I'm a firm believer in nepotism.

People I enjoy reading who wouldn't consider themselves sportswriters I'm guessing:
Will Leitch
Big Daddy Drew
Mose Schrute

My sports news reading is pretty much limited to DT, the Griddle, the Times sports page, and ESPN.

Obviously Jon and Bob are good. And I've always been partial to Adande, but really, that's about it.

Mark Heisler is a good basketball writer.

Thanks for your help, back to business.

My favorite writers at the moment:

Tony Kornheiser, believe it or not.
Gammons
J.A. Adande
Jason Stark, although he reports more than writes columns

I'll come up with more as if anything else pops up.

But because I read the NY Times every day (multiple times every day), I will mention that Ben Shpigel and Tyler Kepner do outstanding work covering the Mets and the Yankees. Until recently the Times had a glaring weakness in their baseball coverage, but now it's just a wonderful place to read about baseball.

Like Marty, I regularly read Posnanski, Wilker, Lederer, and Schrute. Plus Calcaterra and Pinto (especially his long-form stuff for TSN). And most of the BP crew, of course.

I should be clear: this is an abbreviated list. I've left out my ESPN.com colleagues, but not because I don't like them. And I haven't mentioned Tom Verducci, who writes brilliant features for SI. -rob

Jay Jaffe, both on BPro and on The Futility Infielder. Wonderful writer with a great ability to turn a phrase.

The Times beat reporters are good. Mark Whicker delivers a good column, though I confess openly to not reading all of them. (I subscribe to the Times and the Register but only really read one or the other most days.)

Joe Poznanski (sp?) in Pittsburgh is a good one I mainly catch via BTF.

Al Yellon of Bleed Cubbie Blue is just delightful. It helps that his day job is over by 10:00 AM CST (he produces a morning news show), so he has season tickets and has for years; he's great at capturing the emotional investment in the game and the team.

Obviously, this site is also on my short list, and in fact when I'm pressed for time will be one of only two other sites I read (Halos' Heaven being my primary check for Angels news).

On the flipside... I was researching the Cubs' walloping of the Brewers, and decided to look up the reaction in the Times to the first Ismael Valdez trade. I was just amazed at how bent out of shape Ross Newhan was because the Dodgers were moving starting pitching, which they legitimately needed at the time. Part of the reason the Dodgers needed starting pitching was because of guys like Valdez, which means that Newhan, who has a really good reputation around here, wasn't really seeing the forest for the trees.

I have tried reading Murray Chass, but he reminds me too much of late-career Newhan.

I wrote him over the last couple years, asking about an update now that the Angels have won a World Series (the book ended in 2000); his response was that the publisher had no interest.

I can't think of anyone who hasn't been named, though I'm partial to online sources and people (read: adande) on the LA times.

- U.S.S. Mariner
- Lookout Landing (for sheer humor value)
- McCovey Chronicles

In dead-tree media, I think Mark Heisler still writes a solid NBA column.

What you did in 16 was more like going to Dodger Stadium and and screaming out, "I love Barry Bonds!"

So....

Jon Weisman
Josh Wilker
Joe Posnanski
Bob Timmermann
Bill James
Ken Pomeroy
Alan Schwarz
Rob Neyer
Phil Gurnee
Andrew Grant
Diamond Leung
Dylan Hernandez
Garry Parrish
Peter Bean
Ken Tremendous
Molly Knight
Kirk Bohls
The Dodger Blues Guy
Kevin Goldstein
Joe Sheehan
Scott Long
Ken Arneson
Jay Jaffe
Alex Belth
Eric Neel
Steven Goldman

I'm sure I forgot many.

"You could write, 'He's going to wait until August or September and evaluate how he is feeling,' " said Scully. "'I think that's smart, that's wise, just let it ride, then have a meeting with the McCourts and see what happens."

Apparently Vin's contract is up this year. Just thinking of the possibility... I need to go find a bottle of rum

I will go with Kurt from Forum Blue and Gold. I do not know his last name. Maybe he's like Prince.

Don't get me started about Plaschke.

Hm. I guess I do read a fair bit of BP, so I can saw that I love Jim Baker: awesome sense of humor. I appreciate the angle that Kevin Goldstein brings. I quibble with Jay Jaffe's use of the mean in his JAWS system, but he more than makes up for it with insight. Rany Jazayerli and Dan Fox always interest me. And I almost always think that Joe Sheehan has something brilliant to say, except his glaring weakness is being an apologist for Barry Bonds (he's not even neutral, and it means anytime he's anywhere near that issue, I find his usually unwaveringly accurate logic to falter badly).

