Andy LaRoche.

Anyway, here's what I said, cleaned up a little:

133. dzzrtRatt
I'm frustrated with Torre on how he has managed with Furcal sidelined.

Furcal's speed is nice, but it's the least important part of his game. Giving Pierre a golden ticket as if the absence of Furcal requires Pierre to be in the lineup every day is a category error. What Torre ought to recognize is the surpassing importance of having the highest OPB/OPS hitters in the lineup; that's the only way to make up for what Furcal was giving us. Ethier and Kemp should start every game, with Torre going with his gut as to the third OF. And his leadoff hitter for the duration ought to be either Martin or Ethier, with Pierre/Jones batting seventh or eighth.

Torre likes "speed" at the top. So, unless Torre has changed his stripes, he will trot out Pierre every day. He should stick with Either and Kemp as everyday players and platoon Pierre/Jones, but that won't happen. I hope Torre proves me wrong.

Nomar needs a long recuperation. Rushing him back did no one any favors. I think at least six weeks. Maybe 10.

Probably so, assuming he kept hitting with the kind of power he's shown thus far in 2008.

You mean after someone takes his hat during the on field NLCS celebration, Hu runs down the left field line to catch said fan and get his hat back?

(My cousin swears he saw this happen)

Say, can I make my bad pun again?

I said, I think I had Maza over at my Passover ceder. No wonder he sounded familiar!

{tap tap} Hello, is this thing on? {tap tap}

Man, it's too bad LaRoche can't play short. Or DeWitt. Or DeRoche.

That would have the added benefit of stoking fan interest in their "feud." A west coast junior version of Jeter/A-Rod.

20 You have to figure Furcal will come back sooner rather than later. They shut him down last year because it was the end of the season and the playoffs were not in sight. I doubt he's lost to us for more than two weeks from now, probably less.

I thought it was a little corny.

The one on Arizona is from Mexico and the one on San Diego is from ... San Diego. And he's the brother of Adrian.

(note: I'm currently undergoing physical therapy for a sacroiliac joint problem, so I should know)

This is a SACRI-legious and a huge SACRI-fice to this early stretch of the season.

What we can hope for is Hu, catching fire (offensively, not literally). By showing more consistent hitting (and now that he gets more playing time, he'll get more shots), Hu can get on base more and score more runs. He can bat higher up in the line-up which will allow Torre to put Ethier in there (and rightfully so). Hu isn't as fast as Pierre but I think we would rather see him play. I know it may be a long shot, but it is possible. More possible than a Pierre home run. OR at this point, a 3 for 3 game by Andruw.

I feel like Homer Simpson on the episode from last night. Homer (touched): "My mom said I didn't totally suck? Awwww..."

26 I'm hopeful Furcal is back right when he's eligible to come off, which wouldn't be too long. Though I've learned from cargill not to bet.

Stults and Sweeney are both on the bubble. My guess is that it will be Stults, because of the Giant connection with Coletti and Sweeney, and Torre's desire for a veteran bench.

The Dodgers seemed like they have been reluctant to DFA Eric Stults...but assuming they finally do, I wonder if this opens the door a little more for a one day call-up for Kershaw on Saturday?

I say again, isn't there some way they can squeeze LaRoche back up for this? Have him spell Kent, or DeWitt with LaRoche at third, Hu plays short. Done.

36 - I'd think it be more likely that Maza's call up would be to have more infield depth, not to be a regular starter in Furcal's absence.

Go Rays!

Okay, off to dinner. Glad today is an off day at least.

Juan Pierre.

Being a Dodger fan is like watching an old blind dog who keeps running into walls and other obstructions because it doesn't know any better. Memo to Ned: The best replacement shortstop in the major leagues is already on your active roster. It's really difficult to root for a team whose management is often so inept that they appear to be intentionally trying to lose.

47 Didn't ask what Icaros would give up mind you . . .

I really hate seeing Hu in the lineup. He's a great defender, but his bat is a major hole.

