Don't forget Buddy the dog, who was Bill Clinton's only friend until his untimely death.

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

I asked my friend "Archipelago" who is currently doing research in an archipelago about the transition from Korean to English. He's got a friend who's Korean and claims to have known Hee-Seop at Kwang-Ju high school. According to this Korean friend, the transition from Korean to English is very, very difficult.

Hee-Seop has insisted on doing it on his own. Twas not always thus.

Upon signing with the Cubs, his agent Chi Lee hired a translator who tried to spend at least an hour a day schooling Choi in English. The translator, Jerry Min, even sat next to Hee Seop in the dugout in 1999. Apparently, by his own choice, he ditched the translator. He was on his own, for the most part, once the 2000 season got under way. Reportedly, Choi watched a lot of HBO, and comedians, to help improve his English.

Perhaps it's not entirely unrelated that Choi is known as quite the cut-up in the dugout.

I am really, really looking forward to interviewing Choi so I can remove the word "apparently" from most of my Choi posts.

I'm a labrador owner. I always shed a tear for Buddy.

Koreatown has some great places to eat. I'd be interested to know if Hee-Seop has any favorites.

YES!

Dog conversations! The wife, the kid and myself are moving into an apartment--smaller but the rent is more reasonable--and they allow pets!

Give it up, people. I haven't had contact with a dog in nearly two decades. What's a good dog for a family of three? We prefer the small ones but not the annoying toy dogs being carried around by the likes of Britney and Paris.

Or, we can just talk baseball...

#4 - I'll ask him. I won't know about the pass until the next homestand. I really wanted to get him on this homestand but I was very honest with the media relations people. "No, I'm not a member of the press. Just a guy who posts on the internet and is thinking of starting a Choi fan club." Yes, that got a laugh from the Dodger folk I talked to.

We'll see.

Like you, I hadn't been a dog owner for 20+ years when my wife brought home a dog that her brother had found wandering the streets of Wilmington. He won us over in mere minutes.

You get chits toward heaven if you rescue a dog, but you're unlikely to get a purebred. If you're living in an apartment, try to deduce how much the dog is likely to bark as passersby, other dogs he/she hears outside your window.

Our dog is a real s**t-stirrer with the other dogs in the neighborhood. Everyone got a balcony, and our dog knows exactly which ones are dog homes. He'll rattle his collar, do anything to make noise so they'll come out onto the balcony. Then they bark at each other until I finally lead mine away.

I always reccomend rescuing one first if possible. You could take the family to a shelter and see how you get along with different dogs there. PetFinder.com on the internets is a good online source.
If you want to purchase a purebred, then spaniels can be nice. They are small, tend to love kids....However, if you get a puppy of any kind, be prepared for a year or so of chewing everything.

SB,
Beagles are easily the bestest dogs ever. Sounds like maybe the size you're looking for, too.

And, fair warning to all, Schmoll World postings are about to start getting gradually more lame, as your intrepid reporter is starting to run out of material. I'll see how long I can keep it going.

Thanks, dzzrtrat. I told the wife I was posting about this and she just said, "We're rescuing a dog and that's final." So we'll be going that route.

We move in on 5/20. I'll let you know how it goes.

Eric, I get the press pass, I'll try to get Schmoll as well. And thanks to you and Marty for the posts. The kid wants a beagle now! I keep telling him it's a few weeks before we can get a dog. You can imagine how that's going over with him.

Beagles are cool. smart dogs...totally loveable.

Watched `Patton' the other day. Bull terriers...rowf!

What happened to the forst dog? RNC plot?

Uh, first dog.

IT'S A SCHMOLL WORLD, May 4:

Steve Schmoll's high school, Magruder High in Rockville, Maryland, is located only three miles from Rockville Union Cemetery, the burial site of the greatest sidearming righthander of them all: Walter Johnson. Had Schmoll's parents had a little more foresight in finding their living quarters, our man could have ended up attending the other school in town, Walter Johnson High School. But alas, it was not to be.

Also, apropos of nothing: Webster's Dictionary defines "schmo" as "slang for jerk." Steve Schmoll is the only player in MLB history whose name begins with those four letters. Let's hope it's not an omen.

No word yet on whether Schmoll plans on following Michael Stipe's advice about returning to his hometown.

five letters! [slaps self on forehead]

...and knocks himself into a stuporous sleep, missing tonights ballgame...

And I could certainly use it, but not at the expense of a ballgame.

I had mainly dalmatians as a kid, whom I loved (some people say they're tempermental but our only problems with them had to do with health), and my wife had a beagle. We'll be getting a beagle when that day comes - a few years from now. Great dogs but I hear they bark quite a bit.

No comments on "Buddy the Gob" or "No Buddy Atoll"?

SB,

If you get that interview, you have to let me tag along. Tell them I'm your microphone or something.

Better yet, we'll put some sunglasses on you and I'll be your seeing eye dog, unless you get this dog you're talking about before that.

After Clinton left office the former-First dog got run over on Long Island. Some staff member left a gate open...

By the way, in #1 (Ratt did a dog hijack, but I'm always looking to switch things to grammar), do you think it's clear that "his" refers back to Buddy and not Bill?

Well, just having plowed through several books on the War in the Pacific, I'm guessing...Tarawa?

Hey Jon, you might want to talk to the Toaster people, see if they'll let you create a photoblog space. Your posters sound like they want to show off pictures of their dogs.

Not to mention digital shots taken at the Stadium and other venues where the Dodgers and their minor league affiliates play.

Jon, it is not clear. I suck! I knew it when I posted it. But then my next post had so many errors, I thought #1 would look good by comparison.

I can't hear "Buddy" without thinking of those My Buddy dolls that used to be a popular toy when I was a kid.

I was a little old for them myself, but they are what Chucky from the fine "Child's Play" series is modeled after.

Does anybody remember the My Buddy and eventually Kid Sister commercials?