I do eat up anything this Jon Weisman fellow over on SI.com writes. Hm.

The stuff at the Hardball Times is pretty reliable to me, but I can't say I have paid enough attention to the authors. Is that a good sign, or a bad one?

Steven Goldman is a treasure, and I'm grateful he's a Yankee fan. I'd still read him every day, even if he covered another team.

Jeff Passan.

Joe Posnanski can ramble on like no one else. (He should have a rambling contest with Simmons.) But then you read his 800 words on Tony Gonzalez being coached by Bill Belichik in the Pro Bowl, and you shake your head in wonder. How did he do that in 800 words?

Aaron Gleeman, personal stories and all.

Anne Ursu (the Twins blogger formerly known as "Bat-Girl", who I miss terribly).

And, outside of baseball, Gregg Easterbrook (Tuesday Morning Quaterback).

12. robneyer
I forgot The Office was on. Which wouldn't normally be a problem, since I normally have my DVR set to record every episode. But for some reason I don't, tonight.

Anyway, thanks for the reminder, LogikReader. At least I can catch the last 12 minutes. I just hope Schrute didn't write this one.

Stupid baseball, distracting me.

Oh, and I'm awesome, in case anyone was wondering. And I like reading Andrew's blog just because that was the first blog I read regularly and I think we're about the same age.

>> Jacksonville starter James McDonald (1-1) fell in the loss in five innings of work, going through the order perfectly through the first four frames before allowing five fifth inning runs. <<

## Suns LH Clayton Kershaw will face Smokies LH James Russell Friday at 7:05 p.m. in the third game of the series. ##

http://tinyurl.com/5m92jn

From the local print media
Bill Shaikin
Ross Newhan
Bill Dwyre
Tony Jackson

Old-timers who I wish were still around.
Shav Glick
Allan Malamud
Melvin Durslag
And the great one, Jim Murray

Say it ain't so Vin!

I Second the Bruin Report Online writers listed above. Amazed that I haven't lived in LA for ten years and I know more about the Dodgers and Bruins then I did when I lived in LA.

Mostly due to reading this site and BRO. I pay for that one so I need to pony up for reading DT so much.

National coverage:
Peter King CNNSI, Bruce Feldman, Rob Neyer, John Hollinger, Marc Stein, Peter Gammons, Keith Law (all of ESPN.com), Molly Knight, Baseball Prospectus, Bill James Online.

Throughout history, I have enjoyed all the greats, through collections, I've read Grantland Rice, Ring Lardner, Red Smith, Shirley Povich, Jimmy Cannon, Jim Murray, Frank Deford and George Plimpton.

When I see something from Tony Kornheiser or Norman Chad, it usually makes me laugh.

We talked about the Padres pen before the season. It was due for a regression to the mean. And Edmonds... well, if they were going to put a washed-up clown out there in center field, they could have at least gone with Rickey or Carl Everett or somebody interesting like that.

*Is that irony? I have no idea anymore.

Also, is there any rule that says the catcher can't run at the player when there's a player at the plate? Why doesn't he take a step and put his shoulder into the runner? Russ Martin's Canadian, I'm sure he could mess someone up.

Of the ten losses by the Padres' pen, 2 were blown saves that if Hoffman gets the guys out, Padres win, 2 were blown holds, and then there were 7 times (including one of the blown save games) where the game was tied and then the pen lost it, like today.

I don't know if this stat means anything, with today's win the Dodgers are 6-1 in games decided in the team's last at bat while the Padres are 1-6 in those same situations.

Actually, its not much different than what has been said but maybe this will score Plaschke more points on this thread.

http://tinyurl.com/6k5y5b

Rob Neyer
Bill Simmons
Jon Weisman
Henry Abbott (TrueHoop on ESPN)
Joe Posnanski
Jayson Stark
Keith Law
John Hollinger
Bob Timmermann
Josh Wilker
Scott Long

The guy has paragrrhea. And he must also have something in his contract that forbids copy editors from plugging his hole and fixing the mess. I wonder if he gets paid by the column inch.

