Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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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
JJJ alternative Clayton Kershaw will be recalled to start Tuesday's game in Denver, various reporters are reporting.
In the meantime, I just have to say, I'm worried about the Rockies. Yes, the Dodgers had a huge day Sunday, but a sweep by Colorado - which just swept Pittsburgh - would put the Rockies only three back of Los Angeles.
* * *
Update: From Josh Rawitch at Inside the Dodgers:
LaRoche will play the entire series...Nomar just a little achy, which is why he's out...Kershaw could be up again soon according to Joe Torre and when he comes up, he's likely up for the rest of the year...Jason Johnson will be the long man out of the bullpen going forward...Sweeney's activation is on hold and we'll have a plan for him by the time the road trip is over...we're looking at a weekend rehab outing for Penny and an early August return to the bigs.
Los Angeles is once again Land of the Minotaur.
A little.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415160/
You are a noble sports fan.
curse the god, slay the beast
lol
I think it is not overstating the case to say that Andy LaRoche's career, to a certain extent, is riding on each at-bat he has tonight. For the first and perhaps last time, thanks to DeWitt's flailing, the door has creaked open a tiny little bit. If he hits tonight and keeps on hitting, he may become the Dodgers' third baseman for a decade. If he plays poorly tonight, it could, for all we know, be the last genuine chance he ever gets.
No pressure, Andy.
If LaRoche can put together a good day we'll see 3 LHP's in a row starting Weds. One shining moment Andy. This time it counts. You gotta have heart.
A big game could of course help LaRoche, but I don't think doing so would lock him in. A lousy game keeps him where he is - occasional starter. And either way, he's still trade bait.
Of course, it's hard to make sense of what the Dodgers are thinking. The press reports seemed to suggest that Matt Kemp never took a pitch in his life before Sunday's ninth inning.
Of course, it's hard to make sense of what the Dodgers are thinking.
There are reports that other general managers have this problem as well.
vr, Xei
Unless you mean Ruddy Lugo.
To clarify, I don't think a big game tonight would lock him in -- it would lock him in for tomorrow. And a big game tomorrow would lock him in for the next game. Et cetera. Five good games in a row and he probably gets himself a couple of weeks worth of starts. He's at the point where his chip stack is low and he's all in, and he needs to double up about five hands in a row.
If he has a poor game tonight, on the other hand, I can see him becoming something significantly less than an occasional starter. Such as the guy who gets sent down to make room for Sweeney. Or the guy who gets traded for John MacDonald.
Speaking of Kemp, I am really like him as the lead off man.
I just meant that they gave up a couple prospects for a guy that is primarily going to be back up.
Would have liked to see Nomar's hot bat continue to sizzle in Colorado. With Stults and Wells the ball will be flying. Last time we say the Rockies, Corpus couldn't get anyone out. He has righted himself so it won't be as much fun getting into their underbelly.
Come on Andy, make us proud, we need your bat now. All in all an excellent last 24 hours.
Man, the Giants really could've scored at least one halfway decent prospect for him, couldn't they? Maybe not.
Unless Johnson comes in in relief.
1. Those who walk a lot of batters.
2. Fly ball pitchers.
3. Pitchers with lots of movement on their breaking pitches.
Entering play last July 21, the Rockies were 49-47 and 4.5 GB both the Padres & Dodgers.
Also, the Dodger had the best record in the NL as late as July 23, 2007 (tied with Mets).
Kemp, RF
Ethier, LF
Martin, C
Kent, 2B
Loney, 1B
Jones, CF
LaRoche, 3B
Berroa, SS
Stults, P
LaRoche is starting! So is Kent, you'd think he needed a day off, and Berroa, not Izuna. And Jones....
I gave him my leftover blue raspberry Jolly Ranchers (blech).
I think in Torre's mind, he is resting DeWitt just as he is resting Nomar...
Two of those came in seemingly meaningless situations, when the Dodgers were far behind. Both times, however, the batters following Kent rallied to win the game.
That said -- don't tell me anything. I'm only through disk 2 of season 2 on Netflix.
Happy 6th DT!
He's like an 15th century Italian art teacher. Whether the paintings sell or not is not his business. He just wants you to do the brush strokes correctly and achieve his standard of beauty. An 0-4 with good swings, defined visually as far as I can tell, is better than a 2-4 with ugly swings. Vladdy must give him nightmares.
For these reasons I don't think I ever finished a Jolly Rancher.
At least we miss Cook. Have to think the D's can score some runs on the 3 pitchers we see- I expect high scoring games- advantage Dodgers b/c of the pen.
