What is the over/under?

This Live 8 broadcast is TERRIBLE. 80% talk, 15% commercials, 5% incomplete performances.

O. Robles ss
A. Perez 3b
J.D. Drew cf
J. Kent 2b
J. Werth rf
H. Choi 1b
M. Edwards lf
J. Phillips c
D. Lowe p

This is almost the ideal lineup given our injuries. The only thing I would change is moving 2-8 down and sticking Robles at the end. But, Tracy is working with a 3 handicap. So he can still bunt once and pinch hit for Choi in the 5th and make par.

Dr. Frank Jobe sure has an effervescent personality.

Anyone spot this comment in Steve Henson's game report this morning:

"Some close to the Dodgers believe the team would be well-served by moving Kent from second to first permanently."

Jason Repko, on the radio just a couple minutes ago,: "It's a game of failure." I've heard many similar-meaning baseball cliches, but I'd never heard the words quite that way before. Somehow I find it kinda profound. But oh well.

#6: Who, exactly, is "close to the Dodgers"? What does that mean, "close to the Dodgers"? Are they talking about the guys out in the Phillips station in the stadium lot?

I'm waiting for Tracy to justify Robles' #1 lineup spot by citing the other pitchers arm angles.

Has the world gone mad? Why is Choi not a starter? Why isn't DePodesta confronting these morons?

9 - I think that the reasoning goes Izzy bats first, Robles bats for Izzy. Unless his book tells him the SS is supposed to bat 1st, which would explain everything.

10 - No entiendo, Choi is starting?

#9 - yeah, I'm going with the idea that he wants to just swap one guy for the other, as to not distrupt other people...despite the fact we have a new lineup every day.

Anyone else having more attention following the A's lately?

When did Choi break out of the 2-8 lock Tracy had him in. I remember when Choi was always the 2, except for when Repko played and needed to be in a position to succeed. Now Tracy likes to bat him 6th mostly.

if anyone needs a pick-me-up, know this:

jose offerman and his career-that-refuses-to-die are currently playing first base for the new york mets.

Thank God Choi is starting today.

I had a friend of mine comment to me today that Kent was having a bad year. He is a Cardinals fan and not very SABR minded and gets most of his information for the Man, but still. Kent is fifth in WS and ESPN acts like his in the valley of dry bones. Everytime an analyst makes a comment like that it drives me farther away. I used to have espn.com as my homepage, now sometimes I forget to check it at all.

Choi is my pick to click. Vargas has allowed 8HR in 32IP and an OPS of 1.037. As a frame of reference, our unnamed 11th pitcher has allowed 12HR in 46IP and an .899 OPS.

Repko would have caught that

16 - Some would say that there are redundant words in your post. "Thank Choi Choi is starting today" does sound weird though. How about: Thank Choi God is starting today.

Uh oh early homerun, Lowe is shaken, expect a shelling.

17. you don't need to be SABR-minded to know that kent is having a good year. by most traditional measures, kent's having an absolutely fine year.

#2

Big, you can't watch Live Aid live. TIVO/DVR my friend.

22 - True though as a non-SABR guy I don't think he checks any stats that much. What I was trying to say is that by the measure of watching BBTN and SC, Kent is struggling. Which is absolutely ludicrous.

the fox commentator just said "jeff kent, having another MONSTER year, at second".

Home.. and watching the game. woohoo.

That inning was a bit of a mixed bag, two Ks and an IFF, yet marred by that homerun.

6- I posted that in the last thread. I don't remember ever seeing a blind source on a Sports page. Seems like it must be bad news; not whether Choi sits, or doesn't, but that Dodger staffers are playing Deep Throat in the Times. Maybe the whole moneyball/old school wars aren't really a figment of our imaginations.

Choi bless the cartoonists who bring us Scooter.

Oh, and J.D., too.

i love hearing the dodger stadium home run song :)

If only Kent weren't having a horrible year, that ball would've gone over the fence.

30,
I hear you. Music to my ears J.D. Drew has such a great approach at the plate.

28 - Yeah it is bizarre. It's a very weird thing to do, why say something like that to the Times? It doesn't seem like it would help you and it certainly wouldn't help the team.

What Tracy's thinking at this very moment: "Okay, if Werth reaches, maybe I should pinch-hit for Choi here. This pitcher's got some pretty confuing arm angles."

This pitchers slider must suck if Werth isnt swinging at it.

What Tracy's saying right now: "Grabs, get to the cage and warm up. You're going in for Choi when we're back up. I don't like the looks of that guy arm angles."

Cruz confirms my earlier opinion.

What Choi's thinking right now: (something in Korean)

homeriffic

And Cintron.

Will some team buy Lowe a therapist? The guy is a nervous wreck.

arizona hasn't hit a groundball yet.

oh wait, they've hit 2. but still.

33- Three possibilities: (1)It's DePo undermining, even further, Choi's trade value; Somebody wants him moved, and DePo wants to make it impossible to get anything for him. (2)It's Tracy and he thinks he can get away with it. (3)It's some scrub who was showing off for Henson--"Ooh, look what I know, LOOK WHAT I KNOW."

#41: Why is it whenever Lowe pitches badly it's because he is a "head case" or "nervous wreck", but when other pitchers pitch poorly it's just an off day?

buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride

Vargas has given up a run in every game this year except his first game, where he was coicidentally pitching against the D-backs. The best two game stint he has had this year is his last two where he has gone 11.2 and given up 7 ER (5.40 ERA). In seven starts this year he has two QS and zero DS. He has given up more than a run an inning 5 times (including 3 runs in .2 innnings of relief). If we can't get some serious runs accross the plate against this clown...

45--but Lowe's bad days are always in the form of giving up homeruns on the first pitch.

It's so nice to see Dessens loosen up as our long man instead of Erickson..

craig counsell is so incredibly annoying.

