Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Jon's other site:
Screen Jam
TV and more ...
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
From the Dodger press notes:
Los Angeles is 9-19 beginning May 23, and only the Houston Astros (7-19) and Seattle Mariners (8-18) have a worse record in that time. Despite winning just nine of their last 28 games beginning May 23, the Dodgers have lost only 2.0 games in the standings to first-place Arizona, which has an 11-17 record in the same span. Los Angeles enters today 4.5 games back of the D-Backs. In fact, the Dodgers have gained 1.0 game since the start of play on June 14.
The Dodger pitching staff has posted a 3.73 ERA (102 ER/246.1 IP) during that 9-19 stretch, which ranks fourth in the NL and ninth in the Majors in that span. The offense, however, has scored only 89 runs beginning May 23, which is the lowest run total in the Majors during that time.
Also noted: Dodger pitchers have 108 strikeouts in their past 106 innings, with team leader Chad Billingsley poised to build upon that today.
Kemp. CF
Loney. 1B
Martin. C
DeWitt. 3B
Ethier. RF
Berroa. SS
Maza. 2B
Billingsley. P
Furcal is the 3rd VORPiest SS.
Kemp is the 9th VORPiest CF.
Loney is the 10th VORPiest 1B.
Ethier is the 15th VORPiest RF.
Dewitt is the 23rd VORPiest 3B.
Kent is the 25th VORPiest 2B.
Pierre is the 27th VORPiest LF.
Oops.
Mark Sweeney's performance this season puts him in a dubious low batting average category among those players (non-pitchers) with 50 or more at bats since the franchise started play in Los Angeles in 1958. With that criteria, here are the ten lowest batting averages:
1. Billy Grabarkewitz (1969) -- .092 (6 for 65)
2. Mark Sweeney (2008) -- .107 (6 for 56)
3. Milt Thompson (1996) -- .118 (6 for 51)
4. Maury Wills (1972) -- .129 (17 for 132)
5. Sid Bream (1985) -- .132 (7 for 53)
6. Darryl Strawberry (1993) -- .140 (14 for 100)
7. Juan Castro (1997) -- .147 (11 for 75)
8. Carlos Hernandez (1995) -- .149 (14 for 94)
9. Luis Alcaraz (1968) -- .151 (16 for 106)
10. Dick Gray (1959) -- .154 (8 for 52)
10. John Hale (1976) -- .154 (14 for 91)
Castro is the only non-pitcher with at least 50 at bats to hit under .200 in three seasons (1996--.197, 1997--.147, and 1998--.195). Those who did it twice are Doug Camilli, Jeff Torborg, Grabarkewitz, Rafael Landestoy, Dave Anderson, Rick Dempsey and Jose Offerman. In 1968, five Dodgers did it -- Zoilo Versalles, Jim Fairey, Alcaraz, Torborg and Bart Shirley. Versalles had the most at bats of any player to hit under .200 in the last 50 years. He went 79 for 403 in 1968, batting .196.
(I compiled all this on a quiet Saturday)
Dodgers: This team, Ned Colletti specifically, must dip down and come up with a rabbit to make them a viable playoff contender. So they will likely be players for Sabathia, Bedard, and others as long as they're within striking distance. The Diamondbacks' recent tumble has made a Dodger comeback possible for the time being, but they need to get to .500 before they start thinking playoffs. They have chips they could deal for Sabathia in Matt Kemp, Chad Billingsley, etc.
lol.
http://tinyurl.com/5azk2l
Casting aside his typical snark, the column reaches levels of Plaschkean preachiness. Zoinks.
15 Suuuure you don't want Penny instead, Phillies?
"Plaschke, Simers, pack your stuff, you're both fired."
Colletti might not need to go, but he needs to be forced to dump Pierre and Jones, they are both worse than useless and LF is where the offense improves from bad to good enough. I hope Jones comes back soon just to confirm how bad he is (somehow what he has done so far is not enough for some people). Im scared if he doesn't come back, the media will chalk his performance up to him playing injured. And, maybe, just maybe, Torre will bench Pierre and that will allow Colletti the revelation that hes not good.
