Johnny Bench is doing Haray Caray at the podium.

the perceived intention that O'Neal was included as an attempt to boost the game's popularity

What? A celebrity's image/likeness/endorsement being used to boost popularity?

I never expected anyone to reference Shaq Fu. Is TWISM next?

Jon, if you're truly looking for reverse psychology, may I suggest: Kershaw XI: Ken Noe's Baseball Career at SHAWsville High. One for four, 1 E, 1 SB.

One for four, 1 E, 1 SB

Comparables include:

Pierre, Juan

Yikes, I'd never even heard of Shaq Fu. I'm still recovering from having knowledge of "Kazaam."

And because of this we get a GTA4 ad, too.

--

Heh. Re Toy's comment at end of previous thread. I know, I always find it a bit comical that players expect God, whichever deity they believe in, to come through for their team. If there is a God, I would expect He/She has better things to do than help the Cowboys.

6
I never get any of the ads you do it seems.

How about "Kershaw XI: UnderdogShanks the Kick (and there's no) Redemption"?

The Nationals have scored 2 runs in their last 30 innings.

7 - I have special browser software that gives me babes and video games. Sorry, I'm sworn to secrecy.

I have the GTA4 ad, and I remember Shaq Fu. Came out toward the end of his time with Orlando.

Man, Colorado's staying hot. Stupid Rockies, be gone with you!

Jon should sell naming rights to future Kershaw game threads.

If you want to play Shaq Fu, you can download a rom of it, and a SNES emulator on something called the internet just to see how bad it is. And while Shaq Fu is a bad game, I don't know if it can beat the Atari 2600 E.T. game. So bad, it has it own special garbage dump and helped destroy the Atari as a gaming console.

Yes, I believe "ET" is generally picked as the worst video game of all time. It was a rush job that turned out to be a total disaster.

--

What, no one's excited about the Arena Bowl? Go SaberCats!

zzzzzzz.

6 I would expect He/She has better things to do than help the Cowboys.

Like help the Dodgers?

16 Yes, my son.

15
My step-brother-in-law used to play for the SaberCats, and (I think) won a few championships with them.

I never watched a game.

I remember trying to play that ET game at Best, or maybe it was Gemco (whatever eventually turned into Target). All you could do was try to climb out of a pit and then keep falling down.

19
Best was originally called Jafco.

Activision games for the Atari were in general far superior to Atari-made games, anyway. I loved 'em as a little kid.

21

Pitfall was the best.

Joe Sheehan weighs in on Blake:

Trading two prospects of this caliber for 200 at-bats of Casey Blake is a ridiculous waste... The Dodgers could improve their situation by playing Blake in the outfield in lieu of Andruw Jones and/or Juan Pierre, as those two are among the worst players in baseball in 2008, and Blake isn't. Playing Blake, or if you prefer, the outfielders ahead of LaRoche is actively hurting your team's chances of winning. This is nothing new for the Dodgers, who have come to value experience over performance, but it is a sight to behold.

i remember shaq fu, but not et. i've had some incredibly bad video games over the years. my folks still have the old NES my sister and i used as kids, with 40-some games. i'm sure there are more than a few terrible games in that mix.

FAVRE is its own category on the ESPN ticker. Has a single player been a category before?

25
Bonds.

Can someone explain to me why so many teams are interested in Jack Taschner? Jack Taschner!

Now the next two obvious manager moves...now that DeWitt's down and playing 2b.

1/ Sitting A Jones
2/ dropping Kent out of the cleanup spot.

Can Torre face these two vets and sell 'em on what's best for the team?

Favre is to ESPN as Buckwheat is to SNL.

O'Malley portion now beginning on ESPN Classic.

19 - wow, Gemco, there's a name I haven't heard in a very long time.

29
"You're unce, tice, fee times a mady, and I nu-u-u-u-ub nu..."

Here is a review (with rule 1 violations removed) I read about Shaq Fu, the only time I'd ever seen the title outside DT.

Another terrible game is Shaq Fu. The most retarded storyline ever - Shaq goes to Tokyo for a charity game, whereupon he enters a "kung fu dojo"... in Japan. It looks like the writers mixed up which Asian mystique they were going for. The mysterious old master ™ working there tells him he is the one from the stars and must go rescue the boy Nezu from the other realm. So Shaq, being a basketball player, goes to the mystery land and uses kung fu (that he learned in Japan) to beat up the otherworldly creatures to save the boy. And every time he wins he says something like "That was easier than sinkin' a free throw, dawg!" To remind us he is Shaq, blaq, or both.

The hit detection is awful. Controlling the game feels like trying to tug a huge block of lead (encased inside an even huger iron safe) using a piece of twine wrapped around the latter. The stock cast of "fantasy characters" doesn't help much either.

I picked up a copy of Shaq Fu for two dollars a couple years ago.

I paid way too much.

25
I believe Clemens was a category a few months back.

ESPN might as well give Favre a channel instead of just a category.

"That was easier than sinkin' a free throw, dawg!"

Given Shaq's track record, I would think many, many things fall into that category.

since we're on the video game thing, anyone know where one might be able to download classic video games onto their computer? And, of course, one would be willing to pay for such intellectual property.

31

Glad I'm not the only one who remembers.

John Perrotto, who writes for Baseball Prospectus, had this gem today- "The Rays are in the market for help at multiple positions, and are eyeing Fuentes, Street, and Giants right-handed reliever Tyler Walker, along with Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent..."
Please, Ned, just turn off your cell phone. Part of me wants the Dodgers to finish off this season like the last, just so they can choose from Brian Cashman, Logan White, or Kim Ng as their next GM.

35 They could call it "The Cuatro."

37 Just type in roms. And er, just remember its not actually illegal until 24 hours has passed.

My grandmother used to take me to a store in the OC called TG&Y to buy Star Wars action figures.

37
Just search for emulators on Google.

37 Not the same thing, but here's a web based emulator

http://www.nescafeweb.com/

I didn't know what Shaq Fu was until I googled it an hour ago. I just remember hearing the term, so to speak.

There was a Gemco near DeSoto and Ventura, near where I grew up in Woodland Hills. Went there a lot.

Wikipedia tells me that Jafco and Gemco were two different stores.

19 . 31 . I remember stopping in at Gemco on Ventura for gas with my dad during the last gas war before the Energy Crisis. I think it was 1973. The price at the pump wa $0.24 per gallon.

If this was Mortal Kombat, I hope Kershaw pulls off a fatality on the Nats today. But I hate that series so I'll say this is Street Fighter, and I hope Kershaw pulls off multiple supers, and powers up his Super Hadoken.

Wasn't there some creepy commercial with a baby with a man's voice interviewing people and one of his catch phrases was "Shaq Fu!"?

That was considered very low, even then.

48
The new Mortal Kombat is Mortal Kombat vs DC Comics. That looks interesting.

Diamond:

LaRoche optioned, Sweeney activated.

52 That's a good joke there.

52. Wait, seriously?

Don't shoot the second messenger--LaRoche optioned, Sweeney activated

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

Just trade him. I'm sick of this garbage.

53 Not a joke.

The Dodgers have optioned third baseman Andy LaRoche a day after doing the same to Blake DeWitt. Pinch-hitting specialist Mark Sweeney is back on the active roster. The 38-year-old is hitting .094 with three RBI in 60 games with the Dodgers. LaRoche was batting .203 with two homers and six RBI in 27 games.

Thoughts?

Sounds like the Dodgers are ready to trade him, and couldn't bother to save him a place with the 25 man roster before they did it.

Found the commercial: http://tinyurl.com/5jyv3f

I wonder why they didn't send him down with DeWitt.

Sam,

X. Nady could have been roaming an outfield near you. Apparently, Bucks approached Nats before Yanks but price was too high. Nats management thought what does X. Nady do for us? Answer: not much.

aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Well, at least LaRoche can get plenty of at-bats now instead of rotting on the bench behind Blake. It does make our bench pretty dang weak though. Bring on John Lindsey!

57 . Pay no attention to my feeble attempts earlier to defend Colletti... for anything.

Who wants to become an A's fan now?

65 Already there.

Who's our back up 3rd baseman? Nomar? Ozuna? Martin?

ned is completely in "save the job" mode.

63

Thanks for inspiring me to finally listen to Band Of Horses the other day.

Las Vegas infield:

1B: whomever
2B: DeWitt
SS: Hu
3B: LaRoche

We can all move over to Catfish Stew, don't even need to leave the Toaster family.

68 Can we be in murderous rage, can't wait for the idiot to be fired mode? (In before questions of what the difference is from the past six months.)

gggaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Hu is 2 for 2 this afternoon.

I have nothing to add, other than to join the chorus of outrage.

sorry... still in anger step

69 You're welcome. Which album did you listen to? The debut's great, but the latest one is a notch lower in quality - both good though.

Did you guys really want LaRoche just sitting on the bench this whole time? It's not like they would sit Pierre AND Jones to give Blake any time in the OF.

I do wish they would just scrap the whole Sweeney lovefest and give someone else a chance though.

...and there was much rending of garments.

70 But Terry Terry Tiffee blocking LaRoche now!

OPS+ of our bench.

Ozuna: 70
Ardoin: 46
Berroa: 40
Jones: 36
Sweeney: -18

It can't be that hard to find someone who could do better than that is it?

80
And yet, Ned Colletti gets paid millions of dollars to be a major league General Manager.

When DY comes back, they'd better DFA Sweeney's sorry arse.

Via Tony Jackson.

Joe Torre said this morning that, ``Right now, we're going with the hot hands.'' Andruw, of course, isn't that right now. Basically, what that means is that Andruw has to wait until someone else cools off until he gets back into the lineup on an everyday basis. ``It means we're trying to win as many games as we can,'' Torre said. Joe also said there could be matchups, such as certain opposing pitchers, that he'll still want to play Jones against. ``(But) we faced two left-handers (Friday and Saturday), and I saw some good at-bats here and there. But there is still a lot of stuff he has to get better at. I'm not speaking out of school, because Andruw feels the same way.''

