What's Willy Aybar's defense like? I haven't seen him.

Continued from below:

The Cubs gave up on Eric Karros too.

2 - Now, don't go making his arguments for him.

For those just tuning in ... Man, Eric Karros is annoying, as T.J. Simers' column today reminds us.

Changing the distance between bases to 85 feet would just make the infielders play closer in. The plays at first would be equally close although more balls would get through.

No leadoffs would be really drop scoring as it will be hard to take an extra base on hits.

The only rule I think needs to be adopted is that tie games should be suspended and not replayed in their entirety.

Jon- have you read Hunter S. Thompsons Baseball rule suggestions? If not then I suggest you do, they can be found in "Hey Rube".

And, of course, Mr. "Real Reporter" at the LA Times can't even figure out that the headline is "Multi-Millionaire Washed-Up Baseball Player Retains Massive Grudges Into Old Age"

Jackson has been clearly promoted too early and needs more time at AA.

I don't care about the balk rule, though I concede it's really, really difficult to call correctly, and often doesn't get called.

7-You will see, he is now 22 and we all know what happends at the Age of 22.

7-You will see, he is now 22 and we all know what happens at the Age of 22.

7-You will see, he is now 22 and we all know what happens at the Age of 22.

I've read that three times and still I don't know what happens at the Age of 22, much less how that relates to comment 7.

Jon: fix your tags, you're missing a </font>.

Puberty?

Like Kim Clijsters, Edwin Jackson is poised to win his first Grand Slam at age 22.

If you add JD Drew to last nite's lineup, its not that bad. Imagine what could be (minus Buntermaker):

3b- Aybar
1b- Choi
CF- Drew
2b- Kent
RF- Cruz
SS- Perez
LF- Werth
C- Navarro

Maybe if we somehow draw cloe enough (say 2-3 games), then the Dodgers will at least activate JD Drew and play him every other game. Or at least let him pinch hit.

Deuces Wild, Double Ducks, Barney rubble, 22 indans sitting in a row you know 22, the Age of reason.

If JD Drew comes back and hits like Werth during his first couple of weeks off the DL, then I would just say why bother.

I'm checking to see if the UCLA Alumni Association can boot Eric Karros out. Membership has its privileges!

Last night, the spin board excitedly noted that Werth was batting eighth for the second time in a row, and that as of the night before, he had hit in every lineup position but #9.

This is the sort of information that is vital to an insider's understanding of the game. Unfortunately, I have no idea what it means.

12 - No, I don't think so.

18 - If the Dodgers make the World Series and play with a DH, then maybe Werth can get that elusive #9!

Does Geoff Edwards host the Spin Board? (Probably Bob will be the only one to get that, if even him.)

Treasure Hunt was a cruel, cruel game.

With Weaver pitching, I wouldn't be upset with him hitting eighth and Robles ninth.

Geoff Edwards! Wow, I haven't thought about him in a long while.

It's only Sept 13. Nothing to worry about, no reason to panic.

Eric Karros 1993-1998

22 You're only allowed to do that if Mark McGwire is hitting third and your manager is a certified genius.

21 - Yes!

I'm going to let the dog play with my Karros-autographed baseball.

As to the proposed rule changes, I like leads, pick-off attempts and stolen bases regardless of how valuable they may or may not be. It adds variety to the game. Plus, it introduces the opportunity for making an error. That's one of the things I like about baseball, how you can totally screw up and cost yourself a lot by making an error at the wrong time.

25 -- Surely you mean "certifiable"

Karros is a dope. I'm guessing he's trying to create controversy to keep his name in people's mind. He needs the work. How can you believe him when he says nice things about Tracy?

28 Do thrown away pickoff attempts count as forced or unforced errors?

11 - Mozart was more than two-thirds through his life. It's humbling to think that, at my age, he had been dead eleven years.

29 That's not what his book says, and Billy Beane didn't even write it.

32 King Tut died at twenty-one, after being ruler for eleven years.

34 As Jon should be well aware...

35 - You know what? People stand in line to see the boy king.

For more recent news:

http://www.compleatsteve.com/essays/tut.htm

34 -- Julio Franco remembers the Tut Years

not a fan of the eternal cat-and-mouse game between pitcher and runner? i always enjoy watching a tricky pitcher and a really fast runner trying to outguess each other at a crucial moment. you know, it's kind of like the coyote and the roadrunner, in a way.

Retired, long time equipment manager Nobe Kawano (with a name like that he should have been in Star Wars) gets a mention in LA Observed today.

38 The Dodgers have been playing the Coyote part too much this year. You should write another letter to Bugs.

39

So I guess it was the Nobe Kawano after all...

Who was better Koufax or Ryan?

39 - I was going to mention that yesterday but Bob suggested it wasn't the same Nobe. With the blackout yesterday, Bob was really stirring the pot.

