Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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TV and more ...
1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
The Dodgers have finally caught up with the Diamondbacks in terms of road games played. Each team has seven road games remaining.
I had thought last week might be rougher on the Dodgers. We'll see if the fates shift this week.
| Date | Dodgers | Diamondbacks | September 5 Comment | At Day's End |
|
9/8 |
at San Diego | at San Francisco | Dodgers have the easier opponent but probably the tougher atmosphere to play in. | +1.5 games |
| 9/9 | at San Diego | at San Francisco | +2.5 | |
| 9/10 | at San Diego | at San Francisco | +3.5 | |
| 9/11 | Idle | Idle | +3.5 | |
| 9/12 | at Colorado | vs. Cincinnati | Advantage, Arizona. The Rockies might still be fighting to stay in the race, at home. | +3.5 |
| 9/13 | at Colorado | vs. Cincinnati | +4.5 | |
| 9/14 | at Colorado | vs. Cincinnati | +4.5 | |
| 9/15 | at Pittsburgh | vs. San Francisco | Traditionally an easy series for the Dodgers, this comes at the end of a 10-game road trip, so they'll be hoping Giants pitching gives Arizona trouble. | |
| 9/16 | at Pittsburgh | vs. San Francisco | ||
| 9/17 | at Pittsburgh | vs. San Francisco | ||
| 9/18 | at Pittsburgh | vs. San Francisco | ||
| 9/19 | vs. San Francisco | at Colorado | Advantage, Los Angeles. | |
| 9/20 | vs. San Francisco | at Colorado | ||
| 9/21 | vs. San Francisco | at Colorado | ||
| 9/22 | Idle | at St. Louis | ||
| 9/23 | vs. San Diego | at St. Louis | Ditto. Following a rest day to themselves, the Dodgers have one more big shot to make a move if they haven't already. | |
| 9/24 | vs. San Diego | at St. Louis | ||
| 9/25 | vs. San Diego | at St. Louis | ||
| 9/26 | at San Francisco | vs. Colorado | Dodgers have won big games in San Francisco before, but they'd like to avoid the race coming down to this weekend. | |
| 9/27 | at San Francisco | vs. Colorado | ||
| 9/28 | at San Francisco | vs. Colorado |
* * *
Scott Elbert could continue to see more work while Hong-Chih Kuo nurses his sore arm, writes Diamond Leung of the Press-Enterprise. Leung also writes about the Dodgers' reunion with Andy LaRoche - who has been getting a batting-style makeover in Pittsburgh, according to Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. (Thanks to commenter BHSportsguy for the latter link.)
The Dodgers are also without Andre Ethier for one more start as well as Casey Blake, who is hoping that his back trouble doesn't Furcalate.
* * *
Craig Harris of the Arizona Republic looks at the Arizona Diamondbacks over the long term.
* * *
Giants at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m.
* * *
Update: September 18, 2006 - the date of the 4+1 game, and the date of Juan Pierre's last home run. Until tonight!
Next week?
(In the We'll Believe It When We See It Dept.)
Wait... that doesn't work.
I got nothin'
But if the Cardinals are eliminated from WC contention sooner than later (Magic Number of 9), do they sit Pujols?
"The scholarship is more about not putting the work in and if we're not doing everything we need to get the most of our abilities. It's not just about performance," he replied. "In Andy's case, if he doesn't do what he needs to do this offseason, if he doesn't improve the body, improve the agility, all the things that we need him to do, then he won't be our third baseman next year."
If you had XM or Sirius Radio, you may have heard the first episode of the Mad Dog "without Mike" show on XM 144 (not sure where it is on Sirius).
I doubt most of you are familiar with the old Mike and the Mad Dog Show on WFAN, but anyway, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo's first surprise guest was Joe Torre!
I thought it was a decent interview, but it didn't reveal a whole lot, besides the Blake injury.
I'm not kidding. I think the Rays are more entertaining, and might even have better personalities.
I suppose even a blind Colletti finds a nut once in a while.
Why would Torre put Martin as a leadoff hitter and have Pierre bat second?
Wouldn't Martin be a better choice to hit in front of Manny? The two slot will see more fastballs around the plate, perfect for Martin who has some sock, not so perfect for Pierre who has no sock.
But then again, could this be the game that Pierre gets his first homer by sitting on a fastball up the gut?
