Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
* * *
Update: Eric Gagne is apparently headed back to the disabled list, according to ESPN Radio and MLB.com.
"It's the same situation he was dealing with in Spring Training," manager Jim Tracy said. "He said he felt burning there."
An MRI performed by Dr. Steven Joyce, the Royals' team physician, revealed that Gagne has a second-degree sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament. ...
Tracy said Gagne on Sunday had the best fastball he has seen from his premier closer since Gagne was activated. But after that outing against Minnesota, Gagne complained of the burning sensation in his elbow.
* * *
Heading into the All-Star break with 16 games in 16 days and 26 games in 27 days, here are the Dodger pitch counts for the month:
| Date/Pitches | 6/1 | 6/2 | 6/3 | 6/4 | 6/5 | 6/6 | 6/7 | 6/8 | 6/9 | 6/10 | 6/11 | 6/12 | 6/13 | Total | 2005 ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowe | 100 | - | - | - | - | 90 | - | - | - | - | 72 | - | - | 262 | 3.62 |
| Thompson | - | 89 | - | - | - | - | 86 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 175 | 4.20 |
| Weaver | - | - | 120 | - | - | - | - | 97 | - | - | - | - | - | 217 | 5.27 |
| Houlton | - | - | - | 74 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 101 | - | 175 | 5.72 |
| Penny | - | - | - | - | 108 | - | - | - | - | 89 | - | - | - | 197 | 4.04 |
| Gagne | - | 27 | - | 18 | - | 12 | - | 13 | - | 10 | - | 15 | - | 95 | 2.70 |
| Brazoban | - | 19 | 13 | 14 | - | - | - | 22 | - | 13 | - | 5 | - | 86 | 3.49 |
| Wunsch | 4 | - | 3 | 4 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 | 1 | - | 17 | 4.42 |
| Sanchez | 32 | - | 7 | 21 | 29 | - | 22 | - | - | 15 | - | 6 | - | 132 | 4.15 |
| Carrara | 12 | 25 | 11 | - | 30 | - | 29 | - | - | - | 20 | 7 | - | 134 | 4.28 |
| Erickson | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 15 | 7.17 |
| Osoria | * | * | * | * | * | * | 5 | - | - | - | 19 | - | - | 24 | 0.00 |
Tonight you're mine, completely
You pitch your ball so sweetly
Tonight, the light of love is in your strikes
But will you be rested tomorrow?
One question that also interests me is ... what should the ratio of pitches between Gagne and a starter be.
A starter will likely throw from 450-600 pitches in a month. Gagne might throw around 200. Even considering Gagne has fewer days rest between outings, does that make sense? I obviously don't expect Gagne to throw 500 pitches in a month, but what should the expectation be?
Update 2: Well, it was a good question when I wrote it.
* * *
A Dodger fan in Royals territory, Lance Yoder, writes in:
My whole family is thrilled to be able to watch the Dodgers right here in the city where we live. To give you some perspective, I've probably attended close to 75 Dodgers games in my lifetime, but every time involved either a stay in a hotel (St. Louis, Cincinnati) or a 8-hour round trip from my childhood home in Iowa City to Wrigley Field to see the Dodgers. ...
If you haven't been following the Royals, they are playing by far their best baseball in more than two years. They've won 8 of 12 since Buddy Bell was named manager, with a sweep of the Yankees, winning one of three against Texas, and winning two of three at San Francisco and at Arizona. ...
On a less objective note, the Royals seem to be playing with a bit more of the proverbial "fire" than they were previously. Of course, the talk radio shows here in KC don't recognize that teams tend to look like they are "hustling" and "playing with intensity" when they ball is flying over the wall and into the gaps, but the team does seem to play with a sense of urgency that wasn't there prior to Buddy Bell arriving. I have no idea if that's his doing or merely good timing. ...