Now if only Loney were hitting 4th and Kent 5th...
Great to see what LaRoche might do today. Been there, seen that with DeWitt for awhile.
How are you getting sticky?
I'm with blue22 here. I don't get how putting a Jolly Ranger in your mouth is geeky.
Ring Pops, now that is geeky.
Jolly Rancher Beer
http://candyaddict.com/blog/2007/06/01/candy-recipe-jolly-rancher-beer/
I swear they got from the Simpsons, even though Homer says Skittles.
I nearly choked to death on one. I have no idea where my dad learned the Heimlich Maneuver, because he just punched me in the back.
Not for some people.
UPDATE 2: LaRoche will play the entire series...Nomar just a little achy, which is why he's out...Kershaw could be up again soon according to Joe Torre and when he comes up, he's likely up for the rest of the year...Jason Johnson will be the long man out of the bullpen going forward...Sweeney's activation is on hold and we'll have a plan for him by the time the road trip is over...we're looking at a weekend rehab outing for Penny and an early August return to the bigs.
My jaw just hit the floor. Awesome news!
Willy Aybar just hit a mammoth home run.
Not "we'll activate him." "We'll have a plan for him." Like, becoming a hitting coach in the GCL. Or being frozen in carbonite.
Should we be nervous for stults in colorado, i feel like he could get knocked around a bit in coors
Without Maddux in '06, there's a good chance the Dodgers don't win the division. He may not be now even what he was then, but he's had some good starts this year.
He's not a #2 any more, maybe not a #3, let alone a #1. But he might fit in at the backend if Lowe is traded. Penny is iffy. If Stults falters, Maddux might be a better answer.
Maddux is about as PVL as they come, in the good way. His savvy rubbed off on the Dodgers in '06. It should again.
Maddux as mentor to the Minotaur....has a certain ring to it.
It'd be great if Maddux would agree to be a swingman, which if he's as team-oriented as he's been described, he might. Unlikely for a future HOF, probably. But...
There could be far worse things than Maddux in the middle of a key game of a key series, throwing 8 pitches and getting 3 outs for a few innings (or more), bailing out a struggling starter. And he's always prepared mentally and knows the league, both additional advantages.
The Dodgers don't need help selling tickets, but increased attendance when Maddux pitched at DS probably would go a long way toward paying most of his salary.
And IMO, when he retires the Dodgers should do whatever they can to hire him as roving pitching coach, or something, for as long as the team can keep him. IIRC, he does live near LA.
I don't think the Dodgers will make a play for Maddux, especially with Penny and perhaps Schmidt due back within the next few weeks.
The old "light a fire under the struggling incumbent infielder" trade. Shades of the Dodgers acquiring Robin Ventura and Tyler Houston!
Schmidt?
(Laughs out loud for several seconds)
Schmidt?
(Laughs more loudly)
Schmidt?
Are you feeling as confident about that chuckle as you were when you proclaimed that Mr. Kuo would never ever throw a meaningful inning again for the Dodgers?
I'm also expecting Darren Dreifort to come out of retirement soon, so he's an option. He's only 36 you know.
If he needs another surgery I'd expect him to retire.
Amazing that he's only 36. I hope he can walk without pain. As far as stuff goes he is probably a top ten Dodger pitcher. To bad it rarely translated to amazing pitching.
Schmidt
Lowe
Penny
Maddix
Johnson
Wake up Colletti, it was just a bad dream
Yes, another jerk headcase is what we need.
worst pitching contracts (last few years)
1. zito
2. schmidt ($47 million for 1 win)
3. pavano
(a) to give him confidence to get into the lineup AND (b) to boost his numbers a bit to make him more attractive in a trade. I know a 3 game series is small sample size, but he certainly has a better chance to show his power potential off here.
I remember when Bob laughed at me for saying Edwin Jackson would amount to something.
i agree with him.
I was being sarcastic. Though, I still got hope for Edwin.
I think he's right, just was curious how confident he was that he's right.
Wow, really.
Yes, he's already amounted to something when you consider the state of pitching in baseball.
"what is this rule that shall not be named?"
You have to drink a gallon of olive oil to find out.
I'm so happy for this site and wish Mr. Weisman the best of luck in any future endeavors.
Yay Bison!
On that note, here's Chuck Tiffany's current stats. http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=29152
Not to put a damper on anything, but I do remember Wilson Betemit playing at 2 base up in Colorado like a week or so before he got traded.
Yeah, same here.
Trading him for Danys Baez wasn't.
I'm not talking about whether Edwin Jackson was a mistake by the Dodgers, though now that you mention it, is there anyone here who supports the idea of trading Jackson and Tiffany for Danys Baez and Lance Carter?