79 Tiffee can play 1B/OF/DH

Why does sending Andy down make it more likely that he is to be traded?

I know he has nothing left to prove down there, but if he is still in LA's future plans, as Colletti said yesterday, shouldn't he go somewhere he'll actually get to play?

He missed a lot of time due to injury this season, combined with riding lots of pine in LA, he's going to finish 2008 with very few at-bats at any level.

81 I don't think you can only blame Ned for this move - Torre certainly had to buy into it. LaRoche does not need any more at bats at Vegas - not to mention he can help this team now, even from the bench.

85 Normally I'd agree, but we really need a bat off the bench.

We need people who actually attend games to start chants. McCourt might be the only owner that would actually take something from that.

How can I find out what the lowest BA is for a non-pitcher with more than 50 PA?

77

I got both. My favorite songs so far are "The Funeral" and "Cigarettes, Wedding Bands."

1st K for Kershaw.

86
I blame Ned for Sweeney's continued presence on the roster. I don't see how you can keep Sweeney and your job at the same time.

80 If it weren't for the fact that Andruw Jones used to be a good hitter, that might be the worst bench in the history of ever. It probably is, anyway.

Curveball has some bite at sea level.

LaRoche should be getting consistent ABs. He's not that valuble as a pinch hitter. I think he's good in Vegas for now since Blake is here to play 3rd. Activating Sweeny though shouldn't happen. Oh well.

Its okay, Kuo's the first PH off the bench anyway.

Just catching up:

Sweeney for LaRoche?

Primal Scream ...

Would be awesome if we could just trade managers with Washington.

I'm glad Laroche was sent down. They weren't playing him so maybe he'll hit a bunch of homeruns down there and force coletti's hand.

Reunion time in Pittsburgh...The Brothers LaRoche..or is Laroche?

As Joe Sheehan said, LaRoche should be at third and Blake in left if anything.

Nomar nomars the ball.

Good news, he didn't hurt himself...yet.

Still catching up:

The real outfield starts again today!

May it ever be so for the remainder of the season.

Looks like Kershaw isn't fased by the stolen base.

102 Nomar is a verb?

Two things: a) this ump doesn't like curveballs and b) I hope Ned and Joe don't panic by trading for a SS after that error by Nomar.

Edit-I lied, three things--great range by Casey! Well, OK, but he did get the out...

Yah, see ya in a month and a half Andy, or when Nomar (error this inning) and/or Kent are out on D/L or when Sweeney proves he still is not a hot hand after recovering from injury.

Not hoping those guys get injuries, better if they get/stay hot, but just being realistic.

Meantime, LaRoche, DeWitt & Hu you guys play like champs in (hot hot hot) Las Vegas!

Two pitches. Good job.

one pitch, one fly ball. Isn't it the job of the leadoff man to work the pitcher?

So San Diego and Colorado finish off sweeps today. The Dodgers could sweep the Nats and only gain ground on the Giants this weekend.

In a way, I'd rather have Andy in AAA playing than not playing. Three-quarters of Logan White's 2009 LA infield will be working together. But on the other hand sending anyone down for that stiff Sweeney is criminal.

99 Yeah, needing lefty bat on the bench I assume is the reasoning. Press release says: "The left-handed hitter appeared in four rehab games with Triple-A Las Vegas from July 10-13, going 4-for-16 (.250) with a walk and two runs scored."

BB for the Bison

Bison patience!

He could make a decent leadoff hitter.

Bison lead off at bat!

This better mean that Delwyn is actually hurt.

Way to work the walk, Bison. Better than the joke batting before you.

Bison speed!

HORRRIBLE throw! LOL

Pierre should take some notes.

There's our leadoff hitter Kemp doing the things a lead off hitter should!

Bison distracting on the basepaths!

The Nat's pitcher's name reminds me of my job.

Matt Kemp draws a walk, steals a base, advances to 3rd on an error.

Too bad he doesn't know how to lead off.

Russel with a crappy at-bat.

125 I blame the high socks.

Man, Kent's numbers are horrible.

125 Maybe we should send him to AAA and get a PVL to take his place. Someone who knows how to have good at-bats.

Too bad Martin trying to crush rather than go oppo there.

Kemp got a 3 base walk! Making up for lost time. That Mattingly is amazing.

Either that or I don't know where to look for the steals/errors that put him on third in Gameday.

Pierre would've distracted the pitcher enough to allow Martin to hit a deeper fly ball. Kemp has much to learn.

Awesome at-bats by Martin and Kent

Unproductive out by Martin. :(

Kent shows Martin how a PVL fouls out.

2 quality AB's, martin and kent were both late on this guys fastball.

Back to back ridiculous at bats by Kent and Martin. Moreso by Martin.

Since Jeff Kent is all about winning, he should tell Torre to move him down in the order.

Made even worse that I had to watch that little cockroach playing 1B put both outs away.

It's all my fault!

My comment from earlier this morning:

Am I missing something or do we have no left handed hitting players on the bench today? Of the 13 position players on the active roster, only 3 hit left handed and they're all starting. We don't even have Stultz off the bench anymore.

Dodgers really deserve to lose when they continue to make poor decisions.

If you want the best 25 guys on the roster, you dont put LaRoche in Vegas, and Berroa/Ozuna/Sweeney on the active 25.

Just difficult to root for this level of incompentance.

Man, Casey Blake is going to have no RBIs with the way Kent bats.

At least Kershaw's doing okay.

JAKFK

140 If the Dodgers continue to lose, they'll only get more and more PVL's, no matter who's fault the losing is.

Paint - down and away - down an in - 95 mph - love it!

blake comes in, meloan/santana go away? jones and pierre play, ethier sits? laroche goes down, sweeney comes up? and this is "the best chance to win" or whatever it was torre just said?... okay, no hysteria here; the dodgers get zero more dollars from me until a new owner/GM comes in... mccourt is the georgia frontiere of baseball.

Sit. Down!

Nomar is a verb?

Yo nomo.
Tu nomes.
Ud nome.
Ellos/ellas noman.
Nosotros nomamos.

That's why they call him the Minotaur!

148 Haha.

148

What about nomais?

149 - He's from Crete?

151 We don't use vosotros here.

Loney Power.

LONEY!!!!

#7 - James Loney! Home Run!

I love watching Loney hit - such a sweet swing.

Suffering Bruin was supposed to be at today's game, but he's been at the LA Coliseum all afternoon wondering where everybody is.

Nice, J-Lo.

And thats all the runs Kershaw is going to get. Enjoy it young man.

The Amoeba squees.

I apologize for bringing up Kershaw last week when we were talking about Roy Halladay.

I have come to my senses.

Loney booooooooooooooooooombb!

159
Mr. Kershaw is not of this world.

Now we are getting into our best hitters off righties--A bit late in the order, eh.

146 So far, McCourt has not moved the Dodgers to the Midwest, nor was he ever a nightclub dancer. At least I hope not.

Now we are getting into our best hitters off righties--A bit late in the order, eh.

Hey, Blake fits right in!

What a productive GIDP. Only a PVL could be so productive on a GIDP.

Ouch. That's a bad K for you kiddo.

163 intended for 152

165: true, but someday he may give his aging, rich wife too much xanax before she goes bodysurfing.

The positve infulence that Mattingly has had on Kemp and Loney is very impressive.

Why Blake why?

At least Loney homered. The Washington's lineup that may be all that is necessary. :)

170 - I was hoping for a fantastic back story, complete with a labyrinth and golden thread. Like, the most challenging scouting trip ever.

I thought that only happened to us.

Great DP!

6 pitch inning.

171
Remember to include the two mystery men in wetsuits seen exiting the surf after the deed too.

Love them 6-pitch innings.

Thats 2 runs in the last 33 innings for the Nationals.

174
It's all there in previous threads - if you can find it.

178

Okay, were there really men in wetsuits, or is that just part of the myth?

Wait one cotton picking minute! why is Sweeny still with the Dodgers Organization???

Remember those two weeks where it looked like Pierre had a good approach at the plate? That was awesome.

Vin: LaRoche "too good" to just sit on the bench.

183 Why do 11 percent of American believe that the world is flat?

Bison Speed!

Bison speed strikes again!

BISON SPEED! my goodness!

What a freaking gamer!

I like Matt Kemp.

Why does Radio Shack ask for your phone number when you buy batteries?

Andy LaRoche is too good to be staring for the Dodgers.

That Kemp kid should be hitting lead-off.

Russel Martin - My second favorite player - by a nose - drills the frozen rope to the wall.

192

They just think you're cute.

196 Makes sense

The Old Man gives it a ride.

Kent is killing the Dodgers.

The Marlins defense is absolutely atrocious.

I remember when Nancy Bea commented on DT, last year I think. Said she has lots of time for reading during the games now.

Here is the Sweeney "re-activated" story on Dodgers.com [ http://tinyurl.com/6gso6q ]

Sweeney, a left-handed hitter who ranks second in baseball history behind Lenny Harris with 169 career pinch-hits, is hitting .094 (6-for-64) with three RBIs this season, including a .120 mark (6-for-50) as a pinch-hitter.

you can only hope for the best man cause we're gonna need good hitters of the bench.

What comes first. Kent with a sub .300 OBP, or a sub .200 BA?

199 Just because his numbers suck doesn't mean he's killing the Dodgers. You don't know enough baseball to realize how much he's helping the team with his leadership, good at-bats, and ability to do the little things.'

You'd expected a good to great pitched game from Kershaw today facing the Nats but we shall see.

199 Can you really complain about a deep fly ball?

This is the best I've seen Kershaw's curve look so far.

That curveball is really Public Enemy #1 - Vin

Trivia answer: Mike Marshall?