The Royals will have some players Dodgers fans have heard of (Mike Sweeney, Matt Stairs, Terence Long, Jose Lima) and lots of others most people have never seen play (Mark Teahen, Ruben Gotay, Angel Berroa, David DeJesus, Matt Diaz, Shawn Costa, Zack Greinke, Runelvys Hernandez, J.P. Howell, John Buck). For those who haven't seen Kauffman Stadium, the Royals have done a great job of converting it from the Astro-Turf racetrack of the 1980s into a grass playing surface. The sight lines are all good, the fountains in the outfield are unique and they Royals do a good job making the stadium experience worthwhile. ...
The weather is going to be in the low 80s, high-70s with no rain, and I get to enjoy Dodgers baseball with my wife, kids and extended family and still sleep in my own bed after every game, so it's going to be a great series no matter what.
It didn't even occur to me until this moment to look to see if we would have Lima Time in this series. Sure enough, Jose Lima and his 8.16 ERA, winless since his playoff shutout of the Cardinals in Dodger Stadium, is scheduled to take the mound Wednesday.
Scott Erickson is on his way to building up his ERA to Inland Empire area code levels.
Todays lineup prediction:
SS Izzy
1B Choi
CF Drew
2B Kent
3B Perez
DH Saenz
RF Werth
LF Grabowski
C Phillips
I know I'll be off somewhere in the 5-7 spots.
June 14, 1910
With the top two teams in the NL, New York and Chicago, playing at the Polo Grounds, it was likely a small crowd that made its way to Washington Park in Brooklyn to watch the hometown hero, lefthander Nap Rucker, shut out the St. Louis Cardinals 2-0. Brooklyn improved to 21-26 for the 1910 season but was already in sixth place, 10 games out of first and headed nowhere.
Brooklyn got rolling in the first when Zack Wheat, in his first full season in the majors drew a walk. A wild pitch by Cardinals starter Johnny Lush moved Wheat to second and John Hummel singled home Wheat. Brooklyn scored its other run in the fourth on a fielder's choice that plated center fielder Bill Davidson.
Channeling managers of the future, Cardinal player manager Roger Bresnahan decided to use three right-handed pinch hitters in the 8th and 9th against the southpaw Rucker, but nothing worked. Rucker gave up only seven hits and struck out five.
Rucker threw six shutouts in 1910 to tie for the National League lead and was one of the few bright spots in a dreary season in Brooklyn. Rucker went 17-18 and 2.58. George Bell had a 2.64 ERA, but went 10-27. On June 8, Brooklyn manager Bill Dahlen used a young pitcher named Frank Schneiberg for one inning. In that inning, Schneiberg gave up five hits, four walks and seven runs. It was his only major league appearance and Schneiberg went into the history books with a career ERA of 63.00.
Even by Deadball Era standards, Brooklyn had a bad offense. They scored just 497 runs, second worst in the NL, two more than last place Boston. Brooklyn went 64-90 and finished in sixth, 40 games behind pennant winning Chicago.
Wheat was the hope for the Dodgers future. In his first full season, Wheat played in every game (156 thanks to ties) and batted .284 with 36 doubles and 15 triples. Wheat had 172 hits, third most in the National League. Wheat would finish his Brooklyn career with 2804 hits and a .317 batting average. Wheat was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1959.
Brooklyn still had the problem that its principal catcher was Bill Bergen, who batted .161 with an OBP of .180 in 89 games. Bergen's backup, Tex Erwin, batted .188, so the options for manager Dahlen weren't plentiful.
1910 was Dahlen's first year at the helm of the Dodgers. Dahlen was pretty much done as an active player when he took over the team, although did pinch hit three times in the 1910 season and played one game in the field in 1911 and ended up playing in 21 different seasons and picked up 2,457 hits.
Thanks to the NY Times, BaseballReference.com and Retrosheet
As Izturis continues his inevitable regression to .280-dom, with a walk every third Tuesday, may I nominate Antonio Perez as our new leadoff hitter? He seems to work the count well, and has better walk rates than Izturis. Not sure if that's small sample sizes, or if he's always been somewhat patient.