So if your waiver wire moves fast, you might go for it now though again, he is only going into the 5th starter's spot and they will have Doug Davis back eventually.

Personally, I would wait for Jay Bruce or even someone like Chase Headley.

Rob N, it was great to read your contributions here above. I really do always enjoy your work on ESPN, and Buster Olney, too. I sometimes feel like you guys are the only ESPN guys who know the Dodgers exist -- oh and Eric Neel, too, of course. Keep up the good work. But I like a lot of the ESPN.com guys, really.

A lot of my other favorite people have already been mentioned here.
All the Toaster guys, of course.
For newspapers, I really have to say that it's been a big turnaround since I first moved up here to San Francisco, when the LA Times was still king and the Chronicle was pretty sad for sportswriting. But now I don't like hardly any of the Times columnists, but I like several of the Chron's people, including former LA Times-er Scott Ostler,
and I really respect and enjoy Ray Ratto, too. He's always had this acerbic sense of humor and ability to cut through the BS of just about anything (and there's a lot of that in Bay Area sports these days).
Gwenn Knapp is solid, too.
The Dugout.
FireJoeMorgan, just for when I need a laugh (or a cry).
Michael Lewis.
Joe Posnanski.
And even though I think two of the worst (shoddiest and incoherent) sportswriters write for the Denver Post, I also like two other guys in Mike Kils and Mark Kiszla, or at least the former is the one solid guy writing about the Broncos and the latter has written a few pieces that touched me.

I admit because of my job I spend much more time reading film related blogs and magazines than I do sportswriting, but when I need an escape these are some of the people I like to turn to.

I bet none of you have read WC Heinz!

I'm kidding, I'm kidding.

Of course there are others, but those are the ones I never miss.

I miss Scott Osler. Why did he have to move up north?

I like Helene Elliot when she's covering ice sports, not so much on baseball.

>>I think we have a new rival to "clogging up the basepaths." "Clogging up the clubhouse with his karma" -- it's delicious, pungent, and utterly nonsensical. Brian Bocock's karma wants to run free with the antelopes. But oh no, here comes Barry's karma (I picture these karmas looking a little like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are)! It's fat and it's slow, and it's clogging up the clubhouse! Who cares about his karma's karmic OBP (kOBP) when he can't run the karmic basepaths (in the clubhouse)!<<

I don't know exactly why he stopped working at the Times but I have this feeling it had something vaguely to do with when the Times started to be run by a bunch of poopyheads.

As for the main question, I'd say my reading boils down to:

Jon Weisman (obviously)
Ken Tremendous
Rob Neyer
Peter Gammons
The Rotoworld guys (not exactly sportswriters, but they're pretty damn witty most of the time)

Alright, time for me to go see some British crap!

King Kaufman
Eric Neel
Joe Posnanski

all outstanding national type folks

Chris Needham -- best Nationals blogger out there

Dave Sheinin and Barry Svrluga of the Wash Post -- Svrluga is an OUTSTANDING beat writer, loves the craft of writing, thoughtful about keeping a fair critical distance from the team, his own fandom, and works hard to write gamers that will be compelling to both a casual fan and an internet hound who watched the game and followed it in a chat the night before. (He also writes a blog). Sheinin writes features and national baseball stories -- I linked his long form piece on Josh Hamilton here last year. Man loves to write. Both also respectful of comfortable with modern stats, though not dedicated to them or anything. Baseball fans in DC are lukcy with their hometown scribes.

Thomas Bonk (LA Times) and Len Shapiro (Post) are both excellent golf writers.

Incomplete list.

. . . and did the blogger have to gently manage some profanity from the maintstream sports writer up above? ;)

I really don't read a lot of sports-related stuff anymore. But outside of a dog, DT is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog...

Yeah, that's pretty much it. Columnists at the LAT get wide latitude to write in the style they wish. Copy editors there would have zero right to combine those paragraphs. They're limited to correcting blatant errors, and even those corrections have to be run by the columnist or his line editor.

The sadly departed category has to include Ralph Wiley and Doug Pappas.

Basically, Jon is the only sports journalist I read these days. Short list.

