Sweeney has to be a better coach than he has been a hitter this year. Maybe this is his true calling.

Maddux pitched about as well for us this year as he did for the Padres, when you focus on peripheral stats. It doesn't take much bad luck to give up a couple extra runs, which looks like a lot over the 40 IP he gave the Dodgers. He had two bad starts out of 7 where he let up 14 runs in 10 2/3 innings. Those seven also include two of the best starts anybody had this year, giving up 4 baserunners in 13IP. You don't know what you're going to get with him necessarily, but as long as you're quick with the hook, I think having him start is an excellent choice.

3 words that belong in the same sentence:

bench, Mark, Sweeney

3 If we acquire Mike Sweeny and Mark Bellhorn, then we can convert Bellhorn to right field and use Kemp and Loney off the bench.

I had no idea Peavy threw that many pitches in the 5th the other night! How many was it (I was busy watching Oregon State crush my hopes and dreams)?

5 53 is what I saw.

phillies please

The odds are pretty good that 2 games will happen tomorrow and another one Tuesday.

Setting the Dodgers aside, I'd much rather the Brewers make the playoffs than the Mets.

Re: Paul Newman. As much as I loved Newman, his first film, The Silver Chalice, has to take the prize for his worst. I understand he took out a full-page ad in the trades to apologize for it. The Sting, The Verdict, Slapshot and two bookends: On The Terrace and the Young Philadelphians are particularly good trash.

I counted 53 pitches by Peavy. And that included Juan Pierre's one pitch AB.

God should hate the Mets. If God doesn't hate the Mets, then I will go off and buy a copy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Zoroastrianism" and look for a new god.

On cable, you only get one HD game at a time. The first one is Tampa Bay at Detroit and the second one is Colorado at Arizona.

Bill Maher's recent "New Rules" segment on white people is quite clever.

12 Bob, I want to see your argument for why God should hate the Mets.

I hate the Mets. God loves me.

QED

Mets-Marlins in rain delay until at least 10:25 am.

Yah I want no part of the Cubs in the first round. I have tickets to game 4.

161 I lol-ed.

Subtract 145 from the link in 19 .

the only reason I'd want to cubs is so that I can go to game 1 or 2. Other then that, I'd just rather play the Phillies and pray for the Mets in rd 2.

My problem with seeing Maddux start in the playoffs for the Dodgers is that I saw it once before. That was truly one of the worst pitching performances that I ever witnessed. Mariano Duncan would have been a better choice to start that game.

My problem with seeing Maddux start in the playoffs for the Dodgers is that I saw it once before. That was truly one of the worst pitching performances that I ever witnessed. Mariano Duncan would have been a better choice to start that game.

If the Dodgers sign CC I would prefer for his season to be over, now.

24
What about Lowe? And Manny?

Curses. Why, Prime Ticket, why? The last regular-season game of the year, against the Giants, no less, and you don't televise it?

Curses.

I'm not worried about the Cubs. Honestly, I'm just not. We've got the best pitching in the majors, and I do believe one of the scariest line-ups top to bottom.

This doesn't look like a one and done team to me. Yah!!

It's just that realistically (while playing well) we can be down 2-0 coming home in a must win vs a guy throwing 1.71 era in his last 71 innings pitched (Harden). And we throw Kuroda. Not an easy feeling in advance. So normally I say I don't care who we play with bravado, but in this case, yep, Phillies please.

Game on at Shea.

If a movie ever gets made about Joba Chamberlain, Rickey Gervais should play the lead.

So if they never play in Boston today, will Johnny Pesky's number still be available?

26 That's down to the Dodgers, not Prime Ticket. They have a contract with FSN (PT) to carry 100 games, and with KCAL to carry 50. (Presumably because they still think that non-cable non-satellite viewers in the local market should get to see a few games and/or it earns them more money this way.) Today happens to be one of those 50 KCAL days. How FSN and KCAL divide up their 150 games (the rest are on FOX and ESPN) is a mystery - hard to know who to blame for that.

Even in the Dodgers' own territory, this has an effect. I'm in Santa Barbara. The only way to get KCAL here is via cable (Cox), which does not carry KCAL in HD, only in SD. So even though I have an HD TV, I can't see these 50 games in HD (in LA, all 50 KCAL games are available in HD). It's also what keeps me from switching to satellite: DirectTV also doesn't carry KCAL. (This is still way better than for poor Angels viewers, with Santa Babara also in their "territory". Even Cox Cable no longer carries KCOP and their 50 games at all.)

Cox also has a very weird arrangement for showing FSN PT games in HD. Instead of a (single) dedicated FSN HD channel, as DirectTV has, showing 75 Dodgers games in HD from PT and I don't know how many Angels games from FSN West, we can find a few on a peculiar channel called MOJO-HD. For many months, the games weren't even listed in the channel guide - you just had to go see if the game happened to be on, usurping regular listed programs. I just happened to stumble upon a game by accident one day last summer. Since July or August this year, they've been listing the games - sometimes Dodgers, sometimes Angels. But about 1/3rd of the time, it's completely wrong - not showing the advertised game, or occasionally showing it when it's not advertised! And, if the game goes on longer than 3 hours, it dissolves into "regular" MOJO programming either after 3 hours, or after 3 1/2 - impossible to know when. This really screws with recording on the DVR - to be safe, I have to record both MOJO and non-HD FSNPT. Which of course means I can't record any other program at the same time.

Still a lot better than your predicament of not seeing the game at all, of course. I've learned all the tricks of working around it. I've also told DirectTV that if they'd just start making KCAL available here, I'd switch to them the same day.

30 I was thinking Gary Farmer myself...

--

Not surprise there are weather issues for games back east today. My g/f made it back safely, barely, yesterday from Massachusetts before the hurricane hit. Had to take a puddle jumper from Martha's Vineyard to Providence to escape and I was terrified just hearing about it after there was a plane crash on same route the day before. In other words, a lot of rain and violent weather is coming to New England today.

28
Or we could be up 2-0 coming home facing a guy made of glass, while we send a pitcher with a 2.77 ERA over his last 10 starts.

26 - I've come to despise K Cal channel 9.

The other day James Loney said something about how "after Pierre hit that home run, we tried to give him the cold shoulder..." Was that in reference to Juan Pierre not celebrating with the team when someone else would hit a home run? I was told that Juan, being disgruntled lately, would remain on the bench after a teamate hit a homer. Can anyone shed some light on this.

32 I have Direct TV, and I get KCAL in HD. I live in the Valley though, is that the difference?

It's just a baseball thing for players to try to ignore a player who does something unusual that the player is excited about.

It happens most frequently when a rookie hits his first homer, but it's also done when banjo hitters or pitchers hit home runs.

36

Loney was just talking about the long-standing tradition of pretending not to care when a guy who rarely homers finally does. They wait a few seconds, then mob him. They did it to Berroa as well.

Pierre's chronic pouting is a separate issue.

36
It wasn't anything negative at all. It was a playful thing where the teammates ignore the guy when he gets to the dugout then all mob him in celebration.

They did the same thing after DeWitt's 1st ML HR, and with Ozuna's 1st of this year as well.

36 I think he probably meant something different then what you're thinking. It's kind of a new thing in baseball when a guy hit's a big homerun the whole team will ignore the guy when he gets in the dugout, then the team eventually mobs him a second later. It's just something a team does to mess with the guy who hit the homer.

I also don't think Juan Pierre pouts any more than the average major leaguer who has lost a starting job.

I'll try to find his VORP (Value over Replacement Pouter.)

And I gladly accept the bronze medal....

37 - Prime Ticket games are on MLB Extra Innings for those of us outside of So Cal. K Cal games are not. So when the game is on K cal, we get the other team's broadcast, or nothing.

42

His Pout+ is 130.

39 After Berroa's was the best. He kinda looked at the whole team and shrugged his shoulders like he was saying, "Seriously? I look like Wesley Snipes and I hit homeruns and no one celebrates? Seriously?"

