to get one of the next two games off and gave him the choice of which game to take off, he chose tonight.

Again according to Steiner, the only other player that Torre has ever made that offer to in his recent managerial career is Derek Jeter.

The ole hit him with the pitch to save the wild pitch and a run gambit.

At least tonight's game will bring some warmth to A. Shimmin's cold heart. I usually have sympathy for villains.

342 Amen to that.

341
oops.

341
and yes, thank you, it's good to be back ;)

I am still struggling with how far Reynolds hit that ball to right field last night with that little have swing he did.

348 Don't you have a very appropriate book cover to hold up right about now?

349 Vin says he has "light tower power".

espn reporting Love and Collison to the NBA. Westbrook likely gone too per the report.

349 you're not suggesting a little Brady Anderson influence ... are you?

He's Kuoing them down ...

The Dodgers at least play the Giants 15 more times this year.

And Kuo should start.

I'm out of positivity for tonight.

351 - I believe it after last night and the shot tonight.

ok, well, while I don't want to write off either the Lakers or Dodgers, I'm off to work on my novel. Hopefully when I check back in a couple of hours, the Kemp will have made like Fernando Tatis

That was a GREAT escape for Kuo! I gotta say, I don't feel even close to being as angry as I was yesterday. I even feel like there's a slight chance the Dodgers come back. Does starting Kemp over Pierre make that much difference?

353 Maybe just Billy Hatcher or Wilton Guerrero.

353 - not at all. He doesn't have a track record of multiple 8 HR seasons.

Hmm, Rotoworld reporting Giants putting Dave Roberts on the 15-day DL. Wonder if they'd want another leadoff hitter? One they were recently interested in.

Druw a walk, please.

This time, AJ, this time ...

362 The Druw abides...

360 Nor hideous sideburns.

343 When will the Golden God be named a captain of the Dodgers?

Would it be possible to sign Piazza AND keep Bennett?

352
It was inevitable. Good thing, college basketball will be down as a whole, because the 08 class is not very good.

Is that a strike?

367

What possible reason could there be for keeping Bennett in that situation? He's not even very good defensively.

352 Thats good news for Davidson.

I want to see a bat flip!

370 Because Piazza would never play otherwise.

Man. What a poopy start to the sports week. Memphis choking is still #1 on my week's suckitude list, but there are some close seconds. Not happy about Stanford, either (not surprised but not happy). Do the Lakers play tonight? If they did, Kobe will probably break his nose and have a ruptured spleen or something.

Kuo's awesome.

Does Kuo ever get an expression of any type on his face?

373

Huh?

373

Huh?

See how confused I was?

374--Lakers down 58-47 at half in Portland.

370 'cause Russell's getting the day off. If you pinch hit there, you not only have to play him but he could play for a long while if this game miraculously went into extra innings.

This whole game makes me want to flip my bat - out the window.

My g/f's looking at me with that "Why do you like sports again if it causes you misery and angst?" look.

I could use a nice 2nd half from the Lakers.

373 Yeah, but I'm thinking Piazza could fulfill an "Olmedo Saenz" role on the team without depriving the Dodgers of a catcher when he pinch hits, while also subbing Martin on the 20-30 games he rests.

If this pitching thing doesn't work out, maybe Kuo should follow the path of Ankiel.

Bennett said something about his lobs back to the pitcher saving his arm. Does he really think he's going to play enough, here or elsewhere, that he actually has to save anything?

Really, the lobs look like a guy on the verge of Sax/Knoublach disease. (Was it Dale Murphy that also couldn't throw back to the pitcher and got a position switch?)

377
He meant that Piazza would never get to pinch hit without another catcher on the roster since seemingly no manager is willing to use his backup catcher as a pinch hitter.

I hope Kuo has a good one or two more innings, but between his pitches, youth and upside, shouldn't Kuo be our 5th starter until...., rather than Estaban or Chan Ho? Also wondering if multiple relief appearances are harder on the arm then coming in about once a week and trying to throw 100 pitches

385
And Mackey Sasser. I believe Darryl Strawberry stole 2nd base off a Sasser lob back to the pitcher.

Oh, I see why you would keep Bennett now. Forget it.

I mean, I see why you would keep another catcher, anyway.

350
Sorry,was out for a few, well, you know.
So no book cover, just this towel here...

380 Ah, of course.

Any ruptured spleens?

389 But yes, why is he on the roster is another subject.

Fire Mike Easler!

(Just kidding.)

383 Besides, the guy should be allowed to retire in grace.

391

No. And, more realistically, no sprained ankles or knees from stepping on a teammate's foot, either.

So Bennett (or any bum off the street) could potentially not play a single inning, unless a game goes too long or Russ gets hurt after Piazza has pinch hit. Neat.

387 I'd hazard a guess that Torre et al. do not have confidence that K/Guo has enough command (we called this "control" in the old days) to avoid high pitch counts and go enough innings in enough starts to warrant making him the #5 starter. This is only his 2nd appearance of the season, so perhaps they are expecting to use him for multiple innings in one game with plenty of rest in between?

I know this was mentioned earlier, but... whoa nelly, the Tigers are 0-7. Yikes.

Doug Davis in 320 career PAs before tonight: .070, .086, .088, -55 OPS+.

Tonight: 2-2. Smiling baseball gods, I suppose.

396 Presumably Bennett would get the spot starts, not Piazza, in that scenario.

386 This consensus of managers really bugs me. They are using a roster spot for nothing, and protecting themselves against the maybe once a year event that they have to have the emergency catcher catch a few innings (which would cause a teeny tiny increase in the chance of losing that one game, anyway).
Piazza, not Bennett, and any old guy as emergency catcher would be a better team that would win more games. Piazza could pinch hit and if Russ ever got hurt mid-game, AFTER Piazza had already pinch-hit, DY/Nomar could catch. The chance of that happening is remote, and the damage it would cause is miniscule, but that is why Bennett is on the roster and why if Piazza WERE on the roster, he would never pinch-hit. Meanwhile, the benefit would be all those PH appearances by Piazza, and having his bat instead of Bennett's in 25 games. (another minus would be however extra runs we'd give up as a result of having Piazza behind the plate instead of Bennett. But how bad could that effect possibly be?)
It is a 100% wrong-headed team-building decision that almost every single team makes.
It doesn't have to be about Piazza per se, but just the idea of any halfway competent catcher/hitter instead of an incompetent hitter as backup catcher.

Kuo rocks.

400

Then, by that logic, Piazza would never catch.

That return throw from Bennet to our pitchers is going to drive me crazy, it reminds me of the guy in the movie Major League. But seriously, it has to affect our pitchers rythm. Almost all cathers fire the ball back so the pitcher can start whatever routine that particular pitcher has.