Joe Posnanski ding ding ding isn't this the guy that Costas should have interviewed because it seems he has been the best in both venues.
Jon Weisman-no one on the internet that I'm aware of has built a better community. I guess Ken Arenson should get some credit for that but I was reading Jon before the move to the toaster.
Josh Wilker-gives me chills
Bill James - give me an island and Bill James and I'd do okay with Neil Young in the background.
Keith Law -
Rob Neyer
Jim Callis
The whole BP crew with Jaffe my favorite
Bob Timmermann - love his titles
The rest of the toaster group. The only toaster writers I don't read on a regular basis are the Cub and Rockie guys.
John Sickels
John Hollinger
Andrew
Clipper Steve (SB Nation Clipper Blogger, very good even if you are not a Clipper fan)
SOSG - so many guys there, so I have to just list the site
Rob MacMillan
Brian and Andrew Kamenetzky

I'm sure I'd read more if I had time, when I wasn't working I could kill a day just reading the great writing on the web.

http://tinyurl.com/5zhvgp

And I must admit, my favorite writer on the Dodgers is none other than . . . CanuckDodger. I've been in awe of his writing for a while now.

Is Curry Kirkpatrick still around? I don't subscribe to SI anymore but his articles were always my favorite, especially when he covered NCAA hoops.

Jon Weisman
Josh Wilker
Alex Belth (great taste in hip hop)
Cliff Corcoran
Rob Neyer
Keith Law
Jay Jaffe
Jim Callis
Joe Posnanski
Peter Gammons
Phil Gurnee
Molly Knight
SoSG
Dodger Blues
Fire Joe Morgan
Doug Krikorian (jk)

Sacramento Bee
-Mark Kriedler (columnist)
-Marty McNeil (Kings' Beat Writer)

Santa Barbara News Press
-N/A

Maybe Jones is washed up. Last season he hit .222, striking out 138 times, with a .311 OBP. What fool would hire a guy clearly on the decline, if not washed up, for $36 million?

19 Jon Weisman
17 Joe Posnanski
13 Rob Neyer
9 Ken Tremendous/FJM
9 Josh Wilker
8 Bob Timmermann
7 Peter Gammons
6 Andrew/RegFairfield
6 Keith Law
6 Jay Jaffe
5 King Kaufman
5 Alex Belth
4 Bill James
4 Mark Heisler
4 Joe Sheehan
4 John Hollinger
4 John Brattain
3 - Toy Cannon, Will Leitch/Deadspin, Dylan Hernandez, TJ Simers, Rich Lederer, Eric Neel, Jayson Stark, Tyler Kepner, Craig Calcaterra, Rob MacMillan, Bill Simmons, Diamond Leung, Michael Lewis, Tracy Pierson, Greg Hicks, Brandon Huffman, Jim Baker, Tony Jackson, Scott Ostler, Molly Knight, The Dodger Blues Guy, Cliff Corcoran

To contribute:
Joe Posnanski
Rob Neyer
Marc Normandin
Jay Jaffe
Dave Cameron
Derek Zumsteg
Grant Bisbee
Dan Syzmborski
Christina Kahrl
Will Leitch
Dave Studeman
Toy Cannon

Jon Weisman*
Bill Simmons
The FJM Guys
Broderick Turner (Lakers beat guy for the Press-Enterprise)
Paul Oberjuerge (when he was still employed)
Rob Neyer
Diamond Leunge

* It bears repeating that Buzz B should hang out at DT for a while to see how a civilized blog works. The author and commenters make this place a must read everyday.

I am sure there are others, but those are top of my head.

Josh Wilker is one of the best writers I've ever encountered, and the fact that he puts up such consistently great content (and a lot of it) on a blog, is nothing short of amazing.

How attached are you to the Schmap sidebar widget? That thing is killing my page load time.

Is anyone else having a problem with this?

I really do still enjoy Ostler, even if he occasionally has to write about "the enemy" now; most of the time he writes about any/everything else.

103 Did you catch that documentary about the News Press yet? Compelling, if sad, story. I hope the situation changes one of these days or years. They used to have a few good local sportswriters there, too. I think one of them is now blogging actually and writing for the SB Newsroom web site: http://www.santabarbaranewsroom.com/news/sports/

Thats the amazing thing.
Usually Ned signs/trades for guys have career years, that will inevitably go down.

He signs Druw off a down year (expecting him to at least bounce back somewhat), and Druw is even worse the following year.

Its either bad luck, bad scouting, or bad GM'ing. But the massive amount of dead money on the roster is going to be accountable to someone.

