Is Sam DC going to the game today or will that be tomorrow?

Can't wait for the Monday morning game in Pittsburgh for the Pirates home opener. I'm sure DT will turn out in large numbers for that one.

Has anyone here subscribed to the MLB.TV online broadcasts? Getting a satellite is not an option where I'm living, so I'm stuck with either seeing games online or not at all. (Well, I DO get Twins games locally, but who wants to watch the Twins?) What have been your experiences with it? I watched the "free sample" online and it seemed to work pretty well. The picture wasn't as high of quality as I'd want, but at least the movement was pretty smooth and the audio was clean. How has it worked for any of you?

I've never subscribed, but from what I've heard the pictures are what you say, but you may run into customer service/technical support issues.

If Tracy just had Casey leading off, the crowd could get in their ovation, then go home.

2 As choppy as FSN Prime's video has been out here in mid-ocean for the first couple of games, if there's a trial version I'd say go for it. I got some really strange pictures; it was like they'd been filtered through Picasso's Cubist period.

I think Jon's turning Canadian, by the way; what else could explain his Gordon Lightfoot reference?

6 - Actually, it was a Winnie the Pooh reference.

Didn't A.A. Milne write "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"?

Rich Aurilia batting fourth and playing first base for the Reds today.

...and he hits a three run home run.

Too much fun for words. Nobody deserves this more.

7 - How will the Padres and Diamondbacks be using upside to win games this year?

Although they might play in Philadelphia, the Mets were rained out at home today.

Why would you ever pitch to Jason Bay when he has Burnitz and Randa behind him?

Good thing Castillo is hitting seventh.

I'm guessing lack of upside means our older players won't improve much over the season and may possibly decline either from their career norms or from the beginning to the end of the season.

1 My game is tomorrow. Penny's first no-hitter of the year. (Last year I went up to Phila and saw Perez throw something like a 1 hitter.)

from the next room, I have no idea of the contxt, mom to son, "that's right, there's no crying in baseball."

Not Pirate fans apparently.

9 "When We Were Very Young" in the "Early Morning Rain," we were aboard "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Chris Duffy -- Ultimate Leadoff Hitter

The Pirates' strategy for Chris Duffy is to have him focus on "1/8 of the field -- hitting ground balls to the other side of the field"

Yeah...

Burnitz' is yet another comical Gameday photo.

23 -- Anybody wearing a Pirate hat would qualify as comical though.

24
Arrrr, you'll walk the plank for that, Matey...

Pirates watchers are starting to see what they got in Tracy:

http://whereisvanslyke.blogspot.com/

I'm still bewildered by the notion of Aaron Harang being a #1 starter at this level.

2 My friend subscribes and lets me use his password. As Bob hinted, service can drop out at times, but otherwise, it's pretty good -- as long as you bear in mind that it's streaming video (so don't expect miracles).

On the other hand, I never paid for it, so I can't say if it's worth the price.

Is Ryan Freel the guy who stole about 12 bases in one game off Phillips last year?

I'm anti hitting and running just because it's a "hit and run situation." That was one of my problems with McClendon. Leadoff hitter on base? Must be time for a steal, bunt, or at least a hit and run. If I know it's coming, that means so does the other team.

Classic. I'm not sure that he's plumbed the depths yet, though. Few people can, and live to tell the tale.

29
The guy...?

Can Aurilia do it again?

My money's on, um, no.

That's the game I couldn't listen to in Ontario because I don't have several thousand dollars to buy a "high definition" radio.

Actually, this is a pretty good at-bat for Aurilia.

33
Do you have $14.95 for MLB audio?

I'm listening to Adam Dunn playing T-R-A-C-Y-B-A-L-L right now.

7 is another oldbear cut and paste.

http://www.dodgers.cc/index.php?showtopic=1936&st=0

Furcal and Kent are back in the lineup. At least for now.

36
That as a pretty sweet sac fly, huh? Productive outs make me misty...

37 -- Would it be burnishing the cat to point out that the Dodgers are on pace to finish 81-81?