Also, I forgot that Vin doesn't travel east of the Rockies.
HELLO CHARLIE STEINER.
(A channel that's nothing to sneeze at?)
When Jon goes big time I hope past clips will be easier to retrieve than Letterman clips from NBC once he moved to CBS.
Unless you're Davey Johnson.
Robinson Checo says hello!
I am really beginning to not like that song.
If anything, Pierre not batting leadoff is a symbolic gesture that whatever the club may need out of that position, it is not something Pierre can provide.
What's the point of batting Pierre 2nd if he's not qualified to bat 1st...?
Could you say that Andy LaRoche helped fire Ned Yost? :)
Cody Ransom, a revered name in Dodger lore.
Just a hunch.
Rule 1 and common decency prevents me from reproducing the sounds.
I think you meant better than Sweeney.
Do you have any coffee?
None, not even a jar of Folger's crystals?
I'm expecting somebody to get eliminated.
I tuned into this late - the Pirates broadcasters sound like those EuroCup announcers who broadcast remotely instead of live at the venue, except more boring.
Also I'm pessimistic for two main reasons-but to heck with pessimism. Lots of pitches and not many good relievers in Pittsburg.
Go Dodgers.
You don't, say.
What about the playoffs? Oh wait...
And the Rays are playing their next seven games (including tonight) against the Red Sox and Twins.
This is likely not the case, but my self-conciliatory thoughts need not reflect any reality.
Remember it takes two people to lie. One to lie and one to listen.
Manny is clutch!
Oops I meant Chris Snyder
I guess the Dodger equivalent would be having to play a game against the D-Backs in San Diego.
"Up jumps the devil" is a Vin phrase I have grown to enjoy over the last few years.
It didn't sound like a library last week, when JJ42 & I (in separate sections) lead a non-hostile takeover of Petco! :)
Section 7, row G, seat 1 is a nice view.
TRL is leaving the airwaves. Where will pop tarts and wanna Leif Garretts go now?
No, still at work, with about a ten minute drive home.
What? You don't know him?
Grabowski?
5-1 Red Sox in Tampa
(I confess, I sometimes check out on DodgerThoughts and/or live box scores on my phone when on the bus, but never do it on my bicycle. Or in a car. Or when backpacking.)
Why is he in the lineup if he can't get the bunt down?
Ah well... it happens. 5-0 Dodgers
They are the Pirates.
Makes sense.
No pressure, boys.
Hey, what is the salary clock doing for DeWitt and Andy LaRoche. I know its complicated.
WHAT IS THE HECK??!?!?!?
I can't believe that I called Pierre's homer!!!!!!!
Hell, small price to pay.
I guess the rest has done Pierre some good.
The way the Dbacks are playing, we might even clinch this coming weekend.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI200609180.shtml
TO: Marino Salas
FROM: Pitchers Union
re: Pierre home run
Please turn in your union card ASAP.
It was the classic avoid the guy for a few seconds, then mob him. Same as DeWitt & Berroa.
So, Ethier is back to 3.5?
I'd bench him.
327. NoHoDodger
Why would Torre put Martin as a leadoff hitter and have Pierre bat second?
Wouldn't Martin be a better choice to hit in front of Manny? The two slot will see more fastballs around the plate, perfect for Martin who has some sock, not so perfect for Pierre who has no sock.
But then again, could this be the game that Pierre gets his first homer by sitting on a fastball up the gut?
Silent treatment at first, then they mobbed him. Luckily, Jeff Kent was not present, or all the life would have been sucked out of the dugout. And...Charley Steiner is echoing Jack Buck (and our commenters).
Although I was wrong on the specifics, I'm looking pretty smart now for predicting big things from Pierre's bat this year.
I'm just glad I was alive to see this day.
How many people following via the box score assumed it was an inside the park home run?
A plague of locusts and a rain of frogs just descended on my house. Anyone getting that too? I believe I hear the pounding of horse's hooves in the distance, too, four horses to be exact. Hope that's not due to Pierre.
No wait, that's just the fog.
Are any of the horses pale?
I would stay away from that one.
Maybe this will help his trade value.
How can you tell there are four horses? Are you an expert on horse hoof clop counting?
