Since I live in Las Vegas I will be wagering $100 on the Dodgers tonite regardless of them doing badly against pitchers making their debut against us. Koronka's numbers last year were much better than this year BUT any excuse to put Olmedo Saenz in the line-up is a good thing. Therefore, with blind luck I am wagering on Saenz and Perez having a great game.

In that grand baseball tradition of keeping track of team records by month, a statistic that seems to have no useful cause-and-effect relationship to anything, let me bitterly bid a not-so-fond farewell to the just concluded 11-17 May.

June, welcome! Here's to new months and clean slates.

Over/Under for Derek Lowe will be a repeat of Brad Penny's Over/Under line of 7 IPs. Please feel free to make your virtual wagers.

vr

Xei

http://tinyurl.com/bhn6v

NL All Star Balloting totals so far. Kent leads at 2B, over at SS Cesar isn't in the top five. Bradley is our highest placing outfielder, in ninth.

I guess this just reflects the expected bias toward big names from previous years, but it is still disappointing to see Cesar and Bradley so far back.

Things could change as the earliest ballots were cast before players could show really show their true selves for this year.

Random Dodger game callback

June 1, 1980

Over 49,000 came to Dodger Stadium on a Sunday afternoon to watch the Dodgers big investment in the free agent market, Dave Goltz, get shelled by the Atlanta Braves and lose 9-5. The loss cut the Dodgers lead over second place Cincinnati to just one game.

After a disappointing 1979 season, Dodgers general manager Al Campanis decided to go into the free agent market and found a starter, Goltz, and a reliever, Don Stanhouse, that were supposed to prop up a Dodger pitching staff that had been riddled with injuries the previous season. But Goltz would finish a disappointing 7-11 with a 4.31 ERA. Stanhouse managed to save just seven games in 21 appearances while sporting a 5.04 ERA. By the end of the year, Rookie of the Year Steve Howe was the Dodgers relief ace, finishing with 17 saves. The 1979 Rookie of the Year, Rick Sutcliffe, went 3-9 with a 5.56 ERA.

The Braves scored a run in the first and then three in the third, capped off by a 2-run homer by Bob Horner. Horner would hit another homer in the seventh off of reliever Charlie Hough. The Dodgers got all their scoring on two home runs, a 3-run homer by Steve Garvey in the third and a two-run shot by Dusty Baker in the 6th. Both came off of Braves starter Doyle Alexander. Rick Camp finished up for the save.

Playing in just his 11th major league game was Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia. Scioscia, Joe Ferguson, and Steve Yeager shared the catching duties for the season.

Injuries slowed down the Dodgers in June and July and allowed Houston to take the division lead. The Dodgers rallied in August but played their last three games of the regular season at home against Houston but needed to win all three to force a one-game playoff.

And the Dodgers pulled off the sweep in dramatic fashion. In the first game, the Dodgers scored a run in the 9th to tie and then Ferguson homered in the 10th to make rookie callup Fernando Valenzuela a winner. The next day the Dodgers won 2-1 behind a great performance from Jerry Ruess, who went 18-6 including a no-hitter, and a homer from Garvey against Nolan Ryan. The Dodgers won the third game when Ron Cey hit a 2-run homer off of Frank LaCorte in the 8th to win it 4-3.

The playoff was the next day at Dodger Stadium and a frenzied crowd of over 51,000 saw the Dodgers, with only Goltz left to turn to as a starter, get hit early and often and the Astros won the NL West with a 7-1 win behind a strong performance from Joe Niekro.

Nevertheless the dramatics of the last three days before the playoff left Dodger fans eager for the 1981 season. And wanting to see more of the young left-hander from Mexico.

Thanks to the NY Times, BaseballReference.com and Retrosheet

In regards to last night; Tracy was right to Bunt Choi (although, I do see the other side of that)

"You get so much passion inside when when you emphasize how important it is to work as a unit, and it's amazing how successful we were. That's one thing baseball isn't doing today. Players don't hit behind the runner. If you told some players to sacrifice bunt today, they'd need to see a psychiatrist." --Frank White,

http://tinyurl.com/97q77

I disagree with #6, on a couple of levels. For one, Choi is the last guy that needs to be told to hit behind the runner or be a team player. For another, especially when the count got to 2-0, the best chance of moving the runner to second base and then scoring him was to let Choi's batting eye lead the way.

Bob T., great callback game. I hated Steve Yager and Mike Scioscia becasue they were pushing aside the greatest catcher in the history of baseball. At least when I was a little kid rooting for the Dodgers, Joe Ferguson seemed like the greatest catcher in baseball. What did I know? He hit one of the first HR I ever saw. When your a little wiener that's all you need to know.

My name's Sushirabbit and I'm a Dodgers fan!

I have a three year old. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, has ever been as good as playing catch with him last night. He had me laughing so hard trying to "leg-kick" with the same leg as his throwing arm. And then last night, I said "try it the other way".... I've been letting him do it his way.... "with the other foot." And (praise God) he actually heard me and did it. And he started really throwing the ball.

And then he really caught it for the first time!

So, I asked him, "Did it feel good to throw it well?" "Yes", he said. "Doesn't that
make you forget about when you couldn't throw it well?" "Yes", again, and a smile that well... makes games like last night just not matter as much. Just 3 and a half. I promise not to care if he ever wants to play again. But something tells me I'm gonna be dealing with this the rest of his life. I'm dreading the first jammed finger already, or a JD like batting slump. Or seeing my kid get beaned.

Those of you with younger kids, if you don't know this book already, I highly recommend it:

Title: Take Me Out To The Ballgame (Aladdin Picture Books)
Author: Jack Norworth / Alec Gillman

http://tinyurl.com/8mt7m

Don't forget to enjoy the good stuff....

I want to preempt some of the inevitable reaction to Bob's callback, where people suggest that Fernando should have started the playoff game. I can remember at the time that despite his success in short relief appearances, no one even suggested this. Not to say it wouldn't have been brilliant - just that it wasn't even on the radar.

#6 - Somebody also needs to tell Frank that this isn't 1979 anymore. It's a different game now.

Ah, so that's the problem. Would someone, anyone, PLEASE fix the @#*%@#! radar?