"
I love when East Coast writers muse on teams they are utterly clueless about, like the Dodgers, just to fill space. CC's lovely and all, but the last thing the Dodgers need is pitching, even with Penny and Kuroda (very briefly) on the DL. They have one of the best ERAs in baseball over past month and one of the highest K rates. What they can't do is hit or score with any consistency. To trade Kemp away for pitching is so dumb I'm not sure what to say. Even Colletti wouldn't be that out of it.
Trading away pitching for more hitting is more likely for the Dodgers, but they are just as likely to see how Jones and Furcal recover in July before being in the market."
McDonald, easily.
Blue, it was nice seeing you again at the ballpark on Friday. Dodgers should win today since this is the only game of the series I won't be attending.
http://tinyurl.com/4qtnus
To amplify on your thoughts, in a series when you are starved for runs and you have lost 2 in a row already, this would have been the perfect day to give LaRoche a shot at 2b. IF he has two errors in two chances, you can always bring in Mazza. Since Bills strikes out lots of folks, you can also argue that ground balls will be less.
One player you forgot to add is Andru this year 133 AB's, 22 hits a cool 165 BA...more to come, positive or negative I am not sure, but am hoping for a positive incline.
If Delwyn had as many ABs as Pierre he would be playing every day and not starting once every 2 weeks with pinch hitting appearances in between. Delwyn can hit and hit for power. I have no doubt he could hit 10-15 HR and 30-40 doubles if given a full season of ABs. Definitely an upgrade over Pierre.
We are are 5 games from the lowest won/lost record in the National League.
We are 3 games from lowest record in the West.
We are 2.5 games from TIEING with the SF Giants.
Tales of Good
We are 4.5 games from the leading the West.
We are 2.5 games ahead of the Giants.
I am not sure what some of you have in your half full glass FULL -- HOWEVER maybe the glass is 1/3 full.
Without the REDS we could be the last place in the NL. (By the way the Reds have the same % as we do)
SIGNED,
a Dodger fan of 44 years
Our next 7 games are against the American League. What is our record against the American League?
Yes it is a bad and hot weekend. Yes, my dog died this weekend and all the kids are at college.
Sorry about your dog. I hope it wasn't the heat.
Thank You. He was my office/campus dog for 15 years. Very good for a basset hound!
I used him to get attention in my classes or to make a specific point.
My brother and his wife had a basset that lived to be about 12 I think. 15 is a long life for a basset. I never realized that some dogs get gray hair as they get old.
That basset looked quite distinguished with his graying ears.
VIn [speaking of Walter O'Malley]: he was avuncular.
Chick: I now know why you get paid the big bucks, avuncular?
Vin: I can also say delicatessen.
Chick: It's not that it's a big word, who the hell knows what it means.
Those two men, along with my folks, are the reason I'm a sports fan.
Thank You. The dog and I were 2 months from retiring to Vancouver Island.
Lots of puppies still around thou.
Back on topic, However the Dodger glass is 1/3 full.
He's retired to a different type of Vancouver Island.
Which part of Vancouver Island? The basset would have loved staying at this hotel.
http://tinyurl.com/3srhu3
I remember those days like they were just last month.
It's the 2005 NL West all over again.
I'm going to go to the SABR convention this week and hear a bunch of East Coasters tell me how the division should be stripped of its playoff spot.
Would it be too much to suspect that the Dodgers have a couple of home runs today?
The Dodger game is alternatively available on "Game 13".
To be fair, there was a rain delay. The game has actually gone by at a pretty quick pace.
Maza
Billingsley
Pierre
(primal scream)
I might have been disappointed had I purchased tickets to today's game with Torre trotting out this line-up.
Alternative dream world line-up of tomorrow for today.