#1 was perfectly clear to me until Jon muddied the waters. ;)

Boy, was I off.

My three-legged dog is so awesome she has her own web space. My mother "translates" her journal entries.

Sadly, she (the dog) lives with my parents in the Bay Area.

http://tinyurl.com/d48k3

Remember how the Padres aren't built for Petco? Through today's win...

Home 10-4
Road 4-10

And Arizona up 6-2 late heading for 17-11. So much for rooting against the Giants. Time to shift gears again.

Something Shawn Green has perfected is that when there are runners on the corners and one out, it is very difficult to complete the 3-6-3 double play. The resulting RBI feeds his family until 2008.

Jon, I can't believe you left "Buddy, Buddy" off your list. It's the most depressing comedy I've ever seen. A truly sad attempt to re-create the Lemon/Matthau magic. And directed by Billy Wilder, no less.

Hey! Benicia's a cool place. Lucky dog.

Tampa Bay 6, New York 2. Nomo is right side up again against the Yankees. Though this time against some guy named "Henn."

Beltre's BA down to .229. He's gone more than a week w/out a home run. Angels might sweep Seattle in Seattle today, the team's in last place, so he's exposed. Man, I'd hate to see Beltre start showing up on a "biggest free agent busts" list.

Hey! Benicia's a cool place.

You'll never hear me saying that.

Figgins just got picked off of second with nobody out. I believe that's four lost baserunners on the night. It is embarassing that that's the team Tim Brown has fallen in love with. They are a basket case.

Did I mention Guerrero was up?

I was thinking after Figgins stole second, "well, that takes the bat out of Vlad's hands"
Then he gets picked off...

dzzrtRatt- update your Beltre-Meter. He's 0-3 and down to .223. Sexson is 0-3 and .225.

LoDuca looks like the only DePo exile playing well. It should be noted that DePo's first choice of 4th OF's David Dellucci is a madman this year: .286/.483/.603

There was also the movie `Buddy', with Rene Russo.

I own a cat, but I have a brother who owns a beagle and a basset. The beagle is nice, but very high energy. A basset hound is like a giant cat with a depresssed look on its face.

I prefer the basset hound. He just seems so loveable. Except for eating poop. That's a bit of a downer.

I will be at Dodger Stadium tonight. Someone else will get to use my trademark phrase I hope. Look for me on TV. I'll be the guy in the brown leather jacket and a Cardinals cap. Vin will be saying, "Look at that loveable young Dodger fan! Wait, some guy in a Cardinals cap is blocking our view now. Isn't that terrible?"

I'm wrong it's three. McPherson got thrown out stealing (Yes, you read that right.). Guerrero got thrown out at home on a fly ball to Ichiro. Then Figgins just got picked off trying to steal third just to show he could do it. Except he couldn't.

But Vladimir Guerrero can hit. Which is why they're winning tonight. And not because of whatever snake oil going from first to third nonsense anybody tries to sell you.

Is anyone else aware that Nomo is throwing a pretty good game against the Yankees tonight?

http://tinyurl.com/7dyut

2 run, 3 hits through 4 IP was pretty good for us to get out of him last year.

Well, not as cool as Gilroy, Icaros...

#42 just as long as Vin doesn't mistake your head for a beachball.

My basenji/pit bull is nicknamed "buddy", but the fun Dodger references are the names family/friends have given to our excessive appliances over the last few years. We have:
Ra-uuul the espresso machine
Our TiVos, Izzy & Olmedo
Belly the Dyson vacuum
and an add-on bidet…Jolbert (seriously)

Am I the only one here doing this?

Icaros, that is a great looking dog. Quite a combo...border collie-jack russell

I remember the fourth thing I was thinking of. Josh Paul trying to bunt with first and second and nobody out against Aaron Sele who lasted three innings. If Jim Tracy ever gets it together, I'm sure I can find something else to do. :)

Yes.

"Look at that loveable young Dodger fan! Wait, some guy in a Cardinals cap is blocking our view now. Isn't that terrible?"

Yuck, Bob. What does this mean you're going to be doing to the loveable young Dodger fan?

Well, not as cool as Gilroy, Icaros...

I'm sure it isn't.

Thanks, Marty. She really is quite amazing.

The Border Collie/Jack Russell pedigree is really more of an estimate. We don't know for sure, since she was found on the highway and all.

I'm partial to pointers, particularly ones which eat ice.

http://www.linkmeister.com/blog/archives/001340.html

I've got a black Labrador male and a female black and white something or other. They are pretty goofy. Best thing I did was rescue the second one. The Lab was pretty bored when he was by himself and took it out on the back yard. Now they have each other for company while I'm at work and don't tear up anything.

IF THE DODGERS HAD NOT OVERHAULED THE ROSTERS:

1. Beltre would be off to his customary slow start, thus everyone labelling him a dud who only wakes up mid-August.

2. LoDuca would be off to his customary hot start and batting cleanup and be considered a great catcher... all-star material... that is until he fades after June 15th.

3. Mota would be closing games and Brazoban would be Edwin Jackson's burger fetcher in Vegas, where Jackson is looking forward to pitching again in the majors on his 22nd birthday (since the Dodgers think that he only pitches well on his birthday).

4. Dodgers would be 14-13 or something like that and Tracy would be saying something like, "we are missing gagne and beltre is picking up steam... would i bet against us making the playoffs? No i would not. Have we taken advantage of our rivals' main guy being injured? No we have not. And I think, to a man, we will agree with that. But we are playing great ball and will make the playoffs."

5. Milton Bradley is suspended for the rest of this week.

6. It is a joy to watch Cora/Isturis "flash the leather". Who needs offense when you can field like that. Cora is such a good 2B that no balls have left the Dodger infield on the right side all season.

