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About Jon
Thank You For Not ...

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

End of the Line
2008-07-24 20:01
by Jon Weisman

Sadly for them, these folks (and others, per Diamond Leung at the Press-Enterprise) will need to ride the trolley to Dodger Stadium ...

Luis Maza has been outrighted to Class AAA Las Vegas.

Infielder Ramon Martinez, who played for the Dodgers from 2006-07, was released from Class AAA Las Vegas.

Class AAA Las Vegas reliever Greg Miller was placed on the disabled list with lower back tightness. ...

Comments (93)
Show/Hide Comments 1-50
2008-07-24 20:18:27
1.   Bob Timmermann
We don't mourn Mark Bellhorn?
2008-07-24 20:22:30
2.   Jon Weisman
1 - I said, "and others."

I can't reprint someone else's entire blog post.

2008-07-24 20:25:00
3.   Bob Timmermann
2
Ethics are no fun sometimes.
2008-07-24 20:40:10
4.   willhite
Mark Bellhorn - now there'e a guy who knows how to draw a walk.

Career B.A. = .230
Career OBP = .341

2008-07-24 20:41:51
5.   Marty
Today he drew his walking papers.
2008-07-24 20:41:56
6.   willhite
*there'e = there's

How can a guy with such a low BA and no real power be walked that often?

2008-07-24 20:43:54
7.   underdog
Whew, quite a few transportation-themed posts here. Do I need to show a transfer to comment?

A great Colbert Report is on tonight.

But a new guilty pleasure of mine? The new Gong Show on Comedy Central. Triumph is one of the judges. Anyone seen it?

2008-07-24 20:45:11
8.   trainwreck
7
I saw last week's. I'm a big Dave Attell fan.
2008-07-24 20:45:15
9.   underdog
Mark Bellhorn! Nooooooooooooo! {shakes fist at sky}
2008-07-24 20:46:50
10.   underdog
8 - 10 PM, tonight!
2008-07-24 20:49:22
11.   trainwreck
Brian Posehn and Steve Schirripa are the other two judges, if I remember correctly.
2008-07-24 20:56:57
12.   Eric Enders
(re: Bob's 9 from the last thread)

Specifically, the two draft picks the Mariners got for A-Rod were Rene Rivera (currently one of our catchers at Las Vegas) and Michael Garciaparra (currently, I don't know, attending games at Dodger Stadium?)

The Mariners weren't very good at drafting except when they had the #1 overall pick.

2008-07-24 21:01:05
13.   Tripon
Darren Dreifort must be rolling in his grave.
2008-07-24 21:03:49
14.   Eric Enders
Regarding the lack of singles hitters these days... there are only three current players who have career .300 batting averages with less power than Tony Gwynn had (.121 ISO).

Those three are Ichiro, Placido Polanco, and... Juan Pierre.

If you make the threshold a .150 ISO, you get to add Michael Young, Joe Mauer, Derek Jeter, and Sean Casey to the list.

If you make the threshold .182 (George Brett's career ISO), you add Pudge Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, and Garrett Atkins.

2008-07-24 21:04:24
15.   Tripon
Doesn't Ichiro have power, but chooses not to use it on a regular basis?
2008-07-24 21:16:06
16.   The Trolley Dodger
12 We used to see Michael Garciaparra playing for the 66ers when they were still a Mariners affiliate. He's bounced around a bit (Phillies, Orioles), and is now with the Huntsville Stars (Brewers AA).
2008-07-24 21:17:57
17.   The Trolley Dodger
http://tinyurl.com/MichaelGarciaparra
2008-07-24 21:19:26
18.   The Dude Abides
Diamond Leung's blog post says that Pierre will bat leadoff when he returns:

http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/prosports/mlb/dodgers/

2008-07-24 21:19:48
19.   KG16
65 (from the last post) - yes, I was kidding.

15 - I remember hearing something about that. Not entirely sure what it means.

