Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Jon's other site:
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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
http://tinyurl.com/5o2ml8
Note to Bill Plaschke: This is what happens when one writes to inform, not inflame, and chooses every word carefully and well.
this from jayson stark...
"Sheez, what happened to this man? If Andruw Jones's second half resembles his first half, he's potentially heading for (ready for this?) the Worst Offensive Season in Baseball History. At this rate, he'd finish with a .172 average, .261 slugging percentage, five homers, 21 RBIs, 125 strikeouts and only 64 hits. And you shouldn't be flabbergasted to learn that the all-time list of players who have had numbers that gruesome consists of, well, nobody. Heck, only three other players in history have even had twice as many strikeouts as hits (in a season of 100 or more whiffs): Rob Deer (175-80 in 1991), Dave Nicholson (126-60 in 1964) and Mark McGwire (118-56 in 2001). But at least those fellows made a few home run trots, or finished over the Mendoza Line."
Thanks for directing us to that piece Eric, really nice.
Bradley has never hidden his bitterness toward the past and suspicion of others' motives toward him.
That last piece is disturbing (& telling) but I really really hope he is doing better...
What does it say about the Dodgers if Torre says we are going to need A Jones to be sucessful?
a. an idiot
b. is paid 3+ million a year and will say whatever frank wants him to
c. both
I don't miss J. Pierre at all.
hey Jones if you try & pull everything THE PITCHERS ARE GONNA NOTICE (duh!) all they have to do is throw a little slider or outside pitch & your toast!
yay, Bison!
What if we got a Dodger person to hide some in his car?
that swing looked almost as effortless as a Wolly Joyner swing.
Top 5
Martin 4.7
Saito 4.1
Billingsley 3.6
Kemp 3.0
Kuo 3.0
Bottom 6
Sweeney -1.0
Hu -0.9
Berroa -0.2
Proctor -0.2
Repko -0.1
Jones -0.1
Compare
Pujols 6.2
Gagne 0.4
Francoeur 0.9
Hafner 0.2
A-Rod 4.2
If he sits out tomorrow, I'll put somebody else at short.
Of course, the first innings I miss all month would be the ones when Kemp goes yard.
I just added J.J. Hardy to my team as a precaution.
I dropped Jay Bruce. I picked him up after he stopped hitting.
And playing.
I saw one game where it looked he would have to come out because it appeared that his shoulder popped out of the socket after a swing and a miss.
But he stayed in the game and I think he may have even homered in the game.
It's getting harder and harder.
I've heard he is trying to get over this hurdle but that's about it, I haven't read anything though.
what!?
Don't forget Hal Chase.
I don't know where Jimmy Ryan fits into this, though.
I understand that hindsight is 20-20, but Colletti should be fired for this signing alone.
Vinny is like "and here comes Bowa. And he is charging Jones in, in, in...the batters box, oh my...."
So who put you in charge of the Accent Mark Police?
I pay Eric Enders to point out my errors.
:o) I'd do it, come on Ned get 'er done.
I apologize for skirting Rule 8, but this is the only place I feel like I can get out a little frustration...
I am not disappointed that Eric corrects my errors.
I will just get back at him one night while he sleeps.
That got my little mexican blood boiling. But seriously, the Jones & Schmidt signing (to me) made sense when you look back at them.
of course I didn't have the privilege of going thru Schmidty's med. record.
(Aside from the fact that one of them couldn't throw and the other couldn't do anything but.)
Now all the runners on first base are going to break for second once they get picked off because they know I can't throw down to second.
Sheesh, was that irritating to watch with Garvey.
Jorge Cantu has a fun name to say... I mean not right now but it is fun to say
It seems to be far more common for pitchers than for position players. Of the 499 lefty throwers/righty hitters (according to the Lahman database), 442 were pitchers.
Notables include Rube Waddell, Carl Hubbell, Sandy Koufax, and Eddie Gaedel (?!).