Dave Littlefield hired Jim Tracy because he has a career record of 15-3 at PNC Park.

Gee, I've usually liked the Pirate uniforms, especially the sleeveless jersey which is a throwback to the 50s. When they had good teams in the 70's they looked like clowns, but now that they play like clowns I think they look cool. First team I remember as a kid to have that black menacing look (other than the Giants whose orange trim made the too halloweenish to be menacing).

40
Or are they on a pace to go 108-54?

1. They're 1-2 at home (thus on a pace to win 27 home games)

2. They're 1-0 on the road (thus on a pace to win 81 road games)

27 + 81 = 108 wins

43 -- This is the kind of in depth analysis that belongs...on a Pittsburgh Pirate radio broadcast... :)

From the Dodger press pass: "Dodger pitcher Brad Penny, who owns six thoroughbreds, enjoyed the fruits of victory last night when one of his horses won the fifth race at Santa Anita. Drastic Tactics, ridden by Patrick Valenzuela, was a 7:5 favorite and she won the race by a length."

So, he's got that going for him.

2 RE: MLB TV. I've subscribed for three years. We don't have cable or the dish. About once a game, the feed goes kind of crappy, but overall, I love it. I have a cable internet connection and my dad uses his DSL. Bearing in mind that I watch it on a 12" laptop screen, the trick is to watch it full screen mode (by right clicking on the picture) and sitting about 4 or 5 feet away. Then it looks just like the TV. As far as customer service issues go, the first year it was available, I had problems, but for several seasons I've had zero problems. One caveat is that Saturday games are blacked out for the FOX Saturday Game of the Week or whatever such nonsense. Otherwise, love it, reccomend it, and I get the radio broadcast too, for Saturday's blackout.

Well, maybe they're not blacked out on Saturdays anymore...I seem to be getting a "rain delay" feed though...

Fox doesn't have a game today, looks like. They're carrying some car race.

I missed getting Ryan Freel into my lineup today by like 30 seconds. :(

FOX will start airing Saturday Baseball games on May 20th.

Grittle's JiffyLube commercial is pretty uninspiring.

The question is, now that i have mlb.com, what game do i watch right now? Im not masochistic enough to enjoy watching a game involving a Tracy managed team.

51 But you get $10 off for saying "Grady sent me"!

52 -- But there is a particular thrill when its finally happening to someone else.

Now that I went ahead and sung the praises of MLBtv, I'm having problems connecting. Anyone else?

Rainout today. Rescheduled for oh-dark-thirty tomorrow according to Rick Monday in the pregame show.

Living in the east my whole life, I've always been Dodger deprived except when they played, Mets, Phillies, Braves, Cubs or national broadcasts. This is the 3rd year I've subscribed to mlb.com and while it ain't perfect it's better than nothing. For $99.95 I get both video and radio, plus archived games, condensed archived games and highlights. Considering what my cable bill costs each month, I think it's a bargain. I might get better video if I had a cable modem instead of a DSL, but last year I invested in a larger flat screen monitor, and if I sit 5 or 6 feet back from the monitor it looks almost TV quality.

You probably couldn't connect because the game was postponed. Try a different game.

54- I look at a more as a question of liberty. Now, I am finally free to watch a team not managed by him. The fascist world of baseball has long forced me to witness idiocy, and still does, but at least now its so belligerent and in the dugout of my team.

I thought Penny's horse was going to be the highlight of the press pass, but now I see that Rick Monday has a book ghost written by Ken Gurnick, Rick Monday's Tales from the Dodger Dugout. Now available on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/hgr79

Rejected sub-title: 192 Pages Without Giving the Score.

Oh-dark-thirty... so it's a doubleheader tomorrow I take it? With Penny pitching first and then Lowe? Mmm. Good thing the Dodgers have so much depth on the bench right now. A split would be okay by me.

Hasta luego everyone!

If you can believe Yahoo, it's a 1:30 first game and 5:00 second game tomorrow.