Yeah, #7 is a good point. I actually see that point, but still don't think Tracy was insane or stupid for doing it his way. I questioned the Drew bunt, more because Drew looked like he agonized over it. The Rose thing befuddle me more than those calls, but he did OK and made one heads up play....so... what do I know. :-)

I found the White quote trying to find references to games one by late inning bunts. I'd love to see numbers on successful/failed bunts... could one get that info from Retrosheet?

Goltz was the only starter available.
Valenzuela had pitched two innings the day before. And two innings on Friday. Goltz pitched on the Thursday before the playoff and went 7 2/3 innings in a loss. He gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in a 3-2 loss to the Giants.

The Retrosheet boxscore says he left because of an injury. Castillo and Howe blew the lead, with Howe surrendering a 2-run single to Darrell Evans.

I don't know about the playoffs, but I think we should bring Fernando to pitch NOW.

#9 - Great post, Sushirabbit. And I think we do have that book. Is it a pop-up book?

In a tie game in the 9th I would have Drew swinging. You have nothing to lose at that point going for the win. In the tenth, down a run I think you have to get a runner in scoring position. I think the chance of Choi striking out or hitting into a DP is too great not to have him move the runner over. I don't think you'll find a single MLB manager who would have had Choi swinging. That may not mean it's the right thing to do but there is, sometimes, value in an old fashioned approach. The game really hasn't changed much, certainly not in the last 26 years. I have to go answer my rotary phone now.

6.

Disagree with you, but I think everyone knows me feelings about the Jim Tracy bunt-a-thon last night.

7.

Ditto.

13.

Looking for a game that was won with a late inning bunt. Top of the 10th of last nights game. Though we don't know how much it helped. Could've still scored without the bunt, could've scored more than one run, and also could've had a GDP and not scored at all. :)

Great story with the kid playing catch. I have an 11 month old daughter, just starting to walk and I am enjoying every minute of it. Seems like she will be a ballplayer when she grows up, as she loves to bat a ball around with her hand on the floor then go chase it and bat it around again. This game usually ends when she finds something more interesting to play with, like daddy's shoe strings or a potted plant.

vr

Xei

Comments on two separate subjects...

I was at the first two Houston games in 1980, two of my greatest memories of being at Dodger stadium(I've been to plenty of duds) and will shamefully admit to having had bleacher seats for the Sunday game but was drained and gave the tix away...

I have a 4 1/2 year old and have been trying to teach him to "step and throw" with similar results (wrong leg) but have recently made a breakthrough although the "step" is a bit exaggerated. The offensive side of things has gone much better as he is now ripping overhand pitched whiffle balls to all fields (he credits his new bat as being better than his old bat). Dare I have him switch hit?

From Rotoworld.com:

Edwin Jackson was pounded for 11 runs -- five earned -- in 4 1/3 innings last night in a loss for Triple-A Las Vegas.
10 hits, four walks and no strikeouts. It doesn't look like it's going to happen for Jackson this year. Jun. 1 - 3:33 pm et

19.

I'd have him switch hit, otherwise Jim Tracy will platoon him. I'd also have him learn to bunt, hit behind runners and do the little things. :) Have fun!

vr

Xei

This year, Choi is hitting .375 with an OBP of .545 when the count goes 2-0. This is a small sample size of 22 plate appearances.

While I can see the potential logic in bunting at the beginning of the at bat (Choi is slumping, and he is a pure three true outcomes hitter, so the odds of him moving the runner in to scoring position aren't as high) the bunt sign should have been taken off at 2-0, and Choi should have been allowed to do what he is paid to do.

Xei, I'd take the under. I think I'd almost always take the under on your line. Lowe has only pitched more than 7 innings twice this year out of 11 starts. He's pitched exactly 7 three times, and less than 7 six times. So to be precise his median is 6.2.

The over worked for me last night, so I'll take it again.

Over (as usual) with extreme reservations...

This over-under thing would be a lot more interesting if someone kept score.

I could keep score, but it's hard to fish through all the posts to see what everyone picked. Any suggestions?

vr

Xei

Starting ... now!

Last night's total of posts asking for Jim Tracy's ouster:

22

Over/under tonight?

I'm going to say under. I think we should just knock the Cubs starting pitcher out of the game early, leaving less chance for Tracy to do something stupid.

What's the over/under for Dodger hits tonight?

Oh, and it's nice to see Cardnails fans stuffing the ballot boxes. I'm taking out a hit on the entire city if Eckstein starts at shortstop.

Arguing with the FJT crowd is like arguing with Pat Buchanan when he accuses Mark Felt of being responsible for all the combat deaths in Vietnam.

Geez, if you're gonna keep score, I'm gonna have to reconsider my ever willfull optimism.

Aw, the heck with it. Over.

I'm going to address a number of items in one post from last night and today, since I wasn't online last night but have read the thread:

1)As always I take the over. I suppose since I take it every time I could calculate my score pretty easy.

2)Maybe we could each start with an allotted amount of points, say 100 and you can bet them however you'd like but no "buying" back in. The easiest way is probably to all be honest and keep track of your own total score and from time to time we could update a master list or something. Unless someone is up to the task of tracking it for everyone.

3) In regards to the team in general I have a couple of points.

-I have bemoaned moves made by JT in the past, however I always make those comments as a reaction to the game, rather then taking time to analyze those situations and comment on them. I obviously think there are ways he could improve but I also don't have any alternatives in mind and therefore feel it's wrong to call for his firing. I think the dogpile on Trace mentality is just an outlet for our collective frustration with the way the last month has gone. (of course that last sentence does not include Steve.) If the team had the Padres record we might criticize some of his moves but we would not want him fired and I don't see enough proof to think that he's the one causing us to stink.

-Instead of blaming Tracy I think the blame really belongs on a combination of things that together make for our troubles. If a few of these things had gone wrong we might have been able to compensate but when it rains it pours. We have had to deal with pitching injury, outfiedler injury, 3b injury which leading up to Perez created a black hole, starting pitching underperformance and then releif pitching underperformance, prolonged slumps from our meat and potatoes hitters, and an extreme underperformance from our new marquee player.

All these things combined create our mess. Even though I am starting to become pessimistic about things I can't help but think about how a few players turnarounds, a few young guys stepping up solidly, and a few deadline moves could really make a huge difference. Not to mention I have a personal belief that the Padres will come somewhat back down to earth at some point soon.

