Is Adrian Beltre Kareem in this scenario?

The thought crossed my mind, Stubbs, but of course it doesn't track quite enough. And not just because Adrian doesn't have a skyhook.

Call me Franklin.

Ahhh, another day, another anti-Tracy tirade. I figured I would at least beat the rush today. With regards to a potential JT firing causing howls of protest, I really don't see it happening. Sure, you'll get a nostalgic, retrospective column from Plaschke assailing DePo and McCourt for destroying the soul of the Dodgers, but we already get those anyway so why not make them worthwhile. JT is liked by the media, but I hardly think he is a media darling. Let's face it, the guy is about as charismatic as a hard-boiled egg, and I think the media would easily move onto to the next manager. In fact, if you fired him right now it would generate interest in a season that is going down the tubes in a painfully drawn out process (due to the complete ineptitude of the NL West in general). That's all the media care about in the long run, their next story. So go ahead and give it to them.

As for the locker room, I would be willing to bet it would be a pretty similar situation. The players don't dislike Tracy, but I don't think many of them would follow him into combat either. He's tolerated but he doesn't exactly inspire anyone. It's all just business after all, I really can't picture our clubhouse leaders (who is that by the way) shedding too many tears on JT's departure.

No question Tracy and Depo dont mix but I think Tracy did a very good job with, lets face it, average teams the last few years before this one. The 2003 team had one of the worst offense performances in recent memory and he managed a bullpen to an austounding 54-1 record when winning after the 5th inning. I think he also gets an injury pass this year with all signs pointing to 2007 anyway.

I do agree that Tracy has done an excellent job in past years -- however, this year, he really seems to be making a lot of dubious choices. I'm not sure if it's because I'm paying a lot more attention to statistics this year (thanks, in part, to actually reading "Moneyball" and excellent blogs such as DT), or if Tracy is actually playing against his current team's strengths.

In the past, his old-school mentality seemed attuned to how the team was built. This year, they're at odds.

It'll be interesting to see today's lineup, with Phillips hurt. No doubt it'll be Saenz at first and Navarro behind the plate.

This is somewhat of a generality, but I think has some validity. Tracy had the luxury of Gagne until this year. This year, without the Gagne security blanket, he's actually had to show his managerial skills and it's apparent that those are lacking. When Gagne was so dominant, Tracy could get away with his goofy lineups and make manager101 type moves and they would more than likely work. Now, all his flaws are exposed.

How much credit does Tracy really deserve for managing the bullpen in 2003? It wasn't exactly brain surgery, was it?

In the mind of Tracy....... ooooh goody we're ahead after 6 innings. Would it be best if we did not give up that lead? Yes, it would. OK, well I will bring Shuey in for the 7th. Fiddlesticks, that didn't work and now there's a left-handed batter. Does my crib notes say to change pictures now. Indeed, they do. Let's see, how about Martin. Double hockey sticks, that didn't work either and now there's another right-hander up. How about Mota? Oooh, nice job. That Mota kid is pretty good and I really like that little hop over the baseline he does at the end of each inning. (3 quick outs later) Hmmm, it's the 8th inning now who should we bring in. "Hey, Colby should we get that Quantrill guy up in the pen." "Already done Jim, he's ready for the 8th." Excellent. That Quantrill guy is pretty good too, but he doesn't have that little hop like Mota does. Do you think I could ask all of my pitchers to do the little hop? Maybe next year. (3 quick outs later). Yeaaaaaaaah, it's time to bring in Gagne. I love those big Gagne heads coming at me on the scoreboard......

Game over.

Baseball Prospectus bangs our dead horse for us.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4299

Wait a minute. I know you. You're Kareem Abdul-Jabar. You play basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers.

You are Kareem. I've seen you play. My dad's got season tickets.

I think you're the greatest, but my dad says you don't work hard enough on defense. And he says that lots of times, you don't even run down court. And that you don't really try... except during the playoffs.

The hell I don't. LISTEN KID. I've been hearing that crap ever since I was at UCLA. I'm out there busting my buns every night. Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes.