DirecTV does have KCAL HD as part of the LA local channels for Los Angeles. If you're not in Los Angeles, there may be a way to get LA local channels but you'd have to ask them about how that works.

The Cubs-Brewers crowd at Miller Park is similar to the mixture of fans at the Rose Bowl yesterday.

The Brewers's lineup has 5 players with 20+ HRs.

Angel Guzman, who had Tommy John surgery earlier this year, is hitting 97 mph on the radar gun at Miller Park.

Peralta homer gives Indians 1-0 lead over White Sox.

On the way over to see the Angels try not to stumble again for their final regular season game of the year ... bummer about the Dodgers not being televised for whatever reason. There's plenty of drama with the Royals/Twins, Indians/White Sox, Cubs/Brewers, and Mets/Marlins. I'm kinda bummed I missed yesterday's Maddux start; sounds like it would have been a lot more interesting than the lackadaisical game the Angels assembled.

See everyone after the game, and go Dodgers!

51
Jhonny be good!

Just had the first moment of the season where I missed Jason Elam. Because Matt Prater missed a 28 yard field goal. He's also my fantasy kicker. Thus, I will virtually strangle him.

And Oliver Perez has won the NL single season walks title! 103 and counting!

Barry Zito gets a break.

If the Dodgers can get any type of starting pitching, they can advance in the playoffs. Here are the playoff starts the last two appearances:

2006
Gm 3: Maddux - 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2/0 BB/K, 30 game score
Gm 2: Kuo - 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2/4 BB/K, 49 GmScr
Gm 1: Lowe - 5.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2/6 BB/K, 44 GmScr

2004
Gm 4: Odalis - 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 5/0 BB/K, 39 GmScr
Gm 3: Lima - 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1/4 BB/K, 80 GmScr
Gm 2: Weaver - 4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 2/4 BB/K, 26 GmScr
Gm 1: Odalis - 2.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 2/3 BB/K, 25 GmScr

Heck, if the Dodgers can just get the starters to pitch into the 6th, their chances will dramatically improve.

The Lima Game® is tied for the 7th highest game score by a Dodger starter in the playoffs.

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

There have been 101 Dodger playoff games, and here's how the above starts ranked in terms of game score:

2006
3: Maddux - 92nd of 101
2: Kuo - 59th
1: Lowe - 68th

2004
4: Odalis - 75th
3: Lima - t-7th
2: Weaver - 97th
1: Odalis - 99th

And Oliver Perez has won the NL single season walks title! 103 and counting!

By walking...

wait for it...

Cody Ross!

Marlins leave two on in the top of the second. No score at Shea.

Cody Ross now has 33 walks to go along with his 116 Ks.

56

Who has number 101?

60
Ramon Martinez. Game 1 of the 1995 NLCS.

Change that C to a D.

59
You're just trying to make him look bad.

60
Somebody didn't click the link! :)

It was Ramon Martinez in Game 1 of the 1995 series against the Reds.

My bet on the Saints minus 5 over the Niners today is looking pretty good, however.

Konerko ties it up in Chicago with a solo homer.

62
Never a good thing for a student to hear.

Cubs cash in an error by Cecil Fielder and go up 1-0.

63

There wasn't room for Bob to mention his 22HRs and .809 OPS.

Who's Cody Ross? {ducks}

65
Ummm, Denver was favored by 10, and some people might like them to win by more than that amount. I will renew my cat hatred if the Broncos don't cover! :)

I do not worship at the altar of Cody Ross.

Now Zoroaster is another matter.

69
And $390,000 salary.

The easy part about the Dodger playoff struggles since 1988 is that when one says "the 1995 series" you don't have to think too hard to figure out which series it was.

64

Copying and pasting is hard.

Okay, Prater misses a 28 yard field goal but then after I virtually strangled him he makes a 56 yard field goal in KC! Ay caramba.

73
I can't hear you. My Andruw Jones jersey is covering my ears.

And many other parts of my body.

71 Oh noes, you didn't!? Even I wasn't confident about this one, they always have a struggle in KC even when KC stinks.

Cubs cash in an error by Cecil Fielder and go up 1-0.

Bob emulating Vin Scully.

77
You realize you just set D4P up on a tee for another fat joke, right?

71
I picked Denver to be high scorer of the week.

80
I'm in a generous mood today.

i don't know what you guys are talking about, I just turned on the t.v. & it looks like the game is on kcal 9 think blue t.v. first & then the game.

75
I agree. That's why I use Linkification. That way I can set it and forget it...oh wait, I mean "click it rather than cut and paste."

Cecil Fielder's jersey laughs at Andruw Jones' jersey.

83
The gripe is that KCAL is not part of extra innings, so those of us outside of LA are deprived of Vin.

Well, then I can blame you guys for betting on them.

Maybe they'll be like my soccer team this morning. We were down 2-1 at halftime and won 11-2.

OK, here goes:

My Andruw Jones jersey is covering my ears

I bet it's covering your entire body...!

Thankyouverymuch.

Actually I bought the Andruw Jones caftan.

A Jamey Carroll error gives the White Sox another run and they lead Cleveland 2-1.

Cabrera sac fly makes it 3-1 White Sox.

Thanks for the fourteen answers to my James Loney "cold shoulder" question.

Actually I bought the Andruw Jones caftan

I like to think of Andruw along these lines:

http://tinyurl.com/4yslqp

86

oh o.k. One thing I noticed when i was in san diego, you guys get the angels feed (i know that for sure cause i saw FNSW) but do you guys get prime ticket as well? the hotel i was in didn't carry prime ticket.

Zambrano pinch hitting for Angel Guzman in Milwaukee. The Brewers will enjoy seeing a different pitcher.

I don't understand why K Cal can't get something worked out with Extra Innings. It can't be strictly a local channel thing b/c Local Channel 4 in San Diego is now a part of the Extra Innings package.

1. What I want to happen:

Twins and Brewers make playoffs

2. What I don't want to happen:

White Sox and Mets make playoffs

3. What will probably happen:

See 2

85 - and Mo Vaughn's jersey mocks them both.

I started L. Coles today! Woohoo!

Just an hour and 15 minutes before Lane Kiffin's last game.

so, what's everyone think, ninth round (88th pick overall) in a 10 team fantasy basketball league too early to take OJ Mayo? I'm debating between him and Hinrich, or possibly Bogut.

89

for those mere mortals (like my self) who don't know what "caftan" means, take a look

[ http://static.flickr.com/54/153903821_4ad445377d_o.jpg ]

100 - If I cared about the Raiders, I would probably hold Al Davis in the same regard that I hold Fidel Castro. (hopefully that is not a rule 5 violation)

102 - excuse me, I have to go wash my eyes out with rubbing alcohol now.

100

And Scott Linehan's. Please.

No score after 3 at Shea.

Cubs 1, Brewers 0, bottom 3

101
Not at all, but he is going to have a bad shooting percentage, but will put up points and some assists.

Twins take a 1-0 lead on the Royals after Denard Span doubles on a 2-out, 3-2 pitch.

Twins lead as do Sox.

I've got the cubs on tv, mets on mlb.tv, twins on gamecast...quite an exciting end to the season

While I don't like the idea playing in philly, I have too many friends that are cubs fans, and they could potentially make my life hell. Plus I think its easier to dislike Philly teams anyway..

so go mets, go cubs, go twins

94
Bluebleeder, in SD we have FSN West, and my TV guide often tells me an Angel game will be on. However, those games are blacked out. I get all the other stuff normally on FSN West though.

No Prime Ticket for me either.

The Angels are on ESPN Radio 800 down here, but that station has the weakest signal I've ever heard from a supposed major market radio station.

I don't blame Kiffin for any of this. I won't mention Al for fear of numerous rule violations. A win over SD would be nice for a change.