Losing Furcal is one kick in the groin, and going with Hu everyday is another. Double ow. Pray for rain!

Allow me. Getting LATed happens when you are responding to something and while you are typing your clever, orgiginal post, Jon goes all NPUT on you rending your post moot. Its akin to playing Marco Polo and while you are swimming around with your eyes closed yelling "MARCO!" everyone else sneaks out of the pool.

And also it was in regards to the hypothetical lineup that would include Blake and Andy so it was really a half hearted comment

I was really surprised and a little disappointed that Coletti didn's sell high on Hu in the offseason after his MVP of the Futures Game and miracle power surge in his September callup.

Hey, wasnt Jason Repko drafted as a SS?

...just kidding

I think Hu is an above average SS defensively and has a good chance to be above average offensively. It's no secret I think Furcal is overrated.

29 PAs .241/.241/.517

As the one soul said, power spike. This year:

43 PAs .237/.326/.263

The regression back to his mean is in the power, as the one soul reported re "power spike".

1. Isn't this precisely how we got Julio Lugo, who became an irritant when the player he was supposed to replace, Cesar Izturis, came back from his injury about a week later?

2. At least in the case of Lugo and Izzy, the talent was about equal. What sort of madness is it to think we can or should try to replace an all-star and MVP candidate via a trade, rather than just struggling along with our own players, who really aren't any worse that what's realistically available.

When Colletti uses the word "emergency," I reach for the Pepto Bismol. It means he's alibi-ing a bad transaction in advance. Pierre was his response to the "emergency" of J.D. Drew's defection.

Furcal in the Majors, .764 OPS.

Hu in 5 minor league seasons, .771 OPS.

Hu in the Majors, I think he'll be fine.

Lugo was actually brought in to replace a temporarily injured Jeff Kent. Izturis was traded for Maddux the same day Lugo was acquired, I believe.

It wasn't exactly a 3-way trade, but essentially it was.

Btw, judging by the blog posts it sounds like the Dodgers calling up Maza is already a done deal. Where's all this talk of waiting to see if they acquire an infielder coming from? At any rate, I never thought I'd be so glad to see Luis Maza. But I'd rather them go the temporary fix route than a dumb, quick fix.

Sometimes temporarily Solutions work out okay!

If OPS is so horribly flawed, then just what makes Furcal better than Hu at all? Stolen bases?

Krusty: Hey, kids! It's story time. [laughs] I'm going to tell you the
story of Krusty's expensive new suit: his sexual harassment
suit. [laughs painfully] Boy.
Anyway, as part of Krusty's plea bargain, he has a new court-
ordered sidekick, Ms. No-Means-No.
[to her] Whoa! You're hot. Let's get some dinner after the
show.
[she blows a whistle and holds up a stop sign with "NO" on it]
I have dinner with all my employees, right, Sideshow Mel?
Mel: We've never spoken outside of work.
Krusty: [laughs, then sighs] Oh...
Bart: [watching] I'm surprised he doesn't try to blame his problems on
his Percodan addiction.
Krusty: It wasn't my fault, it was the Percodan. If you ask me, that
stuff rots your brain. And now a word from our new sponsor...
Percodan?! Aw, crap!

We give up a quality prospect for a "replacement" for Furcal, we'd quickly have the same problem.

I guess Colletti is jonesing to trade LaRoche. I just hope it's not to a team I hate. Plus, how long will it take for the fans to turn on DeWitt if his lucky streak costs us LaRoche?

I realize, by the way, I'm doing what I hate -- speculating with little foundation that Colletti will just do the dumbest imaginable thing. But when it comes to the current situation at third base, I think that's exactly what he's planning. He's a PR guy who sees DeWitt as the future because he's become a "fan favorite." Dangling LaRoche is the best way he can play GM and bring in another pitcher or, as in this case, an "emergency" replacement for Furcal. If anyone criticizes him, he can just say, "We had two talented young players for third base, and to be fair to the team and to the players, we had to trade one." Then he can go on to pat himself on the back for the success of Martin, Kemp, Loney, Hu and DeWitt and say "the Dodgers are committed to youth."