David Eckstein appeals to Cardinal fans on many levels.

The principal one being that he's white.

Eckstein also appeals to the St. Louis mentality that all Cardinal players should be acceptable by Whitey Herzog's standards. Tony La Russa could cure cancer and eliminate traffic in the Bi-State area and he will still be vilified by most Cardinal fans.

I'm of the opinion that the Dodgers are playing poorly largely because they are just not that good of a team. It's not too much of the fault of Jim Tracy, nor DePodesta. I think our starting pitching moves were largely moves of desperation. We have nothing in our AAA affiliate that is capable of pitching in the majors except an old journeyman. Odalis Perez is not a good pitcher, and is possibly playing through an injured season and his numbers will reflect that. Jeff Weaver is just not that great of a pitcher. Should we have kept Dave Ross and Kaz Ishii, versus getting Phillips and Erickson? Ishii is playing much like he did last year, which is still better than Erickson. Ross and Phillips are hitting very similarly, with Ross making half what Phillips is. Ross is also better defensively, though not by much. Derek Lowe is probably overpaid, but pitching quite well. Outside of the above moves, most of which are minor, I really don't see what more this team could have done. With what was available on the market, it doesn't look like more could have been done. Perhaps we should be more aggressive with bringing up AA talent for our starting pitching. I really don't know.

Now that Jered Weaver has signed with the Angels I wonder if there has ever been two sets of brothers, with one brother each on two teams. Jered probably won't play for the Angels this year and Jeff may well not be with the Dodgers next year but I'd like to see Jeff pitch against Jered with Cesar and Maicer Izturis as the starting shortstops for their respective teams. Vin would love it.

36 - Rush Limbaugh-esque, isn't it?

Eckstein #2 in NL SS voting? This is why democracy is flawed. Well.. a democracy in which you can vote up to 25 times, then use your friend's email and do it 25 more.

#40 - You need to spend some time in St. Louis. Cardinal fans are not exactly the Rainbow Coalition.

I try to stay on the coasts... within what I call the "rational states," Florida being an obvious exception to the rule.

#33: I often consider myself part of the part of the FJT crowd, but being associated with Pat Buchanan is making me reconsider.

There is one particular pro sports league that has abandoned St. Louis and really shows no interest in relocating there.

Hmmmm.... I forget which one it is?

No, the MLS would like to play there.

So guess again.

Go look on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch site and try to find coverage of the NBA conference finals. We'll send out a search party for you.

Arguing with the Save Jim Tracy Brigade is like fighting a war against an army with no bullets.

#43,
My natural amiability was beaten out of me last night.

XXXstien isn't so hard to figure out at number 2. He was the starting SS on a World Championship team not to long ago and currently leads all SS in OBP and is playing SS for the best team in the NL. Izzy is banging the ball and playing Gold Glove defense but XXXstien is also playing great ball this year and should be in the top 5.
JMO

#35: Well put. Even Tracy's minor problems are exacerbated when we're struggling as a team.

47- All shortstops except Cesar Izturis.

It's not like statistics have ever mattered with regards to All Star voting. I just find it difficult to believe that anyone wants to see David Eckstein play baseball

I will be spending a week in St Louis area this month. Been to a few games there in the past. Most of my relatives live in the area and are HUGE Cardinals, Rams, and Illini fans. Sports seem to mean alot more to them than out here. On a side note: I had the pleasure (sarcasm) of watching the Fernando Tatis two grand slam in one inning game on TV while surrounded by a room full of Cardinals fans. It was brutal.

Not sure what the reference to gringos and St Louis in an earlier post is trying to go... and why it's important.

vr

Xei

My family is from St. Louis and I still have family there.

The racial polarization there is rather pronounced.

44.

St Louis area sports fans are huge basketball fans. They just like their college basketball instead of NBA. If you think the NBA and a white breaded city can't mesh, then you need to look hard at Salt Lake City, Boston, Minnesota, Denver and Sacramento. St Louis has a very large minority population. Why is this an issue?

vr

Xei

Last time I checked it was LA that has had two very famous race riots. This is my last post on this topic.

Xei

Listening to the Save Jim Tracy Marching and Chowder society trying to defend Jim Tracy's employment is like listening to Bill Clinton try to explain how he never had sex with a young intern. Might sound slick, but takes some pretty serious manglement of the english language to defend JT.

Manglement? Gonna have to patten that one. :)

vr

Xei

The NBA is not on St. Louis's radar screen. The corporate types who would have to buy boxes at the Savvis Center to make it feasible aren't interested in the NBA. George Shinn makes noises about going to St. Louis, but it never goes anywhere.

St. Louis had one of the better teams in the NBA in the Hawks (yes, they were good once). They could have had Bill Russell, but opted to trade his rights for local legend Ed McCauley.

Good night folks! Enjoy your chat of self-loathing combined with smug self-satisfaction.

I guess that's why there were so few black players on the Cardinals in the 1960s. And 1980s.

56.

As long as there isn't any self-manglement, I'm fine with all of the above.

Good night! Hope we have something to smile about tonight.

vr

Xei

You brought it back up.

The other Los Angeles team, has to be happy that their rookie third-bagger just went yard yet again.

vr

Xei

Bob, go get a slurpee and come back. It wouldn't be the same without you.

Bob secretly went to go watch Hannity and Colmes or O-Reilly Factor reruns. :)

vr

Xei

I don't want to be pegged as a FJT or a Save JT poster. My last post was trying to point out that focusing on Tracy is not really the issue here. Yes some of us would prefer another manager and yes some of us would prefer to not have another manager. The fact of the matter is that JT is kind of a non issue. He isn't going anywhere and we all know it. We are getting away from what this site is best at; analyzing what we feel about the Dodgers with facts and stats and all that. Instead of choosing who to blame for the poor performance let's come up with ideas on improvement, let's look for the positive numbers, and the things that can hopefully happen with certain players, personnel, and management. Who's with me.

Always been a glass half full kinda guy myself, JSN. Fix what you can fix, don't sweat what you can't...

#63: Agreed. At most, Tracy has only cost the team a couple games, though it's likely less than that. But, even at 27 - 23, we would still be 3.5 games behind the Padres and have serious concerns about our pitching.