7. Jose Lima would be a crowd favorite and the best Dodger ever, except on days he pitches.

8. Ishii and Nomo opened a Japanese restaurant right behind the pavillions where any balls caught on days they are pitching will be autographed during the 6th inning break when fans throw things on the field.

9. My wife would say something stupid like I tend to go on and on.

Which of these "low" batting averages is more surprising... Ichiro at .328 or Beltre at .223?

These Jim Tracy meta-posts where he comments on himself third-person are really freaking me out.

Will Jim Tracy dignify #57 with a comment? No he will not. But he will say this... feel free to freak out.

Cool dog, Link. Liked the post on the decline and fall of CPB, also.

Mota would be closing games? Ain't he on the DL? Otherwise, funny post.

Had to break away from the computer so let me just say...

Icaros: Your coming along if I can help it

All: Thanks for the dog posts. Seriously, I know nothing about dogs and this has all been very helpful. Feel free to carry on with the dog talk.

And... off to dinner.

On the previous thread, someone asked about Valentin. Last I heard was "sprained medial collateral ligament in the right knee." Having just had a sprained MCL, I can tell you that it's a somewhat vague diagnosis. Sometimes it just means that the ligaments are stretched out. In my case, it meant a partial tear. With a partial tear, they usually don't do surgery, because the blood is still flowing, so it will heal itself. Mine took 6-8 weeks to feel right, and JV and I are about the same age. 3rd base is probably the worst position for an MCL injury, what with all the quick lateral movements. He should be able to run straight ahead (and hence, maybe pinch-hit if his swing doesn't create too much torque on the right knee) within a few weeks. But they just might move him to the 60-day to maximize his chance of a full recovery.

Yeah, that is a cool ice-eating dog (get it?), but I was expecting something a little different from Kinkmeister's site :-)

SB,

You're right. Mota would be throwing 15 pitches everyday from an underground bunker until he can start throwing from level ground again.

I'm going to hold you to that, SB, if you can help it, of course.

When I was a kid, the worst of the 3 dogs we had was a cocker spaniel.

Name: Dodger.

I envision an Icaros/Plascke altercation coming on.

Now, now, Icaros...I'm not responsible for other people's typos. ;)

Tigger's a ham, so she says thanks for the kind words.

Thanks GB, I was the one who asked. I guess I was looking to find out if they'd determined stretch or tear yet.

I envision an Icaros/Plashcke altercation coming on.

I'm going to take him down and spray paint "Dodger Thoughts Wuz Here" on his belly.

Beltre just got a hit. Recovery starts now.

Except for the fact that it was Sexson...

Beltre just got a hit. Recovery starts now.

He did? GameCenter says he flied out, 0-4.

Jim, it's ok. Beltre thought he was Sexson... for all of last year.

Okay, I can see how those two guys would be easily confused, though.

Sorry, it's just my AADD.

Eric. Shirts just arrived. No envelopes but just tell me what kind you recommended and I'll go pick them up. Thick shirts, they are nice. Too bad about the LA but still really nice shirts. I just compared it to the Gagne shirt and I am laughing.

I do not have shipping info for anyone. advise.

Wow, brendan, that's great that they arrived early. I was planning on e-mailing you the shipping info later tonight... but I'll start on it right now.

yeah, caught me off guard as well but this is great. ok. I'll look for it and try to get them all out by tomorrow.

I caused a scene at the post office shipping out the DePo shirts. They were nice enough to give me a pile of Priority Mail sleeves the week before so I could collate everything at home.

just received my Team Depo T in the mail. Looks fab. Thanks to everyone who made this happen.

Enders,

What's the consecutive hours without sleep count up to now? You're reaching DiMaggio-esque proportions, or at least Molitor-esque.

Eric had sent in an order for envelopes but they never arrived. typical of my postman. How I dislike him so.

Typical of my postman. How I dislike him so.

At least he's not sleeping with your wife while you're away at work.

Nakamura gets the start. No signs of...no, I'm not going there.

"At least he's not sleeping with your wife while you're away at work."

That's reason # 1 I don't like him. Lazy, lazy. Have to do everything myself.

LOL, Brendan.

Errriiicccc!

(wake up) Game's starting.

Need I say this is a rather important game? A losing homestand would not be a good thing.

Hey, I'm here, just busy engaged in Yhency-shirt duties.

Icaros, I woke up around 8:30 AM ET on Monday... so I guess if my math is right, we're going on 62 hours now.

Gee, Eric, are we gonna have to start testing Dodger Thoughts commenters for Cat 5 (or whatever amphetamines are) drugs?

Give him a couple of more days, and there will be no need to test him. We'll know.

But, for the moment, he's coming across pretty coherently...maybe just a misuse of Buzz Cola.

The ESPN commentators just said that Valentin will undergo surgery and be out 8-10 weeks. Earlier there was some discussion about Mike Edwards coming onto the 40-man and whether we dropped somebody off. But if Valentin went on the 60-day DL rather than the 15-day, he doesn't count towards the 40-man, right? Does anybody know the details here?

As per Vin, Valentin's going to be out 8-10 weeks, which unfortunately may explain how Edwards got his 40-man roster spot. If Valentin is moved directly to the 60-day DL, it frees up his slot on the roster.

#92: You're correct (and I'm slow). When someone is on the 60-day DL, he doesn't take up a slot on the 40-man roster.

Fearing Blue - Thanks. Now what we don't know is if Valentin is in fact on the 60-day.

A little Livan inspired Odalis...

No score through 1 1/2 innings.

not only that, Jim, but Choi and Drew now have exactly the same line on Gameday, with 1K and a .258 average.

Bigcpa, my shirt was waiting for me on my doorstep. It looks great. Thanks for all the work!

What's our record when we have 200 posts or more? I'm doing my share. Scoreless thruogh 2 innings. Our offense doesn't look too good.

Team DePo shirts? I've ordered my Ghame Over shirt, but don't have the info on Team DePo. I've been spotty in my attendance here at Dodger Thoughts lately, can someone link me to the Team DePo shirt?

