Well Jon I feel like an idiot for trying to do your job for you on the other post. I think that theory is correct especially considering the overnight travel. Sleeping on a plane can be hard on those knees, I guess.

Unrelated, but I saw that the AN blog had a diary from Grabowski before he was traded. I know this might be greedy but any chance he might want to do one for DT. Just a thought.

Here I was just about to start pumping Drew's 11-game Iron Man streak. Hopefully he's down to pinch-hit in a close one.

#1 -

Tyler actually suggested offering to help arrange The Grabowski Diaries for me a year ago, when Grabowski came south. I'm not dead set against it, but it's not really a top priority for me right now.

Athletics Nation is, without a doubt, an incredible place, but I think our missions might be slightly different. From what I understand, Tyler doesn't want to be a filter between the members of the team and the readers. I'm not sure I feel the same way.

But in general, my main issue is time. With more time, I'd do more interviews - plain and simple. I'd do all kinds of things. If this site ever became my living, whole new worlds would open up.

Oh - and, by the way, I don't always get to talk about the pregame lineup. Just good timing on my end for once.

Yes, it took about five minutes for me to hate the FSN Wis-can-sin guys. Everything is a "surprise." The sun rising in the morning is a "surprise." Mute buttons were made for this.

By the way, even in the 70s the Dodgers didn't rely on their offense (Garvey, Cey, Smith, Baker, etc.), and this 2005 team doesn't rely a lot on the long ball (15 this year). It's like they know they're hoary cliches, but they just can't break away from them.

Who is on the radio with Rick Monday?

"Tonight's Dodger bench has no right-handed batters."
What about Weaver? He's hitting .333, with a .777 OPS.
Seriously though, what's the deal with Valentin. Can't he bat right?

Actually, fair points on both counts, jtshoe...

Uh, what's up with that call, Steiner?

Kent was swinging 3-0, says Gameday. Did he foul off a good one?

Joeking, that would be Al Downing.

I could be mistaken but I believe the Milwaukee analyst just referred to Olmedo Saenz as a "young kid."

Jon, yes. Inside part of the plate IIRC

But doesn't Valentin have something odd about what pitchers he faces opposite? I thought I heard on one of the games that he wasn't really a 100% switch hitter.

Yes, that's right - he picks and chooses - but at least he could potentially bat righty if the situation called for it.

Valentin prefers batting left on hard throwing lefthanders.

#7 - that's Al Downing.

--------------------------------------------

TODAY'S FACT OF CHOI, SB'S FAVORITE PLAYER, 2005:

If the hitting doesn't work out, there's always American Idol.

With the Cubs, Choi would spend a lot of time in the Korean restaurant F.D.L.T. on the North Side. One of his favorite things was to sing karaoke. "I like love songs, ballads," Hee Seop said. "I like J-Lo. I like to sing. Too much baseball, I get headache. I go sing, and the next day, baseball is more comfortable.''

Somebody find this man a Karaoke bar!!

Off topic here but can we please sign Bradley to a 4yr/$25M deal post haste? I don't want him to even catch the aroma of free agency.

I think it's the other way around. Valentin bats lefty against guys like Kirk Rueter. If he faced Randy Johnson, he would bat right handed.

His right handed homer was off of Jason Christensen, who merely just pitches poorly.

Don't be fooled by the rocks he's got, he's still just Hee-Seop from the block...

Cora would've got a 10 from the Russian judge on that DP.

Okay, that makes sense.

LOL, SB.

I will now forever dream of the night when Dodger Thoughts posters have a karaoke outing with Hee-Seop Choi as guest of honor.

If I wasn't a Dodger fan, I would have been very amused by that pickoff.

SB, those quotes are too funny to be true.
Re #19, good comment, you got my vote.

Looks like the Steinbrenner pep talk worked. :)

Rodriguez and Martinez have both hit grand slams in a 13-run second inning...

Oops - A-Rod's wasn't a grand slam. But the 13 holds up.

Sounds like that second inning was a pent up reaction to the ALCS.

I love this team's patience. Capuano just threw Pitch 37. It will come tonight.

It's so nice that someone else is pitching an Ishii look-alike (pitch-alike) against the Dodgers instead of for them.

Steinbrenner will, of course, take full credit. Never mind the offense entering today's game was averaging slightly more runs per than last season's team.

Anywho, I'm on channel 650 DirectTv and I've got Steiner/Lyons. I noticed a lot of the fans dressed as empty seats...

Brass Monkey karaoke bar is in the heart of Korea town on Wilshire. Might be a good place for our DT get together, too. How about a DT get together with "Special Guest . . Hee Seop Choi."

odalis is due!! don't let those other pitchers punk you around the batting cage anymore.

Didn't see the pickoff. Dodgers ran themselves out of the inning early?

Ladies and gentlemen, the quote of the year.

Hee-Seop Choi: Too much baseball, I get headache.

Saenz was utterly frozen.

For a minute there, I thought Chan Ho Park had joined the D-Rays.

Steinbrenner will, of course, take full credit.

On his radio show today, Dan Patrick thought that the timing of the "memo" was a bit opportunistic.

His point was that releasing the memo before playing the Devil Rays was a little self-serving.

Here come the Devil Rays! It's 13-1.

Two innings, 20 pitches for Perez.

Looks like another complete game opportunity here.

Some deep fly outs, though.

One thing I like about the Extra Innings package is seeing all the random local commercials. For example, that Wisconsin lottery looks like a pretty good deal. I think I'll cash out my 401k

Did Lyon's comment on Izzy make any sense?