Jun 7 at San Francisco W 8-1
Jun 8 at San Francisco W 4-1
Jun 9 at San Francisco L 7-9
Jun 10 at Arizona L 11-12
Jun 11 at Arizona W 8-5
Jun 12 at Arizona W 9-4
How'd YOU like to score 11 and lose a game?! sheesh.
http://tinyurl.com/c5wns
I know from past experience that there are enough WKRP fans reading that it's good for me to share this important fact.
Bob, this (#8) is what you get for free from me... bad analysis... I'm also applying for an ESPN analyst position... mind if I use you as a reference?... :)
http://tinyurl.com/dsk7x
And my archenemy Russ Ortiz was denied a win.
But on Wednesday, look for to getting lit up by our Dodgers.
Question, as we get closer to July - What in the heck do they eat in Detroit?
"my dust"?
In 2006 you will need to find a signature dish for Pittsburgh.
Oh, well, I guess that was the story.
Shouldn't San Diego be getting a ASG soon?
if gagne is hurt...this really sucks...
inexplicably I feel like throwing a bunch of innings at Osoria just to see what he's made of... Brazoban version 2.0 anyone?
Pretty uneventful, but I did get to try Dippin' Dots ice cream years before it made its way out west (must've traveled via covered wagon).
Looks like the Ghame Over shirts are back in style, but where has Eric even been lately? I imagine him sleeping for the past month in preparation for another all-nighter or twelve.
And it makes a fiery pain
Bound by a closer's desire
Gagne fell into a ring of fire
Eric fell into a burning ring of fire
He went down, down, down
But his velocity wouldn't get much higher
And it burns
The ring of fire
The ring of fire
How many lives will that be for Erickson?
oh, bob
No one liked my Carole King?
Hoffman -- "Here"
Gagne? Gagne? Gagne?
Lyon? Lyon? Lyon?
Benitez? Benitez? Benitez?
Tsao? Tsao? Tsao? Tsao?
Points to consider:
(1) Injuries to pitchers opened a roster spot for Scott Erickson this Spring
(2) Scott Erickson cannot hold a roster spot based on his pitching merits alone, and crowds of angry fans call for his DFA or outright release
(3) Whenever a pitcher comes off the DL, another one seems to get hurt, and
(4) Erickson remains on the roster as a result...
Coincidence, or a nefarious plot by Mr. Erickson to perpetually injure good pitchers, thereby protecting his own job?
Another argument for an immediate DFA - he won't be able to secretly injure the other pitchers anymore and we'll finally get healthy!
Who gets called up in Gagne's absence?
Is Dessens ready yet or does he need another rehab appearance? Schmoll hasn't been so hot. There isn't anyone else on the 40-man that isn't injured or stinking up the minors.
8 ERA
"Here"
Gagne re-injured
"Here"
Hell Freezes Over
"Here"
Dies in a horrible car accident
"Here"
Reanimated as a Flesh-Eating Zombie bent on world domination
"Here"
24 ERA
"Here"
The End of the World
"Here"
I know the bullpen has been doing a good job, when Danny Graves was available, I thought we should have considered picking him up. I thought this since Gagne had already been hurt. With that said, I have no idea what Graves was to be paid.
Was I the only one thinking this? Was a stupid thought?
BC
Tracy, who sprained his right elbow in his final spring outing and spent the first 35 games on the disabled list, was 8-for-8 in save opportunities. But his velocity had been down.
Whew! And I was worried we didn't have a back up for JT in the closer's role... good thing we have Gagne.
When did they get Alfonseca?
How long can we keep pace with these injuries we keep having to endure?
Dont ask me why I never seem to take advantage of the 'Preview comment before saving' option.
My fear is that we'll start losing games in the 6th and 7th innings again because of the front-end bullpen dilution that gets created when Braz and Sanchez automatically are held over until the 8th and 9th inning.
Cararra's settled down a bit, but that doesn't make me feel any more confident in the pitchers JT will be using in tough 6th/7th inning situations.
Saenz is fifth at DH, Grabowski seventh in LF.
