0 I would simply add that even those who have been able to watch on DirecTV this season, watch it again on Friday nights. If any show is worth a quick turnaround second viewing it's this one.

I am soon to be a Johnny come lately to Freaks and Geeks though. Those DVDs will be in the mail soon.

But I watched Arrested Development from day one, so ha!! :)

What a great show. Matt and Julie are among my two favorite TV characters of all-time.

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/1098180.html

That snapshot comparison between Pierre and Figgins still freaks me out. It's like someone invented the example to show the value of walks. The two guys had the same number of ABs, Hits, 2bs, 3bs, HRs, and hence AVG and SLG. The only difference in their 2008 performances to that point was walks: 47 for Figgins, 18 for Pierre, which meant 50 pts of OBP.

Freaky, I tells ya.

Well, I was sorta right. Yeesh.

And the Figgins vs. Pierre talk starts at post 44 in that thread if you want to look.

Networks have found it cheaper and more profitable to just go with Deal Or No Deal all week. :o

There on now you guys...

he was on a really cool episode of star trek, RIP paisano.

Some Owners Call for Salary Cap

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3833716

31. jdbeauchamp
Great show.

http://www.670thescore.com/pages/3577965.php

I also wonder if perhaps networks could take better advantage of technology to get a more accurate assessment of their audience.

On another note...I watched a bit of the Lost airing last night, and the way they have spaced out the show has slowly killed some excitement for me. I watched the preview for the premiere, but then I watched a bit last night, and it made me feel tired of the show.

Sorry about that. I really was trying to be subtle.

Extremely so.

I wish I had taken baseball more seriously in high school :)

"The bleak economy was on the owners' minds as they gathered at an exclusive mountainside resort to begin two days of meetings."

Thanks for the post, Jon. Save this show! Who do we email?

It must feel great to get a raise like Martin, Ethier, and Broxton

It's another sign of TV's unique (and irritating) method of distributing its product among many different distribution systems, each one claiming some degree of "exclusivity" while there is no one source where you can turn to get the programming you want.

"If you have DirecTV, you can see this ..."
"If you have cable, you can see this ..."
"If you have high-speed internet, you can see this ..."
"If you pay iTunes, you can watch this...."
"If you go on to Amazon, you can watch this ..."
"If you ask a college student, they'll just steal it for you from a P2P server."

That was neat.

Well, let's liven it up!

There was a spoof of a Married... movie on one of the episodes where the original cast was reunited. I am interested.

On a talk show, Warren Zevon was once asked about his "cachet." He asked "Isn't cachet like panache, except sitting down?"

--

Can someone start a Find Underdog's Cellphone Facebook group? :-( I lost mine yesterday, inexplicably, while doing laundry and couldn't find it while retracing all steps. Posted a sign, posted a thing on Craigslist. Sigh. It's hopeless. So should I suspend my service now, just to make sure no one's using it?

I had to use Skype from my computer to call it since I no longer have a land line. I thought maybe I'd hear it ringing, if it was buried here at home somewhere but no dice.

This is why I can't be allowed to get an iPhone.

He could've done worse with it, but asking for $20 for finding something that isn't yours is what makes people so "great" in my book. If he happened to be homeless or very impoverished, I will hold it against him less.

I just suspended my service. That way if I get it back, I can unsuspend it, but then I won't, as Daniel said, be charged for any illicit calls.

Sorry about your Treo, Jon.

I loved my Ericsson, darnit! I love my dead, MIA cell phone. (vaguely referencing "Heathers")

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/01/15/orix.nomo.ap/index.html

I just can't understand charging someone for that. It takes a special kind of person to have the nerve. I am not perfect by any means, but I would take joy in making someones day by finding their phone.

Anyone with an iPhone or iPod touch, I found an awesome calorie counter app for free the other day. It is called Lose It, and I am really impressed. I just love the accountability of it all.