40 - Beat the Roadrunner. That's the motto for the rest of the season.

Nobe Kawano is Luke's Father?

These metaphors are confusing.

42

Wrong place to be asking that question.

The flip side of the coin is that today's audiences want to see more offense, not less. The easiest way to generate offense would be for throws that don't go to home plate (ie a pickoff attempt) count as a ball. This may or may not place more of an emphasis on speed, rather than steroid-laced home runs.

Dave Roberts must get his due!

42-Question asked some night last weekend, I was animate that Koufax was the Superior pitcher and person.

hahah, maybe depodesta can pick something up from ACME, like catcher-mounted Baseball Launcher 3000 or something.

Eric Enders says that Tom Glavine was better than Nolan Ryan.

46-Pick off count as balls sounds pretty interesting, It could benefit both ways i.e Runners taking larger leads with the confidence that the pithcer would'nt dare give up a ball on a 2-0 count.

48 We could give the infielders jet packs and have them wear rollerskates.

49-I remember that. I think I laughed out loud at work.

So noone has read Hunter S. Thompson New Rules for baseball? Designed to make the game go faster?

52 I'm not really disagreeing with him because I'm not totally familiar with what metrics determine a pitcher's value. I'm stuck in the dark ages of ERA.

I actually heard the Karros thing on the radio this weekend, breaking a general rule I have - never listen to talk radio.

It was actually worse than the snippet printed in the Times. Karros said the one good thing to come out of this season was that it would raise Tracy's credibility. Among other things, we should have been able to predict Choi's failure to emerge, just as he failed in Chicago and Florida.

It was hard to believe it was Eric Karros, and the impression I got was that it was a calculated thing on his part. He can't really be a Tracy booster. I'd totally right it off as radio blather, if I didn't think there was a chance these "ideas" would gain traction.

Why dont the Dodgers activate JD Drew irregardless if he's still hurt or not?

With the expanded rosters, it'd have no bearing on preventing other players from being here.

It also might at least make the opposing manager consider the possibility of Drew's bat off the bench. Using Drew as a decoy would have some good effects.

Whats preventing Drew from being activated, if if he's still hurt? Is there a reason?

54 cont'd...I'm sure Eric has a good argument. He never says something off the cuff that he can't back up.

46 - I don't like that idea at all. I'm fine with leaving things the way they are if most fans are.

56 - Nothing, really. But do you really think it would make a difference? Seems remote.

I don't want to speak for EE, but here would be the very beginning of a much more complicated argument:

Glavine's ERA+ from ages 25-36

153, 132, 127, 107, 137, 147, 142, 171, 105, 136, 123, 139

Ryan's ERA+ for same ages:

128, 124, 119, 103, 100, 141, 98, 114, 98, 194, 105, 115

That's Glavine 10, Ryan 1

58. Drew in the on deck circle. Yeah. He's taken batting practice. He was quoted as saying he couldnt really be an everyday player because of the pain the next day.

But I think the opposing manager would manage differently if they saw JD Drew in the on deck circle, rather than say anyone else on our team.

Those numbers are already park-adjusted by the way.

My impression from the Karros interview is that it underlines not only that he's a jerk, but that former players usually make for lousy analysts. Ask a former player if you want to know how to hit a curveball or throw a changeup. Don't ask them to evaluate talent - they have no idea. Partly a forest and trees problem, but also just further evidence that they have biases (that emphasize their own skill sets) that outsiders don't have. Oh yeah, and Karros is a jerk.

Irregardless (sic) 56, I'm glad to hear that Yakface was animate 47. Even if Nolan Ryan is the most overrated pitcher of his era (which spanned about 3 regular eras). Exciting, sure, but not even in the conversation of all-time greats.

59 So the ERA+ works to correct the fact that Ryan pitched in a more pitcher-friendly period than Glavine did, right?

More pitchers had similarly low ERAs in Ryan's day?

58 "I'm fine with leaving things the way they are if most fans are."

...is a bit of a contradiction to...

"I know, I'm rearranging Stonehenge here, but I thought it an interesting notion."

ERA shmeee RA 7 No Hitters and how many strike outs did he have in 73? Oh yeh alot more than Glavine ever even came close to.

63 -- I guess. People think I'm a saber guy, but I just play one on TV.

62-I was very animate some might say I was edging on Irate!

He also walked 162, which is oh yeh alot more than Glavine ever came close to.

Try again.

64 - Not really.

I make a proposal, which I understand from the start would be a major change.

Reaction to the proposal is unenthusiastic, which I accept. It was just a notion.

I don't see why, if I throw a radical proposal out there for feedback, I should have to endorse every other radical proposal.

What Steve said.

