If my son ever gets really, really good at baseball, I think I'll look up Scott Boras' phone number... so I can have it blocked.

Regardless of his mistakes, regardless of how soon he might become a millionaire, I really feel for a 22-year old kid under this kind of pressure.

So would this off-season be too early to trade some of our arms in the organization (either minor or major leaguers) for a big OF or SS bat? Perhaps wait one more season until we get guys like Guzman and Laroche up to the big leagues before pulling the trigger on a trade that, together with those guys, can make us the team to beat in the NL?

Or go ahead and deal this winter? Assuming the injury bug regresses to the mean next year, and that even highly touted rookie bats are still rookie bats, one ML bat and perhaps one surprise arm from the minors (Broxton, Jackson, Kuo, Bill) is all we need to take the next step in 2006.

Just seems guys like Tiffany, Billingsly, and Jackson may never be this hot as trade commodities again. Yet they sure look like the real thing worthy of waiting on. Trade OP or Lowe?

So far, the reports of this situation have bolstered the opinions I formed of the two agents after reading the book: Sosnick acts like a little kid trying to get attention, and Boras is a bully.

Sosnick's personal mission is to beat Boras. It looks like Logan White may have tried to use that psychological quirk against Hochevar by suggesting Luke sign with Sosnick before negotiating, knowing Sosnick would quickly get a deal done just so he could steal a Boras client.

Conflict of interest II:
As I see it, the problem with Boras/Hochevar is that the agent's best interests are diametrically opposed to those of his client. Hochevar simply wants to sign and start playing baseball, while Boras is more concerned with playing hardball and the appearance of toughness, so that he can continue to lure future clients.

I wonder if Scott Boras has ever ditched his daughter's birthday to drive 7 hours to chase down a client.

About Luke Hochevar... maybe I am being naive, but if I am a college pitcher who is ready to pitch in the big leagues and wants to pitch in the big leagues, then I don't think it matters to me, if my initial signing bonus is 2.98 million, or 3.5 million (which I think Boras would take). The risk associated with not signing does not outweigh the extra 500K that he might get. Not to mention how he is starting to come off looking in all of this.

The beauty of citing these numbers is that there is no way to test that they are correct.

Which modern day pitcher if any is most similar.

The Tomko Principle?
The Fassero Principle?

My friend was calling out positioning tips to Jeromy Burnitz. He didn't seem interested, though.

Strangely, Koufax AFAIK never had his speed scientifically measured in any way. This despite the fact that earlier pitchers such as Walter Johnson and Bob Feller did.

I saw Koufax pitch one entire game on TV... on a mother of a tape delay, of course. Game 7 of the 1965 World Series still shows up on ESPN Classic occasionally.

Here is a view of Koufax pitching in 1964:
http://tinyurl.com/7z7y5

This photo proves nothing, but is cool-looking:
http://tinyurl.com/d4d7y

Here is a picture of Hershiser pitching, but I don't know if it has a good picture of the slope of the mound because it's a different angle:
http://tinyurl.com/crr8s

Here is Ramon Martinez:
http://tinyurl.com/bsxxv

Fernando, again:
http://tinyurl.com/9fj9z

However, the pitch that put him in Coooperstown was his curve. People who saw him said it was nearly unhittable and had an incredible break.

That looks like a significant difference from the 1960s:
http://tinyurl.com/bg4sb

Just eyeballing it, I'm guessing 6-8 inches?

I am biased, but I was very happy to see Luke sign with Dodgers. There are some great college pitchers this year and next; guys I figure will actually pitch for awhile in the majors, but it's always a guessing game.

Garth trusts Sosnick and Eli finally whittled Hochevar down, Boras played what was dealt him and Hochevar chickened out. None of it looks good. Hopefully Boras will just agree to the same terms. Although, really, the Dodger's are free to crank down the screws now.

He developed an awesome curve. I can still picture one that he threw in Game 4 of the 1963 series.