A third string catcher is basically never used, less then a game per season anyway, and is not worth a roster spot even if the backup is a fairly frequent pinch hitter. Is the potential downside to throwing non-catcher behind the plate for an inning really worth using a roster spot?

403 He didn't catch last season.

Matt Kemp can hit a little bit when he gets in the game Joe.

407 yep, there's an idea.

The exception of course being when your three catchers are Brent Mayne, Cody Ross, and Tom Wilson and you'll want to pinch hit for the starter and the backup.

K/Guo up to fifty pitches. I doubt he goes more than one more inning.

401

Agree 100%. I should have said that in the first place.

That why the call him The Bison!

402 - totally agree. I'm a big Kuo guy too, when he's right and is throwing strikes, he is really solid.

Atta boy Bison!

I've been waiting for a reason to say "atta boy" tonight.

Kemp sending a message to Pierre/Torre/Colletti etc..

407 - it's so obvious it hurts.

405 Well, Piazza would be technically the third-string catcher since he'd be primarily used to pinch-hit.

409 Hah hah, totally. (Except you mean David Ross.)

Nice, Dodgers back in game, Lakers on a 10-0 run.

We rule! Our fundamentals are great! We can do no wrong!

The old man can still hit a bit too.

Kent really punishes mistake pitches

PVL!!!

Nice hit PVL!!

Davis is done.

Atta boy, Jeff!

I am a Suns fan. It's going to be very hard to be civil here during the playoffs.

why did ethier pull up coming around second? the 3rd base coach was furiously waving him in, but ethier was watching the play.

Pierre can't do what Kemp or Ethier just did.

Nice hitting by the old goat.

I picked a fine time to tune in. Judging from the comments Bills looked pretty bad.

That strike 2 call almost bounced.

At least we've gotten into the bullpen early, and touched their bullpen last night despite the lopsided score. Er, maybe that'll pay off tomorrow at least.

The Lakers are going to need some defense and a big 4th quarter to pull this one out.

427 Shouldn't runners on first by judging balls in CF on their own?

Wait, Davis is still in there. Never mind. Must be cutting him some slack tonight for sentimentality's sake.

337 ? Loney nickname. Best yet, from Joe Beimel: "Popeye". I vote we go with that.

that stike one call on loney was totally bogus. there must have been a lot of lead paint where this umpire grew up.

418 D'oh! Yes I meant David.

433 There is historical precendent for that happening against Portland.

419
When was the Lakers 10-0 run? Yahoo has Portland widening their lead to 85-71 in the 3rd quarter.

434 I was taught that you pick up the coach as you round second and the play is behind you.

They were down 77-61, then cut it to 77-71

15

They call me Nostradamus

Davis will have a terrific start giving up only 2 earned runs. However, that doesn't indicate who will win. =)

Sigh.

Can we call up Jason Repko to spell Jones for awhile? And to collide with Pierre at some point in the outfield.

436 How about a simple "Tex"? Tex Loney sounds like a star in westerns and this is Hollywood after all. I see a bit of quiet cowboy confidence in him.

It's tough on the offense when 6-9 are essentially 4 pitcher's spots. When Martin is playing at least we can push that down a spot.

You know what, the Lakers young players just didn't show up tonight. You have to question their heart and intensity during these gimmie games, but I still think we'll all be on the same page for the playoffs, don't you think?

If I was an opposing pitcher, all Andruw Jones would get from me would be fastballs. He has not shown he can catch up to one...even a 84mph hardball from Davis.

444

I think we should set Repko loose in the LA Times office. Be nice to have Bill and T.J. out for the seaon.

436 "loney" already sounds like a nickname, almost.

441 Was Kent's ball still in the air at that point? Most runners hate taking their eye off a ball that is still up there.

447 What's the latest on Bynum? Assuming he's back for the playoffs, that's the key right there. Odom, Gasol and Bynum in the front court makes them tougher.

Well, at least Jeff Kent knows how to get the job done.

452 wins my understatement of the night award.

449 Hah hah, nice.

At this moment, Kemp's season OPS is up .197 since the start of the game. Fun with early season stats.

436 I would like it better if that costume hadn't been so horrible.

397

I do understand both the control and command issues but in looking at all 3 5th starters who are flawed to some degree, if 100 pitches from Kuo get you into the 5th, but because of his stuff fewer runs score isn't that better than Estaban who seems recently to have one early inning where he allows 3 runs or more. Chan Ho at this point I think is indeed long relief. Kuo is also a lefty....Great to see Kemp hitting tonight, now if we could only get Andru going

I hope Andy LaRoche gets back as soon as possible.

450
One of the disturbing trends in modern nicknaming is simply adding an "ee" sound to the end of the name (Gracie, Jonesie, etc). Maybe Loney's nickname is "Loneyey"

458 Be careful what you wish for.

why limit yourself Nate, he can't hit a curveball either.

I kinda like Tex.

Although that seems to already be taken.

451 hard to tell, but that did appear to be what he was concerned about.

461

curveball puts more strain on the arm! Why hurt yourself trying to get out a windmill?

456

Yeah, he looked a bit more Village People than Popeye.

How about "Lonestar" spoken in full Mel Brooks mode?

What's so wrong with Orbison?

Man, Mark Reynolds really came out from nowhere when you look at his college career.

459 maybe loneyie (heh) is pre-nicknamed

Dang, Kuo is on fire.

Kuo's outing has been encouraging. I hope he gets strong consideration for the 5 spot.

468

Is he another Jeff Kent?

This Hong Chee Ko guy is pretty good. I've never heard of him, but Vinny is sure talking him up. vr, Xei

Good news for the Dodgers is that even if they don't score over the next 2 innings they get to face Brandon Lyon, who has been trying to kill my fantasy team this last week.

I bet Elton Brand is glad he bothered coming back.

We wanted Ethier over Pierre, assuming Kemp was a lock; we got Pierre's starts at Kemp's expense instead.

We assume Billingsley is a lock and want Kuo over Loaiza; might we get Chad back in the pen instead?

[/end sarcasm]

476
Even my most pessimistic side didn't come up with that one! :)

473. . . . and The Great Kuo Name Controversy of 2007 rages on. :-)

476. I don't think Guo starts until later in the season. They really need to watch his innings. vr, Xei

the next time LA plays Az, and we are forced to watch the Az broadcast, I say we play the Mark Grace drinking game; "gas" is a drinking word.

479 He threw 65 pitches tonight. 56 in his three-inning start in the weird rain game. No other appearances, so they seem to be watching them carefully. :)

Hey, the tying run comes to the plate!

Get comfy, Juan.

Yep, looks like this Kemp guy can hit Joe. You might want to give him some playing time.

kemp is 3-4 tonight. no comment considered necessary.