Career ERA+: Glavine 121, Ryan 112.
Winning Pct.: Glavine .605, Ryan .526.
Cy Young Awards: Glavine 2, Ryan 0.
Seasons with >130 ERA+: Glavine 8, Ryan 4.
All-Star Appearances: Glavine 9, Ryan 8.
20-win seasons: Glavine 5, Ryan 2.

Ryan has longevity, and strikeouts, if you like flashiness. Otherwise it's really no contest.

walk shmalk. He still dominated in strikeouts and hits allowed oh yeh and Home runs.

Regarding JD Drew...I don't think any manager will be managing differently until they see some at-bats from JD. They will want to see that he is truly back from his injury before they manage around him.

By the way, the Dodgers team ERA since Jon issued the Roadrunner Challenge: 0.00

I had a long response to this that I lost in the brief outage. In any event ...

I think strikeouts are more than flash - they're a real point in Ryan's favor. Of course, if you count the strikeouts, you have to penalize him for the walks. He walked 200 in a season twice, for crying out loud.

I don't think winning percentage means much in this context, and am not sure that Cy Young or All-Star recognition does either.

I think ERA+ is the key stat here, and the one that points toward Glavine's favor. However, here's one more thing to consider. Ryan had 18 seasons of above-average ERA+; Glavine has 13. That 18 is a pretty amazing number.

Give me Dean Chance anyday...

72 - Thanks for pointing that out, although the challenge relates mostly to Jackson and Houlton.

I agree with your first point, too.

My bread keeps getting stuck in this damn toaster!

Ryans Career ERA is 3.19 Glavines is 3.46.

77 Two different eras of baseball. That's why ERA+ is supposed to be a better indicator.

And plus Glavine would have gotten Rocked by Ventura.

+ERA I dont understand it seems so Hypothetical, so if Glavine pitched in the same Era as Ryan his ERA would have been better? That's like saying that if Abe Lincoln were alive today we'd have world peace.

I've been reading some of the Nationals blogs. Man, do they hate Robinson and Bowden. Plus, Guillen is apparently trying to alienate himself from everyone on the team. He's calling Wilkerson out in the press for not trying. Plus, Robinson pulled one of his starters after 2/3 of an inning. This after he had already overworked his bullpen the last three games.

It's hilarious.

80 Maybe so, but Ryan didn't spend most of his career pitching in tiny ballparks to juiced-up cyborgs like Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa.

A different question, I guess, would be: If you had to have one of them in their notional prime to get a single batter out, who would you pick. I say "I guess" because I don't really know that it is a different question. One thing is that, if a pitcher (named Tom Glavine) were better at getting double plays when there was a man on base, that might skew a bunch of these numbers in his favor but not help as much in terms of the "get one guy out" question. Also, the notion of getting they guy in his "prime" arguably blows relying on career figures, since, depending on what we mean by "prime," it would favor someone who had a real spike of a year (or a game?) over someone who was simply very good over time.

If Lincoln were alive today we'd have a world record.

80
ERA+ also compares a pitcher's ERA to how the league overall did.

For example in 1930, Dazzy Vance of the Dodgers had a 2.61 ERA. You think, "well that's pretty good". But then you see that the NL as a whole had an ERA of 4.92. Then you realize that Vance was really, really good. His ERA+ in 1930 was 189. But in 1928, his ERA was 2.09 and the league ERA was 3.98 and his ERA+ was 191, which is the best in Dodgers franchise history.

The best ERA+ for Koufax was 190 in 1966.

80 - I'm happy to discuss it although it's not clear to me you even want to understand.

I won't touch the Abe Lincoln thing for fear of igniting a political discussion here, but as far as pitching goes.

Some eras do have higher scoring than others. It's unfair to penalize a pitcher for pitching in an era in which there is more offense.

It is safe to say, hypothetically or not, that if Tom Glavine had pitched in the 70s, when scoring in general was down in baseball compared to today, his career ERA would be lower.

comparing ryan and glavine to me is like comparing apples and oranges. they're both fruits, and they both grow on trees, but that's where the similarity ends.

51 maybe if they had rocket packs, izturis or robles might actually be able to steal a base sometime.

Karros is a dope. I liked the guy as a Dodger, but he was always overrated. His comment about Choi failing in Florida is mind-boggling.

As a proud owner of a Free Hee Seop t-shirt, I will point out that Choi posted the following line in Florida in 2004:

95 games, .270 / .388 / .495

That stretch continues to be the only time in his brief career that he has been given regular, consistent playing time. I'd take that any day, and I wish Karros was that good as a Dodger.

88 there are "Free Hee Seop" shirts?? where do i sign up for one?

89 There are even Free Hee Seop g-strings. Seriously.

Also, Choi's OPS+ with the Marlins in '04 was 132.

Karros surpassed that only once (145 in his best season, 1995), and was close once (131 in 1999).

