Random Dodger game callback

September 10, 1963

Sandy Koufax threw a complete game win for his 23rd win of the season and struck out nine to bring his season total up to 276, breaking his own National League record for most strikeouts in a season by a lefthander, as the Dodgers beat the Pirates at Forbes Field, 4-2 before a crowd of around 11,000. The win improved the Dodgers record to 87-57 and kept their lead over second place St. Louis at three games. The Dodgers magic number for clinching the pennant was now 14.

The Dodgers scored in the first on an RBI single by Ron Fairly and added a second run in the sixth when Pirate third baseman Bob Bailey threw away a Frank Howard grounder to let Fairly score. Wally Moon hit a 2-run home run in the seventh to put the Dodgers up 4-0.

In the bottom of the seventh, Koufax retired the first two batters, but gave up a single to Ted Savage, who ended up at third when left fielder Tommy Davis misplayed the ball for an error. Bob Bailey followed with a single to drive in Savage. Roberto Clemente homered off of Koufax in the eighth for Pittsburgh's other run.

1963 was the Year of Sandy Koufax. He went 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA and 306 strikeouts to win the pitcher's Triple Crown. He would do the same in 1965 and 1966. Koufax was named MVP of the NL for 1963 and he won the Cy Young Award. Koufax also threw 11 shutouts.

Don Drysdale was no slouch on the mound either going 19-17 with a 2.63 ERA. Ron Perranoski pitched in 69 games out of the bullpen and went 16-3 with a 1.67 ERA and 21 saves.

Tommy Davis led the NL in batting average at .326, the last Dodger to win a batting title. Maury Wills, after stealing 104 bases in 1962, dropped down to just 40 stolen bases in 1963, but it was still the most in the National League. Howard hit 28 home runs, but somehow managed to drive in only 64 runs.

The Dodgers would win the National League with a 99-63 record, six games better than the Cardinals. A three-game sweep in St. Louis from September 16-18 dashed the Cardinals hopes that they could catch the Dodgers in another late season swoon like they had done in 1962.

In the World Series, the Dodgers met their traditional nemesis, the New York Yankees. The teams had met seven times previously in New York and this would be their first bicoastal World Series. The Yankees had won 104 games and had won the last two World Series.

But the 1963 World Series would be no contest. The Dodgers would sweep the Yankees behind some incredible pitching.

Koufax struck out a record 15 batters in a 5-2 win in Game 1. Johnny Podres and Perranoski combined for a 4-1 win in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium. Coming back to Los Angeles, it got worse for the Yankees. Drysdale threw a three-hit shutout in Game 3 as the Dodgers picked up a 1-0 win. And in Game 4, Koufax went the distance again as the Dodgers won 2-1 despite getting just two hits. Frank Howard hit a home run off of Whitey Ford and Willie Davis hit a sacrifice fly to score Jim Gilliam who had reached on an error.

It would be hard to find another season in Dodgers history that was more satisfying than 1963.

Thanks to Los Angeles Times, BaseballReference.com and Retrosheet

Top Ten Most Frustrating Aspects of this Season:

1. We still don't know if Choi can cut it as a starter, since he didn't get the chance.

2. Milton did not learn to control his anger.

3. The more we hear about our "great" prospects at catcher, the more I wish we had La Duca back.

4. The Dodgers defense really did stink.

5. Thanks to injuries, we really have no clue if DePodesta's moves were good or bad.

6. They still only grill some of the dogs at the stadium.

7. Tracy displayed all his worst attributes as a coach and few of his best.

8. Most of the Dodgers who weren't injured played up to their potential, and the team still stunk.

9. Few heroes, few memorable moments. Even in a losing season, I would expect more.

10. The Dodgers still have a chance to make the playoffs while being 14 games under .500. Come to think of it, that's not frustrating, it's just sad.

All in all, for me, this has been the most unsatisfying season I can remember.

You have to believe that Choi is a left-handed power threat. I believe it, you believe it... heck, it's not even a belief if you put any stock at all in stats.

But Tracy does not believe it. Both within the organization and within the clubhouse, I suspect Tracy is not alone.

3 I don't believe it.

There is a picture in the LA Times of a young evacuee from New Orleans attending a Dodger game this week.

Haven't these people suffered enough?

Jon's post is what I am most annoyed with.

follwed by 5 on the list above, mainly cause the press, not my own belife. I think it was good enough. The injuries are something I have never seen as a dodger fan. Maybe I am wrong? Maybe someone can point out a more injured season to key players in the last 20 years?

4 All partisanship aside, why would you? Where's the proof that he can do it on a regular basis? Of course, he's never had the opportunity to play on a regular basis. It's a Catch-22 and the main argument we have in the Church of Choi.

6 Aw, man... that research stuff is so tiring! Why do you think we have Timmerman around?

Seriously, I agree with you; the injuries have been horrific and I wonder if they have been historically so.

2
I do not concur with point #2. The Dodgers catching situation would not be any better if they were saddled with a longterm contract for Paul Lo Duca.

And I think Navarro is developing much faster than Lo Duca did.

Lo Duca did not get called up until he was 26 years old and did not become a regular until he was 29. Considering Navarro's youth and his respectable showing with the bat, I'm not unhappy.

8
I don't do research if I have to perform a math function during it.

Except for magic numbers.

San Diego has a magic number of 16.

2 Bob means he does not concur with #3.

I corrected Timmerman, I corrected Timmerman...

4. well, choi is obviously left-handed, and he has hit more home runs per at-bat than than any active left-handed dodger, with drew on the DL. sounds like our "biggest remaining left-handed power threat" to me. how can you refute that?

Navarro's numbers at 21 are better than Lo Duca posted at 27 with the Dodgers. Navarro still has a shot at growing into some power, too.

I liked Lo Duca, but seeing him traded didn't bother me for a second. Throw in the fact we have super-prospect Martin in the wings, and it's all good at the catcher position.

11
Yes, but then you spelled my name wrong. ;-)

And you call yourself an educator!

I demand you return your degree to UCLA!

Suffering Bruin was so close to glory. To lose it all by dropping an "n" just doesn't seem fair.

15
We have exacting standards at UCLA. We just don't let anybody in.

I told you Ben Olson would suffer holy wrath.

14 15 AHHH! I just hit reload and saw it!!

I'd like to summon Mark Twain to my defense who said, "I don't give a damn for a man who can spell a word only one way."

Yeah, it's no defense at all but it's all I got.

Crushing, really...

16 - that's why I went to BYU. My dad went to UCLA for grad school, but warned me off due to the tough spelling standards :)

Stand and shout, the Cougars are out

12 how?? except for Choi's out of body experience for 3 days when he hit 7 homeruns, how are his stats over the long haul...and don't you just love the way he moves around the first base bag defensively?

I think SB is a good luck charm for suffering high school football programs. His old school has ended a 42-game losing streak with 2 straight wins and his current school waxed Banning.

I will be heading out soon with ddger, bokonon42 and Jim Hitchcock to go root on ... somebody.

How many people here have seen "The Office" (either the British or U.S. version).

The head of FEMA is in trouble because on his resume he said in one of his jobs he was "assistant city manager" when in reality he was "assistant to the city manager."

I sure wish Jason Phillips would have an out-of-body experience.

don't you just love the way he moves around the first base bag defensively?

Yes. I also love the way that people in denial about our pitching staff blame Choi for their problems.

Hmmm...I guess a few days of me in the mountains was not what the Dodgers needed to turn things around.

21 - You have to look at everything. Not counting a player's hot streak means you can't count their cold streak either. Plus there are many (including me) who believe that Choi would probably be a tad more consistent if he could play consistently.

I'm off to my second AYSO soccer game of the day. Coached the 6 year old girls to victory this morning (kind of like herding cats, actually).

choi is league average defensively for his career, and jason phillips is much worse. olmedo saenz has also been much worse than choi defensively this year. so, frankly, YES i love the way he moves around the bag at first, compared to our other options. unless you want kent there, but i don't think kent is willing to move to first long-term.

choi has had 882 at-bats in his major league career, from ages 23-26, and he has hit 39 home runs. that's one every 22.6 at-bats. maybe they tend to come in bunches, but considering he only plays occasionally, i'm not surprised at that. and this is all as a young player. he's more than proven his potential to deserve a fair shot at being the starter, day in and day out.

29 -- why let facts get in the way?

Jim Tracy bad. Hee Seop Choi good.

31 -- why let facts get in the way?

you know, besides choi's out-of-body experience where he went 10-for-62 after being traded, he had a .275/.392/.506 line for his whole year in florida.

Ahh screw it I'll join the fun.

33 -- why let facts get in the way?

let's say Choi were traded to Tampa Bay in the offseason and given the chance to play ever day. Would anybody really be surprised if he hit .260 with 30 HRs? I wouldn't. and I'd be pissed he didn't do it for us at about league minimum salary.

35 - Same here.

And oldbear, yeah I think we should keep Bradley, too. He's worth nothing. Nobody wants him. Lock him and Jeff Kent in a room with a shrink for a week (and hope the shrink isn't found dead afterwards) and see what happens.

Choi's supposedly suspect defense comes down to two "events"

1) The St. Louis series in May, when people still wanted to believe that the pitching staff was decent, regardless of the 163 hits the Cardinals got in that series. In a season rife with bitter ironies, the irony here is that Choi was the only reason we won even one of those games, taking advantage of the birth of the Grabowski Principle.

2) The play in Chicago, where the runner was out anyway, and after the game, Choi didn't run to the manager going "As long as I'm Asian, I'm OK."

Steve Finley hit a home run!

That's the third sign of the Naccarato Prophecy's foretelling I think.

18

The itnesrenitg tnhig abuot spilleng is taht sduteis hvae shwon taht as lnog as the frsit and lsat lteter of a wrod are in the corerct piositon and all of the ltetres are psrenet, the wrod can sitll be raed.

So why let sellinpng get in the way?

because sellinpng has too many n's in it? :)

38 if it comes true, then do we call him Naccaratodamus?

41

We could call him that, but there will likely be a bunch of us here doing the self-immolation thing too.