61 - I guess, unless they want to have Lowe pitch tomorrow and give everyone an extra day.

My little brother brought this site to my attention

http://tinyurl.com/z6cv9

Some video game guys ran a sim of the 06 season
some stuff is pretty interesting.

Or for those of us on the West Coast, it's a 10:05 start. And it's a real doubleheader. Two for the price of one! Sam gets a bonus!

well i just woke up to watch the game but there is no game so its time to go back to sleep!

I'm assuming it has to be a doubleheader and not a day/night affair because the Dodgers wouldn't want to play one of those and then play a day game Monday.

When was the last year that doubleheaders were regularly integrated into the schedule at the beginning of the year?

I'm not 100% certain, but I believe the last scehduled doubleheader was May 26, 2001 in Minnesota between the Twins and A's.

The only doubleheader I've ever attended was a regularly scheduled doublheader between those same two teams back in 1988. That was in Oakland.

The Dodgers last scheduled doubleheader at home was on 9/17/1987 against Cincinnati. Peter O'Malley asked to move a game before the season started so Pope John Paul II could celebrate a Mass at Dodger Stadium.

It was one of the few times everybody could get wine at Dodger Stadium.

http://tinyurl.com/jgtqz

picture of billz, broxton, guzman, and martin looking tough.

well its hard for martin to look tough because he looks like a carnie midget standing next to guzman and broxton.

i would not want to charge the mound when broxton is pitching.

The first MLB game I went to was actually a doubleheader, Cubs vs. Giants at Candlestick in 1983. Unfortunately, the Giants won both games. LeMaster hit a HR in one of the games. The program (which I still have) has Greg Minton on the front.

Why did they stop scheduling doubleheaders?

Doubleheaders were no longer scheduled because baseball owners want to have 81 chances to have people buy tickets, not 80 or 79 or 78.

The players certainly aren't going to complain.

Presumably, all the position players will start tomorrow in one of the two games. I can't picture Drew playing in both games, so Ross will get a start.

Doubleheaders were no longer scheduled because baseball owners want to have 81 chances to have people buy tickets, not 80 or 79 or 78.

Ah yes. Makes you wonder why doubleheaders were ever scheduled...

Doubleheaders were scheduled because the seasons used to start later and you needed to fit more games into a smaller time period.

And it took longer to travel between cities.

I would also think that TV doesn't like doubleheaders. Not many TV stations want to give up all that time to one program that may not be a big ratings draw and I doubt that at this time of year, the Dodgers are going to get very high ratings on TV.

Fire Rick White.

The Braves starting staff is not doing well. Hudson has already given up 6 runs to the Giants in 1 1/3 IP. And Steve Finley is perched on third.

What are the chances Finley hits a grand slam against the Dodgers to clinch the division title for the Giants?

76
But only 5 of those runs were "earned".

77
Slight. Or possibly remote. Depends what you think is rarer.

The Giants last night gave up 8 runs in an inning in which the Braves had just two hits.

79
Proving once again that "hits" are overrated.

I think I went to a scheduled dodger double header in Frisco. I want to say 1984, summer time, my dad took me up there. For some reason I remember frank robinson starting a ruckus that involved steve howe. I might be mixing up my games though.

[70] broxton doesn't look that overweight. he looks about the same as he did last year.

81
That would have been in 1983, not 1984.

I have no doubt that Frank Robinson would have complained about something.

Howe and Niedenfuer both relieved in both games as Lasorda displayed his usual facility in saving the bullpen.

Play has (finally) resumed at the Masters.

Dodgers make it to the World Series in 06

http://tinyurl.com/z6cv9

1983 ok. I think frank robinson came out to argue with the umpire and made a gesture towards steve howe, a sniffing gesture or said something mocking howe and his drug problems. the benches emptied after that. that might have been two different games though. Thanks Bob 1983.

I just reread the LA Times story about that doubleheader.

I confirms why I loathe Frank Robinson so.