Did he actually write a new memo, or did he just pull one out of the file cabinet under "Team struggling in April?" Just have to make sure to delete any references to Mike Pagliarulo and Dave Collins.

wow

I told you we'd get ours.

Steinbrenner has to mention "True Yankees" in any disapproving memo.

What is a "True Yankee"?

He didn't hit that too hard. Sheesh...

Now it's Kent's turn.

Wow, this team is on fire.

Oh my!

Or do we somehow face bad pitching everywhere we go?

I'd like to reiterate post #19 and add $2M.

Jim, it did not. I think it's been Steve's weakest moment from what I've heard. He's not nearly as annoying in this game as he has been on Fox, IMHO.

Save some for October, boys... holy crap.

It was BigCPA who pointed out that the Dodgers missed Schmidt, Peavy, and Sheets in consecutive series, right?

What the... I leave the TV to post and Bradley goes yard?!? LOVING THIS!!

I swear I called those. Not out of wishful thinking but pure prophecy.

What is a "True Yankee"?

Was Babe Ruth even a true Yankee?

The answer to your question is Derek Jeter. Mantle, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Berra (amongst others) aren't even in the same league as Jeter when it comes to true Yankees. He is the truest (is that even a word?) of them all.

so what do playoff & ws tickets cost these days anyway?

I do not like Al Downing or Steve Lyons. Steiner has been surprisingly listenable (since we are making up words).

for those of us following the game online, what did Lyons say?

And maybe some details on those HRs? Not watching it today, I feel like I'm begging for crumbs. =)

I know this can't go on forever, but man is it ever fun!

btw, alex rodriguez is adding more useless RBIs and HRs to his season total. Seriously, I'd love to see how many of his RBIs actually matter at the end of the season.

Or do we somehow face bad pitching everywhere we go?

Hopefully, that Q will be in upcoming opposing pitcher's minds, too.

With Repko showing he deserves to stay in the big leagues, what do we do when Werth comes back? Who goes down when Werth and Perez are off the DL? I know its a problem we are lucky to have, but a decision will have to be made at some point.

What is a True Brewer, and who the truest? Gorman Thomas?

I find truest listenable in the truest sense of the word...

"Who goes down when Werth and Perez are off the DL?"

Can Werth play 1B? Can Repko? There's your answer.

re: #66

Isn't this one of the points of sabermetrics -- that all hits and runs are equal? this makes the pythagorean theorem etc work. Do we discount any hits or runs that come when a team is up by a certain amount? Do we translate this down into an equivalent "meaningful" batting average? Not saying this is right -- just don't know that anyone has ever figured this out.

#68, you meant when Penny or Alvarez comes off, right? My vote is for, 1) Grabowski, 2) Wunsch, 3) I don't know.

Mark, I have not given up on Choi yet.

Lyons made a point that Izzy managed to do a good job hitting right handed (which is normal for him), then went on to say that Izzy was smart to continue his switch hitting experiment of a couple of years ago, even though Tracy was encouraging him to only bat right handed.

Odalis' first K!!!

When Werth comes back, I think we should trade Repko while his value his high. I know a lot of people would disagree, but a lot of teams would be willing to give up a good reliever + prospect for him, I'd think. Is that an unpopular opinion?

If no one else has mentioned it, there's a good DePo-sympathetic piece here.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylc=X3oDMTBpa2lpNnFzBF9TAzk1ODYxNzc3BHNlYwN0bQ--?slug=cnnsi-depodestasreven&prov=cnnsi&type=lgns

The "truest" Brewer is Bernie Brewer. He encompasses the essence of the Brewers.

Some might argue that Robin Yount is the truest Brewer, but I would tell them that they are wrong.

I think he meant Antonio Perez, but I could be wrong.

Trade. Maybe. Trade for a reliever? Blah.

It seems that Bradley can only hit a homerun if the guy ahead of him does. On the note regarding pitching, I am a little concerned that we've seen a lot of poor pitching in our 9-2 run. Here are the starters in our wins and losses.

Losses vs.:
Schmidt, Ortiz

Wins vs.:
Reuter x2, Tomkox2, Estes, Vazquez, Williams, Eaton, Redding

Eaton is good, Vazquez should be good, but all the other guys we beat were throwing cheese.

"I have not given up on Choi yet."

Neither have I, but there are only so many platoons you can have. Do you drop Saenz? Nakamura? I mean, the obvious answer is Grabowski, but I think even he is outperforming Choi at this point. Choi needs to face some AAA pitching for a while to get his batspeed up to snuff.

What about Paul Molitor? And Pete Vukovich?

Truest Brewer: Robin Yount.
Also part of the worst headline I've ever seen: InsurYountable

Also to alex 7...Repko's was a bomb, looked like 10 or so rows up in the second level. Bradley's was merely mortal.

re: #58
Yessum that was me. Also note we don't hit a nasty series until Game #31 at St. Louis. 19 winnable games coming up. 21-9 would sound awful sweet.

Technically the Dodgers other loss was to Mike Koplove.

Daniel,

I don't necessarily agree with that argument. Especially on a team like the Yankees where there are so many cheaper RBIs to pick up than a team like the Brewers, or even the A's. A stat that I think is overlooked quite often is BA with RISP. And in this, I also would throw in walks, tiring the pitcher, productive outs, etc. I think A-Rod, since he left Seattle has become very bad in some of these categories.

Fearing Blue-
Fair point but most of those guys have owned us in the past. I would be more skeptical if we were 4-1 vs. Colorado like our friends up north.