Where the hell was Pierre playing?!?!

Where the hell was Pierre?

Darnit, I Steiner-ed that ball Kent hit, was so sure it was out of here. I guess Vin did too for a second.

Just catching up here, but, Nats or no, Kershaw looks great so far (so far, he adds, knocking on wood, too).

Yay Loney.

Boo, Sweeney. I flew into a brief Hulk-like rage earlier about it but am calmer now. Like others have said, it's probably a good thing for LaRoche to play every day right now (and I like the idea of either he or DeWitt getting some time at 2nd, too), so I'm okay with that. EXCEPT Sweeney has been so awful unless he's really back to the PH he was a couple of years ago, I don't think this strengthens our bench one iota. I guess we'll see. Hopefully if he's back to being a world of suck, he'll be gone, when DY comes back.

He didn't even break when the ball was hit and then seemed to jog after it - horrible effort by the so-called hardest-working guy on the team.

211 My guess: he was on his cell phone behind the imaginary score board. Except he was calling to donate a million dollars to his favorite charity.

209 That's my guess although he was known more for throwing a ton of innings than necessarily being in a ton of games. I'm sticking with it though.

I'd missed about half the game so far - has Kershaw thrown the change at all?

213
I love the whole veterans give more effort non-sense. Jeff Kent never runs out a ground ball and rarely does Jones. Jones never seems to act like he cares.

206 I'm saying he shouldn't be in that position in the first place. The cleanup spot should go to Nomar, or Loney, guys who are actually producing right now.

216 Not yet.

I can't understand why you'd give up some decent prospects for a guy [Casey Blake] who's contract ends at the end of this season.

Ok, 2 out - let's get the out and resume on offense.

220

I could've used your support yesterday. Where were you?

211

evidently to deep...

220 Because barring winning a playoff round, Ned's job ends at the end of the season too, so what does he care about next year? Heck, leaving Ng/White's cupboard bare would add an extra twist.

220 Its all about containing damage. Any trade that doesn't involve Kemp, Loney, Martin has to be seen as a win. I didn't include LaRoche because I'm pretty sure he's gone by the trade deadline.(Personal opinion only.)

Hu has another single and is 3 for 3 thus far.

Hmm. I really want Kershaw to get confidence in that change. The curve is amazing but if it's just a predictable FB and the curve he's going to get in danger. I guess a cutting fastball also helps. Won't complain about today so far though.

227
I concur.

224 If that's true, probably all the more reason why McCourt has him checking with he and White (and Ng?) before trades, lest he really go all General Jack D. Ripper on us and blow the team to Kingdom Come.

222

BH had some SICK tickets & called Bob (gawd is he TALL!) Greg Brock & my self for yesterdays game.

me & Bob were a one two punch against 99 cent beach balls, that was awesome!!

Crowd looks awfully thin today.

It was Mike Marshall. Only Dodger and Expo I could think of.

Not that I'm rooting for him today, but Jason Bergmann has also been a tough luck pitcher this year.

Damn, Nomar gave that a ride, too.

229
So our owner has to make sure our GM is not sabotaging the team? Brilliant franchise we got here.

229 - "Do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, Dodger Dogs? Dodger Dogs, Mandrake? Children's Dodger Dogs!"

230

Well, while you were out having the time of your life I was getting beat up by the other kids for not embracing our new bearded overlord. Hope it was worth it.

Blake's beard reminds me of the Dos XX ads.

Watch Torre praise Blake for his patience.

237 It's already been established that Russell Martin 50 years from now will be the Dos Equis guy.

232 There was that frail Martinez kid.

234 In all honesty, I can't see how Ned still has his job. I would have fired him when I saw Gary Bennett throw.

237

My dad was saying the same thing this morning.

237 - The Most Interesting Rent-a-Third-Baseman in the World?

still no score in Frinco BUT the bases are loaded for the Snakes & no outs!

"I don't always play baseball, but when I do, it is Los Dodgers."

234 - Yep. I'm also just imagining some of that without facts, but given what other writers have been saying about the organization in "disarray" - which is probably an exaggeration, but that's where some of that perception comes from. It's hard to know for sure, but McCourt really could have made up his mind on Colletti already and is just not wanting to make a move mid-season this time.

243 - No better way to put a Northern California's teeth on edge than by saying "Frisco."

246 I'm sure it was intentional.

245

He seems to always wait until the offseason to do his managerial firings, doesn't he?

236 Oh come now, oh winged one, you were not the only one upset or worried about the trade here. Even those of us who were mixed or copacetic about it were sad to lose The Guitarist.

246
I've pretty much lived in Bay Area all my life and yet to meet a person that gets offended by Frisco. Maybe this a generational thing.

249

Quit stepping on my me vs. world outlook.

236 Hey, I was helping.

246
It's "The City" - not Frisco!
The Giants represent all that is Frisco so well.

237 Blake's beard reminds me of Mark Hendrickson. He's even wearing Lurch's old #30.

Lurch II?

246 - Or Frinco.

248 - True, I keep forgetting DePodesta was hired before spring training. So, yep, right on schedule.

HAHAHAHAHA got too Greedy!

252

Yes, you ended up leading the initiative, which I appreciated.

Clutch!

I'm surprised Nomar Garciappara didn't get hurt there... (I'm glad) but look at Loney showing of his gun.

Nice!

What was Milledge doing there, exactly?

Nice throw, Loney.

Milledge's slide looked like it broke Nomar into about 50 pieces.

Crap Zito is pitching for the Gnats? sweep indeed.

that was actually a pretty good change-up by Kershaw.

254 The most interesting man on the Dodgers should be, you know, more than a rental.

What's Kershaw's pitch count? Dodgers usually pull Kershaw after 5 innings when he's not pitching well.

Dbacks up 2-0 on the Zitos.

Feh!

Giants will be all hungry when they come to LA, too. Stupid, worthless team.

Nice play - looked like Garciaparra tweaked the left knee - wish he was indestructable like the Bison - who is Tougher than a Robot made of Nails.

261

All the king's horses and all the king's men have been dispatched and are on their way.

266 They don't have food in Frisco?

Thanks to Milledge (and Loney), no run scored there.

Steven Drew hits a single 4-0 Snakes.

254 Oh wow, he totally looks like Hendrickson. Weird.

245 248 Frank McCourt fired Ned Colletti today.

All he did was put his team a game out of first place.

All he did was try to acquire the best pitcher in baseball.

All he did was try to trade away a clubhouse problem.

All he did was favor winners over wanna-be's.

Juan Pierre has a ring in a box.

269 Frisco, Texas has no good food.

But of course I was speaking metaphorically about the Giants and victories. Not that being hungry has helped the Nats much so far this series.

So Nomar is hurt?

273 I like him.

Their pitcher is making our pitcher work.

Clayton look like he is done.

Nice at bat by the pitcher here. How about just blowing him away, Clayton?

The Old Man still does ok going to his right.

280
My right - Kent's left - Ha!

275 - Don't think so, no. At least not yet - I'm sure he'll be hurt and have to be DL'd tomorrow though.

280

His left.

Nomar needs to stay healthy until Friday.

Where does Nomar play when Furcal gets back?

285

Is that actually going to happen?

285 I will happily cross that bridge when we come to it. Maybe he just becomes a super sub (assuming Furcal really is healthy and effective when he comes back, otherwise what's the point anyway) to fill in at 3rd, 1st and SS when that happens.

285. I don't think the Dodgers is worry about Furcal coming back yet.

Nomar's done - Down the tunnel with his equipment.

Paging Mr. HU, Paging Mr. Hu ...

285 - They said September is very probable, but I am filing that one under Believe It When I See It.

254

MH to CB beard was also included in that exchange. Seriously though what has been the DT consensus on that trade?

I feel like NedCo got jobbed on that one... or maybe they want La Roche to play 2nd base next year & the Dodgers will sign Blake??

Looking at Blakes numbers he pretty much looks what I'd expected La Roche to become (25+ dinger guy)

289
D'oh!

281
Furcal's not due "back" until Sept. 1.
Of course that could really mean next week with this training staff.

Nice, the dodgers don't face Lincecum during the Gnats series.

Man Milledge just...stinks.

293 is for 285

Blakes best year was in '04 when he hit 28 home runs drove in 88 runs had a .277 BA .354 OB% .486 slg. & a 122 OPS+

This year Blake has a .838 OPS.

289 What? Are you sure? I've heard nothing from Vin and he's still in the line-up on Gameday?

Clutch hitting!

woah... Did you guys see that hit by Martin.

Insurance run!

Milledge has basically cost his team a run and gave the Dodgers a run so far.

6-0 AZ on a 2-run homer from Reynolds.

298
TV showed him going down the tunnel to the clubhouse with his gear in his arms.
Hope I'm wrong.

294 On paper in that series, the Dodgers should win 2 out of 3 - on paper. And they usually fare well against Cain (but JJJ is his opponent).
---

Doesn't Kent usually rest on Sundays anyway?

298

I saw that as well... hope nothing is wrong, he has been awesome so far.

Nomar is more injury-prone and brittle now than JD Drew ever was.

We need to play the Nationals every day. We should get some kind of Globetrotters/Boston Shamrocks thing going.

Doesn't Blake play SS, too? Maybe they should call LaRoche back up instead of Hu if they have to DL Nomar. (Jumping ahead a bit here, of course.)

307 So they should change their name from Nationals to Generals, is what you're saying?

302

Zito tops out at 85 these days so I'm not surprised Reynolds took him deep.

Reynolds K's way to much for my taste & has a really ugly swing in my opinion.

307

We could add the Reds, too.

Nomar is done.

309
Yes, except the Generals actually won a couple games. I want pure domination.

LaRoche for Jack Wilson... it's going to happen.

Yep, Vin confirming Nomar's hurt, Berroa's in. Ouch, do hope he's okay. Some stability on the infield would be nice, at least.