The JD/Elliot drama is better when they're subtle about it, not when they have them hashing it out face-to-face.

Plus, they're not going off on nearly enough quirky tangents and the playfulness between JD and Turk is sadly waning.

I had a Compaq Pocket PC and a separate cel phone. Then I fell on the sidewalk one evening, and the Pocket PCs screen cracked.

So ... I splurged for an iPhone ...

This is the first time in a while I feel like one of the "cool kids".

Its amazing how much it can do ... the applications just keep growing and getting better.

The one time I lost my phone I had Verizon bump me down to the lowest plan for the remainder of my contract to avoid the cancellation fees. It worked out fine until the last month when all of a sudden there were $200 worth of charges (mostly downloads). Luckily, when I called Verizon and explained it to them they refunded all the charges and all was hunky dory.

I particularly enjoy TMQ on ESPN picking apart the football aspects, especially how they're seemingly down 4 scores, only to win on a dramatic last-second miracle, in at least 70% of the games.

I'm not sure if FNL is in this category but I'm thinking of shows like Arrested Development and Scrubs that are big with a demographic that doesn't have the type of "appointment TV" habits that advertisers are accustomed to. I think Family Guy is the only show I know of that was brought back based on strong DVD sales after it was cancelled.

Anyhow, just curious. Thanks.

82 - Yeah the thing that really bugged me about that case, though the guy didn't know it when he picked it up, is that I'd lost it because I'd had a minor bike accident, wiped out on the street, spilled onto sidewalk, on my way home. The phone tumbled out and I was so rattled I didn't pay much attention to that, just wanted to get home. So on top of a bike accident, I lose my phone and then had to pay this guy to get it back. You're right, I would take pleasure in making someone's day, not looking for an "angle." Sigh.

But right now I'd happily pay 20 clams to get this one back.

Man, Andruw Jones will be a great way to refer to the decline of any type of product.

Kind of like pulling a Homer

Every free agent signing will now get held up to the standard "Was he as bad as Andruw Jones?"

It's not a tough hurdle to climb.

Marc Sanchez entering NFL draft is official.

No problem. I am really impressed with it, and the fact that it was free is awesome.

I caught a bit of it on the DirectV channell and the only thing that stood out to me was that somehow Riggins was still in HS. How can this be? Are they playing Saved by the Bell rules, where HS takes like 7 years to finish?

And another thing - Minka Kelly is still an awful actress.

Anyways, I think the reason why this show hasnt been well received by audiences is bc its trying to duplicate a good book & movie & just cant.

Fictional TV series based around sports have never been very highly rated.

103 - I don't know what Internet you're reading.

Exactly, they should renamed the series "Dillon" if it wasnt going to be about football.

The series lost me when they tried to make each episode about a political message/issue (like when coach is accused of racism, etc). Really morphed from an interesting set of storylines (Young QB taking the team to state, Older QB paralyzed)....to a really bad after school special.

Small sample size? Have there been many - esp. on network television? "The White Shadow", "Sports Night", uh, Oscar Madison was a sportswriter.... Probably there were many and I just don't remember them.

Wasn't the dad a basketball coach?

Oh, wait.

Have I watched too much TV in my life? I may have. Do I mind? No. Would I do it again? Yes.

That doesn't help

Each week, Gale Sayers would be assigned a roommate with a terminal disease. It would be a football version of "Cancer, She Wrote."

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3835601

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/

Its hard finding a weekly drama based on sports. Maybe there arent many to choose from? The last one I can remember was the one on HBO with the dad from Wonder Years playing an NBA coach. That didnt last very long.

Secondly, I think the title was strategically off. It sounds like it's supposed to be on Fridays (originally it wasn't), and it also sounds too much like Saturday Night Live, suggesting to some that it might be a comedy/variety show, the kind of show that died 30 years ago. (SNL is a legacy habit of ex-potheads that retains cultural relevance through its political humor.)