37 47 That's correct. Direct TV has KCAL, in both SD and (I'm glad to hear) HD, within its own defined "Los Angeles" local area. But not in Santa Barbara. There is an illegal way to get that here, I'm told - by giving a Los Angeles billing address (of a cooperative friend, who'll send mail on) and then installing the dish and all cables etc. yourself. Not an option for me.

There are some areas where DirectTV offers "neighboring local" channels. If I remember correctly, San Luis Obispo can get Santa Barbara local channels, for example. But they don't offer LA channels to Santa Barbara - I think it must have to do with the agreements with local outposts of the major networks - LA stations of same networks not permitted. I suspect they just haven't bothered about smaller non-network stations like KCAL. I did manage to speak with a higher-level rep from DirectTV, who was interested to hear that Cox shows KCAL in Santa Barbara - he said "if they can, we should be able to too". That's what I'm hoping for, but don't expect much.

Apparently Ed Hochuli just made another huge game changing blunder type call in the Carolina game, already on the front page of Yahoo.

107 - I've got a lot of good big men to help on shooting percentage (Duncan, Marion, Garnett, Oden), so I'm not worried about that category. I'm still weak on assists though (Felton and Roy). I'm just wondering if it's a reach, or if I could wait 5 picks for my next selection.

112
Yep, I actually like Lane.

The 49ers having a decent offense upsets me.

115
Depends how rookies are going in league. Yeah, you definitely need a guard since Felton may be traded or moved to back-up at some point this year.

Matt Prater gives my fantasy team another 5 points with another plus 50 field goal. But so much for racking up the score in Arrowhead.

101 I don't think it's going out on a limb to predict that Hinrich will have better stats across the board than Mayo. Hinrich will probably average more points, assists, boards, and will probably have higher shooting percentages.

Oliver Perez looks pretty good out there today, I wonder how many complete games he has under his belt.

119
He is another guy though, that could be traded and will probably have his playing time cut down.

119 - yeah, I'm thinking Hinrich with my next pick and then taking Mayo five picks later on the way back. Looking at the draft board, the only rookie taken was Oden (who I took in the 6th), lot of guys going with the PVLs, Durant didn't go until the 5th round.

Do we have a list of the poor fools who will have to face Lincecum in the meaningless game today? (i.e., the lineup, aside from AJ Ellis?) I'm just gonna tape the game to watch on FF later but was curious.

No score after 4 at Shea Stadium.

121 - I'm eyeing someone late that I suspect will see increased playing time this year, and who should have a break out season. But I'm guessing no one else is looking at him, so I can wait a couple of rounds.

Well that is a terrible call in Chicago (White Sox)

125
Too bad not a keeper league.

I really don't know what my rooting interest should be to be honest but like Molly I'M NOT REALLY AFRAID of the Cubbies, the Phills we swept & then they swept us... I really think if our pitching stays on track & our hitting stays on track we really should be o.k. to at least be very competitive this time around.

Wow, I just realized how dumb the blue mountains on the Coors light bottles actually are. Just saw the Jim Mora press conference commercial where they ask him, "if you don't have the blue mountains, how will you know when your beer is cold?"

I would guess I could tell by grabbing the beer. But then, I have a functioning nervous system.

127 - I wouldn't want to get involved in a running keeper league with the guys I'm playing this one with. über-competitive guys that I've known my whole life.

129
But we're talking OPTIMALLY cold. Not just cold. Those blue labels are accurate to within .00001 of a degree F.

Of course, they don't say what happens if the beer gets TOO COLD.

does anyone really think that Bill Gates' email address is bill@windows.com?

Also, the new windows "I'm a PC" commercial isn't really all that good.

131 - you still run into the problem of drinking Coors Light, though.

this would have been a good week to start the Tampa Bay defense.

129
Those stupid gimmicks trick people. My friend bought a whole case of those wide-mouth cans, because he thought it was new cool beer or something. I said, well it is just for pouring the beer, so completely useless for you.

Brian Anderson on the Brewers telecast:
"With each passing out, the balloon tightens for the Brewers."

The balloon tightens?

Twins have loaded the bases on a walk, error, and HBP.

136

I think it's a heroin reference.

136 - He's just warming up for the LDS.

136 HA!

139 - or the LSD?

136

This, after I lauded Brian Anderson's play by play on Thursday. So disappointing.

I wonder if they're embarrassed at Nomar's line-up, or he hasn't told anyone. 50 minutes to go, no lineup anywhere yet. Jon, have you received it?

Bases loaded with 1 out for the Twins, already up 1-0 in the 3rd.

...if anyone's interested.

Another error gives the Twins a run. 2-0 Twins.

Oops, didn't see that Bob was tracking the game already. Botched throw home puts the Twins up 2-0.

it was nice seeing Ramon Martinz get a key hit for the Mets the other day. looking at his numbers this season with the Mets (not to many at bats)

AB - 13
Dingers - 0
BA - .308
OBP - 400
OPS+ - 147

I can't say I'm surprised at the lack of dodgers in the tbs playoff promos...

Do statistics just magically inflate when you play out east? I can't figure it out. Beltran is one of several Mets with 25 HRs and 110 RBI.

leadoff double for the marlins at shea

1-0 Marlins in the 6th.

Valiant comeback effort underway by Arizona vs the Jets, down 34-0 it's now 34-21 still in the third. The Cards' recovered an onside kick before previous touchdown. In case anyone cares. Not sure why you would. But it's valiant.

Greg Jennings: helping one of my fantasy teams, killing the other one.

Luckily, neither is a money league.

Harold Reynolds says he can feel silence.

That's very deep.

152 - I was on the Cardinals bandwagon until they decided to go with Warner. I do not like Kurt Warner.

I sense an Oliver Perez meltdown coming on.

Cutler's having some problems in Arrowhead all of a sudden. Interception, followed immediately by Denver fumble recovery, followed almost immediately by another Cutler pick. Crazy. My fantasy team is helped by his mistakes. My psyche is not.

Somethin's cooking for the Marlins! According to the NY sports nation, the Marlins are the Mets' equivalent to the Padres.

138 ROFL

Marlins will have the bases loaded and one out for Josh Willingham.

157 - I love it!

Mr. Smith comes to Flushing.

Even the Mets broadcasters can sense a potential meltdown.

Per Diamond:

Garciaparra already made his first move before the game, scratching Rafael Furcal for an undisclosed reason.

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

155 he's better than that pretty boy loser matt leinart

Also Diamod:

Hong-Chih Kuo is off the playoff roster for the NLDS. He was tested for circulation problems after he experienced numbness in his fingers warming up last night, and will head to Arizona to pitch in the instructional league in case the Dodgers need him later on.

Also off the roster and headed to Arizona to work out are Chin-lung Hu, Jason Repko and Ramon Troncoso. The Dodgers are also sending Eric Stults to Mexico to play winter ball for Mazatlan, which is managed by Class AAA Las Vegas manager Lorenzo Bundy.

I'm watching TBS for the Mets-Marlins for HD. And to hear Harold Reynolds call the Marlins "borning" because they don't steal enough.

He needs to check the Marlins HR totals.

Charles Woodson, still got it.

Here come the boos.

2-0 Marlins after a bases loaded walk to Willingham.

Why is Harold Reynolds still on TV?

169
And here come the pretzels!

169

...at Shea Stadium

So I guess that means that both Young and (ahem) Sweeney are on the roster, Repko off. At least if Young is on, that's good. Someone figure out who the most valuable player Sweeney and his nothingness is keeping off.

Old Friend Cody Ross fouls out with the bases loaded. It's up to Amezaga.

Cody Ross sucks.

171 - because "crazy old ball players" is a protected class under the equal protection clause?

Amezaga grounds out. 2-0 Fish going to the bottom of the 6th.

I hope Furcal is alright. It sure would be nice having Fircal even if he is only at 80% or so.

I seem to remember that a team cannot make a roster change during a playoff series. If someone gets hurt they can't DL him and put someone else on - at least until the next round. Is that true? If it is, they may not want to chance Furcal taking up a spot unless he is really ready to go. Same with kent, but he seems to be as good as he's going to be.