308 He can barely play third.

were dewitt and laroche both sent down? i've been traveling the alst coupe days, finally getting to hear the game on radio from marthas vineyard

308 Two innings at SS in his ML career, this year ironically.

Nice, Kershawk!

312 You're not a CPO by any chance?

Nice quick inning by kershaw - he needed that. Bummer about Nomar - I think it was on the tag play at third.

317 DeWitt and LaRoche are in the minors. LA is stocked with veteran goodness.

308

He looks really tall in real life but I just saw his B-R.com page & he is actually 6'2 only. Bob spits at that...

Shane Victorino just ran over Brian McCann, forcing McCann to drop the ball. Looks like a concussion.

317 Yep, both. DeWitt is getting some time at 2nd, supposedly. Not a bad infield down in Vegas!

Bet we'll see one of them or Hu soon if Nomar is ailing.

If Nomar goes on the DL I think Hu will be back up.

317

LS7 is a very humble guy...

314

Too bad they were demanding Kemp plus in the deal.

325

I like that idea, hope the Dodger think tank sees it that way as well.

319 Is CPO = Colletti Pwnage Officer?

"Hi, we're Pittsburgh's answering machine. If you're the Dodgers, please leave us Kemp, Kershaw and LaRoche after the beep and we'll get back to you with Jack Wilson soon. If you're any other team in the majors, please leave us your minor league dregs and we'll take it. Have a great day." {beep!}

I see Blake talks to himself when he strikes out. Preferable to grinning, I think.

It's pretty cool D-Jones ain't starting today.

I guess Ethier figured if he emulated Andruw he might get more playing time

ah thanks, and yes i assume we may see one of them soon if nomar's injury is bad...and agree that it could be Hu

that is a mighty good infield though if laroche dewitt and Hu are all playing together today

330
Can you blame them? I would be trying to fleece Ned all the time too.

Just came on board. How did Nomar get hurt?

329 - Heh. No, I was thinking of this bad sitcom from when I was a kid:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.P.O._Sharkey

C'mon Andre, you've got to show more than that today or you'll be back on the pines!

328

I just wanted to say "Think Tank"

"Hi, we're the Pittsburgh Pirates. You may remember us from travesties such as 'bringing Barry Bonds into baseball' and 'giving Jim Tracy a second chance at managing.'"

339 ... not to mention the scouting guy, Creech.

Come to think of it, I believe Troy McClure was their GM for awhile.

The Giants like the D'backs more than the Dodgers, because they sent Zito out today against the DBacks.

You have to admit this Bergman has pitched a masterful game with a bit of help from Kent and others.

by the way, I wanna thank LAT for those cool tix man... Really really fun night at the ravine yesterday.

... or as Dennis the Menace would say ...
Gee Mr. Wilson.

326 was that sarcasm, i'm not sure if i said something that came across as pompous but the travel day is long out to marthas vineyard..my family has been coming here together since 70s or so and its the one time a year i see all of my family together...

Okay, 'pen, let's not blow this one for Kershaw.

I should add: "We also gave Jason Schmidt to the Giants for Armando Rios."

Why are we taking out Kershaw and burning the bullpen for no reason?

Now that Shane Victorino is a gamer. You never see Juan Pierre running over catchers.

348 Torre needs to know of Chan Ho Park can pitch the 8th.

Park! Nice!

Or th e 7th. The 7th works too.

Nomar - "Irritation of his right knee; he'll be re-evaluated tomorrow," sayeth Vin.

Just saw 336 - I believe he was injured on a weird play, wherein LoDuca grounded out, put out to Loney, who then fired over to third to get Lastings Milledge who was trying to go from 1st to third on the play and Nomar took a tumble when Milledge came in to third.

Per Steiner, 'Nomar twisted a knee and will be evaluated tomorrow.'

348 Because Kershaw had hit 80 pitches and looked like he was quickly tiring.

Yikes, Chan Hop hitting 96 MPH on the gun? Just what happened to this guy when he was in Texas and San Diego?

Kuo in the 8th and Brox in the 9th should seal the game and the win for Kershaw.

Park is deal'in

What happened to Kuo? He was warming up earlier. Anyone venture to guess how "next pitcher" changes?

So when is Brad Penny(for his thoughts) coming back, any news on him?

Does Chan Ho look like he's aged even a day since 1998?

339 You may also remember them as that team that mysteriously traded for Matt Morris at 10 mil per when they were 26 games out.

From the way Chan Ho is dealing, I wouldn't be surprised if he's going back for the 8th. We have two long relievers like Chan Ho and Kuo who are better than most closers. Heeeeeeeeee.

]355]

You guys think he did it on that weird play when Loney threw to 3rd base & Nomar caught it instead of Blake?

365 - Blake had come far off the bag to field Paulie's grounder.

357

The Dodger think tank must know something we don't because with stuff like that I'd make him a starter what with Penny out & all...

365 - My bad, misread that. I thought you were asking why Nomar too the throw.

Sweeney will pinch-hit for Park.

wait, why did we bring sweeney back?

365 see 354 .

Wait, what just happened? The pulled Bergmann before he faced anyone, after he was already out on the mound? Or did I miss someone getting on base?

361
It's ok with me if Penny stays with Gary Bennett.
Would like it if Sweeney went to stay with them too.

What's the over/under on the number of at bats and hits for Sweeney for the remainder of this season?

370 A question philosophers have been struggling with for centuries. Or at least it seems like it.

371

Acta waited for Sweeney to be announced as PH before bringing in his lefty.

'Sweeney a veteran presence in the clubhouse... just 6 out of 64 this year.'

"Sweeney has to be very rusty," says Vin. Uh, he's been that way all season, Vinnie.

370 To pursue history.

there ya go sweeney

374 - Ah, right, thanks. Uh, still, you think Bergmann could've handled Sweeney...

Good to have him back.

Mark Sweeney sucks.

I really think I could strike him out myself.

Gameday makes it appear Manning pitches both lefty and rightie - release points on both sides.

What a joke.

Oh well, it's just 'cause he's rusty and he's facing a LHP.

Still... I have a feeling he's still gonna stink in his return.

Sweeney didn't look rusty at all. He's the same as he ever was.

If we do bring sweeney back, I hope he really achieves a legendary low Batting average.

Did Sweeney get any PA's in the minors?

I'm really impressed with the Dodgers' braintrust.

Mark Sweeney makes me think of the Eradicator for some reason.

Ya ever cook a bird and the meat just falls off of the bone? That's how done Sweeney is.
It's over - Dude's done.

379

Yeah, but he was at 102 pitches. Maybe Acta was setting him up for a standing O from the LA crowd.

387 for the remainder of the season

337 Cool! I'm going to check it out while Sweeney heads further into negative OPS+ territory.

Well, at least Pierre is clearly better than Jones at the plate right now, whatever that's saying.

Who Sweeney is better than is more of a mystery.

Sweeney is full of fail, as is Ned.

I can't understand using Vets batting under .200(or even under .100) for pinch hitters when they have promising youngsters hitting .200 or better. Well, its a way to get money to the players association, and that seems to be what your up from the ranks guys try to do. But its McCourts money, and you would think he would bridle at the thought.

Is John Lindsey a lefty? I think that would've been a better move for a LH PH if that's what they needed, and Daniel Zappala would've been happier.

Meanwhile Travis Denker could end up being a starting infielder for SF.

I believe that Sweeney now has the lowest BA in Dodger history, 50 or more at-bats.

Btw, you'll be happy to know I wrote a character into my baseball script who is based loosely on Mark Sweeney. I tried to make you empathize with the guy a little bit but, yeah, washed up veteran who can't admit he's washed up and blocks a kid, and plays practical jokes on kids and deep down inside hides how much he hates himself.

Krukow and Kuiper are talking about the Dodgers right now during Giants game. I think they could make better decisions about our team than Ned and Joe.

Didn't see til now that the A's optioned Murton and called up Patterson. Huh.

As much as I love Beane and all I still think he got kind of fleeced on that Harden trade. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

399 - Which makes the deal seem sadder, but I don't think Denker would have a shot at starting with almost any other team in baseball.

Dang, Kent needs to add a few reps to his weightlifting routine

Our 1-2-3 hitters are 6-of-10 with two walks.

Sigh... old man.

mix in a base hit mustache

Kent has left two men on base in all four at-bats today? Ugh.

398 I know it's a crazy idea, but Juan Pierre is LH. In all seriousness, it seems like his skillset would make him a pretty good pinch hitter. He might not be a power threat, but his speed and contact skills seem ideal for the role.

I would have loved to see LaRoche at 3B, Blake in LF, Kemp in CF, and Ethier in RF. Sweeney could have been DFA'd and Pierre could have been the lefty pinch hitter.

Ah, but then I woke up and remembered that these are the NedCo/Torre Dodgers.

Man, that's two that Kent ripped deep today for warning track/wall catches. Oh well.

Kent must want to go home and eat ice cream and get angry watching BET.

396 Missing /sp/?

401
Can you work in teammates accusing him of providing special B vitamin supplements in his history?

410 That all works for me!

At any rate, to look at things optimistically, if Sweeney continues to be terrible I still think they would eventually DFA him. (They'll have a decision to make first when Pee Wee comes back.) And if by some miracle he can actually hit again, that helps the team, too. The worst case scenario is the thought that he's terrible all year and they keep him anyway.

412 - That was mean, yet still made me laugh.

404 Kind of like the fat girl waving her trophy from the smell contest

412 LOL. And watch his Tivo'd episodes of "The View"?

354 Thanks re Nomar...

Shush! It's Kuo Time!

415 More like wait until Sept and then fill the roster with all the good looking kids from Las Vegas. (Hu, LaRoche, DeWitt, etc.) and then leave Sweeney off any playoff roster. Thus avoiding a good guy like Mark Sweeney and keeping his gamey insides chock full of vets.