"His on-base percentage (.340 leading off) is fine. I don't think Matt does anything different (compared to batting elsewhere in the lineup)," said Torre. "Sometimes he has quality at-bats, sometimes he gets impatient. He did some good things. I just feel we need a little more offense and quality at-bats on top. We'll see what it looks like."
20 3/19/88 - Kershaw - Phenom
22 8/21/85 - DeWitt - Starting at 3B
23 7/29/84 - Billigsley - Ace of the staff
23 9/13/84 - Abreu
23 9/23/84 - Kemp - Starting in RF/CF
23 10/12/84 - May
24 2/2/84 - Hu
(24 2/9/84 - Navarro) - Traded
24 5/7/84 - Loney - Starting at 1B
24 6/16/84 - Broxton - Set-up Man
24 7/11/84 - Meloan
24 9/13/83 - LaRoche - Riding the pine
25 5/28/83 - Wade - In the Bullpen
25 2/16/83 - Tronscoso - In the Bullpen
25 2/15/83 - Martin - All-Star Catcher - Team MVP
26 6/30/82 - Young - Part time LF and PH
26 4/10/82 - Ethier - Starting in RF/LF
26 7/23/81 - Kuo - In the Bullpen
(27 12/23/80 - C Ross) Traded
27 12/27/80 - Repko
28 6/11/80 - Brazoban
28 12/9/79 - Stults - Starting Pitcher
(29 4/17/79 Beltre) - Left as FA
(29 5/29/79 Werth) - Traded
So how good will the 20 - 24 year old be when they are 28 - 29?
More talent is being developed on the farm and is on the way.
Who do you retain and who do you trade or release?
I didn't hate the Jones deal when it happened, but I also tend to have a skewed view on these things after the fact because I am a fan and desperately want everything to work out. I look at them through rose colored glasses when first reading about them. I am also not paid what Colletti is paid to do some due diligence on a guy.
Is the airspace around Dodger Stadium restricted? I am thinking about flying a banner so McCourt can read about my anger firsthand. Seriously...
Ha ha. His AB's are pure comedy to me at this point.
OK. Done. Sorry guys.
120 Yes. I'm not sure why he's listed as a lefty thrower, given that he never played the field.
3K=Hat Trick
4K=SILVER sombrero
That's how I learned it anyway. Must be an alliteration thing.
No way. The metal sombrero hierarchy is as follows:
3K = silver
4K = gold
5K = platinum
If we get a sombrero tonight, will Vin tell us where to throw it?
Billy Cowan has one!
"In baseball, the golden sombrero is a slang term used to describe a player's inglorious feat of striking out four times in a single game."
Full name: Juan D'Vaughn Pierre
Born: August 14, 1977
Birthplace: Mobile, Alabama
Made MLB debut with the Colorado Rockies
2003: Played with the 2003 World Series winners, Florida Marlins
2007: Had a 72 game hit streak
http://www.mahalo.com/Juan_Pierre
I always thought it would be titanium or something for six. I didn't think it had happened but of course I forgot about extra inning games.
Larry Cheney is nothing to me!
Here's the weird thing about that: I was flipping around HBO On Demand, and watched a documentary on the back 9 of the 1960 US Open (featuring Hogan, Palmer, and Nicklaus fighting for the championship).
Souchak was dominating the tourney through 3 rounds (was up 7 on eventual winner Palmer entering Sunday), and until today I'd never heard of him.
I looked up Souchak on Google and the first thing that came up was his death Thursday. Sad stuff.
Only 2 player though had a streak of 6 straight Ks in one game:
Carl Weilman of the Browns in 1913 (he was a pitcher) and Alex Gonzalez of the Blue Jays in 1998.
We really needed John Shelby in center field there
Sheades of the Hershiser save!
That's been bugging me since Repko's season debut, only to now speak up and learn that my friends and I had added our own unique precursor level of suck for all these many years. Ignorance truly is bliss.