What did Choi do? Gameday is worthless for this sort of thing?

#51
Choi hasn't done anything yet. He leads off the bottom of the second.

51: Choi hasn't come up yet. Werth grounded out to short.

50: Agreed. Counsell's awkward stretchy stance looks like such an obvious affectation. He always relaxes into a much more traditional stance just before the ball is pitched, so what was the point? It's like he's trying to maintain his "signature" stance or something. Ergh. Cut it out.

If nothing else, that glove feed by Lowe was nice.

This ump does seem to be squeezing Lowe a bit.

I was referencing #38, or was that just about how Choi is going to crush Vargas?

Given Lowe's ballsy performance in the World Series, I'm surprised that I am actually starting to buy the "Lowe gets rattled easily" arguments. Who knew that we would be lumping Lowe into the Weaver head-case bucket? Let's see some fortitude, buddy.

54

Nice and scary.

Lowe is mighty clutch. At least for that AB.

Boy! Dodged an artillery shell that time.

Glaus swung at ball 4. The way this ump is calling Lowe, that was easily ball 4.

57 - He did strike out the D-back best hitter with the bases loaded after being down 3-0 that takes some cajones.

Fearing Blue, take into account that the people here at DT call Weaver a "head case" even when he's pitching a shutout.

61 - Gameday says that it was a K, but maybe the umpire would have disagreed.

56: #38 was just a non-sequiter. It didn't mean anything. Am I posting too much? Sorry.

#56
I'm not sure what #38 was in reference to. Possibly that Choi would like to have come up to hit with Kent on second. Given what we've seen so far today, it's quite plausible that Choi will find the seats shortly.

#48: The two homeruns today were the only two he's allowed on the first pitch. Even then, maybe it's because he throws a large percentage of strikes? Brad Radke has given up three homeruns on the first pitch (all to Choi, IIRC) and nobody calls him a head case. Lowe's having a bad day. His sinker is staying up, his fast ball doesn't quite have it's typical bite, and thus he's getting hit hard. As far as I can tell, there's no psychological explanation necessary.

I wonder what day/night splits are for Choi?

#63: Haha.. good point :).

#68: Surprisingly similar considering the small sample sizes:

Day: .224/.339/.449 (.788)
Night: .242/.309/.477 (.786)

Wonder why Phillips is playing a day game after a night game.

PSP, it's best to not become too self concious about one's postings :)

Re: 67

I see your point, but I think we tend to assign psychological explanations to Lowe, because his body language is so demonstrative. Baseball culture, even now, is still for the most part quite stoic, and a pitcher like Lowe who wears his heart on his sleeve makes him more liable to armchair psychologizing. I do admit, though, that he might just be having a bad day. No pitcher has his good stuff everyday, and Lowe's body language might be more a consequence of the supercilious nature of pitching mechanics than its cause.

WWSH

73 - That said, I would love to see Lowe come out and rally for a QS. People call Weaver a head case, but alot of games he gives up runs early and then gets a rythm going and makes it deep into the game, where sometimes he then proceeds to give up more runs.

#70

WOW. That is similar. I asked because I was at the three hr game and also his wrigley field time. thanks

#73: I do agree that Lowe is more demonstrative than others, both with successes and failures. But, I don't think we have any way of knowing if this translates into game performance.

73,74

poor mechanics, ball not sinking, tight strike zone. maybe pressing or overthrowing leading to the first one. maybe that's the definition of head case.

#74: I agree. I'm always impressed by pitchers who struggle early and then turn it around to shut the other team down.

Oi.

At least they are solo shots.

Well... at least they've all been solo shots.

80 - True, and now for something completely different. Tracy, at this point every batter Lowe faces counts as a managerial error regardless of the outcome.

Nice job by our defense-oriented backup at SS.

Every hit has either been a groundball single or a home run. Come on Tracy, pull him! 4Hr in less that 3IP seems like a good indication that he doesn't have it today.

I hope Lowe doesn't let this game get away too far for the Dodgers to come back. At this point, I wouldn't mind going to our bullpen which has been well rested. Tracy might be too stubborn to pull Lowe and this game most likely might get out of hand.

I thought Robles was supposed to be good on defense. If he can't play good defense, I don't think he deserves to be on the roster.

The NL really sucks this year. It is crazy that the AL has a lower ERA than the NL.

85 - With Vargas pitching we can get back into it, but down by 7 is still a tough row to hoe.

#88: I don't know. What if the Diamondbacks pull Vargas for their stellar bullpen?

87 - That would seem to indicate the the NL has phenomenal hitting. With one less hitter in the lineup the NL is scoring more runs.

88 - We can't scoff. Cormier has a lower ERA than anyone in our pen.

90

yeah, that's it. Ha!

If Lowe bats next inning then I am putting a bounty of Tracy's head.

93 - should say on not of.

Lowe has been disappointing to me this year. I thought Depo gave him too much money. Lowe's ERA for June was 4.7 and 1 win and 4 losses. Also, Lowe is not really a #1 or #2, but good #3. Depo signed him to be 1 or 2 and his performance has not been anything close to 1 or 2 (very few dominant starts). Even thought Lowe's ERA for the season is acceptable 3.66 before today, he has had several starts where he just comes apart after a defensive miscue and can't overcome it. He relies too much on defense and doesn't have out pitch (except groundball), therefore he is not really a dominant starter. I guess we will have to hope for 13 to 15 wins and ERA around 4.00. But is this worth 9M/year?

#91: I think we can scoff. The Diamondbacks bullpen ERA (5.87) is more than a run higher than the Dodgers (4.56). How many innings do you think Cormier can pitch?

92 - Really though, if you look at it, the best hitters in the NL right now (Lee, Pujols, Caberra, Abreu, Jones) are hitting better than the best hitters in the AL (Texiera, Arod, Vlad and somehow Brian Roberts, with the third best OPS in baseball).

