He's definitely fast & has a great arm. Not sure why anyone previously thought Kemp couldnt play CF..He played there all his minor league career...Too bad the Dodgers didnt believe it when Pierre was signed for 5 years.

And I wonder how cheap we could have picked up
Grudzielanek for? I always liked the guy with the weird eyes.

How do you feel about "the girl with the faraway eyes"?

Okay, Sheets and Manny by the end of the day.

Man. I've been trying to remember the name of that song for years! Thanks, dianagramr!

7 Sentimental value, don't ya know! :)

5
Mark Loretta mashes lefties so if he's pinch hitting against a LHP I will expect something.
http://www.bb-ref.com/pi/shareit/j5Qm

When was the last year Director's and Best Film lined up perfectly 1:1?

Jacob doesn't want to hear this anymore but trading your number one prospect for a league average 3rd baseman is the worse deal that Ned has ever done. Luckily his best deal swept it under the rug for most Dodger fans.

The foreign nominees are all really good this time, though (including Bashir).

By 'Deal' do you mean simply trades, or all forms of transactions.

I don't know what you mean.

For the rest of us, it was to bad, he could have been one of the best LHP ever. I still think he had the best stuff I'd ever seen from a young LHP and I saw Tanana in his prime before the Angels shredded his golden arm.

I'm finding that I'm going to struggle on my party ballot (we do it every year and it gets fiercely competitive) in the supporting actress category. Art/Technical ones may be hard as well, as Oscars seem to get dual-personality between historical pieces and blockbusters in them, and this year packs a punch with strong candidates for both.

So three years of sub 700 ops but two years of plus 1.000 ops. Yet, I always thought he killed LHP.

I liked Heath Ledger as the Joker. I don't see in any way how it was an academy award performance. If he wasn't dead would he even be nominated? I think the answer is no.

BTW, I fully acknowledge I am no authority on judging acting performances, its simply how I viewed the film as a consumer.

You act as if these awards are arbitrary and meaningless.

I commend you.

All I know is that I had no instinct to give eulogistic praise at all, and was blown away with out much I thought he aced it.

Wandering around si.com last night, noticed this from 1/21/60:

"After receiving a record salary of $100,000, Stan Musial insists he take a 20,000 pay cut due to his decrease in performance the previous season."

http://tinyurl.com/c937eb

Some PVLs today would be absolutely mortified to learn such a thing was even mentioned, by a HOFer no less.

Also on the linked sidebar is an account of Musial's retirement in '63. Excerpt:

"He has been one of the happy elements of the game, a friendly, charming boy who grew into a friendly, charming man, set apart principally by the fact that he might at any time hit .376."

Musial quote, which will make this comment stretch to near eternity. Whatever---

"The main reason I decided to retire was that I never wanted to be a liability to a ball club. I was listening to Willie Mays the other night recording for a documentary about his life and he said, 'When I get too old to play, I'll know it by my arm.' I couldn't understand that. I never worried about my arm.

"What you lose is your speed and most of all your concentration. Concentration is what has enabled me to change my mind at the last instant and not take a pitch I thought was going to be a ball but to swing at it instead when I realized it was going to be a strike. That ability has been leaving me in the last couple of years. Somebody told me that by retiring this season I was just barely going to miss breaking Ty Cobb's record for most games played—3,033, I believe it is. But tell me this: What's wrong with being second to Ty Cobb?"

Have to confess to not having read it all, yet.

Hard to imagine a GM thinking this is likely to work out well in his/her team's favor.

-Barry Zito

Yep, would hate to have to match wits with that guy.

37 Was The Reader that bad? I'm getting conflicting reports here on whether I should bother seeing it.

I can't believe I'm even having to type this.

Do we have any evidence that "regfairfield" is still alive? From what I can tell, he disappeared from True Blue, never told anyone why, and has repeatedly avoided addressing the subject even when asked to do so.

Top that with (what have been, in my opinion) somewhat uncharacteristic comments and posts from his screen name lately and I'm left to wonder if someone else is logging in and commenting under his screen name, while he's swimming with the fishes or something.