Another G for Guo!

Ozuna in for JK at 2nd! He can run!

Why is Flores the Nats 8th hitter? It seems like he's the only guy who can actually hit in that lineup.

Sweet! DP again.

Berrozuna!

Only three more outs 'til .500!

Can they do it?

We'll be right back.

Berroa to Osuna. Now there is a sad pair for a team with both money and a farm system to play.

The Giants are supposedly asking for a young power hitter in trade for Bengie Molina. More power to 'em! Can't hurt to ask. I get nervous when they're talking to the Marlins, though, who have some players I'd rather the Giants not get.

424 Because they just double-switched him in. Usually he bats 4th or 5th.

Is Molina signed beyond 2008?

430 Yep. Supposedly Molina is owed $2.2MM this year and $6MM in '09, plus performance bonuses for games started as a catcher. I can see why they'd want something very solid in return. I would actually keep him if I were them though because they are weak at catchers coming soon behind him, if I'm not mistaken

431
Yeah, but if I were the Giants winning would not be my priority.

Both teams have K'd a lot today.

Let's see some more in the 9th, Ox!

431

I'm going to be really mad if a team gives them something good for that blob.

432 - Yeah, and come to think of it... if I were the Giants, I would actually trade Lincecum for Mark Sweeney, too. That's just what I'd do.

Time to roll out the Howitzer.

Is Jones playing CF or just hiking to the all you can eat pavilion?

This is when Vin makes me nervous. Maybe I am too pessimstic.

434
He's like the Rob Reiner of catchers.

"My precious goo!"

437

He's like the seagulls in SF that start circling the stadium in the late innings and pounce on the leftovers once the game ends.

C'mon c'mon c'mon, Broxton!!

I agree but isn't Molina having a good year? And has thrown out a good percentage of runners, too. He's probably overvalued, basically.

C'mon Ox!

Man, I do feel bad for Manny Acta and Ryan Zimmerman.

Congrats Clayton!

GameDay froze. What's happening?

440 - can you imagine if Dave Winfield ever played here in SF? They'd have a special PETA section.

Hello .500

Ox is definitely putting to bed the issue of whether or not he has the "makeup" to be a closer.

Big Ox Brox closes it again.

1st win for Kershaw, hopefully the first for a long run as a Dodgers pitcher.

Well, bless us, WE WIN!

First win for Kershaw!! mark it down boys...

Park it!
Status Guo!
BroxTON!

& Nice pick by the Beard!

445 - Strike out for the 2nd out and then a little ground ball that Casey Blake made a nice play to nail the runner for the third out. Which means... We Win!

.500 is ours!

Clayton wins!

Oh happy day!

Wow, that Nationals are one bad baseball team.

2 runs in 39 innings.

.500? Hi, remember me. I know it's been awhile.

What did Broxton do? How'd he get 'em out?

Yes! We reached mediocrity!

446

Haha. BTW, Molina is having a good year if you're a fan of .311 OBPs.

Of course, the Giants were outraged that he didn't make the All-Star team.

Now that's a CLOSER!

Kershaw gets his first win and is the Player of the Game per Vin.

Nice win for the Dodgers.

Nice win for Kershaw!

457 - 2 strikeouts and a ground out. Looked pretty dominating. Against the Washington Generals, admittedly, but still!

I just hope this give Kershaw the confidence to pitch well and throw strikes when he faces a half-way decent team

If we could play 162 games against the Nationals, I think we would definitely make the playoffs.

443 I especially feel bad for Acta. He seems like one of the brightest managers in the game but he's stuck with some pretty crappy talent.

Well, tactically he seems to be one of the best, it could be that he's not the best motivator or player developer.

Hello .500 my old friend. I've come to talk with you again.

459 - Heh, yeah as if getting Brian Wilson on the all-star team, too, wasn't satisfying enough. Yeah, I agree, but again I'm afraid some team's going to way overvalue him and give them somebody good. We'll see. Thank Dog the Dodgers are not looking for a catcher.

Does anyone think we ought to pass on re-signing Saito next year? He'll be 39 and due for a hefty raise, and Ox sure looks ready for the job.

Fun times. Good chatting with you all. Off to do everything I'd just procrastinated about doing for 2.5 hours.

468

I think it may not be a decision they are even forced to make.

yeah, Saito is toast...but they won't just give the closer role to Broxton unless he is lights out the rest of this year...and they all aren't the Nats

4 of 5 NL West teams sweep this weekend. wow

463

Kershaw threw the best change-up I've seen him throw ALL YEAR long today.

He went from 95mph (I think) to 83 mph (83!!) on his change, that's pretty good man.

473 but it was still the Nats

468 I think we'll sign Saito to a vet. minimum contract, and hope for the best. That or he retires. I can't see Saito pitching for another team other than the Dodgers, and I'm pretty sure he not going to try out for another team if the Dodgers don't want him back.

There's no reason not to re-sign Saito if he's available. Replacing him would cost way too much on the open market.

Kershaw's key is probably the change. If he can put his FB and curve where he wants them, that would probably be enough, but when he gets nervous the curve is high. With a decent change he could be unbelievably deadly.

If the Dodgers can go 33/25 the rest of the way they would end up with 85 wins. Would that be enough to win the division?

478 Only if ten of those wins come from the Dbacks.

479 Do you think the D'backs are going to be playing uber well the rest of the way?

474

That's true...

Seriously though, all the Dodgers have to do is play 2 games better than the D'backs and no more than 5 games worse than the Rockies to take the division.

We just gotta play good fundamental baseball & we'll be o.k. but with a 1 2 DP punch of Berroa & Ozuna it doesn't look doable.

I mean sure they can play D but we need more than that & with Nomar out now I'm expecting NedCo to make a silly move.

477 Gen3Blue
but when he gets nervous the curve is high. I didn't see him pitch but that sounds strange. Maybe it's when you get nervous.438

Manny said he won't object to a trade from the Red Sox. Time to offer them Juan Pierre, Andruw Jones, and May for Manny.

My mom asked me for some lucky lotto numbers, so I told her 4 8 15 16 23 42.

486 You left out the "kidnap Theo Epstein's family" step.

Another fine time had by bhsportsguy, Greg Brock, and I. Although we were in Section 1 of the Reserved sitting with the plebes.

Kershaw's curve is very curvy.

486

I doubt they will go for that.

Eager to see Kershaw in his next game. The learning curve appears to be moving up fast - Nats or no.

488 You think this is just part of the regular dance the Red Sox do with Manny? They're going to find out fast that life without Manny isn't a life worth living at all.

"Although we were in Section 1 of the Reserved sitting with the plebes."

I did a double take when I red that Bob, that word is used in mexico (Sinaloa mainly)

the only reason I remember that is because this really cute girl I worked with(LAX) used to say that a lot.

Stuck in the Indianapolis airport refreshing gameday as often as the wifi will let me. Getting easy updates on the Blake trade and the sweep wasn't easy in Logansport, but I made due. (where the paid MLB App sorely disappointed, SportsTap)

The day I sneak my way into a game with Bob/BH et al will be a day to celebrate, to be sure. I'll have to start networking at the picnic.

I'm in an internal debate as I have to decide between giving up a day of work on my last essay of undergraduate life at UCLA but getting free tickets to Chavez Wednesday. A student was not meant to finish in the summer.

The Sox aren't actually going to trade Manny. He'd be great for left field here, but he's not getting traded.

With the level of inflation baseball has seen the last few years, a lot of teams are looking awfully silly for not plucking Manny off waivers when they had the chance.

489 Why pluralize "plebs" in that context?

497
Because I didn't know which word I was spelling. I think I used the term for first year military cadets.

Or I may have conflated plebs with proles.

I was gonna post Correia splits but it's not even worth it, he's been bad all year long, hope the Dodgers take advantage & get a W against him tomorrow. On the other hand Matt Cain has been very consistent the last 28 days with a sub 2.00 era.

at least we're not facing Lincecum.

Can't we just face Zito? I want the Dodgers to face Zito. I feel the Giants own us this.

"Torre hints at more moves by Dodgers" From Dodgers.com -> [ http://tinyurl.com/5ffkf4 ]

Looks like Ned & the Dodger brain trust want more bullpen help & are willing to either part with more rooks or (hopefully) pay for some bullpen help, you guys decide.

501
If only Steve was around to give him the smackdown on trading for middle relief.

We trade for bullpen help, and for what reason? So Cory Wade can be our official mop up guy?

Middle relievers we've traded for:

Danys Baez
Lance Carter
Scott Proctor

You'd think there'd be some lessons learned in there.

Could Paul LoDuca outhit Angel Berroa?

Rays interested in...Kent???

http://tinyurl.com/5qzyxo

500 Do you remember the last time we faced Zito?

That was pretty cool, I never thought I'd see Randy Johnson throw an effis pitch but he did it today.

Danys Baez and Lance Carter were all-stars. And Baez was a closer when we traded for him. What was Colletti supposed to do - look at Baez's WHIP? Scout him to see if he threw a breaking ball on 2-strike counts? Scout him to see if he threw a breaking ball?

489 At no time in the last 2 games did I think the Nationals had a chance to win the game.

so...not to bring up a sore subject or anything...but how's ol Andy enjoying riding the pine now with PVL Casey ahead of him instead of rookie DeWitt....

506 The rumor was knocked down by the guys on Dodger Talk since they had heard about it before someone mentioned it on a call.

Nomar was interviewed after the game, said his knee was pushed by the sliding Milledge (yet another reason for Greg Brock's friend to dislike him) on the back end of the double play. Nomar said it wasn't sore right now and if its okay tomorrow, he should be able to play.

504

Ned just isn't good at making moves I guess.. but I seriously hope they don't do anything to damaging (long run) for the team.

So watch either Santana & Meloan be great for cleveland for years to come.

for a rental in Casay Blake. ugh.