Bob, my father was from the Pittsburgh area and one of his favorite meals was scrapple. Don't know if qualifies as a regional food though...
1) A reliever can be used for 1 inning (< 20 pitches) up to 3 days in a row (2 days in a row if they are an injury risk) before needing a day off.
2) A reliever can be used for 2 innings (20 - 40 pitches) every other day.
3) A reliever can be used for 3 innings (40 - 60 pitches), but then requires 2 days of rest.
4) A reliever can be used for 4 innings (60 - 80 pitches), but then requires 3 days of rest.
5) A reliever can be used for 5+ innings (80 - 100 pitches), but then requires a full 4 days of rest.
So, assuming there's any reasoning at all associated with "The Book", then a strict pitch count may not be a good measure. An effective measure would likely combine pitch counts per appearance with the frequency of appearances.
Baseball Prospectus has a system of allocating Pitcher Abuse points to starters:
http://tinyurl.com/9dxom
The system is based on pitches thrown in each appearance as opposed to total pitches thrown. It would be great to see them do a similar thing for relievers.
You were right Jon. Perez moves to 9, everybody else up one slot.
On the local ESPN radio station, they're reporting several sources in the Dodger organization fear Gagne's season could be over.
I'm now even more frustrated that the Dodgers let Gagne pitch when his knee was sprained and it was clearly affecting his mechanics.
Signed,
Paul DePodesta
Dear Paul,
I don't believe you.
Sincerely,
Steve
P.S. Stop tying up tons of money on pitchers. To borrow from Madeline Kahn, pitchers should be like husbands. "Soft, strong, and disposable."
It is sad to say but I don't believe anything the dodgers say about anything anymore, tracy or the players or the medical staff. The truth is usually the opposite of what they say. it is getting to be too much of coincidence.
I haven't got the time for examples but everyone knows what they are. Up is down, day is night.
choi choi choi choi choi
Dave Roberts says to stop wearing the pants he wore last year. Go find a pair of pants that fit. Thank You, Bruce Bochy
Would you believe that I signed Lisa Guerrero to a 3-year deal to host Hollywood Stars Night?
Signed,
Paul DePodesta
Here's how many days each of our pitchers has spent on the DL:
Brad Penny - 19 days (1 stint)
Odalis Perez - 31+ days (1 stint)
Eric Gagne - 40+ days (assuming 2 stints)
Wilson Alvarez - 43+ days (2 stints)
Elmer Dessens - 52+ days (1 stint)
For a total of 185 DL days and counting over 72 days of the season, averaging 2.6 pitching DL days / day. It looks like the average is going to go up before it comes down.
I did not include Darren Dreifort, since he was not expected to contribute this season.
What's the record for consecutive solo homers?
I dunno. When's the last time a power hitter batted #2 behind a leadoff hitter that was totally unable to reach base?
Perhaps a small lineup change is in order for our hero so he can drive in more runs during this hot streak. May it never end.
Weaver is no tough guy. I just didn't know he was such a pu*!!!
Funny, just reordered the book `Centenniel' yesterday, Marty. That where I first heard of scrapple. Isn't it similiar to blood sausage?
did you see how skinny weaver was? he looks fat now in comaprison to then. Sweeny was charging a teen age boy.
I'd have run too. sweeny probably had 80 pounds on him.
Just a random observation. Resume game comments, please.
Yeah, Izzy has only gotten on base 98 times this year.
Right. And 4 times in his last 34 plate appearances, which was the point because Cesar's sluimp unfortunately coincides with Choi's hot streak, resulting in a lot of solo home runs.
#109
my favorite part was weaver not turning around when he had to know sweeny was charging. people had to be yelling. he was saying 'Damn, i don't want to turn around and see that."
As MLB.com is coming up I check DT and see Eric is headed back to the DL D'oh!
The stream starts and I see we're already up 1-0 from yet another dinger by Choi! Woo Hoo!
DeJesus up with a man on....2-1, D'oh!
Yikes...this might be a long night.