Some good news. At this time last year we were only 26-22, and still managed to make the playoffs.

June's a new month, let's see if we can get something started. If 2004 Weaver can pitch for us the rest of the season, and Odalis comes back sharp, or even if we make a trade, we are in very good position to at least make the wild card.

The season starts again today. We're facing a worthless pitcher, and we are facing the Brewers next. If we can turn this into a decent winning streak, we can set ourself up for the last 2/3rds of the season.

Think positive, think positive.

All Right. I think what we need is a bad joke here. Hopefully you haven't heard it.

A man is sitting in his living room when he hears a knock on the door. He goes to door, opens it and doesn't see anything. He looks all over then notices a snail on the doorstep. He says "ugh", picks up the snail and throws it off into the front yard.

1 year later he is sitting in his living room again and hears a knock on the door. He opens the door, looks around and sees nothing. Finally he notices the snail on his doorstep again. The snail looks up at him and says what the hell was THAT about?

Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the veal

I missed the Cardinals discussion, but the Coloroda Rockies have an even more surprising lack of diversity. When I was at the Dodgers / Rockies game, Preston Wilson was the only non-caucasian player in the field. The Dodgers were a stark, and refreshing contrast.

That's what I'm saying regfairfield. Another positive is that JD Drew can't really get any worse. It's logical to assume that he is going to break out of his funk at least at some point and we know what Kent can do during the period where the clusters of hits come together.
Hee Seop is on an 0 for 21 binge and I don't think that will continue very long. We could have a lot more dismal struggling team. At least we have the potential to bust out.

#54: Amen.

Insightful Towers quote from the ESPN.com Jerry Crasnick Insider article on closers:

"Bullpens and benches are two areas where there should be no excuses," Towers said. "It doesn't matter if you're a small or mid-market club, because they're both affordable.

"I've been there before, when you have a lousy bullpen, and nothing is more demoralizing. Blowing games late is tough on your fans, tough on your players and tough on morale. Then the manager starts doing stupid things like leaving the starters in too long, because he has no confidence in the guys who are down there. It's a snowball effect."

Thin Marty is on the right track. With that in mind...:

The dumb blonde takes her '73 Nova down to the bodyshop. The estimator walks around the car and, noting about 32 sizeable dents, says "you know, I could take your money, but it's really not necessary. Here's all you gotta do.

Take the car home, wait for it to cool down, stick your lips around the exhaust pipe, and blow. The dents will pop right out".

So, the blonde takes the car home, waits for it to cool down, sticks her lips around the exhaust pipe, and begins to blow.

Walking down the street comes dumb blondes friend. She says "What'cha doin?"

The dumb blonde explains to her friend that the guy at the body shop told her all she had to do to take the dents out of her '73 Nova was to drive it home, wait for it to cool, stick her lips around the tailpipe, and blow.

The dumb blondes friend puzzles over this for a moment, lloks at the car, and says:

"Well, duh! You have'ta roll the windows up first...

Things are going well in Vero Beach so far tonight. The VB Dodgers are up 5-0 in the 7th. Justin Orenduff has K'ed 12 in 6 innings, while walking 3 and giving up 4 hits and no runs. His ERA on the season is down to 1.86, with 68 K and 22 BB in 48.1 IP. Baseball America ranked him as our 2004 draft pick closest to the majors. Also, in the game, LaRoche hit his 20th HR and Kemp hit his 11th.

Lineups posted on MLB.com:

Dodgers:
Izturis (SS)
Perez (3B)
Drew (CF)
Kent (2B)
Saenz (1B)
Werth (RF)
Phillips (C)
Edwards (LF)
Lowe (P)

Cubs:
Perez (SS)
Wilson (3B)
Lee (1B)
Burnitz (RF)
Walker (2B)
Patterson (CF)
Hollandsworth (LF)
Barrett (C)
Koronka (P)

The lineup the Cubs are throwing out with Enrique Wilson and Todd Hollandsworth doesn't look to be much of a powerhouse, but that hasn't necessarily helped us in the past.

Jeff Brantley is going on about how closers just don't have the mentality to pitch in non-save situations. Thus, explaining why Hermanson is getting spanked by the Angels when he was brought in down 8-6. We're used to hearing the same thing all the time with Gagne. It would be great for someone to do a thorough study on this, because my guess is that it's hogwash.

I imagine this is the first 40 minute pregame cycle. Where have all my DT buddies gone?

Let's start June out right. I had tickets to tonight's game (thank you Mr. Timmermann) but gave them to a friend whose a rabid cub fan. He's taking his fiance, so it's sort of a pre-wedding gift. Be that as it may, I'd love to see a 10-2 Dodger win and then a good June!

Nice throw Jason!

4 batters faced, two hits, although only 10 pitches thrown, not bad

I think the lively boys all got frustrated and some chose not to be here tonight. I don't blame any of them, baseball is a trying hobby!

LaTroy Hawkins just had a major Philadelphia-related implosion. They're going to be burning Sabean in effigy.

Not that time, Derek!

For Koronka:

4 batters faced, 1 hit allowed, 1 stike out, and 14 pitches thrown.

First round is a draw.

#80: Indeed. My wife has learned to ask whether the Dodgers won or lost and then avoid me if necessary. We haven't spoken much in a while :).

"Rocky beggining for Derek Lowe"

Now even Joe Morgan is calling for using closers in non-save situations. He has an article suggesting this on ESPN Insider. The "analysis" is lacking, but it's nice to see conventional wisdom shifting. He cites the 9th inning tie game which Carrara blew as an example.

OK Jim, who do we have warming up in the bullpen?

Can I take the under?

Oh, ye of little faith :)

Nice breaking ball to strike out...the rookie pitcher. But still a nice pitch.

denial isn't only the second longest river in Egypt...

This team is going nowhere.

It's a cut. Throw the ball.

This is too depressing and no fun with no one here. I'm out.

The Cubs announcers are saying Lowe threw a chair in the clubhouse after his whiff.

... and that's how he injured himself.

...the ghost of Ishmael Valdez...

#94
No, he threw it after giving up the three-run bomb. They showed the footage on ESPN2. That's when he cut his hand. Smooth move, Carlos.