Wouldn't it be great if the subject had not come up so repeatedly in the last few weeks?
Something happened with Bowa & Jones? I didn't see anything on the Marlins' broadcast.
What went wrong Mr. Jones!?
Well of course they do. When you're stronger you have more bat speed, therefore you can catch up to fastball easier (but Adruw can't like he used to). You also have more time to decide whether to swing, meaning you don't swing at as many bad pitches (which is a also a huge problem for Andruw). Also, when you swing harder, you hit the ball harder, giving fielders less time to get to the ball. Bat speed, and consequently steroids, have a HUGE effect on making contact with the ball.
- he has a huge contract, so it's hard to sit him
- his defense has been great, so he's at least contributing in some way
- there's no reason for him to be in the 5th spot right now
- Delwyn Young needs to be cutting into his playing time at least twice per week
One can only hope that at some point he'll break out of his season-long slump (at least a little), but until then I don't think it's doing the team any good to just trot him out every day.
I think not.
.263/.347/.575 |.136
I gotta tell you guys, looking at Jones's #'s it's just NUTS how horrible he is doing this year.
It's July. This can't go on much longer.
Nothing helps your hitting more than having to face Walter Johnson in the twilight.
That would have been scary.
There are only 31 days in July. So that leaves 19 more days.
And four of those days are the All-Star break.
.70235 OPS with 8 PA to go!
Alex Gonzalez, on the other hand, had no excuse for striking out six straight times except for the fact that he wasn't particularly good.
I've just been reading too much about how the kids need to learn to work the counts and go up there with a plan.
Then we find Nomar, who always swings at the first pitch, batting lead off.
Forgive me if I'm just repeating earlier comments -- I haven't read the entire thread lately.
No one remembers his 6 Ks probably because a fan interfered with a play later which overshadowed Gonzalez's earlier gaffe(s).
Well without the contract he wouldn't be in the major leagues that's for sure.
Huh?
You have to have a contract to play in the majors. It's one of those legal niceties that they insist upon before a baseball team gives you a dump truck full of money.
Alas, you are probably right with Torre. And yet Pee Wee is hitting .375 swinging at the first pitch.
Unless they're named Elmer Valo.
I am all for working the counts when the time is right. But I have to wonder if the kids are "failing to fulfill potential" (and I don't think they are the problem) because they are being taken completely off their game by being told to work counts instead of just waiting for a pitch to drive, which might very well be the first pitch sometimes.
Sorry for the long convoluted sentence. I've been repressing my frustration. Now I need a good rant.
http://tinyurl.com/6g6jap
Andruw "the Mule" Jones
it even has the appropriate "u" in the middle
am I leaving under a rock or something?? where in L.A. county is it raining? it has to be the fires right?
Pinch hitters have been sitting around all game and usually they want to hit the first fastball they see.
I imagine that it's hard to come off the bench and try to pick up a curve.
But I couldn't hit anything, so I'm could speaking out of my posterior.
'bout a thing.
Cause I'm making,
18 million."
You can do that in softball.
That alert center has to be in a place way more remote than Thief River Falls, MN.
I have confidence that Jones won't bat again in this game.
Just like Kuo would never pitch effectively for the Dodgers again.
I heart Andre. Glad he lost the facial hair. He did, didn't he? I'm stuck watching gameday -- no cable.
Oh come on you know what I mean. If he didn't have the contract HE HAS he wouldn't be in the majors. You think they would keep some rookie up if he was hitting what Andruw is hitting? No, the only reason he's up is the money and the rep.
he's got a rep. to protect...
No, I did not know what you meant.
Torre is officially off my good list.
You can do that in the MLB too, I believe. Just have the designated hitter hit for a position player instead of the pitcher. Not often that would happen though. But it definitely happens in high school and college.
And the Borg comes in! I'm actually okay with this as long as he's just coming in to get the last strike and not throw another inning. Knowing Torre though, probably not.