Look for the DT Crew in Aisle 42 of the Field Level!

13. DaveP

I think that everyone can agree that LaDuca is the better player today. It all depends on your needs. Are you building for the future or trying to win today.

44 I don't recall winning with LoDuca, and we did manage to win the division last year without him. I'll take Navarro over him now and in the future.

The first 2...amaze me...

3B Aybar
1B Choi
SS Robles
2B Kent
RF Cruz
C Navarro
LF Valentin
RF Repko
P Lowe

About Choi: Aside from his rookie season with the Cubs, he's played half his games in pitchers parks, which tend to deflate his numbers. Also, he's never given a chance to get consistent playing time except for when he was with Florida, and he had an 883 OPS during that time span. As a Dodger, he's been jerked around, with the Saenz/Phillips two headed monster.

If you also looked at his expected OPS which considers the # of line drives that a player has hit, he's been a very unlucky player this year.

Tracy figures out the season is over. Kinda.

47 the old saying is "I'd rather be lucky than good" but in truth, you need to be good to generate luck

44. Lo Duca's opb is 349, Navarro's 362. Navarro has only caught 22% of basestealers, Lo Duca has caught 25%. I dont think there is any statistical argument that Lo Duca any more than 1 win better than Navarro.

I really think all this complaining about Choi's playing time is missplaced. Obviously Choi is not only a better hitter, but a better defensive 1B than Phillips. But phillips has only played 19 games at first. If Choi had hit like David Ortiz in those 19 games, I dont think that it would change very much in the standings.

If the question is why are the 2005 Dodgers 20 games worse than the 2004 Dodgers, Phillips over Choi for 19 games doesnt even begin to provide an answer.

46. Huzzah! looks like ive decided the right time to become the tracyapologist.

Good luck to all of that

right, but just because you're good doesn't mean you'll always be lucky. luck tends to balance out over the long term, and if someone is good but unlucky, the good part will tend to win out eventually. so with regards to choi, if he's good but playing in bad luck, as all the rational analysis seems to conclude, then he needs to keep playing and eventually his luck will even out.

tracy wants robles on base before kent, that's why robles name is allways 1 spot ahead of kent's in the lineup, its like a little kid following his daddy. LOL!!!
i'll drive you in son. LOL!!!!!

i guess tracy gave up on the hit and run combo at the top of the order for this game (werth,robles with daddy after). LOL!!!!!

whats up with valentin and repko.

Saenz/Phillips two headed monster.

That's really just a one headed monster. Saenz/Choi would be a two-headed monster.

Obviously Choi is not only a better hitter, but a better defensive 1B than Phillips.

This is the strangest argument I have ever seen for playing Phillips over Choi.

Its not an argumnet for playing phillips over choi, that move is a mistake, but THIS IS NOT THE REASON THE DODGERS ARE LOSING BASEBALL GAMES.

46. it's progress, i knew that was the real lineup because it still has tracy's fingerprints on it:

3. robles (start, him sure, but bat him 3rd??)
7. valentin
8. repko

though i guess repko is a little understandable if ledee's hamstrings are acting up. but where's werth? i can only imagine:

"jayson, you've been walking too darn much lately. i'm gonna sit you down a game to think about it, son. maybe you ought to spend some time with wallach..."

The real frustration for me regarding Choi is that once Drew went down and it was clear he wasn't going to be around for a while and then shortly afterwards Bradley went down, it was imperative to get has much pop in the lineup as possible. Despite their age and fragility (I think it is a word) getting in Ledee and Saenz where possible made sense. But since they both had injuries and there were at least two positions at times 3 if you count 3rd base, there was more than enough of an opportunity to start Choi in at least 40 of those 81 games. How he would have done can be debated, but the numbers indicate even with OPS going down and strikeouts going up, the addition in power would have been worth it. The case for Perez in my mind is more complicated, but there is a case.

However, I go back to the point that once Bradley went down and it was clear that the Dodgers weren't going to make a big acquisition, Tracy and DePodesta should have talked and figured out a way to get Choi into the lineup more. They didn't and we paid the price.....It would be awesome to go back to the time Drew was injured to the present look at some of the match-ups and project what might have happened.

""""''THIS IS NOT THE REASON THE DODGERS ARE LOSING BASEBALL GAMES""""""""'

its part of it, along with the rest of the millions of tracy blunders.

50. tracyapologist
44. Lo Duca's opb is 349, Navarro's 362. Navarro has only caught 22% of basestealers, Lo Duca has caught 25%. I dont think there is any statistical argument that Lo Duca any more than 1 win better than Navarro.<<<

The statistical sample is too small to mean much. In the first half of the season I guess that Izturis was the (one of the) best SS in baseball and then in July-Aug he shouldn't be on the 40 man roster(statistically)

what are the millions of tracy blunders? Was it his fault that Gagne, Drew or Bradley were injured. I see two mistake's on tracy's part: playing phillips over Choi for 19 games, and not getting Perez into the lineup enough. Although i can't defend Phillips at 1st, almost every thing Tracy has done has a logical, reasonable explination. Blaming Tracy and his lineups the dodger woes is as pointless as sportswriters blaming a lack of chemistry. (ok, maybe not quite as much)

57

I agree with you. I doubt the Dodgers would be that much better if Choi were playing everyday.

It still boggles the mind that with a team that already lacks power (even with Drew) that Choi wouldn't play.

My own rant...

If Tracy is so worried about the infield defense, why isn't Valentin playing 3rd? Is it because of the knee? Valentin is supposed to be a pretty good defensive IF. If he isn't playing 3rd, should he really be in the lineup at all? If the defensive metrics from the past are correct, playing him anywhere but the left side of the infield seems to negate his strengths. He's been such a lousy hitter that playing him in left isn't doing the team any good.

61. Okay, if you want lo duca back, then you have to give Penny and his 3.87 era back and Choi and his 14 homeruns back.

Bob,
Soon coming will be the sound of seven horns and from the sky, the four horseman of the apocolypse. Wait a second, no, it will just be the Notre Dame/Michigan game!

Go Irish!

Jon,
Are you suggesting in your post that J.D. Drew would have made the difference in the Dodgers season?

This entire season is the result of one thing--that trade last year and the efforts to dismantle a division champion in the off season by thinking they could replace quality people with affordable others on paper.

Yes, I'll agree we seem to have a good stock of future hopefuls, but what is that compared to what we are witnessing today?

What good is all of that supposed talent if its going to be either traded away or allowed to sign else where when they are just coming into their prime? I'm sorry but it all stinks. It's like buying junk stock on the margin. Stock that is a complete gamble that you still bet the bank on.

Look at the people that are making the decisions on and off the field. Tell me that they don't need to be put out to pasture.

They Shoot Horses Don't They?

but i don't think the question is about exactly how much better or worse the dodgers would be. it's about how blatantly wrong the decisions are that keep getting made.

look, with all the injuries, even if antonio perez and hee seop choi were getting the playing time they deserve, the dodgers would still not be going anywhere in the postseason. this team needs jd drew, milton bradley, eric gagne, and cesar izturis all healthy to be a good team, and it probably needs choi and perez playing too. but the fact that choi and perez are not playing, even when they should be, and ESPECIALLY when people like phillips and valentin and edwards are starting in their stead, speaks volumes about how screwed up the management of the team is, and that's why we complain. wrong is wrong.

THE reason for this year is our pitching staff. The reason to play Choi is because he is good, young, and still expected to improve.

I can hardly wait to hear your explanation of JD Drew bunting.

Or leaving Jeff Weaver in past his sell date in at least half a dozen games

62-- izturis in the lineup and batting 1st, a bunch of different guys in the lineup over werth such as repko,edwards, using carrara and sanchez(before adding the change up) in tight games instead of dessens or anyone for that matter,when using guys that shouldn't be in the lineup, puting them in key spots in the lineup,running us out of rallies with the stupid hit and run.

should i keep going on.

Or having Cesar Izturis leadoff for two months while OBPing .075

Or being so married to the hit and run that Izturis and Robles are a combined 9 and 27 in stolen base attempts.

Youre right, if only Beltre and his .305 obp were back, and Cora and his 600 OPS back, and Lima and his 6.60 era back. Only Shawn Green has had a decent season in 2005. If Depodesta had brought back last years roster, the dodgers would be worse, especially is THE TRADE never occured and we were stuck with Lo Duca rather than Penny.

Or continuing to give Jose Valentin at-bats for no apparent reason.

71 So married?

Just because I didn't post it earlier...

CF Roberts
2B Loretta
1B Fick
RF Giles
3B Randa
LF McAnulty
SS Greene
C Olivo
P Hensley

To marry -- "To unite in a close, usually permanent way"

This entire season is the result of one thing--that trade last year and the efforts to dismantle a division champion in the off season by thinking they could replace quality people with affordable others on paper.

1. what's wrong with the trade last year? would we be better with lo duca and mota than penny and choi and navarro? absolutely not.

2. which quality people did we let go? steve finley (.227 EqA)? adrian beltre(.261)? alex cora? i guess dave roberts would have been nice to have around, but that's not why we're losing. on the other side of the coin, is derek lowe affordable? jd drew? odalis perez? jeff kent was pretty affordable, i think, but he has produced more than the value of his contract so far. i don't see where you're going with this, tommy.

So, how many wins has Tracy cost the Dodgers do you all think? 5-10? Closer to 5?

Or Hee Seop Choi bunting to give Mike Rose the chance to drive in the game winning run.

I'll take this lineup. Aybar AND Choi play and Phillips AND Edwards don't. Wow! Hopefully Tracy starts using this lineup more often. The only person who has no business playing is Jose Valentin.

closer to 10. heck, there have got to be at least 5 examples just from the "leaving the pitcher in (usually jeff weaver) WAY TOO LONG" category.

There is much more to baseball than statistics. Why do the SF Giants think that Mike Matheny is so valuable? It's not because of his great numbers...(although decent this year)

77-- i was keeping track but i lost count, legitamate cost games about 15 then plus questionable cost games about 5-10.

Why do the SF Giants think that Mike Matheny is so valuable?