480
If you're home during the day tomorrow, you'll get the AZ broadcast again.

485 - clearly it was because of the mental rest he got from 3 days off. To the extent Torre is telling himself that, I still expect more of JP.

486 hmmm, go to work, or be face down drunk by the second inning of a day game . . . that is a tough decision.

I must ponder my options.

so close.

That's a painful tease right there.

I expect a Get Smart commercial after that out.

If Kemp gets another hit tonight he will have as many for the season as JP and AJ combined.

my heart.

my heart.

my heart.

ah hour ago, that was a home run.

483 :)

Very nice.

494 - an not ah

Just off the end of the bat.

what happened?
vr, Xei

498

Upton caught it at the wall.

498 Ethier flied to deep right w/ two on.

Game of inches.

Confarnit!

I almost yelped in excitement there. Drat.

Tron Tron back in to do his thang.

Kemp's OPS now up .266 on the night.

EDRT?

495

Kemp hit a HR for us. He's also a myspace friend.

I take his struggle personally.

504. More importantly his average is up to .286 as it's more likely that Torre and staff judge by average not OPS. :)
vr, Xei

With all these HBP, we are bound to get a reprisal one against us tonight or tomorrow.
vr, Xei

505 "EDRT?"

ERP

507 - what's the appropriate degree of measure we should give BA/OBP/SLG/OPS?

I know a lot of people around here are down on BA, but if Furcal or Loney were to go into September batting .403, we'd all think that was a good thing, no? Even if their OBP was only, say .455?

509

everyday ramon troncoso.

It's so nice to see opposing runners taking caution this year. I remeber when it was Pierre, gonzo, and Either out there and runners ran rampid unless Ethier got the ball. What a difference.

what a roller coaster ride on that Ethier fly ball, man!

I love how Vinny calls him the O-Dog.

The odds are not in our favor here.

Part of me wanted the book that Hudson reads before every game to be Catcher in the Rye

how about "SinkerTronco"

511 Oh, I thought you were refering to the "Hardball Made Easy" videos.

510

Only .455? That's a great OBP.

Sigh. For some reason the Lakers always go in the tank when they play at the Rose Garden, which is strange since the host isn't exactly a good team.

510

I won't even talk to a player who doesn't have an OBP at least 70 points higher than his BA.

uh-oh, suddenly he can't throw strikes?

510. Well, that's a hard question to answer because BA is a subset of OBP and OBP+SLG=OPS. Given a choice of only those mentioned I believe the proper split is somewhere around (1.6*OBP)+SLG. Something along those lines.
vr, Xei

514 I think Herald Reynolds actually invented that nickname.

520 - they played terribly against them at home one time this year as well in a game Portland was missing Roy.

Walked in a run. Man, if only our non-Kuo pitchers would throw strikes today.

The bad thing about getting down by four runs, is that we might not get to face Lyons.
vr, Xei

Then immediately 0-2 to Jackson. Huh.

wow, a bouncer triple over the head of Dewitt.

This game sucks.

524 - I think you're right.

sigh

521 You do realize that given two players who have equal walk rates the one with a lower batting average will have a greater difference between OBP and BA, right? (though a lower OBP overall)

Good night, Gracie.

532

Pretty sure he was joking around.

bedtime.

523 - I think I wasn't clear (or I don't understand your answer). Take my hypothetical, insanely high BA, but OBP only 50 points higher? Good or bad?

I'm trying to figure it out from a player evaluation stand point. I think I tend to put a lot more weight than most around here on BA, but I tend to believe in putting the ball in play. Slugging percentage is also a nice measure, but it depends on where a guy is hitting in the line up, as well.

Well, at least this horrible night for sports is about to come to a merciful end.

Morphine, take me away...

Do you think Bob can eat his words yet?
vr, Xei

I doubt that [G]uo will ever pitch an effective game for the Dodgers again.
-Bob Timmermann
July 9, 2007

Oof.

Please don't get swept.

Ouch. Welp, good thing there won't be much time to mope around about this one, for us or the team.

Think they may need to call up another pitcher soon?

536

It doesn't matter. However you get your high OBP, it doesn't matter, as long as you have it.

However, it is generally accepted that having an OBP dependent on high average will require more BABIP luck, and thus, a more inconsistent OBP than a guy who just walks a lot.

Does that help at all?

536. .400 average is great, only because it means the players OBP is also over .400. Having your OBP only slightly higher than your batting average is not so good, but in your case it doesn't really matter. Chances are that it is not sustainable due to a high BABIP. vr, Xei

I blame Jon for going out of his way to point out the team and bullpen ERA.

At least the Bison and Kuo looked good? It feels far too early in this season for me to be looking for the silver linings. Bah.

It's a long season & I can't wait to play the D-Backs again.

His mudder was a Medders.

534 Yeah, but then again I see people around here bust out stats like isolated patience (OBP-BA) as an indicator of ability to draw walks, ignoring that it punishes players for getting hits and something like BB/PA works much better.

Padres are trying to rally in the 9th against the Giants bullpen. That's a book with a lot of chapters in it.
vr, Xei

Jones will get a meaningless hit here, maybe even a HR.

538 Depends if you count a three-inning start or a 3 2/3 IP relief appearance as an "effective game" or not.

Well, that was quick. The Padres just tied it up in the 9th and are threatening to score more.
vr, Xei

550. hmmm, do we have a lawyer in the house?
vr, Xei

545

Why? They're quite good. I have a feeling that they just might run away with this division.

He couldn't even get it out of the outfield. I want Pierre!!!

549 A no-out HR here makes it a four-run game with two full innings left. That's still a longshot of course, but not utterly hopeless.

551 Thats because the Giants are not a good team.

547

I wasn't trying to punish anyone. I'm just fond of the number 70.

543 - ok, so what is a good BABIP? And really, how much of it is truly luck and how much of it is skill? Meaning, if a guy is able to make contact and "hit it where they ain't", isn't that someone you want in your line up?

How about a meaningless "productive out" instead. Sheesh.

545

I have no desire to see this team again this season. Tough AB for Martin.

554

Pierre couldn't lay down a sacrifice that good.

553 Nobody's going to run away with this division. And you can quote me on that.

What are the results for this team this year with runner on 3rd and less than 2 outs?

If DeWitt does something here and they hit for Troncoso, who pitches next? Broxton?

I'm not usually one to complain about this sort of thing, but did we really have to not give Russ a full day off down seven?

So is Martin going to catch now on his "off day?"

559 - what was the "productive out"? I only ask because I'm not watching the game anymore and the misunderstanding that all parties seem to have of that particular phrase has been annoying me the last couple of years.

AZ had the benefit of back to back horrible starts from Dodger pitching. They may be the better team at this point in the season, but they will not run away with anything.