Are the Rays the type of team to totally ignore stats?

511 Didn't you hear, I have not read through this thread but I assume they have talked about it, LaRoche was optioned to Vegas when Sweeney (not going get me to name the wrong one again) was activated off the DL.

511 We needn't worry about that, since Andy will be getting plenty of at-bats down in Vegas. Hopefully he won't take any of those off and will show himself to be a gamer just like Blake. Maybe he can work on his beard. Meanwhile, we've got Sweeney's fearsome veteran bat to take his place.

Some guy on Dodger Talk said that certain players...certain slappy players...should bat in the nine hole, with the pitcher batting eighth. This player should not get so many at bats because of a low on base percentage.

Martin should bat leadoff because of his on base percentage, and Kemp should hit in the middle of the order because of his slugging percentage.

Apparently, this was "outside the box" thinking per the half-wits on the radio show.

Peter Gammons just ripped into Manny claiming that while everyone else on team is worried about winning a ring, Manny's just worried about his contract.

are you telling me that now LaRoche and DeWitt are battling for playing time, only at AAA now?

I think DeWitt is at 2B.

519

DeWitt is going to play 2B.

519 LaRoche is at 3rd, Hu's at SS, and DeWitt's at 2nd. The only people getting screwed here are Maza, and Terry Tiffie who were the regular 2nd baseman and 3rd baseman at Las Vegas.

519 More like DeWitt bumping Maza and LaRoche moving aside Tiffee.

But Manny already has a ring.

A ring in a box.

--

Btw, that eephus pitch by Randy Johnson today was hilarious. The look on Fred Lewis' face was priceless.

522 so then, who has the easier path back to LA....DeWitt for Kent, or LaRoche for Casey...

knowing the Dodgers will probably find a way to screw things up and keep Casey for next year....

524 Don't I have that copyrighted ??? ;-)

525 Co-GM's Ng and White will not re-sign Casey, who was barely off the plane before he said he wanted to go back to Cleveland to finish his career.

527 I am sure Ned will more than be up to that challenge

so then, who has the easier path back to LA....DeWitt for Kent, or LaRoche for Casey...

Tough call. That's some major combined facial hair that those two youngsters are up against.

519/522 - What Tripon said. You could also read much earlier comments for more Dodger thoughts on it. Personally, because LaRoche will be hitting every day as opposed to riding the pine, I didn't see it as the wrong move per se (especially with the idea that one of he or DeWitt will play some 2nd which helps the team next year). It's the idea that Mark Sweeney is back in place of... anyone, that bugs me. I seriously hope he's gone when Delwyn is healthy or replaced by someone at least once he's proven beyond all doubt that he's done.

So basically next year, we're going to have a really cheap infield(unless Furcal is resigned) and a really expensive outfield with Juan Pierre, and Andruw Rudolf Jones hanging around our necks.

I think one of them is traded prior to 7/31

I don't know I just want my Dodgers to win (bone head moves aside) is that to much to ask for?

when Delwyn is healthy he will join the others at AAA

So it took 10 starts, but Kershaw finally gets his first MLB win. Lets hope there are about 299 or more in his future.

This just in. Casey resigned at 3 years/30 million.

Ned: Frankly, the beard Casey had forced me to throw in another 3 million per year. That thing is just so manley.

531 Co-GM's Ng and White will move Pierre in the off-season if possible, and DFA Jones. I have complete faith in Co-GM's Ng and White.

517 Then there was a caller who had to defend said imaginary player prefacing that teams would love to have his speed in the lineup.

Okay, lets examine how a certain player scored his three runs this weekend.

Friday, he got a hit, on the first pitch Kemp got a hit, Martin got hit by a pitch, Kent lined out, Nomar singled in two and then Loney hit a fielder's choice to score the third run.

Saturday, he got a hit, Perez, never throwing over to first nor did said player try to steal, Perez threw 2 breaking pitches and missed and then on the third pitch (no throw over and no attempt to steal), Kemp homered.

Today, he got a hit, Kemp hit a fly ball single, Martin singled him in.

And I did not see any attempts to try and steal a base this weekend.

534 DY is out of options.

534

Can't. Out of options. You're making me look positive today.

524

yeah I thought the effuss pitch was pretty cool especially because of who throw it.

don't be surprised if McCourt brings in someone from the outside as GM

537 When asked who will play left field the next season. Co GMs Ng and White responded "oh yeah...that".

534 He can't be optioned, he has to stay, so I think Sweeney has about 2 weeks to show something.

540 then he'll be packaged with someone else prior to 7/31

Torre and Ned won't part with Sweeney....he's a gamer! after all, he gave up his uniform number for Kershaw...what a team guy

I hear Bill Bavasi is available. There's some serious Dodger lineage right there.

Lasorda would probably push for that.

Casey Blake is Treebeard from Lord of the Rings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Treebeard.jpg

546 Don't really want the M's leftovers. Think Oral Hersisher might want another shot at the GM role? At least a front office position, under a Kim Ng reign?

546

Fred Claire has a deadbeat nephew who just got laid off from his telemarketing job and is looking for work.

Would anyone pick up Young if he was DFA'ed? He's not the best looking prospect.

DFA Young and keep Sweeney....if that isn't Ned in a nutshell

what is an effuss?

People who call me a cynical bastard should come see what it's like here near the trade deadline.

550 The Nationals!

547 Very nice.

548 Imagine if Jim Bowden was available. Lasorda would have kittens. That's his boy.

549 Was hilarious.

It's an eephus pitch.

553 and where might that be

NEWS ITEM:
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Athletics reliever Brad Ziegler recorded six outs Sunday to set a major league record with 27 scoreless innings to begin his career.

The 22-year-old right-hander, who began the season in the minors before being promoted to Oakland on May 30, gave up two singles in two innings against Texas but was otherwise flawless. He struck out three and started an inning-ending 1-6-3 double play in the eighth before giving way to closer Huston Street.

Ziegler broke the previous mark of 25 innings set by Philadelphia Phillies right-hander George McQuillan in 1907. Ziegler's scoreless streak also is the third-longest by an Oakland reliever.
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I seem to remember that Fernando started his 1981 rookie season with several consecutive shutouts - I assumed that the record wasn't his because he must have given up a few runs during a "cup of coffee call up" before his official rookie year. BUT I just checked baseball reference and for his September 1980 call up before his rookie season, he pitched 17 innings for an ERA of 0,00 - so why doesn't Fernando hold this record ?

555 ... and that is?

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

MLBTR are saying the Rangers would be making a serious play for C.C. in the offseason. With Milton Bradley, his best friend, I can't just dismiss this one even with the bandbox they have in Texas.

552 An eephus is a slow blooper pitch that goes high in the air, sort of like a slow-pitch softball pitch except thrown overhand. A pitcher named Rip Sewell used it to become an All-Star in the 1940s. Other pitchers like Bill Lee and El Duque have broken it out every once in a while.

557 He gave up unearned runs.

They asked a bunch of Dodgers about their favorite baseball memories. Standard ten second soundbite stuff.

Then Lasorda goes on this long-winded Kirk Gibson thing, and I just wanted somebody to cut his mic. Good God.

57 Fernando gave up an unearned run in 1980.

Hopefully Mr. Ziegler's career doesn't get derailed by untreated syphilis like that of the guy whose record he broke, George McQuillan.

545 Players on the DL cannot be traded without permission of the Commissioner's office and I don't recall that happening with any frequency. Young is not eligible to be activated until August 9th.

557 Fernando gave up 2 unearned runs in 1980.

562 Playing Bob Dylan, Tommy Lasorda.
In the role of Pete Seeger, Greg Brock.

560 as opposed to Torre's pace walking to the mound

556 The District of Columbia.

Is Zeigler mania running wild in Oakland?

557
Why do I even bother?
https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1071669.html

560 Thank you kind sir.

566 There's a Lasorda/electricity joke in there, but that would be poor form.

And that's just not my style.

568 at least you have the Redskins

hey BH, Greg Brock & Bob how was your drive OUT of Dodger Stadium yesterday night?

573 I have to admit that I'm only understanding about 1/3 of what you're saying.

546 - Bavasi would make us pine for the Colletti Era, seriously.

547 - That's awesome. I picture him talking as slow as an Ent too, so I guess I'd be disappointed.

575 its ok, I'm not understanding 2/3 of what I am saying....the air is thin up here in Montant

547 It was really easy yesterday, absolutely brutal today.

Sporky, either you're in Washington DC or you've confused Howard into thinking you are, as far as I can tell.

My drive out both Saturday and today were very easy.

with the whirlwind at 3B, I don't know up from down anymore

579 I thought he was asking me where 1. DT is or 2. the Nationals are. I figured D.C. was the only logical response.

Wasn't Bill Bavasi in charge of our minor league system when Logan White was making all those great drafts?

Isn't Milton also a free agent this year. Is he going to talk CC into signing with Texas and then do an Elton Brand and go elsewhere?

I can see that there is a little bit of ned in all of us...we are all gamers!!!

578 580

mine was really good also, I actually haven't had a bad one all year long.

Given the Dodgers drew almost 40,000 today for a series vs. the Nationals, I don't know what McCourt is griping about re: attendance. Sometimes Dodger Stadium also looks empty until you remember how huge it is compared to other stadiums.

I bet they draw well for these next two series, especially.

584 - I'm just gamy. Like a deer carcass, or Angel Berroa carcass.

564 Then can we please put Kemp, Loney, Ethier, and LaRoche on the DL until after July 31st? Yeah, we'll lose every game for two weeks, but at least the future will be safe. And Ned and Joe can see just how valuable the "veterans" are.

do they count tickets sold or attendance

584 I had that piece of me cut out when I was in Tijuana. Good doctor. It's where I score all my horse tranqs.

The piece of you that's like Ned is right next to the duodenum.