Obviously the truest brewer is Yount. I just brought up Gorman Thomas because the very name makes me giggle. '82 Brewers - Greatest Softball Team of All Time (tm).

Truest Brewer: the Bratwurst. I don't care how many times he/she/it loses to the Italian Sausage or the Hot Dog.

Steve, what can you expect back for Repko. Maybe a good #5 starter? We don't necessarily need that, especially if we make the playoffs. I dunno, I like Schmoll, but I'd be nervous if we are in the playoffs and his job is to get out Pujols with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Sorry, I'm being dramatic to make my point, but I'd be ok with a good hardthrowing reliever for Repko, especially if we can get a decent prospect along with him. The only concern about pulling the trigger on that is that Werth has a Dreifort-like propensity for picking up injuries.

Yeah, I meant Antonio Perez, because when Alvarez and Penny (and Gagne whenever that happens)come back they will replace players in the bullpen. Then we will probably trade one bullpen player for a positional player so we will have a 11 man bullpen. But for any additional positional player that comes off the DL, we will have to send one positional player down. After bringing up Nakamura, will we send him back down? I think that would be a difficult decision. Sending Grabowski down seems like the most sensical decision, but he has proven to be adept in the lefty pinch hitting role. Trading Repko seems possible but considering he is homegrown and only now paying dividends I think we would have get better than an average releiver or prospect.
I apoligize for the ill-written rant but when we are this good its funny talking unnecessary hypotheticals.

thanks jim.

I wouldn't be sold on trading Repko. I'm guessing his value is much higher to the Dodgers than to most other teams. Many teams have fringe players with hot starts, not sure that other scouts would notice much more in Repko than a guy on a hot streak. I think his outfield defense, speed, and hitting ability makes him a great bench player, especially with Werth's injury history. Send down Nakamura and cut Grabowski before trading Repko.

Of course, if he's packaged and nets us a legit 1B, then it might be worth it.

Hey, how about trading Repko for Larry Barnes? I know at least one lady who would be happy.

Aside from pinch hitting, Grabowski does have the advantage of being able to play multiple positions. IIRC, he is sort of the 3rd catcher in addition to his outfield and 1st base duties.

Jeez, I think the Dodger commentators are going to go crazy about that ball coming out of Capuano's hands. Downing can't shut up about it. Annoying!! I miss Scully.

My reaction (as usual) is knee-jerk, and it rests on the assumption that one would trade for some overpaid mediocrity like Urbina. I think relievers can be found within the organization cheaply (particularly our organization). I would assume that Repko has options, and that he'll just end up back at AAA if Werth is ready. Or we could send Grabowski down. That wouldn't break my heart.

The good news is that Werth not only has the wrist problem, but also that ligament problem. So he and we have the luxury of patience.

Waitaminutethere, I know this is Izzy's team, but does that mean he can swing 3-0?

I wouldn't get Larry Barnes back unless Json Romano is brought back to protect him from the fans. Also, we need another Jason on our team badly.

and Repko responds to his critics...

Jason Repko is the heart and sould of the Dodgers.

Speak of the devil

Hard to pitch out of 3-1 counts all the time.

Our bullpen is going to be just fine once Gagne and Alvarez come back. We don't need any expensive relievers to get the job done.

The way things are looking, if DePo makes a midseason move it might be for a dominant #1 starter.

I am converted... that's it... if we trade Repko, I will go to boycottdodgers.com or whatever that site is.

repko must not become a dearly departed

Izturis has been reading his #^&$^#&(^# copy.

since we are throwing out hypotheticals, if we do get a legit #1 and if Penny is healthy and good, who will be our top three starters in the playoffs?

Jason Repko is the heart and sould of the Dodgers.

If you squint the right way, Repko kinda looks like LoDuca.

Dontrelle Willis looks like Sandy Koufax. What the heck has gotten into him? Odalis Perez is not even the best left handed pitcher in the NL right now... and he could be 3-0 with an ERA under 1.00 by the time today is over.

Tampa Bay just pulled to within nine of the Yankees. Game on!!!

Now when you squint the right way, what do you do with your left eye?

That's what Washington will do for you. The Mainstream media is still lagging on the D-Backs general suckiness.

Tampa with another run. If they even get close in this game, the Boss will go ballistic.

You can do anything you please with your left eye. The right eye is the important one for this squinting exercise.

Good question. If Penny comes back and is the hard throwing 3.10 ERA stud that he can be, will a #1 still be necessary? Obviously can't have too many great pitchers, but would a trade for a #1 still be a necessity?

Penny, Perez, and Lowe would be a very formidable trio. Weaver is solid, but just worries me against great teams.

I'm not even sure there is going to be anything close to a #1 guy at the trading deadline. The list of pitchers coming up on their free-agent years isn't that appealing.

What's not appealing about Kevin Brown?

Oh man, Tampa Bay game, the steroid guy hit into a double play.

Since our 2006 payroll is only $72M we have plenty of room for Helton.

Oops, I spoke too soon.. it looks like Lima time is going to be a free agent next year.

did he rip his jersey off in a rage?

#120 - George Steinbother will never let him leave

Yeah, I would be happier if we did not get Helton. Without Coors, he's just another Shawn Green but making more money

"What's not appealing about Kevin Brown?"

We would need to add padding to the dugout walls, but other than that...

What about Konerko? Younger, cheaper, and should have been a Dodger all this time. Is he a lock to stay in Chicago? Seems I've heard his name mentioned a few times in previous summers.

Is it suspicious at all that Jim Thome has no HRs this year despite playing in a juiced up playyard.

lol, I think Klesko and Giles look a little smaller this season.