Kemp
Martin
Loney
Kent
Ethier
LaRoche
Young
Berroa
Billinglsey
Gee whiz, couldn't Andy at least get a shot at second base today?
Two can play at that game, Mr. Timmermann. Remember when the Dodgers won the American Association pennant, and then nobody counted it? I remember that like it was every day for the rest of your life.
Can Andy come out to play?
Icaros
Drysdale and Gibson had a cure for that habit.
--
Wow, Spain-Italy, and the Dodgers game, at the same time. I'm at my attention span limit.
Things are a lot easier when you're not facing great pitchers. Huzzah!
Geez, even the outs are great contact today.
I saw Tony Gwynn get an inside the park grand slam to left.
Didn't Brett Butler (not the comedienne) get hurt diving for Gwynn's ball on that play? I seem to remember him laying flat as Gwynn rounded the bases.
Bob, Please send me a note off-line and I would be happy to help you with your Vancouver Island vacation plans.
Not many Dodger fans on the island.
I hate the small "Post a comment" box.
Butler claimed to be hurt on that play, but I wasn't convinced. I think he was embarrassed at missing the diving catch.
But I was never a big Brett Butler fan, even though he wasn't a bad player.
I would hate to see what you feared for Old Man Snipes. He's at .205/.295/.231 entering today.
Oh, I'm not going there anytime soon. But I've been there a couple times and loved it.
I believe Roberts play was a double and E7 on Matsui.
What was the ultimate disposition with Berroa? I was watching soccer and Berroa is listed as being at bat with a 1-2 count forever.
I can see that he was out.
Thank You. DO not let the guys on DT change your opinions on the Dodgers or on your Web site. :) :)
Yet.
Mmmmm.... warm crow... ooohhh.... {Homer Simpson drool}
--
And needless to say but I'll say it anyway, you have my sympathies on the loss of your dog, too. Anytime someone loses a pet I know how painful that can be. But sounds like he lived a nice long and happy life.
Thank You. I feel better.
THe Dodgers scored four runs.
classic
Bassets are a trip - my Mom bred them, growing up (Bloodhounds, too). Talk about cute puppies...shrink-wrapped wrinkles and endless ears. And by the way "Best in Show" is not a satire - it's ALL TRUE!)
Anyway, my sympathies to you.
I just returned from 3 weeks in NY. I lost my Mom June 7th, after a nine year battle with a non-malignant pituitary tumor that took its long, slow toll. Jon, it was so comforting to read the Father's Day posts here as I was going though that. And I returned with...my Mom's dog, Jilly, a Yorkie (as my writing partner says, "More of a brooch then a dog, really.")My Dad has Parkinson's, and needed her to stay with the family.
So now I'm a dog-owner again...Good thing she's an absolute trooper. Maybe I'll bring her to the DT picnic.
Nice to be home, to read you guys again, and to be ahead in a game.
Sorry about your dog. I'm jealous of your retirement choice. I've vacationed there several times and enjoy it every time. It is one of several places my wife and I have thought about retiring to if we decide to leave Los Angeles. Are you going to retire in the South, North, East, or West?
I would expect a Newfoundland would be an excellent dog on Vancouver Island.
But Newfoundland is such a long way from Vancouver Island. The dog would get lost on the way.
I've been to Newfoundland. You know what it's near?
Nothing.
But Newfoundland is such a long way from Vancouver Island. The dog would get lost on the way.
I've been to Newfoundland. You know what it's near?
Nothing.
Oh, what, it's only the 3rd inning? Sheesh.
Great, suddenly Byrd finds his rhythm just as Billingsley loses his.
He died when he was 36 of complications from appendicitis.
Chad is now even more living in a tree, and very close to falling out it.
Pinch hit for him here?
Torre better. Over 100 pitches, not very effective. He gone.
Hah. Hah. Giants now losing to Royals 11-10, blowing a huge lead.
http://tinyurl.com/4utj7j
I'm really getting excited if we have Kemp, Loney, Ethier, Martin, Laroche, and possibly DeWitt in the same line-up in a year or two.