---

Roger Murdock: We have clearance Clarence.
Captain Oveur: Roger, Roger. What's our vector Victor?
Tower voice: Tower's radio clearance, over.
Captain Oveur: That's Clarence Oveur. Over.
Tower voice: Roger.
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Tower voice: Roger, over.
Roger Murdock: Huh?
Captain Oveur: Huh?

A friend of mine's dad always thought players in earlier eras were better then "today's" athlete. Once when Abdul-Jabbar came up in a conversation he said "yeah, he's good, but he's no Lew Alcindor".

7-he has had gagne but he has also had woefully deficent offensive teams. check out the 2002 team that won 92 games with Shawn Green and little else. he deserves one more year...which i think can be classified as our last "rebuilding year".

The thing about Tracy is: most managers seem just as crappy, if not worse. Most of the time, they seem to get away with it.

One of the most idiotic plays I've ever heard (though admittedly it was a minor moment) was a couple of weeks ago, listening to an Angels game.

Runners on first and second, less than two out. Full count to the batter. Benji "Speed Demon" Molina on second. AND SCIOSCIA SENT THE RUNNERS! He lucked out cuz the pitch was ball four, but the hilarious thing was even the Angels announcers were stupefied -- they said Molina would've been out by 30 feet.

since that team:
Quantrill has been waived.
Mota lost a closers role.
Martin is pumping gas.
Shuey is fishing somewhere.

Maybe tracy had something to do with their success? Seems like Mazzone and Cox get credit for turning mediocrity into studs, why shouldnt tracy

I'd give Colbie (and Mazzone) more credit than Cox or Tracy.

I wear the Motley Fool hat proudly. Go Marvel:)

Then why doesn't Tracy get the blame for Choi's "failures?"

great read molokai thanks.

If not all ready noted, one more post in the previous thread and we would've broken Babe Ruth's record... something Bonds won't be doing this year.

Let's say you like Dodger Thoughts, that you think Dodger Thoughts has done a good job for the past three seasons.

Let's say next year, you feel that Dodger Thoughts has lost its way, gone off a cliff, that I'm an idiot.

How much do my previous years of good service alone justify you continuing to visit the site? How long do you have to be unsatisfied before you look somewhere else?

It's the question of whether Dodger Thoughts would rebound or not? It's not about the past, as much as you may have appreciated it, it's about the future.

So here's the question about Jim Tracy, perhaps the only question that matters. If you feel he has lost his way, do you feel he will find it again, even assuming his team is healthy next season?

11 - LOL

10 - I saw the first showing of Airplane on the day it opened, 12 noon, at that movie theater on Topanga Canyon north of Ventura. I was so excited about that movie, and it totally delivered.

anyone watching the A's game?

@^$T#$)*%("#$

me and my big mouth.

20-Good point, but:

-Baseball Toaster didnt give you a 2 year contract. If it cost them 700k to get you off the server, maybe they'd give you another year to work it out.

-If you lost Bob Timmerman (Gagne), Steve (Drew) Telemachos (Bradley) and Icaros (Paul Bako) for extended periods, maybe I'd come back to see if things improved with their return.

From: Theo Epstein
Sent: Thursday August 04, 2005 10:43 AM
To: PDepodesta@ladodgers.com
Subject: Choi

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=4299

Hey Paul,
What are you gonna do about this? You probably don't want to wait until Game 7 of the playoffs to deal with it.

Out,
Theo

hahah, poor icaros. the paul bako of dodger thoughts.

I don't think Icaros will enjoy being Bako

Managing last year's bullpen was not exactly brain surgery either. Last year the Dodgers made the playoffs by being on the winning side of the majority of 1-run games-- meaning the bullpen was outstanding, and we benefitted from some good luck. Somehow the good luck part has been misinterpreted as the Tracy(baseball genius)-Factor.

I get to be Drew. No clutchy. All streaky. Empty OPS. Bad with RISP. Often injured. Never there for the team. Hopefully I turn a better phrase. I heard Drew interviewed once and I think every answer was monosyllabic.

