Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
There's actually more to talk about, but I just wanted to get this up there ...
Greg Maddux: six innings, 47 pitches
Chad Billingsley: two innings, 23 pitches
Takashi Saito: one inning, 11 pitches
Dodgers had 61 strikes, 20 balls in nine innings.
Eighty-one. Good number.
* * *
355
Maddux is now eighth all-time in career victories, breaking a tie with Roger Clemens.
* * *
201
Chad Billingsley finishes his regular season with 201 strikeouts in 200 2/3 innings.
* * *
.400
Manny Ramirez entered Saturday batting .400 as a Dodger, but went 0 for 2. If he went 2 for 3 Sunday (though he probably will rest), he would be back to .400. There hasn't been a .400 hitter with as many at-bats as Ramirez in the National League since Bill Terry in 1930.
* * *
.500
Ramirez also walked once, leaving his on-base percentage at .489. He would need to reach base in five consecutive plate appearances to reach .500 as a Dodger. Even if Ramirez sits out the game, he would still have the highest non-Barry Bonds on-base percentage by a player with 225 or more plate appearances since Arky Vaughan in 1935.
* * *
$2,500,000
Bill Shaikin of the Times points out that the Dodgers might be paying their Game 2 lineup a grand total of $2.5 million in salary.
* * *
Now for the bad news. Hong-Chih Kuo warmed up tonight in the top of the eighth inning, but then headed straight for the dugout and clubhouse. Hopefully, it's nothing serious, but that would seem to eliminate his chance of being on the National League Division Series roster. In a related note, Ken Gurnick of MLB.com reports that Clayton Kershaw will pitch out of the bullpen in the first round.
Rafael Furcal, on the other hand, went 2 for 4 (with a caught stealing). If his body will let him out of bed Sunday morning, he's a good bet for the playoffs.
Nomar Garciaparra has been appointed manager for Sunday's finale by Joe Torre, writes Jim Alexander of the Press-Enterprise. Tommy Lasorda has been demoted to No. 3 ...
* * *
Bob Timmermann runs down the latest with the remaining playoff spots at The Griddle.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN197908120.shtml
That was 80 pitches in 8 innings.
Burt Hooton had a complete game with 73 pitches a few days earlier.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN197908030.shtml
Maddux reached back and delivered a classic performance.
This will be more memorable for me because Maddux did it against the Giants in a very close game.
Saito looked very good tonignt. His courage deserves respect.
384 or which ever. I
totally agree with anything that attempts to include management, Osuna, and Sweeney in the same conspiracy.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/COL/COL200807010.shtml
Ross Newhan does a special for the Times imploring the Dodgers and Angels to resign Manny, and Texiera.
I was hoping Maddux would get to stay in the game long enough to get the win to surpass Clemens. Good for him!
Hmmm. Does this game secure Maddux a spot as the #4 starter in the playoffs? My guess is yes.
Without Kuo, the Dodgers will need another lefty in the bullpen. If Kershaw isn't in the rotation, it's him. Otherwise, it's Elbert. Can we have both?
I will be seriously, er, disappointed if Young doesn't make the post season roster because Sweeney and Ozuna do.
I hope Torre goes through with Kent being used just as a pinchhitter. Having Kent batting in the middle of the lineup just has not worked all season, except for that one three week period. It wouldn't be so bad if Kent ever batted down at #7 or #8, where he belongs. Yeah, yeah, I know ... the order of the lineup makes little difference, but I find that hard to believe when one of your worst hitters bats cleanup.
Will Furcal really be ready?
Thanks for indulging me in my random thoughts tonight.
-- seldom poster
Sweeney or Maddux would be a logical choice, although Kent would certainly be an interesting one. I'd love to see his lineup.
http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/prosports/mlb/dodgers/
The good news is that Maddux is tutoring Clayton Kershaw on the bench.
We saw a glimpse of Maddux quietly making points to Kershaw standing by the rail of the dugout with Kershaw listening attentively and nodding in affirmation during a telecast the game before they clinched.
Kershaw appears to be cerebral enough to gain real lasting value from such encounters.
kemp
martin
ethier
manny
bearded
loney
furcal
dewitt
pierre
kent
berroa
nomar
ardoin
ozuna (young would be a pleasant surprise)
lowe
bills
kuroda
maddux
park
wade
saito
proctor
beimel
broxton
kershaw
Maddux and Torre says that Maddux is likely going to pitch in the bullpen.