I'd be ok with Konerko. Maybe Arte Moreno will give us Guerrero if we agree to use LAA on our scoreboards.

Helton 2004 Road:

.326/.446/.544

Not too many weak tappers to 2b in that line.

Lima might be a free agent by June 1.

Speaking of Klesko and Giles, man, I know it's early, but San Diego does not look like they can score runs at all this year. Who would their top run producer be? Nady? The only Padre position player I'd want on my team is Loretta, although he is no Kent.

A bit to early to mention the phrase `no h*', but I'm really starting to wish Vinny was caling this game.

I don't have a clear image in my head of Saenz's defense--so I can't say how bad it is--but doesn't he deserve more AB's? He's provided some good production for us this year.

Maybe the Yankees will be out of the race by June so we can get the Big Unit (:

How's Kaz doing? hehe.

#132 - that's still worse than what Beltre hit last year in his MVP-ish season, and he just signed for about $6-7 million less than Helton makes per year. And yeah, you're right, he's definitely better than Shawn Green. I was just going for the dramatic.

Say what you want about Helton's contract... Manny Ramirez' $20M didn't seem egregious when he was drenched in champagne.

Maybe we can have Lima do the Coca-Cola trivia stuff in between innings. That might keep Plaschke et al happy.

#135 - at least Shawn Green is not playing RF, so it could happen.

Can Phillips be the Greek god of doubles?

Let's try a squeeze with Saenz on third, jsut for fun.

Smart move by Yost: His pitcher is having control issues (to put it mildly), so he orders an intentional walk.

Come on, Odalis.

Odalis Perez is going to hit a Grand Slam and Plaschke will write an article about how Dodger pitchers should bat everyday.

who are the milwaukee announcers? anyone know?

damn it, close.

Helton had the EQA edge .342-.330 over Beltre last year. Helton/Drew were #2 and #5 in the NL last year. If that doesn't make your mouth water something's wrong.

LOL, Torre just took Wright out of the game. I think he's been watching too much Jim Tracy.

Beltre probably had a career year though, where those numbers on Helton are probably consistent for the last 5 years. Still, Konerko and a veteran 8th inning guy for about the same money as Helton I think.

There goes Plaschke's Golden Boy now.

Hey, Tracy could have pinch-hit for Perez and gotten a run or two there. :-)

Capuano is leading a charmed life. 12 hits+walks in 6 innings.

I for one can't wait until Izzy gets his second home run of the year. At this point, I think he's just looking for the right spot to top his first one.

Especially if he had Cora on the bench.

No complaints about Helton, really. Just too much money. I just think we can get a very good 1B + more for that amount of money.

dodgers 0-1 this year when izzy homers

The thing is that Izzy shouldn't be looking to hit home runs, he should be trying to get n base.

Maybe we could get Mike Piazza to play first.

Helton will be 32 at the start of next season. If he's willing to take a short deal (i.e. no longer than 2 seasons), I can get behind it. But if Todd is expecting another mega-payday, forget it.

As long as we're in fantasy trade-land, I wonder what it would take to pry Brad Wilkerson away from the Nationals? They definitely need to think long-term and could probably identify several Dodger prospects, particularly pitchers, they might want. That's what puts us in such a good position should a midseason deal become necessary -- payroll felxibility AND a deep farm system. DePo looks smarter all the time, and not just because of our somewhat flukish record.

For a point of reference, Helton is making $12.6MM this year.

And stop reading his #^%^%$^ copy.

Al Downing: new champion for sabermetrics? He keeps saying the Brewers need to get someone on base for the next hitter and get something going that way. So is he going to start talking about OBP? :-)

Oh my.

#163 - flukish? See if you're singing the same tune when the boys go into the postseason at 160-2. =P

The Milwaukee Broadcast just said that Ishii was leading off the seventh. If I was them, I'd want Ishii leading off too.

5-3, Nakamura to Saenz. Never thought I'd see that this year.

ex-Angel Matt Wise, sentenced to Milwaukee and having a good year so far.

Helton for a B-level pitching prospect and one of our many young 2B? Rockies might just want to get out of that contract with the young guys they have on the team. And if Helton can't agree to a new, shorter contract in the off-season, let him walk?

DT etiquette question -- do we not mention exciting goings-on out of concern for jinxing?

Weren't some folks griping about Ross Porter never giving the score? Nobody here has mentioned it today. For the benefit of us non-LA/CA types who have no TV/radio access, couldn't you please do a better job? ;)

#148
I don't know who is partnering with him, but I was listening to Uecker (sp?) call the game for Milwaukee on XM. I like Uecker, but I can't stop thinking about Mr. Belvedere.

dodgers' obp in this game: .448

Post #173 never existed. Baseball gods, move on.

173 NO!

3-0, Dodgers. Top 7.

#174 -- can't you get to mlb.com or even yahoo.com for the score?

3-0 dodgers and no one is talking to perez or sitting next to him between innings(hint,hint)

Oh, sorry. 3-0 Dodgers. Odalis has allowed one baserunner, via walk.

Dontrelle Willis of Florida is now at 24 straight scoreless innings to start the season.

Which is pretty impressive and makes Hershiser's 58 inning streak seem unreal to me.

The AP just sent their freaking jinxing advisory. Charlatans!

Sam, do not mention it.

I'd be really surprised if Colorado were to let Helton go if they can avoid it. Their attendance would plummet without him. There's noone else worth watching on that team.

Boo, Jim! Boooo!

Jose Vidro of Washington kept Orel's record.

That is Jose Vidro kept Orel's record safe with a home run off of Willis.