How far did Choi's second AB fly go?
Last Play: H. Choi lined out to deep center
How'd it look? Is this guy locked in or what?
01 HR: 3 (Milton 6/08, Schmidt 6/24, Johnson 7/08)
02 HR: 0
03 HR: 2 (Snyder 6/29, DeJesus 7/14)
04 HR: 0
05 HR: 0
06 HR: 2 (Hawpe 5/22, Matheny 6/24)
07 HR: 2 (LaRoche 6/13, Easley 6/18)
08 HR: 1 (Feliz 5/12)
09 HR: 0
10 HR: 1 (Cabrera 6/18)
11 HR: 1 (Griffey Jr. 6/08)
12 HR: 0
13 HR: 1 (Delgado 6/18)
14 HR: 0
15 HR: 0
16 HR: 1 (Lee 7/03)
It appears to lean towards hitters without much power.
"Scrapple is boiled, ground leftover pieces of pig, together with cornmeal and spices, usually served with a spicy tomato catsup"
It does sound like something my father would have liked.
Well, every time I watch a game with my wife, she has to say J.D. Drew's name in that same sing-songy way. Who just hit that solo homerun? J.D. Drew.
Announcer: "Need a plumber - call Jack Stefanovich!"
Plumber: "It's Stefan, Jack Stefan"
Announcer: "Clogged drain? - call Jack Stefinski"
Plumber (more annoyed): "Stefan, Jaaaack Stefan"
and so on and on. Loved that one.
Me: Yum!
Mom: Yum!
Sister: Yum!
Dad: Think I'l have some cornflakes.
Dad finished his breakfast.
It's also possible to conclude that Weaver has allowed more HRs to guys without much power because the population of those players is greater than Dunn-Lee-Cabrera-[Choi]-types.
Certainly, though, the 3 HRs to pitchers is weird and wrong.
Ooh, Royals bullpen..... Mmmm.....
A. Perez swinging at the first pitch was also irritating.
WWSH
WWSH
Then again, I'm going to Japan in a couple of weeks and I'm looking forward to eating natto that week. Love that natto.
Please, please, pleas GIDP....
WWSH
Soy beans that have been steamed, fermented, and mashed until they have a glutinous texture and a strong cheese-like flavor. Popular condiment in Japan. Often served at breakfast over rice or mixed with chives, mustard, and soy sauce.
WWSH
WWSH
Japanese food has the advantage that if you don't like it, they give you really small portions anyway.
Most Japanese, both in Japan and Japanese-Americans here, go out for Chinese food when they want to have a big meal.
http://tinyurl.com/bzgym
Based on past performance, URLs are fine, but shrinking them via TinyURL helps, because the long ones overlay the right sidebar.
http://tinyurl.com/3owts
Again, Natto is Vol 6, near the bottom of the page.
If you're trying Japanese food for the first time, go with someone who likes it. You can order something middle of the road like teriyaki or tempura and have your companion order some sushi or sashimi. Then you can try a piece to see if you like it.
You have to go to a Japanese market to find natto.
161- Uh, don't you mean "they're sort of like octopus. . ."?
There, their, and they're are my most common errors when typing quickly.
You could probably find more.
Could the problem be Weaver gets too ballsy with "low power" hitters and challenges them when he should continue to nibble as he does with more feared hitters?
Stupid Shane Costa, he couldn't hit a homer off me when I faced him in high school but he can hit one off Weaver? Yeah, that's about right.
There is a new corollary being tested by the way. Pouty Weaver Face + 2 strike count + grooved pitch = Home run.
Therefore it would behoove Perez and / or Izzy to get on base for the Big Korean!
Only an insane person would start a sentence that way.
Only an insane person would start a sentence that way. *
You're thinking that Steve Lyons is sane?
Russel Martin has a HR and a BB.
Loney has 2 singles.
Guzman has a double.
Vero wins 4-3.
LaRoche had 2 BBs and a SF
Abreu had three hits.