Robles is Alex Cora minus the defense.

97

it takes more than 4 from each league to convince me. without looking at the numbers I say the AL pitching would be much better number wise in the last 20-30 years than the NL offensive wise over the same time period.

98. Alex had little more power and at least he was good at getting HBP.

#95: I really don't understand the "signed him as an Ace" argument that the announcers keep making and you referred to. DePodesta signed Lowe at pretty much market value for his performance to-date. Who cares what his label is? There were a number of worse signings this offseason (Wright, Pavano, Milton, Wilson, Ortiz, etc.) and there were a number of better signings (Clement, Martinez, Radke, etc.), but Lowe is pretty much right in the middle.

I'd take the top 25 AL over the NL right now.

95 - I don't know if he is worth nine million in a vacuum, but I think the decision was made that he was worth overpaying considering the alternatives (imagine our rotation without him, it is possible Erickson would have gotten a couple more starts). I think he is a solid number 2 and a proven vet with playoff experience, if somehow that turns out to be important this year. I would expect an ERA around 3.5-3.75 by the end of the year. It was a tough month, but he was brilliant in April and I think he has more months like that in him.

It would have been nice if Lowe gave us a QS and continue the good starting pitching but today's performance was pretty awful. Lowe gives up too many hits. He's given up 129 hits in 113 innings. That is way too many for even for middle of rotation starter, although Lowe is our top of rotation starter.

Stating the obvious: I wouldn't mind watching Choi take this tosser deep.

This could be high scoring game. Hope we don't see Erickson today.

104 - He is a GB pitcher so he is prone to giving up more hits. In theory however this is counter acted by DPs and a lesser amount of XBH.

#104: Except he doesn't walk anybody, so his WHIP is still a pretty reasonable 1.35. He's also a sinkerball pitcher, which means he's going to give up more hits than a flyballl pitcher, but the hits don't go as far, thus his OPS against of .699. He's probably closer to a 4.00 ERA pitcher, but $8 - 9 million / year is unfortunately what those types of pitchers were going for on the open market. Additionally, Lowe has been extremely healthy over the course of his career, which makes his 4.00 ERA even more valuable. I certainly wasn't excited about the Lowe signing, but so far, it hasn't been that bad.

awwww.

That's another week on the bench for Choi.

107. Lowe relies too much on DP and with the infield defense that Depo has constructed, I don't think Lowe will be very successful. If we had last year's infield, then Lowe would have been doing so much better.

Opposite field homerun for Beltre. Perhaps he's coming around?

111--Ummmm, no.

I don't really understand how a pitching rotation benefits from strict stratification. Why is having a straight (ace through five) better than a full house twos over threes? And anyway, what does it mean to be a #1 if so many teams don't have one, using that definition?

108. Thanks for that detailed info. It makes lot of sense. I guess in defense of Lowe, the defense has let him down several games this year but we should have expected that with our defense. I'm just frustrated because it seems that when Lowe starts we seem to lose higher pct than other starters. This can mean no run support or bad defense. Can you get info on what the team winning pct is when different Dodger starter go out on the mound.

i wonder if choi needs to win the home run derby to escape the bench and platoon situation he's mired in.

ddger--our defense is stellar in both the infield and outfield. The reason Lowe is sucking is because he sucks, no one else's fault. Can Jeff Kent catch a homerun?

102 - I made a quick list of the top 25 players in each league. I realize you might pick different players but most of the names would be on your list too. In my mind the NL is clearly better.

"I don't think there's a young player in the game who wouldn't want to play for Jim Tracy." - Steve Lyons

Perhaps Hee Seop Choi?

"I don't know if there's a young player in the world who wouldn't want to play for Jim Tracy" -Steve Lyons

I guess that's technically true, insofaras Choi probably does want to play for Tracy. It's just that Tracy doesn't want him to.

FB's transcription is accurate. Mine is flawed, like Our Loving Savior.

Unfortunately the website will not allow me to post my list

That dive by Edwards was Grabowski-esque.

That's 2 runs our stellar defense cost us so far.

ddger might I recomment this book for you to peruse to help your understanding of baseball:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393324818/qid=1120340306/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_ur_1/002-4224167-5423253?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

#114: The only time I can see the benefit is during the playoffs, when you get a chance to set your rotation. You'd like to have a clear #1 guy to match up during the first game of the series. Otherwise, due to scheduling, it's pretty rare that #1's match up over the course of the season.

125. Thanks, I will definitely check it out.

I was aggitating for a brawl last night, but maybe today would be even better for it.

Top 25 AL:
ARod, Vlad, Texiera, M Ramirez, Tejada, Sheffield, Ortiz, Konerko, Chavez, H Matsui, Blalock, Soriano, Young, Mora, Damon, Hafner, Mauer B Roberts, Beltre, Sexton, Morneau, Veritek, I Rodriquez, Cantu, Sizemore

Top 25 NL:
Pujols, D Lee, Drew, Rolen, Cabrera, Edmonds, Delgado, Beltran, Abreu, A Jones, Bay, Utley, Ramirez, Kent, C Lee, T Glaus, J Guillen, Dunn, Ensberg, Wright, B Giles, M Giles, Alou, F Lopez, N Johnson (Note, Bond not included since I am hoping he never comes back)

I guess I probably should have put Larry Jones in instead of M Giles or F Lopez.

nice AB by dessens. what a competitor. :)

129- I don't understand--say the NL's twenty-five are better; then what?

129. are we talking about the top 25 performers this year, or the 25 best players in the league? what about say... chipper jones?

111 -- You've got to be kidding. Lowe can suck all by himself.

132 - I was responed to post 102. I just picked the 25 players I would most want to have from each league.

133 - yeah I forgot Chipper, see post 130.

I'm looking forward to Michael Lewis's new book on Derek Lowe -- The New, New Jeff Weaver

also, milton bradley > f. lopez i think.