That pretty much means no Furcal for the first round.

at least Herald Reynolds got the part were he said "it should be a good game for 4 or 5 innings" right.

CC so close to tying the game with a homer.

Why don't we wait to see if Furcal enters the game in a later inning today? It could be that 3 days starting in a row is not advised at the moment.

I hope they realize just how bad our bench is before not putting Furcal on the roster. I'll take 50% of Furcal over Hu, Ozuna, etc.

Someone should tell the Brewers that they are allowed to get hits.

I mean they already have one, but they could use more.

Tied up in Shea on a 2-run homer by Beltran.

Beltran power!

No way.

Mets will win, Brewers will lose.

Yuck.

JT O'Sullivan might want to stop throwing interceptions in the end zone.

Olsen leads off the 7th for the Marlins, so it will be decided by the bullpens.

Way back at 32 berkowit28 responded to my gripe in 26 and explained the FSN/KCAL situation. Thanks.

We have a similar HD thing going here. Sometimes the FSN broadcast is on an HD channel, sometimes not. The newspaper listings don't seem to know which.

In the previous thread, I commented about a classic scene in a Paul Newman movie with Melinda Dillon. It's from Absence of Malice. I can't believe I wrote that it was from The Verdict. I'm losing too many brain cells. And, I hate this news about Raffy. I would much rather see Hu as a defensive replacement than Ozuna, and if Sweeney takes up a roster spot over Repko, leaving us with Pierre inserted into a game as a defensive replacement, I will scream.

5th pitcher of the game for the Cubs in the game: Sean Marshall.

Doesn't seem to matter to the Brewers.

Brian Stokes pitching for the Mets.

I wonder if the Marlins have a better bullpen than the Mets.

Old friend Luis Gonzalez grounds out as a pinch hitter for Olsen. Last AB for him?

Announcers are talking about how great a leader Luis Gonzalez is.

Leadoff double for Durham in the 7th.

And a one-out single for Maybin in New York.

I agree that keeping Ozuna and Sweeney on the playoff roster would be a joke.

The Mets seem to have a pinch hitter called Robinson Cancel. Is that allowed? Do the Yankees know?

Braun grounds out to third, but Durham sneaks behind the throw to move up a base.

Robinson Cancel will be traded to the Dodgers for Matt Keel.

192

all i know is that if i were Eric or any other out of market DT'er I'd be PO'd as well.

Maybin steals second in New York. Baker strikes out. Two outs for Cantu.

Fielder gets an IBB in Milwaukee. Pitching change for the Cubs.

I like how in Milwaukee they are showing the Bud Light can and everyone of course is drinking Miller Light.

Old friend that never was Franklin Gutierrez grounds into the 4th DP for Cleveland against Mark Buehrle.

3-1 White Sox after 6 1/2.

206
*cam

wow a wonderful play in the outfield keeps it tied at 2 heading into the bottom of the 7th

Chavez makes a nice running catch to end the inning in New York.

I'm sure someone has said, "Endy Magic!" on the Mets broadcast.

Hardy walks against Wuertz to load the bases in Milwaukee for Cory Hart.

Wuertz is unclutch.

210

Something close to that... I think I heard the phrase "the Legend of Endy Chavez continues..."

Corey Hart needs to wear eyeglasses during the day.

Hart goes down on three pitches.

The Brewers need some players that have patience.

Not a good ab by the Sunglasses at Night dude.

It's up to the veteran clutchiness of Craig Counsell.

Woke up in Cartagena to a thunderstorm, but the sun is now out and I am ready for baseball. Those glorious Bums! The only negative is my Pee Wee peave. I understand the idea of Pablo as a warm body so that Torre can double-switch, what with a well-stocked calabozo and all, but don't like the notion of giving him more rope to overmanage. Also, with Nomar, Kent and JP on the bench there are other PH options that would move Pee Wee down the list. But, in the end, the kid can give you a good professional AB, witness his .393 OBP as a PH.

Why in the world did CBS assign their top announcing team to the Raider game?

Counsell walks with bases loaded, Brewers tie Cubs.

Brewers are on the board!

Joe Nelson pitching for the Fish.

There we go. That's what I'm talking about.

so I guess Torre & his coaches will be advisers for this game.

My archenemy is warming up for the Cubs!

The Marlins are using Edwin Jackson to get a save today.

226
Cody Ross? Ja(y)son Werth? Keith Olbermann?

Samardzija!

220 Hah hah, I was just wondering that, too. Well not a lot to choose from today. Go Raiders! (I loathe the Chargers.)

Looks like the Broncos are gonna get their first L today, choking in Arrowhead. Their defense played a lot better and their offense finally stalled. I blame you guys for betting on them.

Go Dodgers.

White Sox take a 5-1 lead. The Tigers should be packing their bags for a trip to Chicago.

Lincecum K's Pierre & Kemp but Ethier gets a hit for the Dodgers.

1 on with Blake at the bat.

227
Change that Marlins to a Rays.

1-1 tie in the 8th in Milwaukee!

2-2 tie in the 7th in NY!

Does it get any better?

MLB.com now has a highlight of Counsell's bases-loaded walk...!

man!! Lincecum strikes out Blake on an out side heater.

ends up striking out the side.

And it's a blown save for Edwin Jackson.

234

I love baseball man, LOVE IT!

230

CBS has some really bad games today. This is actually the best game available.

234
The answer to your question is "Yes. It would be better if the Brewers and Marlins had large leads."

I guess Jackson blew the save because he was standing on the wrong mound.

i guess this is when MLB.tv mosaic comes in handy.

The Blue Jays beat the Orioles. Both teams have finished their seasons. Toronto is the leader in the clubhouse!

I predict that Samardzija will never allow a home run in the major leagues.

GREAT play by Sabathia!! Speaking of legends!

Vinnie explains the Kuo situation a little better (to me at least) Kuo has NO PAIN but he couldn't feel his fingers.

Marlins take the lead. Wow.

Jerry Manuel has a rather resigned look on his face.

246 - I'm not a doctor, but I got to think:

pain > no feeling

the ball dudes!

The Nats lose! They get the first draft pick!

HELMS! Wowwww...

Maybe Wes Helms could be the Dodgers' 3B, next year.

What on earth is CC doing batting for himself?

254 - CC has the power to hit one out. He almost did his last AB.

Have they said anything about Raffy?

Yes!!!

Back to back.

234 - It would be better if the Mets and the Brewers ended with the same result, forcing a 14 inning tiebreaker.

Back to Back Marlin HRs! Even for the Mets, this is unbelievable.

Meanwhile, Cameron singles with one out in the 8th.

well here we come chicago

i've had the no pain & no feel thing (but to be fair mine probably wasn't so bad) but these guys put WAY MORE TORQUE on there arms than I do so who knows.

If the Mets don't have the worse bullpen the Brewers do. Marlin power

Looks like the Moose well get that 20th win. Highly improbable heading into this season and now he might have put the cap on getting into the HOF.

Lincecum IS ON

I am glad we can be of help to Tim Lincecum in his Cy Young campaign.

We're going to Chicago boys!

That's the last time I root for the evil that is the Mets. Hopeless!

Looks like the Dodgers are headed to Chicago.

5 outs for Lincecum, 5K's.

Braun 2-run homer.

Get that plane ready for Chicago

Brewers take the lead 3-1

Braun hits baseballs very well.

Braun!! Yes!!!

BRAUN!!! Do you believe it?!

Wait...so we'd rather face the Cubs than the Phillies?

Mike Mussina would be the first Stanford player to make the Hall of Fame.

Lidge MVP??? On his own team??? Doesn't Utley play on that team?

Braun power, woo hoo

Dodgers over Cubs in 5

Ok, Rich Harden. You need to get injured now. You owe it to all Dodger/A's fan that had to put up with it for years.