Thirdly, the overwhelming number of one-hour dramas that find mass audience are built around intrigue: Crime-solving, fantasy-mystery, or a glimpse into a secret, taboo society.

Thirdly, it's on a bad network. Every good show on NBC struggles because NBC fails overall to attract a desirable audience, so they can't count on lots of people seeing the in-house ads and promotion.

Seems like FNL is most comparable to a show like "Mad Men," which also successfully dramatized a more ordinary existence where there isn't a murder every week.

The difference is, "Mad Men" was always conceived (from a business standpoint) as an artistically respected loss leader that would provide attention and respectability to a flailing basic cable outlet. FNL was going to be judged on the same week-to-week profitability criteria as "The World's Biggest Loser" or "Deal or No Deal." It's a can't-win situation.

If Jon manages to save it, he might want to be on the lookout for a visit from Ned Beatty. He will have violated the forces of nature.

Not many people do forensic investigations, try to become a pop star and deal with cranky doctors (okay one out three). But they enjoy certain aspects of those shows to come back and watch again and again.

And while I will not address FNL directly, I also think the reason its difficult in a general sense to dramatize sports is the fact that we have the reality of the games themselves to compare them to.

But that doesn't mean people don't enjoy FNL but its for the characters and stories both on and off the field.

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it)
http://vimeo.com/2809991

Cute and funny, and she's not too far off.

On a day I put up a post calling Andruw Jones the worst free agent signing in history, I find out that not only do I share a weight problem with Andruw (I already knew that) but as of tomorrow afternoon I will share his employment status.

I'm still awaiting word on how my $22.1 million will be paid out though.

if that is the case, what is the basis for all the jokes about men and their remotes?

(Actually, the Padres are looking for some power off the bench. That'd be less of a commute.)

--

Speaking of Andruw, apparently Barry Larkin and Harold Reynolds and co. think he still has a lot left and last year was an anomaly. They act like it was just his injury, and the "bright lights of the big city" pressure that did him in last year. Guess they didn't see how he showed up in Spring or how poorly he saw the ball all year or anything else negative.

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200901143744613

I am really sorry to hear that, Eric. Of all the people out there, I had hoped none of us DT-ers would be victims.

Unfortunately, no place is safe from the current economy. I hope you stay on your feet and can find another place of employment.

Of course, she later mentions the possibility of playing a game at Dodger Stadium (which would be the greatest day of my life) and then lands this burn about the Winter Classic in Chicago:

"Hell had, indeed, frozen over before the Cubs won the World Series again."

One of the better sentences I've read on DT in a while.

An update on the big plane "water landing."

Thankfully, it appears there aren't any serious injuries as of yet, according to the report.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/plane_in_river

George Carlin would have enjoyed my use of the term "Water Landing". But this is a literal one, it doesn't look like any part of the plane broke off.

Yea!

Youkilis will be 33 when this initial term is over.

That was a hell of a job by the pilot keeping that plane from breaking apart when it hit the water.

According to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic, starter Jon Garland rejected a contract offer from the Diamondbacks. The offer is unknown, but Piecoro believes the D'Backs have about $4MM left to spend this winter.

Man, I don't know how Boston does it. First the great deal with Pedroia, now this excellent move with Youk.

Now, here's the rub:

Pedroia and Youk are only starting out their careers. If they somehow end up becoming league average or worse, I can imagine there's a possibility they overpaid for both.

The odds of that happening: like Chick says, slim and none and none left the building.

Hint: he wears snakeskin cowgirl boots.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3835601

I like the two comments following the article on Eckstein.

I love it.

Unfortunately, now you can stay up late and talk to me on DT. ; )

Does this seem like a flawed way of looking at determining value for my fantasy league?

It's a head to head league with the following categories; R,H,HR,RBI,BB,TB,SB,K,AVG,W,L,K,ERA,WHIP,CG,SHO,SV. At the end of the week if you have more runs than the other team you're 1-0, more hits than you're 2-0, etc.