136. Maybe Lowe should seek advice from Weaver.

137 - Maybe, though Lopez is has a higher OPS and plays SS.

As much as Choi walks, it seems silly putting him in the 6 hole where your worst hitters follow. Choi and Drew in the 2 and 3 spots seems ideal for big innings. I can't help think that tracy really thought Choi's solo homeruns were being wasted in the #2 spot.

138 -- They do. They conspire. To drive me crazy.

129

I meant top 25 put together for one team. not top 25 batters. starters, relievers, etc. sorry for the confusion

basically I'd take 25 from the AL to make a team before I'd pick 25 from the NL. right now.

Two more just like that from Drew, and we're right back in this thing.

Don't look now, but after two bombs today, Beltre is one short of Repkowski, and finally ahead of Adam Everett

player of the month

I guess solo HR is better than nothing. I just wish Drew can hit a homerun when runners are on base.

If Robles gets one more hit today, he will be batting higher than Izzy. Wouldn't that be amazing.

But Drew remains comfortably ahead of Beltre in every meaningful offensive category except favorable media bias.

my first point was I think the NL is an inferior league to the AL this year. I think the AL has superior pitching to the NL. I think that is the reason the AL has a lower ERA than the NL and not that the NL has much better hitting. tha's my contention. putting together a list of 25 comparable is not the right way to measure(I think)

If the AL finishes with one of their lowest era's in 30 years and the NL has an avg run scoring year historically I would believe that the AL is a better pitching wise league because of the DH.

Plus other than the Cards I see teams in the NL with real problems.

Drew since coming back from injury: 13 AB, 7 H, 6 BB, 1 2B, 3 HR. 538/684/1.769 (yes that is a SLG of nearly 2, not OPS). Not too shabby.

Home many bombs does J.D. need to hit before people believe he has a heart?

Not too many before he has mine (flutters eyelashes).

Doing it with a knee injury is not scrappy enough. It has to be bone spurs or nothing. It also helps to be homegrown.

151. For the season, Drew has 15 HR but 35 RBI. Not very good ratio though.

Our defense looks awful tonight. Hope it doesn't end up costing us the game.

I think the 4 HR given up by Lowe will probably cost us the game more than a couple of E's.

153
LOL

Yeah, I'd much rather have Adrian's 4 to 1 HR to RBI ratio. Or Barry's 1.5 to 1 ratio. Or something like that.

haha, shawn green trying to pull a fast one on the ump.

What happened?

Who'd the Dodgers get in return for Green? I remember Beltran Perez and something like Muegge, but there was a third, right? Anything Cincinati would want?

The Dodger pitching staff and Jim Tracy have a lot in common. For one thing, when they lose, it's always someone else's fault.

162 Juarez or something like that. A ball pitcher I think (I could be thinking of someone we lost in rule 5 though). I think Navarro was the only legit prospect we got.

#161
Green checked his swing and the pitch hit his bat - he tried to make like it was a HBP, but the ump didn't buy it.

165 -- That reminds me of when we hit Pujols and he tried to deny it. Sad days when Mr. Greenbacks starts pulling a Cora.

Dessens gave us good outing. I'm little surprised but Dessens has pitched really well for us this year. It's so much nicer to have him back because we don't have to see Erickson anymore.

ddger, Do you have something against the letter O? What's the origin of your screenname?

168. dodger seems so common so ddger seemed like a good idea.

FYI - Lance Cormier is NOT related to Rheal Cormier.

162 - William Juarez is his name, he has a solid 3.14 ERA in Jacksonville, but with 39 K and 27 BB in 50 IP. He has only given up 3 HR though.

171- Thanks.

172. just curious but what's origin of your screen name

What will it take to get Choi going again? Maybe Tracy should start him next 10 games to see if he can make it or not. If not, then trade him before deadline.

173. i'm gonna guess there's a kurt vonnegut connection

174 - I agree with part of your post.

175 - Kilgore Trout is Vonnegut, but bokonon42? I must not have read that one.

Bokonon is a character from Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle. Forty-two is the meaning of life.

Why pull Dessens? He was cruising.

livan hernandez... cy young candidate?

I used to be young and read science fiction. At some point I'm going to have to think up a new one, but I've been bokonon42 for ten years.

Ah that explains it. I have read Slaughterhouse 5, Breakfast of Champions and one other one.... plus that one about heaven he put out a couple of years ago.

179. Maybe Tracy want so save him for later. Also, other guys need some work I think.

Vonnegut isn't your typical science fiction author. It isn't like your name is CptKirkard or something.

This fantastic and wonderful pitching staff, that would be the 65 Dodgers all over again if it wasn't for those statues behind them, has allowed a guy with a snowy white Santa Claus goatee to go three for three with a walk. I'd love to hear DIPS's explanation of this.

183. need work? the likes of carrara and sanchez absolutely do not need work.

7th inning stretch time

Let's get a good comeback win and get Lowe off the hook.

Why not leave in Dessens so you could PH for him this inning. Now you have to pull Gio and go to Sanchez or shudder someone else in the bullpen.

So that is how you bold...

186. I agree but we don't have any choice. We have to use the cards we're dealt.

do we really want robles to swing away?

That HURTS.

Grabowski! Nice job, G-man!

that play is like deja-vu all over again.

I see hit in to play out(s) recorded under Robles name and my first thought is: triple play.

What's the difference between he hits into the forceout or bunts into it?

if we're going to bunt the ball to the third base side, why don't we at least pinch-run for phillips? isn't that what mike rose and jason grabowski are for?

We could have scored if we got the SAC BUNT.

It's about time Drew hits HR with runners on base and we go on to win this game. Am I dreaming?

Stating the obvious: bunting with Phillips as the lead runner is not very bright.