21 That Game 7 is also the only Koufax I've ever seen, and its a shame because that's the game in which he was famous for having nothing, but gutted it out on fastballs. A great effort, for sure, and a huge part of his legend, but I'd like to see a performance where he had it all working. The best part about that old broadcast is the interview with Vin after the game (roughtly paraphrased):

Vin: You said after game 5 in Los Angeles that you felt 100 years old. How do you feel now?
Sandy: 101, Vin.
Vin: One hundred and one.

3 - I like that explanation. As I said on my blog today, it could be a good idea for the Dodgers to just come out and say they'll give out bonuses to anyone whose agent is not named Scott Boras, at least at the amateur level. It would surely make some of these kids think twice about joining up with him. He tries to paint himself as merely the guy who gets these rich guys to pay up, but he also hobbles plenty of clubs and keeps the best first-round talent out of the hands of the clubs that really need it.

22 - that entire directory contains some very cool pictures. Is there an overlay with captions somewhere?

http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics38/

31 - I don't see why not, as high amateur bonuses make even replacement talent that much more expensive once in the majors.

Fredericksburg, Va.: I think the Nats' new stadium should be the same dimensions as RFK, with the same skyline 'wave' effect built in the structure. All the new stadiums look like the old ones anyway. I like the idea of respecting the past and having the guts to demonstrate it and not just pay lip service to it. Your thoughts?

Tom Boswell: The idea of an "echo" of RFK somewhere in the new park is a nice touch. But I wouldn't get too carried away with it.

I talked with Jack McKeon last night about whether the Nationals should keep the RFK fences deep next year and, perhaps, have a true pitcher's park in the new stadium. I was surprised that he thought it was a very good idea. (Hey, you can always move the fence IN. It's tough to knock down those Green Monsters and move 'em back.

McKeon thought that, if you built around pitching, line-drive gap hitters and emphasized speed -- for defensive range in a big park more than stealing bases, which he's not too crazy about -- he thought the nats would be the only team with that formula. In other words, they'd have a unique -- though still tarditional -- baseball style which would give them an advanatge over other teams which are all competing for simnilar players. In other words, you might find "value" in players that other teams don't value highly because they don't suit a bandbox ballpark.

http://tinyurl.com/7o2zj

from same chat:

Tom Boswell: . . . The Dodgers have subtracted foul territory with the result that __without moving the outfield walls__ they have changed Dodger Stadium from a famous "pitcher's park" to a statistically neutral field.

Just curious if that last bit is true.

Go to http://www.lapl.org and search the photo collection with the name of one of the principals in the photo.

I can't guarantee that the captions are 100% accurate. In fact they are not 100% accurate as most of the people who wrote the captions wern't exactly sports fans.

Anything that was in the "Play by Play" exhibit should have a correct caption. Or one that is "less wrong."

I know there is one photo of Orel Hershiser is a Dodgers uniform and it's dated 1981, so I think that one has issues.

A couple of years ago, I was 11-0 in Dodgers games attended.. I was so psyched. Since then, I am 11-21 :( and that includes a 6-14 year last year when they won the damn division. But, I am 5-7 this year, and should be at .500 before the weekend is over.

Based on the data on ESPN.com, Dodger Stadium still favors pitchers.

http://tinyurl.com/2eot2

Since I've gone to Dodger Stadium (1971), I've never seen a pitch that far up and I've only known one batter to foul a ball out of the stadium: Daryle Ward against Darren Dreifort, hitting it over the roof of the blue seats on the first base side.

36 Same old story, fairly neutral on homers and hits, but few doubles and triples to give an overall pitching advantage

I've said it before and I'll say it again - a vertical scoreboard in the shape of a boxscore. It's the only way to go.

If that's the case, then the DBacks must have some really (x20) bad pitchers.

Anyway, being the first time up there, I mused out loud, there must never be any foul balls hit here. Old guy behind me says, "Son, there've been 9 foul balls in the top deck since 1962." Turns out he and his wife had tickets in the last row in front of the elevator shaft, and had never missed a game.

http://tinyurl.com/8sl2b

Sounds like you met yourself a Timmermann.