Oh, C'mon, Neifi...it's not that cold.

96: aw, the ghost of Kevin Brown. I'm surprised he didn't punch out a lavatory or something.

"We suck." I'm just now starting to come to terms with those words. Just starting to understand that they're true, that they're part of reality and that I've got to live with them.

What I can't live with, however, is TRACY CHANGING THE LINEUP EVERY SINGLE DAY! PLEASE STOP! Let Werth hit second!

"We suck." I'm just now starting to come to terms with those words. Just starting to understand that they're true, that they're part of reality and that I've got to live with them.

What I can't live with, however, is TRACY CHANGING THE LINEUP EVERY SINGLE DAY! PLEASE STOP! Let Werth hit second!

Things Dodger pitchers shouldn't throw:

1) Gloves

2) Chairs

3) Baseballs

I say Depodesta better make some big moves now in June, rather than late July when it would be too late (things like FJT and filling holes).

Two hits in a row. I'm cautiously happy.

And Olmedo shall lead them.

now hopefully that hand cut embarrassed Lowe enough to get 3 more shutout innings out of him.

Let's see if Werth can steal in the big leagues too, or if that was a minor league fluke during his stint.

Saenz homers, if anyone is still here.

Still losing though.

or Phillips can first pitch swing after a walk...

Saenz is just locked in right now. It would be great if we could get at least one more guy hot at the same time.

Dear Nolan:

WERTH ISN'T HITTING. At least Perez shows signs of life at the plate. That is all.

This. Is. Painful.

IT'S A RUNDOWN YOU MORON!!

Echo... echo ... echo ...

only following it online scareduck. Care to vent and explain?

Alright! A bad fielding play followed by a 3-6-1 double play. The toughest DP in baseball. We will now take the lead and never look back.

Can you tell I'm trying to be up beat?

#113: Groundball to Lowe. Lowe throws to Perez at 3B catching Hollandsworth in a rundown between 3B and 2B. Perez proceeds to chase Hollandsworth all the way safely back to 2B, without throwing the ball.

99: was referring to the cut, Rob...but you're absolutely right. What the hell good does it do beating up on a defenseless chair? The chair doesn't notice.

Bearing down on the opposing team, showing what you're made of; now that would impress me.

Sushirabbit -- my 4 year old loves that book. Always runs to get a hat to throw in the air at the end (though I explain, the bad guys win).

Jon -- not a popup, a vividly illustrated version of the song, with a line on each page and wonderful period drawings of the 1947 WS game5.

I miss Jason Repko. Not saying he'd be doing anything special; he just grew on me.

Any thoughts or maybe material I am unware of on the effects of individual catchers on pitchers? I don't have time to look into it at all for this season but purely off the top of my head I feel like our pitchers have been giving up a lot of hits, bombs on 0-2, 1-2 counts. Could this be more then a lack of concentration and maybe some bad calls on the part of Phillips? Just a thought. Comments?

I guess if I'm going to refer to a comment more than 100 entries away, I should give the number. My #117 refers to Sushi's #9.

I'm going to take the under on Lowe tonight. :)

vr

Xei

Latino fan saves Dodgers atleast one run by reaching into field of play to snag ball.

Good job! Not really...

vr

Xei

Agree with you about Repko, Sam...what I love most in baseball is watching certain players with hustle, and therin making the plays that amaze.

xeifrank, a couple of helpful comments. don't take these personally.

1. ditch the "vr xei" after every post.

2. consolidate your fifty-posts-in-a-row into one, please.

3. please don't anger bob.

Anyone else notice Gio filling his shopping cart with motor oil during the food drive clip they just showed?

#118: As far as I know, there have been a few studies, but nothing conclusive. I thought the same thing, but then I compared the catcher ERAs for Bako and Phillips (5.38 and 4.57 respectively). It still could be the case that Phillips is worse, because of variance between starters, but it seems unlikely. I think the pitchers are due their share of the blame.

Well, XF's back. Bob, get your butt back here, now!

123.

Nope, nope, ?

vr

Xei

I know I'm late on this one, but just wanted to give a shout out on the great hitting job by Old Maid Signs on that home run earlier.

vr

Xei

Mark, please let me know when I am allowed to post again. I can't seem to find your rules. :)

vr

Xei

You know, I'm nit a fan of interleague, but for some strange reason I'm looking forward to playing the Tigers and Twins.

A modest proposal:Jettison Erickson and send DJ Houlton back to Houston;call up Joel Hanrahan and Edwin Jackson.
What?Have I lost my mind?Actually Hanrahan isn't pitching that badly at Jacksonville.I saw him pitch last month.His velocity was decent,he looked mechnically sound.His concentration wasn't that good and he made an error that let in three runs.
What about Jackson?What good can even another start at thin air Vegas do to his shattered confidence.I say bring him up for long relief,mopup duty,maybe a spot start.
Both of these guys can't have much to gain by staying in the minors and the guys they'd replace are largely useless.
Another move I'd consider is trading Carrera for whatever we can get for him and promoting Schmoll or Osiria.
I'm not a Tracy fan or unfan particularly,but I would think his job has to be in jeopardy.Alot of fans don't like the constant lineup tinkering.when the team is losing ,it looks like he's making all the wrong moves.He would make an easy scapegoat if the mediocrity continues.

Can we borrow Adam Kennedy when we play the Twins? vr, Xei

Oh, hell, XF...post whenever you feel like it. I read 'em, and enjoy 'em.

But, buy Bob a margarita, would'ya?

Whoa, dude, you need to chill out, right now. I'm trying to keep the page from scrolling like crazy when it doesn't need to, that's all. I don't know what you're reading from that, but whatever.

Dodgers win expectancy is now 22.2% vr, Xei

Didn't know Bob was such a sensitive guy. I respect his knowledge as much as Jon, Fearing Blue, Mr Enders, Steve et al, so I guess I should buy him a beverage of his liking. Perhaps he can meet me in St Louis and ride the KATY trail with me in two weeks. vr, Xei (sorry Mark)

Vin just did his "On this day in Dodger History" bit saying Duke Snyder hit 3 hrs on this date and only one Dodger ever hit four in a game, Gil Hodges. Didn't Green hit four as a Dodger and holds the ML record for most bases in a game?