Repko is hella dope.

hinthint winkwink nudgenudge Say no more, guvnah.

Their attendance would plummet without him.

But I doubt the fine citizens of Denver think, "I'll go to the park and watch Todd Helton." Instead, they think, "If the Rockies were winning, I'd go. Since they aren't, I won't."

hershiser had 59 straight scoreless innings

Yowch. Kent looks awful tonight. Not just unsuccessful, but no good swings yet. Not complaining - just observing.

Yes!

Saenz, Saenz everywhere the Saenz!

OK, have reclaimed the keyboard from that invading pack of wild monkeys. Don't know what they were thinking. Have cleared cache and erased all history.

Oh, sure I can go to Yahoo, and I did, and saw the unmentionable bits too, but I was nudging a few of the more vocal Porter critics a little. ;)

That kid Saenz hits the ball pretty good. Does he have options left?

Again, the Olmedo Code produces.

I don't think the Rockies would let Helton go to the Dodgers even if they were willing to trade him - lots of negative press around letting big names go to divisional rivals (think of the Green backlashes, which I believe were partially exacerbated because he stayed within the division).

Saenz is 2 for 2, with 2 walks, and he's OPSing 1.379. Anyone else think he deserves the job full time?

Heheh, Vic the Brick is currently eating it on the radio ('net feed for 570), can't believe the Dodgers are doing so well, he's laughing like a madman. XD

and they promptly take him out!

What was great about that whole inning is that Repko wouldn't have scored on that Saenz flare if he hadn't taken third on that bounced pitch (and if he hadn't already stolen second). See, Harold Reynolds and Joe Morgan, even "Moneyball" teams steal bases sometimes!

I still can't get the Tina Turner song "We Don't Need a Norihiro" out of my mind. Darn you, Jon!

Willis's ERA just jumped over 1

Poor fellow.

See ... even "Moneyball" teams steal bases sometimes!

Remember that Toronto paper's terrible "White Jays" story, in which they claimed Moneyball types would have no use for Jackie Robinson? Appalling.

shakes head Yeah, because he never did anything but run fast. Couldn't play ball at all.

Sheesh.

Dang.

damn...

no gold star, can you elaborate?

What's the over-under on a JD sighting?

shoot ,damn

Well, I jinxed it, fellas. I was watching only watching the live stats for this game, and turned on the live audio at the beginning of this inning so I didn't miss a potential no-no. This one's on me - should know better.

Fun while it lasted. The over under on seeing the bullpen in this inning is about 100%

Odalis is complaining that Shawn Green should have tried to dive to catch that hit by Spivey.

#216 - yeah, you jerk. How dare you?
-sigh- Oh well.

my gamecenter has Valentin playing shortstop now. Did I miss something?

And Green is attempting to maintain an aloof but noble posture about the whole incident, while the fans take sides both for and aga...

Oh, sorry, flashback syndrome.

no really, on me. no 'scuses. dratnabit.

Valentin at third, Nakamura at first, Saenz out.

I'm following the game on Gamecast. At least now I don't have to rush out and find a bar with ESPN for the ninth inning.

wow, quick hook for odalis.

alex 7, check this:
http://digamma.net/btfwiki/index.php/White_Jays

it's 16-8 Yankees now. A win, but not a very inspiring one when you give up 8 to the D-Rays.

Monday announces the game like he is watching it on a 5 second delay

With the tendonitis concerns, they're watching his pitch count pretty closely.

ESPN out here is Cubs/Reds, so unless it's different where you are, DL04, you wouldn't have had a shot anyway.

seriously... Repko's dropped foul pop was in the air for about 30 seconds according to Monday's call.

Unless they switched over to try and get live feed of a possible no-no, which I've seen them do.

I have commited sepuku, Gold Star...

In 2003 the DBack who broke OP's no-hit bid was Shea Hillenbrand. Leadoff bloop single to right in the 8th.

Elmer Dessens was the loser that day and gave up no earned runs in a 2-0 Dodgers win.

The Dodgers scored when first baseman Paul Lo Duca reached second on a double error by Robby Hammock (a catcher playing third) and then Mike Kinkade singled home Lo Duca and went to second on the throw home. David Ross doubled home Kinkade.

Yeah, I went to that game and kept score (July 5, 2003). Wilkin Ruan was the leadoff batter for the Dodgers. 0 for 4 with 3 Ks.

I like seeing Duaner keeping that ball down.

Also, you want to pull Odalis before he has a chance to get himself into any sort of trouble - with seventeen thousand pitchers in the bullpen, there's plenty of leeway.

Who called for that garbage slider? I want somebody's head.

Forget about the no-no. We still may lose this.

Steve - Details?

That was on that blankety-blankety full-count garbage slider to Damian Miller. If you can't smoke Damian Miller with two strikes, who the hell can you smoke? You gets what you ask for.

Or was that just the pitch that walked Miller?

Hmm, uh, guys...there's a game goin' on here. 4-3. Triple off Nakamura's glove drove in 2, for those without live feeds.

Ugh. Thanks for the info.

Nakamura looks pretty bad at 1B.

Nakamura played Magruder's grounder like Leon Durham in the 1984 NLCS Game 5.

Ended up as a 3-bagger.

They're not giving Nakamura an error. That ball was smoked.

Sanchez has a full count to Damian Miller and throws a 76 mph garbage slider a foot outside. He'd already thrown a hanger on 3-1 that Miller didn't swing at. He walks the tying run to the plate. Chaos ensues. The most effective pitch in baseball is the fastball. Especially since this umpire has no corners and it's FRICKING DAMIAN MILLER!