"The pen is better than 'no pitch,' " Maddux said. "I'd rather pitch in the pen than go home."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmEfyYxf6E0
A lot will depend on where the series is at to decide a potential Game 4 starter Sunday. If Lowe can go on 3 days rest Sunday (game 4), then Billingsley is on regular rest for Game 5.
Shortly after his arrival to the Dodgers during a game and Manny approaching the batters box.
Wife, "Who is that? What's with the hair? Don't they have a uniform to fit him? He looks like a clown out there! How can the Dodgers allow that?"
Me, "Honey that's Manny Ramirez. He's probably the best right handed hitter in baseball today!"
Manny hits a home run in the at bat.
This is fun.
Get the dreds back out for the playoffs!
Make Manny a Dodger for the remainder of his career ala Tommy.
Shortly after his arrival to the Dodgers during a game and Manny approaching the batters box.
Wife, "Who is that? What's with the hair? Don't they have a uniform to fit him? He looks like a clown out there! How can the Dodgers allow that?"
Me, "Honey that's Manny Ramirez. He's probably the best right handed hitter in baseball today!"
Manny hits a home run in the at bat.
This is fun.
Get the dreds back out for the playoffs!
Make Manny a Dodger for the remainder of his career.
Shortly after his arrival to the Dodgers during a game and Manny approaching the batters box.
Wife, "Who is that? What's with the hair? Don't they have a uniform to fit him? He looks like a clown out there! How can the Dodgers allow that?"
Me, "Honey that's Manny Ramirez. He's probably the best right handed hitter in baseball today!"
Manny hits a home run in the at bat.
This is fun.
Get the dreds back out for the playoffs!
Make Manny a Dodger for the remainder of his career.
I apologize if someone already answered this last night, but how does a ball that hits the top of the wall and bounces straight back into the field count as a homerun? Is there some special ground rule at AT&T regarding that right field fence?
30 was sufficient.
Because the ball hit a roof on top of the fence. And that's considered to be a home run.
Thanks for the explanation on the HR.
Yikes - Washington just scored against Stanford - I hope I didn't speak too soon in claiming a Cardinal victory.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3612971
http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/guzmaan01.shtml
http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/
New Simers article.
I don't think we can do a picnic but we could meet up somewhere and then head over to the Stadium for batting practice, etc.
Any thoughts?
Pitchers (11)
Lowe
Billingsley
Kuroda
Kershaw
Maddux
Beimel
Wade
Broxton
Saito
Park
(Kuo, Proctor, Troncoso)- in preferred order
Catchers - 2
Martin
Ardoin
Infielders - 7
Loney
DeWitt
Furcal
Blake
Garciaparra
Kent
Berroa
Outfielders - 5
Ramirez
Kemp
Ethier
Pierre
Young
I still think it will be Ozuna for Young. And if Kuo can't go, it will be Proctor.
I think 46 has it right.
Hopefully tomorrow's announcement will be anti-climatic.
Okay, off to wait at the airport for my g/f to arrive and try to stay awake. Fun!
I think you have it right, there. And I agree that the club prefers Ozuna to Young.
There was a lot of it.
The coaching decisions wouldn't have been bad ones if the defense made plays.
There will be a lot more red at the Rose Bowl on December 6.
Hike!
I hope to be among the sea of red on 12/6.
And then again on 1/1?
I might be interested in hanging out before the game
The question is will you do that starting next Wednesday.
Why do you think the club prefers Ozuna over Young? Young has been the top pinch hitter coming off the bench and is a switch hitter.
As far as defense goes, with Berroa and Dewitt on the team, I don't see who Ozuna backs up.
Young is not going to subbing for anyone defensively and again with the others listed above coming off the bench, he probably would not see a lot of time.
1. The Sting
2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
3. Hud
4. Nobody's Fool
5. Cool Hand Luke
6. The Verdict
7. The Hustler
8. Road to Perdition
All were good movies, so don't take my ranking of Road to Perdition last as a bad thing.
I missed Paul Newman Thoughts but my top five are
1. Luke
2. Verdict
3. Nobody's Fool
4. Hustler
5. Road to Perdition
Worst Newman Movie (This is a no brainer): Color of Money. (And anyone who knows me knows why.)
The Griddle is fantastic.
DeWitt keeps reminding me of Russell.
Since when did any movie or tv show having to do with the courtroom have anything to do with reality? Or anything for that matter.
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