184- I love Vonnegut with the fire of a thousand suns, but Vonnegut fanboys get no chicks. Even with wine coolers and Sly Stallone movies, it's iffy.

And then it would have been 6-5, with Sanchez still having to pitch. Then what's your plan?

robles is left handed, just let him hit and pull the ball. He's fast I assume, so the odds of a DP against a LH speedy runner can't be that high.

#196: Removes Tracy's worst nightmare: THE DOUBLE-PLAY!!!

#202: Diamondbacks bullpen minus Lance Cormier seems like a pretty good start to any plan for Dodgers success.

Oh, I get it. Robles WAS bunting. I guess I shouldn't have been expecting any different.

So stupid. Why is it that that never works?

woooo!

nice baserunning by robles, getting out of the way of the ball.

201 - I imagine that if your game actually involves the fact that you like Vonnegut it probably wouldn't help much. However, nothing is as bad as being a Trekkie... well except for camping out of Star Wars anyway.

feels like the first week of the season again.

We're getting close. Come on Jeff, hit one out.

That actually lower JD's SLG since he came back. He has been hot as a firecracker (to use a holiday appropriate simile).

#209: My favorite Triumph skit is when he visits the line of Star War's fans camping out for Episode 2.

#213: It seems the unnecessary apostrophe has struck again.

It is a peculiar part of 2005 Major League Baseball, and the shape its logic is in, that you would bring in your worst pitcher to pitch to JD Drew in a potentially game-changing situation.

Man this gives me heart, the D'backs just rolled out their second reliever in a row with an ERA>10. I thought we had bullpen problems, but this is truly horrific.

Or is this the worst pitcher in their bullpen, I get confused sometimes.

213 - That might be the funniest thing I have ever seen. Some of the stuff he says... "Which button calls your parents to come pick you up?" "I see your future, you will die alone." Hilarious.

come on Werth, time to improve your trade value.

217- D'backs fans must have hours of fun debating which is their worst reliever. It's an Aladdin's cave of choices.

215 - But Steve he was a Southpaw!

Well we have 6 more outs

he just can't get over the average player hump.

It's been a long time since Scooter made an appearance.

This game has not gone by fast. nearly 3 hours already.

Bokonon42 do you know Kilgore Trout? It is a weird coincidence that there are two literary reference names on the board and both of them are Vonnegut.

Wunch facing two batters? Tracy you owe three Our Chois as penance.

Especially since hindsight shows that you should have pulled him.

hahaha that is definitely the best triumph skit. my favorite jab was when he asks the pregnant lady about when she is due to have her kid, and says that's the last time her kid is ever going to see female genitalia.

in case you haven't seen the clip, here it is:

http://www.milkandcookies.com/article/924/

I don't know him in real life, but I recognize the reference, if that's what you mean. Kilgore Trout is cool, and a recurring character. But did he have his own suicide cult? If Bokonon and Trout had a fight, Bokonon would totally win. Then he'd write a ryhming calypso about it.

I like in Breakfast of Champions when Vonnegut writes himself into the novel and reveals some very interesting personal details (fictional I assume).

Tell that evil Duaner isn't on the mound. They get it down to one and then he blows it.

We don't exactly have a stopper in the pen.

Bronx Banter is reporting that SD threw in cash in their acquisition of Quantril and Stanton. I wonder what the Padres would pay for Erickson.

The blogging cycle!

Hell, I should get in on the deal. DePo can trade Erickson to me, then I can sell him to the Pads. WIN/WIN!

I love how the Fox cameras caught Colborn mouthing "What the f*?" after Sanchez lost that breaking ball on the 3-2 to Glaus. Beautiful timing.

time for one of drew's patented groundballs to the second baseman.

hah! called it.

oh man, it beat him!!! booooooooooo.

who gives a rat's tookus how it LOOKED. it was OUT.. .ads;kaj;gdsklagsh;dgndas

Blown call at first. Ugh.

repalys show green out by half step. horrible call.

Yeah, Lyons, blame it on Choi. Just because Green was out by half a step doesn't mean it wasn't Choi's fault.

haha, whoops. #238 was supposed to be green, not drew. freudian slip, i guess :)

YEah I was wondering how that wasn't a GIDP. I couldn't see it on Gameday, but it was Green so it had to be a DP.

Hit him in the head, Duaner. Get the next guy.

CHOI, MARRY, AND JOSEF! A balk. Perfect.

...and it costs us a run?

Probably only one R in Mary. And maybe it's Joseph.

The balk with the man on third? I didn't even know that it was possible. Duaner, between this and the glove you are cruising from a bruising. Jeff Kent should make you wash his truck.

wow blown call and then a balk for no reason at all. good god how do you win a game like this. oh yeah AZ bullpen

duaner did the fake to first /thrid pickoff that never works and ended up balking. and it was a balk.

Close, Duaner, close, but he's not quite that tall.

This is the perfect example of why you should NEVER try the old fake-to-third-fake-to-first move. Well, that, and the fact that it never works. Teams should fine their pitchers for doing it.

In fact, we should fine Duaner just for coming into the game. I can't recall the last time I saw him have a good inning.

Any Suns update? do not walk a man, duaner.

we finally get stinnett, thank choi.

Duaner is a meltdown waiting to happen. He is an absolute stud when nothing he can do can change the outcome of the game, other then that is is a bum.

I hope it doesn't come down to that blown DP call by the first base umpire.

If they leave Aquino in maybe we can make a run or at least make it through the pitchers spot.

Hey Hee Seop, If you had my love, and I gave you all my trust, would you comfort me?

Hee-Sing-JLo draws the walk! Let's get it going!

oh my choi. choi likes to sing j-lo songs when he does karaoke. i would so pay to hear that.

It seems that the Dodgers get lot of bad calls lately or is it just that the umpiring is getting worse.

Tell me... Choi, Hee.

Attack of the Killer Olmedo.