88 - I've said it before, but I'll still never understand how trading a guy for triple-crown candidate Derrek Lee constitutes "giving up" on him.

wow, i need to get myself a girlfriend.

[#88]
http://www.cafepress.com/freeheeseop

that's amazing.

Until you find a GF, Vishal, you could probably pay some dame to model it for you, or even wear it yourself. You are in New York now, right?

Oh man, I'm buying one of those shirts. If anyone here came up with them, kudos.

96 pay?!? pfft, i refuse to pay for what i should be getting for free, novelty modeling included. and i am NOT wearing a g-string.

i'm upstate, at syracuse. there are a remarkable number of attractive women on campus here, and the ratio is totally skewed too. so at least the odds are in my favor.

There are attractive people in Syracuse, NY of either gender?

Really?

Must not have been the same Syracuse I visited. Or maybe the lighting was bad.

98 Well, good luck. If they don't seem interested at first, explain to them how much money you'll be making one day :-)

99 The playboy librarian speaks his mind.

99 oh yeah, there are a ton of attractive girls here. plus they tend to dress well and make an effort to maintain their appearance. and i'll admit there may be some sort of selectivity bias in the way i notice people, but even so, i've noticed disproportionately more attractive females than good-looking males. not quite so much around town, but definitely around the university. did you spend any time near campus, and was it during summer when the students were gone, or winter when there aren't as many people out? and if it was a long time ago, maybe things have just changed for the better :)

hah, weren't we talking about hee seop choi a couple minutes ago?

Are there any Russian tennis players in Syracuse?

102 - I'm still wondering where the Tim Hudson conversation went :)

104 I'd take him for Jackson and A. Perez.

103 - there's one from croatia, but that's as close as it gets.

I'm always good for two cents worth. Karros used to irritate the crap out of me when he would start slow every year and act like it was never hurting the team.
I'm still amazed that anyone thinks Choi failed in Chicago and Florida. If he failed so miserably in Chicago why was he traded for the great Derreck Lee. Florida must have seen something that year in Chicago that they liked and it surely wasn't Eric Karros.

While Glavine should get the nod as the more consistent pitcher, I'd take the Express on a day he was on over just about anyone. He was probably the most enjoyable pitcher from a fans perspective to watch that I've ever seen. No one paid to watch Glavine pitch but alot of people paid to watch Ryan pitch.

E Jackson is going to throw a gem tonight. He's going to struggle in the beginning and then lights out.

105 yeah, me too, provided we negotiated an extension beforehand.

I was to young to ever see Koufax pitch just in case someone throws him out there. Fernando was easily my favorite Dodger to watch pitch, but Orel in 88 in Sept comes very close.

The woman at the Syracuse Historical Museum was accetpable. She showed my brother and I where to find original traces of the Erie Canal.

Syracuse used to be where the majority of America's caskets were manufactured.

See all the fun places I go: the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum, the Historical Museum of Syracuse... It goes on and on and on.

I passed on the Museum of Surveying when I was in Lansing, MI.

108 - That's what I'm wondering - if everyone, even with the benefit of hindsight, would still have been against renting Hudson for a full season, with the possibility he might leave.

Aw, dang. Someone beat me to the punch on the "Free Hee Seop" stuff.

I designed the original "Free Milton" shirt following his suspension last September. I designed some "Free Hee" shirts but back-burnered them at Jon's request until we got some DT shirts going. So, the stuff on Cafepress isn't me, but I'll take credit for having the vision to do my own design, even if it languishes on my computer.

My version, which I made a couple months ago, can be viewed here:

http://vivalosdodgers.com/freehee.html

So Jacksonville is playing the Jaxx for the title? How confusing is that?

Jaxx shortstop Ryan Theirot was promoted to the non-contending Cubs. His team-high .304 average will be replaced by Carlos Rojas (.244 in A ball).

The local press has a potentially biased position-by-position rundown

http://jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/SPORTS/509130312/1006

i stopped by the otero county museum in la junta, colorado and almost got bitten by a scorpion in the washbasin there. and then while i was driving out i had an encounter with a tarantula hawk wasp, which has one of the most painful stings of any insect on earth. good times. la junta was also where i had my last authentic mexican meal until i come back to visit california in december.

113 And isn't their full name the "Diamond-Jaxx"? Yet they are a Cubs affiliate. Strange.

112 -- I like that design.

112 the silhouette one is really nice looking. too bad the free hee seop person didn't coordinate with you.

111 I'm not sure he would have made that much of a difference this season to give up 2 top prospects for, without an extension, nothing. (very poor grammar, I'm tired)

I wonder if the Diamond Jaxx have songs by Basement Jaxx played on their PA system?

112 - Oh well.

I'm wondering if/how they got a license to use the official 'Dodgers' logo on the shirt. Small-time guys like me have to be careful about stuff like that.