There's a University of Nebraska Press/SABR published bio of Wilbert Robinson that has a good section on the 1920 World Series.
It was quite tumultuous as the Black Sox scandal had just broken before it started. Rube Marquard of the Dodgers got arrested in Cleveland for trying to scalp his World Series tickets. In the atmosphere of the time, people were not quite ready to forgive Marquard.
You can also read "The Pitch That Killed" which is about the death of Ray Champman, who was the shortstop for the Indians in 1920 until he was killed when hit by a Carl Mays pitch. The Indians managed to get rookie Joe Sewell from New Orleans to replace him and he helped the Indians stay in front en route to the pennant. The White Sox losing seven players didn't hurt either.
Bill Wambsganss is one of the interview subjects in "The Glory of Their Times."
Double header 98 fahrenheit
Bunting Kemp - Meh.
157 - Yah, although in hindsight maybe bunting wasn't such a bad idea.
Walter Alston had Campy bunt a World Series Game.
Does...
Not...
Compute...
Teams bunted a lot in the 1950s. Even the power hitters.
Campanella had 30 sacrifices in his career. Duke Snider had 52.
It was just one of those things managers did at the time. If you got the game-winning runner on to lead off an inning, you had the next guy bunt. Even if he was the cleanup hitter.
Snider had a sacrifice in the 1955 World Series and he batted .320 with four home runs in that series.
No matter what happens, I salute DeWitt for his unexpected help there this year.
Sonja: No, you must be Ben Francisco's sister.
Napoleon: No, you must be Ben Francisco's sister.
Boris: No, it's a greater honor for me.
The negetive momentum created by the black hole is difficult to overcome once it's established. It allows the opposing pitcher to breath. Due up in the bottom half of the seventh - Maza, Berroa, Pitcher's spot (Sweeney?).
I think it's one of those respect things were Joe simply has no choice but play DeWitt there all year.
I'm sure La Roche will see some action at 3rd this year but that's DeWitt's position, at least for the '08 campaign.
No, it's really not. Blake was great for 2 months, but there was no way he could keep it up all year. Laroche is the better player and should be playing. Andy has a chance to be a legitimate power hitter now with great patience at the plate. Blake isnt capable of doing that now, especially now that he is going so poorly.
Hey, it's Sweeney! Fly out on the first pitch.
>> • NOTES -- Right-hander Brian Akin was brought up to the 51s from Double-A Jacksonville on Friday to take the spot of Ramon Troncoso, who was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... The 51s also activated outfielder Greg Jacobs from the disabled list. ... <<
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/20625739.html
Well, the soft spot made thgree prompt outs, but somehow we have survived.(and we are not even through the soft spot.)
Pajarito= Byrd in english.
Hopefully they will discover this thing called the Sun and actually use it.
Okay, Sammy. Bring your A Game today.
I think we are due for the 20 degree drop by Tuesday. Friday 109, Sat 107, today 101, Tues 85.
Isn't 90 in SF bizarre?
We win!
And the rest of the NL West lost. Huzzah.
I'm guessing that the answer would be yes. But it would have been early in Koufax's career.
And yet, even if that happens...
Acceptance.
(Jinxed Denial.)
But when you live on the top floor flat and, like most apartments here, it's not air-conditioned, and it doesn't cool off at night, it can be quite miserable.
35-40.
that's amazing, I really felt the NL West was gonna be the class of MLB but with injuries & such it's a pretty bad division.
Kuo-Broxton-Sammy, The Three Amigos could keep this disfunctional offense in the race. And Beimel is nothing to sneeze at.
Koufax left when it was 7-4 though.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196407140.shtml
Scoring four in the first looked like Byrd had nothing but was obviously an illusion.
I never would have guessed we would win 4-3, that would have been about my last choice.