119 Unfortunately, I'm at work, and the IT dept. here frowns upon non-standardized software like Firefox.

Peter Gammons
Jon Weisman
Jim Callis
Peter King
Bill Simmons
Stewart Mandel
Anyone on FJM
Rick Reilly

He is fair and provides a good critique of the local team and its management, without being too over-the-top (despite the fact that the Kings management deserves the critique.

Did you see his recent post about the Costas show? He was actually "short-listed" for the show and was praying that they wouldn't call him.

Posnanski's at the top of my list. I also read all the guys on the Griddle, and Bill Simmons, Jonah Keri, and Rob Neyer at ESPN; for Red Sox stuff I read Gordon Edes at the Boston Globe (and soon to be on Yahoo, I guess), Chad Finn's Touching All the Bases (recently relocated to the Globe), Alan Wood at Joy of Sox, Jere from Red Sox Fan From Pinstripes Territory, and the guy who does Vaughn's Bar and Grill.

Jon Weisman
Peter Gammons
Kurt Helin
Kelly Dwyer
Henry Abbott
Andrew Grant
Phil Gurnee
Joe Posnanski
Josh Wilker
Joe Sheehan

Your list of now gone sportswriters made me quite sad in thinking of them vs. today's sorry batch at the LA Times.

I loved Allan Malamud on Page 2 and now that Simers is there - lets just say it has gone from thoughtful analysis to pure garbage. You'd think there would be some new talent. Plaschke is right behind Simers in the garbage category and he is considered their best one.

Basketball-True Hoop
Baseball- Dodger Thoughts (we're biased)
Hockey- James Mirtle
Football- ?

Also, I enjoy TJ Simers just because I always thought he was kidding and the players were in on the joke. He's like Kenny Mayne to me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/sports/football/01sandomir.html

Bob Timmermann gets the C. Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.

For those of you who miss Scott Ostler, I think he was a lot better when he was in LA, used to love his columns on the Lakers.

Heisler on the NBA
Bruce Jenkins from the 3 dot lounge and great stuff on tennis
Diamon Leung beat writer
Murray Chass-Sunday Baseball column
Ross Newhan
Peter Gammons
Rob Neyer
Tim Kirjikan
Buster Olney

"Los Angeles Dodgers, 3B

Out: Anyone other than Andy LaRoche
In: Andy LaRoche (when healthy)

LaRoche (thumb) is presently on a minor-league rehab assignment, but he should be ready to come off the DL by mid May. When he does, he should be installed as the Dodgers' every-day third baseman and left alone. To be sure, the Dodgers have other options, but none of them figures to provide as much as LaRoche. The injured Nomar Garciaparra? He's no longer a productive hitter and no longer able to handle the position defensively. Blake DeWitt? He hasn't produced above the low minors and can't approach LaRoche's upside. LaRoche, meanwhile, is a career .295 AVG/.374 OBP/.522 SLG hitter in the minors, and he has the skills — raw power, command of the strike zone, contact skills — to keep it up in L.A. Third base was a sinkhole for the Dodgers last season, and LaRoche gives them the best chance to fill said sinkhole."

I counter kinbote's vote and declare Perry as one of the best!

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_9132575

So, Jay, you lose 30 pounds over the course of the season, but "don't like doctors or trainers" so you didn't say anything or think it that odd?

At least this explains his decline in energy last season. Hope he can stay on top of it; sounds like it's manageable.

I can recommend a high protein, low carb food for him if he wants. It's cat food, mind you, but still.

I read the LA Times folks and think Bill Dwyre does a nice job. But generally speaking, nobody can hold a candle to Red Smith and Jim Murray, and we have lost a lot of the literary touches in sportswriting.

For example, Bill Plaschke. He likes short paragraphs.

Why?

I don't know.

He thinks they read well.

But he's wrong.

http://weblogs.variety.com/season_pass/2008/05/the-office-stan.html

Tracy Ringolsby is pretty bad too in my opinion.

I don't even bother reading him anymore.

I agree with others who say that LaRoche is more likely to perform over the longer haul, though.

I also get a sense that though I don't think Jim is leaving, perhaps something is going on there.

Dwight flipping Andy's car was very funny.

I used to proofread Jim Murray back when I worked at the Spring Street Bugle... and, like Posnanski, Murray could write beautifully on anything. This is another reason why so many of us can't abide Plaschke and Simers.