Pilkington pitched well: 7IP 5H 1R 1BB 5K
Catfish lost.
Elbert pitched - 5IP 5H 5ER 3BB 4K 1HR.
Shouldn't Werth and Choi be swapped?
01 HR: 03.7%; 26.7%; 03.7%; 26.7%
02 HR: 05.5%; 00.0%; 09.2%; 26.7%
03 HR: 06.9%; 13.3%; 16.1%; 40.0%
04 HR: 07.5%; 00.0%; 23.6%; 40.0%
05 HR: 08.8%; 00.0%; 32.4%; 40.0%
06 HR: 08.7%; 13.3%; 41.4%; 53.3%
07 HR: 09.1%; 13.3%; 50.2%; 66.7%
08 HR: 07.9%; 06.7%; 58.1%; 73.3%
09 HR: 04.7%; 00.0%; 62.8%; 73.3%
10 HR: 07.3%; 06.7%; 70.1%; 80.0%
To hitters with very little power, Weaver is doing much worse than league average. Weaver has allowed 40.0% of his HRs to hitters who have 3 or less HRs on the season, whereas only 16.1% of HRs in the majors have been hit by hitters with 3 HRs or less. For hitters who have hit 6 HRs or more, Weaver's numbers start to match up pretty closely with the league.
All three of the Padres' runs are unearned.
Unreal.
There is a city in Belgium named after him.
Go figure.
Makes sense that a kid from the DR would be named after an ancient Belgian warrior.
choi may get a shot with the game on the line.
That is the understatement of the night. If the Dodgers sew up the division I would pay a buck to see Phillips play center field in one of those meanningless games.
I haven't cast one vote for Izturis and I'm not going to start now.
Dodgers LOB = 9, Royals LOB = 3.
Sometimes the offense needs to score a few runs too.
Weaver pitched pretty well.
Costa was not exactly hitting like Enzo Hernandez before he got called up.
Detroit has put the Padres far down, 8-3 in the 8th.
It should be fun. I used to play with Mark Teahen in Little League for his dad. I'll have to see if he remembers the dude who had a better OBP than he did. Probably not.
Friday - Choi (1)
Saturday - Kent, Choi, Grabowski (3)
Sunday - Choi x3, Drew (4)
Tuesday - Choi, Drew (2)
Shawn Green named NL Player of the week. Green led the league with 28 total bases and five doubles, and was tied for the lead with 12 hits, nine runs scored and 12 RBIs. Green went 12-for-29 (.414), with a .966 slugging percentage and .406 on-base percentage. He recorded five multi-hit games in the last seven, including one multi-homer game. He went yard aagin tonight.
I've complained about that choice in as many fora as I could find.
The people who run the message board for the Greater Altoona Chess Club told me they didn't care.
10001 Riverside Drive
North Hollywood,
If I'm feeling better later this week I'll try one of them.
You better be feeling really good if you want to eat scrapple.
Jose Lima in tomorrow's LA Times:
He (Lima) offered an unsolicited tribute to second baseman Alex Cora, also cast off by the Dodgers and now a part-time player for the Cleveland Indians: "He's the best second baseman in Major League Baseball, by far. He might not hit for average, but he's the best defensive second baseman. You will never find a combination like Cora and [shortstop Cesar] Izturis in any league."
Cora is such a good second baseman that he's played all of 12 games there.
Does this mean more Scott Erickson? Please come back soon, Elmer.
http://tinyurl.com/7svke
There isn't anything new in the story; it just declares that a second degree sprain (which we already knew) could require surgery. So, don't throw yourself off a building yet.
For those of you who haven't been to Royals Stadium, it is one of the best parks in the bigs. It and Dodger Stadium are two of the middle-aged stadiums that have really stood the test of time.
I still have love for LIMA, but we had better light him up tonight.
I hurt myself today,
To see if I could still pitch.
I focus on the pain,
And that's a real b&*$@.
The surgeon tears a hole,
The old familiar scar.
Wraps a tendon through the bone,
am I still an all-star?
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