I have to say it looks important to try to get both LaRoche and DeWitt into the infield for the long run. Imagine if we had a SS like Furcal for long stretches, I think we could be championship material.
How do we get there. Is Dejesus the man--or Hu? Was Denker? After we sink this DL we should have some extra cash.
>>Injured 3B Nomar Garciaparra, who was told by his physical therapist in Boston last week to wait 10 days before doing anything, has decided to speed things up.
Garciaparra swung in the cage on Sunday and will resume baseball activities on Tuesday or Wednesday, about five days ahead of schedule.
"He decided," Manager Joe Torre said. "That was his decision. The whole thing was his call."<<
What an unpredictable game.
The sacrifice fly rule's history in excruciating detail.
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/629050.html
Good pitching + Dodgers offense is not a recipe for success.
Great pitching. Billingsley hangs tough and gets the win on a day when he didn't have his best stuff. Kuo, Beimel, Broxton, and Saito pick it up and do a great job, giving up only one more hit to the Indians. The Dodgers pitchers combine for nine strikeouts and only one base on balls.
Offensive leaders:
AB 4, R 1, H 1, RBI 2 (Home Run) - Martin
AB 4, R 1, H 2, RBI 2 - Loney
AB 4, R 1, H 3 - Pierre
AB 4, R 1, H 1 - Kemp
AB 1, H 1 (Pinch Hit) - LaRoche
AB 3, H 1 - Berroa
Hopefully, this is the start of another modest three game win streak :)
Thats not going to be fun. 2 wins might be optimistic. Hopefully LaRoche will play for DeWitt at least against all of the lefties. Blake has been horrible this month.
It's unbelievably disturbing.
Also, having Matt Kemp bunt was pretty awesome. And Captain America is now hitting .268. Can LaRoche play now?
Yeah, but that slurve that Perez was offering up just looked too juicy.
Martin (GG) is the player of the game none the less. Great offense with the Home Run and he did a fantastic job with the pitchers as well(two games in a row under a very hot sun).
"No one who knew of this bright young Richard Nixon's capabilities and ambitions (he had formed a group to unify the freshmen Republicans, the Chowder and Marching Club) expected that upon entering Congress the previous year he would have welcomed a place on the House Un-American Activities Committee. Actually, he lobbied for it. He had ascertained a change in the cultural winds. Once the faith of boobs, Red-hunting was now the state religion. In the Hiss case, Nixon spotted the chance to engineer his investiture as its pope."
I think it's a Civil War era origin, Bob will have the correct information soon:)
Marching and Chowder societies were social clubs for Civil War vets. The guys would get back together, march around like they were back in the service and put on a parade and then they would celebrate later with chowder.
Based on 5 games?
"Yes, Nancy Bea is still here playing the organ, but they have cut her playing time way back. She actually leaves before the end of games a lot because there is no reason for her to stay because all the organ music seems to happen in the early innings. Any organ music after the seventh-inning stretch -- such as that Tomorrow song from Annie that they play after every loss -- is canned, recorded music."
Captain America is now hitting .268. Can LaRoche play now?
DeWitt is indeed in a 6 for 44 slump, with no walks.
Since Furcal went down, here are some slumping Dodger positions (pretty much everyone except C & 1B):
SS: .150/.217/.193
LF: .272/.313/.320
RF: .238/.280/.366
2B: .246/.276/.389
3B: .265/.321/.368
CF: .267/.330/.418
On the other hand, it was Africa hot out there.
It's probably the same guy. I hope it's just one guy.
I'd buy 10,000 Juan Pierre jerseys and 100,000 Jose Guillen jerseys before I'd touch a Darryl Strawberry jersey.
And how the falling dollar plays into this.
http://tinyurl.com/5cg73y
it was to hot man...
I'd wear it.
I can't wait to find out the X factor in the Pirates success story. I can only assume it's something wholesome.