Best answer: Because he gets to face Jeff Weaver four times a year.

Next Best Answer: Because the Giants are dumb.

You guys are going to get hit by the Exaggeration Caucus, and it will be justified.

83 The next best option is Yamid Haad

67.68.69.70.71. First of all, mistakes are made, but we should ask three questions first: Are they so bad that they caused the team to lose? Are they the sign of a larger strategic disconnect? and Are they so much worse than a "replacment" level manager that he should be fired?

The answer to the first question is obviously no. A terrible bullpen and injuries have sunk this team.

The answer to the second question is more complicated and murky, but we do know that the Dodgers bunt less than most NL teams, i saw a list for this somewhere(unfortuanatly i dont remember). But i think this needs to be discussed more.

As to the third question; watch the Angels or the Cubs, or the Yankees, or the Nationals and tell me that Tracy is worse than those managers. The problem is that we have been comparing Tracy a perfect standard. Its like saying we should trade Choi because he's not Albert Pujols. If Depodesta really thought that there were better managerial candidates out there, he wouldve hired them last off-season.

The other problem here is that while we point out his mistakes, because there obvious. What about when he makes the right moves? Is everyone saying here that every move that tracy has made is wrong? The complaints about tracy are similar to the complaints about Choi; the media only notices his defensive shortcomings and his strikeouts, ignoring his homeruns and walks. If you are going to argue that Tracy, on balance, is a bad manager, you have to fill out the other side of the ledger, and then way the wrong moves against the right ones. I dont see anyone here doing that.

Aybar's first career start starts good

i forgot to include in 82 that some of those games the team came back to save tracy's @$$.

Hopefully Tracy doesn't run Aybar, he's not a basestealer. I don't get this game because it's the FOX game of the week

and aybar and choi produce IMMEDIATE results.

Hensley is not pitching very well

nice hit robles

How did Aybar look running?

Oh nevermind, I didn't know it was a double, it just said "run scoring play"

Based on the last two games, looks like Bob may have finally broken down and sacrificed his cat to the Chois.

whoa, i got the game on t.v., be back later.

95 . . . the last two games he has attended

93 It took him a long time to score on that double. His speed probably compares to Robles

76. Vishal

1. what's wrong with the trade last year? would we be better with lo duca and mota than penny and choi and navarro? absolutely not.

If THE TRADE included Navarro it would have been more balanced...it didn't. It left a hole at catcher in a pennant race, a hole in the bullpen.

Oh, so this is a designated run-scoring day?

Re: Tracy and wins

In-game decisions are... a lot of chance I think and I don't think Tracy can be "blamed" for them. When I said wins in 77 I mean wins in the sense of about 10 runs (ie, player x is worth 2 more wins than the replacement player). I think leaving in a pitcher too long is not as significant as not playing the right guys, plus all managers make those mistakes from time to time. I think everybody is exagerrating the blame on Tracy.

Still, if our manager and general manager were on the same page, I think we'd be right in the thick of things in the division race (.500ish and either 1st or 2nd by a couple games). I think if everybody was as healthy as we hoped (130 games out of Drew, Bradley... Gagne here, etc), that would have made us a 90-win team.

100 And Lowe will pitch another 1 hitter, just to prove the runs useless

99 - But we won the division. And do you think Navarro and Mota (who sputtered towards the end) would have been enough for us to beat the Cardinals?

Hensley stole a hit from Navarro

I'll talk to you guys later, maybe around the Winter meetings. I'm headed over to Fighting Irish Thoughts. (Unless Padres have a historic collapse)

99 -- It did not leave a hole in the bullpen. That is false. Brazoban filled the "hole" in the bullpen. Even if Brazoban had not filled the "hole" in the bullpen, it is questionable whether Mota would have filled his own hole in the bullpen, because he has been a titanic bust ever since he went to the Marlins. One of the best effects of that trade is I haven't heard any absurdity for months about Mota being "the best non-closer in the Majors" or whatever nonsense was being shoved about on a daily basis about that guy.

99. The hole in the bullpen was more than filled by cararra and brazoban, and if i remember correctly, the Dodgers won the division anyway. Are you saying that Lo Duca wouldve led the Dodgers to victory against St. Louis?

98- I saw him in AA. He was not as slow as Robles. He looked like a good baserunner.

Well, I didn't see this play: "Dioner Navarro grounds out, pitcher Clay Hensley to second baseman Mark Loretta to first baseman Robert Fick." but I'm guessing it didn't go down exactly like that (or did Hensly just include the extra throw for fun). Did the ball bounce of Hensley or something?

Mayne's stats when DePo traded for him:

OBP .343 SLG .340

Navarro's stats now

OBP .362 SLG .313

tracyapologist has too much sense to be a tracyapologist. :)

101 -- It depends on what you mean by "exaggeration." Tracy is always 100% to blame for his own bad decisions, just as you and I are. I never put a number on the "Tracy Factor" because I do not know what it is, and nobody could.

What I'm saying is that last years team would be in first place today. They were not good enough to beat St Louis. But good enough to beat San Diego out of first place.
This team is now in shambles.

109 Line drive up the middle, and Hensley put his glove in the air to knock it right at Loretta

Thanks King.

Steve -- you'll be happy to know that Gigantor is back, starting (starting?) tomorrow for the Nationals.

99 fallout:

how did it leave us with a hole in the bullpen? brazoban pitched better than mota down the stretch, and gagne was underused if anything in the playoffs. our bullpen was fine without mota. and if you want to complain about last year's pennant race, go ahead, but we did win the division, in part thanks to the deadline moves, and frankly that team was not in the same class as the cardinals even with lo duca. and this doesn't even take into account the fact that lo duca has a horrible slump the during last month of the season every year: remember, he hit .189 last september for the marlins, and he is a career .227 hitter in september. so, you're trying to tell us that having him around for the end of the pennant race wouldn't have left us with "a hole at catcher"?

and if we kept him, we wouldn't have tried to get navarro in the offseason, and frankly he's got to be worth more than lo duca over the next few years because of his age and inexpensiveness. put it this way: penny is worth more than lo duca, and choi is worth more than mota, so if anything the trade was unbalanced in our favor. no complaints here.

110. Steve

It won't take long for the league to figure him out and cut his BA down...

113 the team is in shambles because of injuries that were by and large unpredictable.

The bottom of today's lineup is pathetic.

Valentin: .610 OPS
Repko: .628 OPS
Lowe: .337 OPS

117 or maybe it won't take long for him to readjust to what the league is doing and be a good player. who knows what's going to happen? your comment is just an off-the-cuff speculation based on nothing more than your own cynicism.

113 Would last year's team playing this year have last year's Beltre or this year's Beltre?

113. Look at who guys like finley, beltre, cora, lo duca, lima, mota, ishii, nomo and hernandez have done this year and tell me againt that replacing kent, penny, drew, navarro, phillips, and choi would make this team better. Green is the only one that is actually having a good season, and even that is in part due to the BOB. And dont forget that trading Green opened up payroll to aquire the best starter from last season, Odalis Perez.

The only part of last years team that wasnt subject to massive turnover was the bullpen, and the bullpen has been this season's greatest weakness. It seems to me that Depodesta didnt turnover the roster enough.

Vishal,
I have to get running here for a birthday party in Belmont Shore, but I'm going with this for the same reasons you suggest: All of the decisions have been wrong decisions. I also think it's pure speculation to say what kind of year these guys would have had if they were still in LA.

-Beltre's in a completely different league that features a designated hitter. As well as in an environment he didn't want to be in the first place. (He wanted to be in LA, right?)

-LoDuca: Well, you don't get rid of a hard to fill spot like the one behind the plate. At the plate, was it going to be any worse? At least LoDuca would throw some guys out once in a while--while many of you think his defense was suspect, I think he was better then Piazza behind the plate. (sacralige as saying that might be.)

-Dave Roberts: What a great move that was. Most here didn't think much of him as a lead-off hitter. What is the team in dire need of at this moment, or are you convinced that Werth striking out the majority of the team is an asset?

Who did we get in return for him?

What has Dave done since that? World Series Champion and soon to be crowned Division West Champion.

Who did we get for him again?

The replacements:
Bent Mayne, David Ross, Jason Phllips, Mike Rose and a Dioner Navarro who may or not be ready for the major leagues. Imagine him learning the position as a back-up to LoDuca?

Brad Penny: 7 wins, 10 losses, since his aquisition but he's got an ERA of 3.82 for this season. WOO WOO!

Yes, we needed an arm, but giving up the nucleus of your team to get it is a huge mistake.

Lets not also forget to mention the teams which preportedly never want to do business with DePodesta ever again after his shennigans during the Shawn Green dumping.

I know I don't match up anywhere near any of you in regards to stats and theories and stuff. All's I know is that this team sucks, and as a lifelong fan, and yes, and opinionated one-I hate it.

He just looked out to me.

112 - I suppose I mean that it seems like people are comparing Tracy to the ideal manager and not a potential replacement for Tracy. All managers make mistakes and if we're going to discuss how bad Tracy is, we should compare him to other managers (ie, potential replacements) and not our "perfect" manager who always makes the statistically correct moves.

It's probably impossible (or very difficult) to figure out how far Tracy is from the "perfect" manager because we'd have to factor in in-game moves, which I think is silly for reasons I said in the previous paragraph. The fairest amount of "blame" we can put on Tracy is probably only quantifiable by the players he does and doesn't put on the field.

But it seems like some people here are judging him against the perfect manager and not a manager who can replace him.

118. Vishal

Predicting that Drew would miss a lot of the season because of injuries would not be a stretch. He had missed a few games because his knee hurt b4...

122

not to mention the fact that green now gets to feast on dodger pitching. in 12 games against the dodgers he has 5 homers, 3 doubles, and is OPSing 1.085

he wouldn't have had a chance to do that if he was still playing for LA :)

Did Lowe just throw like a girl?

123. Tommy Naccarato

Agree!

Last year's team would have been the Diamondbacks.

You guys whine, whine, whine about Sanchez; then you have paroxysms because Guillermo Mota is gone?