57 - Oh, I'd solve your problem. I literally want the scoreboard to replicate the box score. Columns for ab, r, h ... both lineups at once, doubles, etc. in paragraph form, pitcher lines at the bottom,

From browsing, Holman Stadium's mound in the 1960s appears a lot shorter than Dodger Stadium's.

Would that be worth it?

"Poor defense, indeed."
"Cesar's team, indeed."
"Tracy is brilliant."
"Where's Alex Cora?"
"Heart and Soul?"

I was fortunate to see Sandy pitch the last game of his National League career in 1966. Pitching on two days rest he threw fastball by the Phillies all game long. He tired a bit in the ninth and I remember Bill White hitting a long double off the scoreboard to drive in a couple of runs. The last hitter in the inning was Jackie Brandt and Sandy struck him out on a fastball I don't think anyone could have hit.

Thank you Sandy for the way you have conducted yourself on and off the field. I have never been embarrased being a Sandy Koufax fan. It was a privilege watching you pitch.

Stan from Tacoma

For example, using Wednesday's game:

Jayson Werth - Not a leadoff man
Oscar Robles - No Cesar Izturis
Jeff Kent - Deficient character
Olmedo Saenz - Reclamation project
Jose Cruz - I didn't know he was on the team
Mike Edwards - Good character, bad bat
Dioner Navarro - Not Shawn Green
Jose Valentin - Google Boy's folly
Jeff Weaver - Head case

I want to live in a quiet kingdom populated by nothing but Russian female tennis players.

Jayson Werth
Jason Grabowski
Hee-Seop Choi
Jeff Weaver
Yhency Brazoban
Duaner Sanchez
Giovanni Carrara
Elmer Dessens

I count 24 players appearing in the Division Series last year. Who was the only kid on the outside of the candy store looking in? I can't figure out who. I think it was a pitcher.

Or we could just engage in scurrilous gossip....

As far as Luke goes if Boras really won't negotiate with Logan White from this point on then the Dodgers should just end it. Depo can't step in and undermine White at this point because of an agent. I'm going to trust Logan White on this and after reading all the articles it looks to me like the other agent is the weasel. Under pressure! How can anyone say under pressure given today's world. From this point on he will have it easier then 99% of the world's population. Give me a break, how tough is it to decide to take a 2.3 million bonus and get your career started. This man is already 22 and he does not have time to lose. To bad he could have been the Dodgers "cool hand luke".

Hmmm. OK. They sure did work hard to get him. He was a also "key" that that 3-way trade that fell through.

I still don't see why people consider having 2 good catchers to be a bad thing.

82 - It's not a bad thing at all, and as you correctly point out, Martin was (and frankly, still is) a ways from being a sure thing.

Ishii was not on the roster for the division series

Elena Dementieva just looks good.

Mary Carrillo and John McEnroe are not happy that Mary Pierce is winning. They didn't like the fact that Pierce was able to finagle a 12-minute break after the first set to have a trainer work on "injuries".

True. The Dodgers needed to cut payroll to keep them well the under the 100m they promised.

I do. I believe she's about the same age as me (39). I think she has a bunch of kids now.

Perez
Weaver
Lima
Alvarez
Venafro (is he your man?)
Dessens
Sanchez
Carrara
Brazoban
Gagne

Mayne
Ross
Wilson

Green
Cora
Izturis
Beltre
Hernandez
Ventura
Choi

Werth
Finley
Bradley
Grabowski

I'm missing someone as well

Records say she left the pro tour in 1991.

I think it had to be Saenz.

http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0060197/

I wonder if she ever goes to France except to play in the French Open or maybe for some Fed Cup matches.

Probably in Russia.

Or at tennis academies in Florida.

I will root for Kim Clijsters just to make Icaros unhappy.