I'm looking at every player compared to the league average projections for the players that figure to get drafted in our league. For example the league average catcher is projected as the following; .280, 57.5 runs, 121.2 hits, 14.0 HR's, 64.5 RBI's, 3.5 SB's, 43.3 BB's, 74.8 K's 192.2 TB's. If you take Martin's projections compared to league average you come out with the following.

(.286/.280)+(80/57.5)+(145/121.2)+(14/14)+(73/64.5)+(16/3.5)+(70/43.3)+ (74.8/80)+ (219/192.2)/9*100= 155

It makes sense in my head but when I actually compute the numbers it just doesn't seem right that the top 3 offensive players come out as; 1. Martin 2. Wright 3. Reyes. Do SB's too heavily skew this?

Do you mean, Does anyone think that Ned Coletti will get fired after this season?

or, Does anyone think that Ned Coletti will get shot by a Dodger fan before the end of the year?

{duck}

And how about that Pablo Ozuna, eh?

---

Btw, I discovered that Mercury is indeed in retrograde. Not a huge believer in Astrology but I am in Mercury in retrograde; all sorts of malfunctions, technological and otherwise, always happen then, and miscommunications and so on. This would explain a great deal of my week.

Emphasis on the first S...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/01/pete-carroll-ma.html

"That's why there's a 62 percent failure rate for underclassmen quarterbacks."

Did he use the same sales pitch on Matt Lineart?

The NL West has the weakest group of 2nd baseman I've seen in years. It won't take much for DeWitt to be the best of the group.
Rockies - Barmes or Stewart
Diamondbacks - Felipe Lopez
Padres - Eckstein
Dodgers - DeWitt/Loretta
Giants - Frandsen or Burris

vr, Xei

I think the other worthless middle-infielder was his buddy.

Your numbers example (all numbers are made up).

HR Pool: 1000
Martin: 10HRs, or .01 percent of pool
SB Pool: 500
Martin: 10SBs, or .02 percent of pool

add up all the .01s and .02s for each hitting category. Let's say Martin is now at .15 after doing so. Now compare Martin to the 11 other catchers (assuming you are drafting 12), Martin's value is .15 minus the value of the 12th ranked catcher. That 12th ranked catcher has the "catcher" replacement level value. Because you can always draft someone of atleast his value. Let's say the RLV at catcher is .02, which makes Martin's value (.15-.02=.13). Do this for every catcher and then do it for every position. Is Martin's .13 greater than the difference between David Wright (or whoever the highest ranked 3B is) and the replacement level third baseman? So basically, a player is as valuable as the difference between his raw value and the raw value of the replacement level player at his position. For example, if the 12 catchers all have the same stats/same value, they will all be replacement level and can be drafted last. This is what my draft software does, but it's not exactly geared towards a league with your extreme number of categories.
vr, Xei

(Yeah, I know you meant Berroa.)

Holy cow...this is why I get spanked in Fantasy baseball

Pretty sure that was Berroa, but same difference.

I have some irons in the fire, so hopefully I will get back to it shortly.

Didn't know you were a blacksmith. That's awesome.

1996 comes somewhat close.

Dodgers - Delino's worst year
Giants - Steve Scarsone and a shot Robby Thompson
Padres - Jody Reed
Rockies - Eric Young, but he did have a 98 OPS+
Diamondbacks - did not exist

I know...for some reason it is worrying me

Look at the win probability for tonight's Red Wings/Kings game. We suck!

I would go with the Blackberry Storm

But anyway, what about the LG-10000?

http://6-4-2.blogspot.com/2008/11/tech-blackberry-storm-review.html

http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/08/01/apple.lock.to.att.in.2010/

Rob's notes on ATT service are absolutely correct, although I've had rare luck with the few times I've had to work with them per my iPhone. It helps that for anything technical I can go to the Apple store. Dealing with them regarding an old internet account, on the other hand, was nightmarish.