It's not just stats and theories and stuff you're short of.

127 Throwing a ball under the midsection of a sliding baserunner without hitting said runner is fairly impressive, but it was very girlie

125. I think that Gagne's injury has cost the team a lot more than Drew's. Drew was replaced by some mediocre outfielders. Gagne was replaced by no one.

123 Assuming "better" referred to defense, I'm better behind the plate than Piazza. Badmouthing Piazza's defense is not sacralige, hitting however...

That ball will not look so pretty when Aybar next sees it...

Is lyons saying that he couldnt hit in vegas because of the heat, or because of vegas' "distractions"

Whoever the non-Lyons guy is, he has not followed the Dodgers farm system for many years

And Beltre is playing in a park that it is hard to hit HRs in. One reason why Griffey left.

125

that's like if you have a friend you meet up with for a drink after work, and he tends to run a little late because his boss keeps him after closing time sometimes. one day, he gets mugged and beat up and shows up to meet you 20 minutes late. do you tell him that it's "not a stretch" that something like that would happen to him, because he's usually late anyway? no, because it's totally unrelated.

anyway, jd drew's knee is doing fine, from what i understand. i think he's on the DL because he got hit right on the wrist by a 90+ mile-an-hour fastball. can one predict things like that from year to year? maybe if you're a psychic.

Fallout, Glad to see I'm not alone.

Hobo, Yes, I was of course refering to defense. Offensively, he's going to a hall in Cooperston, NY isn't he?

I like that thought about comparing Tracy to the perfect manager. Someone is finally utilizing some common analytical sense to all of this.

139 -- but not you

123.
WARP in 2005
Lo Duca 3.8
Mota 0.7
total 4.5

Penny 3.9
Choi 2.0
total 4.9

you dont want me to compare the salaries.

The designated hitter -- bane of American League third basemen everywhere

Why isn't Juan E. being included in the discussion of the Lo Duca trade?

142 hahahah i was wondering about that too.

Dave Roberts -- one-man Yankee and Cardinal destroyer

does anyone have or know where i can get the split between starters era and bullpen era?

Steve,
Hey, go ahead and insult me all you want, feel free. This ADD mind of mine learned to let it go in one ear and out the other a long time ago.

Someone is finally utilizing some common analytical sense to all of this.

Boo hoo. Poor you.

As stupid as it sounded at the time, Lowe's shift on the mound really seems to be helping. I'm slowing losing interest in trading him, although I never disliked him like many of you did

143. Because the people that think the deal was bad dont pay to much attention to the facts. Really, his suprisingly good season swings this trade in favor of the marlins to date.

143 -- Because whichever American League team signs the big contract for Encarnacion after this fluke year is going to be awfully disappointed when he is confronted with the designated hitter.

146. ESPN's stats pages allow for very detailed splits. I just noticed that the 2005 bullpen's ERA is 4.72, while the 2004 bullpen ERA was 3.06. Huge difference.

i don't understand all this random association stuff. yes, dave roberts is a "world series champion" because he was lucky enough to be sent to boston, and a "division champion" because the 2005 NL west is horrible. trade me to boston to sit on the bench and i could get a ring too. and howard( 45)says "lo duca has never won anything". i like all this ascribing of team accomplishments to individual players. bonds has never won a world series. neither has pujols, or gagne, or johan santana. worthless, all of them.

Jeff Kent has never "won anything" either.

139. Tommy Naccarato
Fallout, Glad to see I'm not alone.

Read my post #141 under "To All the Tracy-Bashers I've Loved Before" (Home page)

It sure got a rise...

152. Thats what i expected. I was posting about this last nite on the bottom yesterdays game thread.

Looking at WARP, the big fall-off from 2004 to 2005 was in the bullpen. 67% of the WARP difference between the two teams can be atributed to the bullpen, and half of that to Gagne's absence.

153 -- Someone is finally utilizing some common analytical sense to all of this.

So what's going on with Aybar? How has he looked offensively and defensively?

Great statistics have never won anything, but maybe a big contract.

It sure got a rise...

Which is obviously the point

158 As advertised. Shown patience and singled up the middle, and has handled all the balls hit to him just fine. Seemed to double clutch one grounder, but got the runner

160. Steve
It sure got a rise...

Which is obviously the point <<<

We agree...?

153. Vishal
You are obviously letting your computer do the thinking for you. You see, some guys are born winners, guys like robers and lo duca. If you ever have questions about whether someone is a born winner or not, ask Bill Plaske, but usually they produce a lot of scrappieness. :)

158 That Randa groundout to third was caught several feet past the bag on the line and a very impressive throw got him by a few feet

Its fine to hate DePo for some things:

Erickson, Carrara, Tracy, Repko, Edwards, Valentin.

But Penny/Choi for Loduca, and then getting Finley last season were great moves.

On what, the part about Dave Roberts being a One Man Wrecking Crew, or the part about Adrian Beltre breaking down in a psychotic event when introduced to Edgar Martinez?

159.I would venture a guess that there is a high correlation between winning and good statistical performance.

164- thanks, how he has looked at the plate? I think Aybar has a future with this team. Next year, he might be our starting 3B and after Kent is gone, Aybar might take over 2B.

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez -- statistical jackals

153. My favorite is how "We never won a division with Lo Duca, but won the division last year without him."

Never mind that the winning percentage last year before he was traded was higher than the winning percentage after he was traded, and that the majority of last year's wins came before he was traded.

Who is the guy calling the game with Lyons? Im actually fairly impressed.

I love how informative Scooter is. A sinker sinks, amazing stuff...

Have I mentioned that I hate "Scooter"

Never mind that the winning percentage last year before he was traded was higher than the winning percentage after he was traded, and that the majority of last year's wins came before he was traded.

Didn't you just do what Vishal criticized?

Lowe with 12 ground outs. 2 fly outs. He's great today.

172 but what does a Slider do? Or a Fastball for that matter. I need to know. I need Scooter to explain these things.

i agree that roberts was worth more than we got for him, and it would have been nice to have him doing what he's doing this year and it would give us a leadoff hitter, but he has never been that good before, and if we had bradley, drew, and werth all healthy then he wouldn't have had a spot this year.

as for beltre, the league adjustment thing can only explain so much. how long does it take? he CHOSE to go to seattle, and he's getting very handsomely rewarded for it, so i don't know why he's not happy there. if he isn't, i can't feel too badly for him. frankly, it looks to me like since his foot stopped hurting, he's back to chasing the low-outside slider again. and we all know he can do that here in LA just as easily as he can in seattle.

and to close the book on lo duca, i'll take navarro at his price, over lo duca, at his price. i'm happy with that. navarro's not THAT much worse, and he has potential to be better. plus, i'd rather spend the money on better players than on overpaying lo duca like florida has.

170. Isnt 34-27 a better winning percentage than what we had before the trade? And we also played the Cardinals 6 times in Sept.

Roberts was discounted for Tracy-proofing.

What you guys really want to be talking about is the Washington Nationals and the randomness that is Frank Robinson. The big story here is that Cristian Guzman has finally gotten his batting average just above .200 (or had before today). So Robinson explains to the Post that, if at the end of the season Guzman is right at .200 or even at .1995 (which rounds up to .200), Robinson plans to sit him so he won't end the season with the stain of coming in below the Mendoza line.

Huh?

That is crazy on so many levels. A few quickies: (1) um, how does Guzman feel about his manager saying, essentially, that he sucks so bad he needs to be sat down to keep from making it worse. (2) I'm sorry, Guzman's season as the highest paid National position player is what it is (and its not pretty). The grownups around major league baseball are just not going to be fooled by this trick. (3) Have any of these people ever heard of Ted Williams. Sheesh.

Robinson has gone from being a great player/bad manager to being a great player/cantankerous old guy/certifiabily crazy manager. Anyone catch the two-out hook of Halama after giving up a single run in the first inning ther night, leaving his already overextended bullpen to throw 180 plus pitches in a game where they were in deep water after 4 innings regardless.

174. I'm not saying that Lo Duca made a difference in the pre-Trade winning % being higher than the post-Trade winning %. I'm simply saying that it is ridiculous to argue that the Dodgers won the division title "Without Lo Duca", as if he had absolutely nothing to do with last year's record. It may be that he actually HURT the team during the first half. My point is that it really doesn't make sense to say that last year's record was achieved "without" Lo Duca.

Uncle Miltie...Very nice gapper by Aybar, hustled to 2nd even though Giles managed to get the ball before it hit the wall. Very impressive, to me at least

180 -- Robinson makes the run-off for worst manager in MLB. No question.

By the way, I saw your note about Gigantor. I hope the nickname catches on. I have not TMed it.

181 -- and a fair and wise point you made then.

aybar is impressing.
might turn out as good or better than perez as the future 2b after kent leaves.

167. tracyapologist
159.I would venture a guess that there is a high correlation between winning and good statistical performance. <<<

It's like a guy who gets a base hit and is later thrown out on the bases for making a bad decision. There are a lot of players who do things like that. But, it's not in the numbers.

182- good, I hope Aybar is impressing Tracy. It would be nice to see him finish out the year as the starting 3B.

Read some of the websites following the Nationals, and you realize that Steve's talents are really being wasted on the Dodgers, Bowden and FRobinson are confounding.

Choi gets the Olney

I would give Tracy a lifetime contract if we were threatened with Robinson coming here.

177 what is a leadoff hitter, besides a guy in the #1 spot?

His .347 OBP doesn't compare that favorably to say, Antonio Perez (.375)

They are lucky Robinson is so old, because if not, they would pay dearly for their start this year over the next five. Nothing is so deadly as accidental success.

It's been a while -- is that an Olney!

(or no, beause as the second out in the inning, it's not really productive to move the man to third)

(but wait, what if there's a wild pitch?)

Yes it is, its called Baserunning Runs Above Replacment, go and buy Baseball Prospectus 2005, theres a great article about baserunning. The difference between the best and worst baserunners is about 10 runs.

I kinda like Werth leading off.