Great to see Kemp looking straightened out...now it's up to Andruw.

558. Let me recommend a book for you, "The Book, Playing The Percentages In Baseball" by Tom Tango.
vr, Xei

564 I think we're about to find out.

even with the double, our win expectancy is 1%.
vr, Xei

The Solution!

558

Without looking at any stats, it seems intuitive to me that BABIP is mostly luck. No hitter controls where the defense plays him, or how many good or bad defenses he will play during the season.

567 Andruw tapped out in front of the plate and both runners moved up. I was being sarcastic, obviously down seven runs, the team needs baserunners.

573. it's luck for the most part, but you can raise it by hitting more line drives and being extremely fast and beating out a lot of infield grounders like Kemp and Ichiro.
vr, Xei

Guy didn't even run.

Jones should be dropped down to 8th until he hits a line drive.

573 - see, that's a problem for me, because, taken to it's logical conclusion, that means the game is entirely a matter of luck and not skill.

A hitter controls which pitches he swings at, he controls the way that he swings, and to some extent, where the ball will go when he hits it (stepping into a pitch to go the other way, stepping out to pull, etc).

While he can't control where the defense plays him, or which pitches he will see, he does retains some control over the situation. Perhaps I am naive in this regard, but if BABIP is mostly luck, then so is the entire game and no amount of statistical analysis matters in that case... just pull the lever and hope it comes up sevens.

558 Line drive percentage is important. When even the greatest hitters get a hit only 1/3 of the time, there would seem to be only so much batters can control. Hitting is just really hard.

Yeesh, Sweeney didn't exactly hustle that out, did he?

... why is Broxton in this game?

581- Who else is supposed to pitch?

As Broxton enters, Grace starts to drool.

552 No, just a persnickety engineer.

Grace just cut a wrestling promo for Broxton.

581 Beimel and Proctor both pitched in the last two games. I doubt Park is ready to go back-to-back games. No one else is left but Saito.

578. Hitting home runs is not luck.
vr, Xei

578

Yeah, but luck is involved in just about every sport. I guess the question should be, why does the great presence of luck in this sport, in most sports, bother you?

Grace is going to divorce his wife and run away with Broxton.

587 Except when Canseco is in RF.

590. haha.
vr, Xei

589 That Broxton is a perfect "Slump Buster"...

Drat. At this point I don't even care about the run, I just don't want to see Broxton face more batters / throw more pitches in this meaningless situation.

Has the Countdown to the Minotaur © begun yet?

I have fifty riding on May 20 as his ETA.

But in the nearer future, the Dodgers need another very effective performance from Kuroda tomorrow, or they really may need to bring in another reliever.

588 - the presence of luck in any sport does not bother me... I quit the practice of law the second half of last year to play poker full time, I am well acquainted with the luck factor. But, it is my believe that training and skill can overcome random dumb luck. Like the old saying goes, luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

587 - my point is that if getting any kind of hit is a matter of luck, than a vast amount of the game is luck. I believe that getting hits, be they singles, doubles, triples, or homeruns is a skill. My point is only that to disqualify the vast majority of hits that a player will accumulate over the course of his career as luck is to overlook the skill necessary to be a ball player.

Kemp's looked so much better tonight. That's something positive we can take from this stinker.

How deep was Bison's ball. Nice leadoff by Furcal.

597

About 400 feet or so.

Apparently Arizona still has bullpen issues in blowouts.

595. Read the book.
vr, Xei

595 Making good contact at a high rate is definitely skill. But even hitters renowned for their high degree of skill with the bat, e.g. Gwynn, Carew, were still making outs in over 60% of their PAs and even their BAs fluctuated enough that luck had to be a significant factor.

598 A good ride. Thanks.

Well, I guess this loss is going to be pinned on Chad's bad game, but looking at the starting lineup, it was pretty much automatic outs from 6-9. Not so with the D-backs or most other teams the Dodgers will play.

I have to assume Nomar or LaRoche will come back and hit, that Jones will eventually hit, and that Bennett won't play very often. If not, this is a third-place team, at best.

I'm not dissing DeWitt by the way. But he's following the pattern of most players who come up in that circumstance. He surprises a few pitchers for a few days, then the scouts figure him out and pitchers filet him. He can't get back to AA soon enough.

Martin should have never played this game...on his day off, down 7 runs, having to catch an inning...????/

Dewitt went 2-4 tonight.
He wasnt the problem.

601 - granted, it's the nature of the game that a hitter will make an out more often than he will reach base safely. And I am not suggesting that dumb luck can be eliminated completely (again, my experience playing poker full time tells me this), I am simply suggesting that skill, training, and preparation can reduce and even marginalize the luck factor in specific circumstances.

603

I dont think Nomar/LaRoche and jones hitting are a sure thing. Both of the 3Bman will be coming back from hand/wrist injuries and we have no idea how long it will take for them to regain their stroke, timing, etc. Add to that Nomar couldnt hit last year and Andy hasn't really seen major league pitching (although he should be a stud) and we could have a problem there for a while. As for Andruw, he just looks like doodoo at the plate. Cant catch up to 85 mph fastballs, pulling off everything. He stinks right now and hopefully it wont be a replication of last year.

605 - agreed, especially considering he had 2 RBIs on an extra basehit.

606 - also, I would posit that the pitcher's skill, as well as the defenses skill has some bearing on the hitter's "luck". Not to mention the preparation angle of positioning the defense properly, etc.

603 ...but looking at the starting lineup, it was pretty much automatic outs from 6-9.

Last season the solution to that problem was batting Loney, Ethier and Kemp down there a lot and to put the automatic outs at 1-3.

Sorry, this is not supposed to be a snarky blog.

606. it's already factored in. Studies have shown that a high BABIP in almost every player is not a repeatable skill. They all tend to fluctuare around the same level. Line drive rate and speed are two factors that can help buck the trend. Read the book.
vr, Xei

609 The old adage is that good pitching beats good hitting. Some old adages have at least a grain of truth to them.

609. Yes of course, but given a large enough sample size it evens out for the most part.
vr, Xei

609. The good pitching has more to do with being stingy with home runs, walks and striking out a lot of batters. All things that are not a part of BABIP. There are a few exceptions for extrememe ground ball pitchers and knuckle ballers.
vr, Xei

613 - then each plate appearance is a simple contest of skill against skill... some would call that luck, I would call it sport.

jeez, I would really like to continue this conversation, but I have a chapter to finish.

614 - If I recall, infield flies were also something a pitcher could control to some degree.