"We've got to think about getting help with the history of Nomar and injuries," Torre said. "If we do get a shortstop, we know Nomar can play there, at first and at third. If he swings the bat, we'll find a spot for him."
Well I expect a librarian to be able to read between the lines better than that. ;)
It is the navel of the universe.
Fingers crossed that Borg is done for the night. Actually, let's hope all Dodger pitchers are done for the night.
just guessing here but I think he just sprained it & will go on the DL. I wouldn't be surprised if he comes back soon.
it doesn't look really bad...
I was performing a reference interview.
Hm, what? Oh! My bad!
293 PA
.70464
As for Garciaparra, Torre said he was looking for a way to spur the offense over the final two days of the first half.
"We need to get something started. I remember how he was locked in as a rookie [in 1997], 97 or 96 RBIs, of course that was the American League where the pitcher doesn't hit. He's not the prototypical leadoff hitter. He's aggressive, he's not going up there walking. But that puts pressure on the pitcher."
Neal doesn't like Houston.
Way to go Andy! May you get to play second every time Kent is out of the lineup!
DeWitt worked the count again -- that's why he keeps getting the starts. Nevermind the number of walks and OBA that Andy had his first time up -- that was under a different manager.
when arms do that it is NOT a pretty sight, I've seen a few re-peats on ESPN. I really feel it is just a sprain & he will be back no problem.
1/ Torre goes with hunches and messes with lineups every bit as much as Jim Tracy.
2/ Andruw Jones has gone Steve Blass as a hitter.
3/ DeWitt needs to go back to AA or AAA. Laroche has more talent, always did, needs regular at bats to get in a groove. If you care about Dewitt, send him down while he still feels good about his first stint in the bigs.
4/ Mark Sweeney, 38, is done. He's prolifically bad. A guy named Lindsey in AAA can't get a shot on big league pine. A travesty.
I could go on.
It could be rickets. Or possibly beriberi.
The smart money is on scurvy. I drove past Saito's house once and he threw a whole bag of oranges at me while yelling profanities in Japanese.
D'oh!!
I'm just hoping it isn't bad... seriously my little gut (I went to shaky's piazza earlier today, yummy!) tells me he will just need a little rest...
All sarcasm aside, I agree that Andy needs some regular at bats and has earned them at this point. The guy rushes back from the DL only to be rewarded with a trip to AAA and then splinters in his butt in LA? Look, I like Blake. I want to see him and Andy playing 2B and 3B next year. But right now, Andy deserves a shot at the starting 3B job.
I'm guessing Kuo gets another day of rest since he threw 3 IP / 47 pitches just two nights ago. He'll be available, along with just about everyone, tomorrow.
JERRY: First of all, I don't think you can make a rooster take a dive.
MARCELINO: Cantu!
Newman: TAMALE!
I knew he was used a pair of innings a few days back but for 3!!!
Torre gets paid to manage doesn't he know Saito's back & shoulder woes fromt the past?
sigh. shacking head.
yes!
Troncoso pitched from the stretch.
Just a picnic. On August 16 at Elysian Park starting at 11:30 am.
That cant be right...
we're gonna have a picnic & softball or wiffleball.
I've never played wiffleball in my life.
Canuck, Tronqueso went exclusively from the stretch last inning.
Doug Waechter
333 I see what you did there.
I wonder if it is an easier way for potentially wild pitchers to gain control. It certainly seemed that way with Kuo.
It's hard to root for this organization sometimes.
Was that your opinion when the Dodgers swept three games from the Marlins in Florida earlier this year?
Sorry. I'm a grumpy fan.
He has saves in each of the last 3 games.
Jones' final line: 5 1 0 0, 5 K
Platinum
Nomar 0-0:.250; 0-1:.286; 1-0:.125; 1-1:.111
Kent 0-0:.278; 0-1:.222; 1-0:.323; 1-1:.286
Kemp 0-0:.429; 0-1:.419; 1-0:.462; 1-1:.452
you definitely gotta cheer him because if he does well so do the Dodgers...