Since my iPhone had some water problems earlier I need to take it in to see if it tripped the sensors. It's working alright now after a blowdry recovery, but I need to know if I should shell out for Applecare or not for another year of protection.

There's been shouting.

http://tinyurl.com/9s7ayh

This is not unlike August 9, 1974. I apologize for my Rule 5 violation.

David is a true grinder who is a very tough out and does all the little things well - a great example for our younger players

Put...down...the...Koolaid...Paul...

>> While Jones would obviously welcome the opportunity to once again play in his adopted hometown of Atlanta, there are plenty of reasons why the Braves appear reluctant to grant this wish, even if they would only have to provide him the Major League minimum salary of $400,000.

If the Braves were to extend Jones a Major League contract, they would be forced to remove a player from a 40-man roster that is at its max now that Derek Lowe has signed his contract. <<

## This doesn't rule out the possibility that Jones could find himself back in the Braves organization. But all indications are that he would have to sign a Minor League contract to afford himself this opportunity to be reacquainted with the club that developed and employed him from 1993-2007. ##

%% Because Jones ended up hitting just .158 with three homers and a .249 slugging percentage in 75 games for the Dodgers, the contract will long be considered one of the worst in the history of professional sports. %%

http://tinyurl.com/7qyo95

I'm guessing Andruw and his agent are quite pleased with it.

>> In a radio interview Thursday with Atlanta's AM-790, Jones indicated he's not interested in a minor-league deal. <<

http://tinyurl.com/9q9xn5

1. I want to visit the Grand Central Market. Any recommendations where to eat? Where to park? I don't suppose there's anything like free parking anymore downtown but where is reasonably priced parking for a few hours?
2. I hear there's train in LA now! Should we take that downtown (we're staying in WLA)? Is there parking at the train stations?
3. Is the Pantry still OK? Phillipe's? Many a good meal memory from those places.
4.Looking for really great no-frills ethnic food that we can't really get here in North Carolina -- Vietnamese, Cambodian, even Chinese. I hear the San Gabriel Valley is the hotspot for great value. Recommendations?

That's enough for now. Thanks in advance. My cousin is taking us to McCabe's (another old haunt) on Saturday.

Oh, go Dodgers. My $$ contribution to the Dodger corporate machine is the $5 purchase of Dodger flip flops at TJ Maxx the other day. That should help lessen the pain of the 'druw boo boo.

Nor should he be. He's gonna get paid no matter what he does.

>> Andruw Jones was unconditionally released by the Dodgers today, officially ending his miserable tenure with the team. <<

http://tinyurl.com/6wsm88

On 15-501...?

If you can, make room for Langer's in MacArthur Park for pastrami.

Dozens of great Chinese places in the SGV. Sea Harbor, Elite, or 888 Seafood for dim sum, Noodle House, Kingburg Kitchen for dumplings, Mei Long Village, J&J for Shanghai.

East Hollywood has turned into Thai Town. Sapp's coffee shop has great noodles.

Unfortunately, I can't make any personal recs for the west side as I rarely get out there.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28679588

>> Jones becomes a free agent. The Dodgers had two weeks to drum up a trade and spoke to at least two clubs this week, but nothing materialized.

In a statement issued by the club, general manager Ned Colletti said efforts to find a trade partner were unsuccessful. <<

http://tinyurl.com/9s7ayh

Yes. And the funny thing is, it's not even close to being the worst contract among current Dodgers.

Yes, I've never heard of the person being charged with distributing child porn also being the subject of the child porn being distributed.

Andruw Jones released

>> Frank McCourt did confirm after today's tour/photo op at the new spring-training complex that team officials did discuss the possibility of trying to void the contract sometime last season -- he wouldn't say when, but it was obvious he was talking about mid-summer -- but that the decision was made not to proceed. <<

http://tinyurl.com/9go8hu