13 hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. Ouch! Guess it could've been much worse. Lowe was almost Ericksoness tonight. A few more HRs and it would've been a carbon copy of S.E. So we had yet another poor starting pitching performance. I expect more from Penny and Lowe, especially pitching in the friendly confines. Penny came through, but Lowe was a big letdown. Can't complain about JT tonight. :) vr, Xei

137. Yep, you're right. Against Milwaukee on May 23, 2002. He was 6 for 6, with 4 homers, a double and a single for 19 total bases.

Yeah, he hit four and had 19 total bases, LAT. That's the kind of game we need right now.

Don't worry about it, XF, Bob will be back. Bob? Bob??

I go to the bathroom and Phillips hits one out. Does that mean I have to go to the bathroom during every Dodger at bat? (Hmmm . . . while typing Edwards flew one to the warning track -- gotta run before robles.)

The Whopper!

So Robles hits instead of Choi? Is Hee Seop still "sore" from taking too many swings or whatever the excuse was?

I think Phillips is the biggest surprise to me this year. I remember how bad I thought he looked playing for the mets last year. Repko, too. Don't we need an outfielder with Bradley on the DL?

XF, wouldn't that be Erickesonesque :)

Pecking away with home runs. Where are all the runners the Dodgers leave on base in their other games?

Dodgers win expectancy is now 17.6%
vr, Xei

145.

Think you are right. Soon as I get over 9 letters my spelling goes to tracy in a handbasket.

vr

Xei

Let me state the obvious here, we could really use a leadoff man on base here.

vr

Xei

Lucky we are down by 2 runs, otherwise we might see a sac bunt by JT. :)

vr

Xei

Just got home and read through tonight's thread. The last few nights are really taking thier toll on the DT faithful. Maybe we could all use a drink. Actually, its nothing a few wins wouldn't solve.

RE: The Bank Of America commercials: No, you're not a banker. You're an actress. And, even if you worked for BOA, you'd be a worker bee. Not a banker.

c'mon Tracy, give the bunt sign to Drew

Uh oh, first and second nobody out down by 2 runs. JT wouldn't dare sac bunt, would he!?

vr

Xei

Old Maid Signs on deck. Can he do it again!? Let's just hope Kent doesn't hit into a double play.

vr

Xei

#138/147/148: I vote for the 147 signature. The 138 one gets lost in the shuffle, and who would you be, if not very respectful. Mark's got a point that the 148 one adds to the scrolling.

Frank your'e doing pretty well so far. How about stating the obvious here.

'bout damn time Kent hits a three run dong.

Karros and whoever he's working with are talking about how Drew's a good #3 hitter "when he's healthy and when he's on." Karros just said that "when he's healthy" is key. Has Drew had any health issues this year? And, like, aren't most major league players pretty good "when they're on"? Isn't that what "on" means in this context?

I hate to state the obvious here, but Old Maid Signs can give us the lead with a home run.
vr, Xei

wow, old man signs is batting 349?

Re 159: Refer to what `Bull Durham' has to say about players being interviewed...

I wonder how many baseballs they go through in the course of a game. Seems like every time the ball touches the dirt they have to get rid of the ball. They sure are sensitive to any scratches and or scuffs. Hope they donate them to a good cause.
vr, Xei

Let's not get greedy, a long fly ball would be just fine.

Definitely a professional AB so far for Saenz.

Would you pinch-hit for Werth with Ledee?

Jayson Werth comes clean!

Is this what they mean by professional at bat

Good news. Our win expectancy is up to 46%, which is a little hard for me to believe. I guess because I know which hitters are coming up.
vr, Xei

Who came in from the pen? If it's a righty I'd rather see Choi come up. His at bats are always exciting, and with the bases loaded... I forgot to see who Baker brought in. Wonder if JT will try to bunt the runners over. :)
vr, Xei

wow! game on the line here.
vr, Xei

It would be hard to be a ballgame announcer. In the course of a day, I say a lot of dopey stuff. And I understand that Karros runs the gamut here from most hated to most loved. But did anyone else catch that riff he just did on why it was better to walk Saenz there than let him hit a home run? It was odd. Saenz -- very good right now. But Bonds he is not.

Werth is looking Ericksonesque up there at the plate with the bases loaded.
vr, Xei

#170: I'd rather see Choi with the bases loaded as well, but in this game situation I think Ledee is the better choice. He's the only outfielder left on the bench, so if you pinch-hit Choi for Werth, you're blowing through two bench players for the price of one.

On the other hand, he sure is right about the difference between bases loaded 3-1 count and bases loaded 2-2. Big call there.

Win expectancy is down to 44% after the sac fly by Werth. Phillips up to bat...
vr, Xei

Hell Grabs could have done that.

One lousy run out of all that. And that's the way this season is going to continue to torture us.

I like our chances if we can get one more clean inning from Sanchez.

6-5 at the end of 7 innings. Sanchez takes the mound again. We are now entering the part of the game that the FJT crowd gets nervous.
vr, Xei

XF, just out of curiousity, what does "vr" stand for?

I just don't understand Tracy's inconsistency. He'll pinch hit for Choi against a left hander regardless of Choi's numbers at the time, yet he leaves a struggling, just-called-up Werth to face a righty. Ditto with Kent still in the 4-spot. It's baffling. He has favorites I guess.

Over under on how many people will answer #181 is 5.

181 see 156

184 - Got it, thanks.

Win expectancy if we get out of the 8th unscathed is 29%. Sac bunt attempt expectancy in the bottom of the 8th is 40.2%
vr, Xei

Padres were down 5-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, now have the bases loaded with 1 out, one run in.

File this under Things You Never Thought You'd See: Espn just showed a camera shot which showed Odalis Perez with, over his shoulder, Senator Joe Lieberman. Just not the most likely combo for a single picture.

How many of the cubs many hits tonight were along the right field line?

Unbelievable!!! Brewers cannot close out SD. Bottom 9, 5-2, SD has bases loaded with one out

Two outs in SD now

Sanchez making me nervous now.
vr, Xei

Holly Crap! Hard hit HR looking ball dies at the wall. We love Petco. Mil wins.

Vin's description did not do it justice. Blum hit a shot to the track, the moment it left the bat my heart stopped.