I, too, miss Malamud and Durslag, not so much John Hall.

And, in case no one mentioned him, A.J. Liebling on the sweet science.

155 You've never worked in an office with only one attractive woman?

The Dodgers have an MVP in their clubhouse.

Rafael Furcal?

No.

Russell Martin?

No again.

Who's the Dodgers MVP right now?

Joe Torre.

That's right. Joe Torre.

Torre has masterfully managed a roster of pimply youngsters and wizened veterans.

He has righted the ship, bringing the team to a 15-13 record in a loaded NL West division.

But most importantly, he has brought back credibility and respectability to a franchise struggling to find an identity.

Ned Colletti may have struck out when he signed Andruw Jones to a two year $36.2 million contract, but he struck gold with Joe Torre.

Ask anyone in the dugout who runs the show and they'll tell you.

Ask anyone in the front office who makes the tough calls and they'll tell you.

Now all Joe needs is one more piece to put together a world championship caliber team on the field.

That's right.

Juan Castro.

Anyone know what it looks like for tonight's game? Part of my kind of hopes for a postponement and a doubleheader tomorrow, DH's are so rare (and selfishly, since I'll be gone tonight.) And also because having to play in freezing cold, wet conditions is never good for any player.

http://insidethedodgers.mlblogs.com/archives/2008/05/buzzie_bavasi.html

This wasn't asked, but I don't care for Hollinger (I enjoy some of his research, but I have serious doubts about his ability to interpret it) or Simmons.

But I do have one now.

Josh Wilker is not only my favorite sports writer, but my favorite working writer, period. Couldn't tell you any other reason but that his work really fits into my frame of mind during these difficult times (and that we are even-steven contemporaries, age-wise and geographically).

http://www.salon.com/sports/daily/feature/2008/05/02/format/

Somehow I don't get the impression that it's gonna go to his head...

Literate people say his prose is weak.

Children say his paragraphs are short.

Bloggers say his analysis sucks.

I like him.

I'm the same way. I don't ever buy the newspaper anymore. Now if fast food restaurants could stop using so much paper and plastic just for one meal I'd stop feeling bad about that.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z2W_35mgBwk

Seriously, its the funniest 3 minutes I've seen in a long time.

Dr. Z loves him some offensive linemen!

I like Peter King on the NFL, too, although I also find myself sometimes disagreeing with him. But his seems a rational voice with a sense of humor for the most part.

For bloggers, everything already said about Josh Wilker x1000.

How would you like to be a hitter for the Mets and look at the next 6 days of pitching you get to face coming out West.

@AZ - Owings, Webb and Haren
@LA - Billingsley, Kuroda and Penny.

But I'll be rooting for them big this weekend!

The Dodgers are 3rd in the league in scoring, 4th in runs against (6 run spread between 1st and 4th), and 3rd in run differential. Now a lot of that is due to this streak and their feast and famine play prior to the streak.

There are a few things to be hopeful about the Dodgers.

1. Kuroda and Loiaza/Kuo/Schmidt/Minotaur filling in the back in the rotation. Kuroda hasn't gotten a win since his first start but he has kept them in the game and now that the bullpen appears straightened out, he should start getting credit for his starts. The 5th spot has been used 4 times (not counting Kuo's start in the rain delay game, especially since Chad pitched that day anyway) and the Dodgers are .500 in those games. If the team can break even in the 5th spot, to me that's a victory, if Schmidt or Kershaw fill it later, I'll expect more but for now, give the team 5-6 innings and give the team a chance to win, I'll take it.

2. Will the real ace of the staff please introduce himself. I think Chad Billingsley is just about there, he'll be number 3 in the rotation but his stuff (that curveball he threw against the D-Backs was criminal) is really impressive. All they have to do is tell him that its 6th inning instead of the 5th when he heads out to mound for that 5th inning barrier, he'll still win 15 or more games this year.

3. The lineup is basically set. The order may change and there will be a few subs during the week but I think at least 5 times a week (out of 6 or 7 games), the Dodgers will have the kids with Kent, Furcal, and Jones out there. The Kids, Martin, Loney, Dewitt, Ethier and Kemp are all playing well and are settling in.

Sure Pierre may start 1-2 times but not just for Kemp or Ethier, Jones' poor start has made him vulnerable for an occasional day off.