That stat is terrible and doesn't seem to have any basis in reality.

Four million can't buy you anything of value anyway, so why not spend it on the slight chance Gagne isn't finished. It's not like you get a reward for not spending the money.

But then, you didn't have a problem giving Andruw Jones $18 million/year in case he "might" turn things around, so I guess we're just different that way.

I never pegged you for such a WhoseToSayberMetrist.

Someone needs to tell Jerry that they're played.

In some ways, it was a BETTER movie than "Dark Knight".

I thought Downey did a great job with a difficult role.

(any role in which you are in full body garb a great deal of the time makes it difficult to distinguish the "acting")

That's not the issue, so much as that superhero movies kept getting remade over and over and people keep paying out hundreds of millions of dollars to see them.

I'd like for "Hollywood" to actually come up with some new ideas for a change, instead of just rehashing the old ones. But maybe that's asking too much.

Oh, and Jon, no nomination for Bruce Springsteen?? Only 3 songs?

Writing a book about your family without their consent or even knowledge just to make a few bucks is pretty damned low.

I also think Dark Knight was seriously overrated, as was Heath Ledger's performance. I'm convinced that he owes his nomination to the James Dean phenomenon.

I hope you didn't go gently.

It will be on ESPNews. MLB Network will be showing Game 3 of the 2007 WS, so I'm not sure if it will be on there. Perhaps Dodgers.com will carry it live as well.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/01/22/flying-car.html

I have to agree with Lex on this one. I loved Heath in the film, but overall I wasn't blown away by the movie. But that could be the fault of the drunk guy in our theater that kept getting up and stumbling all over the place.

Okay, one nom for makeup, as a consolation prize. Sigh.

Ledger was a great actor, I'm sorry he's gone as I'd enjoyed just about every movie he's made but still, he played the "Joker".

Iron Man for me was much more enjoyable but that has always been the difference between Marvel and DC.

here is what he said..

"So he is a hall of famer, even though he wasn't any good at the two things you expect from a second baseman....good defense, and t be a good chemistry guy"...then (sarcastically/dismisively) "but he hit a lot of homers"...

He is Plashkean in his wrongness.

In the end, if you're willing to watch films on DVD, you'll just about never run out of good stuff.

I did like that Peter Gabriel Wall-E song more than the Springsteen Wrestler song, though.

As a big fan of the genre that was my ranking. Predator/Alien II was the worse movie I've seen in years. I''m sure there have been much lousier movies made but I don't waste time watching them. This one I did.

"I just flew in to L.A. last night and was with Salma Hayek and we watched together. Afterward, I fell back asleep for an hour. ..."

http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117998921.html

It amazes me to this day how clueless Herd is on baseball. He's a very good College Football guy, but man his baseball knowledge goes into the tank.

Every year too... I'll give him credit for predicting the Cubs' LDS performance, but still. Wow.

"Elite" is relative, but Kemp's skills match up with the best. His .299 career batting average as a big-league greenhorn is impressive, and his power is beginning to creep. He's a line-drive hitter, so he may never hit 40 homers, but he makes up for it; his 35 steals from a year ago are the icing on the cake. With a full season under his belt, Kemp will be a hot ticket, and it may be justified.

Has Chad Billingsley emerged as a fantasy ace?

The 24-year-old reached 200 strikeouts for the first time last season and improved in ERA (3.14) and groundball-to-flyball rate (1.58). He also made strides in the walks-per-nine department (3.59). Now he has to do it consistently. The Dodgers have handed him the keys, and fantasy owners should do the same in a light-hitting NL West - but not as their No. 1 starter.

Is a bulky strikeout rate enough to make righty Jonathan Broxton a top fantasy closer?

Talent-wise, Broxton is as worthy as they come. He has punched out a career 11.43 batters per nine frames and boasts a 1.17 WHIP in 2008. He has one of the hardest fastballs in the major leagues, and his big size plays into the closer's mold. His makeup is still a little questionable, though. His ability screams top-five fantasy closer, but he must rein in his control, especially in pressure situations.