180. Didnt Jose Hernandez manager one year sit him because he didnt want him to set the all time strike out record?

192 It will be very interesting to see what the supposed new owners do with Bowden and Robinson. Bowden I would think will definitely go. His moves have just been quixotic this year and some very short sighted. And he's too big a personality to have if you're a group of bland new owners. Robinson, they're gonna be stuck with I'd say, but just one more year. Unless he gets his famed pride up and refuses to do a one-year deal. Then it gets ugly.

Not in the context of "instead of Aybar" or "today," etc., etc. Just overall.

Why are we so excited about Aybar when he is 297/.356/.419 in AAA and Perez is 316/375/427 in the majors?

Is it only because Tracy does not (yet) have an irrational hatred of him?

196.
Yes. And it was a dumb move then, too.

Coincidentally enough, that same manager has managed about half of the current Dodger roster this year. Jerry Royster.

More irony. It's like a college english course.

We have a Sean Burroughs sighting. Too bad he didnt retire at age 13. Could have went out on top.

202.
I have the same problem...

194. tracyapologist

Personally, I would rather watch them play and decide for myself if they can run the bases or play defense or anything else.

196 200 interesting. In guzman's case, leaving aside just the lameness of the whole thing, I think it's actually missing a pretty cost-free opportunity to build the guy up a little. Set out the challenge of staying above .200 and try and give him some confidence to do it. If he holds, he's at least got that little bit of good news going into a long downer of an offseason. If he blows it, well, it's just part of disaster season that has been a disaster all through.

200 Discounting the talent he was handed, he went on to lead the 51s to their worst record ever (I think that's what I read, either way, it's up there). That happens when you use Venafro for entire innings

Its a good thing Dave Roberts has managed to belt EIGHT homers this year.

Because he's only 22-33 on steal attempts.

He's also 33 years old.

and that the majority of last year's wins came before he was traded.

come on. a majority of the season (3 months of baseball, april through july) was played before lo duca was traded (2 months, august and september). they did have a little better winning percentage, though, it's true. there's a good article on salon written after last season about that very thing(you have to watch a commercial to read it though, so i'll excerpt a little):

http://www.salon.com/news/sports/col/kaufman/2004/10/04/monday/

excerpt: *The Dodgers did play better before they traded Lo Duca than after. They were 60-42, a .588 winning percentage, before the trade and 33-27, .550, after it. But it sure took a long time for the chemistry effect to kick in: Before they went into that 10-game tailspin in mid-September, the Dodgers had played .590 ball (23-16) in 39 games after trading Lo Duca, almost exactly as well as they'd played before.

But we have to count that tailspin. It's not as though that .588 pre-trade winning percentage didn't include some cold stretches. The Dodgers had eight- and six-game losing streaks with Lo Duca onboard.

The drop of 38 points in winning percentage translates to two extra losses over the 60 games after the trade....

And how does the loss-of-chemistry argument account for the way the Dodgers recovered from that September cold streak and played well down the stretch -- the exact opposite of what this team has been known for in the last decade? And what about that come-from-behind division-clincher? Aren't these the sorts of things you need good chemistry to be able to do?

By the way, the Dodgers also got Bill Murphy, a pitching prospect, in the Lo Duca trade. They turned around and sent Murphy to the Diamondbacks for Steve Finley, who provided some production in center field and hit that division-winning grand slam Saturday.*

199 Yes. He also is a very good 3B defensively, but above all it's because Tracy doesn't hate him

Good chance Derek Lowe finishes the year as the 2nd best free agent pitcher, behind Pedro Martinez.

His ERA may be in the 3.00-3.30 range.

199 -- Unlike Perez, Aybar is actually a third baseman, and he can actually field -- well, in fact. Aybar hit .297 in Vegas this year at age 22, and did it while playing hurt. Perez hit .296 in Vegas last year, as a 24-year-old.

199- Aybar is almost 3 years younger than Antonio Perez. He has always been very young at each minor league level that he has played at. Aybar has shown an advanced approach at the plate for a young hitter and some gap power. He is a very good defender at both 2B and 3B.

208. The fact that most of the season had taken place before Lo Duca was traded than after reinforces the claim that the Dodgers won the division in part WITH Lo Duca, rather than without him. While it's true that the season ended without him (and that, technically, he was not on the roster when the division title was "won"), more than half of final season record (which resulted in the division title) was determined with him on the roster.

208. In July we played the Dbax/Rox. In Sept we played the Cards 6 times.

Thats the reason for the drop off in winning %. Schedule strength.

If I'm a Nats fan, I'm thinking whatever reason anyone can give for keeping Guzman out of the lineup, I'm not going to question it.

65 - Tommy, I think you need to stop trying to read epic novels in between the lines of my posts.

You keep saying, "are you trying to suggest ..." - I think you need to read me a bit more literally. All I'm suggesting is what is plainly there - I think Choi and Peres should have played more.

but it wasn't much of a dropoff either, though. it was 2 games!

213 but the point is that the dodgers played just about as well with him as without him, so how instrumental could he have been?

205.
The main difference in the 2 situations is that Hernandez was the best player on his team, while Guzman is the worst.

Navarro is having a hard time deciding where to hit his line drives. That may have not been scorched, but it's clean, well hit single if he gets it another foot or two from Fick

218. I'm not saying that he helped or hurt. I'm simply saying that the majority of the division-winning win-loss record was determined with him on the team.

213 -- If your view is that LoDuca was a helpful cog while he was here, who put up some decent numbers and was nice to have around, and should be given credit for that in proportion to his actual performance, I agree. I liked Lo Duca (Bob Brenly picking Damian * Miller over LoDuca for the AS Team still ranks as one of the all time most craven moments in MLB history) until he became St. Paul, the King of Big Screens.

213. D4P

I don't see how anyone can argue differently. But some will...
BTW, LoDuca could also play some OF. Uh, LoDuca in LF or Valentine?

okay a little prospect love here.

people should be excited for aybar because he played this year hurt. he was on and off the the DL since the end of may with groin and hamstring strains. Before he went on the DL, he was abosolutely crushing the ball with around a .350 average in AAA. but after he came back from the dl, it seemed to diminish his power.

still, aybar managed 26 doubles so he did show gap power and in AA jax last year, he did hit 15hrs (one less than guzman) with 27 doubles.

add in the fact that he rarely strikes out, has a very good k:bb ratio and good overall OBA and plays very good defense, there is a lot to be excited about over willy aybar.

any by the way, why is lowe really good now? do i have to eat crow on lowe if he ends the season strong?

Will Peavy stop talking? I'd love to watch the game...

Lowe must really be trying for a shut out. You dont see many pitchers pitch around the cleanup hitter with a 3-0 lead.

While it may not sound realistic, Henry Blanco just homered with Neifi on base to give the Cubs a 4-2 lead over the Giants

im reconsidering my previous "trade lowe" cry from earlier in the year. hes a completely differnt pitcher now.

although if he does end the season strong, his trade value will be considerbly higher in the offseason.

D. Lowe
2005 ZIPS-    199ip, 131k, 62bb, 3.53 ERA
2005 actual- 197ip, 132k, 46bb, 3.65 ERA

Purcey - Do you think Aybar has a chance of being the starting 3rd baseman next year? Does he have much HR power?

225 -- let me know if you have a wing left over.

229 - At any point, if we can unload Lowe for value, we should. Ideally, Lowe will be pitching this well in September 2006, when we have a better idea about our prospects coming into the rotation. But I can't see him pitching as well as he has lately for three more years, whatever adjustment he has made on the rubber.

if it was me, i would hold an open ST competition for 3b between aybar and perez and maybe someone else and let the best man win.

but yea, i think aybar could do it. he has power growth as shown by his doubles power in the minors. aybar also switch hits, so he would be subjected to the tracy platoon.

224. natepurcell
okay a little prospect love here.<<<

I wish I could see him for myself to see how he looks at the plate.
But, unfortunately I had to move to N.CA a few yrs ago and am stuck watching the Giants.

i mean, so he wont be subjected to the tracy platoon.

235- me too, I'm getting the Giants game.
234- I like Aybar better than Perez. He should be a solid all around player. I see his future at 2B.
233- agree, Lowe will probably start to really decline in year 3 of his contract, but like you said, I'd only trade him if we could get something of value in return (a young SP)

Is Sanchez warming up?

Kuo would have been really nice here, but he's not warming up...

238 Yes, but he's not so good against lefties. That's why Tracy chose a bad time to abandon the LOOGY. Now Giles...

Please tell me that's not a HR?

okay bring in goggle #2 for the 4 out save.

lowe is gassed. i think that ends lowes no ER streak. what was it at? how many innings, anyone know?

Tracy please take him out now. He's done.

236 Thanks for clarifying. I was trying to figure out what you meant. However, being a switch hitter doesn't necessarily mean he won't be platooned by Tracy. It's not as if Choi always (or even usually) gets to hit against righties instead of Saenz/Phillips.

Lowe with 122 pitches. Whatever you do, Duaner dont give up the long ball.

Throw changeups to Giles

Looks like Duaner just wants to avoid throwing strikes to Giles.

Pitching around him to get to Randa?

Ok now Randa.

248 Yep. Randa up.

damn giles and his plate discipline! anyone else other than jd drew would have swung at that!

Lowe is not looking too happy

Bonds will be activated Monday (Giants announcers)

248. Uncle Miltie
Pitching around him to get to Randa<<

speaking of Randa, that was a good trade for SD

I have 4 Tickets for tomorrows game Field level aisle 29 row L. I can't make it and would like to get rid of them for around $20 or $30 a ticket. send me an email i n n o u t r u l z a t g m a i l . c o m

251 If it were Choi, he would have been called out looking.

In play, out(s) recorded!

leaders in walks

Giles
Abreu
Dunn

I wouldn't mind getting any of those three over the offseason...

yessss. dirty D is very good.

how old is duaner? 26? i think in the offseason depo should lock him up through his arby years.

Pitching to Randa was the right choice. No one on for McAnulty-Olivo-Greene is much easier anyways

speaking of Randa, that was a good trade for SD

considering what was given up to get each player, the cruz trade was better.