2008-07-24 21:19:53
20.   Strike4
I have will power, but choose not to use it on a waffle cone.
2008-07-24 21:20:05
21.   jtrichey
15 It's become one of those "common knowledge" things that enough announcers have said enough times that everyone seems to believ that Ichiro could hit 30 HRs if he wanted to. I honestly don't believe it. Joe Morgan probably believes it.
2008-07-24 21:23:22
22.   The Trolley Dodger
15 21 http://tinyurl.com/IchiroHRs
2008-07-24 21:31:03
23.   KG16
22 - I'm calling "sample size!" on the Ty Cobb story. Three games do not a career make.

But ultimately, I guess the question is, what is most important for the team to win each game?

2008-07-24 21:35:34
24.   Tripon
21

I was thinking more like twenty homers, but okay.

2008-07-24 21:36:45
25.   KG16
23 - and for the record, I'd take Ichiro over Dunn. Cobb and Ruth, I'd probably take Ruth. But then the career averages of Ruth and Cobb were not as far apart as Dun and Ichiro.
2008-07-24 21:39:28
26.   silverwidow
Tony Delmonico hit TWO jacks tonight for Ogden. He's lighting up the Rookie ball pitching overall.
2008-07-24 21:40:03
27.   silverwidow
James Adkins made his Double-A debut and was really bad.
2008-07-24 21:44:25
28.   Tripon
They're showcasing James Adkins, but apparently he still wants to be a Dodger.
2008-07-24 21:47:17
29.   silverwidow
Hu is sitting out tonight. Maybe something in the works?
2008-07-24 21:47:31
30.   Tripon
That and Dunn strikeouts makes him a liability. Yeah, he might get a HR off of you, but you're also get him to strike out three times in a game. Ichiro's has a decent chance of going 5-5 in a given game.
2008-07-24 21:53:16
31.   overkill94
30 An out is an out is an out
2008-07-24 21:53:46
32.   Tripon
http://highschool.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=825031

A highschool football team is trying to develop a new offense that uses two quarterbacks at the same time and all eleven players are eligible to catch the ball. (Actually, the Japanese did something similar over 50 years ago((American Football is relatively popular in Japan, certainly not as popular as Baseball or Soccer, but more like the Germans love of American Football)), but that's the Japanese so they don't count I guess.)

2008-07-24 21:55:03
33.   Tripon
31 Except when its a rally killer. Who are you more afraid of if you're a pitcher? Dunn or Ichiro?
2008-07-24 21:58:04
34.   Flonne
29

Uh-oh. I do not like the looks of that.