Nomar's out of the game after hitting a single. Ozuna's running for him. Nomar went 2-4. I assume DeWitt's moving to 3rd after this inning.
This pitcher has no business in the majors, but that Pierre took him yard points out the difference between levels. Pierre, as awful as he is, is a major leaguer.
Or maybe a blind squirrel just found a nut.
Apparently, the Mets are trying to repeat their performance from 2007.
Roll'in
Roll'in
Keep those Dodgers Roll'in ...
Gee, that really was quite a day.
Must have been a pretty good pitcher's duel.
Saito and Penny are warming in the bullpen.
Does not compute.
Does not compute.
Does not compute.
...
For the love of Choi what happened!?! I don't think I'll be able to understand the significance of today for many years.
This is Ned Colletti. Could I interest you in a power hitting centerfielder?
Great leadoff hitter. Gets on base on a lot, really knows how to play the game.
Steals a lot of bases, too. That's what he is, come to think of it...an outright steal. We have too many outfielders, you see. Otherwise we wouldn't even consider trading such an outstanding player. He just plays the game the right way, that's all.
(Why am I hearing a dial tone? Must be something wrong with the phone...I'll call back...)
Oh, just a single for JP.
And Pierre makes him pay!
Juan Pierre??
WOW!!!
(sorry, late to the Pierre party)
Or it could be a whole bunch of frogs falling from the sky like in Magnolia.
Saito's in the game.
The Rays made seven defensive changes to start the seventh.
309 meet 121 re the Pirates announcers. I swear there are like two-three minutes where they don't say anything, or they're speaking so slowly and low that only certain species of bats can pick them up.
Methinks there's a TV in the booth distracting them with a much more interesting game in Irving, TX.
My humble respect
Your disregard for your personal health and gain in deference ot your team astounds.
Distribution for the year:
80+: 2 (90, 91)
70-79: 5
60-69: 4
50-59: 5
40-49: 5
30-39: 4
<30: 4
I'm playing the Lottery Tonight.
Underdog and I are again in agreement. This has been a wild MNF game.
Just cost me a fantasy touchdown.
Except for the bloop hit and infield single he allowed in SD.
I had a 100-point lead going into today...gonna be very hard to hold onto that.
I don't know what this says about Procter and his role on the relief totem poll.
If he wants to earn extra points, he can throw a wild pitch that hits that stupid parrot mascot behind home plate. Come on, Nook!
Maybe the parrot should pitch instead.
I've got Romo, Jackson, F. Jones, and Westbrook going in DT league.
But, a victory!
Magic Number: 9
Kuo's hurt again.
Dodgers win!
And that's what counts.
And from now on, I can use "old friend" to describe A.J. Ellis.
Sort of like I do with Adam Melhuse, Chad Moeller, and Brian Johnson.
At least Torre's sane! He agrees with DT that Pujols in the MVP!
http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080915&content_id=3482253&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la
Our bullpen is so deep with Beimel, Wade, Park Saito and Broxton. Along with Elbert, Troncoso and anything Proctor and JJJ can give us is a bonus.
I'm backing Geovany Soto!
1-0 Giants.
Five games, what a surprise
We're up five games, my brain hurts a lot
Five games, thats what we've got
(with apol's to the thin white duke)
I asked him if he could smell October with that nose.
this home stretch feels weird, by the way. it's like the last three years of bad breaks are evening out in a two month span. (not that i believe breaks even out over the years, I'm just saying...)
The right-field corner started chanting, ""Let's go Steelers," in the fifth inning.
37-31 Eagles, 4th qtr.
I'd prefer an Auburn-Mississippi State game anytime.
Kevin Goldstein: Well, the minor league regular season ended on Labor Day for most leagues, so there is no more chances for them to pitch. For many like McDonald, it's kind of a reward for a job well done.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.php?chatId=522
People will complain about anything for any reason.
Magic Number: 9
If the Dodgers go 6-6 in the remaining 12 games the Diamondbacks would have to go 11-2 in their remaining 13 games to force a divisional tiebreaker at Dodger Stadium.
I yelled out about Juan Pierre. I refused to believe it until I saw it. I just got back to my room, put on the mlb.tv feed and saw it with my own eyes.
I'm very scared.
Weird things happen when the moon is full.
"With my luck," he said, "a bird would hit it. You never know for sure."