588 they already know how valuable the veterans are, that is why they play them so much, cause they have a feel for the game

523 Terry Tiffee will be heading to China with the U.S. Olympic team for three weeks, so that's one less infielder in Las Vegas.

The Team USA manager is an old friend.

586

The Zona series is gonna be bad ass... anybody now the match-ups?

594 yes, we are playing the D'backs and they are playing us

560 - The eephus that Bill Lee threw to Tony Perez in the '75 Series is probably still rolling down the MassPike.

They've identified DB Cooper again. This time, it's for real!

http://www.katu.com/news/local/25965999.html

Speaking of ephuss pitching & La Roche (yes there is a connection) his father Dave La Roche threw one he called "La Lob" check it out [ http://tinyurl.com/6ej8qy ]

598
Hilarious!

It's just a glorified softball toss if you ask me... it's pretty cool when major leaguers throw it though.

589 They count tickets sold. Today's drive was affected by the quickness of the game and that the game was close so while some left, most of the crowd hung around to see the end.

Today I took the Dodger Trolley.

So I drive over to Union Station where it is impossible to figure out if you can park there, so I park at the nearby Post Office on Alameda for $7.00.

I go to Phillipes where I just miss the deadline for breakfast but I do get a sandwich to eat on the way and a drink. (Sandwich and drink make up the difference of the normal $15.00 parking).

After figuring out that I was standing at the wrong place, walk over to wear the Dodger Trolley is located (behind the taxi stands near the Union Station terminal), get on the bus and text Greg Brock which gives me a timeframe of how long it took from boarding to arriving at Dodger Stadium (16 minutes). Overall time from parking car to getting to Dodger Stadium (about an hour) but if you just parked and went to the shuttle, I suppose you could do it in 20 minutes.

But it was fine and it dumps out in the lot behind the left field pavillion.

Going back, from the time of the last out to getting to my car, 50 minutes. But the ride home was fast so I think overall, it added about 35 miuntes to be normal commute.

So in the end was it worth the $8.00 and hassle of parking, close but I'll give it a test when I go from work and take the Redline back and forth to Union Station and the shuttle. At best on the way going it will be a draw but coming home it may add an extra hour or more since I will be going away from my home back towards work.

601
At the very least, it must have been worth all that to see Mark Sweeney again. With you gone, there was no one here to defend Ned's decision to keep him on the team...

594 The Zona series is gonna be bad ass... anybody now the match-ups?

The matchups are listed here:

http://tinyurl.com/55m8q8

601

Very informative post BH thanks. I think the trolley is a cool idea for when you go with a bunch of people as well, I like the idea, I'm gonna have to test it out as well.

BH, Bob, Brock, and Bluebleeder are like the Jack, Kate, Hugo, and Sawyer of DT. The group that's having all the fun.

The rest of us are like Dr. Artz, Niki, Paulo, Scott, Steve, etc.

The 4 of you can debate which character you are.

"Sunday, Aug. 3 vs. D-backs
Projected pitching matchup: Johnson (0-0, 2.57 -- pending July 29 start) vs. Doug Davis (3-5, 4.22 ERA -- pending July 29 start)
Promotion: Dodger Build-A-Bear; Nomar Garciaparra's Carne Asada Sunday
Why you should go: Johnson's the scheduled starter at this point, but this date could make sense for the return of injured ace Brad Penny (right shoulder). He's slated to start a Minor League rehab stint this weekend, and Torre has said he could be ready by early August. If there's any way Penny can make this start, expect him to, as he's 8-3 with a 2.13 ERA in his career against the franchise that drafted him."

thanks 49. I kind of don't like that match-up, I was hoping they'd throw Park in there but hopefully JJ has a good game or maybe Penny is healthy enough to pitch by then.

I'm gonna try & get premium seats for friday (Kershaw) but I definitely gotta be there at least for one of those games.

605 Maybe I'm Alvar Hanso of the Dharma Initiative and Hanso Fndn.

I'm Kate! I've killed many people.

601
When I take the train to Staples it is a wash on gettting there but usually adds about an hour to the commute coming home.
Depends on how much you value not sitting in traffic on the ride in. For those of us in the Valley we can take the subway in with free parking so the cost for us is the subway as opposed to you paying for parking at US.

As far as attendance goes, I'd be pretty ticked to have 40,000 paid customers and only see about 25,000 of them bothering to show up. The money is in the bank but that is 15,000 patrons who didn't spend any money at my store.

There was hardly anyone in the outfield sections today.

On a sunday, in a big market, summer--no school, to get the turn out the Dodgers did today cant make McCourt happy.

I'm taking the trolley on the 13th, 14th, and 20th of August if my plans hold. I will take the Red Line from work to Union Station and then the shuttle bus.

The Gold Line will take me home.

607
I've got a ticket available for Thursday if you are interested.

605--> I'd pick Charlie. Dead, yet still able to come back periodicly.

Sort of like Dodgers fandom these days.

It's dead currently, but could come back at any time.

609
Are you sure it's not because you stole so many guys' hearts?

In Dodger lore, I think Mike Marshall was General Soreness.

There may have been a couple other Dodgers referred to as General something-or-other.

But how about Nomar as General Hospital?

Hope he's ok. But it didn't take long for something to happen, as expected.

601 You can find parking in Chinatown for under three bucks all day, or this one place in a plaza across the street from the Chinatown public library for a dollar... or free. It all depends if a guy is there or not. From there, to downtown is only a 15 minute walk...

612

I'd love to take the train down from the high desert and then the shuttle over to Chavez Ravine, but the last train heading North out of Union Station is like 9:15...leaving early is one thing, leaving that early is all together another thing.

But how about Nomar as General Hospital?

I approve.

I also kinda like "Shaq Fu" for Andruw.

And I still think of Sweeney as "SOfor" Sweeney...

as in "struck out for" whomever he pinch hits for...

Can we get Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer blasting in Dodgers Stadium for Andruw Rudolf Jones?

FWIW, during his interview Nomar said he wanted to go back in the game but Torre told him it's not the time to push it yet and took him out. They'll check for swelling tomorrow and go from there.

Torre wanted DeWitt and LaRoche to get at bats so they sent them both down. Aside from 3rd base, DeWitt will play some 2nd, LaRoche will play some 1st and both will DH at times. The important thing is to get them at bats.

I guess it sounds like he isn't seriously hurt. Hopefully he can last until Sept when Furcal hopefully comes back.

Dan Evans just said "Tommy messed up" in the context of the Konerko deal when he did not factor that Jeff Shaw could ask for a trade.

So have we talked about how Logan White approved the Blake trade?

Sorry, I've been moving to Scottsdale the past two days.

Evans says that 95% of the games you watch as a GM are your team against whatever opponent you are playing, you don't have time to scout anymore.

626 I guess, to be fair, approve may be too strong a word, the sense of what I read is that the prospects that were dealt in the deal were determined to be either passed up by others (Meloan), or might not make in the majors in the position he is playing right now (Santana). Also, with Martin and May ahead of him, Santana was not seen as someone who would be able to help the big league team anytime soon.

There is no indication that White thought that the Dodgers needed a 3B at this time.

625 Containing damage, You pick your battles, etc.

Actually, Logan White says that there's a good chance that Santana won't stay as a catcher which is where most of his value is as a player. Once that was decided, Santana became expendable.

Apparently all GMs love guys who have been through the wars. He thinks the Casey Blake deal was a good one for the Dodgers.

Speaking of our other catcher, (No, not Gary Bennett), what does Lucas May project? Is he a starter, or a career backup?

629

Thanks! Is there a link where I can read his quotes?

627
Dan Evans has never known how to scout. When Bavasi brought Evans to Seattle, one of the Seattle scouts was assigned to Evans to try to teach Evans what to look for.

632 I think its in the previous thread.

623 Where does it say LaRoche was sent down?

Santana's bat (if he keeps hitting as he has), would play anywhere but 1b/RF. Even if he wasnt going to be a catcher for the Dodgers (which is no guarantee--->if Martin were to leave, get hurt, or decline--->Dodgers would need a catcher), he could still play 3b or LF.

Apparently all GMs love guys who have been through the wars.

Blake has never even been on a playoff team. How many inconsequential games has he played down the stretch for a team just playing out the string? How did he get the "been through the wars" label?

As Sheehan put it, the Dodgers under Colletti have valued experience over performance. And as Paul Scott put it yesterday, some of these deals are franchise killers.

I dont think its fair to state all GMs are like that.

The good ones still value performance over all else.

636 Casey made the playoffs last year with the Indians.

636 - The 2007 Cleveland Indians went 7 games with the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.

Ooops Blake did make the playoffs in 2007. TheBaseballCube didnt update his stats from that year.

In 43 post season ABs for the 2007 playoffs:

.256/.273/.395

636 Uh, Blake was on a playoff team as recently as last year - with Cleveland in the ALDS and ALCS. He had a HR and 4 RBIs and batted .256 in those two series.

636 My only point is that you cannot single out Ned as the only GM who values these type of attributes and the even the good ones are going to sometimes value other things outside of performance when evaluating players.

Players are not robots who go out onto the field and I could probably google experience, character and veteran and find quotes from every player personnel executive in the game saying he values those attributes.

I just get annoyed when people jump on Ned for saying these things when its apparent that everyone in the game in some way value it also.

Oops, sorry, ignore me then, we're all typing pretty fast. ;-)

Hey people, Mad Men Season 2 premiere is on in less than 2 hrs. Get your affairs in order!

I just get annoyed when people jump on Ned for saying these things

Who cares what he says to the media?

Thats not why people are upset.
They are upset for his actions, not his words.

And to state that Ned is just like any other GM with regards to personel moves is just flat wrong.

And at any rate, we're discussing the Dodgers GM. Just bc there are other dumb GMs doesnt put Ned in any better light.

Wow, CL Hu is red-hot the past few days. That's great to see. 10 hits in his last 13 ABs. Wowsa. Eye problem status report? Fixed. We'll see him within a month.