Did anyone catch who the base coaches for the Dodgers are today?

Berroa avoids the K!

--
Welp, I hope today's game is finally a wake up call for the Broncos' porous defense. Snap out of it boys.

--

AJ Ellis' first ML at bat. Poor guy.

Facing Lincecum over the next 4 years is not going to be fun.

The Twins behind Scott Baker doggedly hold on to a 2-0 lead.

Kevin Gregg pitching the 8th for the Marlins.

That was actually a very solid at bat by Ellis until the last pitch, which there wasn't much to be done with.

Both sides so far have been struck out by Lincecum.

278

i'm thinking it's gonna go all the way, tough series.

Going to the top of the 9th in Chicago, 5-1 White Sox.

A White Sox win forces Detroit to come down to Chicago tomorrow.

Not a bad AB by AJ.

Pitch count after 1.5:

Lincecum: 37
Kuroda: 12

282 If he lasts that long...

If both games hold, what a way to send out Shea Stadium. Man...

CC is a beast man, his curve still has a lot of bite on it, wow.

then he throws it down the middle & the cubbie hitter gets a lazer shot single.

Lee up with one out and one on in Milwaukee.

God, the Giants sideline reporter woman is such a flipping fool. Her interview with Lincecum's dad included, "Is there any way to express how proud you are of him?"

--

Nice, Pierre!

I wish we weren't playing the Cubs, but the Mets really didn't deserve to make the playoffs at all. I'm happy for the Brewers, if they hang on... But I wish we weren't playing the Cubs.

Okay, I'm outta here for a while. A sports-free afternoon.

It's all because of Dale Sveum!

Good for Brewers to finally make playoffs again.

So, er, I take it that CC would not be the Brewers' game 1 starter?

White Sox win. There will be baseball tomorrow.

CC Sabathia is the second best pitcher in the game.

What a job by CC, is he going to leave his arm on the mound for the Breweers ill fated playoff run?

The Mets have runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out in the 8th. Delgado at the plate.

Well, if Delgado was ever in the MVP discussion, now is a good time to come through.

brewers fans strike me as an odd bunch...maybe because its not a baseball town, but they just don't look right. There are so many weird outfits and signs and costumes in the stands there at miller park lol..

Zona loosing 1-0 to the Rox.

Not today for Carlos.

A win for Moose would also give him number 270 career.

Anyone know what time the game on Wed and Thur will be?

it's a beautiful day here in L.A. but man, Frisco looks perfect.

308
Nope, just TBA.

To be honest, I think it's hard to judge the Dodgers pitching matched against the teams we play in the NL West. I get the feeling we'll have another sweep at the hands of the Cubs. Even though Chicago's bullpen has some ?'s, I really like what I see with their SPs and lineup.

Whatever happens, I'm excited for them to visit Wrigley and I'm gonna enjoy every minute!

As usual, Pierre ruins all the fun.

you gotta love the progress of Billinglsey, hopefully it will be the same with Kershaw.

I really wanted Philly. I think we can win a series with them. I don't see it v. Chicago. I'd really like Furcal in the lineup.

Twins up 4-0 after 7.

Looks like Pierre would have been out but the 2nd baseman dropped the ball.

mlb.tv is overloading or something...is anyone else not able to watch this game

I hate CC and his bionic arm. Its absolutely nuts what he is doing right now. Now we just have to beat the Cubbies.

Is Lincecum wearing a mitochondrial pendant?

Bison patience!

I like the Lowe vs Dempster matchup, and I think that Zambrano's shoulder might end up giving him some trouble in game two. Ted Lilly will be a tough 4th starter, though.

ah yes, perfect man coming up to bat.

woo~~

gameday says that pitch was right down the pike

317 . Yes, MLB site is down--can't get into Gameday or MLBTV

A midi-chlorian pendant, I think.

That's got to be the geekiest joke I've ever tried to pull off.

tip my hat a la John Wayne to Ethier.

uh...did Ethier get hurt running to second?

I'm already questioning Nomar's abilities as a manager. Why pinch run for Ethier now?

what a pain the rear, i was dying to witness mets fans at this time

that pitch should be illegal.

321 - How about Harden in game 3? He's very tough.

329 Whew, feel better knowing that it's only Nomar's managing style.

.305 BA, .885 OPS, 20 HR, 77 RBI for Andre Ethier in 2008

Every body is going to play today. All 40 members of the roster.

Has the Dodger broadcast mentioned Furcal at all? I'm stuck with the Giants guys.

it's admirable what Lincecum is doing.

1-0 Dodgers.

329 - Ha!

First MLBtv went down, followed by Gameday, then the scoreboard on the side wouldn't load, and now you can't even get into the site.

333 - That's speculation on my part; I'm not watching the game. But usually if there's an injury, they send the trainers out there or something, although it is entirely possible that Nomar is such an expert on injuries that he's not taking chances with anyone else.

All 3 sides so far have been struck out by Lincecum.

Or he worked it out with everyone on how many innings they're going to play.

Here we go... 3 outs left for the Mets season unless they turn it around. 4-2 fish, to the Bot of the 9th.

I lost mlb.tv right before the end of the MIL/CHC game. I am sad I missed the comeback.

For Lincecum's sake, I hope he doesn't go more than 5 innings. The last thing he needs is to end his season with a 130 pitch outing. I'm also kind of hoping he has his first arb hearing before he hits the DL.

340 Does anyone know if they ran for Ethier becasue of an injury?

you gotta blame Milwaukians right?

346

I think they just took him out cause Nomar felt like it...

325 - Baseball Think Factory/Primer is down, too. Been out all morning.

guys, watched "Leaving las vegas" yesterday & it had me balling man.

346 No injury.

And Edwin Jackson pitches bad enough to get a win. 14 wins i think ties the Ray record.

I would assume Ethier was run for just so he wouldn't get hurt.

348 I see Nomar put Ozuna in the game too. I guess everyone is going to play.

352
Shields won 14 games as well.

just checked mlb.com & I too am having trouble loading up the page.

here in the west coast.

352- So it does, tying Rolando Arrojo and Jamie Shields.

353 Hopefully he won't get hurt picking up the baby or something.

What's Edwin Jackson's ceiling? A 3rd/4th starter?

D4P and underdog doubt the existence of Ethier's baby.

One more out in NY.

And the last batter in Shea could be ....

Damion Easley.

Wasn't Lindstrom a former Old Friend of the Mets?

Part of a planned change, no? What with Blake taken out as well and Pablo in at second.

355

Yup, both are tied now. It will be interesting to see what Edwins role is in the playoffs. Cant see him being a starter and he's never been any good as a reliever (especially today). He might just be the garbage mop up guy.

Nomar would be a great believer in socialism.

363
Lindstrom was a Minor Old Met Friend.

359

If he can gain some consistency in his slider and improve his changeup, I could see him as a 2 during his prime. Right now I'd say he's a 4.

I hope the TBS crew gets lots of shots of Met fan kids crying. For Bob's sake, I mean.

Mets down to their final strike.

Easley walks

and Shea lives one batter longer...

And the last batter at Shea Stadium could be ...

Ryan Church.

Has anyone mentioned a Dodgers win today gets them their second-best closing month in LA history? They would be 18-7, for a .720 winning percentage.
In 1965, the Dodgers closed with a run of 22-8 (.733).

Dodgers vs. Cubs

Brewers vs. Phillies

Red Sox vs. Angels

White Sox OR Twins vs. Rays

Miller Park is going crazy!

OFFICIAL!!!

GOODBYE METS!!!!!!!!!!!

and congrats Brewers!!

Somewhere Willie Randolph is laughing.

D4P and underdog doubt the existence of Ethier's baby

I just strongly suspect that it looks like Derek Lowe.

Beautiful.

For the record, the Dodgers lost 5 of 7 games to the Cubs. But the RS-RA differential was minus-1 (18-19).

Are there fireworks, or something, after the game? Why aren't the Met fans leaving?