258- 1 & 3 are possible

I still dont think were completely done if we win today and tomorrow.

That would put us 6 games out.

We then have 17 games left until the last padres series. If we can 3 games during that 17 game stretch (do able), we'd have a shot.

switched over to college football and saw a preview for Commander in Chief. That. Looks. Awful.

An OF of Drew, Giles, and Dunn would pick up some amazing number of BBs. Substitute one of them for Wilkerson if needed, and it would still be pretty amazing. That sure would be nice...

Kent will make an out against Hammond

262 yes, but I recall hearing that the Phils would like to trade Abreu. Why they would want to do that I can't possibly imagine

wait a second. how was the randa trade any good for the padres? these are his numbers for the padres not counting today:
.261/.316/.408

considering they gave up their best SP prospect, was it good because randa was it a big name? i dont get it.

1-22

253. Uncle Miltie
Bonds will be activated Monday (Giants announcers)<<<

Hope he gets hit on the knee. I like the Giant announcers but I do not agree with how much they are promoting Bonds ignoring his steroid issues.

Hammond owns Kent

Guess what 69 is.

267 He's owed $13 mil in 2006, $15 mil in 2007, and there's a $16 mil option for 2008 with a $2 mil buyout. He also has incentives for Silver Sluggers, All star appearances, and MVPs, as well as a no trade clause.

I'd love him, but I'm not sure what to make of the contract

265. King of the Hobos

Not much fun to watch BB.

I mean 269.

268 I thought it was a bad trade, but if they are in "win now" mode, and it was a seller's market, and they REALLY had a bad hole at 3B (all of which seem to be the case) you could argue that it worked out ok. I still think they gave up too much, and all they're going to get out of it is a 4 game series against the Cards, which they will lose, but I can see the argument that it wasn't as bad as it looked if you take those factors into account

Not much fun to watch BB.

IMO, i enjoy it. its the game within the game. the battle between the pitcher and batter to control that one at bat. personally, i love players that work the count.

1 out

ditch the breaking balls duaner. change up/fastball combo is all you need.

Sanchez got away with that, but an out's an out

Did Repko steal a HR?

268. natepurcell

They are in a pennant race and needed a third baseman. have to pay the price.

Gameday showed that Greene ball as being over the wall.

Did Repko bring back a homer, or is Gameday lying?

"Repko, one of the best CFs in baseball"

I think not.

282. How much has Randa really helped them though? .724 OPS.

They are in a pennant race and needed a third baseman. have to pay the price.

thats fine, it still wasnt a "good" trade.
randa is playing very average to below average.

Don't walk him

Throw the change

Just in case people think Choi might start against Park, here is a blurb from the Dodgers' website:

"Special lineup: Manager Jim Tracy, no stranger to inventive lineups, trotted out another one Saturday afternoon. Willy Aybar made his first Major League start, playing third base and batting leadoff, while Hee-Seop Choi batted second, dropping Oscar Robles to the No. 3 hole.

"Tracy said Ricky Ledee's sore hamstring and the drastic righty-lefty splits of Padres spot starter Clay Hensley were the genesis of his idea.

"'Lefties are hitting .308 against him and righties are hitting .122 [entering Saturday],' Tracy said. '[Derek Lowe], the last three starts, has been brilliant. You need to provide him good defense.'"

K, was it a change?

281,283 Fly ball to dead center on the track, but no where near a homer

Well this game might mean something if we win tomorrow.

Lets have the Dodgers win tomorrow. Then make up 3 games out of the 17 left before the last padres series.

286. natepurcell

It helped to keep them in 1st. What did the Dodgers do? Give up?

Boo-Yahh!

uh, yeah, a lot of Tracy's lineups have been, very "special"

The Giants are losing, so we may be able to go from 4th to 2nd

i think the one of the biggest bright spots of this year is the development and emergence of goggles #2 as a very very good relief pitcher.

we saw his struggle early this year, we saw him develop the change and now we see him becoming an elite relief pitcher.

i bet we could get a kings ransom for him in the offseason... not that i want to trade him but yea...

289. I bet Choi does start tomorrow. Phillips will be catching most likely. I dont think Saenz will start. He's looked awful in september.

It'll either be Choi at 1st. Or Kent at 1st, with AP at 2nd.

It helped to keep them in 1st. What did the Dodgers do? Give up?

cruz has produced better than randa so i dont know what you are talking about. oh and if you think they are still in first because of joe randa then i guess our views conflict too much for us to agree on anything.

they are still in first because the NL west is a horrid division.

295 Or "inventive."

Did I say Booyah!!

297 Let's just hope goggles #3 (Osoria unless someone has the designation) keeps pitching like he's been pitching the last few games, then next year we can have the goggle trio

A trade for Joe Randa "kept the Padres in first?" Unbelievable.

Again, and for the last time. The Dodgers have a third baseman. His name is Antonio Perez. He is better than Joe Randa, or at least was before Joe Randa became an auxiliary member of the LoDuca Cult.

broxton can become goggles #3. he now just needs to wear goggles.

they dont have to even be prescription, just for looks is okay too.

Like with Alex Cora, an argument where the key point is Joe Randa is a prima facie losing argument.

301 Booyah, indeed.

302 304 I wonder if it would be possible for the Dodgers to build and All-Goggles Bullpen.

Well, Joe Randa sure had a hell of a game today, (0-4, 5 LOB), but then again, compared to the standards of those who are big fans of Dave Roberts, Paul LoDuca, Alex Cora, and Joe Randa, that's a Brobdignanian day at the plate.

when does "Suns Thoughts" start?

308 Isn't it Brobdingnagian" and "Lilliputian?"

No. It's Brobdingnagian and Randa.

when does "Suns Thoughts" start?

anytime. who starts on the mound? orenduff?

311 LOL.

Wanna know something pathetic? I didn't concede the division until today. I've been telling people for weeks that the Dodgers weren't going to make the playoffs, but secretly I've been watching the standings and waiting for Drew to come back. After last nights loss I gave up. Thank God.

Right now Antonio Perez is peforming at almost his 90% baseline PECOTA projection. If Aybar can hold his own against major league pitching over the next couple weeks, i would rather have him. Remeber Dave Ross back in 2003, in 40 games he hit 258/336/556 when he was 26 years old. Those were the best 40 games of his career and in hind sight the dodgers shouldve identified that he's wasnt nearly that good and traded him while his value was high. Could the same thing be happening with Antonio Perez? He is not a .316 hitter, and he is 3 years older than Aybar is not a 3B. If Depo can find someone that thinks Perez is another Mark Loretta, he should trade him for something more usefull and fits our roster better. If he can; i still like Perez but I do think that we need some perspective here. Trading high means you have to trade guys that look good.

Juarez starts tonite.

I wouldn't trade Sanchez unless we got something really good in return. We have him under control for 4 more years. Brazoban has been pretty lately since he's started using his changeup and slider more. His changeup actually has some movement on it now. Sanchez has a great changeup and it's really helping him develop into a solid pitcher. Osoria should also stay. He has very good command, doesn't give up the longball, and can come in and get a groundball doubleplay. Having a solid bullpen is important, especially if the Dodgers are going to have some young starter in the rotation next year (Houlton, Billingsley, Jackson, etc.). You can't expect young starting pitchers to go deep into games. That's where Derek Lowe's value comes into play. While he's not an ace, he is a solid innings eater. Penny has shown that he can be an ace and pitch deep into games. Weaver will be gone, so the Dodgers are going to have to acquire another SP, either through free agency or through trade.

312 - Suns game notes say William Juarez is on the mound today.

eww why are they starting juarez?

I would be open to trading Sanchez for the same reasons i would be open for trading Perez. Is he really as good as he appears? His walk rate is up, and he gives up a lot of hits for a late-relivier. With his new pitch, he may be for real, but relievers are a pretty flaky group. Again, if some other GM can be convinced that Sanchez and his new changup have turned him into a elite reliever, trade him for something usefull.

320 -- I agree. I think it's funny that this is the same pitcher people were talking about six weeks ago. He may be better than he appears though. It just has to do with what we might get in return.

319 -- arm angles.

303. Steve

"kept in first place?"

Unbelievable is right. No one said that.

>>>His name is Antonio Perez. He is better than Joe Randa<<<

Who was comparing the two? You are making up your own arguments.

319. ???
nate - what do you think of next years draft? Looks like the Dodgers will be drafting in the top 10 (it really hurts to say that), but will get a chance at some really elite amatuers. I really hope that the DBacks cant sign Upton and he reenters next years draft and slips past the small market teams to LA. Of course, thats a pipe dream.

does anyone remember when sanchez started to throw his change up consistently? if so, we can tally up his numbers from that point because i really think that has totally turned him around.

he is a lot like mota IMO. but the best part is that when we got mota, he was around 28 and it took him a couple of years to become an elite relief pitcher and soon his prime will be over. sanchez is only 26 and is his arsenal is almost exactly like motas.

"293. Fallout
286. natepurcell

It helped to keep them in 1st. What did the Dodgers do? Give up?"

I am done with you. You are not worth it.

319 - good question. Juarez has faced Birmingham in his last two starts. 9 2/3 innings, 15 hits and 10 ER allowed.

i also have this slimmer glimmer of hope of upton becoming a dodger. but 99.9% chance it doesnt happen, that .1% is still keeping it alive though.

the guy i want is matt laporta from florida. he is LFer converted from catcher and is the biggest bat in the draft. unbelievable raw power and great batting eye. hes the guy i want.

Well the four of us at Dodger Stadium had a grand time...

And the Giants lose so the Dodgers are ... for the time being ... tied for third ... I think.

It sounds like a song, but it was a beautiful day for a ballgame....

325. Steve

Big diff in kept them and helped...

oh and if anyone wants, they should go to the mlb draft section of the 2005 draft and see justin uptons scouting video. the kid has tremendous batspeed and is going to be a huge star. boy would i love seeing him play SS or CF for the dodgers for 10 yrs.

Upton isn't signed yet?

324 I have no idea what the exact date is, but I use all stats after the Wilkerson homerun

nope. apparently, upton and az are not very thrilled with each other and are very far apart on the numbers.