From the MLB Press Pass page:

DODGERS MAKE ROSTER MOVE – The Dodgers placed José Valentin on the 15-day disabled list today with a sprained right knee and purchased the contract of Mike Edwards. To make room for Edwards on the 40-man roster, the Dodgers designated Buddy Carlyle for assignment.

"And that's a good sampling, too. Twenty-one at-bats."

Joe Morgan just said that about J.D. Drew's 7-for-21 hitting against Livan Hernandez.

Other than Will Ferrell, I don't know if there's a better comedian out there today than Joe Morgan.

Wow. He looked safe at second. Not complaining.

I just deactivated Jose Valentin on my Sony PSP version of the Dodgers 2005 season.

My solution? I traded Ghame Over™, a Repko-equivalent & pitching prospect for Aubrey Huff. My video game representing a real life possibility of another fleecing of the Rays using players with inflated value? Too bad it wouldn't let me swing a 3-way with the Yankees…

In trying to turn a negative into something positive, if I was forced to pick 2 position players from our starting 8 to go on the 60-day DL this season it would be Werth & Valentin (based on team value & "replacability").

Extra Innings taketh away, but Extra Innings giveth on occasion.

Disagree about Werth. Really think the pop in his bat will help a lot.

Daryle Ward just homered off of Brad Lidge. Who has a spork?

#108 - After Dave Ross hit 2 doubles off of Clemens.

My heart tells me Nori will have his breakout game today. My head tells me the crafty Livan will take Nakamura to lunch.

Nori, your season starts now.

E-6 Tough to make a good throw with Jeffrey Hammonds between your legs. Somebody needs to tell Choi to come off the bag to field bad throws instead of just reaching.

Head 1, Heart 0

If I see Nakamura hit one more ball foul to the right side . . .

Anyone else get the impression that Nakamura's bat is too heavy for him? I wonder if he'd do better with a lighter version. Maybe an Alex Cora bat...

I get the impression that his swing can't catch up to a major league fastball.

Now now that he has been designated for assignment, it looks like it will be a while before the Dodgers will be "Bringing up Buddy"

And with the Yankees desperate for a starter and having had him in AAA all last year, they just might claim him, and it would be "Bye Bye Buddy."

#107 - Don't get me wrong, I love Werthy (my 3rd favorite after Games & Hee-Sizzle).

But I believe offense in LF is easy to replace compared to other positions...and our C, 1B, 2B, SS, RF & CF are have more value to the team.

You guys are looking in the wrong place. It's not his bat. It's his footwork. Look where his foot is (if you have it on Tivo or MLB.tv, like I know Jerry does) on those last two swings -- it's like he's trying to drag bunt up the third base line. No way he can hit like that. Whether he does that regularly, I don't know. But he can't hit like that.

Izzy!

Does anyone have an update on when and where Werth is going to start his rehab assignment?

How long are they going to talk about the Yankees today? Sheesh.

Vinnie said it. Good AB for Hee-Seop. Productive out and all that. Sheesh.

Jackson's pitching tonight for the 51s. He's not doing well so far, but the 51s have a 3-2 lead after 3.

http://tinyurl.com/atx54

Jackson's line so far: 3IP 2R 2ER 2BB 2K 1HR

Hey, it WAS a productive out. I'll be darned...

1960's Dodger baseball: Single, stolen base, 2 productive groundouts. Maury must be beaming.

#122 - It's ESPN, what do you expect? I'd rather listen to Joe Morgan talk about the Yankees than listen to Joe Morgan talk about the Giants. Of course, I'd rather listen to a herd of llamas vomiting than listen to Joe Morgan at all, but the "muting" indicator on my TV covers the score in the upper left and I can't turn it off.

I'll take a walk or a single over those two groundouts, if that's what they call "execution"

I don't even want to know what Joe Morgan has to say about that. But I'll take the run.

Thank you MLB extra innings!

The mute overlay doesn't turn off, Johnson? How irritating. Kind of like how I felt when my idiot parrot chewed of the mute button on my remote...

It looks like the Suns are going to the Mike Scioscia school of baserunning. They went 0/2 in SB and had one baserunner picked off at 1st. Even with their "sound fundamentals" and potentially some "heart and soul" they weren't able to pull it out. They lost 2-1, wasting a strong pitching effort by Broxton.

Broxton's line: 6IP 2H 1R 1ER 3BB 5K 0HR.

In other news, it turns out I can't really read a box score.

Jackson's real line so far: 3IP 3H 2R 1ER 2BB 2K 1HR.

I need sleep and I've only been up since 8:30 this morning. I don't know how Eric holds it together.

Johnson - same problem with my TV. Just turn the volume all the way down instead of using the MUTE function.

The win expectancy calculator says the Dodgers have a 70.9% chance of winning tonight, with 1 out in the top of the fifth and a one run lead.

vr

Xeifrank

I don't know if this has been reported yet, but Vin just said that Valentin is expected to miss 8-10 weeks.

Hitchcock - nope, doesn't turn off. Of course, I could always just turn the volume all the way down. I guess it's the masochist in me. My current experiment is to listen to the KFWB feed (GameDay totally worth the $15) with the volume down. Steiner's better than Morgan, for sure, but the audio feed is about 10 seconds slow. We'll see how that works.

I can't deal with the reverse (i.e. listening to radio, watching TV when the radio is ahead), but the web audio delay may not kill me.

Nuts.

Ichiro would have cought it

Your calculator needs batteries, XF :)

small ball sucks. Chicks dig the long ball.

Ichiro would have caught it and thrown out Chone Figgins trying to tag and go to second.

#135 - If you have Tivo, you can pause the video and wait for the audio feed to catch up to it. That's what I'm doing right now.