I think those two things are the foundations of any good relationship aren't they?

Tomorrow... ?

I don't think height really matters...

http://www.askmen.com/women/models_200/248b_daniela_hantuchova.html

You don't want to be the person sitting BEHIND me at Dodger Stadium or the movies.

Once when my brothers and I went to a movie together (we're all tall) and we sat down, we could hear a woman audibly groan as we sat down and then say, "Honey, we're behind people who are ... tall."

I've sat in a Mini. They are quite comfortable.

You do not want to be sitting behind us at a game.

I am, and I've been applying for that job for years. No dice.

Bob might not have to wear his UV shirt tomorrow since it won't be so hot.

My father was 6'0" at his best, but before he passed away I think he was about 5'9" or so after he got hurt in an auto accident and I think that tweaked his back and gave him a permanent slouch. My mom was only 5'6".

At birth, the "runt" of the litter weighed about 8 1/2 lbs. I used to fare poorly in contests to guess the weight of coworker's babies. I always guessed 9 lbs or so. I didn't realize that I was on the freak side.

How can you root against Maria Sharapova now when she's wearing UCLA colors for you?

If a truck driver was so far lost in that respect, I would say that the guy either didn't take enough speed at the last truck stop or they are unaware of the presence of Nevada and Arizona on maps.

Not to mention the fact that it's my only clean shirt...

However, my 7-year old nephew wears size 8 men's shoes.

One of my 2 6-year old nieces is quite tall (well the other one is too). However, she doesn't seem to be much of an athlete. She got her first pair of soccer cleats and immediately started tap dancing in them.

The Kim Clijsters awaiting-serve-from-behind angle is almost Penthouse-esque. It's better than seeing her from the front.

They almost all have great bodies, but it's the Russian girls' painfully cute faces that put them over the top for me.

144 My dad wears size 7 shoes, 7 year olds beat him. I'm still bigger than your nephew at 9

Be careful if Maria Sharapova starts your car.

I had no idea Bug Bunny's kid became a truck driver....

I was about 3-foot-8 in Kindergarten. I was 4-foot-8 when I started junior high.

Somehow, I made it to 5-10 and for that, I am ever so grateful. I am the tallest one in my family.

My brother and I are both 6'3. Dad is 6'0, Mom is 5'10. And then we have my little sister.. she is barely 5'2.

If you're a large child and you have a mother who likes to tell you how hard it was to give birth to you it is.

And my mother said she was embarrassed once when a woman, looking in the nursery window at one of my brothers (who was even bigger than me), said "I would hate to be the woman who gave birth to that thing."

I ultimately made it to around 5'9"-5'10", 160-165 lbs., taller than both of my parents and all of my nonexistent siblings.

Stan from Tacoma

That's it a good indicator of whether or not his mother had gestational diabetes....

That night my mom decided to impart all of the advice she had on how to handle "monthly" issues. She had no daughters and she had all this good advice saved up. She wasn't going to let it to go to waste.

And until now, I thought the intensive psychotherapy had suppressed that memory.

Women who give birth to very large children are prone to getting diabetes while pregnant.

Townsend was draft 8th overall by the Baltimore Orioles, he was considered one of the elite college pitching prospects of the draft. The Orioles blundered badly by offering him only $1.6 million, which was below even slot money(about $2.2 million). Townsend was so insulted by that offer that he went back to school(he thought he could still negotiate with Baltimore, but MLB wouldnt allow it). Because of this he entered this years draft and was again drafted 8th by the Devil Rays. But, because he was one year older, had not pitched in college that year, and didnt have the leverage of going back to school he was forced to sign for $1.6 million, the same amount that he considered an insult.