324-- i remember august 16th watching the dodgers play the braves and thats when i first saw the change up, i don't get to see very many games on t.v. so he might have had it before then, but thats the first time i saw it.

Mota's prime is over.

I have no idea what the exact date is, but I use all stats after the Wilkerson homerun

what are his numbers after the wilkerson bomb? if you dont mind putting them together.

Well, he would have Royce Clayton blocking him at Arizona.

Has Laporta signed with Boras yet? Because that's the only way I can see us getting him or Miller unless the Dodgers really tank from here on. At least we chose a good year to do bad, as the draft pool is suppose to be great next year

the draft pool next yr is very college heavy. with pitchers like andrew miller, daniel bard, max scherzer and ian kennedy and position players like laporta, drew stubbs and shane robinson.

the prep class isnt bad, i really like devin shepherd and cody johnson as the positional players and im fond of matt latos in the pitching department.

i dont think laporta is represented by boras... yet.

Is LaPorta a southern fundamentalist Christian type?

336 16 IP, 0.56 ERA, 5 BBs, 13 Ks, 8 hits

The one run was the loss in Colorado

i dont know steve, i will have to research that and get back to you on that one.

laporta does go to florida though, so he has the "southern" part down.

342 -- that's ok. The question was more rhetorical in nature.

yea i know, i wasnt really going to research it :)

Is there any chance Russell Martin will get a callup for a few late September at bats?

since i noticed the change from sanchez, i've got sanchez with 11.2 innings 5 hits 1 earned run 3 walks 7 strikeouts thats including today.

341 Those 5 BBs: Abreu, Burrell, Giles (today), IBB for Helton, and the lone anomaly, Ausmus

To be honest, I'd prefer he walk the first 4 if he needs to

It is highly unlikely LaPorta would be taken by the Dodgers or anybody else with a top 10 pick. Not one SINGLE left fielder has been drafted with a top 10 pick in the draft since 1995, and that is just as far back as a checked. Teams that pick in the top 10 take either pitchers or more premium defensive players. Only four first basemen have been drafted in the top 10 in 10 years too.

Travis Lee...[Muttley Chuckle]

IMO canuck. laportas bat would be worth it even though he only plays LF.

348 Would it make sense to get him with the 16th pick if Milwaukee/New York/Chicago/Texas decided to give it to us by signing Weaver? I'm going to have to root for Texas now so they have the 16th best record, as I think they're our best bet to sign Weaver

where is baltimore on the draft list? i think that is another likely destination for weaver.

351 I meant 15th for Texas. They're currently 19th, but only 2 out of 15th. Baltimore is 3.5 games behind Texas, we may have to settle for a 2nd rounder from them

Nate- he hit .328 last year. If he hits above .380, then he'll be a top 10 pick. Guys who hit in the low .300s in college usually aren't top 10 picks.

he hit .328 last year. If he hits above .380, then he'll be a top 10 pick. Guys who hit in the low .300s in college usually aren't top 10 picks.

of course he was a sophmore last year and with natural progression hes probably going to hit 350+ this year. laporta also hit 26 homeruns and slugged 700 last yr as a sophmore.

hes going to be scary next year.

Did anyone notice that Sanchez got a four-out save? No hand-wringing about bringing him too early, no use of a theoretically inferior setup man. Amazing how well the right decision can work.

328 - Grand it was. It's kind of cool meeting people for the first time who are already friends. I think that used to be limited to prison pen pals. Not that I would know.

Anyway, thanks to Jon for making that possible, and to Bob for the invite. The weather was perfect for a day game...light cloud cover most of the game. It was great.

356 - off topic and probably said before. i just got back from the game and i can finish Jons sentence: the great defender hitting ahead of antonio perez is willy aybar. who is in a way just as good

Just waking up from a nap before I start part 2 of the great L.A. sports doubleheader: Rice vs. UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

Way back at comment 127:

Did Lowe just throw like a girl?

When I said that at the stadium, I got a withering look from the six year old in front of me. P.C. training starts early in L.A.

The actress throwing out the first pitch threw like a girl although she got the pitch to the plate on the fly.

She also looked like she weighed about 100 lbs.

359 - Bob, being able to nap on cue is such a gift. I couldn't even manage two hours sleep last night. Didn't bother me today, luckily.

23 - Me. Got it.

362
I could barely sleep last night, which was unusual for me. My sleep patterns were all messed up because I didn't eat dinner until 11:30 pm because of the radio thing. Traffic problems precluded me from stopping along the way to the game (signals were broken through much of the San Gabriel Valley).

Then to top it off, I think I got bit by a mosquito right between my shoulder blades around 3 in the morning which started to itch.

I was operating on a lot of coffee today.

The Jacksonville game started...MiLB.com said 5:35, yet at that time 2 innings are already done, and there's still no audio

Abreu, Martin, Guzman, Ruggiano, and Garcia all have hits (Guzman a double) good for exactly one run. Juarez hasn't gievn up any runs through 2 IP

1-0 Suns

Anyone wondering what sort of reception Chan Ho Park will get tomorrow? I tried to get everybody excited as David Ross walked very near our section.

guzmans been either walking or hitting doubles in the playoffs so far.

i hope this isnt a small sample size but rather a progression what we can see him from next year.

315
Welcome to the board and I totally agree with your comments on A Perez. I'm sure that if he had become the starting 3b he'd be hitting around 250-275 right now if he faced RHP on a daily basis. As I've said before on this board his whole OBP is boosted by his batting average which is only at 316 because of his high rate on BBIP. Remember when he was hitting 345. Now he is at 315 and soon he would be under 300 if given a chance.

Perez is probably not the answer but he does deserve a chance. Even if he really is a 250-275 hitter that is better then what we've gotten so far from the JT favorites.

Edwards is not the answer and should be a usefull utility player.

Valentin is not the answer and should retire today. Why he plays anymore and why he is even on the roster anymore is beyond me. Maybe he's a good clubhouse influence or he plays card with JT.

Robles can't be the answer if we also start Izzy at SS. The lineup can only afford one of the two.

Is Aybar the answer? He would probably do better then anyone we trotted out there this year but to expect him in his 1st year to be a big plus would be expecting to much. I don't think he has the power to stay at 3b which is why the Dodgers moved him from 3b to 2nd in the 1st place. He only played 3b this year because we had a need. I've heard but not seen that he plays an above average 2nd and 3b defense. He very well could play 3b for us next year and then move to 2nd base when Kent moves on or the Dodgers could simply move Kent to 1st next year and put him at 2nd. Most minor league analysts do not consider him a top prospect. Baseball Prospectus was the exception. I tend to trust BP as I've checked them out against the competition over the last 5 years and they make some mistakes but they do a better job then BA in identifying prospects who can actually play in the major leagus. JMO

365
MiLB.com again doesn't have the advertised Suns audio, but you can get it here if you don't mind registration:

http://930thefox.com/

Featuring Underwater Joe Block tonight, for some reason.

A Ross sighting? And I missed it? Horrors!

A Martinez posed the same question about Chan Ho. He came up with the same conclusion we did; he will be remembered fondly.

Naturally, that means he will be booed.

366 - Bob Timmermann "tried to get everybody excited"

I mean this in the kindest possible way, but I'm picturing "Bring it On" starring a taller, thinner Bob Newhart.

Suns 3-0. RBI single for Martin.

Well, time to head off to a sporting event that will take a lot longer than today's rather efficiently played baseball game.

College football. Talk about pacing in a sport.

And for our host, the Cardinal have an 11-point lead over Navy in the 4th.

369.
I guess it figures that right after I post the info, they'd lose the signal.

Sigh.

373 - !

Stanford has not had much success on long road trips. The Cardinal last won a regular-season game east of the Mountain Time Zone when they defeated Notre Dame 33-16 in South Bend in 1992. Since then, the Cardinal are 0-9-1.

Stanford and Navy have played twice before: in 1954 (a 25-0 Navy win) and 1965 (a 7-7 tie). This will be Stanford's first game against one of the service academies since playing Army in 1979, a 17-13 loss. The program's last win against an academy school was a 67-14 home win over Army in 1975. The last road win at an academy school was a 38-3 victory at Army in 1971.

--San Francisco Chronicle

The home plate umpire for the Suns game is Ria Cortesio, the only female ump in pro baseball.

Russ Martin is apparently bickering with her a little bit.

Did Orenduff make the start?

Juarez

Maybe Jon should start a Sun thread.

Joe Block is finally speaking clearly now. Just go to this link so you don't have to register:

http://www.930thefox.com/930thefox_audiostream.html

Things I didn't know, before today, about. . .

Bob Timmermann- doesn't wear a watch; not a stickler for shaving. Just as much fun to watch a game sitting next to him as you'd think. Futzes with his cell phone.

Ddger- doesn't wear a watch; does wear one of those visor dealies. Doesn't have sufficient respect for the sun/insensitive to the sun protection needs of white people.

Jim Hitchcock- Wears a digital watch, doesn't talk nearly so loudly as the screeching kid behind me, so I couldn't hear most of what he had to say.

Screeching kid behind me- Likes beachballs and the wave; not at all shy about whipping me in the head with his rally towel.

Thanks, Bob, for the ticket and thanks to all for the company.

what did the age group look like?

380 I mean go to this link so you don't have to register:

http://players.eonstreams.com/FastAim/Player/Player.php?PlayerID=60#

RBI singles for Weber and Donovan.
5-0 Suns.
Get the brooms ready.

RBI single for LaRoche.
6-0 Suns.

6-0 now on a infield single by Laroche.

And Laroche with the infield single, 6-0 Suns. Things are looing very good for the Suns, not so good for the 9/11 and 9/12 Suns Thoughts

doh! loney almost had a homerun. foul by 5 feet or so.

Loney almost hit a homerun but it barely went foul.

Loney just misses a homer foul, it increased from just foul to 7 ft, so you tell me what to make of it

Suns to Barons: "You go squish now."

Does anyone here know anything about the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx?