603 -- Of course you are dissing DeWitt, and quite unfairly. You lumped him in with "automatic outs" when he has been anything but, including tonight. A little over a week into the MLB season, DeWitt has been a far, far, far, better MLB thirdbaseman than Miguel Cabrera. No, I'm not optimistic that will continue for long, but the fact is, as the saying goes, what it is. Nobody should be saying anything negative about DeWitt. He has been one of this year's most pleasant surprises.

I don't know fellas.

Maybe Karma is just working for the Diamondbacks so far. After all, this is Doug Davis' last start before surgery. When you think about it, after Haren and Webb, its anyone's game.

I saw too many good things for me to be down on this game tonight. Some nights you're just going to get your butt kicked. It happens. We put the best team we should put on the field, despite a needed day off for Russ. Kemp had a GREAT day at the plate. Ethier nearly tied the game with a home run... it only missed by two feet. It's how young teams work. Sometimes they'll be on, sometimes they won't be, but through it all, they did it their way.

Matt Kemp got base hits on the first pitch, 3rd pitch and 2nd pitch he saw tonight.

It appears to me that the book on Kemp is to try and get him on breaking stuff away and then get him defensive after two strikes.

If he continues to hit the breaking stuff, he will start to get fastballs.

619

Do not forget: The 2005 Dodgers were 15-8 in April.

Loiaza did pitch for Torre once before, for 2 months in 2004, he made 6 starts before joining the bullpen. So I don't think Joe will have any hesitation in switching Kuo for Loiaza especially since he himself said that he would like to break up his all right handed staff.

621 OTOH, the 1977 Dodgers were 17-3 in April.

604 - Agreed. Did Torre forget he burned D. Young already? That strikes me as a foolish move.

622 He might want to see K/Guo average less than 18 pitches per inning first.

604- Although we're tempted to think, Martin should have started so he could call a better game for Billingsley.

624 I'd just as soon Martin not have come in either, but is catching one inning THAT taxing?

625 - That's enough for 5 innings, which is longer than Loaiza lasted.

628 Sorry, wasn't too clear. Personally, I'd start Kuo; I'm just speculating on what Torre/coaches are thinking.

If the Dodgers had scored their three runs off Haren earlier, I wonder if they would have hit for Loaiza there.

618 well, okay. I think my impression of tonight's performance was influenced by the front part of the game. I'm happy about DeWitt, really. I'm just frustrated that we're not seeing more offense. Hopefully, tomorrow will erase that.

And if DeWitt wants to use my lame comment to fire himself up, that would be fine with me.

Just to make you all feel better, so far the Giants have scored more runs than The Greatest Offense In History. I'm still not worried.

I saw some good things tonight. Tomorrow we rock. Good to see DeWitt get his first rbi's with a nice opposite field gapper.

618 Good point. I upset my neighbor's yappy-type dogs with my yelling, but you're right.

I'm recording tomorrow's game, and hopefully it'll be worth watching!

I love Bill Buckner, my all-time favorite player.

I thought bringing Martin in when he did was the right move for Torre. What was the score at the time? 9-2 with two runners on? I can't remember. Anyway, I prefer that to giving up on the game.

Tony Jackson: Andruw Jones, the club's major offensive acquisition of the winter who has been having outstanding batting-practice sessions but was hitting just .115 in the actual games, remained in the lineup, batting fifth

I guess Tommy's not throwing him many curveballs in the dirt.

Morning postscript: Kemp getting his stroke back better keep him in the lineup. Clearly he's done the "work" with Easler they asked of him. I'm going to utter foul words if JP gets the start.

637
The Dodgers are facing a righty today, so Pierre should get the start. Kemp will just lose confidence if he's thrust into such a tough situation. I don't see why Kemp would all of a sudden be ready to face righties after one 3-hit game.

638 Who gets that start is going to tell us a lot about the season, isn't it?

638

Guessing you're joking, but it IS worth noting that Kemp got a hit of a righty last night.... by the way where the heck did this notion of him not hitting RHPs ever come from? Bummer game yesterday, but today will be better.

Then theres this:

"We screwed around with him his last start," said Torre. "We banged him and brought him in relief. He's not using it as a reason. But he didn't get into any kind of rhythm, he didn't look comfortable. At the time we made the decision, it made sense. I'm not saying we would have done anything different. But starting pitchers get into a routine and it certainly got in the way of his routine. It was just the circumstances more so than the decision. We made the decision, so we have to take our share of the blame, too."

I don't get this- if it was a mistake, why wouldn't you do it differently? Maybe its context.

603 DeWitt has a .400 OBP, which is pretty much as far from an automatic out as you can get. Also, we had Kuo batting 9 for half the game, and he can hit better than Bennett.

where the heck did this notion of him not hitting RHPs ever come from?

Torre's gut. Us computer users look at the numbers produced by the computer, that show that Kemp has done fine against RH in his career (.299/.328/.497/.825). But we ignore the humanity of the game.

640 Torre said he didn't want Kemp to hit against "tough righties" when he was "struggling." Now, Kemp is no longer struggling, and Micah Owings is not that tough. So there is no reason Kemp won't start.

Now, Kemp is no longer struggling

That's the kinda short-sighted thinking I want Torre to avoid. What if, for example, Pierre had played and gotten a few hits? Would we conclude that he was no longer struggling and therefore should be in the lineup?

Kemp should have been starting since the beginning. Given that Torre chose a platoon instead, it wouldn't now make sense to start Kemp just because he got some hits.

I'd rather Torre follow a bad rationale than no rationale at all. He shouldn't be getting paid millions of dollars to follow his "gut" or to essentially flip coins*.

*Unless they're Paul Scott coins, with Kemp's head on each side.

BTW, which is worse for a player's confidence:

1. Being allowed to play against "tough" pitchers, thereby being given an implicit message from your manager that he has faith in your abilities

2. NOT being allowed to play against "tough" pitchers, thereby being given an implicit message from your manager that he does not have faith in your abilities

I, for one, can't imagine a greater confidence killer than being told you're worse than Juan Pierre.

This is worse

"I told him he is going to play (tonight)," Torre said. "I'm not saying he agrees with (sitting), because he said he feels pretty good at the plate right now and I just don't see it.""

Andruw Rudolf Jones OPS splits:

March/April 07: .936
May 07: .629
June 07: .487
July 07: .935
Aug 07: .769
Sept/Oct 07: .581
March/April 08: .325

641 There's more to player evaluation than eight games worth of at bats.

hiroki stop the bleeding!!!

if we had to lose at least it was to davis, hate to see us lose but good for double d's

Juan Pierre is struggling against left handed and right handed pitchers, he should only start against...???
vr, Xei

649 -- But it is what DeWitt has done in precisely those eight games that is the thing being "evaluated." Really, you've got a bee in your bonnet about DeWitt, in part, I think, because he is doing better in the majors than your system of evaluating players would suggest he should be capable of, and in part because I think you are worried that the brighter DeWitt shines the dimmer LaRoche's prospects are for a career as a Dodger. I certainly don't favor DeWitt over LaRoche; I want ALL of our prospects to succeed, and will be happy to see the better man win out in the long run.