Yuck. I think I just broke the unmentionable rule.
Real cool elitist.
He doesn't do road games east of Colorado, except on rare occasions in recent years.
One of the few games I can clearly remember.
Vin said he'd be ticked off if he was a Rockies fan!
We've all been there.
Something like that among other stuff said.
Maybe the heat is making him agitated. =)
Vin said that the fans should be really mad that they're paying to watch a pitcher like Wells that hasn't pitched since April.
At least the pen has been spared the last few games.
Now you've loaded 'em for Grampa Snipes, though.
As I have likely said here close to 50 times, the DH in pro ball can bat only for the pitcher.
It's different in college ball.
1) Jackson still had an option year at the time he was traded.
2) No, he wasn't the next coming of Doc Gooden. So what? He was still young and could have amounted to something (and probably would have given his age). Leaving him in the minors was the best way to find out what that was.
3) The lousy haul on the trade was the result of Ned systematically undervaluing young players.
I'm amazed that there's even any debate on this point.
Vin calling Kip Wells a "batting practice pitcher" and wondering if fans can get their money back.
It just sounds so weird this stuff coming from him.
Actually, I wonder if Kip Wells' hand is still bothering him.
It depends upon the level of pedantry I can display.
--
Hey stop it folks, you're torturing those of us who don't get Vin!
(The Rockies' announcers aren't bad at all, mind you, but... I miss Vin.)
Excellent reverse jinx, Jon. :)
I'd check but I'm not at my computer.
This is cool - I may actually be able to go back and finish my "Spaced" review early now without any distractions.
Did I mention Patton Oswalt is on several commentary tracks, and so is Quentin T?
Yep, April 26 at home against the Rox.
I hear you man, MK has had a great last few games.
Interesting.
Who mentioned that Paul Wilson game?
[Takes a bow]
All true, but if the Dodgers have proven over the last 4 or 5 years, its that the Dodgers can produce young pitching, starting or relieving. And its not as if the Dodgers are going to start a rotation filled with young pitchers, because they're constantly looking to sign veteran starting pitching despite their strength. I just don't mind loosing Edwin Jackson because we have better options than him.
The Sporting News Record Book lists the batter as "Miguel Cabrera, Milwaukee."
Jorge Posada and Jermaine Dye each had 2 double innings last year.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/COL/COL199508180.shtml
Bet you're glad that I nixed the trade for C.C. now huh?
Love, McCourt.
evident in playing for vegas.
7 pitches out of the strike zone and he gets the K.
We better get a few more runs, boys.
You're up EIGHT runs :(
Seattle? They're going to need a 3rd Baseman once they deal Beltre.
That's the only way they can get back in this game IMO.
come on blue!!
I think I'd do the deal for Beltre.
Man he really does have a micro strike zone.
http://weblogs.variety.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/07/21/tcaleno1.jpg
Re: 262
Hey, Buffalo Jones, is there enough room on this board for the two of us? :)
BTW, the start to this game does not stink.
http://tinyurl.com/63cmgf
He looks like the child of Rod Sterling and Wilford Brimley.
That's a scary looking goatee.
man that is wrong on SO many levels.
I'll stick with LaRoche, thank you very much. Hopefully by the end of this trip LaRoche will impress enough that if they do deal him his value will be high...
... actually, I hope he impresses enough that Torre chooses to play him.
So you guys think La Roche is gonna be traded or what? sorry man, I'm still a little woozie from exercising.
I see Delwyn Young is warming up in the bullpen.
Haha! Now that was funny!
I wonder when he might start feeling about the Dodgers letting Jones go out there day after day.
If McCourt was true to his words, he'd release him.
love,
Andy
Just clogging the bases
Well that certainly is a bold prediction.
It is nice to have someone else with discipline like Ethier. I feel so much more comfortable knowing the hitter won't chase junk all the time.
So, can we just bring in Young, move Kemp to center and ride it the rest of the season?
I just don't.
It's his swing. His hips fly open way, way, way too early. HIs entire backside is half way out the box.
Yeah, but comeback player of the year stats for Jones might be 7 HR, 48 RBI and a.235 bA.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_heyman/07/21/heyman.scoop/
Adenhart, Kendrick, AND Saunders or Santana? Sheesh.
vr, Xei
Well he's not getting traded during the season.
Forward it to Andruw Jones, please.
Tex would make a lot more sense for the Dodgers.
What magical hold does the East Coast hold for Andruw Jones?