24
man, what did poor Icaros do to stubbs to draw the Paul Bako comparison? That's harsh!!

22, 23 - That was way too early, anyway. But yes, you must let people discover no-hitters organically. It's the only way.

And I don't think that Bako was that significant of a loss.

Losing Icaros would be more of a blow to the Dodgers.

I volunteer to be Dreifort. I like the idea of sitting around in the backyard at 11 million a year.

lee mazzilli just got fired. inspiration for depodesta, perhaps?

Airplane was one of my great joys. Walked into the theatre on a date not knowing what to watch and we picked Airplane. We didn't stop laughing for hours. Lloyd Bridges made history. Doesn't date well or I'm just older because it doesn't do anything for me now. The 1st time is always the best time.

21-That theatre is now gone if your talking about the one on Topanga/Victory which is the only old theatre on Topanga.

King Felix is going today for Seattle. The most ballyhooed pitching prospect in recent memory. If I was him I'd want to get away from Seattle ASAP. They lost another prospect yesterday to TJ surgery. He got to pitch one lousy inning in the Majors before blowing out the elbow.

Gagne-Beloved by all.
Drew-Supremely talented, not liked by some in clubhouse.
Bradley-something likeable about him.
Bako-I dont want to get scolded.

35 - Yeah, I figured that theater might be gone. Was there once miniature golfing next to it?

31. well, it wasn't just the no-hitter aspect. the first four innings were just ridiculous. he was absolutely dominating. his curveball is spectacular today.

34-amazing, just two months ago he was the man responsible for the Orioles surge. Doesn't seem right that a man who has no pitching whatsoever gets canned like that.

"I was so excited about that movie, and it totally delivered."

And then came `Young Doctors in Love"...

Apropos of the Motley Fool story, I have an affinity card which benefits my alma mater, thus allowing me to ignore all fund-raising letters from the school with a light heart.

It annoys me to have to give up one of my 10 or so e-mail addresses just to read one article, but that seems to be the way the media is going.

I was so excited about that movie, and it totally delivered.

Blazing Saddles was that movie for me.

Steve, you can be Drew only if you consider Drew to be the anti-Grabowski.

42 - Blazing Saddles, the first R-rated movie I saw. My parents took me when I was what, 7 or so? A classic.

i wouldn't mind being the steve schmoll of dodger thoughts.

44- I lost my R-Rating virginity to Blazing Saddles too.

The Sheriff is N'ear! The Sheriff is N'ear!

I recall my dads friend bring over his Betamax (like a vcr) over so we could watch it. The movie to me is still the funniest movie to watch because they do not joke in the movie, they do not laugh in the movie. Everything is deliverd in a dramatic fashion but is funny as hell.

and yes of course I am serious and please do not call me shirley

36- Just wait until I start throwing bottles and snapping bats over my knee like toothpicks. :)

"Betamax (like a vcr) "

Love it. Cracks me up that people would need explanation today.

Mongo don't know, must have something to do with choo-choo. Mongo just pawn in game of life.

Jon,

re 20 - you are assuming I had faith in Tracy and his decisions even when the Dodgers won last year...I had little faith in Tracy's moves...

how long would I give you if you seemed to lose it is a different question...

re 21 - it is now a discount house of some sort

49. We are very close to the day when people will say, "what's a vcr?"

speaking of movies, the one that did it for me the first time I saw it and every time since, was City Slickers

52 - what is a vcr??

the better question is, what is an 8 track player?

51 - I put the "if" in bold specifically to show that I did not assume everyone had faith in Tracy last year. I admit I mainly had Steve in mind when I did so.

49 - No kidding. Betamax was first, and it was best. It lost out to Matsushita's VHS primarily because Sony refused (at first) to degrade recording quality by offering a slower recording speed. Technologically speaking, Beta was far superior.

55. My brother had a car with a Muntz 4-track player.

I'm fairly confident my mother purchased the last 8-track player ever sold. We never had an 8-track tape up to that point, and we never proceeded to get one, as no one was really producing them any more. It was very strange.