382 - There's looting to be had.

The duck asks who are the five SF era Geeants to come in second in CY voting (three come to my mind).

I welcome the Cubs, and I hope we take them down in the playoffs.

nice catch, would it have left the yard?

If I had to choose between the Dodgers's backups and the Giants's starters, well, let's just say my chosen team wouldn't include Omar Vizquel.

I don't think that was out. He caught coming back down, and it hit the heal of his glove.

381

Exactly, our pitching was excellent against the Cubs, and Loney was a couple of foul balls away from having us win two other games. Our offense needs to show up!

Hate to disagree with Vin but it wasn't timed perfectly and it wasn't above the wall. Nice catch still.

Wait 'til Next Year vs. the Lovable Losers

What could possibly go wrong?

The Mets and Shea go into the light together.

Dodgers-Giants score, please?

mets lose again, yikes! personally i think our pitching match up better against the cubs, i don't like us facing that philly offense. maybe i'm being optimistic but i like our chances against dempster and zambrano (if he's not 100%)...harden is the tough one.

393 - 1-0 good guys

So the next time we see the Mets...will they have a new dreadlocked LFer?

If you ever start to feel frustrated with the Dodgers, imagine what it must be like to have been a Mets fan for that past 13 months.

388 - JP demands a replay to unsully his name.

396 - I could see them overpaying for Manny.
In fact, I welcome that.

Anyone know when our first two games are?

Mets are going to throw money at C.C. and Manny, and then sign Texiera and move him to Right field.

Wow...so the Brewers will be at Phila and the Dodgers at Cubs, are these both playoff matchups, like the ALCentrals vs Rays, that have never been seen before?

400

October 1: Dodgers at Cubs (Lowe vs. Dempster)
October 2: Dodgers at Cubs (Billingsley vs. Zambrano)
October 4: Cubs at Dodgers (Harden vs. Kuroda)
October 5: Cubs at Dodgers (if necessary)
October 7: Dodgers at Cubs (if necessary)

The Giants are free swingers.

Such a fitting song for Mets fans. "Here's Where The Story Ends" by The Sundays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n35C0j3LLB0

The Brewers are recent converts to the NL, so there are a lot of teams they've never played in the playoffs. And the last time they were in it was the Gorman Thomas Brewers, Harvey's Wallbangers.

Thanks for that score.

402 - Yep.
In the NL, the only previous matchup between the playoff teams is Dodgers-Phillies (1977, 1978, 1983)

There's a word for what happened to the Carmax poll, but it might run afoul of rule five.

403 Hey, its a sensible playoff schedule! Especially compared to the NBA where it somehow takes two weeks to play seven playoff games.

Nomar, time for Repko, no?

Nomar plays the part good man. lol!

Yay, Twins win.

To answer the question of why fans didn't leave Shea after the final out:

SNY detailed an extensive closing ceremony for Shea Stadium after the game, with their own parade of former Mets and a highlight reel (Willie Randolph is a lock to be left out). Why it was scheduled after the game remains to be seen.

Hate seeing a classic player walk off the field for the last time.

On the inside the dodgers blog, it says Furcal was scratched b/c he informed Torre yesterday he wanted the day off, but the message never got to Nomar.

414- Really? I was glad to watch it. Makes me want to retire.

I remember Ken Arneson raved about Vizquels D.

Janikowski attempting 76 yard field goal.

415

definitely goods news.

414 - You prefer to see them dragged off? ;-)

418 Suprisingly, he didn't make it.

Strike 'em out, throw 'em out, my most hated variety of double play.

How awesome is the NFC East?

Shouldn't it be "Strike 'im out, throw 'im out"...?

Vizquel says he will play one more year and will go to Japan if he has to.

424- Not according to the final arbiter of all human knowledge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_play

425 - Or France.

On the Griddle, is that some sort of laser beam that the Mets have to walk into?

Well, the Dodgers sure seem to want to give Lincecum the strikeout title in a landslide.

426
Ridiculous.

429

yeah i know, but at least there still winning.

1-zip.

man, Nomar is a great strategist.

LONEY!!!!!

WOW!

That's what Sturtze told Kershaw to do.

Sure Loney made a nice play, but the important thing is that Canuck was wrong in predicting that Billingsley wouldn't get 200 IP, this year.

God I hate the Giants. There's just no way the idiots responsible for that lineup should have jobs in the first place or keep them once they do.

Mariano in for the ninth, Yanks up 6-2. Looks like Moose gets win 20/270.

435 -- I don't recall predicting that. I FEARED that, certainly.

And don't think I'm not going to note that defensive metrics tell us that what looked like a great play by Loney was just our eyes deceiving us.

Angels on pace to win 100 games. Padres may lose 99.

Does anyone remember if the playoffs started on a tuesday or a wednesday last year? I thought it was tuesday.

Is there any defensible reason for leaving Lincecum in the game...?

If I were Nomar, I'd start making everybody bunt. Sure, they wouldn't score any more runs, but at least they'd quit striking out so much.

Bochy is the worst manager not named Bob Melvin in the NL West.

441 Suppressing his arbitration numbers due to multiple stints on the DL next year.

444 - That's clevil.

443
He is worse than Melvin.

Namath, I mean Todd, no, I mean Favre threw 6 TDs for the Jets today? Sheesh. Maybe he changed his retirement plans for a reason.

USC fell to ninth in today's Coaches, and AP poll.

Georgia fell to 11th in AP, 10th in Coaches

Florida 12th in AP, 13th in Coaches.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/polls

446 Bob Melvin batted Chris Young 2nd all year despite his sub .300 OBP. At least JP has a post .300 OBP for the Dodgers.

448 - UGA should have dropped the furthest, not UF.

438- I saw it just the other day. I think it was in the thread where Jon predicted (hedgily, if I recall) Billingsley would be in the top five of Cy Young voting.

449
Bochy probably has never looked at an OBP stat in his life.

Vin Scully is making fun of Bruce Bochy.

441 Defensible, no, but I suspect it has to do with another win, the Cy Young balloting, and the Gnats 2009 advertising campaign that would follow.

How many BBWAA voters haven't already filled out their ballots? I bet zero.

452
Neither has his boss.

Chan Ho Park is so steamed.

Sandoval crushes the ball every single time I see him bat.

Yeah, I am thinking that the duck can add another one to the list.

Nomar is the new Brewers manager, and utility player.

Phil Rogers of the Tribune is picking Cubs in 5.

461 I'm sure Plaschke is picking the Cubs to sweep in 3, and then blasting the Dodgers because they couldn't stop the team of 'destiny'.

will kemp finish the year right at 800ops?

So is Delgado still the MVP?

The Giants want people to big on stupid things like a watermelon made to look like a baseball.

The Angels won #100 today.

And the Raider meltdown is in full effect now.

I can't believe my Raiders are going to blow another game.

Why are the Giants playing all of their regulars in the bottom of the 8th?

Why shouldn't the Giants play their regulars? It's not like they're very good to begin with.

Why are the Giants playing all of their regulars in the bottom of the 8th?

Those are regulars...?

I never noticed that Cory Wade had a hump before...

Nomar's not handling the bullpen well.

What hump?

And it's Eye-gore.

474 Its the power of HD!

Actually, I think my eyes are fooling me.

469 Because they're not in the playoffs, and they want towin their last game at home? Why should they rest anyone? They all get at least 6 months rest, starting tomorrow.

So pathetic!!!

It is sad all my assumptions about the Raiders blowing it in 4th always come true.

And why isn't Omar managing?

478 - this is ridiculous.

480
There's practically no fun in watching football anymore.

478.... I'm so angry.

None of this would be happening if Al Davis were still alive.

False start? C'MON!!!!

chan ho park not on the roster.
September: 9 2/3 IP 11 H 7 ER 6.52 ERA
After All Star Break: 30 1/3 IP 32 H 22 ER 6.52 ERA

Gammons just said Kershaw to replace kuo in pen, Maddux starts game 4.

