It was first and third with nobody out. Lohse struck out Dunn and Reynolds, hit Tracy to load the bases before Glaus' big play.

WRT Ethier, if I remember, he was always a very good hitter in the minors with limited power. There were questions whether the power would be there when he got to the majors. But with young guys, it is not abnormal to see a 10 HR jump between ages 25 and 27, I would think. No reason why he cannot be a 25-30 HR a year guy for the next ten-twelve years.

If Ethier is able to do that, with similar defense he's producing now, then he's a $10-12 million player. Not to say he couldn't produce 25-30 Homers a year, but he'd suddenly turn from a 'solid' player to a star.

http://tinyurl.com/5o99pm

http://tinyurl.com/6g9g78

But again the Cards get out of it.

2-0 Cardinals Top 6.

Simulator takes into account which players are playing, where we are in the batting order, lineups, pitcher fatigue, bullpens etc... FanGraphs doesn't.
vr, Xei

Thanks.

SportsNation Keith Law: Chance to be a star, at least an above-average regular behind the plate.

In his memory, I'm going to take my seldom-used golf clubs and throw them around my apartment in anger.

Could not resist.

I think I'm going to go and get a small saggy Christmas tree this year and see if I can make it look nice.

It's probably a combination of the jazz influenced soundtrack, the simple messages and Snoopy's impression of a vulture.

"For winning the award, Sharp will present Ramirez with a 52" AQUOS® high-definition television. He will also receive a specially-designed trophy."

Anyway, RIP.

Cue D4P wondering why millionaire athletes get anything for free.

1 out with 2 on. Cards bullpen makes me nervous.

Gosh what sad news. I'm glad he lived a long life, and his work will be enjoyed for years to come. I'm so thankful to Bill for his many contributions to animated TV specials.

RIP Bill Melendez

3-1 Cardinals Bot 7 runners at 1st and 3rd and 2 outs for Dunn.

I'm not watching the game; was this a near double play? Did Jackson just beat the throw to first?

It shouldn't be too hard. All you need to do is get a group of friends to stand around the tree and wave their arms around wildly.

with apologies.

sorry could not resist.

I have been anticipating this phenomenon since the new cba went into effect. Now the second year and no exceptions.

Pitchers were dosing to accelerate healing and speed up recovery time.

Now the consequences are exposed in the real world ...

3-2 STL Top 8.

I just finished Michaelis's Schulz biography and it was amazing. I highly recommend to all Peanuts fans. I only wish David had spent a little more time on the 1980s and 90s strips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-A7kje5dsI

http://www.baseball-reference.com/k/krukjo01.shtml

March, April, May, June, July, August, now September. Imagine that you're Manny or Kent and the pitcher is throwing heat directed ot the "point of you shoulder" as Vin so aptly describes it.
Wow - guess you would want to stay super alert to help deal with that - no?

There was a reason that Wille Mays was discovered with the "greeenies" when he was with the Mets (like he was the only one).

This is how Billy Koch's brain works:

Hmm he almost hit that last fastball for a home run. I know what he won't be expecting...

A fastball!!

I'm really going to miss teams that are things which end in "s".

http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/dGVc

http://tinyurl.com/64erhq

Horrid.

Wasn't that always the book on Reggie Sanders? High heat = K.

I dont think that a tie game in the 6th inning (when you need to get some innings out of the bullpen) is the same as a 1 run lead in the 8th inning. If their bullpen doesn't have two worthwhile arms they should have called him up months ago.

DODGERS

Martin, C
Ethier, RF
Ramirez, LF
Blake, 3B
Loney, 1B
Kemp, CF
DeWitt, 2B
Berroa, SS
Kuroda, P

PADRES
Giles, RF
Rodriguez, SS
Kouzmanoff, 2B
A Gonzalez, 1B
Headley, LF
E Gonzalez, 2B
Venable, CF
Bard, C
LeBlanc, P

On previous pitch that Jackson popped up foul:

Sutton (funereal voice):"Popped it up. In foul territory. Will it go back to the seats? You sure hope so.
And it's foul."

Darn it Ron Villone and your wild pitch.

His OPS+ is pretty darn good. You also do realize that very, very few players walk more than they strike out. He basically had a 1:1 BB:K ratio, and he walked a ton. A career OBP of .397 is really really impressive.