652 Can I call Russell Martin an automatic out then?

652 ya there are just some guys that "get it" later than others, i'm not suggesting dewitt has figured it out, but there is a possibility with some confidence, and hitting adjustments that he can be a far better hitter than he ever was in the minors. look at jeff kent struggle to hit above .200 at cal now he is one of the greatest offensive 2b off all time. regfairfield puts a lot of stock in minor league #'s but it's not the end all be all like he is making out to be. who knows give dewitt 600 major leauge ab's he may surprise some people.

654 i don't want him to have 600 ab's however, i want laroche back in the lineup ASAP

653 -- You can say he HAS BEEN an automatic out this season, absolutely. Jon once said of Tony Jackson that he "lives in the moment." I note in you the opposite extreme tendency. I encourage taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture, but that should never preclude recognizing a short-term fact or trend and appreciating its significance, even if the significance is limited. A balance of the two perspectives is necessary.

656 - that is a very good point, which is why I'm far more worried about Jones then Martin.

656 -- To illustrate my point, look at DePodesta's failure to properly evaluate Shane Victorino, which we have talked about, and which you admitted to being wrong about after we initially discussed it. As a whole Victorino's minor league career was statistically unimpressive, and his good numbers in Double A the season before looked like an outlier. In that case, the short-term, but recent, trend was much more indicative of Victorino's future value than the long-term minor league record.

658 And I agree with you there. What I'm not going to agree with is using 31 plate appearances as a valid sample. If DeWitt somehow gets 200 PA and is still solid, I'll change my opinion.

How do you definite "short-term, recent trend"?

Is it Victorino's case---being 1 season?

Or Blake DeWitt--being 8 games?

Matt Garza is probably out for a long time because he decided to man up and not tell anyone that his arm was hurting after his starts.

That was well said.

I do think Andrew is to close to the situation since he'd have to change the purpose of True Blue if DeWitt replaces LaRoche as the 3rd baseman of the moment.

Last year Bhsportsguy pointed out that every year at least one kid will shine that none of the performance analyst or scouts saw coming. Maybe this year we will will get lucky and it is DeWitt. The odds are against it happening as he gets more at bats, but come on, lets enjoy it while it is happening. As Andrew has pointed out numerous times, batting 8th does NOT give a bump to walks, so DeWitt's new found patience is something to celebrate not to discard so casually to the small sample size.

His defense at 3rd base while not stellar has certainly not been a problem.

658--Didnt the team already have Jayson Werth and Cody Ross both then too? Both of those guys were better than Shane Victorino then, and are better than he is now.

You can only go by the data available at the time of a move. Letting Victorino go wasnt a bad move considering Victorino's past performances in the minor leagues, and the other players that were already in the Dodgers organization and ahead of him on the depth chart.

Short-term thinking is perfectly decent in baseball. Not on results, but on approach. If a hitter's approach gets out of whack, he will not produce at his normal level, and needs to work that out, possibly outside game situations. A .333 hitter doesn't get one hit out of every three at-bats. And this is not entirely due to randomness. Player's true likelihood of getting a hit (or whatever) varies day-to-day. It is difficult to parse out with statistics only, but if you see the hitter looking pathetic at the plate, you have a good idea.

663 Letting Victorino go is arguably a defensible move (but it really did come down to keeping Repko instead of him). Not taking him back for $25,000 was what made it terrible.

Al I know is today can somebody (Kuroda, Please) get Mark Reynolds out or at least keep him in the ball park. He's killing us!! Also, let's try to avoid being down 3-4 runs after one inning. Talk about digging a deep hole for your offense. We really need a well pitched game with limited innings from the pen today.

Retaining Repko at the expense of anyone is probably always a bad move.

666-Wow that's not a good omen getting post no. 666 attached to my comments, we're doomed! ;-)

gibons, not a good idea to ask for favors in that post.

660 -- It's relative, naturally. And that applies to "long term" and "short term." And note that I am not saying let's take these past eight games by DeWitt and use them as the basis for a projection for how his next 20 years as a ball player will go. Who is doing that? Nobody. All this started with me saying that as a matter of fact, in the last eight games, DeWitt has NOT been an automatic out. That is proving to be a far more controversial statement than it should be, my friends.

Arizona is off to a really good start. Chad could not get his breaking ball over last night, which is why Reynolds ended up with a fastball down the middle. Kuo had good command and pitched effectively....Tron was tired and overthrew, losing his sink...Outside of Andruw Jones and Gary Bennet the Dodgers had a lot of good at bats. If Kemp plays, this lineup will end up above average.

670 Everyone would agree that Dewitt has not been an automatic out. The more important thing is will he be an automatic out in the future.

670 DeWitt has been one of the top four offensive performers so far.

I think you'll all be pleased to know that I'm cleaning out the two cat litter boxes in this household. Why? Because it's been since Sunday that they were last cleaned, and I think that's partially to blame for the Dodgers bad mojo over the last two games. So here we go - holding my nose this morning is better than having to hold it this afternoon while the game is on, hopefully.

672 what are the lotto #'s for this weekend while you're at it

Speaking of Tony Jackson, did everyone see his article today? Apparently 5 runs is "bats still quiet." Also, Kemp goes 3-5 with a triple. What picture does Jackson use for his article? Kemp with a bat on his shoulder with the caption "Matt Kemp strikes out in the first inning." Someone still loves Pierre.

If Nomar rushes back with his wrist still hurting, he will again at best be a singles hitter. DeWitt has shown an ability to hit doubles and power some hits through the gap. DeWitt is doing well enough that Nomar should not return until he is totally recovered.

If Jones and Martin start to hit and hit with some power, DeWitt's contact hitting, patience, and occasional pop means there is no reason to rush LaRoche back into the lineup until he is ready and has sufficient AAA games under his belt to get his timing and strength fully back.

663 -- Victorinio was not let go, for $50,000, to make room for Cody Ross or Jayson Werth, he was let go to make room for 28-year-old AAAA player Brian Myrow on the 40-man roster. And when Victorino was offered back for $25,000, we wouldn't have even had to put Victorino on the 40-man roster. So, DePo effectively evaluated Victorino as being worth less than $25,000 cash. Given what Victorino has done since then, there is no way to defend that as a correct evaluation of Victorino's worth, in the marketplace of baseball talent.

lol on Nomar. like this record hasn't been playing since 2003. The sooner he is healthy again only means the sooner he can return to the DL again.

DeWitt and Thurston are two opposite examples where stats alone mislead and good ole observation and intuition prove they should be an equal part of the evaluation.