Perhaps Drew McCourt is making a little money on the side by granting copyright releases to himself and his frieds.

i agree with howard. don't you think jackson and perez can produce more than a 45 or so VORP in the next few years? 1 year of hudson was not going to take us to the world series, especially not this year, so with no extension (or at least a high likelihood for extension, from having talked preliminarily with hudson beforehand), the trade's not worth it.

Well, yeah, I assumed the extension for Hudson would have to be part of the deal. But it seemed like he wouldn't have wanted to stay in LA long-term.

Of course, I don't know Tim Hudson, Brad Radke, Roger Clemens, or Matt Clement personally like Bob does.

I just know Brad Radke personally. Matt Clement is a hard guy to get to know. His replies to my emails are always very cryptic.

If Chicago wants to make the same trade, I'll give up Choi for Lee.

On the other hand, if we had a rotation of Hudson, Penny, Lowe, Weaver, the year might have turned out a little different.

I don't think I'd like to know Clemens personally. He's supposed to be a bigger jerk than Karros.

Tim Hudson was 24 when he started his major league career. E Jackson turned 22 on Sept 9th. I would have made the trade in the Winter because I believed that we had a contending team and he would be helpefull in getting us to the postseason. In hindsite I'm glad we didn't make the deal because he would not have signed an extension with us and having him on the team this year would not have been a diffence maker, plus I like the future of E Jackson. If were going to trade him then he will join the list of pitchers I posted in last nights thread who were given up one year to soon by the original team.

124 can't make that trade until Lee becomes disabled

127 then he will join the list of pitchers I posted in last nights thread who were given up one year to soon by the original team ...in your opinion...

124
I wish we had gone hard after D Lee when everyone knew the Marlins werent' going to sign him and they were going to trade him in his walk year. I love players who get better every year.

Time to put this Jackson-for-Hudson business to rest. Billy Beane went on record saying that the Dodgers NEVER offered Jackson to the A's, despite media reports that they did.

Tim Hudson is from the same town in which Jackson was raised (Jackson was born on a U.S. military base in Germany), Columbus, Georgia (in fact, Hudson has employed Jackson as in instructor at his baseball camp for kids in Columbus), and everybody knew from the beginning that Hudson wanted to "go home" to Georgia and sign long-term with Atlanta. Trading a pitcher with Jackson's ace ceiling for a one-year-rental of Hudson would have been unbelievably stupid, basically a firing offense for any GM, and it is reassuring to know that DePodesta never even contemplated it.

I, for one, am not sold on Jackson. I am sold on A Perez, if he is in the right situation...

But to give up 2 young players for a rental doesn't work for me.

129
Everything I write that isn't a fact is my opinion.

Hudson has a VORP of 38 this year. Jorge Sosa who was acquired in a very minor deal with TB has a VORP higher then any Dodger at 35. Just another pitcher I forgot to add to last nights list of very good pitchers who were acquired on the cheap.

I'm not sold on either and would have made that trade if it in fact had been available. This is why I have to fend off all those teams looking for a new GM :)

132
Not sure why your sold on A Perez. There is nothing in his background that suggests he will be a successful starting infielder at the ML level. He has utility player written all over him.

I know, not very scientific, but I like the look of AP as a player.

134

What if we give you the GM Employee Discount?

137 there is still something missing...

You couldn't get me to own a GM car if the discount was 100% 8^)

138 That's Chrysler

102.
Syracuse are not attractive at all. From my memories of the late '90's, they were nearly as ugly as the girls of Georgetown.

Been gone to lunch, so we all agree that Nolan Ryan was better then Tom Glavine correct? Good, how about Aybar? Personaly I like the way he approaches the plate, I also enjoy how for some reason the ball seems to find a way out of the infield when he hits a groundball.

True, he does look like a ballplayer.

Does anyone else see the similarity between the hot start of Aybar and the hot start that A Perez had when he 1st rejoined the team after his rehab? After bashing opponents silly he was quickly benched. Could the same future hold true for Aybar?

Anyone taking bets that Jason Philips starts tonight?

yes, Nolan Ryan is a better pitcher than Aybar as well

143 re: Aybar...yes, if Tracy is the manager

I dunno, I bet Aybar is the better pitcher right now...

I always liked the phrase "Free Seop Choi," but it didn't catch on to the point of thong creation.

131 Thank heavens. I've been needing a hyperbole fix today, and there it is.

119 I'm thinking of buying tickets to one of the Suns' games in Jackson, Tenn., this weekend. Pringles Park (yes, named after the chips) is a nice little stadium, and I'm eager to see this powerhouse of a team (the Suns) play.

142
No I don't think Aybar is better then Tom Glavine:)

It is called luck. Right now he's hitting in good luck, soon he will be hitting in bad luck unless he starts hitting some line drives.

144-lol.

144
I hate it when someone beats me to a great line.

I like the kids stance.