Pierre got a momentary silent treatment from teammates when he returned to the dugout, but that just brought out more smiles. He'd been joking lately with Matt Kemp and Delwyn Young that this was bound to happen.
"I told them September is my power month," he said. "And this wasn't a wall-scraper. It was four or five rows up."
http://tinyurl.com/6lnou9
Well, Pierre does have magic legs.
One of the unmentioned players had 13 RBI in his final 12 games last season. If he matches that this season, he will finish with 99, so it's certainly reachable.
There's also a small chance we could have three players with 100 runs, although of course one of them scored most of them with another club.
LA Dodger first basemen with 100 RBI seasons:
1) Wes Parker (1970)
2) Steve Garvey (1974, 1977-80)
3) Eric Karros (1995-97, 1999-2000)
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/c8ca
It's football. It happens. Suck it up, learn what's wrong with what you did (no matter how you slice it, two bad ref calls or not, letting a team score 39 points isn't a good game), and look forward to next week.
Sorry. Venting here on this as I haven't been able to stand sports radio on the issue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbNqhXLTORs
Also to post this news regarding an ex-ML'er Ricky Stone:
http://tinyurl.com/rickystone
(The Lions are a professional baseball team in Taiwan.)
Give us the logistics of how it all went down.
Aug 25th:
"204. scareduck
193 - well, alrighty, I'll be right here waiting for that 20-game winning streak, any day now. But as I've said before, it's not a very likely outcome. "I'll win the lottery" is not a very good retirement plan. "
Hey is 13 - 2 good enough for you?
I just bet my workmate 1.00 that you'll come back and say, yes but 13 - 10 isn't.
How fitting then that Pierre's HR came on the night featuring the return of...Sammy.
A few of my uncles were worried the Dodgers would lose at least two in Colorado. I sent them an email saying how this run reminded me of similar runs in 1982 & 2006.
The run at that time was 10 of 11, and one of my uncles responded "yeah, but it's also 10 of 19."
I find it impossible to accept that one can't take any joy from the fact that since August 29 there has not been a single day that the Dodgers have lost ground in the NL West. 17 days and counting!
When Eric said he spotted Pierre paying for Kemp's dinner in the rain, I know he gained even more respect from me. He's not some 35 year old washed up veteran who can understand that the kid took his job, he's a guy who feels he's in his prime and yet he's still doing the right thing with the kid. Very impressive actually. I really hope we find a team for him that will play him which is all he wants to do.
I am definitely in a "Pierre is a nice guy and hard-worker, even though his performance doesn't warrant his salary" kinda mood right now. That differs from the "Pierre's performance doesn't warrant his salary" mood I'm normally in.
I hate the Broncos with the heat of a thousand suns but I haven taken pleasure in the suffering of Chargers fans in my office.
Hating the good teams won't bring your pathetic Raiders back to life.
USC Fan
Raider Fan
Hates kittens
Evidently your penance was to be a Dodger fan.
Before being sent down: 26 BB in 309 PA (8.4%)
DeWitt in minors: 153 BB in ~2143 PA (7.1%)
Since Andrew has proven that batting 8th has a negligible effect on a players walk ratio, mabye he can also prove that batting 7th with an Angel following also has a negligible effect.
The funny part is I really do hate kittens (well, cats in general).
But I hate the Broncos (and the Chargers and Chiefs) no matter how good or bad they are. I'm consistent with my hatred.
I'm also resigned to the fact that the Raiders will not start the path toward respectability until Al Davis meets his maker.
batting 7th with an Angel
Maybe it is a "halo" effect. :)
NL #8 hitters draw a non-IBB walk 7.50% of the time.
NL #7 hitters draw a non-IBB 7.62% of the time
NL #8 hitters draw a non-IBB 7.61% of the time
--
Btw, Rob Neyer chat on ESPN.com right now, if you feel like asking him a Dodger question.
This one didn't excite me very much:
Jesse (Los Angeles, CA): I know the Dodgers are playing teams with records under .500, but can they ride this wave into the World Series?
SportsNation Rob Neyer: (12:09 PM ET ) Anything might happen in October, but the Dodgers will be heavy underdogs if they have to play the Cubs.
http://www.pe.com/sports/baseball/dodgers/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_dodgers_notes_16.209e7a9.html
vr, Xei
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