He first asked the umpires to check Howe for "clear stickum". This ticked off Howe, who then made it a point to lick his fingers while facing Robinson. Then they exchanged "pleasantries". Finally, Robinson started pointing to his nose.

This brought all the Dodgers out to go after Robinson, who never left the dugout. Baker and Monday were especially out for blood.

After the game, Robinson said he wasn't afraid and all the Dodgers had to do was come in to the dugout to get him. Robinson also said that his "nose perspired a lot" so he rubbed it a lot.

Jon's rules against swearing are keeping me from expressing what I would have said about the incident at the time.

87

that's the game. I had thought he had come out but guess he hadn't. I remember the dodgers went nuts. I was just a little kid but I can still remember that.

85
Royals end up with a better record than Tigers? Well that simulation just lost any chance for credibility.

The Royals have beaten the World Champion White Sox two straight in the real world!

89 I think Boston winning 120 games also hurts it just a little.

When someone develops a baseball game where you can actually walk hitters, I'll be happy.

87- you don't find Frank Robinson making fun of Steve Howe's coke addiction comical?

Bonds has looked horrible this season. He still has great plate discipline, but the bat speed isn't there right now. He can't get around on anything hard and inside. I have no idea why the Braves intentionally walked Bonds twice on Thursday.

I know why the Pirates haven't won a game this season. Jimbo is not playing Tracyball. Jimbo's Pirates only have one sacrifice bunt and zero steal attempts. How much longer are Chris Duffy and Jack Wilson going to occupy the first two spots in the Pirates lineup? Is anyone surprised that Jimbo is playing Burnitz over Craig Wilson? Didn't I predict that Brad Eldred would be in the minors to start the season (this was before they traded for Sean Casey who is an inferior hitter).

92

I think the whole incident showed that Robinson is just a blowhard who thinks he has some sort of moral superiority over the rest of the people in baseball when he is really just a bottom-feeding suction eel.

Actually, Jim Tracy is second to last amongst active NL managers in average steals and sacrifices per season.

64 Thanks for the link. Very fun simulation. I'd take 94-86 and a World Series trip any year. I'd also take the year by Beckett, he's on my fantasy team.

I'm going to take a wild guess (based on their prediction of the Cardinals only winning 88 games and the absence of Pujols among any league leaders) that Albert goes down during the season in their simulation. That's the only thing that would make sense.

89,91
What would you say if a simulation told you at this time last season that the White Sox would win the WS against the Astros, Andruw Jones would lead the league in homeruns, the Nationals would have a better record than the Dodgers, and that the Braves would easily win the NL East?

It just simulates one possible scenario out of possibly millions that could happen.

tony abreu hits a hr leading off for jax.

Fun bit of trivia just posted on Dodgers.com:

The addition of Takashi Saito of Japan gives the Dodgers 10 different countries represented among the 30 players on the active roster and disabled list. The others are the United States (14), Canada (1), Korea (1), Taiwan (1), Venezuela (2), Puerto Rico (5), Panama (1), Dominican Republic (4) and Cuba (1).

=-=-=

So Jae Seo goes up against the Pittsburgh Tracys on Tuesday night.

Does anyone really want Lofton to come back? While, he might be a little better than Repko, I'm almost positive he wouldn't be more productive than Cruz batting 2nd. I really like Cruz batting 2nd.

98

That will make Derek Lowe's dinner parties smaller.

Can anyone help me in this matter?
With the D's game washed I watched the Braves-Giants and then, unhappy went to the Red Sox-Baltimore.
Watching Schilling, I remember a time (Maybe just before the turn of the century (for I think Schilling was in Philly) when there were two rather similiar pitchers who might be available and I hoped the Dodgers got one. One of these was Schilling but I can't remember the other. He may have been similiar, with high Strikeout #s. He may have gone to Colorado and been destroyed but don't let that be for sure .

Can anyone help me ID this mystery Pitcher. Its killing me as only a BB obsesser can be killed!

It'd be 11 countries if Colletti had made the right choice between Martinez and Robles. But then 10 again, if he'd made the right choice about filling Gagne's roster spot. So, there you go.