#141 - great idea, but no TiVo. So far, I'm coping with the delay far better than Morgan. :-)

Win expectancy calculator gives the Dodgers are 59.2% chance of winning heading into the bottom of the 5th. Just plugged in some new batteries.

http://walkoffbalk.com/tools/winexp/index.php

vr

Xei

pie in the face time for joe!

Denizen -- I'm guessing you didn't head to Finn's, as you posted pretty recently. I've just finished a hellacious round of mortal combat with a four year old insomniac. And even though Little Enders is now dreamily asleep (and already plotting his next insurgency which should come around leave-for-school-time tomorrow), I won't be getting out tonight.

Would enjoy picking a game and having a DCDT meet up sometime (you, me, Ben P., one or two more I'm pretty sure). Anyhow, glad I didn't strand you.

first post in several games and it's content-free

While that bunt makes me want to pull all my hair out, I take some solace in the fact that at least Phillips can execute it.

Hmm...sacrifice to bring up Nakamura. Does that make 3 sacrifices tonight?

Phew.. I had to refresh a few times to get your comment, Steve. I was concerned you might have might have missed the stupidest bunt ever.

...and of course Lethal Weapon helped popularize the "buddy movie" prevalent in so many other ones

Look at where his foot was on that 3-1 swing. It's in Downey.

Why does Nori have the green light on 3-1? Why does Nori ever have a green light?

I wouldn't even bunt here.

Win expectancy went down 1 full percent with the sac bunt. Luckily Nokamura walked, can't believe they sac bunted with the two pitchers up for the Dodgers. :)

vr

Xei

64.2% currently.

Win expectancy went down 1 full percent with the sac bunt. Luckily Nokamura walked, can't believe they sac bunted with the two pitchers up for the Dodgers. :)

vr

Xei

64.2% currently.

Yeah, the ESPN guys just pointed out what we all can see: Nori steps in the bucket on every swing. That's why he has to lunge for outside pitches and ends up with so many soft grounders to the right side. He has to fix that or he'll never hit in this league.

Two sac bunts in one inning?

That's just insane!

Why not go for three!!!

vr

Xei

when joe confines himself to specifics of an at-bat or typical in-game strategy stuff, he's decent. it's just whenever he says anything about a team's prospects or evaluates a player's ability in general that he falls down badly

re: 158,144 i'm reveling in actually seeing a game on espn2 first game non-gameday dodger game in a long time

It would take a mistake of incredible proportions to make the kind of mistake that Nakamura could hit way out there. I thought Hernandez pitched him really dumb. Why worry about all that breaking crap? Outside corner. Outside corner. Outside corner. Good-bye.

Let's not forget when he talks negatively about Moneyball, which he hasn't read, and probably couldn't understand even if he did.

Get up, Cesar! Get up!

Izturis fouls one off his instep. Who's our backup SS? Repko? Driefort? Russell? Sax?

vr

Xei

Slow down my beating heart.

Aargh. Come on Cesar. Walk it off.

Up and at 'em, Cesar.

Choi up with bases loaded? Oh boy, another grand slam??

Win Expectancy now up to: 62.8%

an out from Choi drops it to: 52.6%

vr

Xei

C'mon Hee Seop, hit it to Bob!

Tracy setting Choi up to be the hero. That's it what it was. Right?

Maybe Tracy will have Choi lay down a sac bunt? haha!

vr

Xei

HEE!! SEOP!!! CHOI!!! Come on!

Wonder if Guzman had a slin 'n slide when he was young?

Attaboy, Cesar. Hee-Seop Choi!

Cesar's walk made the win expectancy drop.

Garbage strike.

not a strike

Then he threw the same pitch for a ball.

Choi sure does crowd the plate. I would just bust him inside, but not too low.

vr

Xei

Heesizzle... forget about a grand slam. A solid single to left will do

by the book from livan on choi so far

For those on Game Cast the gun had the 1-2 pitch at 53 MPH

seems like choi should be 6inches away from the plate and he might have a chance on the inside of the plate

Hee-fizzle.

hmmm, Dodgers gave up 2 outs in one inning. DePodesta must be pissed. Time to inflate the Jim Tracy doll and manage from upstairs.

vr

Xei

You don't have to do much to catch up to a 62 mph curveball six inches above the ground. What you need to do is not swing at it in the first place.

well we're going to see a lot of hee sop with the current bench situation; he's got to figure out how to combat the hole in his swing or he doesn't belong

nice job odalis!

I like the non-Wallachized Choi myself.

Nice plays by Nakamura and Perez. Though Perez's was on a bunt, so it was simply justice being done.

The Dodgers seem to be at a disadvantage with two pitchers hitting 8th and 9th in the lineup. Then they have the #7 hitter bunt so the two pitchers can try to knock in a run?? hmmmm

vr

Xei

1-2-3 top of the 6th. Dodgers win expectancy up to 59.9%, let's see if we can get over the hump this inning. Without the two pitchers batting, we actually have a chance of scoring. That is of course unless Tracy decides to do two sac bunts in one inning again.

vr

Xei

what has wallach done with his swing, Steve?

Leadoff single, let's see if Tracy has Kent bunting. :)

vr

Xei

Anyone know what that laser on Izturis is supposed to be doing?

191: he shoulda....

There was a lot of talk at the beginning of the season about making Choi more "aggressive." This is Scioscia-like language and should be avoided in all cases anyway, but it appeared to mean that he should "widen his strike zone."

And Kent was just depressing.

Kent should have bunted!

Double play!! Why didn't they have Kent bunt!!! I am pissed. :)

vr

Xei

Joe Morgan in my head:

"Yeah, if Kent had bunted there, you would have stayed out of the double play, and given Milton Bradley a chance to drive in the run."

re: choi thx steve.

i think its simpler than that -- don't crowd the plate so much. other people have pointed out that he's a big enough guy to extend and cover the outside of the plate and he just has zero chance at the inner half of the plate with his current stance -- it's a drag because our lineup is totally based on him being a tough out....