I went Saturday, and decided not to roast in the heat today. I drove home this morning.
http://tinyurl.com/h39fy
"Cuban Refugee Yuniesky Betancourt Prefers Castro To M's Manager John McLaren"
Believe it or not, however, that's not the most bewildering Dodger jersey I have seen this year. Two months ago, while I was waiting in line at the movie theater, I saw rotund man wearing a Norohito Nakamura jersey a few people ahead of me. I had to snap a pictures this man just to document the occasion as he was neither a clueless Japanese tourist or homeless person who received the shirt from a thrift shirt. Very disturbing.
265 I have to agree with Tony about the noise in Dodger stadium. I remember hearing something about us being 1 of only a few stadiums left still using an organ.
Although I come from this new generation, I hate this rap junk and sound affects that tony refers to..I say keep it traditional.
Good win today, I really hope we can have the same good fortune against the sox that the cubs have had, and as always, I must remark that James in on fuego!
He will be missed.
Off topic, but anyone watching In Plain Sight? Pretty good show, so far.
Branyan, MIL - 1.208
Fielder, MIL - 1.189
Hawpe, COL - 1.166
Loney, LA - 1.088
Edmonds, CHI - 1.084
Uggla, FLA - 1.023
Loney is hitting .402 in his last 23 games. Woo hoo!
I'll miss him. My thoughts and prayers go to my former classmate, Kelly Carlin, and to the entire Carlin family.
I would agree with you about Carlin.
I will disagree about "In Plain Sight."
Vehemently.
A couple of my favorite of his gags can't be repeated here, but shall live on in memory.
--
In other news, new piece up on Dodgers draftee Clayton Allison, of the Fresno State Bulldogs:
http://tinyurl.com/4xthce
Sounds like a gutsy guy. Hope he doesn't have long term shoulder problems.
Fresno State's coach has been pretty responsible when it comes to using his pitchers. He's not Skip Bertman.
No, I really didn't like it at all. I just had the hardest time buying into the concept of every single person in the Witness Protection Program ending up in Albuquerque.
That and the characters weren't likeable.
And the writing was bad.
Other than that, I thought it was OK.
I had the chance to see him in concert recently, and for reasons that I'm sure were good at the time but which escape me now, I ended up not going. So that sucks.
In loving memory, each of my next seven posts will feature one of Carlin's infamous dirty words.
(Well, OK, maybe not. But if ever there were a time to bend the rules...)
I miss him already, what a spot on dude.
309 I agree completely, he is an institution that should be granted immortality.
http://www.freshyarn.com/27/essays/carlin_theday.htm
------------
Let me explain. It was 1973, and I was ten years old. My mom, dad and I had just come back from a trip to Hawaii late the night before so we were all sleeping in. At about 11:00 a.m. my dad came into my room and woke me up. He sat on my bed and said, "Kelly, I have something important to tell you." Now those words scared the [Rule 1] out of me because during our trip to Hawaii my parents had argued every waking moment, which was a lot since they were doing cocaine, and at that particular moment I was sure that he was about to tell me that he and my mom were going to split up.
So I sat up in bed bracing myself for the worst when he said, "Kelly, the sun has exploded and we have eight, no… seven and a half minutes to live."
"What?"
I learned to be subversive because of him.
For me: 1975, driving to Dodger games with my buddies, listening to George Carlin and Cheech & Chong 8-tracks.
For my daughter: 1999, watching Thomas the Tank Engine videos that George Carlin narrated.
I hope he would have appreciated the incongruity. RIP.
And now you've just sold out for The Man.
My principles never got me a fancy computer or a Playstation 3.
Bob, you go first.
http://tinyurl.com/5magmy
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/sullivan/20080623-9999-1s23sullivan.html
Who gets custody of Vasgersian and Leitner?
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AhSzB8CZVc.V4U.OqTvphpERvLYF?slug=ys-lincecumreportcard062208&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
I'd like to see more like this. Some of it is subjective (well-hit) but most would be available from pitch by pitch data.