I was thinking we were in the 9th already. 0-2 with 2 walks, good day at the office. Stick him at the 2 spot. Do miss Ledee's bat off the bench.

I would have liked to see Hee spike Counsell there.

I would like to have seen Glaus throw it away.

noooooooooooo

phillips always seems to get robbed.

What kind of garbage fans are out in LF pavillion letting Gonzo get that ball?!

the one time you can get away with touching the ball and everyone lets him catch it.

If he was in the stands he was fair play, they should have gone for the ball.

I would like to see Grabbo get a hit so Robles doesn't bat next inning. Izzy/Robles leading off means rooting for the pitcher to save the start of the next inning.

Not the Pavillion, I guess. Whatever the field level seats are. Cubs fans will steal the ball out of their own fielder's mitts.

no way he catches that if I am there. that ball was in the stands or reasonably close.

Bob and I now really really hate Luis Gonzales.

lyons: "where's steve bartman when you need him?"

AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Steve Lyons sings the praise of Grabowski. "He's a great fastball hitter."

so if the fielder and his glove are in the stands, can a fan open the glove and steal the ball to take away the catch?

3 more outs left. Hope we don't give up any more runs in 9th.

Some Wriglyite pulled another Bartman today. Not quite as sweet as killing their playoff run, but it still shows dedication to the lovable loser meme.

281- When a player from the other team goes in to the stands to rob your catcher of a homerun, you have a duty to commit a felony up to and including manslaughter to stop him.

I like that Choi wears the high socks. That's how I think all players should wear them. I also think all golfers should wear "classic" style outfits like the late Payne Stewart used to.

Were there kids in that section or something? Seriously though, it is pretty scary when the ball comes at you, your first impulse is to duck and cover if you don't have a glove.

If they'd just grabbed him, and pulled him all the way into the stands, that would have been okay, right? Going over the wall invalidates the catch?

286

two chicks. neither of them were standing.

this game has an extra innigs feel to it.

285 - I wish players wore the stirrups like in the 1960s. Those things were awesome.

GAME OVER! Brunley is in the game folks, we might as well turn on Over the Top.

*Bruney apparently is his name.

joe blanton wears stirrups.

292

so did delino

289 - stirrups would be great. It just gives the players more of a traditional baseball look.

Maybe the NBA should mandate the tight short shorts of the 80's, too... on second thought, no thanks.

It will be a shame if we don't win this game since we used up all of our relief pitchers (except Yhency so far). I don't count Erickson.

Lean into one, Stein!!!! we need runners

come on j.d.

Choi, I don't ask for much, but could you have Drew go yard right here. Amen.

aw, you gotta foul that one off, buddy.

How did he not swing at that?! That was right in his wheel-house.

One last chance. GO KENT!!!

There is no Choi (shakes fist at heaven)!

bah, just not enough.

Frig!!!!

If the DP in the 8th is called correctly, or if Duaner doesn't balk home the run, does Tracy have Drew bunt in the 9th?

I just want a little winning streak, is that too much to ask?

Ugh. Well there is always tomorrow. Lowe gets a much deserved loss, but I am going to give an L to Tracy (for leaving him in to get the 5th run), the first base umpire (for not calling Green out), and Sanchez for demonstrating how not to be clutch.

What a colossal gyp.

I'm totally deflated. We screwed up, but at least 2 runs seem to have come from mistakes. Like Benaiah said, Duaner, Tracy, the Ump... Boo-urns.

307-we were there, Green was safe at first

the game was lost when Edwards dove in left for an uncatchable ball which let Green score from first earlier in the game...

howard, the ump was there too. both of you are still wrong. if you saw the replay, green is undeniably out.

312
seconded.

264 -- I didn't see the Green play, and I'm late to this party, but the umpires are undeniably getting worse around MLB. Latest embarrassing example was the other day with Philly playing the Mets, where the Philly catcher got thrown out after the umpire missed three straight strikes. I was surprised he didn't take off his mask and start beating the hell out of him right there at home plate. All you could wonder was which member of the Gambino Crime Family is a Mets fan.

fearing blue or anyone... whats dunns WARP on the season so far?

Glimmers in the night from the minors

Eric Stults,a solid under the radar pitcher pitched a solid 7 innings last night for the 51's.He could pitch with the big club soon.
Chad Billingsley pitched a seven inning one hitter for the Suns with 9 K's.Maybe the bullpen rest strategy works.
Blake Dewitt hit a grand slam for Columbus
Brian Pilkington(Bert Blylevens nephew with the curveball gene) pitched solid seven for VB tonight

Didn't get to watch todays game. Ended up driving down to Monterey Park to buy some cheap plane tickets. On the way back home had the Dodger game on the radio. As we were driving by the stadium on the 101 it was the bottom of the 7th inning Dodgers were rallying with runners on first and second with no outs, down by two runs and the baby screaming in the car seat. I guess she knew what was about to happen. Yep, Tracy was going to try to bunt or as I call it "kill a rally". Sure enough every thing went to pot when Robles bunted into a force out at third base. When will Tracy ever learn? Please don't answer that question, as we all know that "Old Dogs" have trouble learning. Thanks alot Jim "Rally Killer" Tracy! Another ironic thing was on the way down to LA I had the Angels pregame radio show on, the caller was saying how he was sick and tired of people putting down Jim Tracy and that he was a great manager. I almost choked on my egg mcmuffin and I'm sure that must've been when the baby pooped her diaper. The host made some polite comment about how Tracy had done a good job with alot of trades and injuries the past couple of years and then got in a whack about how JT did make a few mistakes this year when it came to in-game management. That atleast made me feel a little bit better.
vr, Xei

#315: Dunn's WARP from BP is 3.8. They've estimated his defensive impact at 4 FRAR (Fielding Runs Above Replacement) and -4 FRAA (Fielding Runs Above Average). BP sees Milton Bradley as a more valuable major league contributor, having accumulated a 3.2 WARP in significantly less time.

wow so dunns defense almost evens out his offense? dunns defense wasnt even that bad last yr according to UZR.

anyways, down on the farm billingsley throws a CG 1ER 1H 1BB 9Ks.

he was dealing out there.

maybe since our center fielder(bradley or drew) is really good, maybe he can cover some ground in the left-center power alley, and that will minimize the defensive liability of dunn.