It takes an ex-PR man to see a PR move in the offing.

So can you tell us anything about what kinf of prospect Steve Johnson is?

You're making me sad.

And... there's a yellow alert for Kenji Johjima.

Ooh...and what if he were to also interfere with a batter's swing from behind the plate?

Someone may already be there.

Waiting.

Stand down.

This is a yellow alert.

Example: Albert Pujols had six RBI's and hit for the librarian tonight.

Brian Roberts became the first Oriole to hit for the librarian since Eddie Murray in 1984.

And so on.

So did Terry Steinbach in 1995
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIN/MIN199505140.shtml

Andy Van Slyke was an Orange Alert for the Librarian in 1984
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN198405220.shtml

Julian Javier needed a homer in 1968
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196804210.shtml

Charlie Neal needed a homer in 1969
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN195904260.shtml

- If a fielder throws his glove at a ball that would have gone over that fence but for the glove.

- Hitting the catwalk above a certain level at Tropicana Field.

And the ball wasn't hit.

Other than that, I would have to say that Soriano's career has been better than Robinson Checo's.

Wow..loretta grounds into the DP, get aboard mig

Barry, look at the bright side you didn't lose. Ahh progress!

I should have called in with the stats on that. A very small percentage of QS are of the low end (6 IP, 3ER), and in fact the collective numbers are quite good, something like a 2 ERA and a 80%+ winning percentage.

Don't forget the admiring throng, Bob.

In 2007, the totals were 1581 wins and 737 losses.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ow6lg2tAqsY

He gets on base a lot...

I hope you don't mind...I hope you don't mind.

I don't know if it says more about the rays fans or yankee nation though, I know the sox fans pack that place.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/is-clayton-kershaw-worth-the-hype/

Both the Dodgers and Rockies have 13 QS. The Dodgers are 10-3 in those games.

I had never heard of "scap load" before.

As far as the speed issue... I think it does help having speed in the line up, particularly at the top. But you can't have just speed, as is the case with Pierre. There needs to be at least the potential for pop, which is what makes Furcal so dangerous.

Let's see...

Martin 2
Ethier 7
Kemp 9
Kent 4
Loney 3
DeWitt 5
LaRoche 6
Jones 8
Pitcher

I think I could live with that line up for a little while.

So if Schmidt's on the 60 day DL now, when is he eligible to come off? (In the unlikely event he's actually able to pitch in the majors again.)

Yes, Durham is a AAA team now. But when the movie was made they were two steps below that, in Single A, and the movie has a line or two referencing that fact. Okay, it's not a documentary, but so much of it is so faithful to the sport, it just struck me this time. Man, I still love this movie, though.

Rock and roll don't come from your brain...It comes from your crotch.

Rays are thinking about taking him #1...most likely he will be top 5.

We would also accept Immigrant's Throng. AYYAAAAA!

Sam: Cindy Sanders is, like, a librarian type.
Neal: Yeah, librarian for the Playboy mansion.

I think Carded and Discarded is still my favorite F&G episode.

But the Parisian night suit one is also wonderfully squirmy. They're all great.

Runners on 1st & 2nd, running before the pitch.
Batter hits popup (infield fly: out #1).
Runner from 1st, not paying attention, passes runner on 2nd (out #2).
Runner from 2nd, also not paying attention, is struck by the batted ball (out #3).

Why is Bruce Willis in three of the movies I watch part of every time they're on? (This and two of the Die Hards).

(http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/7201794)

In parts of New York, Huckaby was vilified as a dirty player who took a horrible cheap shot. How dare some no-name touch St. Jeter, much less put him out of action for six weeks on opening day.