Golden = 3
Platinum = 4
Titanium = 5
Gold = 4
Platinum = 5
Silver is 3
Catchers
Dodgers - Martin
Marlins - Revolving door
1st
Dodgers - Loney
Marlins - Jacobs
- maybe loney will better one day, jacobs has 19 HR's, a lot more power.
2nd
Dodgers - Kent
Marlins - Uggla
- No commentary needed
3rd
Dodgers - DeWitt
Marlins - Cantu
-while DeWitt has done an admirable job and is better on defense, cantu has shown bigtime power, what the dodgers need.
Short - I wont even discuss that one, even if furcal was healthy.
Right -
Dodgers - Kemp
Marlins - Hermida
-Dodgers get the nod on this one because of his overall production and ability to steal a base and his defense and throwing arm.
Center
Dodgers - Jones
Marlins - Ross
Just 2 seasons ago the dodgers had cody ross, and would be doing much better today if they still had him. Jones, 5 more K's today and on pace for the worst offensive season in baseball history.
Left
Dodgers - Ethier
Marlins - Revolving door.
Dodgers get the nod on this one.
Ok so I googled it and my memory is just fine at least according to several sites including wikipedia. I think that since it Vin's memory in question I am suposed to be polite enough not to notice.
Shimmin, DeWitt is down to .70211 with 6 PA to go.
Wonder if he thinks about Scott Boras?
Do you keep Ross around and never bring up Kemp? So is he the fifth outfielder all of 2006? And then all of 2007?
There was no place for Cody Ross at the time. That's just the way it works out sometimes.
Should the Reds have kept Cody Ross around also? Ross was on the Reds before he joined the Marlins.
Cody Ross and Jayson Werth and J.D. Drew are gone. They're not coming back. Such is baseball.
In 2007, Ross could have been on the roster instead of Luis and Pierre.
It was never a Kemp or Ross decision.
the all-star game not to much.
Zona will be in L.A. July 31, August 1 & 2. Nice drama the last week of july & early august.
Some people even miss David Ross. And that's not just a head scratcher. That's a "bang one's head into the wall until you fall over dead with a subdural hematoma and displaced skull fracture."
Kemp in RF.
Ethier (or Drew) in LF.
And about 85 mils not committed to Druw/Pierre.
The only nice decision by Ned was Kuroda this off-season. I was wrong on him so far. Kuroda's definitely been worth it.
it's almost embarrassing saying that... aren't both of us below .500
the blushing NL West.
How does he stand it?
I bet he doesn't... he just has to ride the wave & hope he gets over it, I'm sure he'll be a better man for it though.
you are sparktaculest Sporky thanks for the info.
Drew
Lofton
Cruz
Repko
Ledee
Colletti tried to trade Ross in the spring because he didn't think there would be a spot for him.
If you wanted to extrapolate from Cody Ross 7 for 14 start that he would be the next great thing, how do you explain that the rest of the season, he went 1 for 5 in Cincinnati and then batted .212 for Florida.
He batted .335 in 2007, but he was only healthy enough to play 66 games.
So, who are all these almighty seers?
http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=12692
>>Dodgers fall to 45-49, and the .500 mark is getting increasingly difficult to envision.<<
Schmidty
A-Jones
Ethier
Saito
there is more but I can't think of them right now, I'm cool with him, he does make the bone head move every once in a while (Pierre, Loaiza etc.) but overall his heart was in the right place.
As for Kemp, Gregg's pattern was going to be obvious. Throw sliders until you get ahead in the count. If you fall behind, attack with a fastball. First three pitches were sliders for a 2-1 count. Fouled back (late) on fasbtall down the heart. 2-2. Struck out swinging on a slider. Not that hard to figure out.