OT: Spurs about to eliminate the Nuggets. George Karl should've bunted more! :)

vr

Xei

Dodgers win expectancy down to 45.9% after the single to lead off the top of the 7th. Hope the Dodgers get someone up in the pen.

vr

Xei

Full story on Valentin now up at:

http://tinyurl.com/duhjy

"He did about as much damage to a knee that you can possibly do without having to have it surgically repaired," Manager Jim Tracy said. "It's fairly safe to say that Jose Valentin is looking at well beyond the All-Star break, and that is if everything goes according to plan."

Also, Werth will start playing with Las Vegas on Friday

Krep.

That was an incredibly lackluster defensive play. The Dodgers looked like they were moving in slow motion.

That gaffe lowered the Dodgers chances of winning to 24.5%. Nice backup on the play by Odalis, giving the runner third base. Now do you walk Wilkerson to setup the double play? er, i mean three run HR.

vr

Xei

is anyone up in the pen?

If only Castilla had been bunting...

I don't know how to fix Choi. But extension wasn't his problem on that pitch. It's just a pitch he shouldn't have been swinging at. If he walks, I don't care what his swing looks like.

wilson's up

All this win expectancy stuff is messing with my psyche right now.

Infield in, Nick Johnson lines one through the drawn in infield. Alvarez ready to come in from the pen. Dodgers win expectancy down to 18%. Atleast the double play is in order now. :)

vr

Xei

Can't blame Tracy for this one. Pitch count was good. Perez had been throwing good. Heart of their order beat us. That's what the heart of the order is supposed to do. Forgive me for sounding like the Plaschkers for a moment, but I'd forgotten what that was like...

But you can pull Perez now.

wow! beautiful hit n run single. Everything going wrong for the Dodgers in this inning. Alvarez come in?

vr

Xei

very athletic play by Johnson

Will Robinson send Hernandez and his 89 pitches out to hit?

Danger Will Robinswon?

Wow. Does Alvarez work even more slowly than Carrara? No, not quite, I guess. Less than a full minute per pitch. Not that Odalis is a speed-demon....

Whoops.

Drew has a nice arm but he should have held back a beat and caught that ball moving forward to get more on his throw.

Ugggh.

Livan is a career .234/.245/.314 hitter. Not bad for a pitcher, but hardly a "very good hitter."

So of course he got a hit.

Off goes the game...

Seriously, how many weird defensive plays can we have in one inning?

This game is nature's way of telling Enders to go to sleep.

Now that we know Valentin is going to be down for a while, how about calling up Robles from the Mexican League?

Now that we know Valentin is going to be down for a while, how about calling up Robles from the Mexican League?

OK, here's the weird one. With that double, our win expectancy went down. I call small sample size.

You know, it just occurred to me. One of the reasons the Dodgers are a good come-from-behind team is that it takes most of Tracy's dumb meddling out of the picture. When you're down by 4, you HAVE to play for the big inning, and not give away outs. Hmmm...

My own Little Enders called me away for most of that half inning; now that I'm back, I'm sure things'll turn right around.

Boy you could see a lot of hands reaching down towards the field and that live ball in the right field corner on Ledee's double.

Woohoo! Nori pulled the ball!

Jason Groundoutski.

It's getting to the point that there are so many people I'd like to have cut from this team, I can't think of suitable replacements for all of them.

Well there ya go - Nori's at short.

I figured Repko at short would come before Nori at short, but clearly I figured incorrectly.

Nice plays by Nori and HeeSeop

hehe

groundoutski

makeshift infield DP may be accurate, but why do i feel insulted?

Well, that was nice.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a third baseman!

Just checked the 51s box score again. It's tied 7-7. Perez was removed for a pinch runner after starting at SS. He was also HBP, though I don't know if it was the same AB. He's a pretty quick runner himself, so being run for seems strange unless something was wrong.

Also, it looks like Aybar may need a little more seasoning at 3B. He's made 2 fielding errors there this evening, though only 4 total this season.

Just a couple of feet further this time, Milton.

Sigh.

Holy Mackerel is right. Nice play by the other Vinnie.

LOB is a disease.

Anyone listening on the radio? Have they said anything about Cesar's condition? Hopefully they just took him out for precautionary reasons.

You all may have covered this earlier, but is that Vince Vaughn sitting behind homeplate?

No. It's Jason Phillips :)

does livan hernandez consider it an grave insult to be taken out of a game when he is winning? he's already thrown 115 pitches and is leading by 4 runs... why not call it a night?

erm, a grave insult.

that's why i get for adding in adjectives after the fact.

blah, i give up. good night.

Let Buddy the Woodsman hit!

At this point Hernandez is throwing at about the same speed as they throw in Japan. Maybe Nori run into one of these 84 mph fastballs.

... or not.

#246: I don't know what the reason is, but Robinson always leaves Hernandez in until his arm falls off. Hurt me quite a few times in fantasy baseball last year.

Bad homestand.

Hit the road, Jack, and learn to hit the ball some more, some more, some more, some more...

FSN says biggest play of the game was the double and throwing error by Kent, that Odalis failed to back up correctly. I might agree. Also thought the 2 sac bunts in one inning was a big mistake. Livan was great tonight, Vin said that it was common for Livan to throw 175 pitches in games back in Cuba.

I have to say I am a bit worried about the Dodgers offense at the moment, especially if Izturis misses any time. They already have two pitchers in the lineup with Nokahura and the pitcher of the day. Add to that a fairly weak hitting catcher and first baseman, and it's going to be tough to score runs. The Dodgers better do well in Cincy, because the Cards are gonna be a good bet to win 3 out of 4 or sweep the Blue Crew imho.

vr

Xeifrank

Observations from an attendee (good seats - field level behind home plate):

1) Livan was throwing a 55 mph curveball toward the game's end - very junky, tough stuff.