I've provided a full minor league update for the night. I'm trying this out to see if anyone is interested and to see if I can keep it up on a fairly regular basis.

Las Vegas (AAA):
Won 9 - 7 over Portland.

Dioner Navarro had a good game, going 2 for 3 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. Hopefully, he will start getting hot again after cooling down recently. Prior to the game, his line of .268/.368/.404 was unimpressive considering the thin Las Vegas air. Willy Aybar, the other 51s position prospect, went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. He has played solid defense for the 51s at second and third base. In order to contribute as a starter in the majors, like Navarro, he'll need to develop more power. At 21 and 22 respectively, Navarro and Aybar should still have at least a year to improve before they get stuck with a "backup" label.

After Ryan Rupe allowed 7 runs (all earned) through 6 innings, the 51 relievers held Portland scoreless through the rest of the game. In the 3 innings of relief, the bullpen walked a tight rope, allowing 7 baserunners with only striking out one. In the top of the 9th with one out, Steve Schmoll walked the first batter he faced to load the bases, but then induced a pop out and fly out to record the save. Derek Thompson will be starting his second game for the 51s on Sunday.

Jacksonville (AA):
Won 4 - 1 in a 7 inning game over Carolina. The second game of the intended double-header was postponed.

We'll go around the horn for Jacksonville position prospects. Catcher Russell Martin went 0 for 1, but walked twice and scored a run. First baseman James Loney went 0 for 3. Second baseman Delmon Young did not play. Shortstop Joel Guzman went 1 for 3 with a double and an RBI. Third baseman Andy LaRoche went 0 for 2, but walked once and scored.

Chad Billingsley rejoined the rotation in impressive fashion, pitching 7 excellent innings, allowing 1 run (earned) on a hit and a walk while striking out 9. It seems the short stint in the bullpen was helpful as his last start on June 19th was terrible (7 earned runs in 2.2 innings pitched).

Vero Beach (High-A):
Won 4 - 3 over St. Lucie.

Chin-lung Hu had a huge game at the plate, going 3 for 4 and coming a single short of the cycle. In the process, he scored two runs and drove in another. Baseball America rated Hu the Dodgers 13th best prospect, but his season has been a relative bust so far. His batting line of .272/.318/.377 coming into the night shows the need for some patience and power (.105 ISO). Also, after being named the Sally leagues best defensive shorstop last year, he has already committed 12 errors on the season. Tony Abreu, the Dodgers second base prospect, went 1 for 4 on the night, dropping his batting average to .323. Like Hu, Abreu doesn't draw many walks and needs to develop some power (.108 ISO).

Brian Pilkington recorded the win with a strong 7 inning effort. He allowed 1 unearned run on 4 hits and a walk, while striking out 4. Out of the bullpen, Mark Alexander got the save by striking out the only two batters he faced. At 24, Mark is old for Vero Beach, but he has been dominant throughout the season. Tonight he improved his ERA to 1.83 and increased his strikeouts to 59 in 39.1 innings pitched.

Columbus (Low-A):
Won 8 - 3 over Greensboro.

Blake Dewitt went 2 for 4 with a grand slam. Hopefully, this will get him going as his season has been a disappointment so far. Dewitt was hitting .261/.304/.408 on the year coming into the night. Travis Denker went 1 for 3 with a walk and scored 2 runs. Denker has been a very pleasant surprise at second base this season, posting a .272/.392/.470 line at 19 years old.

Jarod Plummer, a 21 year old right-handed pitcher, turned in a solid 7 inning pitching performance. He allowed 3 runs (all earned) on 8 hits and no walks while striking out 8, but unfortunately was left with a no-decision.

Ogden (Rookie):
Lost 7 - 6 to Casper. The loss puts them at 9 - 3 on the season and 4 games ahead of the rest of their division (Casper, Idaho Falls, and Orem).

After going 9 for 10 in his first three games, outfielder Sergio Pedroza, the Dodgers 3rd round pick, went 0 for 5 on the night to drop his average to .600. David Southerland, a 20-year old, left-handed, first baseman, continued his hot hitting, goig 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. But, out of Sutherland's 20 hits so far, only two have gone for extra-bases, 1 double and 1 homerun. Jesus Soto, an 18-year old switch-hitting shortstop, also had a good night at the plate, going 2 for 5 with a double and 2 runs scored. In 11 previous games with Ogden, he was batting .370/.396/.522 with no homeruns. Hopefully, he can get some of his doubles (7 so far in 46 ABs) to start clearing the fence.

Aaron Klusman, who at 24 is the oldest player on the Raptors roster, was credited with the loss after giving up the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning.

Gulf Coast League (Rookie):
Won 12 - 1 over the Mets.

Ivan DeJesus, a 2nd round draft pick, at shortstop and Josh Bell, a 4th round draft pick, at third base should form a solid left-side of the GCL Dodgers infield. Unfortunately, so far, neither has shown any power, hitting a combined 11 singles in 40 ABs, with no extra-base hits. The power outage extends to the team as a whole. The GCL Dodgers have yet to hit a homerun through 8 games this season.

The quality pitching throughout the game was led by Gary Paris, a lean 18-year old lefty. Paris pitched 4 innings of scorelesss, no-hit relief, with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts to get the win.