Speaking of Woodland Hills trivia, she bought it at Gemco, on Ventura. (near DeSoto?)

55 - Hah! Bet you don't remember Mad Man Muntz'
4 track, Howard.

I think I'd be in line representing Derrick Lowe on this board. I don't contribute much and when I do, you already know that it's not going to be that good.

The first R rated film for me was Last Tango in Paris and my mother MADE me go with her to see it. We're both still in therapy (not together thank God).

This from LA Times Steve Henson is filled with enough for this board to feel quite validated for all Tracy-is-bad-threads:

"Their best opportunity might have taken shape in the eighth with the score still 2-1, however. Oscar Robles led off with a single, bringing the switch-hitting Bradley to the plate right-handed.

Only three days ago, critics howled when Manager Jim Tracy had Bradley bunt with two on and none out in the ninth inning of a tie game. Yet the manager and player both insisted the move was sound.

[proving Bradley's anger management classes are paying off]

This time, Bradley tried to bunt on his own and popped up to the catcher. Jeff Kent struck out and Jose Valentin grounded out to end the minor threat.

And this time, Tracy and Bradley agreed the bunt was not a smart idea.

[they're learning and that is hopeful]

"I tried to be a genius and it backfired," Bradley said. "It turned out to be the dumbest thing I possibly could have done. I overanalyzed the whole situation and tried to trick them."

Said Tracy, shaking his head: "You are in a situation where you represent the go-ahead run."

The Dodgers needed two runs to tie in the ninth and Tracy's pinch-hitting options were limited because Jason Phillips was out of the game after being hit by a pitch and bruising his left hand in the fourth. Rookie catcher Dioner Navarro had to bat with one out despite a .200 average because the Dodgers had no catcher on the bench.

[many on this board called it]

Navarro flied out deep to right field. Pinch-hitter Ricky Ledee singled, but pinch-hitter Hee-Seop Choi struck out, giving Chad Cordero his 36th save.

Phillips, who has played first base several days in a row since losing the starting catching job to Navarro, will be sidelined today. Mike Edwards is the backup catcher.

"It's really fat and swollen," Phillips said. "I can't squeeze my hand. We'll give it a couple of days and hopefully it will be better."

[This is the bad news - Phillips out only two days. I hope Choi grabs the opportunity for Tracy to realize his other bad nmoves]

M2

57 - kind of like Mottsy soda

Hey! Marty remembers!

With Bob Timmermann on vacation, I thought I would take a shot at a Dodger game from the past. Return with me to 1966, an October afternoon (October 2nd to be exact) in Philadelphia with the Dodgers playing the Phillies in a Sunday doubleheader to conclude the season. The doubleheader was caused by a rain out the previous evening.

At stake was the National League pennant; a win in either game would clinch it for LA. Two losses and a Giant victory in Pittsburgh, and the Dodgers would have to play the Giants in a playoff to earn the right to play in the World Series.

Pitching for the Dodgers in the doubleheader were Don Drysdale in game one and, if necessary, Sandy Koufax in game two. It did not look as though Koufax would be neeeded in game two when the Dodgers scored three times in the sixth inning on a homerun by Ron Fairly to take a 3-2 lead. Bob Miller, pitching in relief for Drysdale and Ron Perranoski, had been effective in retiring the Phillies without a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. By the time the eighth inning rolled around, at least one person had made his way from his seat in the second deck at Connie Mack Stadium to be near the Dodger dugout to see his heroes celebrate clinching the pennant.

Alas, the pennant clinching was put on hold for a few agonizing hours. The eighth inning began for the Phillies with a Dick Allen single. Bill White bunted; Miller picked up the ball and made one of the wildest throws I have ever seen to try to force Allen at second. The throw sailed into centerfield and by the time Willie Davis could chase it down, Allen was at third and White, a slow runner, was at second with no one out. Dick Groat was walked intentionally to load the bases. The agony of the inning continued when third baseman Dick Schofield committed an error to allow the tying run to score. A single by Clay Dalrymple brought Bill White home with the game winner.