Officially it's a 2B-E9.

I just had a heart attack.

Gag!

nice catch, though...

Nakamura made that catch a lot harder than it needed to be.

Nakamura looks pretty bad at 1B.

Now whaddya think? Nice save on Valentin's throw.

Yuck. C'mon boys - pitch and catch.

Nakamura makes an incredible grab of an awful bounce throw by Valentin to end the inning.

hard to see on the webcast

Attaway.

#230 - I'm sure ESPN would've cut away to the ninth inning of the no-hitter was still intact.

Nakamura looks very, very good at 1B right now.

If I see Sanchez throw one more hanging slider on a two strike count, I think I will also commit honorable seppuku.

Was Perez cussing out the Dodger bench? Cuz thats what it looked like before he applauded the 3rd out.

That inning officially sucked. But we're still up... I wouldn't mind some insurance runs, though.

Plaschke was warming up there, for a minute...

I think Nakamura's second play was excellent given the high bounce, and the first ball was hit too hard for him to get to. His footwork out there actually looks pretty good. It's not like Saenz would have caught either of those. Not sure about Choi.

He could have just been cussing in general - people -are- known to do that when they lose a no-hitter and the inning goes for three runs.

Am I the only one who gets a little more nervous than normal when Duaner comes in? Looks pretty hittable right now.

I think Odalis will cry if this goes for a ND.

The double was a toss-up, decided by fate for letting Damian Miller get away.

Duaner = Darren Dreifort school of sliders.

Meanwhile, Matt Wise seems to be pretty unhittable for the moment.

And now I'm nervous with Carrara coming in. I like Gio, but isn't this his first outing since he got hurt?

Miller's "double" was smoked right between Nakamura's legs.

Was Kent talking about Valentin and Nakamura when he decried players who make routine players look difficult?

I think Odalis was firing a few nasties at a fan, not to Tracy.

#271: Or Jeter. Or Alomar. Or JT Snow.

Lotsa guys.

Inning going by awfully fast. Get to the 9th, boys.

Carrara pitched two scoreless innings in the home opener.

#260,

I'm watching the game via an MLBTV broadcast for FSNorth----earlier, Odalis was facing some fans behind the bench and was cussing them out. I think he was probably cursing at them at the time the camera panned to him on your broadcast.

On another note, the Brewers announcers are HORRIBLE. Tim McCarver horrible.

#270 - I didn't -think- so... could be wrong.

Big time tactical error by Tracy. Puts great fielding 3B Nori at 1B and suspect defensive replacement 3B Valentin at 3RD late in the game. It is spun as a "great defensive play" by Nori but looks more like Keystone Cops with what might have been a very lucky grab.

Why isn't slick fielding Choi at first (a left handed bat to boot) and why doesn't Nori stay at 3B?

God, that's a scary sight: I flip to the SI play-by-play to see GC's face staring at me directly above an 8+ ERA. Yeesh.

OOh, nice 67MPH curve to Cirillo. That looked Gagne-ish.

Almost there Gio....

God, I can see Plashke sitting there, praying for a Dodger miscue.

Apparently the hotel the Dodgers are staying at in Milwaukee is a 112-year old luxury hotel. Gagne and Bradley (as well as Beltre last season) as well as other Dodgers present and past claim the hotel is haunted; they are actively seeking a new place to say for tonight.

Hillarious!

Didn't Spivey just bat a few minutes ago?

according to reporter Beltre claimed a couple of years ago that a "ghostly presence" was in his room turning on lights and tickling his toes!

The entire city of Milwaukee is haunted. I've been there on two separate occasions.

There are four freeways in the city.

1) The North-South Freeway
2) The East-West Freeway
3) The Airport Freeway
4) The Miller Park Freeway (which used to be called the County Stadium Freeway)

It's very hard to get lost in Milwaukee.

That's the REAL reason Beltre was traded - his feet were too ticklish.

Don't like this...

Anyone missing Gagne right about now? I know I am.

Yhency Now

A-Rod just got his fifth hit.

That's the real problem with missing Gagne - I'd much rather have Yhency try to clean up in the 7th, use Gio in the 8th with a -hopefully- 3-run lead, and then of course game over.

My only comfort is that at least we don't pay 30 million for this crap like the Yankees. Brady Clark walked on four pitches. All we had to do was throw the ball down the middle.

Wait, they brought in Wunsch?

Wunsch time!

Yhency in the 9th?

What was that???

Penny should be taking the mound right now in Vegas.

Ahhhhhhhhhh

Come on, Wunsch. Get this man. OP deserves a "W" tonight...

top order due up- insurance anyone?

All hail the LOOGY!

I don't trust Gio at all. He's only getting older, too. I like GHAME OVER in the eighth.

Speaking of old, here comes Ricky Bottalico...

Whooooooooo...

I really should have filed my trademark application on that one.

Damn.

Of course, I'm not selling anything with the name on it, so it's not worth anything.

Except the combined respect of the Dodger Thoughts community! You guys are my real family!

You can all drop by my place for Thanksgiving.

Ricky Blow-tallico is still in the league?

A couple of insurance runs would be REAL nice here.

#306 On what one?

I should stop saying that, Bob, it sounds much better coming out of your mouth.

GHAME OVER (TM)

Don't you mean THANKSGHIVING.

Underbruin -- I think Bob means on GHAME OVER for YHENCY

"And for Jason Repko, his third hit of the night."

Ricky Bottalico makes 800,000. That's like three Steve Schmolls.