Nomar is clearing the bench.

If I were him, I'd tell Torre to get a bat.

It's more fun to hear Lee Hamilton complain about false starts.

Cornell Green should be taken out back and shot after the game is over.

People would do well to keep in mind a simple adage:

The NFL sucks.

I have to say, it's fun to watch the Raiders suffer. Not quite as fun as watching the Rams suffer. But still, fun.

Al Davis is an even creepier version of Hugh Hefner.

Brian Wilson would make a great Mets closer.

Nomar should have put himself in at the end - they might have won.

Pierre slugs .329 for the season.

Did somebody say Maddux will pitch game 4?

I just found out the big Dodgers Rally is on FSN Prime Ticket tonight. Didn't know it would be televised.

Has this ever happened? A rally before the playoffs?

484. That is some trouble stats for Chan Ho.

495

Of course, that requires that there be a Game 4 first.

If the DBacks just win 2 of the 6 recent games vs. the Dodgers, they tie for the division crown. Amazing what winning 5 out of 6 will do for you.

495 - that's what gammons said on baseball tonight.

I know the game meant squat, but it sure was hard to watch Angel Berroa come to bat in the ninth w/ two outs knowing that messers Ramirez, Kent, Furcal and even Garciaparra himself were available to hit. I mean, if you're going to use Martin, then go all the way.

85 wins sounded so much better than 84.

499 I'm not so sure about that. I think the Dodgers would have won the Hennensey-Lowe game at least, or the Kuroda-Peavy game if they were actually trying to win games.

498 - yeah, I'm kind of expecting the Dodgers to sweep as well.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Referee Ed Hochuli was at the center of another questionable call Sunday, flagging Julius Peppers for a roughing-the-passer penalty that wiped out Carolina's interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter against Atlanta.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-hochulicall&prov=ap&type=lgns

would anyone feel remotely confident throwing maddux in against this cubs lineup?

505
No, why would anyone?

505 - will their hitters be blindfolded?

I just hope that we have a two-one lead if Maddux has to pitch game 4. Maddux is like Kuroda, you never know if good Kuroda is showing up or Bad Kuroda. The same thing with Maddux.

I bought a small frozen yogurt last night and paid $6.10.
Just got my World Series tix today and they are $250 each.
When did life get so expensive?

No one in the Coliseum is cheering even though the Raiders tied the game, because they all know what is going to happen next.

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—The last-place Washington Nationals fired five coaches on Sunday, a complete overhaul of manager Manny Acta's staff after finishing with the worst record in the majors.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-nationals-coaches&prov=ap&type=lgns

Jim Bowden should fire himself.

509 Inflation.

There's no Sunday Night baseball on ESPN tonight?

510
And of course the Chargers return the kickoff to the Raiders' 35.

Is anyone else subjecting themselves to the torturous Time Life commercial that followed the Dodger game on KCAL? If so, can you help me understand why I haven't turned away? It's like a car crash. A car crash from the past.

The Bills are going 19-0. That is all.

515 I already switched to baseball tonight. If I'm going to watch crap, I might as well watch John Kruk try to proclaim Ryan Howard is the MVP due to his home run and RBI lead.

513. NYY vs Boston ?

No one snatches defeat from the jaws of victory quite like the Raiders.

There's never Sunday Night Baseball on the last day of the regular season. There usually isn't a night game. The Red Sox and Yankees are only playing to make up a rainout.

518 ESPN says they're doing a baseball tonight edition at 8:30 Eastern, for the division series preview.

I hope Michael Crabtree likes California, because he will be in Oakland next year.

Raiders fans better hope John Madden is the owner next year.

Dale Sveum just declared Sabathia's performance "the best of our era" because "coming back on 3 days rest-- no one has ever done that before".
Uhhh... you mean since yesterday when Santana did it?

NEW YORK -- The Mets have decided to bring back Jerry Manuel as manager despite the disappointing end to their season, SI.com has learned.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/09/28/mets.manuel/index.html

523 - how dare you deprive the world of John Madden as a football commentator?

hypothetical question: if you're Joe Torre, and the Dodgers win it all this year, do you ride off into the sunset and let Donnie Baseball take over?

524 C.C. been pitching on 3 days rest for the past 3 or 4 starts. That hasn't been done in a while.

526 Is that a question or statement?

529 - I'm not really sure. It should be read with mock righteous indignation.

530 Well, I did read it with mock righteous indignation. So you did your job.

wow, I'm having a flashback.

Kieth Olberman and Dan Patrick doing football night in America.

It's 1995 all over again.

517 I don't see one thing wrong with Ryan Howard getting the NL MVP.

Has anything been said about what TIME on Wednesday the Dodgers/Cubs game will take place?

532 - Are the scores on a blue background?

http://tinyurl.com/3pa96k

Another praising Torre article by the New York media.

534 - Just a guess, but they'll have the East Coast prime-time game. So, 5 p.m. PDT-ish.
Brewers-Phillies will have the early game, and Red Sox-Angels will have the late game.
Just makes sense.

534- Still TBA

535 - that's the only thing missing. you can tell it's been 12 years since they worked together, their timing is a bit off.

Aaron Rodgers may have a separated shoulder. Oops.

wow, Angels won 100 games this year. If my math is right, that's pretty good.

the hit on Bolden in the Jets game was sick.

540 - it happens, I'd kind of like to see what Brian Brohm can do. But I was looking forward to seeing Rodgers for a while now too.

That hit on Boldin was brutal. Yikes.

And Kurt Warner has some serious man boobs.

Angels won 100 games this year

Helps to play in the worst division in the MLB.

84-78 is not the worst record to ever make the playoffs.

Cards 06 (83-78) & Padres 05 (82-80) were worse.

544 - going 30-14 against the East and 24-17 against the Central probably helps too. Especially since they were only 36-21 against the West.

Twins won with a 85-77 record in 1991.

So I think it's safe to say sans Ramirez, the Dodgers were a pretty mediocre club.

Sans Manny, and Furcal. The Dodgers kinda were bad. With Manny and Furcal, they can be much better.

534 - Still waiting eagerly for that information myself. Need to know what escape measures I have to engineer to get me out of the office to watch the game(s)... I recall back in '06 either Game 1 or 2 was rather early in the day, as I seem to remember being at home alone, fuming over Kent and Drew's idiotic baserunning... hopefully, our games get prime time billing this time around.

550 They're playing the Cubs, we'll getting every game at 5 PM, or TBS and Fox are going to start firing programmers left and right.

I tend not to focus on the 84-78 record.

Rather what this team did from August 30th until this past Wednesday. Really incredible job by this ballclub. That's the team that is the N.L West champions.

Everything goes back to zero on Wednesday.

544 - factor in the AAAA-ness of the NL and the Dodgers don't have much to brag about.

Dodgers/Cubs and Red Sox/Angels are the marquee series. They'll definitely be treated as such. Brewers/Phillies will probably have a lot of day games.

If it's Twins/Rays when is the last time we had a series fully enclosed in domes?

When do the playoff teams have to announce their rosters? I saw somewhere where they gave the time, but not the day. Does the possibility of an AL Central playoff on Tuesday alter this at all?

Cards to resign Lohse.

The dream has ended for Los Angeles.

The Sparks lost today.

ESPN baseball playoffs preview is starting.

554
If it's Twins/Rays when is the last time we had a series fully enclosed in domes?

The 1991 ALCS was played in the Metrodome and the Skydome.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1991_ALCS.shtml

I'm not that big a football fan, but go Desean Jackson.

DeSean Jackson decided to mention his high school of Long Beach Poly instead of Cal.

So far the playoffs special is a Josh Hamilton special.

Imagine if the Rays kept Josh Hamilton.

How many people said they were going to the rally?

561 That's so awesome.

For those who forgot the Dodgers postseason rally is live on FSN Prime Ticket right now.

Long Beach Poly could stay in a game with Cal if they played today.