The Giants defeated the Pirates, so Sandy on two days rest was called upon to pitch the Dodgers to the pennant in game two. He was magnificent. In the Dodger third inning Wes Parker scored the first run of the game on a Dick Schofiled single. With Scofield aboard, Willie Davis hit a two run homerun against Phillies ace Jim Bunning to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead. In the fourth inning, the lead was stretched to 4-0 thanks to a sacrafic fly by John Roseboro that scored Jim Lefebvre. The Dodgers scored single runs in the eighth and ninth innings to stake Sandy to a 6-0 lead.

I was not about to repeat the bad luck that struck in game one by going near the Dodger dugout, so the bottom of the ninth for the Phillies found me in my seat in the upper deck rooting for Sandy to retire the side. The inning began ominously when Jim Lefebvre commited an error. Harvey Kuenn, who was the final out in Sandy's perfect game a year earlier, singled to keep the inning going. The next hitter, Tony Taylor, followed with another single to plate the first run of the game for Philadelphia. Bill White reached a tiring Koufax for a long double off the scoreboard in right for two more Philadlephia runs. With White at second and no one out, Sandy finished the game and his National League career with three successive outs: a strike out of Bob Uecker, a Bobby Wine ground out to short and a stike out of Jackie Brandt on a blazing fastball.

Many years ago a book was published called My Greatest Day in Baseball. The book featured articles by retired players (ghost written I am sure) about the most memorable day in their baseball career. Although I have never played the game at a professional level, undoubtedly my greatest day in baseball was seeing a doubleheader almost forty years ago that put me through every possible emotion. It would have been easier if the Dodgers had won game one or the Giants had lost to the Pirates, but in the end it would not have been as satisfying as watching the best pitcher I have ever seen pitch his last game in the National League to bring a pennant to LA.

Thanks to retrosheet for filling in the details, though many of the plays in that doubleheader are etched permanently in my memory. An even bigger thanks to Bob Timmermann, whose recaps I have enjoyed reading all season long. And always, thanks to Jon for the best baseball site around.

Stan from Tacoma

59 - you mean Target???

I was raised in Woodland Hills...I bet you don't remember Oso Avenue Elementary School....

This thread has a very high laugh to comment ratio. Marty's nobel sacrifice (33) is duly noted.

My first R was Saturday Night Fever. I was really too young. Loudly during the movie I asked the irresponsible adult who took me (my next door neighbor's mom)-- what was happening during a particular scene in the backseat of a car. It was awkward for her I bet.

Geoff Jenkins has been on an absolute tear the last month. His average is up about 45 pts, wasnt their talk of him being available?

Also, this Dan Johnson character is another Billy Beane gem.

61- You mentioned you were up in Petaluma, right? I grew up in that area and lived there until just a few years ago.

60 - as in Muntz stereo?

Not to date myself, but my first R movie was Stand By Me.

Re 34, If Tracy does go I would be happy for the Dodgers to get Mazzilli. I think he's smart and creative. It's not his fault the Orioles front office is terrible and couldn't make a deal for a pitcher when they should have.

65 - Target is where Gemco was, I believe.

I went to Collier Street Elementary, where Ross Porter's son was student body president.

My mother took my brother to "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" when he was a kid. I was four years younger, and back then didn't see the problem with taking my brother to a movie about candy.

69 - The very same.

68 - yep we live near the fairgrounds off
payran

The 4-track was the Muntz stereo-pak

72 - Oso Avenue (became Kadima Academy), then Parkman Jr High, then Taft, class with Pete LaCock, a year ahead of Robin Yount, 3 years behind Peggy Fleming...

70 - Stand by Me is dating you?

now I feel old

Can I be Phillips? That way I won't have to worry about the quality of my posts, but I'll get to continue making them on a regular basis.

Pete LaCock's father was the host of Hollywood Squares.