What will starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw's second season bring?

This 20-year-old major league sophomore faces larger-than-life expectations, but it's unlikely he'll live up to the billing in his second tour. The rookie has struggled to find the strike zone in his pro career and fails to go deep into games as a result. He'll probably dazzle at times, just don't expect an All-Star berth for a year or two.

http://www.kffl.com/article.php/99532/515

........I mean........ WHY would it be so important to be a good fielder for the Hall of Fame? Nobody gets nominated for defense. The only reason Mazeroski even made it, my opinion, is because of one home run against the Yankees in 1960. That and some favorable committee voting.

I still think there has to be some Graphic Novel I can trick most people here into reading. Hmmm

For me, the movie itself did not "feel" like a super hero movie. It felt more like a crime/mob triller. Sure all the characters are based on the comics, but it didn't have that fun campy feel you get from watching the Superman, Iron Man, and other comic films. The Dark Knight forced the viewer to think about deeper issues, then just rooting for a hero to save the day, and that is what blew me away.

I was thinking Ex Machina or Y: The Last Man. Brian K Vaughn being a Lost writer and an excellent selector of artists is a double whammy for here.

Law's current Top 5
1) Matt Wieters, C (Bal)
2) David Price, P (TB)
3) Jason Heyward, OF (Atl)
4) Neftali Feliz, P (Tex)
5) Travis Snider, OF (Tor)

http://tinyurl.com/d5q9fk

I have been wanting to read Watchmen, but is there something else I should start with.

http://tinyurl.com/dgowq9

2009: $3m (includes $1m signing bonus)
2010: $7m
Total: 2/$10m

By signing a two-year deal, Werth gave up a chance to become a free agent after next season

If you wanted something flashier...

Video Game/irreverent fans: Scott PilgrimPolitical/Superhero: Ex Machina, Incredible fantastical serial: Y: The Last Man (both written by a now-writer for Lost)
Horror/Zombie Fiends: The Walking Dead

I know it is in there, but could you make the titles more obvious for me?

96

So far I am watching Game 1 of the ALDS

Both have called Kent the greatest offensive 2B in MLB history.

Y: The Last Man: http://tinyurl.com/YLastMan
Walking Dead: http://www.hiddenrobot.com/WALKINGDEAD/
Ex Machine: http://tinyurl.com/ExMachinaComic
Scott Pilgrim: http://scottpilgrim.com/

Thanks for the info on that. If anything he is probably uncomfortable with all the praise and attention

SF Kent: 900 games, 136 OPS+, MVP
LA Kent: 521 games, 118 OPS+

Really? I thought it was up to the player...

Well ... they did different things very well.

==============

Back to TDK for a moment:
I liked Ledger's performance more than the movie itself. The first half of the flim was nicely paced. The second half seemed to be a series of ... "hey ... we're about to hit the climactic scene ... so let's throw in one MORE twist".

Speaking of which, now that the Rays have achieved respectability, do you think they can "un-retire" Boggs' number? I mean, if the Bo Sox didn't retire Wade's # ....

111
If would have been enjoyable to hear Josh say, that Jeff Kent was the 7th best offensive 2nd in history but retirement parties are always going to be made up of hyperbole as well they should.

-2 years at 20Mil/per
-1 million bonus for each multiple of ten HRs that he hits after 20
- (season average) x $10000000 bonus

So, for example if he hit .348 and had 42 HR's he would make:

$20 mil gauranteed
$1 mil for reaching 30 HR
$1 mil for reaching 40 HR
$3.48 mil for hitting .348
--------------------------------
25.48 mil for that season.

Something like this kind of contract would "help" him perform rather than have him recieve a large amount of gauranteed money and be disgruntled because he thinks he's being under paid.

A great, if star-crossed, career.

Both have called Kent the greatest offensive 2B in MLB history.

The whole thing could have been solved by
adding the two words "one of..."

Where he could've waited for the Yankees to fall short of a title again than sign Holliday for 8-170 and Manny for 4-100.

Do you suppose "Gran Torino" was based on a true story?

It was a joke about Kent, actually, but yes, point well taken.