Valuing Blake's PVL: Condonable under the circumstances.

Valuing Sweeney's PVL: Inexcusable.

Fine with me if they want to DFA Jones, but they'd better DFA Sweeney first.

Okay, here's an assignment for you, for anyone. Since the Dodgers want to have a lefty off the bench, which I understand, and we know Pee Wee Young is supposedly hurt so he's on the DL, they re-signed Sweeney. None of us think he's any good at this point, or of any use.

So I looked at their Vegas roster and didn't see much there in the way of lefty hitters who could help off the bench (except for DeWitt and I'm not convinced he'll do much better off the bench right now). The only one I could find that might be (but probably wouldn't be) halfway decent is John-Ford Griffin.

So if you're armchair GM, and you agree that you want a lefty hitter on the bench, and maybe someone with at least a little experience, who would you look at? Someone in the org, or someone to acquire in trade... Ideas?

On KABC, Levine and Suchon both said they were willing to give up one of Troncoso, Wade or Elbert to get Greg Maddux. Idiots.

Mad Men post up top. Baseball chat can remain here.

The Dodgers already have the perfect lefty off the bench in Juan Pierre.

The Dodgers should make a Think Blue TV commercial with Jones, Berrora and Sweeney. They can show them bowling together and discussing the fine art of hitting with Don Mattingly who is channeling Jesus Quintana.

647 They're not idiots. Or at least, in the pantheon of Dodger-related idiots, they belong far, far down the list.

Cory Wade is exactly the kind of guy the Dodgers should be trying to trade, before the inevitable collapse. I'm not advocating getting Maddux, but, well, Maddux is certainly a better rotation option than Jason Johnson.

646 Tiffee's a switch hitter, and he kills RH pitching. I'd tell him to forget about the Olympics.

652 - Yeah, the main reason I didn't suggest him is because I knew he'd be gone for a few weeks in August anyway. If they were gonna ask him to miss the Olympics they'd have to be serious about him staying for awhile. It would be a nice solution. He didn't show much when he was up briefly earlier, but given a chance he might be solid, certainly couldn't be worse than Sweeney.

649 - Indeed. If Jones weren't so awful this year, even they would probably put Pierre in that very spot, but Jones ruined everything.

The season's key dominoes were: Furcal's injury and Jones' suckitude.

647 What, nobody wants Falkenborg?

654 The obvious solution was already mentioned... I forget by who. Blake to LF, LaRoche to third, Pierre as the lefty pinch hitter, Sweeney to the scrap heap.

656 - I agree with it. We just have to sell mgmt on it. Again, if Sweeney continues to be terrible, I do have some (shaken) faith that they will replace him, either with that solution or something else. But it shouldn't even take this long.

651 -- Why would you think there is going to be an "inevitable collapse" for Cory Wade? I love the guys with Broxton-type stuff, and the Dodgers have a preference for that too, but I am not blind to the fact that pitchers with worse stuff than Cory Wade have long, distinguished MLB careers. Are you waiting for the inevitable collapse of Justin Duchsherer in Oakland, to pick one namme out of the air? He DREAMS of throwing a fastball as hard as Wade. Wade has a good curve, a nice change-up, a fastball the does occasionally reach 92 (like it did last night), and he knows how to pitch. When you have a guy like that having success in the majors and he's six years from free agency, you don't throw him away for a rental, especially a rental you don't need and shouldn't want at any price.

Out of curiosity, how many wins has Sweeney cost us? Not that many, right?

Actually, Wade and Duchsherer is a great comparison - or at least, the thought occurred to me, too, after watching the Duke's last start. And Wade does have more pop on his fastball. He's going to be a very effective long man for years, I think.

660 -- Could Wade collapse? Sure, it could happen. I am just saying there is no reason to EXPECT it to happen, and you certainly don't make a trade based on such an expectation. Wade has been in the majors long enough that scouting reports and videos on him have surely gotten around and yet he is still more than holding his own.

658 Regression to the mean. He's been hit-lucky, and his BABIP of .252 is going to catch up with him. His actual performance has been that of a pitcher with an ERA around 4. Which isn't terrible, but it's likely only to get worse, as guys who throw the way he does are vulnerable to having the wheels come off if they suffer only a slight decrease in velocity.

You yourself declined to list him as one of our top 30 prospects last September. I doubt his value has shot up enough to go from non-prospect to untouchable in less than one calendar year.

Wade's a nice enough pitcher, but he will never again be as good or as valuable a commodity as he is right now. It's not a bad idea to get what we can for him while the getting's good.

I have not gotten to see Wade pitch. Does he have a curveball similar to the Duke's?

And to answer the other part of the question, yes, I'm waiting for the inevitable collapse of Duchscherer. Somebody over at BP predicted the other day that he wouldn't finish in the AL top 10 in ERA. That's going a little too far, but I'd be surprised if he was below 4 from now till the end of the season. He's a good pitcher, but not as good as his current record.

661 Yah. I was basically agreeing with you.

I do see the point though, that relievers, while valuable, are also often pretty replaceable, and the Dodgers seem to practically breed them in the minors. But Wade seems really solid.

664
Yeah, you can't expect him to keep up those ridiculous numbers, but he has been a good pitcher for awhile. He begged Billy to let him start for the last couple of seasons and he finally got his chance and has made the most of it.

I did see Duchsherer pitch in person once this year, at home against a pretty good Yankee line-up and he shut them down completely. He surprised me with the movement of his pitches and his control. I'm sure he will regress, yeah, but he looked a lot better than I expected.

Another knife in Andy's back. I mean he needs to go down to Vegas to get at bats? What for, he has already shown what he can do there, was called up and then not given a chance. What if he rakes in AAA, you think you'll see him again before September? As a Ned pick-up, our new Blake would really have to stink before losing third base. It will never happen. And of all things, its M. Sweeney who takes Andy's place on the roster. All this talk here about needing a lefty off the bench. Andy can hit righthanders better that M. Sweeney without a bat.

Just another rant against PVLs.

I posted a fake comment on U.S.S. Mariner about wanting Jarrod Wasburn [It was 100% in the spirit of the thread and thread's title] and people took it seriously! My corporate training was right: It IS hard to detect sarcasm on the internet.

662 -- I did rank Wade in my Top 30, near the end. And as long as I've been following prospects, there have been guys who "come out of nowhere" to become successful big leaguers. Paul Lo Duca was one of them. He was never regarded as any kind of prospect in the Dodgers' farm system, and never produced at any minor league level that he wasn't way too old to be playing at in the first place. I think Dan Uggla ranked #30 on his team's list in Baseball America's Prospect Handbook MONTHS before he started kicking butts in the majors. When a guy proves himself in the majors, you can't evaluate him like he is still a prospect. Wade is a major leaguer now. I'm not saying he is untouchable; he is just not somebody I would give up for a rental, especially not one the quality of Maddux at this late point in his career.

669 Sarcasm is really hard to detect in a full story much less a comment.

The Dodgers liked Wade and Troncoso much more than Meloan since they had opportunities to promote Jonathan and they decided to keep him starting in Vegas.

670 Sorry, I was going by the list at comment 99 in this thread. Perhaps you updated it later.

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/739005.html

670 I think we all know why Paul Lo Duca was able to stay in the majors... And the thing with Cory Wade is that he's the 4rd or 5th option in the bullpen, with 1st going to Broxton, 2nd and 3rd going to Park and/or Kuo, and then Torre seems to pick a name out of a hat to choose somebody from the Wade/Trancoso/Falkenborg group. If the Padres want Wade, and Transcoso can prove he can handle pitching an inning every other day(I don't trust Falkenborg at all.) Then we should move Wade to pick up Maddux. If only because we're currently looking at Jason Johnson at the 5th starter.

I'm definitely looking forward to getting the old Toaster back. Whatever Ken did with the ads this weekend is really killing my page load times.

But Torre could upgrade that 5th starter slot quite easily. Park was handling it quite well, and Kuo could as well. Why trade Wade for Maddux when one could just as easily make Wade the 7th inning reliever and return Park or Kuo to the rotation. It would be yet another shortsighted, unnecessary trade given the inhouse options.

674 Sounds like someone's Cronous dreams haven't come true ;)

669 - Hence, Thank You for Not #7

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lasorda28-2008jul28,0,6871969.story

Lasorda talking about his minor league days, and the best parts of being a manager.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/dodgers/la-sp-elliott28-2008jul28,0,6205408.column

A Helene Elliott piece on Don Mattingly.

675 We need to give Torre some new toys now and again.

To be serious, It'll have a coach on the field, allowing guys like Billingsly and Kershaw to learn from one of the best. Also, if it can help Brad Penny in any positive sense(Penny loves Maddux), we should do it because we're going to pay him $9 million once his option is picked up. I rather his head is screwed on straight for it, and it means having Maddux for the last two months to help make that happen, then we should make a trade for Maddux..

Just got in from a long day. My God. Sweeney for LaRoche. Our management really has no idea what they're sitting on. Someone with some pull needs to call these guys out. Unbelievable.

SI.com's Jon Heyman spoke to Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, who now says a trade of Matt Holliday or Brian Fuentes is "highly unlikely." He talked to multiple teams about both players, but hasn't found a match. Holliday could instead be shopped in the offseason.

The Rockies are in buying mode, hoping to land a back-end starter. Heyman mentions Josh Fogg and Paul Byrd. We've also seen Justin Duchscherer and Bronson Arroyo named in reports.

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/

681
Yes Dan, let Billy raid your system.

My greatest fear, the Rockies play well enough to screw over the Dodgers, and then play crappy against the D'Backs, thus ensuring that the D'Backs make the playoffs.

678 The Times should have known better than to publish something by Lasorda without fact-checking it. The Yankees never loaded the bases against Fernando in the World Series.

684 I think Lasorda scares people.

NPUT