If Tony Jackson were the Tigers beat writer, he'd be looking for that rope and the rickety three-legged stool that were mentioned here the other night. Sheesh. The Dodgers are .500 after eight games against some pretty tough pitchers.

http://www.dailynews.com/dodgers/ci_8858280

676 I was under the impression that the writers aren't choosing the photos for the paper.

I am SO disappointed that I can no longer count on Cargill's advance box score. I had planned to quit my job and move to Vegas. Oh well, back to work.

683 So I shouldn't try to read the Dodgers' fortune in the litter box? I think that's how Nostradamus did it, basically.

680 That has always been a misconception and why the stats vs. scouts argument is misguided.

Certainly scouts use statistics as a measurement for evaluating talent, certainly there are those who say certain stats, e.g. batting average, RBI, wins are not as an important as others but no question stats have a place in the scouting world.

And I think all statistical analysis proponents want is recognition that their methods have as much validity as how someone looks on the field.

682 You are correct, sir. As a former paperboy, I can confirm that the editorial desk makes the call on photos, headlines, etc. The writer only turns in raw copy.

682 I wouldn't know. The article has his, and only his, name on it. The picture itself comes from the AP. There is no indication that the caption is written by anyone else.

The article as a whole is completely misleading, both as to Kemp and as to the Dodger's offense. If it's not his doing, then he should definitely complain to someone about an editorial staff that is distorting his writing.

680 - Maybe I missed it, but I am surprised there has been so little discussion here of Bill James's assertion on 60 Minutes that player evaluation should be 95% scouting and 5% sabremetrics. At least that's what I thought I heard him say.

I thought that would blow the Toaster server into a million little pieces.

686 Besides, look at TJ's shirt in his blog photo. Who could think anyone would trust his judgment on items of a visual nature?

688 He said that about college and high school players (and maybe early in the minors), I believe, not all players at all levels.

683 good move.

Tough weekend for our hitters. Peavy on Friday, Chris Young on Saturday and Maddux on Sunday.

692
A trio of Tough Righties™, eh? We know what that means...

693 Don't want to screw up Matt's confidence after that three-hit game.

694
But also don't want our pinch-bunter to get stiff on the bench.

It's a conundrum.

689 I have a new browser plug-in that blocks Tony Jackson's pop-up shirt. I highly recommend it.

maybe i'm just being optamistic, but i think kemp-ethier will be starting for the next week, i give an outside chance of pierre maybe starting a game in CF in the next week.

690 - Yes, thats what I heard, too. But still, it has been strangely quiet considering the general disdain for scouts around here. I repeat: general, not absolute.

695 My neighbors have a bunch-pinter puppy, it's quite cute and smart.

Oh, pinch-bunter... never mind. He's not as cute or smart.

688--Maybe he's just trying to protect his, and the Boston Red Sox competitive advantage by suggesting that...

If you tell every club to go use sabermetrics becauses its great and full of useful data, then those other clubs will and the clubs that were using it before will begin to lose the edge they have.

Bill James probably hopes the rest of the baseball world wont use sabermetrics. That would mean the Red Sox advantage over other teams would be that much more.

680 Okay, I'm pretty much violating rule six at this point, so this is the last time I'm going to bring up sample size for a while, but please consider that A.J. Pierzynski, Luke Scott, Furcal, Nate McLouth, Fukudome, and Jeff Keppinger are all amongst the top ten hitters in baseball right now.

697 How dare you be optimistic!

(j/k)

Speaking of optimism, actually, I was surprised to hear Andy LaRoche was already hitting off a tee. While it will still be some time before he's throwing with that hand, that seems like a pretty fast recovery track so far. Who knows, maybe he'll beat Nomar back to the field.

697 The more I watch Druw bat, the more I want Slappy to fill-in in center. Sickening I know, but at least Pierre can make contact; I'm not sure if Druw can.

Oh, and Jason Kendall is 11th.

I dont think Joe Thurston is a good example to use in terms of a player with good stats not performing at the MLB level. If anything, his stats at the minor league level showed a player that didnt hit for much power, nor had much patience. He was middle infielder whose entire game was driven by his batting average. It was probably more apparent to the stats crowd (at least those looking at the right ones), that he'd struggle in the majors.

A better example for minor league stats not supporting MLB performance would be Antonio Perez.

703 his last AB, he got 2 belt high puss balls over the inner half, pitches that he should be crushing, and swung and missed on both.

666 he has awesome power but to be honest I see some holes in that swing of his.

As much as I loathe Pierre, I advocate sitting Jones today, playing Kemp in center, and sticking Pierre in left.

We have faced some REALLY tough pitchers to start the season. I'm not that worried about the offense. I am worried about our baserunning mistakes and inability to get down the bunt. Also, we need to learn to throw to the right base.

As for Nomar over DeWitt, I admire what DeWitt has done, but in the long run, we're better off with Nomar (later platooning with LaRoche) than with The Solution™.

685 And I think all statistical analysis proponents want is recognition that their methods have as much validity as how someone looks on the field.

Not sure how literal I should read the above post. I think statistical analysis can both add and substract from a players projected potential just as does observation and intuition. I know Logan also wants to know about a players family, their values, and character to go along with what he sees and what the stats say.

Projecting Loney as a hitter instead of a pitcher seems to lean more toward intuition than stats in that one case. There is no reason to ever limit evaluations by leaning too far toward stats or observation. They should be used intelligently together.

I swear, it's like some of you have never seen a slump before.

Him & Chris Young will hit a bunch of dingers & K alot.

So the two teams who have the best weather are playing day games today, while the rest of the league plays nights games. Love that scheduling.

710 Oh, Murray. You wouldn't swear at us. =)

705 - Agreed about Thurston--it was his swing that surprised me. I had heard so much hype about him that I was expecting a good hitter. And then I saw just one swing and knew he didn't have a chance to make it in the majors--small sample size and all.

710 This is going to be an ugly place when we go thru a 5 or 6 game losing streak.

710 Or the beginning of a baseball season.

712 This is when I get furious that my work's firewall now blocks out gameday audio in my office. I didn't mind it much during spring training, but I mind it now.

710 - Define slump. Are Nomar and Jones in a slump? I don't think Kemp is in a slump (had a good spring and finished strong last year) while Martin is in a mild one.

Druw to the bench...

Furcal. SS
Kemp. CF
Ethier. RF
Kent. 2B
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
DeWitt. 3B
Pierre. LF
Kuroda. P

From BR:

Randy Johnson struck out seven in six innings for Triple-A Tucson on Tuesday night in what probably was his final minor league rehabilitation start.

The 44-year-old left-hander, coming off his second back surgery in less than a year, allowed three runs and three hits against Salt Lake City. He walked one and had two wild pitches.