I swear, if Alan Moore were writing prose, he would have his Nobel prize by now.

Or maybe his 2007-2008 average of $16.65m/year.

Emotional Kent looks back at game he loved

I haven't seen either The Visitor or Frozen River yet, but I'm really glad to see those two get nominated mostly because they were so great in Six Feet Under and Homicide, respectively.

For me the best news is Milk getting a Best Picture nod, coming after its near-total snub by the Golden Globes (even though they had twice as many Best Picture slots to hand out). It's the best thing I've seen this year by a fairly wide margin and I was expecting it to get snubbed.

The weirdest thing, obviously, was Springsteen's omission. I do think it was the best song this year, but I can't complain too much about the (approximately) 50th-best song he's ever written being left off the list. It just seems weird; that song was an Oscar slam dunk if ever there was one.

At least now I can root for M.I.A. to win. Not only was it a good song, but I love it when the best song winner is someone who clearly makes the majority of the stuffy old audience uncomfortable (e.g. Isaac Hayes, Eminem).

(Rosenthal).

Of course, I think he is funny in a few scenes.

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=96&position=OF#standard

For every contract someone signs you show us what they were worth at fangraphs as though it is a bible but yet you didn't seem to care what Fangraphs thought of the A Jones contract.

I salute your independent thought.

Of course, I guess you could say that about almost any Nicholson performance.

As far as I know, the Fangraphs Value stat wasn't available when Ned signed Jones. If it had been, I would have seen that Andruw's value had gone from 27.4 to 24.6 to 14.0.

Not exactly an encouraging trend.

It's true, which is partly why I think it's funny that they get paid so much. But whatever.

"I'm a member of the Academy, and they haven't even made this very clear to us, but there's been a change in rules, and now the only songs that are eligible for consideration are songs that appear in the body of the film, and not over the end credits. So 'The Wrestler' (and Clint's song) weren't eligible this year. Which is, I think, ridiculous, as 'The Wrestler' is so very much a part of the movie, and punctuates it beautifully. The idea, though, is to stop producers from just tossing in a Celine Dion song at the end. I suspect it'll change back eventually."

And the film was also very entertaining, which is what doomed Ang Lee's version of the Hulk.

I'm still not believing it until I see better documentation, though.

Watchmen, and Maus are both great works of art.

and some observations about ticket sales in this economy.
http://tinyurl.com/cwkxrt

We renewed but only because my Partner said he'd buy all the tickets if I didn't want to renew. From what I understand the people in front and behind did not renew. I said no to the WBC strip because I'm sure I can buy better seats if I even want to bother going.

I have a TimBuk2 laptop bag for my old laptop, but it's worn and torn as bad as the iBook itself--which is to say, on it's last legs. Nothing at fault with either the bag or the machine--I put both through some serious hard situations.

How might we had fared with a healthy Jeff Kent last year?

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9118908/Sources:-Cards,-Tigers,-others-eye-relievers?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=49

If you're going after Springer, why sign Mota?

But that seems to assume his routes and jumps will not improve. Matt Kemp is a raw talent whom I believe will get better and better the more he plays. My feeling is that if Kemp plays centerfield for the next two or three years he will come to be regarded as one of the top centerfielders in the league. In any event, it should be very interesting for fans of this team as we get to watch and see which of our views turns out to be the correct one.

The Dodgers, seeking to replenish their rotation, have the inside track on signing free-agent left-hander Randy Wolf, according to major-league sources.

The signing of Wolf, most likely to a one- or two-year deal, would deprive the Mets of a leading alternative to their top choice, free-agent lefty Oliver Perez.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9120894/Sources:-Dodgers-have-inside-track-to-sign-Wolf-

Which I think is the smart thing to do and I've often wondered why most other outfielders don't do so as well. The underhand throw is easier on the arm. So why bother throwing overhand on those plays where it doesn't matter anyway?

Would David Eckstein ever do that? Would Brandon Inge do that?

He cared.

He cared so much that he threw the ball too far.

He cared so much that he cried because he knew Andrew Shimmin hated him so much.