I'll take the three Steve Schmolls.

Yeah, heh, I see. Good line.

Just noticed that the Astros and Braves are 0-0 in the 8th. Clemens vs. Hudson.

The Braves are batting Jordan 7th and Mondesi 8th.

You mean coming out of Bob's fingers.

Jason Repko is a MACHINE!

GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!

Ahhh.
Thanks, Milton.

From both sides of the plate!

If I see "GHAME OVER" on the outfield message boards at Dodger Stadium anytime soon, I'll file a DT class-action complaint on your behalf, Bob.

PLEASE SEE POST #19.

Hooooooooo!

So Bradley CAN HR without the guy in front of him doing so first.

somebody's busting out this year...

C'mon boys, man on third with no outs - give Yhency a cushion.

YEAH!

Oh man. Ricky Bottalico. This is cracking me up. Good thing we don't depend on the long ball.

Forget the Pope, vote Bradley for G-d.

... Good.

Take off those gloves Milt. That one was hit just a little bit.

I live in a one-bedroom apartment, so everybody has to visit in shifts.

And bring their own food.

I guess Brazoban will still come in. He hasn't pitched in a week.

Braves-Astros is on TBS (out here, at least, but I think they run a national baseball schedule).

I do think that whole "Dodgers haven't faced a pitcher with a pulse" thing applies even more to bullpens than starters, this year.

I'm not watching the game on TV, but keeping up with gamecast. Someone please describe the Bradley HR.

When do you move Bradley to the 2 hole? when Werth comes back?

It went far. He took off his gloves and watched it go before proceeding to run around the bases.

Another lousy AB for Kent. Again, not complainin'. Just observin'. He couldn't stay hot forever.

Monday called Bradley Kent the whole at bat until Bradley homered. something wrong with him

I think Bradley will stay at #5, while Werth might hit second when he comes back.

I dunno - I gotta say I like having MB and Kent batting next to each other. Even if Kent cools off, the two seem to complement each other very well.

Thanks, KAYVMON.

Milton hit ball. Ball go far. Many man run around the bases.

Crushed some kind of hanging breaking ball into the right field seats a LONG way back. Never a doubt -- really even before he made contact. You could follow that 78 mpher right into the sweet spot all the way.

Bad day for Nakamura. I'm not sure if the Nakamura-craze is going to catch on anytime soon.

though that they might want to give Werth some AB's in the fifth slot for awhile(or even lower).

So that's a one-hitter after 7 innings of work for Perez, and a 2-HR day for Bradley.

Gee, it's funny how guys on this team never seem to step up big, huh? Too bad we're missing the HEART AND SOUL(TM Bill Plaschke) of the team to exhort these guys to greater performance.

The team of Monday and (Downing?) are insufferable. I was listening to them for an inning on the freeway. Ugh.

Does anyone else think that the announce team of Steiner and Monday has absolutely no chemistry?

Didn't someone mention in a previous thread that you could listen to the 51s online? I checked their webpage (www.lv51.com) and wasn't able to find a link.

Who're they throwing out to pitch the 9th? Gamecast slowed on me...

The Milwaukee cameraman hopefully followed the flight of Lee's fly ball...right into Repko's mitt. It was sort of sad. Poor Milwaukee.

Does anybody else hear Jaime Jarrin in the background of the TV broadcast?

Did'ja see Manny Mota on the bench telling a story? Great.

Nm - Yhency, got it.

#350 - Brazoban

That's what I wanted to see against Damian Miller. BB fastball for strike three.

1 to go...

Just found out my $130 Extra Innings package got me 3 hours of black screen.

re: 348

Dunno. I've been home for every game so far. Steiner and Lyons are doing quite well. I think they complement each other.

Papal Conclave Fact of the Day:

Largest predominantly Catholic country with no Cardinal voting:

Venezuela.

Ball game

Good night Irene!

Thank you Yhency, and 10-2 it is. Wish the Dodgers could have had a good start to their season. -sigh- Guess we'll never be the Yank... oh, oh, wait.

...

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

Did Monday just give a Penny update? I was snoozing.

How does it feel to be fans of the first team with double-digits in the win column?

Just switched over to the Angels game (of Anaheim). I had NO IDEA that Mike Hargrove was the new Seattle manager. Wow - not sure how I missed that.

Steiner and Lyons were surprisingly non-annoying.

That's all you can ask for. However the camera work and direction were pretty bad. I assume that it was a Milwaukee feed.

Re: #349
Answering my own question.. I found the link. It's intuitively located under "In Other News" in a box down on the left. Here's the direct link to the broadcast:

http://tinyurl.com/9far3

He struck out 2 and walked one in the first. Regularly hitting 95 already.

Love for Penny to come back soon. I mean, Penny-Lowe-Perez-Weaver would be AWFULLY nice to think about.

Oh man. Figgins just booted a ball up the middle with a runniner on 2nd (he's playing 2nd). It wouldn't have been an easy play, but he was lucky it wasn't worse. Rex Hudler: "Great play by Figgins to knock that ball down. There's no need to get an out there..." Yeah, gettings outs is overrated. Especially if there's some danger it could be a PRODUCTIVE out... OK, no more Angels talk (of Anaheim). 10-2! 10-2!

I have mostly enjoyed Steiner (though I didn't see the telecast today). It's Monday who has regularly irritated me. This may sound a bit malicious, but Monday seems to have absolutely no personality.

Got it on! 4k's through 2 for Penny. He's pounding the corners at 94-95.

"Fastball, swung on and missed, strike 3. Penny struck him out with a 94 MPH fastball..."