Umm, unlike that shot by Lee...

3-run dinger. And now I go from nervous to, well... disappointment.
vr, Xei

I figured that giving up a hit to Wilson was a GP, especially since Vinny kept referring to the sandwich. What's our expectancy at now, Xei?

Better luck tomorrow night folks.
vr, Xei

I see I missed this game going down the toilet

Welcome to .500 ball, everyone...

good night. what a hitter. And the Marlins traded him for Choi. I like Choi and all, but still...

Dodger win expectancy now at a slim 5.1%

Atleast we won't be seeing any sac bunts.
vr, Xei

I see I picked a very good night to start drinking tequila..

Pass a shot this way!

Why not bring in Gagne to face Lee? I just don't get it.

Got lime, too, kngworld.

Where was that base hit last inning?

The rotation has been disappointing but Sanchez and Carrara just plain are not getting it done. Every time out is a struggle.

I would say unbelievable, but I sort of saw that coming. I guess I saw Carrara giving up the home run instead of Sanchez, but, same difference.

Thats the only way to do it Mr. Hitchcock

Wow, just read through the thread and it seems to be an early Festivus here at DT. I got a lot of problems with you people, and now you're gonna hear about 'em. Umm, not really.

A tip, though, for XF. Calling a man sensitive is an American idiom meaning, "Please hit me in the nose as hard as you can."

Pretty weak ground ball between third and short, Izturis backhanded it but had no play.

he should have bunted

I noticed Nefi Perez's foul ball into the stands would have been caught in the old Dodger Stadium and the 8th inning would have ended before Lee's dinger.

Obvously this is an extremely small sample of just one... but still, I wonder what effect if any the reduction in foul territory is having on our staff

Call me Jim, K, since we're all friends...

Sorry Jim

LAT, I noticed we were giving simultaneous Padre updates, are you watching in SD, i.e. is your life hell right now with coworkers and neighbors?

Has anyone noticed Drew now has a higher batting average then Kent?

Not at all, K. Glug, glug.

Still have most of the season to look forward to. Love this game.

#217: Yikes. We need our #3/4 hitters to hit better than .260 and OPS better than .825.

What's your brand Jim? I like a nice Patron

213 -- there was a ball out of play last night that also would've been caught just before something bad happened to the Dodgers last night as well.

Far too late to be awake yet again -- and now I see that the greatest poker movie of em all -- The Cincinnati Kid -- is just starting on TCM. Tuesday Weld in 1965 -- wow.

#218: I explained to my wife that either the Dodgers need to start winning or I need to start drinking more. Perhaps AA has a discount if you sign up 4 months in advance?

#216 Nagman, No I am in LA. I have MLB Extra Innings through Comcast. (Daughter asked for it for her b-day so she could follow Shawn Green and D'Backs. Never expected we would be looking up at them.)

Re 221 -- the ball last night also would've been caught but for the new seats. Steve Mcqueen in 1965 was pretty darn cool too.

Fox Sports has a promo about a few Dodgers who participated in a grocery store shopping spree today. Eric Gagne was one of them, and in the tease as he knocks items off the shelf into his shopping cart you hear him say he is bleeding then he is seen sucking blood off a finger on his pitching hand. I don't think it's too smart to send your $8 million dollar a year closer on shopping sprees where he is going to be knocking over glass bottles of syrup or whatever it was he was loading in his cart. Just dumb! Nice to do things to help the needy, but there are other ways. Or just send Erickson in his place next time.
vr, Xei

Not only are we looking up at them, they're getting smaller.

Imagine the conversation if all of our wives could get together.

Just plsin ole Curevo Gold, Mike...but thanks...I'll try it next time.

And, don't worry, guys. We'll get 'em next time. And that is the very essence of baseball.

Dodger win expectancy heading into the bottom of the 9th, down by four runs is a very slim 1.7% About the same odds as Scott Erickson staying on the team the whole season.
vr, Xei

Getting tired of the Jack in the Box doughnut commercial 3 times every night. Not to mention the geek in the Del Taco commercial on bring your daughter to work day. Maybe I'm just losing my sense of humor. Yep that's it.

Someone should devise a Dodgers drinking game. I assume it would be more enjoyable if a drink was taken when the opposing team scores or makes a promising play. This might be our solution to enjoying games we win and we lose, that is if you enjoy getting drunk.

CAUTION: should not be played alone.

229.

You're just not sensitive enough. :)
vr, Xei

G(DLEE)ame Over!
vr, Xei

BAD IDEA: We might all be alcoholics before the end of the season

Would love to see an interview with Paul DePodesta, without softball questions. Would be great if Jon could line him up for us.
vr, Xei

Frank you wouldn't be Mrs. LAT would you? Cause she tells me that all the time. Jim, pass that bottle over here.

No kidding, LAT...I try hard to insert hobbies into commercial breaks...often means talking to my parrot.

Things would be a lot tougher without you guys...goodnight, all!

Cubs top 3 hitters in the lineup went 10-15 tonight. Tough to lose doing that.
vr, Xei

Remember how the Dodgers bullpen used to hold a team down, give the Dodgers a chance to catch up in the late innings? Man, I miss those guys. Who are these guys?

what do you think, Derek Lee goes 0-15 against the Padres this weekend?

Is it too early to blow up our pitching staff. Everyone except for Penny, Lowe, Perez, Gagne, Brazoban and LOOGY. When is it time to start giving some of the guys in the minors a chance in the bigs? I'd like to see someone like Billingsley eventually put into the starting rotation, and whoever else has potential could be put in the bullpen. I think we need to light a fire under this team, let them know that their jobs are all in jeopardy. Just remember that this post is shortly after a third straight home game, so there may be some emotions involved. I guess i need to be more sensitive!!
vr, Xei

It's complacency and patience that aren't helping anything get down; therefore, the attitude is "just wait until tomorrow night" and that holds out until we get swept. We have to light a fire under the relievers-when's the last time a starting pitcher actually had a win-or we'll keep losing these games.

Dessens gets a start friday in Vegas, will most likely have a couple of minor league starts. O.Perez probably still weeks away. (per FSN).
vr, Xei

Sheets (1-4) vs Thompson (0-0) 630pm thursday night. Don't expect much of an Over/Under for the rook tomorrow night.
vr, Xei

I wonder what Jon's going to think of what we've gotten up to tonight while he was busy working, or ailing. Binge drinking, political snarkery, sardonic exclamation points. . .