148 I am sure he'd like to thank you for the good wishes

140 And GM, and Ford, And Volvo...

Volvo gets my money, as they also toss in a steam bath with a leggy blonde named Inga.

15 me too, he is a little left of center on most issues

154 that was 151 and not 15

153 Foshizzle Hitchizzle

154-deee dee dee deee.

Oops, her nametag said `Inge'.

Scouting Report on Willie Aybar:
"Aybar was signed with much fanfare in '01 out of the Dominican Republic. He hasn't lived up to expectations yet, but he's still only 22 years-old. The switch-hitter has an outstanding eye at the plate and added more power to his game in '04 in Double-A. However, he hasn't shown much power in '05 despite playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark. Aybar is a career .254 hitter, but gets on base at a solid clip. He makes good, consistent contact and can hit to both gaps, resulting in a lot of doubles. The amount of potential long ball power is questionable, but he should be able to hit 10-15 in the big leagues with some changes in his approach. Aybar can be too passive at the plate and often gets behind in the count. He needs to become more aggressive and pounce on pitches in his zone regardless of the count. He could also benefit by improving his ability to pull inside pitches. As a defender, Aybar is a solid-average 2B with good range. He has more than enough arm and has soft hands. Aybar has played mostly 3B in his career, but was moved to 2B in '04. Because of the lack of power, he could be a solid utility player and could even see some time at SS. The Dodgers have a lot of depth in the minors so Aybar will have some stiff competition over the next few seasons."

Sort of off-topic here, but how much do you allthink that the new luxury seats have affected the Range Factor stats for the corner IF/OF positions?

I think how Aybar positions himself at the plate is pretty cool, the stance seems to be a Next Gen stance and i predict it will produce inevitable amounts of offensive production.

160 the fans in the yellow seats have to reach much farther to catch fouls

160- I think that of all the pop flies that were catchable last year in the new sections, 0% have been caught this year.

162 - Without the luxury of cupholders, no less.

I expected Drew to hurt himself trying to stop before hitting the new seats since that is what he said hurts the most are sudden stops. I guess we can wait for that to happen next year unless he gets his wish to play CF.

164
Despite our good seats only one foul ball came our way and a kid with a glove snagged it.

I was very grateful that kid had a glove because I didn't want to have to try to catch that ball.

166 don't tell me you are a girly man

Thse scary thin about that fly ball was that there was a kid in the aisle just in front of Bob, standing with his back to home plate. It looked like it was h=going to hit him right in the head.

-foul ball, not fly.

It was actually a screaming line drive.

167 - Nah, Bob had a cell phone in one hand, acorebook in the other.

It would have been awkward.

165 Drew actually did slide into the stands in right once, earlier in the season. I remember beeing worrried that that would blow his knee out, but he got right up.

One time long ago I was watching batting practice and Willie Stargell nailed this idiot who had his back turned during BP with a vicious line drive. I'm sure it hurt him but it sure made me laugh when his beers went flying all over his friends. I was much crueler in my younger days.

I think he has to slide because stopping suddenly after sprinting is what was giving him problems.

173 Yes, but he actually hit the stands and bent his knee back. I was sure he had hurt himself.

game notes updated for Suns. One of the gems in there is this: Billingsley has held opponents to 3 runs and .099 batting avg in last 45 2/3 innings (151 at bats).

175-The first time I read the name Billingsly I knew the kid was a good pitcher, even before I read any stats, Just say it out loud, Billingsly it kinda has a Koufax, Drysdale type flavor to it.

170

To clarify I was using the cellphone to get updates on college football scores, I wasn't talking to anyone on it.

176 Barbara Billingsley, for instance, can really bring the heat.

I haven't liked the heat since shaq joined them

178-I dont know who that is but I bet she's a hard nosed by the balls kinda lady.

Barbara Billingsly! Beaver's mom and jive-talkin passenger on Airplane!

Interesting site. Where are they now: The original Bad News Bears cast

http://tinyurl.com/8ubj2

177 Sorry, Bob...I should have clearly stated that!

Apparently Yakface intuitively knows Barbara Billingsley from "Airplane" and not "Leave it to Beaver."

The name Koufax has the same flavor as Drysdale and Billingsley?

181 Yup. Headed up a tough rotation that included Beaumont, Dow, and Mathers.

184 Hershiser, too.

(To clarify, the names Koufax & Hershiser don't exactly have the same flavor, either.)

186- Nah Hershiser is to sour,

184- Is that the lady that like her coffee black? And yeh the name has the same flavor, say the names together they comliment eachother, Koufax, Drysdale, Billingsly, Broxton, just the sounds of those names are tough, it makes you think they chew metal and spit nails.

At a Cape Cod game this summer, a woman right near me got hit in the head by a line drive. She was o.k., but that was a pretty scary experience.