Really, this team is so frustrating to watch and is nowhere near as good as we thought they were. The pitching staff is terrific but the offense is so anemic is just doesnt matter.
Andruw Jones
Juan Pierre
Brett Tomko
Mark Henderickson
Danny Baez
Wilson Betimite
Scott Proctor
Nomar (2nd version)
Kent (extension)
Gary Bennett
Angel Berrora
Luiz Gonzales
Mark Sweeney
Shea Hillenbrand
Mike Lieberthal
Brady Clark
Ramon Martinez
Esteban Loaiza
Jason Schmidt
Chad Moeller
Roberto Hernandez
Toby Hall
Sandy Alomar Jr.
Bill Mueller
Julio Lugo
Lance Carter
Elmer Dessens
And then... it was so long Cody Ross.
https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/351957.html
This was Jon's suspicions about Kenny Lofton:
https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/348772.html
Jacob L was a strong Lofton opponent. GoBears was opposed (in a different thread) to getting rid of Ross to bring in Robles.
But I still never found people who truly thought Ross was the solution.
No one said he'd be great.
But its not hard to be a "seer" and extrapolate that Ross had better upside than Ledee, Repko, and Cruz.
I say we expunge all ex-Giants and start winning games now and next year.
JKent can stay...
He must have been one of the few "seers".
your right, but, i think the concern is that Colletti seems to be hemorraging useful young players when they have little to no trade value. A.Perez, Choi and now Ross have all left for basically nothing becuase none of them have gotten enough playing time in the majors to have serious trade value to other teams. you might be able to throw schmoll and milton bradley into that group. Its just a disturbing trend, one of these days he's going to let a good mlb player slip through becuase of his commitment to mediocre veterans. This is probably the biggest contrast between depodesta and colletti
I'm never helping anyone here clean out an attic.
JKent can stay... *
That's like saying we should ban all German food except sausage.
Protecting a Ruan over a Victorino was a mistake no doubt.
But Colletti's been far worse at valuing youngsters than DePo.
Oops. We've got a false start in lane three. . .
I have a free copy of a book by Mark Shapiro's father on how to prepare for negotiations.
I also thought the beginning of the show was funny when the hosts were talking about rolling the dice as GMs and using Kenny Williams as an example. They talked about whoever could have thought that Danks or Floyd would be good (not even mentioning Quentin). I know KW isnt the greatest GM, but those are all guys with solid minor league track records acquired in deals. Ned has not made one move where the player he receives outperforms the player he traded. Thats a ridiculously sad reality.
vr, Xei
He was twice taken in the Rule V draft.
May 28th, 2003 by the Padres (Evans left unprotected).
March 30th, 2005 by the Phillies (DePo left un protected, didnt buy him back).
Dylan Hernandez in the Times tomorrow.
http://tinyurl.com/6fcaep
FWIW, his last pitch was a 95 mph fastball.
Saito was throwing oranges at Dylan Hernandez too.
I didn't realize it was the same night -- April 6 -- that Hagler beat Leonard yet was denied the win by the judges.
--
Boy, that sucked. I came home late and watched that one in the archives. Tried to skip ahead where I could but now I'm just wondering why I bothered. Oh yeah, because I thought for sure the Dodgers would win.
Ah well.
Guess it's hard to call tomorrow a "must win" game with completely a straight face but it sure feels like it. Night!...er, Morning!
"In the corner sat the old scout watching television."
DeWitt: .330/.372/.263
LaRoche (2007-2008): .346/.328/.216
And, yes, I would package Kemp for Matt Holliday.
If I thought either LaRoche or DeWitt were likely to continue doing about what they've done in the majors so far, I'd ship them both out for Jack Wilson. But that's the thing--you can't straight line project player performance based on 294 PAs (or 162 for LaRoche). If that's all the data you're willing to use, you might as well bet the car at the roulette table.
Do roulette tables take cars?
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