Meloan is pitching where Leach left off, 4 IP, no runs, 1 hit, 6 ks so far. The raptors aren't doing much either, pitching duel through 4. Must win for the Raptors

392 They belong to the Cubs. Possibly the best pitching in the league, but their hitting is a little lower. Suns have more power pitching and hitting. Should be a good series

392
They're a Cubs farm team. They have the Southern League pitcher of the year, Ricky Nolasco (14-3, 2.89). And he has the second-best ERA in their rotation (Pinto, 2.78).

Our bats will be tested.

Things I didn't know, before today, about Dodger Stadium. . .

- Larger than life poster of J.D. Drew adorns the smoker's Corner of Shame.

- (One of the too few things I did hear Jim Hitchcock say) the sound system is old. Maybe forty+ years old.

- Between innings "Kiss-cam" came dangerously close, a couple of times, to becoming between innings "Second-base-cam".

Hopefully the Suns play this well in the playoffs when they have "Dodgers" on their uniforms

395 They sound like a very good team, but the Suns are the best team in the minors so it should be a great series.

I spoke too soon, Meloan gave up a run in the 5th on a triple and a single. Roughly the same time Leach gave up his run. If they make it to tomorrow, I guess Wade (they have nothing else resmebling a SP, so he gets the strat I assume) will attempt for the 4 inning shut out then give up a run in the 5th

OT : Did anyone see the Norfolk VS Toledo game? It was great a great game. It was the bottom of the 9th inning with the go-ahead runners on 2nd and 3rd. The Toledo batter hit a grounder to the 1st baseman who stepped on first and then threw to the 2nd baseman who missed the tag but the umpire called it an out. The runner from third would have scored to tie the game but the game was already over thanks to the bad call.

398 -- The Suns are the MOST TALENTED team in the minors; that is not the same thing as being the best. The Suns are a younger-than-average team for Double A precisely because they have so many prospects as opposed to older, "roster filler" type players, and inexperience can be a problem when it comes to winning games.

Ogden's #6 batter (Soto) just bunted after Apodaca singled to leadoff the inning. Apodaca didn't score

Nice to hear an acquisition in the Shawn Green trade doing well in the playoffs, even if it's AA.

Beltran Perez has some upside as a reliever, if he can become even a decent middle reliever which along with a solid catcher in Navarro probably makes the Green trade worthwhile. Given how Posada seems to be slipping, I think that unless Randy Johnson pitches the Yankees to a WS, they would really rather have Navarro back.

Eight shutout innings for Juarez, still 6-0 Suns. Nate may have invoked a Kreuter Principle on him.

what a time for jaurez to pitch the game of his life. the kreuter principle has now reached the depths of the dodger farm system.

And Nate whined about Juarez while wanting Orenduff to pitch. Great call, Nate! Actually, I would have had Orenduff going too.

The Suns Win!!!!!!!!!!The Suns Win!!!!!!!!!!!

Juarez got lucky it was ground rule

Great game for Juarez, he deserved the shutout. He may have just pitched himself out of the Dodgers system, I'd imagine he'll be one of the better Rule V eligible

Soto, who bunted earlier, just doubled, and Locke, who bats 7th despite the 2nd best SLG on the team, walked. New pitcher for the Owlz. Raptors have 7 outs to tie the game and stay alive for one more game

410 Locke actually has the best SLG and bats 7th. He also has the best OPS.

Godwin just hit a "foul" that the announcer assures was fair. The manager was ejected. Rivera on first, no outs in the 8th

Godwin reached, the feed is too choppy for exacts. Sutherland then bunted in 2 runs. How you bunt in runners at 1st and 2nd, I have no idea, and it's too hard to listen to for me to clarify

I've got 3 tickets available tomorrow for free in the loge, row 3, right next to the Dodger bullpen. If interested email me at
molokai@yahoo.com put Dodger Thoughts in the subject.

hey was anybody else at the game tonight? did anybody hear a couple guys screaming at Brian Giles and Mark Sweeney. They were hilarious and sat behind me. They said: YOUR BROTHERS ARE BETTER THAN YOU!! and they bugged Brian Giles about his hair. He stared them down between innings. look out for them 2morrow, they are going to the game (I GET DUGOUT CLUB SEATS... oh my gosh)

The raptors won, although my feed died long before it happened. Here's what happened in the 8th:

# Juan Rivera singles on a line drive to right fielder Joshua Cowles.
# Adam Godwin hits a sacrifice bunt. Fielding error by pitcher Mike Pete. Juan Rivera to 2nd. Adam Godwin to 1st.
# David Sutherland reaches on force attempt, throwing error by third baseman Dallas Morris. Juan Rivera scores. Adam Godwin scores. David Sutherland to 3rd.
# Russell Mitchell singles on a line drive to left fielder Bradley Coon. David Sutherland scores.
# Jason Mooneyham hit by pitch. Russell Mitchell to 2nd.
# Pitcher Change: Rafael Cruz Chavez replaces Mike Pete.
# Juan Apodaca out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Brett Martinez to second baseman Billy Boyer. Russell Mitchell to 3rd. Jason Mooneyham to 2nd.
# With Jesus Soto batting, Russell Mitchell caught stealing home, catcher Brett Martinez to third baseman Dallas Morris, Jason Mooneyham to 3rd.
# With Jesus Soto batting, passed ball by Brett Martinez, Jason Mooneyham scores.
# Jesus Soto grounds out, shortstop Hainley Statia to first baseman Mark Trumbo.

Hi all!

Classes have started, so I no longer have time to watch the games, but I'm still reading all the posts.

Steve, how you can bang your head against a wall for so long is amazing, but you make me laugh consistently.

Steve Henson article in the LA Times Sunday addition and says that DePo and Tracy had two meetings one in COlorado and one other where they discussed the use of Choi and Perez. What I wouldn't have given to have heard the back and forth. Wonder if Choi will get a start tomorrow since Park is pitching

418 Very interesting. If the convo was in CO, then why did Phillips start on Friday, in LA, I wonder.

115,183 Unfortunately, it's been announced that Gigantor is not pitching tomorrow, instead Bergmann gets the start in a rerun of the Halama game (bullpen by committee)

I gotta wonder, how does Steve Henson know that Depo and Tracy had conversations about the said subject? There are no quotes to indicate they did? White House leaks? Karl Rove?

419 Maybe DePo is stricken by Phillips irresistable charm just like Tracy, and the conversation was merely to swap their nude photos of him, and gossip on who he likes more, as well as who he'll take to the formal

422 LOL. I don't know if it is the makkoli (Korean rice wine), but you had me laughing out loud. It's been ages since I had to feel the anxiety of trying to decide who to ask out to the prom.

Actually, Jason Phillips is a dead ringer for a good friend of mine. The goatee and the glasses, it looks just like him. So, though I find Phillips starting at 1B annoying, I still cannot bring myself to hate him. Plus, like others have said, it's not his fault he's being played out of position. Also, Phillips has said that he'd prefer to be catching.

Question for Steve: Got any space on your website for rants about a certain Big Te(leve)n
football coach with the initials JT?

381
I was wearing a watch. I always wear a watch. I would wear a watch in the shower if I could.

I usually shave, but I haven't gone to work since Wednesday so I had a "House, M.D." look.

I will be happy to take up the never-shave-never-wear-a-watch mantle if Bob doesn't want it. That's pretty much my philosphy of life anyway.

426 -

YOU'RE RISKING A PATIENT'S LIFE!

Fortunately, I'm not a Vicodin addict.

I attended two sporting events today where the team I was rooting for outscored the opponents 3-1.
Dodgers 3, Padres 1
UCLA 63, Rice 21

I attended nothin'. However, all 4 teams I was rooting for won today:

Dodgers
Suns
Raptors
Longhorns

Looks like there won't be a Pac-10 vs. Big Ten matchup in the Rose Bowl again this season.

Now, I'm hearing Larry Bowa saying how Barry Bonds will help the Giants catch the Padres.

Yeah, you keep on believing that Larry.

Hmmm. Bob claims to have been wearing a watch. I guess I didn't spend any too much time staring at his supple wrists, but I sure didn't see one. I only brought it up because the image I have in my mind of a librarian is that of the devoted watch wearer.

If I could grow a proper beard, I'd never shave again. I've been waiting twenty-five years but it's still a patchy mess every time I try. Much like Jim Tracy or Paul DePodesta (as you prefer) I'm a tragic figure.

Eric has an MLS I believe and he doesn't like to wear watches.

I like to wear a watch so I can find out when I can go home.

At the game, I used the clock on the scoreboard to check the time because I use that to mark the official time of the game.

The Rose Bowl doesn't have a time of day clock. It's very annoying.

430, Eric, you forgot to mention the Cubs in your list.

Stan from Tacoma

I only started wearing a watch about 5 years ago; to wake me up from short lunchtime siestas. It fit with my non corformist self-image not to wear one. Now I have to settle for the perverse pride of wearing a cheap one.

Put my daughter to bed and started reading today's posts and finally finished
(it takes quite a long time to read all the posts, maybe I'm a slow reader).

Really enjoyed reading RDGC today. Thanks Bob for sharing that. It would have been exciting to follow the dodgers that year.

I was in the presence of some extraordinary gentlemen for this afternoon's game.

Really unnexpected and pleasant surprise in seeing Choi start and perform well.

Bob as usual was as informative in persons as he is on DT. There was a near accident though when a line drive foul ball was headed straight for Bob but fortunately a kid's glove knocked it down just in time.
Thank goodness, can't imagine what DT would be like without Bob input.

Enjoyed seeing Jim again after the Dunn Outing. Jim will get to watch Beltre in Seattle soon.

Bokonon42 needs faster connection at home to keep up real time with DT. I also wore a watch and short sleeve shirt so I don't know how you missed it. Being asian gave me an advantage against the sun so I was able to wear short sleeve shirt compared to others wearing long sleeve shirts.

Anyway, thanks Bob for a great enjoyable afternoon.

Geez. You were wearing a watch too? Might be time to get a new prescription in the old specs.

430. i utterly DESPISE texas. i watched the game just to root for them to lose. unfortunately they didn't oblige.