78 - no one else worries about the quality of their posts, why should you

79 - bingo

74- I was over on D St. on the west side. Glad to see another North Bay person here. :)

Were any of you guys at Taft when Ice Cube (known at the time as O'Shea Jackson) was there?

#72, #76

Woodland Hills alum here as well. I went to St. Mels (corner of Ventura and DeSoto). You guys remember Chalk Hill before it was developed?

I think my first R rated movie was Catch-22

As to the "credit" Tracy deserves for bygone Dodger relievers whose careers are now fading or over.
MOTA - was overworked mercilessly here in LA, faded badly in Sept 2004, then had arm trouble in early 2005. Surprise, surprise.
QUANTRIL - Also heavily worked in LA, then was worked even harder in NY last yr as a 35 yr old. We see the differences in DS and NL West v. NY and AL East for RHed pitchers (Brown, Weaver).
MARTIN - Was a nice special interest story ala Jim Morrison, but Dan Evans had no business offering him a two yr. deal
SHUEY - Injuries ended his career.

Colbie may indeed have some regenerative effects on careers, but so too does Dodger Stadium (see Jose Lima).

Chalk Hill, next to the Theatre in the Round

My first rated R movie was the horror "classic"(cue the sarcasm) Candyman.

I remember going to Alpha Beta with Mom to shop for groceries (there was one on Topanga near Victory and another on Mulholland Hwy, which is now a Gelsons)

now, home to Jehovah's Witnesses

I remember going to Alpha Beta with Mom to shop for groceries (there was one on Topanga near Victory and another on Mulholland Hwy, which is now a Gelsons)

I remember going to Alpha Beta with Mom to shop for groceries (there was one on Topanga near Victory and another on Mulholland Hwy, which is now a Gelsons)

I remember going to an Alpha Beta in Whittier (where I live) with my mom. One day, the Alpha Beta was closed and I asked my mom why. She said that it was closed forever. A part of me died that day.

We're back -- woohoo!

(Unfortunately, the Padres won 12-7)

We're back -- woohoo!

(Unfortunately, the Padres 12-7)

Pirates managed 7 runs after all was said and done, but Padres had 12. We must win to keep the 4 game lead

89,91,92 -
Wow. The rare syncopated triple. Way to go!

First R for me was "Stripes". I can still watch the first half, but the urban assault vehicle part gets a bit stupid. Superman (or maybe it was SII) was full, so Dad said, "well, this Stripes movie looks pretty good - do you wanna see that." I had to pull off one of my best acting jobs ever to remain calm and collected. "Uh sure, Stripes sounds OK." One of the few perks of having divorced parents - hanging out with Dad who isn't too strict when it comes to R rated movies and drinking beer before you're 21.

We seem to have hit the wall at 4 games back in the standings. The team seems to be toying with us, dragging us back n forth between acceptance and denial. The latter of which I seem to be hanging on to. vr, Xei

Felix Hernandez the 19 year old pitching sensation makes his major league debut tonight for the Seattle Mariners. Wish him the best of luck, and look forward to win more of our young pitching prospects make their debuts for us.
vr, Xei

Felix Hernandez has officially lost his Major league debut. Gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in 5 innings. Made too many pitches, but I'm sure Seattle is happy. They better hope he doesn't catch whatever Jackson got

100 "tonight" just ended 5 minutes ago =P

101. Not a bad performance, but I see he got outdueled by another rookie. Game is not over yet (Yahoo says bottom of 8th, 2-1), but the Ms are likely to lose.
vr, Xei

101. Gonna have to stick to MLB Gameday over Yahoo and their slow updates. :) vr, Xei

Gameday tells me Detroit scored in the 8th and won 3-1

Putting Beltre's season in perspective, his OPS is only slightly higher than Repko's right now.

Plucky Colorado trying to make it a five-team race. 2-0 over the Giants and Chick Correia with one out in the first.

Garrett Atkins is batting clenup for Colorado, that proves how good their offense is reight now. Yet, they could sweep the Giants in San Francisco. I guess this means Helton has been weighing them down and they need to get rid of him to win

Chick Corea? Wow - he's versatile. I have several of his albums. Uh, everyone know what 'albums' are? They're like CDs, only bigger and made of wax.