2008-07-24 21:58:50
35.   KG16
31 - strike outs, double plays, and triple plays are the only outs a player can make that do not allow the offense to advance. A fly ball to right field with no outs and a runner on third is much more valuable than a strikeout. A ground ball to second on a hit and run is better than a strike out.
2008-07-24 22:20:42
36.   Jon Weisman
I recommend ignoring the new Jon Heyman bit on the Dodgers at SI.com.
2008-07-24 22:21:34
37.   unlazy4sports
35 - Yea, but a strikeout is better than a groundball to 2nd with a runner on first. Just ask Loney. =)
2008-07-24 22:21:48
38.   KG16
36 - is that reverse psychology?
2008-07-24 22:22:34
39.   Bob Timmermann
36
That's like telling a kid he can make any wish of his come true if he stands in a corner and tries to not think of a white bear.
2008-07-24 22:25:48
40.   Tripon
Wow, that said absolutely nothing new, and was written worse than a typical Rosenthal article.
2008-07-24 22:27:10
41.   Tripon
Actually, the one thing I did get from it is that Ned's gone no matter what and Logan White is the de facto front runner for the GM job in the off season.
2008-07-24 22:37:24
42.   kinbote
Prediction: Sweeney will hang-glide [or parachute] into Dodger Stadium tomorrow night during pre-game introductions. Pinch-hitting specialist activated!
2008-07-24 22:39:46
43.   trainwreck
36
That article made me happy. I don't want us to make a move.
2008-07-24 22:43:02
44.   Jon Weisman
38 et al - I'm nothing if not sincere.
2008-07-24 22:56:52
45.   LoneStar7
36 nothing too surprising, the sad truth that buy or sell, we are still stuck in mediocrity
2008-07-24 22:57:32
46.   LoneStar7
45 well buy or don't buy i should say
2008-07-24 22:58:42
47.   StolenMonkey86
Am I the last one to notice that the picture on Dodgers.com for Dodgers en Espanol replaced Penny and Andruw with Billingsley and Kemp, in the same poses?
2008-07-24 22:58:59
48.   silverwidow
I enjoyed the article, too. It does sound like Logan will become The Man this winter, which would be fantastic.
2008-07-24 22:59:55
49.   silverwidow
47 Wow. I'm speechless.
2008-07-24 23:00:32
50.   silverwidow
Their heads were pasted on. Weird.
Show/Hide Comments 51-100
2008-07-24 23:01:41
51.   silverwidow
50 On second look, maybe not.
2008-07-24 23:02:53
52.   trainwreck
47
My friend told me about that today. Good sign for Kemp, I guess.
2008-07-24 23:15:42
53.   Bob Timmermann
There's some doings transpiring in Dayton.

And they weren't pretty.

https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1067389.html

2008-07-24 23:21:17
54.   NWdodger
Anybody else wish Logan White would start his own blog like DePodesta? The Padres must not work him very hard because the guy answers about every question people ask him.

http://itmightbedangerous.blogspot.com/

2008-07-24 23:32:50
55.   Eric Enders
54 That's good for the Padres, though, don't you think? It makes fans think that they're actually communicating with the front office, and it allows the team to explain the rationale for its moves in a way that the Dodgers under DePo were unable to do effectively.

I'm guessing that the Pads think the time DePo spends doing the blog benefits them, or they wouldn't have him do it.

2008-07-24 23:48:45
56.   Linkmeister
That Heyman article sez McCourt is unhappy with attendance and revenue. I went looking and couldn't lay my hands on attendance numbers for MLB or the Dodgers specifically, but seems to me the team is up where it usually is at this time of the season.

With an under-.500 team, how many fannies in the seats (tm Reggie Jackson) can the guy expect?

2008-07-24 23:52:36
57.   kinbote
56 I think we're #3 for home attendance behind the Gotham City teams.
2008-07-24 23:54:09
58.   trainwreck
Looks like Vujacic is close to adding his name to the list of players going overseas.
2008-07-24 23:54:33
59.   Linkmeister
Found the attendance stats at ESPN:

http://tinyurl.com/6ac383

The Dodgers have the 4th highest home attendance in MLB at 2,206,905 for 49 home dates.

Frank, your greed is showing.

2008-07-24 23:59:28
60.   Eric Enders
Starting next year Dodger Stadium will be by far the largest stadium* in the majors, right? I can't imagine McCourt will be happy with anything other than being #1 in attendance.

(*Oakland, Minnesota, Florida, and Tampa Bay would be bigger, but they artificially reduce their capacities by not selling certain seats.)

2008-07-25 00:00:21
61.   Tripon
59 Numbers are slightly down from last season. Mind you, this is the first loss for McCourt in attendance since he came to L.A.
2008-07-25 00:04:52
62.   Linkmeister
61 Well, as I say, field a sub-.500 team in the midst of a gasoline price expansion...

I paid $4.38/gallon for regular last Sunday.