Huckaby, asked to explain himself over and over for the next couple of days, finally accepted the invitation of a Toronto radio broadcaster to broker a meeting with Jeter. So, before the final game of that series in Toronto, Huckaby took a deep breath and made the awkward walk from the home clubhouse down to Skydome's visitors clubhouse.

Huckaby shook Jeter's hand, and then he said his piece.

"I said, 'I hope you're all right. I didn't know where the base was when I was looking for the throw,'" Huckaby says. "I told him, 'It wasn't on purpose. I didn't know where I was on the field. It was just unfortunate we were at the same place at the same time.'"

Huckaby says the words were heartfelt. The guy genuinely felt bad, and the fact that the play sidelined Jeter for so long made it worse.

Jeter's reaction?

"He stonefaced me," Huckaby says. "He just stared at me.

"He didn't say one word."

What do you say to that?

Huckaby finished, and then there wasn't much to do except turn around and leave. Before the frostbite got him.

Upset? You bet.

"I was upset at how unreceptive he was," Huckaby says.

Maza provides plenty of laughs, hits for 51s

http://www.lvrj.com/sports/18827009.html

Mild sprain, 2-4 weeks
Moderate sprain, 4-6 weeks
Severe sprain, 6-10 weeks

Mild is as determined by a clinical finding of no loss of function. Some loss of function is moderate. Total loss of function is severe.

However, MDAdvice.com puts mild at 2-6 weeks, moderate at 6-8 weeks, and severe at 8-10 weeks.

The next day arrived with the center field triumvirate on Prime Ticket saying nada about our hallowed SS.

The truth is, anyone who has followed this organization knows that they treat injured Dodgers like members of some secret society that none of us must find out about. Clearly this was done to sell the most tickets for the homestand, imo. To announce the loss of our MVP would have cost serious revenue, not to mention the 10% reduction in merchandise at many a retail outlet at the stadium.

It was also most instructive that Mr. Furcal's agent would state that he will be ready in approx. one week, this being a contract year for him.

In addition,it seems fair to begin questioning Stan Conte's effectiveness at this point. If $42 Mil is really the currency being lost to injuries, his employment must be scrutinized.

That's not true. Maza is taking Furcal's spot on the 25-man roster, but Maza first has to be placed on the 40-man roster. Players on the 15-day DL (like Furcal) still count for the 40-man roster.

Players on the 60-day DL allow for an extra spot on the 40-man, which is a main reason for the speculation that Jason Schmidt will be moved from the 15-day to the 60-day DL.

I seriously doubt this.

A) A would imagine the walk-up ticket sales make up a small percentage of overall ticket sales for this last weekend
B) How many people are really buying tickets to see Furcal?

I think you are making too much out of this. Furcal has a bad back. They tried to see if a few days rest would be enough, and when it was determined that he needed more time, they put him on the DL. I don't think there's much more to it than that.

Juan Pierre will probably continue to play a lot more than Andre Ethier, as manager Joe Torre simply can't bare the thought of playing without a "true" leadoff hitter.

This has the makings of a severe offensive shortage with Pierre leading off every game, and Hu/Maza at SS everyday.

The Brewers/Angels are pretty good teams, and it'd be unfortunate for the Dodgers to follow up their 10-1 stretch with a 2-10 one.

#1 We lose Rafael Furcal
THEN
#2 Torre benches Ethier in favor of Pierre
AND
#3 Ned trades LaRoche (or some other great prospect) for LugEckstein.

Vomit.

I wonder if one could find the average DL stint for given injuries, then compare that to the actual DL stints for players on a particular team with those injuries. If a team generally has longer (or shorter) DL stints than would be expected given their injuries, that might say something about their trainer.

210 It would need to factor in the players age though that would be tough to do. You are going to have sample size issues.

He's got a lot of ability. If he continues to improve, that's the key. How far he'll go depends on how hard he works and how much he improves.

(Hint: It's a trick question.)

Laroche is a lazy whiner who refuses to play through injuries.

(Not true, but that's what I imagine people think.)