Increasingly up-close intimate seats + fans not inclined to pay attention to the game = asking for trouble.

I could see like Orenduff and hershiser togther on a rotation. They sound like WW2 generals.

184 yes the are all lansmen

182 Hmmm. Rudy Stein owns RocketDyne? That RocketDyne?

Excuse my spelling, I am a college student.

190 I always thought Hershiser sounded like he was doing a bad Tony Gwynn impersonation... but that's not what you meant, is it?

So, Yak, which pitchers have the least intimidating names? Ron Darling? Tim Belcher? Jake Peavy? (Yhency? Duaner? Onan Masaoka?)

65. Yakface
ERA shmeee RA

77. Yakface
Ryans Career ERA is 3.19 Glavines is 3.46.

http://www2.dailynews.com/sports/ci_3024515

Sort of an update on the Hochevar saga. For what it's worth I believe Garth.

For the life of me, Billingsley does not seem like a tough-as-nails name to me. Almost the opposite.

Drysdale has the flavor of a relaxing martini.

and Koufax sounds like office equipment

Rhetorical question: We've gone from a generation of kids growing up watching the Beav hiding out in a giant coffee cup to kids enthralled by X-Men. How do parents cope?

Darling is tough, Like Lilly or Kelly those are hard as nails names, Kinda like the boy named Sue, Tim Belcher is average no thought, Peavy is lame it sounds like a flower or something like that, Sanchez is funny I.E Dirty Sanchez. Anything Oriental is misleading as since I grew up in Rowland heights the toughest pitchers were thesse like 6 foot tall 13 yr old Koreans. Gagne is actually really suprising, in that it sounds lalala but thats also probably why he's soo good(he tricks the batters into thinking he pitches like his name sounds) Todd Jones is lame. Eckersly sounds like a drug clinic.

199 we send our kids away to school

199- Prescription strength happy pills.

Least intimidating pitcher name? How bout Viola? Pretty unintimidating look, too?

Drysdale has the flavor of a relaxing martini

Boy, no kidding. One served on the 19th hole of an exclusive country club.

198 - Howard, that's exactly right!

The least intimidating pitcher name ever was Pembroke Finlayson.

http://tinyurl.com/doqzl

199 Booze?

Intimidating name: Burleigh Grimes

205-How could you step into a batters box with that name going through your head?

My five year old's favorite show appears to be Monk.

Of course this is the point in the conversation when Van Lingle Mungo is typically invoked. Van Lingle Mungo. There.

199
Marvel rules and I'm 46.

197
I agree, I picture someone wearing thick horn rimmed glasses.

Odalis is not exactly scary. Oh, O Dal Is can you take out the trash, dear.

209 does he clean the remote before turning on the TV?

If Billingsley's first name wasnt Chad then he would be the best pitcher in the history of baseball, Chad isnt tought, Try Jack

Jack Billingsley and Bruce Broxton. Now those are names that'll give you nightmares.

Broxton sounds just like he looks.

211- Odalis hmmmm Kinda reminds me of a peanut.

200 Gagne sounds "lalala" because it's French, and most French words sound like that. Like Froncouer. At least his name means "to win" (or rather "won")

199 We pulled the plug on cable TV. And my four-year-old loves classic TV on DVD... although he's picked up a troubling jones for MacGyver, a show he watches at his grandparents' home.

Donovan Osborne. There's a pitcher's name if there ever was one.

216-That why I wont eat Hoerdouvres unless they are first referred to as appetizers.

And then there's forgetton/injured Dodgers farmhand Marshall Looney, now that's intimidating...

Jim Fairy and Bart Shirley are two reasons why the 68 Dodgers were very bad.

215 - Yeah, but you're weird that way. What Odalis really sounds like is an extra strength medication of the type Rafael Palmeiro might promote.

217
Good friend of mine raised his two kids without TV. Great kid, hit college and boom, he's now 23 and still trying to figure out where he fits in.

Q: Why is Odalis Perez like a politician?

A: Because he belongs in Washington!

(rim shot)

223-Buddummbum. Chie.

Anyone nicknamed "William Van Launchingpad" is up there on the least intimidating names list.

OT, has anyone posted/commented on the fact the Angels have drafted at least 3 younger brothers of Dodgers? Maicer Izturis, Jared Weaver, and Erick Aybar. Are there any more? Is this a trend? A coincidence? A deep-seated issue coming to light? Hopefully, they will all turn out to be Michael Garciaparras.

Odalis sounds like a hair tonic.

They missed out on J.D.'s brother. I think Arizona got him.

225. Do all the big brothers say that the little brothers are better players? Example: Chris Gwynn & Eli Manning

Did Tony Gwynn say Chris was better? He must not have been paying attention.

Chris Gwynn not panning out was one of my earliest baseball heartbreaks. Shawn Hillegas let me down, too.