2008-07-25 00:14:50
63.   KG16
62 - $4.38? that's a deal. I've not seen anything below $4.49 in a while
2008-07-25 00:20:58
64.   Tripon
I always found the location of Dodgers stadium as odd. Its not in Downtown, and Echo Park is almost the boonies of the L.A. districts.
2008-07-25 00:21:40
65.   Tripon
63 Its $4.23 with cheap Arco gas here in Torrance.
2008-07-25 00:23:42
66.   Tripon
Hmm, wonder if the new price increase for parking at games is what is helping keeping people away. I know there's a promotion for $2 tickets, but if its going to take me $15 to park, that isn't worth it.
2008-07-25 00:25:41
67.   Eric L
62 I figure even with my fuel efficient Civic, it would still cost me about $15-20 in gas to get to the stadium from where I live. Couple that with the parking and I'm out at least $30 before even buying tickets.

My brother and I used to have a 15 game plan when we were both single. The last time we bought one was in 2005 but parking was still $10 and gas was in the $2 range.

Getting married changed my lifestyle a bit and it is far more responsible than cost for me not going to more games, but I'm not sure that I would be able to afford it even if I was single.

2008-07-25 00:26:41
68.   trainwreck
60
Plus all those other stadiums are dumps. At least it is always easy to get a seat in Oakland.
2008-07-25 00:27:06
69.   Linkmeister
63 That's Oahu. On the Neighbor Islands gas is much higher.
2008-07-25 00:28:56
70.   Linkmeister
The AAA Hawaii Islanders couldn't make a go of it once the landlord (State of Hawaii or City of Honolulu) raised parking to $3; it only cost $2.50 for a GA ticket.
2008-07-25 00:33:22
71.   still bevens
This article about Pierre in the LA Times tonight doesn't make a whole lot of sense. This was my favorite part:

And the Dodgers could certainly use a spark plug. Although they are 11-9 without Pierre, the Dodgers have hit .253 -- slightly below their season average -- during that span, scoring two or fewer runs six times.

What does Pierre being in the lineup have anything to do with the rest of the teams batting average?

2008-07-25 00:41:58
72.   Eric Enders
I pay $3.93 here, meaning it would cost me about $377 to drive to Dodger Stadium and back.
2008-07-25 00:43:48
73.   Eric Enders
71 Come on. He makes the team go. You know the drill by now.

He also gets on base an awful lot. Makes his teammates better. Works hard. Provides a spark at the top of the order.

2008-07-25 02:29:55
74.   Eric Enders
It's always interesting to see what the Dodger beat writers find to write about when they have to scrounge up a story on an off-day.

Dylan Hernandez chose Juan Pierre. Tony Jackson chose Don Mattingly. Diamond Leung chose Matt Kemp. Advantage, Leung.

He also threw in a "Bison" reference.

2008-07-25 03:03:07
75.   trainwreck
I did not realize Kemp had 22 steals. That is a ton for a guy that can lead the team in home runs.
2008-07-25 04:53:52
76.   Ken Noe
36 Too late. But that's okay, as I agree with 41 and 43 . As for the Rosenthal comparison, remember: Rosenthal gets his information from vendors. Heyman relies on the people selling T-shirts outside the stadium.
2008-07-25 04:58:16
77.   Terry A
I liked Baxter's rationale that the Dodgers miss Pierre because even though Leadoff Kemp has been on base much more often than Leadoff Pierre, the Bison's strikeouts are unacceptable. Since Pierre never strikes out, he's the better leadoff hitter. Brilliant.
2008-07-25 05:09:35
78.   D4P
77
.290 OBP + groundouts + flyouts >>> .390 OBP + strikeouts
2008-07-25 05:53:26
79.   Suffering Bruin
77 78 The offending paragraph, in full:

Although Matt Kemp, who has batted first most often in Pierre's absence, has a .393 on-base percentage and a .532 slugging percentage in the leadoff spot -- both far superior to Pierre's .327 and .318 figures -- he has also struck out nearly a third of the time, and only six of his 22 stolen bases have come when he was batting leadoff.

Okay, let's give this paragraph a rewrite.