And John - I still have an 8-track player. And some tapes. Boy was that a lousy technology.

I thought Kirk Reuter was scheduled for SF, or failing that, Dave (Burba) Brubeck.

Brewers down by one, top of the 9th, men on first and second. OVERBAY BUNTED!! Carlos Lee is being intentiaonally walked (duh). i guess Tracy isn't the only one. Overbay and Lee are easily the best hitting Brewers, and their facing a pitcher who just gave up 3 straight hits on terrible pitches

If you haven't heard about Howard Bryant's book, "Juicing The Game," it's getting some nice reviews (The Hardball Times, The Futility Infielder). There's an exceprt about Barry Bonds on Bronx Banter. Definitely worth checking out.

Boy was that a lousy technology.

Yeah, nothing like having to stick a matchbook under the tape to stop the warbling...

As to Jon Weisman's question as to why we shouldn't give credit to Tracy for his prior 3 years of good service, the question is what exact value was Tracy adding as Mgr those 3 yrs ? Maybe by being a huge proponent of Izturis at SS from Day 1, then quickly punting Thurston at 2b in '03 and turning it over to Cora, then sticking with Beltre in lean times at 3b, Tracy established an excellent defensive IF for GB-oriented pitching staff. Luckily that IF hit way over its collective heads in 2004 along with Depo strenthening the OF, we avoided the quagmire of 2003.

But we're back in the clag again with OF injuries, Izzy coming back to his normal low 300's OBP along with 3b issues. Reverting to the 2003 Maginot Line defensive strategy is silly because unlike then, we have guys who can hit better, who JT has basically elected to bench. When confronted with a fielding/hitting choice, Tracy always reverts to fielding - even on the left side of defensive spectrum - 1b, LF, RF and 3b.
Without Riggleman around this year to check his worst instincts, the raw Tracy we are seeing this year isn't a pretty sight.

Geoff Jenkins did better than Saenz, a base hit, the winning runner out at the plate

72 -- Jon, I also attended Collier Street Elementary, though long before you. Man, that brings back some (long buried) memories! Lou Costello was our neighbor, and I remember walking past orange groves on the way to school. Costello is long gone, and I suspect the orange groves are as well.

Last Tango was my first R movie, I believe. And yes, I also saw it with my mother. What's so strange about the movie? It is hard to get a good apartment in Paris.

I think the orange groves south of Collier (or whatever it is now) are still there.

Sorry - north of Collier.

114 I think this is exactly right. I really do think that Tracy thinks first about defense, second about small-sample matchups, and then stops thinking.

12-9 Brewers over the Mets, bottom of the ninth, 1 out, 2 on, Beltran up v. Turbo Turnbow.

Turnbow wins, Beltran flies out. All up to David Wright.

The Brewers win and prove having the #3 hitter bunting can work. Let's hope Tracy missed the game

Wright grounds out.

A bit slow right now so I'll chime in (I didn't want to interrupt any timely topics).

I imagine a few people here have read "Boys of Summer"... I am in the midst of it. What a wonderful piece of work. I had attempted this a couple times when I was younger (one time when I was very young) and couldn't get through it but I guess now that I'm older, more patient, a parent, and in general read more, I am appreciating every word on every page.

If you have read it, I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts.

Dagwich, the abominable `Last Tango in Paris' was rated X, you perv, you :)

Grabowski Principle sighting -- Chick was just walked in SF!

Also interesting, LA Observed has a little summary of July traffic on the site up right now. Sons of Sam Horn was one of the top ten "referring" sites to LA Observed last month. Obviously explainable, but still funny.

I had my No. 2 all-time traffic day yesterday, because of people searching for Lowe-Hughes news.

127-#1?

125 - Today's R was yesterday's X

127-Congrats Jon, although too bad it takes sex, lies and videotape for some people to find your site.

124- "Boys of Summer", Great book, but Roger Kahn's bizarre articles in the LA Times in recent years (eg Alston anti-semitic???) have made me lose some respect for him.