Should the Dodgers have claimed David Eckstein? He was as big a factor today as Dunn was.

Imagine how much worse they would be without Dunn. Just like us and Manny. The record with him isn't great, but it would be worse without him.

Way to go Perez! Of course, he looks
unhittable pitching against the
Dodgers but gets lit up like a
holiday Christmas tree against our
rivals. So is it Bills v. Haren Friday
Lowe v. Webb Saturday and Big Unit v.
Maddux on Sunday!

This is all nitpicking. I loved the book and the interspersing of strips and prose was fantastic. The way his romance with his second wife was played out through the strip was incredible and Michaelis's research is impressive.

The worse part of STL losing is that they are almost out of the WC race, which might mean that Pujols might be done for the year soon. And we need STL to beat AZ the last week of the season.

Dunn has been ridiculous for them, as the stats in 126 show. How can a guy with a near .500 OBP not help a team? Not blocking him is a terrible move and it might be the difference in the division.

A sweep will put us in first place. Anything else will not.

And that come nowhere near negating his offensive value. He has a .500 OBP for Pete's sake!

I was expecting a poem there

Booo. Funny, but boooo.

Are there any great Restaurants near Union Station? Is there anything decent on Olvera St.?

Dunn hasn't been as good as Manny but he has helped the DBacks. A .500 OBP would help any team.

It sounds like La Luz del Dia has a good counter stand with taquitos and carnitas

And very crowded before the baseball game.

As in extremely crowded.

Like Pho 87. or 79, or whatever it's called....good food there...

http://losangeles.citysearch.com/roundup/40650

if you want "good food" and your friend eats seafood then I would recomend The water grill, however it is about a mile way.

Could be worse, could be haiku:

Joe should awaken
Blake chosen to mop floors clean
Lament for me Kemp

FJM got trolled by Simers. How can anyone take Simers writing seriously? Everything is tongue in cheek unless he's writing about the Children Hospital he champions.

Bob, looking at his initial question, he asked for any great restaurants, and while I often eat at Phillipes before dodger games I would hardly categorize it as being great. Also I have met friends at the water grill before going to a Dodger games on a couple of occasions, the oyster bar is fantastic and not too dear.

That being said, Simers' writing is devolving from readable to incomprehensible. His sentence structure, his supporting arguments, his jokes, his attempt to convey fake sincerity.. it's awful. He is like a mentally challenged person at the asylum who is still laughing at the one joke he told ten years ago that got a laugh. His writing is so contrived and nonsensical. It doesn't even feel like light-hearted or humorous or even mean-spirited. It's just... nonsense. I don't know how the LA Times has dropped their standards like this. I understand he is a recognized name, but man, the editors at LA Times are asleep at the wheel.

Phillipes will be very crowded on Saturday.

For dim sum in Chinatown, the only good one IMO is Yum Cha Cafe on Broadway, a little south of Phillipes. It's just a little place you order from a counter, but the bao, shumai, hargow, etc. are very good.

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2008/09/pierre-appears.html

218 If I recall correctly, they ran a story in which they blamed the LAPD for being involved in BIG's death. Then it turned out their source was an inmate who was lying and the LA Times ran a retraction. They took some flak for improper due diligence. Sorry, that is all I remember.

Yes, new. Shannen Doherty has not aged well at all, not that she was much to begin with.

Will Moreno go for it?

First of all, there's a new 90210...?

Second of all, Lucille I's in it...?

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-tupac27mar27,0,2043351.story

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/8898338/the_unsolved_mystery_of_the_notorious_big

First of all, yes. Second of all, yes.

I found the article online I was talking about it. It is very long, but I think if you go towards the end it talks about Times involvement.

http://tinyurl.com/6ctlga

Nice.

I assume the top 4 will be Lambo, Dejesus, Elbert and McDonald is some order.

That is a decent top 4. Very well rounded with a good track record and potential going forward. I'm content.

I didn't think it was any worse than the horrid original.

You didn't start watching until the college years.

Andre Ethier: .325/.379/.725/1.104

Adam Dunn: .281/.495/.500/.995

Someone previously mentioned that Manny combined with Mattingly is yielding more positive results with some of the younger players.
Are both Ethier and DeWitt showing increased bat speed combined with getting the hands on the ball - bat through the hitting zone more effectively?

NBC hasn't released anything yet - they may pull a Golden Sombrero.