Although Matt Kemp, who has batted first most often in Pierre's absence, has struck out nearly a third of the time and has only six of his 22 stolen bases while batting leadoff, he also has a .393 on-base percentage and a .532 slugging percentage in the leadoff spot -- both far superior to Pierre's .327 and .318 figures.

The words, they barely changed.

2008-07-25 06:02:03
80.   D4P
79
Not only that, but the .327 and .318 figures for Pierre are his season figures, not his leadoff figures. His leadoff figures are these:

.294 and .290. Even worse.

Not only that, but 27% of Kemp's stolen bases were as a leadoff hitter, while only 22% of his ABs were as a leadoff hitter.

Not only that, but stolen bases are a stupid way of measuring leadoffhitterness anyway, especially when you're slugging .532 as a leadoff hitter.

I can't believe people get paid to write this stuff.

2008-07-25 06:02:47
81.   Doctor
79

The way the times has it makes my head hurt.
It's... it's... inconceivable.

2008-07-25 06:14:46
82.   Doctor
"He's got speed, he's got everything," said Mike Easler, the former Dodgers batting coach

I dont even know what to say about that one... This is/was our hitting coach?

2008-07-25 06:18:05
83.   D4P
Few Little Leaguers, never mind nine-year major league veterans, enjoy being on a baseball field as much as Juan Pierre

[Insert joke here]

2008-07-25 06:22:03
84.   D4P
That's more than two weeks ahead of some doctors' estimates -- but not a moment too soon for the Dodgers, who clearly miss Pierre's speed at the top of the lineup

Clearly. I mean, we've only scored 4.75 runs/game since losing Pierre's speed, compared to 4.09 runs/game before losing Pierre's speed.

2008-07-25 06:43:57
85.   Ken Noe
McCourt's apparently not the only owner spoiling sportsriters' fun by arguing with his GM about trades; White Sox meanwhile want pitching and a "lead-off hitter" if they move Cabrera. We have one of those!

http://tinyurl.com/6htz5v

2008-07-25 06:54:36
86.   Uncle Miltie
84- what's the old adage? It's not how many runs you score, but how you score them. We want the guys on our team to be playing the game the right way. Juan Pierre best exemplifies how to play old school, traditional baseball. He's a grinder and there's nothing more to it.
2008-07-25 07:46:04
87.   JoeyP
Has anyone seen this blog?
I ran acrossed it as I tried to find that Las Vegas Sun article about Ned from this past week.

www.firenedcollettinow.com

2008-07-25 07:51:49
88.   D4P
87
Excerpt from the FAQs:

Even some casual baseball fans know that most of Uncle Ned's deals go about as smoothly as Joe Torre's face

2008-07-25 07:55:45
89.   jasonungar07
to 4th place we go:

"I hope that I can add a little bit more to the lineup," offered Pierre, who said his knee feels fine two days into his comeback. "I don't get caught up in trying to do too much. I just do what I can do: get on base and score runs and play good defense. Wherever that leads us, it leads us.

2008-07-25 08:10:29
90.   Disabled List
The Jon Heyman article is nothing but innuendo, rumor and speculation.

Quite the diligent journalist, that Jon Heyman.

2008-07-25 08:16:35
91.   Jon Weisman
Just wasted an hour of my life. New post up top.
2008-07-25 08:16:59
92.   cargill06
91 what does new post up top mean???
2008-07-25 11:11:24
93.   Mike De Leon
59. Are you, or anybody for that matter, really surprised that FM is sweating attendance? Let's face it he couldn't afford to buy the Dodgers, his net worth at the time of sale was only 450 million, and was rammed down L.A.'s throat by duB. He's up to his eyeballs in debt to Fox so needs every dime he can get to make the payments to them and make payroll, not just for the players but for all the employees.

74. The times sports writers, well it seems like most sports writers not just those with the times, are incredibly ignorant as far as sports go, think plashke. You'd think they'd at least learn a bit about the sports they cover but that would get in the way of the facts, as they see them so why bother.

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