Just playing "normal" the dude is great.

Why not sign him up?

92 I agree, Y: the Last Man is unbelievably excellent. That last issue makes me tear up every time I pick it up.

99 watchmen is a masterpiece, but it works best as a deconstruction on the superhero genre, so dipping your toes into other series first might make it more enjoyable. But it stands up on it's own, too.

And I can't recommend Neil Gaiman's Sandman enough. Just a beautifully written book.

Mark McGwire may still refuse to talk about the past, but his little brother is apparently more than happy to spill the family secrets about performance-enhancing drugs.

Deadspin.com reported Wednesday that Jay McGwire has been shopping a book proposal to major publishing houses that claims he introduced the scandal-stained slugger to steroids and that he also used human growth hormone.

According to Deadspin.com, Jay Mc-Gwire claims he introduced his brother to a steroid dealer shortly after he won a bodybuilding contest in May 1994. The supplier, who was also a trainer, explained how different drugs affected the body and answered his brother's questions.

In the proposal, Jay McGwire said his brother used low dosages of drugs so that he wouldn't become too bulky for baseball. Jay said Mark used Deca-Durabolin to recover from workouts and ease joint pain.

Year 1: Dodger
Year 2: Another team
Year 3. Dodger

Not the best timing with the weather for this thing...

I guess it's not consecutive years, but Tom Goodwin springs to mind. Did Carrara end up on another team before coming back?

All rejoiced.

199, 200, 201, 203 - Wow, you guys are totally undercutting an upcoming post of mine. Bummer.

Oh, Inland Empire doesn't count as "Another Team"?

Yep, it's a daytime event, from Noon-4pm.

I haven't been personally invited, but Dodgers.com is hoping I'll come over and be swept off my feet with great ticket packages.

Brett Butler?

Do you mean in digital format or for sale?

http://tinyurl.com/dkfuph

Ironic that Ausmus had 4 hits that night.

The IRS will be calling us in for audits.

Oh Goodness! Omaar Daal... that article brought back repressed memories!

Who would you have for the next two years, Prince Fielder, or Ryan Howard?

I watch very few movies in the theater - probably 1 per year on average. Watch more on TV or DVD, but really, I'm pretty out of the loop. The first time I heard of Heath Ledger was when he died. As far as I know, I'd never seen him act.

I saw Dark Knight on a transatlantic flight a couple months ago (right after Batman Begins), and I really enjoyed it. I had no idea who played the Joker, but made it a point to look it up when I got home because I thought he was just fantastic. Only when I was reading online comments did I connect Ledger's name to the memory of his death (because many of the comments made the point that it was too bad he was gone).

So there you go. I had zero expectations - didn't even know who I was watching - and I thought his performance stole the show in an all-around great movie. Whether he was better than the other nominees or not, I have no clue.

The sick irony is that I actually hate punk, and yet I always used to get IM's from promoters or musicians who thought I was a NoFX fan, and kept IM'ing or emailing me to check out their band. Thank god for the "blocking" feature.

Maybe you could suggest to our author that there's a reason why the NFL has this thing called the scouting combine. Matt's got a plus arm, no doubt about that, but he'd also do well in the 3 cone drill, and that ability helps hold and throw out runners. Ditto his time in the 40 yard dash.

Sorry, but for Eric Stephen, no, you are not crazy [going back to your one remark of a week or so ago]. My post concerning the HOF voting and Reggie Smith was in reference to a prior thread re Mr. Henderson's induction. Speaking of rifles for arms, Reggie had one. Also, here is the line for one HOF RF:

.317 .359 .475 130

Reggie's line:

.287 .366 .489 137

So if you took Clemente in the draft just before me, I wouldn't exactly be crushed in having to pick Reggie Smith for my RF with the pick following yours.

Wow, that was really exciting.

Throughout the off-season we have been discussing the idea of bringing in a veteran catcher who could help mentor both our young catchers and our young starting pitchers. We feel that Henry fits the role perfectly, especially since he has maintained an 86.2 MR (mentor rating) over the past three seasons.