---

Neat little article on Jamie Pedroza in the PE today:

http://tinyurl.com/4ynddz

With Martin as the backup shortstop Torre was less likely to pinch hit for Hu. Hu is the utility player when Kent and Furcal are playing and it is the utility role that needs replacing with Furcal out. LaRoche is not a utility player.

It would be interesting to see LaRoche playing second for Las Vegas during the next 5 games. If LaRoche or DeWitt could play second, I would trade Kent in a heart beat.

65% Chan Ho Park
20% Kuo
10% Kershaw
5% McDonald

My choice would be McDonald.

222 - I would like to see LaRoche play some at 2nd too. I do not think it's time to be trading Jeff Kent (and don't think they would even if it were). It's clearly his last season, but even tho he's been slumping they still need his power/bat this season. But I like the idea of LaRoche backing him up.

226 - Sounds about right. As excited as I'd be to see Kershaw's debut on Saturday, I'd rather them wait longer. I feel like he needs a bit more seasoning down there before they throw him to the ML wolves. His time will come soon enough.

No. See Cannon, Toy.

222
If LaRoche or DeWitt could play second, I would trade Kent in a heart beat

Never gonna happen. Kent plays out the string as a Dodger.

Its amazing that Ken Gurnick actually gets paid to write this stuff.

Kuo (too bad it's in an AL park; no bat flip!)
McDonald (over Clayton because he's already on the 40-man)
Kershaw (in due time, son)
Park (he's trying to lure me in, but I'm not buying...yet)

*JAMES McDONALD, RHP
Age: 23
Why he's here: 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K
The Scoop: Jacksonville lefthander Clayton Kershaw gets all the attention, and rightfully so. But don't ignore McDonald, who has an impressive combination of above-average stuff, command and athleticism. One of the better-kept secrets in the minor leagues, McDonald has a 4.19 ERA with a more impressive 35-7 K-BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings. Originally drafted in 2002 as a two-way player and developed as an outfielder until 2005, McDonald is now in his third full season of pitching, showing excellent aptitude for his craft.*

It'll probably be Park though. No need to make a roster move if its only going to be 1 start.

>>Charlotte: Joe: You were such a great hitter. What would you do to help Andruw Jones get back on track. He's just lost up there. And I can't believe he's really this bad.

"Joe Morgan: I can't either. I can't believe he's having the problems he's having. I have not seen him play this year, as we haven't done a Dodgers' game and he's never int the highlights, so I couldn't give him any specific advice, but I am shocked at how long this slump has extended."

I am officially a broken record, but: Joe Morgan, the #1 analyst on the #1 baseball network in America -- multiple-time Emmy Award Winner -- has not seen a {bleep} DODGER GAME this year? Not one Dodger game?

I have a full-time job, and a decently complicated life, and a young child. There is not a single team in the majors I haven't watched play this year. I have watched at least one game of every major league team. You know why? I like baseball. Like checking out a Reds-Cubs game on a sleepy Saturday in late April. Like flipping over to a Giants game and imagine what it must be like to be Brian Sabean watching Barry Zito serving 80 MPH cheese to the NL. I like baseball, so I watch baseball. I just...I don't know how saying things like this doesn't get you fired. I really don't.
<<

In 2006, the Dodgers had J.D. Drew and finished tied for 1st. In 2007, they had Juan Pierre and finished 4th

When Schmidt comes back, a pitcher (Stults or Alvarez, possibly) will be DFA'd. I don't see them cutting Sweeney loose yet.

Awesome. It would be kind of funny to see a Kareem-esque farewell tour, where various opponents lavish the surly one with gifts like a rocking chair, a motorcycle, or some elaborate chess set.

NedMan: "If...I...can...just...reach...my...utility-player...belt..."

If this season has shown anything, it's that Pierre is not a "true leadoff hitter." His occasional hot streaks have come when he's hitting #2. And no manager has yet tapped his almost limitless potential when batting 8th.