715 I was thinking about that awful losing streak a couple of years ago (same year they also had a long winning streak). The vortex of that losing streak was against the Cardinals, a team we couldn't beat for the life of us. Anyway, I was trying to remember how it was around here then... probably just as morose and panicky, but with more reason. And even then, cooler heads prevailed, with "it's a long season, a lot of games left" etc. And lo and behold look how it ended. And that was during the summer, later in the season.

{perspective check}

719 Ah. 703 and 708 get your wishes fulfilled!

I was hoping Young would be in LF and everything else the same.

I'm not fearing the return of Randy Johnson at all.

722 Let's just hope that Justin Upton doesn't hit another ball like last night, because no one but Druw could have made that play.

He's effective while he lasts.

724 Neither is Jeff "Ned Colletti's mustache" Reboulet.

I'm pretty sure Juan Pierre is a better center fielder than Kemp is.

I realize we live in an instant gratification society, but im completely against daily lineup tinkering and declaring slumps or busts on April 9th.

722 It was more of a backhanded prediction.

My wish is for world peace ... or for me to win the lotto.

I guess the theory is that Pierre's arm hurts the Dodgers the least in LF.

I like Kemp in CF. He may be the CF'er in two years after Druw leaves.

728 i think ethier is better than kemp in CF also.

Is Andruw still on the roster...?

Maybe Kemp showed vast improvement during spring training.

Is Bob on vacation again? We are not getting our three or four Griddle posts per day. What happens if some famous poet dies, or there's a catchers interference?? What are we gonna do?
vr, Xei

The only "slump" I'm concerned with at the moment is Jones'. And that's because I have reasonable, well-evidenced fears that it may be more than just a slump.

736 completely agree with almost every word in that comment, i'd have used "time" instead of "moment", just a personal preference.

735 Maybe he is busy preparing for National Library Week™.

735 Yes, he's currently suffering in Hawaii.

728. Fielding wise probably, throwing wise probably not. I wouldn't argue against starting Pierre in CF given today's three choices. vr, Xei

I believe we have a new moniker for Blake DeWitt other than The Solution.

ladies and gents, now starting at third base, I bring you "Freshy Fresh."

http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/865/public/news892500.html

Oh yea, I forgot! Bob said a while back that he was going on Vacation in Kauai in April. Welp, it's April!

So our second base-third base combo would be DJ Jazzy Jeff and Freshy Fresh?

We can argue it back and forth, but nobody here really knows whether Kemp is a better center fielder than Pierre or Ethier because he's played only 17 innings there over the last couple of seasons. Sample size applies to defense too.

741 "Freshy Fresh" DeWitt is about as awesome of a nickname as I can think of. It may not be DT Scientific(don't know how to do the trademark thing)but it's good...oh it's good.

Freshy Fresh™!!

We have a winner.

741 Horrible. That's one of those nicknames tht's funny in the clubhouse, not so much outside of it.

Andruw Jones on the bench today:

Furcal. SS
Kemp. CF
Ethier. RF
Kent. 2B
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
DeWitt. 3B
Pierre. LF
Kuroda. P

746

DL may have a point. Let's see if "Freshy Fresh" passes through waivers before we trade it for "The Solution"

746 But isn't in that "so bad it's good" category? At least that's how I was looking at it. So cheesy and "high school" that it would make DeWitt blush if anyone used it on him now. Which is what makes it gold. Gold, baby!

Let's put it this way - if we emailed that article to Joe Beimel, I guarantee he'd use it next time he introduced the line-ups on a Fox telecast.

Molly doesn't believe in reading previous comments before posting. ;-)

749 Yeah, I'll concede there's a wrap-around effect going on here. Maybe I could get behind "Freshy", or just "Fresh". Drop the redundancy thing.

I do! Ugh. I just didn't go back far enough. There are 751 comments in this thread.

The redundancy part is the only thing that makes it interesting.

Looking forward to watching Micah Owings hit and hopefully get hit.

I'm with DL on this one. Besides, they call DeWitt The Solution™ because he is tougher than a robot made of nails.

756 I think under different circumstances and such that Freshy Fresh and I would be close friends.

Vegas dropped the Dodgers odds a little bit after the lineup was announced. I wonder why. vr, Xei

So much for D. Young getting any at-bats this year . . .

For better or worse, the redundancy of Freshy Fresh reminds me of Marky Mark.

760 So could Nomar, Abreu, and Laroche be the "Funky Bunch"?

Do we have to have a nickname for every player? If so, why force a nickname. I am opposed to lame nicknames and will support any candidate who also does.
vr, Xei

Since I didn't read 754 posts it is possible this was posted.
From Jim Callis
"In terms of producing talent, California, Florida and Texas dwarf the other 47 states. In the last six drafts, 29 first-round picks have come from the Lone Star State, including Scott Kazmir, James Loney and rising stars such as Bruce and Clayton Kershaw.

Texas hasn't been shut out of the first round since 1977, or out of the top 30 picks since the inaugural draft in 1965. Yet there's a very real chance that will happen this June."

Texas has been good to the Dodgers, so now they have that and San Antonio, Austin, and the Hill Country. It almost makes up for the rest of the state.

757 Classic. I was on a call for work when I read that, and I almost laughed the guy's ear off.

761 Dear god, I hope not.

761 So could Nomar, Abreu, and Laroche be the "Funky Bunch"?

Ok, now that's funny.

poor juan not even a back up cf anymore

If Juan Pierre looked like Billy Ashley, would anyone feel sorry for him?

Molly neglected to mention that she will be talking Dodgers on the Kamenetzky Brothers' radio show an hour before game time (11:40 for most of you).

http://sportsblogs.latimes.com/sports_baseball_dodgers/

If a guy who hit like Juan Pierre looked like Billy Ashley, he never would have made it out of rookie ball.

763 God bless Texas

I would personally appreciate honest and impartial evaluation of each of Pierre's outs today. Were they hard? Were they good? Were they . . . productive? We know he's going to make outs, but what kind of outs will they be? The suspense is killing me.

770 I'd enjoy seeing someone that looked like Billy Ashley with Pierre's speed.

762 I'd like to suggest that Hong-Chih Kuo's nickname be "vr, Xei".

"Hong-Chih vr Xei Kuo." Yeah, that has a nice ring to it.

767 No comprende.

Sorry - been swamped. Game thread is open.

762 I'd like to propose that Hong-Chih Kuo's nickname be "vr, Xei".

"Hong-Chih vr Xei Kuo," that has a nice ring to it.

sorry for the double-post.

774 Hong-Xei Kuo has a nice ring to it.

Bob's words shouldn't taste too bad when paired with a nice pina colada.

haha, you guys are funny.
vr, Xei