101 Mike Hampton?

With the D's game washed I watched the Braves-Giants and then, unhappy went to the Red Sox-Baltimore.

Its Masters weekend, which is my favorite sporting event.

One of these was Schilling but I can't remember the other. He may have been similiar, with high Strikeout #s.

Denny Neagle? He crashed and burned with the Rox. So did Hampton.

Or was it Darryl Kile..RIP.

Its Masters weekend, which is my favorite sporting event.

Ditto.

chris shelton is amazing. he just tripled.

another pirates blunder!

103,104 Your on the right track;it was a big dominating guy, but niether I'm afraid.

To everything with tips on MLB.TV, thanks. It's only $15/month, so I think I'll give it a shot for 1 month and see how it goes.

i am a current user of mlb.tv

and i love it. i love baseball and i get a ton of it with mlb.tv so its a good deal for me.

God! how many pitchers has Colorado swallowed-and spit out almost worthless.

107

Maybe you are thinking of the Randy Johnson and Kevin Brown free agency year. Dodgers wanted at least one of them and set their sights first on RJ. He signed with AZ and the Dodgers then way overpaid for kevin brown thinking they had to have one of the two.

I wish no one this much pain but I listened through a Tommy Lasorda interview on AM570 with Joe McDonnell...they took turns talking about how awesome Coletti was and thanking every dodger employee of the last 10 years except for DePo for such a great farm system and playing baseball "the right way"...the best had to be however when they asked Lasorda about some of the prospects and he fumbled through their names even though in the background you could hear someone telling him who they were..I personally had no idea that James "Lonely" had a "ton of power" and that "Bobby Abroo" at 2b was a defensive stalwart..thanks for the headsup Tommy

104 Thank Old Bear, I think it was Kile I was thinking of. Thanx again.

112, we feel your pain. I spent 20 years listening to Lasorda try to sound like he knew what he was doing and kissing every butt he thought could help him. At least he hasn't changed! Of course, if DePo ends up resurfacing somewhere in an important position, Lasorda will tell everyone how supportive he was of DePo and how great he was.

kemp is 3-3 with 2 doubles so far today.

111 Good thoughts.
Isn't amazing what a graveyard Colo. is for pitchers. Lets hope Las Vegas is much diff.

lol! shelton with another triple.

115 Nate whats the deal here. I thought all the boys were getting together at L.V. to rock out. But apparently Kemp and Laroche are going to power the Jax for awhile. L.V. is getting a bit thin without Loney, and I suspect they will get thinner as we go.

118

laroche starting out at AA was a bit of a surprise but he did only spend about half a season in AA last year. If he plays up to his capabilities i dont think he will stay in jax for long. I also think the signing of bill mueller gives the dodgers the ability to not rush laroch and let his play dictate where his development goes.

Kemp has only played at high A up until this season so it was a natural progression for him to move up to AA. If he hits in jax like he did in vero, he will be able in vegas by midseason as well. the biggest question mark for kemp is whether his strike zone and plate discipline hold up at the higher levels.

Even though LV doesnt have loney, kemp or laroche right now, they are still loaded in the lineup. Aybar, ethier, guzman, and martin are all legit and can hit. That offense is going to score a lot of runs even without kemp, laroche and loney.

wow, justin verlander looks absolutely filthy. his change up is devastating and he just hit 100 on fb to strike out mench looking.

good stuff. the tigers are on the rise!

hey Bob (or anyone), what are the minor league rain delay rules? same as the mlbs?

119 exc. overview.
But our German Justin didn't do so well in Jax or Vero or wearever. Are you a part-time Tiger fan?

nah not a tiger fan. just wanted to watch verlander pitch.

well the jax game has been called for tonight.

its 3-3 in bottom of the 5th with 2 out. are they just going to start over or continue where they left off?

im afraid kemps and laroches numbers from today will get wiped out!

woohoo! the game is suspended and will be resumed and completed tomorrow.

kemp, laroche, and abreu get to keep their hits.