Or is he like Gerald Henderson who felt that Western Conference basketball in the NBA wasn't "real" basketball?
Sounds like Kuo time! (only half kidding)
Why in the world did he say that?
He is not being showcased...or if he is, it is for our own management.
The older Gerald Henderson.
I figured that, but what was his reasoning?
Yeah, I just meant he won't get traded with those demands.
Because Gerald Henderson was one of the most evil creatures that ever had cells with a double helix shaped nucleic acid in them, i.e., a 1980s era Celtic.
Martin had a double on Friday.
Maddux has only played on the West Coast since 2006. He did pretty well playing in Chicago and Atlanta.
I just don't think Andruw Jones stinks because he is upset about getting stuck in traffic.
You mean the Dodgers are going to give Kent another 9 million to play next year?
Me too, except about the sense part.
Holliday says take that 1%!
And there goes the shutout.
(Is he really nicknamed "Big Daddy" or is that weird Rockies' announcer thing?)
And wow, Andruw Jones got a base hit.
The pre-inning laser surgery did the trick.
But it's not! It's 11-1!
And LaRoche's average is above .200 now! (.208)
Atta boy Andy!
Yeah, I agree, Speier must be tired at this point.
The announcers were saying they really don't have a long man, and that Mark Redman was the closest thing to one but he was recently DFA'd.
That's a huge reason why I feel this situation is baffling to me.
I forgot about the King of the NL West.
I'm not assuaged completely, but just in case, I think I like the odds of LaRoche staying.
I hope I'm right!
---
Ned Colletti did at least one midseason trade every year since his hire. Please, oh please, don't make a bonehead trade this year involving any of our youngin's. I beg you, Ned. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don't make.
Only Andruw is missing an RBI, too.
Only 7 outfielders in MLB history have 200 PA with as bad an ops+ as Jones had beginning the day. Only 3 have more than 210 PA.
What does history teach us? That either Jones will start to hit better very soon, or we won't have Andruw Jones to kick around anymore...
Also, wow. Way to go Ian.
GM's gotta show they're doing something for the "fans", and the Owner. Although I wonder if McCourt is expecting to trade anyone of value on the current team to get a hitter. McCourt did nix the proposed C.C. trade.
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1999/B10030ATL1999.htm
Snipes just pointed to the bullpen and said, "I'll take the chump." And in comes Falkenborg.
Royals - 0
At least the Rockies aren't the only ones getting beaten like a rented mule.
Start laughing!
But I'm surprised about Stulze, for he was one of a very few or our pitchers I thought could throw strikes.
For my taste Torre messed this up, if I were Stults my ego would be crushed. Even if Falk gets out of it, I don't like the move.
It's nervous time.
Isn't Stults' ego going to be crushed more after he gets sent back to AAA?
Great job by Joe going to the bullpen so early with a 10 run lead. Not like we're going to need these relievers later on in the series.
I thought the second play by LaRoche was a good one, in that he showed good reactions to make that play even though the throw was off.
DeWitt's strength has been his plays on bunts, so his charging the ball and throwing on the run perhaps would have been better served on that play. But I'm not sure he would have made it anyway.
560 I can hear Plashke typing it now.
Russell's got 3 hits as does Kent.
Boy, there's no Rule 9 on AZ Snake Pit.
with 2 outs I would have let him [Stults] work on 1 more batter (maybe 2) So your saying you would have pulled him Jon?
And Jon and I were there:
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/380625.html
J Lo!!!
J Lo!!!
vr, Xei
The Dodgers convert the two point conversion.
LOL
No RBI for Andy.
we can dream can't we :o)
vr, Xei
I still remember the front page of ESPN.com the day after the Indians shut out the Yankees 22-0. The picture was of the scoreboard.
--
And here's Ozuna, on cue.
--
I was liking the Rockies' broadcast until they introduced the dreaded {cue deep booming voice} SIDELINE REPORTER {echo}. Sigh.
He would bat 8th.
Now if only he could pitch, too.
I should add that Mondesi missed the cut because he only had 1 3B in 91 PA in 1993, but then had 5 or more triples in all six full seasons with LA.
"Colletti, who initially said he was looking for a shortstop to replace the injured Rafael Furcal, has said he's expanded his search to include third basemen.
Among the ones rumored to be available are Cleveland's Casey Blake and Seattle's Adrian Beltre, which creates the appearance of a showcase performance for Andy LaRoche, who Torre said would start Monday night and possibly all three games of the Rockies series."
This has probably been posted, but I came in at post 633, so if it has I will hopefully be forgiven.
The number one thing that irritates me about the Rockies this season is their propensity for loading the bases and leaving them that way.