225 Maicer was in the Guillen trade, he was drafted by the Indians

Do you think that Mike said that about his little brother Greg?

Just glancing at Jon's salary list.
Players we lose next year
1. Weaver 8 Mill
2. Erickson 525,000(how was he signed for more then the minimum. Still shaking my head.)
3. Alvarez 2 Mill
4. Bradley 2.5 Mill
5. Bako 650,000
6. Green 10 Mill
7. Dreifort 5 Mill
8. Jose Valentin 3.5 Mill

That is around 32 million to come off the books. So if Depo really has 100 Mill to work with then he will have roughly 44 Mill to fill in the missing pieces. Since Dreifort and Green are only on the books, he has 44 Mill for 6 players. That is some serious financial flexibility.
We need
1. Two corner outfielders assuming Drew plays center.
2. Pitcher
3. 3rd baseman
4. SS

I think our bullpen is set.
1st - Choi
2nd - Kent
SS - Robles/Izzy?
3b - Aybar/A Perez?
C - Navarro/Philips
RF - ?
CF - Drew
LF - ?
Other - Ledee/Werth/Repko/Edwards
Maybe Milton but doesn't seem possible he will be back.

Rotation-Lowe/Penny/OP/Houlton/Jackson
Bullpen -Gagne/Sanchez/Kuo/Broxton/Wunsch/Brazoban

That could be a great bullpen. Rotation could be scary bad if we didn't make any changes. I could live with the current infield if we got some nice corner outfielders.

230 - No what you mean, Icaros...I really wanted him to be great.

I do remember one game he won with his bat, so I'll just have to be satified with that.

-know

Im really confused as to how I feel about Peanuts latest comments in the Times, about how he doesnt to do Bullpen duty and what not, in a way he sounds like he's bickering and disagreeable but in another it sounds as if he has enough confidence in his stuff to be able to compete again as a roaring Peanutty starting pitcher.

I'd be surprised if Steve Drew is not better then his brother since he's a SS. Erik Aybar is a flashy SS. One of the great battles will be which Angel prospect Aybar or Brandon Woods becomes the future Angel SS. Woods had over 100 extra base hits this year as a SS. Aybar must have the worse stolen base % in the minor leagues so he'll fit right in on the Angels.

OP Blows, maybe he's one of the character guys that Depo referred to when he said he made some mistakes.

233-I think Depo's plan is to by 2007 have just about every position filled by league minimum players then to fill in the holes with ungodly talent acquired through atrocious free agency deals that involve unholy amounts of cash.

239If that is the case just trade for AROD and put him back at SS. Amend for the crazy rule that cost us him so many years ago. The Yankee's will be using him as a scapegoat after failing to make the playoffs with a pitching staff the Devil Rays would be proud of.

Game thread is open.

233 Dreifort is more than $5 mil. Jon included the insurance money, which the Dodgers weren't even eligible for before last month. I have yet to hear when they get it. Nonetheless, there's more than $5 mil off for him

Looking back a few screen on the kind of unimpressive scounting report on Aybar, I see a great dynamic developing. The Dodger system is SO loaded, the players who manage to get here never get to feel too comfortable, knowing they have only a short time to impress. Dioner and Aybar both seem hell-bent on maximizing their opportunities.

Quite a contrast to the days of Brock and Marshall, who seemed to think the hype they generated gave them a punched ticket no matter how they played.

243. One wierd aspect about Aybar is that many scouting reports about him are conflicting. Some say he's a solid defender, some say outstanding, some say he has a refined aproach at the plate, some say he has work to do. You really have to consider the source.
I do think your right as far as minor league hitters are conserned. From low-A through AA, the farm system consists of environments friendly to pitchers. This is probably causing some of the hitters to become underrated, and some of the pitchers to become overrated. A guy like aybar, whos strengths include putting the ball in play and some doubles power, is very likely to be underrated by these ballparks/leagues. Im very interested to see how the current Jacksonvill Suns squad does next year in Las Vegas.

Late addition to the unintimidating name sweepstakes - Sterling Hitchcock.

I can't say that name without the Long Island lockjaw intonation.

245 - Hey, even I have trouble saying my last name...

The Mets have had a few dweeby names. Gary Gentry. Ron Darling. Craig Swan. Tracy Stallard. Dick Selma. Cal Koonce. Kris Benson sounds like a girl's name with that spelling. Does he put a heart in place of the dot above the i? Even Dwight Gooden and Nolan Ryan are sort of dweeby, if you forget how great they both turned out to be.

The name Tanyon Sturtze never intimidated me, I kept thinking of Patty Hearst. How does one even get the name Tanyon, anyway?

Oh, who are we kidding? Nobody's going to top this:

http://tinyurl.com/ao8j9

Another great baseball name belongs to the Pirates' first base coach.