2) Odalis was hit very hard in the 7th inning - even the out he recorded was a shot.

3) The guy who sat in front of me wants to FJT.

4) The guys behind me commented on how bad the fans were, behaviorally.

5) I popped my first beachball tonight! I killed it. Greased it. Took it out. No severe repercussions, unlike a guy several rows in front of me that was assaulted with the deflated ball by a couple Raider fans. They were ejected. (We should keep a running tally of who's "Shot Down" more of these aerial intruders and anoint an "Ace" at the end of the season).

Actually, I saw quite a few popped beachballs deflating in mid-air. It seems that the Resistance Movement is growing...

Basically, even in the best seats, people seem concerned about unruly fans more so than in the past. I'm still not sure if it's a product of our imagination or a measureable reality, but the perception is there. I'm at a loss to find a cause, or a solution for that matter. How do you force people to "behave" at a public outdoor event?

The LA Times reports that Valentin is out until August at the earliest. Carlyle was taken off the 40-man roster to make room for Edwards. Valentin is on the 15-day DL.

The Times also has a report on the $2 Tuesdays promotion. Pretty interesting.
Most of the debris thrown on the field were from the friends of the two teenagers who were arrested for running on the field.

The crowd tonight was very mellow. But it was a relatively small crowd. And not filled with a lot of tension.

I'm not sure if this was already addressed, but did anyone notice the music that JD Drew had as he walked to the plate? It was Marilyn Manson......I was pretty confused about that choice since his bio mentioned something about Christian music.

200 posts and we lost...

re: 255

I've gone to a couple of games this season and sat in the inner reserved section of the stadium. I think in some of the premium sections (the folks behind me have been ticket holders for 25 years) the fans are way, way more civilized.

I've also sat in the pavilion 3 times this season. Tonight was pretty tame, but last Wednesday sucked.

Did anyone else at the game notice that there was more Nancy B. music? There wasn't a whole lot, but it was more than the first few games I was at.

I posted earlier that there would be significant media coverage of fan behavior at Dodger Stadium within a couple of weeks. Steve Henson beat that by thirteen days.

Good for him, I say.

It was a decent article. It appears the Dodger brass is a bit perplexed, and not yet quite sure what to do about the problem...but at least it's grabbed their attention.

Maybe the next T-shirt idea could copy the NO BOZO shirts of a couple of decades ago...with a beachball under the X.

OK, I am starting to get a little worried at this point. Maybe someone out there can alleviate my fears, or maybe not. I don't think Izturis' injury is going to be too serious, but even the prospect of a few games with some converted 2B or 3B at shortstop is worrisome.

More critical for the long haul of the season is 1B and 3B. Both Nakamura and Choi are serviceable defensively (and Nakamura actually looks pretty slick), but it seems unlikely that we are going to get much offensive punch from either of those two positions (which are usually some of your bigger bats in the lineup). Both Choi and Nakamura will get some hits, maybe even some key ones, but they just look like such easy outs. I know that's horribly unscientific, but you can just see the body language of the pitcher change when these two guys come up. The opposing pitchers don't fear either one of them, they get up a strike early, and it's smooth sailing from there.

I know we have a lot of options for calling players up, but it seems like a stretch to expect a rookie (even a really talented rookie) to produce the kind of offensive numbers a playoff caliber team typically has from the corner in-field spots.

When Gagne comes back, our bullpen will undoubtedly be one of the best in the majors. The #1 - #4 starters match up favorably with any group in baseball, but I am afraid our outfield lineup is going to have to put up some pretty gaudy numbers in order to overcome our shortfalls at 1st and 3rd.

Please, someone explain to me why I am full of $%#& !!

Sure, Jonny, I'll bite. but first of all: welcome. No one here will tell you are full of excrement because the security here for that kind of talk is better than what currently exists at Dodger Stadium. Secondly, as one who consistently posts unscientific, specious if not entirely spacey posts, I'm glad to welcome a brother.

Choi is a hitter. He is a proven hitter. It's hard to see when he swings and misses because when he whiffs, it's ugly. When Reggie Jackson whiffed, we all thought, "Wow, that was close." We don't get that with Choi. But the guy can hit. He was one of the few productive players on the homestand. I'm not worried about 1b but you will find others who are.

3b? Now we got a problem.

Lost in all the criticisms of Valentin's Cooking Light batting average was the fact that the guy was getting on base. I don't know who convinced him of it but Valentin was taking alot of pitches and it was paying off. He was example numero uno that if you can't hit, you can still draw a walk. Now, he's out. And in comes Nakamura.

Nori is a kick in the pants to watch until the ball leaves his bat. He's an excellent glove, at least as good as Beltre was last season but the jury is very much out on whether he can hit. And I prefer to be a member of the jury that is still out. You either write off Nori as a guy who can't hit--as some did with Choi this season--or you take into account that he's pressing and perhaps slumping and will soon come out of it. I prefer the latter view for now.

So to alleviate your concerns: Choi is a hitter. Don't worry about him. Root for him. That "Hee-Seop Choi" chant is fun and catchy, reason enough to keep him in the lineup. As for 3b, I'll be satisfied if Nori plays like Beltre 2003--great glove, weak bat. With those two as givens, how does the rest of the lineup look to you?

OF - Bradley, Drew and a company of few until Werth comes back

IF - Kent, Izzy and the Pacific Rim

SP - Penny, Lowe, Odalis, Weaver and Lord help us, Erickson

RP - You know how good these guys are

Remember, the Dodger payroll is high but a good portion is going to Dreifort and 4-3. And we've still got ten million to spend come trade deadline. We might see Aubrey Huff at 3b by then. Next season, Dreifort and Green come off the books but that's next season.

This season, we gotta have faith. The team was too much fun the first two weeks of April, duller than squat the last two. Now, it's time to see what they're like between those to extremes.

Hit the road, boys. Come back strong.