Tonight's triple was Loney's first three-bagger at Coors Field.
Lo how the mighty have fallen. I guess he switched places with LaTroy Hawkins.
The last Dodger to have 4 XBH was Pierre, last year in Washington.
Obviously this was before he started closing.
I will never shake your hand.
The top mark is 19.
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/sKRS
The guy who didn't win NL Player of the Week that time. They gave it to Shawn Green!
That's going on the obelisk.
oh man, I still remember you posted something about going to the batting cages...
you didn't paint a pretty picture Bob, sorry.
It wasn't Italy.
A fitting post number for Broncos talk! :)
I literally don't remember that game. I had to be reminded by a jumbotron clip that Hee Seop Choi hit 3 HRs against the Twins three years ago.
I believe they ran the streak to something like 14 consecutive innings over 3 games.
Can't argue with that.
And the Rockies did it on the road, not at home.
It is because I did not mention Al Davis. If I did, then 666 would have been perfect.
I guess they thought he wasn't gonna survive the bigs, but he's proven other wise.
seriously man, what's up with that.
Wade has been on the roster since April 24.
We better score a few more runs!
They did it TWICE in 1965.
for some reason I like Troncoso to close up shop but we shall see.
What're we gonna do wit ya?
9/28/06: LAD record 9 RBI (16-11 win)
5/3/08: 6 RBI (12-7 win)
tonight: 5 RBI...so far.
Maybe Loney can pitch the 9th. He's dominant here.
The Dodgers broke up a Pedro Martinez no-hit bid with a one-out triple by Antonio Perez and Jayson Werth followed with a homer. The Dodgers won 2-1.
Heh. Your ears must have been burning.
Now we're talkin' I'm sure it will happen eventually but everything has to fall into place though.
Where's the justice?
This is no drill people!
The alert has been downgraded to yellow.
http://tinyurl.com/5a3bb2
I'll be there!
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/Kjak
I'll let other people handle that one.
Especially since Jon already answered the question.
Or is Ardoin starting tomorrow?
Courtesy of 663 , 2002
Park is probably matched up with Kershaw tomorrow, meaning he comes in if/when Kershaw can't go long. I would have thought Kuo might have that role, but in he comes now.
786 - Or come in for Kershaw, or relieve after Johnson, or come in for Kuroda. I believe we'll see everyone this week.
A: 32 in 4 games.
Thanks.
Pierre's noggin.
you know what though it is Colorado so I can kind of see Torre's logic on this one.
I'm part of it. :o)
Broxton is the kind of big dude I'd use as head of my security team.
if I was rich.
Torre's not tak'in his pedal off the metal till the D's are over .500
vr, Xei
Torre - a manager?
Saito - not a bad choice, but the dude's already 38
Penny - not really one of the more popular Dodgers and having a poor year
Beimel - Troy from WV must have voted like a million times
So when do we get Ethier, Kemp, Billingsley, and/or Loney bobbleheads?
Dodgers have a terrible marketing department.
That's sort of like the Pirates picking up Matt Morris last year.
vr, Xei
These things are decided before the season starts. It makes perfect sense to me.
8 run lead
3 outs to go
Dodgers ....
Also, I would pay for a Chan Ho Park Bobblehead.
Not until the game is over.
removable rug included.
{Shake head cartoonishly}
Huh-what? Oh, baseball. Never mind.
Dodgers are currently tied for sixth place since 1956, most runs in a game without a home run, NL.
The top mark is 19.
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/sKRS
Because after Ned is fired, McCourt will just let them split GM duties.
Stand down.
vr, Xei
Right now I'm munching on some Jeff Kent toast.
The Dodgers' team ERA is really taking a hit tonight. Looks like the Borg will get the win after all.
Whoa.
Who is this guy and what has he done with Kuo?
Wouldn't be a visit to Denver without one.
Dodgers Win!
Kemp, Ethier, Martin, Loney!
We win!
Sheesh.
Can't remember the last time I was feeling nervous in the bottom of the 9th of a game in which the Dodgers were leading by 6 runs.
Wasn't pretty but we're still tied for first. I'll sleep well tonight.
He just kind of stretched out his arm he didn't throw any balls I don't think.
So, what were the highlights?
Weird, fun game, and thanks for the company all.
1-3, 1B, 2 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R
"Lets see what we have in Laroche before the deadline"...they probably have a 3b trade on the table...that the mentality.
Ned's trade deadline push is on with Kershaw, Ozuna for Maza, Sweeney on ice...
It seems he's under orders not to trade talented youth away.
Laroche should be safe.
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