4. There is still some solid help down on the farm. While the quesion when top prospects LaRoche and Kershaw isn't if but when will we see them in LA, Repko, Meloan, Brazoban are also going to probably be part of this team at some point.

5. The team I wanted to see is almost complete. If LaRoche finally steps in to add some power to this lineup, I honestly will have nothing more to do but just cheer and say let the best team win.

And I second what everyone has already said about Joe Posnanski.

Sure if the team keeps winning, Dewitt could stay but I do think at this point, the issue for the Dodgers is can they afford to keep Nomar if he can't be counted to play everyday at a position where he really can't cover.

And on dealing LaRoche, don't see it mainly because I'm not sure what they would be dealing him for at this point.

The Dodgers have gone 54-51 at Coors Field, a .514 winning percentage. This is very good. In games at Coors Field, all teams other than the Dodgers have gone 483-595 against the Rockies, a .448 winning percentage. So the Dodgers have played .066 better than the average team there. That's pretty darn good, although it's not the best winning percentage by an opponent at Coors -- the Angels are 6-2 there.

In road games at venues other than Coors Field, the Dodgers have gone 472-481 (.495) since 1995.

Is it too soon to jump the gun on this?

I, for one, wouldn't be too excited about giving an extension to a guy at a time when he's OPSing a whopping 231 points above his previous season high. Let's wait until he comes back to earth.

Overall, as a Dodger, Penny is 3-0 in 7 starts with a 3.69 ERA at Coors.

All-Star break a better time to tell?

Apparently, Braves media guide had multiple dates for his birthday.

Unless it's someone like Ellis, whom I like.

Furcal + Hu up the middle makes me happy.

If we can somehow manage to rid ourselves of some of the Pierre contract by trading him by the All Star break, all the better.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-ump3-2008may03,0,4749429.story

http://tinyurl.com/5m4q2l

"Due to a personal emergency that requires Rachel Robinson's immediate attention, Mrs. Robinson is unable to attend tomorrow's ceremony surrounding the unveiling of the new Jackie Robinson Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown," said Jeff Idelson, President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "Given the historic significance of this event, the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Robinson Family have decided to reschedule this momentous event to a date to be determined this summer. In a conversation with Rachel Robinson today, she expressed her sincere regrets and looks forward to attending the ceremony this summer."

I don't think that's the case. Furcal was one of the first agegate guys. I don't remember the circumstances exactly, but I think maybe they found out his real DOB in the course of his DUI case. He'd been listed as being born in 1980 and people thought he was 19 when he won Rookie of the Year (he was actually 22). I think by now his actual DOB has been well-established as 1977 and his listed age can be trusted as correct.

I looked him up and I found it was none other than one-hit wonder, the late Brian Traxler.

After I realized it was him, I was surprised by the tone Kennedy used in describing their exchange about his one trip to LA. Kennedy did not say anything bad about Traxler (like I said, he did not use his name) but since the man was struck down at an early age, he could have been nicer about his recollection.

220 Yep. I think it should be used a teaching tool for all sports agents.

http://tinyurl.com/5ptb9y

It will be incredibly disappointing if he wins a game for the Rockies this weekend (not in the position player pitching way).

Management must know Nomar isn't returning next year, and there aren't any stud 3B in the minors that I've heard about, so I'm confident they want more than one option there for the next 5 years.

What I want to know is -- how long did Dwight spend making the organizational flow chart ("the yellow is for cowardice")? Does he just have something like that at the ready? I'd like to think he does.

http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/downloads/dunder_mifflin_org_chart.pdf

You remember---Tom?

And I think we are supposed to believe that Dwight has thought about these things for a long time and is ready to use them as he see fits.

I have actually started to look forward to JP being substituted for Andruw. Right now, he is a far superior player. Bad arm, for sure, but he hits and steals bases, and is not a rally killer like his porcine counterpart.

Sorry if this is old news.

This statement is false, IMO.

If he is going to get better it will be by playing games up with the Dodgers.

Furcal, SS
Pierre, LF
Kemp, RF
Kent, 2B
Martin, 3B
Loney, 1B
Jones, CF
Bennett, C

Penny, RHP

Jones will pull himself together, though. It has nothing to do with his weight, so let's not be mean about that. He is not recognizing pitches and is either making little off-balance swings to make contact, or guessing and swinging as hard as he can.