When are we going to know what time the game airs on Wednesday? I will have to do some substantial schedule reshuffling...

http://www.baseball-reference.com/m/mcdonja03.shtml

James McDonald finishes with an ERA+ of infinity. So good, he's unquantifiable.

Jeff Kent started at first base Saturday, and Torre said he was open to the idea of doing the same in the playoffs on a day when the opposing starting pitcher is a tough left-hander.

http://www.pe.com/sports/baseball/dodgers/stories/PE_Sports_Local_S_dodgers_notes_28.21d186c.html

I'm taking a break, halfway through "The Verdict". I like it thus far.

I just spent $100 to change my flight to get home early on Sunday to make the game. There better be one...

a few years back Jorge Cantu said to watch out his team [Rays at the time] were gonna surprise a few people, i know players from there teams say that but i'm reminded of him saying that now.

he's gone, playing for the Marlins but it's still pretty cool I guess.

Eric gagne in the playoffs.

i guess it depends how you view things (i've never been to milwaukee) but it was pretty nice watching them celebrate, especially this one girl (tears in her eyes) maybe she was remember her dad or something... who knows, it was just cool to watch.

Eric Gagne has an ERA+ of 80

television CEO's are probably pretty happy:

Boston
Los Angeles (both teams)
Chicago
Milwaukee
Florida

_______

i'm sure i'm forgetting a team or 2.

in 2003 Eric Gagne had an ERA+ of 335

577
Philly and possibly Minnesota.

I am very happy in general about our pitching over the weekend. But I am not sure fine tuning your roster is worth more than keeping a winning atmosphere going into the playoffs. In particular, if the odd dozen at bats given to Pierre, Ozuna, Berroa and friends, had been given to our good offensive players, we likely would have won tonight. Is it important? I'm not sure. But I'm nervous.

1)Physical – Olivia Newton-John
2)Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
3)I Love Rock and Roll – Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
4)Ebony and Ivory – Paul McCartney/Stevie Wonder
5)Centerfold – J. Geils Band
6)Don't You Want Me – The Human League
7)Jack and Diane – John Cougar
8)Hurts So Good – John Cougar
9)Abracadabra – Steve Miller Band
10)Hard to Say I'm Sorry – Chicago
11)Tainted Love – Soft Cell
12)Chariots of Fire – Vangelis
13)Harden My Heart – Quarterflash
14)Rosanna – Toto
15)I Can't Go for That (No Can Do) – Hall & Oates
16)867-5309/Jenny – Tommy Tutone
17)Key Largo – Bertie Higgins
18)You Should Hear How She Talks About You – Melissa Manchester
19)Waiting for a Girl Like You – Foreigner
20) Don't Talk to Strangers – Rick Springfied

__________

popular songs from 1982

Kinda wish I was LATed this time.

581 I think Melonball has been trying to get rid of that "Cougar" since 1983.

1982 was the last year Milwaukee made it to the post season...

cool songs from that list:

John Cougar - Jack & Diane

Tainted Love - Soft Cell

baseball tonight is talking about our Dodgers right now.

well that's a change of paste, Baseball tonight likes the Dodgers.

584 - what 867-5309 and Don't You Want Me?

And also I Can't Go For That (No Can Do). You can't sleep on Hall and Oates.

Gammons just reported that the Brewers agreed to trade another prospect to the Indians for C.C. if they made the playoffs.

Dodgers-Cubs is 6:30 EST. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Day game for the Dodgers?

585, 586

I thought the same thing. Gammons talking good about the Dodgers would normally make me happy too....except that he's now dead to me b/c of his incessant Kemp/Cano trade rumors.

Oh..Petey my boy...where'd you go wrong.

Where'd you go wrong..

Angels-Red Sox is 10:00 EST. Boston must be up in arms about this.

Times announced! Pacific Standard Time!

Game 1: 4:30 p.m (6:30 in Chicago)
Game 2: 6:30 p.m (8:30 in Chicago)
Game 3: 7:00 p.m

589 Both games or is the game 4 time tbd?

Ok just forget about 592

Game 1: 3:30 p.m (5:30 in Chicago)
Game 2: 6:30 p.m (8:30 in Chicago)
Game 3: 7:00 p.m

http://tinyurl.com/4hagj7

592 Why Standard Time? We're still on Daylight Savings until Nov. 2- timed to coincide with baseball!

Ok, so here's the super fancy version!

Game 1: October 1st on TBS 3:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs
(Derek Lowe vs. Ryan Dempster)

Game 2: October 2nd on TBS 6:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs
(Chad Billingsley vs. Carlos Zambrano)

Game 3: October 4th on TBS 7:00 p.m.
Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers
(Rich Harden vs. Hiroki Kuroda)

Games 4 and 5 To Be Determined

586 "change of paste" - I like it! No plain old flour and water paste for us! Super-glue, maybe?

That 3:30 start time will make people on the West Coast very happy...

NOT!

Have they announced our playoff roster yet?

I think it's a little ridiculous they're starting a game in Chicago at 8:30 p.m. But, World Series games on the east coast start at 8:30 so it's not over the top ridiculous.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-simers29-2008sep29,0,255106.story

New T.J. Simers article. Thats what? 4 in a row? Usually he takes a couple of days off a week to let Jerry Crowne take over page two.

581

No love for "Gloria?"

One scout told the Chicago scout to have his team mow the grass as short as possible and harden the ground around home plate with Derek Lowe pitching.The scout said the Dodgers' infielders lack range, and with Lowe's pitching drawing so many ground balls, it'd be to the Cubs' advantage to speed up the infield. -T.J. Simers

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/

Tony Jackson says that the games are starting 7 minutes later than the previous posting times for some reason.

Wed. Oct. 1

3:07 pm MIL @ PHI (1)
6:37 pm LAD @ CHI (1)
10:07 pm BOS @ LAA (1)

And so on.

I posted on 9/8...

Ok, my very un-scientific and probably very wrong calculations look like this

Dodgers
vs. SD (Peavy 1) 3-3
vs. SF (Cain 1) 4-2
vs. Pitt 3-1
vs. Col 1-2
Total- 11-8

Arizona
vs. SF (Lincecum 2, Cain 1) 3-4
vs. Cin (Harang, Cueto, Volquez) 1-2
vs. StL (Wainwright) 2-2
vs. Col. 4-2
Total- 10-10

So the winner of tonight's game will be playing for the divison crown tomorrow.

What really happened...
Dodgers
Vs. SD 4-2
vs. SF 2-4
vs. Pitt 3-1
vs. Col 2-1
Total 11-8
Arizona
vs. SF 4-3
vs. Cin 1-2
vs. STL 1-3
vs. Col 4-2
Total 10-10

Dodgers 84-78
Arizona 81-81

I didn't get the order right, but close enough.

The Dodgers have arrived to Dodger Stadium.

581 - I'm on board for songs #2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, and 16.

Just flipped over to the rally, I'm not sure bringing the championship trophy out is a good idea.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/p/pujolal01.shtml

Albert Pujols has a 190 OPS+. Just wow

Josh Beckett has an oblique injury and may not be able to pitch against the Angels.

Lester starts game 1 now. Dice-K game 2, Beckett is slotted game 3.

Rally Thoughts

That was fun! Kinda reminds me of those good ol' rallies before big High School games. Ah the days. Excellent work, everyone who made this rally possible.

The players looked spent, and I commiserate. I feel spent just traveling 45 min from SB to Oxnard. Still, it was great to see everybody rally the troops. Man I wish I was there!

608 And to think that Bonds ave OPS + for 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 was around 250 and Manny with the dodgers is 213.

Second game at Fenway went to 10 innings. Red Sox won 4-3. Nice for them at home, I guess.

Regular season over everywhere but AL Central.

611 And Pujols blows everyone out of the water with his defense.

606

a baseball buddy of mine told me today that he was going to a "celebration" thing with them at 630am?

what?

NPUT