Addendum to epicly long post above: first paragraph is not criticism of Jonny for being specious and spacey but merely confirmation that yours truly, SB, has cornered the market in that area.

SB,

I don't want to reread the thousands of posts from the last week, but weren't you the guy that had been up for 55 straight hours. That could definitely explain the spacey posts, if not the specious.

As for your response, I have one major point of disagreement. I am not sure how anyone can say that Choi is a "proven hitter". As a more statistically savvy website than most, people around here surely understand the importance of sample size. Choi's past numbers may trend in a positive direction, but I really don't think there's enough data to call Choi "proven". Don't get me wrong, I am rooting for the guy. I have a number of Korean friends who tried to explain to me the cultural significance of those early glory days of Chan Ho Park, and I would love to see that atmosphere return to the Ravine. But suffice it to say that I am skeptical of Choi's long-term hitting viability, and what I have witnessed so far this season hasn't won me over. Hopefully, Choi will have a breakout season and all my doubts will be laid to waste. But I'm not betting on it.

Would you rather have Green for $16 million and no Derek Lowe, or would you rather pay $10 million for Green to leave, $350,000 for Choi and $7.5 million for Lowe?

So far this season:

Choi
.246/.333/.435=.768 OPS, 3 HRs

Green
.264/.325/.409=.734 OPS, 3 HRs

Lowe
2-2, 1.96 ERA, .223 BAA, 1.06 WHIP

Ic,

I like Lowe a lot. Wanted to see him in Blue when I found out he was a free agent, and was pleased when we landed him. You won't find any griping from me in the archives about us overpaying for Lowe, because I don't think we are (relatively of course - since were overpaying for everybody when it comes right down to it).

So I have no problem with Lowe, and I have no problem with Choi playing first for the entire season. I am simply skeptical that he will produce much for us this season. At the end of the year, it will be interesting to compare his numbers when players are in scoring position and when they are not. I just have a feeling that he will not be a clutch guy. I hope I am wrong.

But I do find everyone on this site's extreme confidence in Choi a little mystifying due to the very small sample size of his success. When it comes to stats, sample size is key. Again, don't get me wrong, I am rooting for his success but I am not too confident that it will happen.

At the end of the year, it will be interesting to compare his numbers when players are in scoring position and when they are not. I just have a feeling that he will not be a clutch guy.

The stat folks will tell you that, over the course of a career, there is no real correlation between hitting with runners in scoring position or otherwise, and that clutch hitting is a myth, or more a product of luck than anything else.

That being said, can you explain why you feel he will not be a clutch guy? Is it his swing, the expression on his face, his name?

These are my impressions, and not necessarily supported by numbers but here goes:

1. He gets behind in the count early and often. He is often down a strike or two and doesn't seem to be able to cut down on his long swing when he gets behind, which equates to a lot of lazy flyballs and soft grounders on 0-2, 1-2, and 2-2 pitches. It's the kind of contact that does not put a lot of pressure on the defense.

2. Being a starting picther is hard work, and it's easy to lose focus during the course of the game. If a pitcher gets in a jam, I think he will be confident that he can use Choi as his safety valve as opposed to Izturiz, Drew, Kent, etc. - that's only a perception but I think it's one that a lot of pitchers will have - so in this case perception is reality. They will pitch around Izturis, like Livan did last night when he loaded the bases, to get to Choi and then bare down on Choi. They will refocus on their perceived "out guy" and go after Choi with some of their better stuff. Is that a bit of stretch? Probably. But it doesn't mean that there isn't some truth to it.

3. Body language is not a myth. Choi's body language tells me that he is not confident in difficult situations (e.g. bases loaded and 2 outs and we're trailing). Although he does look more confident than he did during his miserable season start, he's still got a long way to go. You can give me all of the numbers that you want, but you won't convince me that hitting, especially in pressure situations, isn't effected by the batters confidence, constitution, will to succeed - call it what you want. If the guy is nervous, his probability of success will go down.

There you go. My analysis. Not right or wrong at this point, just speculation. Hopefully, idle and unjust speculation because I think we are going to need Choi to produce this season in order to make the playoffs.

Fair enough, J6. I appreciate the thoughtful post.

Would you at least agree that Choi's grand slam last week, against a pitcher one-hitting them to that point and leading 1-0, was pretty clutch?

Re: #267 - Hi, Jonny6, good to see you commenting.

I guess not everyone on the site has extreme confidence in Choi because I share your doubts. However, I am more than willing to be proven wrong and find myself being drawn more and more into his corner. While I still have trepidation, I would like to see Choi given a fair shot to sink or swim and I feel the 1st base job should be his for the foreseeable future.

^5 to you. Keep up the thoughtful posts.

Definitely agreed. And I think Choi's demeanor and approach at the plate, his confidence if you will, improved after that successful at-bat, at least temporarily. But it doesn't appear to me that the improved confidence has carried over in any substantive manner into the next week, and I haven't seen any marked improvement in his swing since that at-bat (again from my impression not necessarily from his numbers).

As a random aside, Choi's AB in the big win that sent us to the playoffs last season was very clutch. That was a very tough walk to draw. And after being discarded on the trash heap by Tracy during the stretch run last year, that was no small feat. But it just seems to me that this year his confidence is visibly shaken - after all of the stops and starts and cheers and jeers that he has endured this season - I am just skeptical that he is going to be able to overcome it all and I haven't seen nearly enough to allay my suspicions.

Wow, I have never received a cyberspace high five before. I am a little flushed.

I would also like to see Choi succeed, and I think one think is pretty obvious now with Valentin going down and Nakamura struggling mightily at the plate - Choi is going to get his chance at first base. The constant platooning at 1st is going to be tougher with the crucial problems at 3rd, so I would be willing to bet that Choi finally gets his chance to see daily action - as Saenz moves over to platoon more at 3rd (Jon's description of a baby clutching at Cheerios notwithstanding).