Players who returned to the Dodgers after one year with another team:

Jim Bruske
Giovanni Carrara
Joe Ferguson
Jake Flowers
Harry Howell
Jimmy Scheckard
Bart Shirley
Paul Waner

Before anyone gets too worked up, the mentor rating is a complete fabrication... but it was fun to write. Let's make sure we don't take all of these stats (or ourselves) too seriously.

We might be able to find a Scherzer type, if they want someone who can help soon.

244
Having an ace could help now. Just saying.

"Unlike other branches — such as acting, which uses a preferential ballot — the music makers screen clips of all the eligible entries and then score them on a sliding scale from 6 to 10 with half point increments in between. If a member has a song in contention, they are ineligible to vote. Only those songs that score an average of at least 8.25 out of 10 among the participating music branch members are eligible to be nominated.

"Since there were only three nominees this year, we know that they were the only ones to make this cut-off score. Even if Springsteen's song scored 8/10 from everyone voting, the academy has ruled that this would not be enough to merit an Oscar nomination."

But, but, we already have one!

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2009/01/tribune-has-fav.html

>> "I know the perception out there again is that ownership said no," Wilpon said today in an interview at Citi Field. "I don't have the opportunity to say no because Omar hasn't brought it to me as an option. Omar and the baseball staff aren't interested." <<

http://tinyurl.com/dycg4a

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200901223764818

So far my favorite bit of casting (through 3+ episodes) is Squints from Sandlot as a bully.

I don't have much of an opinion yet about most of the nominees since Slumdog Millionaire and Frost/Nixon are the only highly nominated movies I've seen, but hopefully over the next few weeks I can check out some of the other nominees.

http://www.intersportswire.com/archives/249

Still trying to wrap my head around that one. The writer must be very old, or just a little odd.

http://www.yumsugar.com/2719479

And drive Greg Brock and trainwreck insane.

http://fromthedugout.freedomblogging.com/2009/01/22/red-monday-true-blue-tuesday-on-tap/11260/

I realize that Ben Sheets costs the Dodgers the 17th pick. So that brings up a question. How long do the Brewers receive compensation? For example, what if Sheets went unsigned until July or August (after the June draft). Do the Brewers get a pick in the 2010 draft? What if he wasn't signed until July 2010? Do the Brewers get a pick in the 2011 draft? And so on? Or is there some point where compensation no longer applies?

Thanks for the answer.

I appreciate it.

I checked with an MLB source and a couple of team sources, and they were 99 percent sure that once the draft passes, a team would lose any compensation

http://tinyurl.com/brdnjr

Lex, I am on to you

Such compensation shall consist solely of the amateur draft choices described in subparagraph (c) below and shall be awarded in the Major League Rule 4 Draft succeeding the Player's election of free agency.

Seems pretty hard to award the sandwich pick after the draft occurs!

Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton bout may be back on

>> A day after the fight was supposed to be dead, Filipino champion says he has signed a contract. <<

http://tinyurl.com/al6bua

Same here. Even though some of the stats guys keep telling us our eyes are lying. :-)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_heyman/01/22/scoop.freeagents/1.html

But I would wait for Fangraphs to tell you his value.

--

Btw, what do you think of The Life and Times of Tim?

I really dig it, when it's not just plain squirmy.

Okay, I'm sending myself to the showers. Night.

Stefan is equivalent to Stephanie and perhaps Richard from last season. Richard was more creative, but Stefan is more consistent.

Hung is head and shoulders above everyone else though. He is ridiculously talented.

That show is great.

SI's Cheerleader of the Week, UT's Lacey Stockbauer, looks frighteningly like JonBenet Ramsey.

My son gave me the Watchmen for Christmas... I'm working on it. I guess I have the same problem getting with this 'joker'/DK movie. Not my cup of tea. Nicholson's joker was horrifying while still being comic book. TDK's joker was just horrifying. If I want to see that I'll go see something seriously horrific, which will be not anytime soon.

Well ex-cuuuu-uuu-uuu-se me.

http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2009/01/14/the-dugout-inaugural-season-2009/