The cause of death was not disclosed, but it was reported that he had "a short illness" and had been in a coma for two weeks prior. He had lifelong struggles with alcoholism.

Traxler was one of my all-time favorite Dodgers.

COLUMNISTS:
Thomas Boswell, Washington Post
Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times
T.J. Simers, Los Angeles Times
Mike Downey, Chicago Tribune
Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle
Bernie Miklasz, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Bryan Burwell, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Alan Schwarz, New York Times
Ken Davidoff, Newsday
Bob Klapisch, The Record
Joe Posnanski, Kansas City Star
Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star
Ray Ratto, San Francisco Chronicle (Best Humorist)

NATIONAL:
Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated
Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated
Lee Jenkins, Sports Illustrated
Selena Roberts, Sports Illustrated
Buster Olney, ESPN
Jayson Stark, ESPN
Wright Thompson, ESPN
Jonah Keri, ESPN.com Page 2
Keith Law, ESPN.com

As for particular beats, these writers give you the best individual team coverage:

NL BEAT WRITERS:
Henry Schulman, San Francisco Chronicle (Giants Beat)
Troy Renck, Denver Post (Rockies Beat)
David O'Brien, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Braves Beat)
Ben Shpigel, New York Times (Mets Beat)

AL BEAT WRITERS:
Gordon Edes, Boston Globe (Red Sox Beat)
Tyler Kepner, New York Times (Yankees Beat)
Joe Christensen, Minneapolis Star-Tribune (Twins Beat)
Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle (A's Beat)

BEST BREAKING NEWS WRITER:
Ken Rosenthal, FoxSports.com

BEST SPORTS INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER:
T.J. Quinn, ESPN (formerly New York Daily News)

FOLLOWING IN QUINN'S FOOTSTEPS:
Michael S. Schmidt, New York Times
Michael O'Keeffe, New York Daily News

BEST LEGAL WRITER:
Lester Munson, ESPN (formerly SI.com)

BEST TELEVISION/RADIO WRITERS:
Richard Sandomir, New York Times
Neil Best, Newsday (Best TV/Radio Blog: WatchDog)

BEST NEWSPAPER SPORTS STAFF:
1. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
2. New York Times
3. San Francisco Chronicle

BEST NATIONAL SITE:
1. ESPN
2. Sports Illustrated
3. Yahoo!

BEST NATIONAL BASEBALL BLOG:
Buster Olney on ESPN.com

BEST SPORTS BLOG:
TheBigLead.com

BEST PERSONAL WRITER BLOGS:
Keith Law (www.meadowparty.com/blog)

As an addendum, MLB.com is great site but could someone please explain the need for highlighting their writers. They need to link to each writer with a page similar to the New York Times and other sites where you can click on the person's name and find all of their recent articles. As it is, you can search and never find their national and local writers articles. They'd get a lot more play per piece if we could appreciate their writers by finding them with greater ease. With solid writers like Alyson Footer, Ken Gurnick, Lyle Spencer, Marty Noble, Barry Bloom, Joe Frisaro, Matthew Leach, Ian Browne, Scott Gilbert, T.R. Sullivan, Jim Street, and others it just makes sense. We go for content, but also the writers style and readability. They recently added a page for Hal Bodley, so there's hope.

Michael Wilbon, Washington Post. Most tend to forget he is one of the best writers in the country and is able to shed fresh light and angles on regular topics.

Two more:
Rob Neyer, ESPN.com
Steven Goldman, BaseballProspectus.com
Rany Jazayerli, BaseballProspectus.com

BEST INJURY WRITER:
Will Carroll, BaseballProspectus.com

BEST PROSPECT WRITERS:
Jim Callis, Baseball America
Kevin Goldstein, BaseballProspectus.com
John Sickels, Rotowire.com
John Manuel, Baseball America

BEST BASEBALL SITES:
BaseballProspectus.com
HardBallTimes.com
BaseballProspectus.com

BEST FANTASY SITES:
Rotowire.com
Rotoworld.com

BEST FANTASY WRITERS:
Ron Shandler, BaseballHQ.com
Eric Karabell, ESPN

Peter Gammons (ESPN.com)
Buster Olney (ESPN.com)
Jonathan Mitchell (3guysandasportspage.com)
David Pinto (baseballmusings.com)
Jay Marriotti