116 - That makes two of us who saw Last Tango with our mothers. Is that a trend or an illness?

Jim -- You know, you're right, it was X. I guess my mom was cooler (or more disturbed) than I have ever imagined. Now that I think about it. my stepfather, the squarest of all square squares, took me to see "Easy Rider". Talk about a fish out of water! Anybody know what "Easy Rider" was rated?

132 - According to IMBD it was rated R

http://imdb.com/title/tt0064276/

132- R.

131. Pass the butter.

Hah! I was trying to remember my first R rated movie, and you guys did it for me. Easy Rider.

127 - I think it was the day I wrote the Disposable Blogger piece. It was linked by Instapundit.

I can see that I need to call my mother and stepfather tonight and have a talk about their choices in "family" movies back in the late 60s and early 70s. I'll try to couch it within the context of "how the Dodgers are doing."

Re: Milwaukee. As we have had drilled into our heads countless times, there is no worse result than when incomptence wins out. They'll pay for that in the long run.

78 deserves some sort of award by the way.

Lots of WH alums here. Didn't gradute in WH as I was raised in Glendale but have lived here for 12 years as my wife teaches down the street at Woodlake Elementary school.

Do you guys know that the new Arizona phenom Connor Jackson was a El Camino Real graduate from Woodland Hills. The school this year won both the baseball/softball championships and the US Academic Decathlon. Quite a year for the local high school.

Jon when you say Orange Groves do you mean the old Orcutt Ranch on Roscoe? Just went there two weeks ago for the annual picking of oranges. They are still the best tasting oranges this man has ever tasted.

64 - belated thanks for a great story, Stan

140 - No, there was/is an orange grove right at Oakdale Avenue and Collier Street, across the street from the school.

Game thread is open.

Re: 131 I took my mom to see "Last Tango." I had already seen it, and she was curious. The way she tells it now, I dragged her to it, but she was the instigator.

She also took my little brother to "Goodbye Columbus" when he was about 7.

Re:49 Not only will the term 'vcr' disappear from the culture, but the ironic twist is that the word 'Betamax,' the name of the failed superior videotape technology, will live on for decades, because it is the name of a key Supreme Court decision now being applied to determine when it's okay to make digital copies.

140, 141 -- Just for grins I found the Google map of the old Collier Street Elementary (old because the LA School District gives it a status of "Closed") and the satellite photo shows the orange grove is still there.

143 - Very cool.

140 - I'm proud to say I'm an alum of ECR. I was there the year after Randy Wolf graduated (I think) and I may have overlapped some with Conor Jackson; his sister and I were the same age and went to the same elementary, middle and high school.

139 - thanks

143, 144 - if you enjoy google maps, you may want to try out NASA's WorldWind software. (it's supposedly similiar to Google Earth, which I haven't yet used)

#124, Boys of Summer is a fine book. I can't say the same for the books he has written since.

Stan from Tacoma

Kent gets the start tonight at 1B and Ledee 'fills in' for Phillips' 'mighty bat' in the 5 hole. A Perez gets the nod at 2B and hits 6th.

Tonights challenge: Which team will bunt first and in what inning?

You know who my money is on.

Better line-up than yesterday.

The only way Choi starts is:
Saenz gets injured.
A. Perez gets injured (forces Kent at 2B).
Right-handed pitcher (Tracy will find a way to put Kent at 1st if he can).
Am I missing anything?

Not that I'm advocating all these people get injured because aside from Phillips, they all can at least hit.

149 - The starter Patterson IS a righty ... Tracy is sticking with his game plan to keep Choi on the bench.

AT least Milton didn't bunt ;-)

150
I mean all of the above has to happen. Not one of the above. Again, not wishing anything bad against anybody, but those seem like the only circumstances Choi will start. I suppose arm-angles has to be a prereq, too.

It also seems like Choi and Perez's interests conflict. Because it looks like Perez will only start when Kent is at 1B, and obviously, Choi can only start at 1B.

Church should have bunted ...