Hochevar is in a similar case. If he thinks that next year he will get drafted higher he's dreaming. He'll be one year older, and just as experienced as the elite college pitchers in 2006. Moreover, the class of 2006 is overloaded with college pitching talent. Of the top 5 college prospects for the 2006 draft, 4 are pitchers. Once you figure in college hitters, and high school talent, it seems very, very unlikely that Hochevar could get drafted in the top 5 where the slot money is more than $2.5 million. Really, Hochevar be lucky to go in the top 10. Why would a team pay more than slot money to a 22-year old pitcher, who hasnt pitched in a year, and who doesnt have any leverage? Whatever the Dodgers are offering him, whether it be $2.3 million or up to $3+ million, this is the best offer Hochevar is ever going to see.

Why is boras convincing him that $2.85 million isnt good enough? Am I missing something here? I can't see how Boras is acting in Hochevar's best interest here. Given that Hochevar can't go back to school, the Dodgers will probably just wait him out. I'd offer him $2.5 million and if he waits long enough, he'll realize next June that no team in the draft will give him more.

Sort of like how Scott Erickson could work out his problems in Las Vegas.

i was also going to mention (and i suppose i am doing so now) that albuquerque has long been the butt of "lost" jokes, using the bugs bunny line ("i should've taken a left turn at albuquerque) as proof of at least one instance. i think it is just a fun name to say. say it with me: albuquerque.

The residents of Ptarmigan, Alaska, had the same problem, but they just solved it by changing the spelling to "Chicken."

I'm much more interested in watching Sharapova-Dementieva.

That kinda sounds like a disease.

A disease I wouldn't mind catching, obviously.

The NFL had a third place game of sorts from 1960-69. I think it was called either the Bert Bell Charity Game or the Playoff Bowl.

The NFL doesn't like to talk about it and does not recognize any of the games as official.

Hopefully Luke is a better pitcher then Townsend otherwise who cares. Never been able to get behind drafted players taking such a hard stand. Free agents I understand because they have done something but until you do something why should the team take all the risk. Never was able to forget what JD Drew did to the Phillies and while he's a solid ballplayer I have a hard time rooting for him. That was the 1st time I ever heard of Scott Boras. I found it interesting that Boras was using Philip Humber, the Mets' 2004 first-round pick who signed for a $4.2 million major league deal with a $3 million bonus as a comp in the BA article considering he just underwent TJ surgery this summer. I think I would have used someone who paid off on the investment not someone whose team's 7 million investment was just washed down the drain.

I guess this means Choi and Perez will be strictly bench material. Can't trust this huge series to these two.

The rule was modified a bit.

The usual term was "bonus baby". Sandy Koufax was a famous example of one.

http://tinyurl.com/8pxlg

Anyway, they came to be known as "bonus boys" or "bonus babies."

Crawford was just 18, but he did get a hit in the World Series. Kekich did not appear in the World Series.

1949-53 the amount was $6,000
1954-57 it was $4,000

or so says Jon Light in the Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball.

But what was the threshold in the 1960s. Because the Dodgers certainly didn't want to play the 1965 season with a 23-man roster unless they had to.

And Crosby will contribute immediately to his team unlike Hochevar.

Moral of the story: Raise your children so they can have Scott Boras "advise" them.

And, not that I follow hockey, but I believe Crosby is considered the best prospect to come along in many, many years (since Lindros?)

He's a much bigger prospect in hockey than Hochevar is in baseball...

http://www.nothingisreal.com/girlfriend/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Koufax

Also has a link to Scully's call of the ninth inning of the perfecto. I've got a lot of catching up to do on Popup...

"I wouldn't blame Paul DePodesta if he was curled up behind his desk in a fetal position right now. His team is already on its way to near record levels of injury days and dollars lost, and then comes this: Cesar Izturis will have Tommy John surgery. He was on the DL for a back problem when the elbow seemed to get worse. Izturis has a stretched and structurally unsound ligament, damaged by the lingering effects of an injury he suffered as a Little Leaguer. Unlike a pitcher, Izturis will be ready for spring training without noticeable effect. "

He's expecting Izzy to back in time to start 2006 which is not what we have been hearing. I put a lot of stock in Carrol as he's usually very good at this. So, I guess we don't need to go hunting for a SS this winter. At least I know Eric thinks so, Oldbear probably not so much.