I think Kemp and Laroche will have no trouble keeping their no.s up. They are for real. I just hope our guy (I think its Justin Orendorf), or something like that is real. I'm more worried about our pitching depth in the system!

Re: doubleheaders...

Were they better-attended than single games?

Also, when doubleheaders were scheduled, were they solely on the weekends or were they on weekdays, too?

I'm thinking that for a dismal franchise, a double-header could provide added value. If I normally sold 15,000 tickets on Tuesday and 15,000 on Wednesday but could sell 50,000 for a Wednesday doubleheader, that might be a good idea.

I love early season numbers. Chris Shelton has an OPS of 2.639. Sick.

Brazelton has a real gem going. He's lucky to get out of the second having only given up 7 runs, so far.

Alberto Bastardo, who the Dodgers picked up in the Rule 5, had a nice game for Columbus today: 5 IP, 10 Ks, 1 run. He made 2 errors though, so I'm guessing he's not much of a good defensive pitcher. Columbus managed 2 hits, both singles, and won the game

I can see it's real busy tonight. Anyways, Broxton pitched an inning tonight, striking out the side and allowing a single on 17 pitchers, only 5 for balls

Boy, am I happy I got Verlander on my fantasy teams.

Hey Sam and Bob:

"In the sixth inning at Shea Stadium on Wednesday night, Soriano hit a high pop-up that Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca caught a few steps into fair territory. But Soriano never left the batter's box.

As he walked to the dugout, Robinson, fuming, pointed at the bench. In the bottom of the inning, Marlon Byrd replaced Soriano in left field."

try this, may require a login: http://tinyurl.com/l9bgj

hmm, is comment #1 not appearing on all of the threads or just Bob's new one...?

Sorry Ken but you've had enough fun watching the A's pitchers the last two days right?

Will Carroll referred to Ned Colletti as "Ned Flanders" on his Baseball Prospectus radio broadcast.

Who came up with the Flanders moniker in the first place? It would seem to have Timmermann written all over it.

I took the bus yesterday from Manhattan to Philly to see my beloved Dodgers. They actually let fans in the stadium, which was weird given that it was hailing and 39 degrees. My head hurt from getting hit with hailstones.

The security guard told me that the Phillies are "particularly headstrong" about getting games in, and the fact that the parking lot and ticket gates were open meant that they were going to try to go. My friends and I couldn't take it. We left and they told us there would be no re-entry. We took our chances. They called the game 10 minutes later. And people like us who live over 50 miles away will be issued a refund.

I'm totally sad because I have to work today so I can't make the double-header. I'll have to wait a few months until they come to Shea, or go down to DC on Memorial Day to catch them against the Nationals. Such a bummer.

I'm going to the Grand Canyon for Spring break. 42 years on earth and I'm going to the Canyon for the first time, with wife and kid in tow of course...

Here's what I read today in the Times: "Do I use VORP? I may be using it and not even know it, and if I am, it's nobody's business. There are a lot of different criteria in judging players. I think I use, um, esoteric qualitative mathematical review times five. That's one of them."

Allow me to retort, with the help of some of my students: Oh, SNAP! You did NOT go there! You better not be smackin' VORP and don't EVEN go after my boy EQA or it is ON, holmes! And I KNOW you didn't just say it's nobody's BIZ-nis 'bout how you just unilaterally decided to make the team older and more expensive. I hope you used at least SOME math 'cuz if this was all just on instinct... well, it ain't my money! Seriously, I'm a fan and it's all good and all but when the press turns on you (not IF, but WHEN), have a better answer at the ready, Colletti! Sarcasm goes fine when they like you but it's not the best option when times get tough."

Can anyone find the percentage of double-headers that get slit. As I recall it is even bigger than one would think.

Make that split.

136 Now thats the life of a true blue East Coast fan.

1. I am not repsonsible for the Flanders nickname.

2. Some of the comments don't show up, but I can tweak them to make them so. It's a little bug Ken is trying to fix.