#319: I checked Hardball Times for their fielding Win Shares. Out of 100 outfielders, Dunn ranks 80th with 0.9 Fielding Win Shares, but that doesn't account for playing time he's likely worse than even that. For instance, Werth has only accumulated 0.7 Fielding Win Shares, but with much less playing time. Dunn's 13 Total Win Shares ranks 13th amongst outfielders, and his .791 Win Share Percent ranks 22nd.

As always, fielding metrics need to be taken with a grain of salt, but I'm getting the feeling that Dunn is a first baseman in sheep's clothing.

321

I'm very interested, I'd love it if you did this as much as you can.

fearing blue, do you post on any other dodgerboards?

and yes, a daily/nightly prospect recap for DT would be great.

I guess I can come back in to the country now. But it won't be until Tuesday afternoon.

Up late Saturday night here watching the women's final at Wimbledon. It's not "Breakfast at Wimbledon" in Japan, it's "Late Night at Wimbledon". It finished at 1:45 am. And I don't even like tennis much, but after a while you do want to see something that is in a language you understand.

Saturday's game between the Eagles and Fighters at Miyagi Fullcast Stadium took 4:20 to play.

And it was a 9 inning game.

25 runners LOB for the two teams.

The Eagles (The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles) won 7-6 on a bases-loaded triple with one out in the bottom of the 9th.

Two thumbs up for me Fearing. It would also be a great way of gradually getting to know all of our prospects. Not just the magical infield at Jax.

#324: Nate, I don't post much on other boards. Occassionally, I'll post on FJT, 6-4-2, or Fourth Outfielder. I try to keep up with Minor League Ball, but I don't post over there.

It sounds like there is interest, so I will do my best. I'll try for daily, but I might miss a day here or there.

Re: 327

Fearing, I think everyone would appreciate your own minor-league updates, but I'm sure we'll all understand if you can't keep producing them everyday. This sort of thing is quite a bit of work.

WWSH

I've been out of touch for several weeks.
Would anyone be kind enough to tell me what's up with Milton Bradley. I haven't been able to find an update on his condition anywhere.

Thanks.

321. FB, minor league updates would be great when you have time to do it. ty

325. Bob, glad you could get in some Wimbledon while you are in Japan. The women's final was probably the most exciting match of the tournament. I'm a big tennis fan. Use to play in competitive tournaments in my younger days. My claim to fame is playing in a doubles tournament against the worlds #1 doubles team (the Bryan twins). Of course they were 13 years old at the time. We lost 6-2, 6-1, but I did hold serve three out of four times against them. :)
vr, Xei

The Mariners are courageous enough to DFA Bret Boone, but the Dodgers can't figure out how to get Scott Erickson off the roster.

FB - thanks for the update, it's appreciated.

I think it's time to Sacrifice Jim Tracy. OTOH, maybe he just forgot it was Phillips who was on second.

long time lurker, first comment..

Donovan at Jacksonville just stole 3 bases in the 1st inning tonight.

Infield single, stole 2nd, stole 3rd, straight steal of home.

Was at the WHite Sox A's game last night and one of the things you can say about the Sox is that it they are a very solid team and a well balanced one-rumors of the Dodgers acquiring Evertt from the Sox make no sense to me...On this site since it has become almost a reflexivie on this site to critisize any bunt that the Dodgers attempt or even succeeed at. My problem with the play yesterday was that Robles just couldn't get it down correctly had he done that the Dodgers would have been in a better position second and third with 1 out...But after watching the Sox and even today's game with our old friend Dave Roberts leading San Diego against the Giants has been the use of creative hit and runs and pushing the running attack in a sensible way. In my mind where the Dodgers have failed is the simple fact that while they are getting on base, if my memory is correct someone posted on here last week that the Dodgers were fairly high up in on base percentage and BA, but low down in home runs with men on base.

Homeruns with men on base versus single home runs happen for a variety of reasons, many of which are out of a teams control. However, if you continue to hit but can't move the runners over often times a well timed hit and run, a well timed run and hit along with a stolen base can help.

In my mind if the Dodgers tried some of these strategies, they would have less need to bunt and would be scoring more runs and ultimately winning more games, and we would spend less time getting upset with Tracy.

Izturis wasn't an all-star. Now there is no excuse to lead-off with Izturis...

335,
At least not a starter... I don't know about his chances of being a reserve. May have jumped the gun there.

Well nevermind those last 2 posts then.

#334: The reason you don't bunt in that situation is that although Jason Phillips' legs may move, his body stays in the same place.

I was there yesterday, ladies and gentlespoons. I was there and I have this to say: THANK ALL THAT IS HOLY THE TICKETS WERE FREE!

Pardon my shouting but that was uglier than boiled sin. Shall I count the ways? I shall...

1. Derek Lowe, as you no doubt know, did not have "it" unless "it" could be described as testing the theory that a baseball could be tossed in such a way as to increase its speed after being batted. Not one of the four homers Lowe gave up were cheap.

2. It was thunderstick day at Dodger Stadium and there's not enough Advil in the world to cure me. Particular scorn reserved for the two very large and very obnoxious women sitting directly behind me. When did they thunder the sticks loudest? Bases empty, two outs, two strikes on Elmer-stinkin'-Dessens. May they roast in Hades.

3. The garlic fries and hot dogs were on this day very overrated. Loved 'em last time but this time they sucked.

4. The game was not nearly as long as a Puritan treatise. In fact, it was only a little longer than the average epic poem.

5. I'm 42, in poor shape and not fleet of foot. If Jason Phillips and I had a race around the bases three times, I'd lap him.

6. For the first time in my life, I predicted a balk before it happened. Duaner kicks his foot across the rubber before pitching and always has. That's illegal if you're doing the first-to-third thang which never works.

7-10. These numbers represent the hours of sleep I needed to shake this off. I miss watching games on television. A miserable, hazy, ill-fed, ill-played, ill-attended by an ill-informed crowd type of game. Not for the squeamish.