It tells what happened, and a little bit about why. I'd also like to see some why, and that might have more to do with pitch f/x data.
For example, I am very curious why Scott Proctor is SO ineffective this year.
Dodgers Manager Joe Torre said he ordered the bunt, hoping for a bunt single at best and a sacrifice at worst, which would have advanced the runners to second and third and enabled the Dodgers to add a run on a fly ball.
"We were looking for one more run," Torre said.
Kemp leads the Dodgers in runs batted in, and he was tied for the lead in home runs among the players in Sunday's lineup. As he batted, four of his last five hits had gone for extra bases.
"When there's a runner at second base, we don't worry about power," Torre said. "We worry about a single. When you have the 3-4-5 guys [coming up after Kemp], you're trying to stretch the lead a little bit."
http://www.greencine.com/central/guide/driveinmovies
/promotion, off
Sometimes I've thought they call a bunt for one pitch and then call it off on purpose just to throw the defense off, but sounds like that wasn't the case there.
>>Kunkle remembered one night when Carlin was in town and the Dodgers were playing in the World Series the same night. "I started walking out the door of his room and he said, do you like baseball? I said, George I love baseball. He said sit down we'll watch a few innings together. So we watched about three innings. We talked baseball, I was a Pirates fan growing up in Pittsburgh, he was a great Dodger fan and it got time for him to get ready and he said you better leave so I can get ready, but here's what I want you to do. Throughout the course of my act if you'll just let me know what the scores are"<<
{sniff}
http://www.whiznews.com/article.php?articleId=21962
I'd be happier if Torre simply said, "with a successful bunt, Byrd has to pitch to either Loney with two runners in scoring position, or Martin with the bases-loaded."
Someone please put tape on his mouth and handcuff him to his desk until his contract expires.
http://tinyurl.com/5pf5wq
It's not good practice to deny people working under you the chance to promote.
Because why would they want to work for you if they knew ahead of time that they could never advance?
BTW, James Loney is 2nd in the N.L in the past 30 days with a .350 batting average. Ahead of Chipper Jones and just behind Conor Jackson. Torre should seriously consider batting him third every day right now.
Other people would say it makes him look like a boss who is trying to get people working for him a better job.
If my boss never suggested to anyone that I should get a promotion, I likely would have never been promoted.
I guess my cynicism meter is not as finely attuned as others.
Carlin was a huge fan of the Dodgers back in the day, but when he was growing up, they were still in Brooklyn. It's interesting he'd root for Brooklyn because he lived in Morningside Heights, the heart of Giants country. He related once how Bobby Thompson broke his heart with the "shot heard 'round the world."
But, like many Brooklyn fans, he harbored an intense resentment for the Dodgers once O'Malley moved them to LA. Ever since, he became a Mets fan and usually was pretty happy with Dodger failure. Truly a great baseball fan he was, that George Carlin.
That said, you can't always "no comment" the press either. I get the sense we're nitpicking Ned's comment that he'd give permission if asked.
I am a little concerned with this. Why are the managers toying with Kemp? They aren't doing anything like this with Russell Martin, Andre Ethier, nor Andy LaRoche. Andy LaRoche!! I don't even think they'd force The Solution™ to drag a bunt with two on.
It's a little disconcerting, and I hope they don't ruin Bison's confidence that way. Why single him out?
Getting upset over Colletti's remarks is pretty silly. The remarks themselves are a non-event, merely reflecting the reality that if Seattle asks, it would be pretty reprehensible for Colletti to not give them permission, regardless of his motives.
NPUT
What mistake has McCourt made in hiring Colletti and Torre really?..The only really bad signing for Colletti was Jones, and that is 'only' a 2 year deal. Not a terrible gamble if you ask me. And granted, they are overpaying Pierre, but he still does exactly what we signed him for, day in, day out (and I'm really not a Pierre apologist).. Colletti will play the injury card a lot in the coming weeks..he definitely has the right to.
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