Last post of the night. Hold the applaus please. Hey! Keep it down! Gonna be some semi-finals between Federer and Nadal at the French Open. Definitely a must watch for all you tennis fans (like me). I did have the pleasure of getting my butt whooped by one of the top doubles teams in the world (Bryan twins), back when they were only (cough, cough) 13 years old in a local tournament.
vr, Xei

244.
I tried my best to get us to the 300 post level, but without trickory from TMFKAJT and a small crew that logged in, we could only muster 250 posts. I think our quality was pretty good, considering all the regulars who were missing. Hope they show up for the Milwaukee series.
vr, Xei

Thanks for The Cincinnati Kid alert. It's on right now. One of my favorite movies, burnished by its editor, Hal Ashby, being my wife's grand-uncle.

XF, ya did all right. Bob T, we're all all imagining you wearing the same collar as your cat, to make it feel better. See you tomorrow.

Seemed like a fun night for everybody. I think taking up status as something of a lurker is a safer idea for me and at least Jon has given me a place to post RDGCs here on the FJT Annex.

I really hate arguing with people. I hate it with a passion. I'll give in a lot just to avoid an argument. But after Tuesday's game and its accompanying vitriol, I was just annoyed. And I think shall stay annoyed because for some humor has turned into dogma.

If I want dogma, I'll go hang out at a blog that discusses papal encyclicals.

I think some penicillin will clear up that encyclicals, papal or otherwise.

Lurking is known to cause scurvy. Also rickets. Wouldn't recommend it.

ESPN radio reported this morning that Roger Clemens could possibly be traded to the Texas Rangers. It would have to not only make them the favorite to win the AL West but one of the favorites to win the ALCS. Joe Torre was quoted as saying that he would not approve of Clemens' schedule that he has worked out with the Astros.
vr, Xei

Going to have to agree with Bob on this one, but Xeifrank you have no idea what you're talking about and must walk around with blinders on when in St. Louis. Take a stroll through East St. Louis, preferably in a luxury sedan and see one of the most racially segregated areas in America this side of Detroit. I got your back Bob.

#249: Bob, the blog will not be the same without you, but I understand. Losing has made us all a little more bitter and sarcastic. If I have done anything to offend, I apologize.

On a more upbeat note, Bob Timmermann + Dictionary.com = increased vocabulary for me. If you stop posting, I may have to sign up for word of the day :).

253.
Sounds like you are attributing something to me, that I didn't say. I also stated I wasn't going to comment on DT about that topic anymore. If you'd like to pursue this topic, please feel free to email me. I doubt Jon wants a debate about racial issues on his blog.
(xeifrank@yahoo.com) vr, Xei

T.J. Simers is worried that the FJT crowd might get it's way.

http://tinyurl.com/coaxa

And also manages to take a few cheap shots at the owner and Depodesta along the way (nothing new there).
vr, Xei

Hey Jon, I've been wondering if there would be some way to post user profiles on the site. Knowing more about each other could strengthen our comradery.

Bob, if some of that annoyance over bad humor was directed at me, I apologize. Was just trying to make you laugh and start posting again, not to offend in any way.

This is an honest question and not meant to just pile on to our misery, but can someone explain to me why we were pitching to Lee? I had to leave the house just before that AB and didn't see it happen, but if memory serves there were two outs with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Even if Lee wasn't already 4 for 4, which he was, isn't that an almost automatic free pass to first base. What am I missing? Did Sanchez try to pitch around him and Lee just hit it out anyway? Why not just give him the intentional walk?

By the way, responding to some of the St. Louis comments from earlier in the thread, the worst experience I have ever had at a baseball game was last year in the bleacher seats at Busch stadium. Drunk, abusive, racist fans were in abundance. Should have known better to go for the cheap seats, but it was a last minute decision to attend the game. The Cardinals were playing the Braves and the fans had a little extra helping of abuse for both Drew and Chipper. The racist comments were reserved for their own beloved Cardinals.

259 - It was still first and second, though I do heartily endorse the walk idea.

A comment on the original post of this threaad:

Arizona is currently rated the "luckiest team in baseball" by Baseball Prospectus, based on their record relative to their peripherals. The law of averages is bound to catch up with them shortly.

Atlanta and Florida both have good teams, with some bullpen issues. But, both are in the most competitive division in the NL, top to bottom. Since there isn't a Colorado, Cincinnati, or Pittsburgh in the East, their records could be deflated by facing an unbalanced schedule of roughly .500 and over teams.

Chicago's pitching staff is like Mr. Glass from Unbreakable. Their bullpen is held together by a closer who walks over 20% of the batters he faces. And, their offense has some serious issues if Neifi! and Derek Lee ever regress towards their career averages.

Washington is unlikely to be better than a .500 team all season. They have scored the 2nd lowest number of runs in the NL (209), and there's really no reason to expect improvement. They have very little positional depth and have already been hurt by injuries (Vidro).

The division race is already becoming a long shot (BP gives us a 10% shot). Though, unless we continue to tank, it's hard to see us being out of the wild card race and becoming a seller by the end of July. Even so, I have mixed feelings as to whether we should look to make trades now. On one hand, every day we wait may digs us further into a hole. On the other hand, if our more recent play is a better predictor of our future (i.e. 14 - 24), we'll be out of it no matter who we acquire. I'd hate to see us trade any of our top prospects for a wasted season.

Getting Dessens and Perez back in a couple weeks should provide at least as much improvement as we could acquire through trade, so I imagine DePodesta will wait until July to further assess.

#259 - tough call on that one. not as cut and dry as his previous at bat, which I believe was 2nd and 3rd, two outs, a whole string of lefties coming up after Lee, and Lowe at about 100 pitches. He chose to pitch to Lee who singled for a key run. If you're not going to out and out walk him, you have to make sure to "unintentionally, intentionally" walk him. Instead Lowe really went after him and it backfired. At which point Tracy then brings in the lefty. Sigh.

I give partial blame to Tracy for not being specific enough in his strategy, and Lowe for very poor execution.