Penny up to 4 SO, 1 hit.

#363

i'm hearing the voice of pat morita (arnold from happy days)...

oops, have i just dated myself?

#363

i'm hearing the voice of pat morita (arnold from happy days)...

oops, have i just dated myself?

Atlanta - Houston 0-0 going to the 10th on TBS.

So my principal client interrupts me in the 7th inning (he's a Dodgers fan too) and says, "When are the real Dodgers going to show up?" Meaning, this team is doing far better than he expected.

tom - Course not - who didn't love ol' Pat in his pre-Miyagi days. :)

They're still in the 9th in Houston. 0-0. The Astros have a runner on 3rd with one out and Biggio and Bagwell due up.

Man, Downing is the worst. I listened on my way home from the train and Downing was talking about pitchers and balks and was saying "you can do it this way, or this way" and was doing the moves himself. But he was on the RADIO so you couldn't exactly see him. Monday tried to recover. Another time, Monday was having a 3 minute conversation with himself and Downing only contributed "that's interesting".

here's to chuck the missing cunningham brother...
we are in milwaukee, after all...

Man, infectious diseases in the clubhouse and tickling ghosts in the hotel. Milwaukee's a tough town.

HOOOO, Penny gets strikeout #5 on a nasty curve.

"There should be a law against that"

K #5 for Penny.

So we get Monday/Downing on radio for non NL-West road games, the games that are 2-3 hours earlier, and hence during the work day for most of us?

This is why God created Gamecast. And TiVo.

Penny just gave up a monster HR.

We jinxed it - BP gets taken yard 2 batters later by Andy Tracy (going 8-11 w/2 HR during the current series)

Yeah.. over 435 feet. Yikes.

Comes back okay - 94MPH then 96MPH strikes knee-high on the black for SO #6.

And then K'd the next guy on 3 95mph+ BBs.

Man, Odalis' hair gets weirder each year. Those shots of him standing on the dugout steps cursing at someone (Tracy? A fan?) were priceless. Glad he got the win.

Mike Rose goes yard for a 3 runs. 51's now up 5-2. Penny has like 7 k's.

Choo Freeman has a cool name.

Meanwhile, in Anaheim (of Los Angeles),
Beltre is 0-2 with a K, and a drive with a man on that died at the warning track.

Right now he looks more like the 99-03 model than last year's (should have been) MVP.

Just picked up most of Penny's final line from the broadcast:

6IP, 2R, 2ER, 1HR, 9K, 2BB
79 Pitches / 59 Strikes

I missed the final count on hits.

Padres up 4-1 now on the Giants after a bases clearing double by Loretta. Peavy is pitching for San Diego.

Loretta's hit was the first one to reach the outfield in the inning. The Pads loaded the bases on two infield hits and a walk.

Penny's line tonight:

6ip, 5h, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 9K, 1HR

The 6ip is according to Fearing Blue's post #394.

Or you can look at the full box score yourself:
http://tinyurl.com/arw6l

And something doesn't make sense about that box score. It says that Colorado scored 5 runs in the 5th, yet Penny only gave up 2R during the game and the guy who relieved him, Osoria gave up 1R.

If you want to remain sane, I suggest not looking at the link for the box score I posted.

I think the 3 in the Sky Sox's 5th is a typo (it should be 0). Their hitters only scored 5 runs and accounted for 5 RBI, and the 51s' pitching log also corroborates the 5 runs allowed.

I think Penny's line from #396 is correct.

Penny's line from my post at #396 is correct.

For a more sane box score, check out this one at minorleaguebaseball.com:

http://tinyurl.com/dxpqx

I swear someone is stuffing the ballot box on the 51's Favorite Player poll. Of 122103 votes, Chin Feng Chen is in the lead with 99% of the vote. Of course, his competition includes none other than Joe Thurston, the proud owner of a .190 batting average.

Check it out: http://www.lv51.com/fanzone/index.php?poll=1

Looks like Chuck Tiffany pitched another nice game for Vero Beach...

6ip, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 3BB, 7K

Box score: http://tinyurl.com/cf2v4
Story: http://tinyurl.com/88g8o

I thought Alvarez was supposed to get in some work for VB tonight? Did I mishear?

Alvarez is slated to pitch one inning tomorrow.

Looks like Alvarez will pitch tommorow for VB according to the Times. The article says "today", but I believe it is for tomorrow's edition.

And I can't believe that I spelled "tomorrow" two different ways in my last post.. ugh!

#400 - I suspect overseas voting is the reason Chen's winning so easily. He's a national hero in Taiwan to basically the same extent that Nomo is/was in Japan.

Chen's been at Vegas so long that he's like part of the family.

Train Wreck Alert:

Bill Plascke will be on the McDonald-Douglas show today at 5:20 pm.

Hijinx ensue...

Chen's been at Vegas so long that he's like part of the family.

Ah, Vegas. The only place where "the family" usually includes mobsters, hookers, gambling addicts, and Taiwanese baseball players.

Bill Plascke will be on the McDonald-Douglas show today at 5:20 pm.

Looks like I'll be skipping that one...

mlb.com reports that Elmer Dessens has 8 lifetime wins against the Brewers, but no more than four against any other team. They call him "Brewer killer Dessens."

In Clash of the Titans news, tonight Randy Johnson goes for the Yankees against Hideo Nomo pitching on 3 days rest.

New day! New thread!

Great call on the radio by Steiner/Monday, with Monday pointing out that the disapointed Bradley was the first off the bench to greet Drew/Kent...

Steiner: "Who are these guys?"

Shades of '88?