There are better shortstops than Izturis. I was merely presenting the viewpoint that he is not, in fact, Satan.

Anyway, what's with all the conflicting reports on how long his recovery might take? Carroll says he should be ready by spring training (which is late February); Gurnick says the All-Star Break (mid-July). That's a pretty big difference.

Strike that. Reverse it.

I like her consonant to vowel ratio in her last name.

It was more the case of a domineering father, from what I understand. Which I suspect is the case with a lot of these guys. Mom and dad smell payday.

"At first glance, a datable population of 18 726 may not seem like such a low number, but consider this: assuming I were to go on a blind date with a new girl about my age every week, I would have to date for 3493 weeks before I found one of the 18 726. That's very nearly 67 years."

Now I don't feel so bad.

Chin-Lung Hu is a Class A baseball player. Frankly, that's all that needs be said.

213I guess it is not always a good thing to have parental involvement in your life's decision.

1) He is a shortstop, not a pitcher, so -- at least in theory -- his recovery should be a little shorter.

2) Other parts of Izturis' game -- such as batting or running the bases -- will obviously be unaffected or minimally affected by the surgery.

Tommy John surgery for position players is a little different than that for pitchers; Luis Gonzales of the Diamondbacks returned by spring training after an August 1, 2004 surgery, so Izturis could be playing pretty quickly.

Can you use it in a sentence?

I've always liked one of the offramps on the 15, Zzyzx Road

I think that's the kind of kid Scott Boras targets for representation. No matter how much money $2.5 million sounds like, Boras can tell this kid he's being robbed blind, and the kid has no frame of reference to understand that this might be wrong.

I'm sure Bob can do it, though.

231
Boras seems to fare well with -- not sure how else to put it -- southern fundamentalist Christian types. I wonder if any conclusions can be drawn from that.

Says its now a research facility for the California State University system

237 - Well, I saw no guards :)

This was also true before his surgery, however.

And Small is one of the better pitchers on the Yankees now.
When Shawn Chacon is your ace, I think you've got issues.

Jeff Bagwell

The Marlins have signed Paul Quantrill for the stretch drive.

i'm a southern fundamentalist christian type.

i'd like to hear more about your connection between boras and southern fundamentalist christian types.
please explain.

I could very well be imagining this. Just something I've noticed, or think I have.

Hull lost the no hitter to the 3rd batter, but that was all the damage. He also managed a K in the 1st

he is from colorado.

Donavon and Abreu made outs. Weber walked, Laroche singled, Loney was hit, then Martin walked in a run. Then Guzman cleared the bases on a double. Ruggiano struck out

4-0 Suns after 1 inning

i really haven't followed this story.

most likely, starts next season in high A. dominates, gets called up to AA at the end of may, pitches well.

starts off 07 season in AAA is a midseason callup for a spotstart for an injury.

Judging by the amount of politicians (and lawyers-sorry, LAT :)), a lot of them migrate there.

Only one more day off (9/19) til the end of the season, by the way.

267 I doubt it, we don't need him on the 40 man roster yet

Or Rene Lachemann. After play on 9/9/95, the Angels led the Mariners by 6 games.

In the 2nd, Hull gave up a 1 out single. He then threw 2 WPs. A ground out scored the run

Garcia, Donavon, and Abreu went 1-2-3, as did Birmingham in the 3rd. Hull is pitching fine, seems he's his own worst enemy with the WPs

Also, Laroche's single was to the pitcher, no idea if it was a comebacker, bunt single, swinging bunt, etc

My memories of the event were not so much about the speed--they all looked hard & fast!) but more about that wind-up and the way his entire body came through the throw. He seems to me to be the pitcher I remember the most of being a left hander!

The game I went to they won, and I can't even remember who it was against, but it was a night game. All's I remember was that wind-up and pitch and that Sandy Koufax was my favorite ball player!