We will have to find out from Sam if he went to both games much later today.

It's a great Sunday. A Dodgers double-header and the final round of the Masters.

And it's a doublehader in Augusta as well.

Yep, I actually got up at 5 to watch the rest of the third round. I'm a sick man.

When I want a hit-and-run, I use the A-E disc.

Any comments on the LAT story on Garvey today? For those who haven't seen it, apparently paying bills is beneath him.

http://tinyurl.com/kq7ym

I've never been a Garvey fan. I was at a Dodger party in San Diego in 1974 at their hotel. Garvey kept off to the side and never interacted with any of the other players. From the things some of the players said that night I got the feeling no one on the team liked him.
He's always struck me as a phony with that super clean image. His philandering and now his financial hijinx confirm that to me.

5 - You're really testing the age range of this group.

6 - No comments from me.

6

Pass

Disk spinners.

The backing music on the National Anthem is really cheesy. It doesn't help that the audio goes out intermittently.

Since the woman singing has a tiara, I have to assume she is Miss Pennsylvania or something like that.

Frank Robinson would have approved of Rafael Furcal running that out.

0 for Pennsylvania still has a nice ring to it.

Loney stands very close to the plate.

Ooh, I wouldn't want to be a Phillies fan today.

Pop outs to victory!

And I'm surprised Mike doesn't have a new rant up by now.

i'm headed to the angel/yanks game in a little bit but I have a feeling I should stay and enjoy the craziness unfolding today in this double header.

today has crazy written all over it.

Playing a team that can't catch the ball is a much better power replacement than the hit and run.

Nion Dion!

5 - "War the A-E disc."

Philadelphia's lineup has never seen the pitch it won't hack at like it is the last pitch on earth.

I always threw away my A-E card.

5, 8 Yeah, Jon's right. I may be one of the oldest participants here, so either the A-E disc is really new or really old, because I've no clue what Bob is talking about.

Blasted Prime Ticket isn't showing either game out here in Hawai'i.

A Pittsburgh fan just asked me if I would renounce the FJT domain so he could carry on the tradition.

24 Ask for a PTBNL.

22
Unless you were playing with a DH, you would usually be better off many times with the A-E option than having the pitcher hit.

Sometimes, my brothers and I would distribute the discs randomly. Woe betide the person stuck with a Ted Uhlaender disc.

It's not like Pittsburgh has any cash. Maybe we could get Craig Wilson.

Mets announcer just called their cather "Do Luca."

Thumbing through a paper copy of the L.A. Times I've just come across what might be the stupidest chart of all time. Who decided to calculate cost efficiency using 2005 W-L record and 2006 salary information? Was s/he under the impression that baseball players are paid for on layaway? And, it's like they know it's stupid, since it hasn't been made available online. Page D9 if you think I'm making it up.

is anybody having trouble with mlbtv? i can see archived games but not the live ones. what gives?

And, if they have no concept of replacement level, then the cheapest teams should almost always win.

omg, the power of doger thoughts. it is now working after three days. thanks!

omg, the power of doger thoughts. it is now working after three days. thanks!

sorry

more runs. we need more runs!

About the 9/7/1950 doubleheader between the Dodgers and Phillies where Don Newcombe started both ends:

Newcombe wasn't scheduled to start the second game. Dan Bankhead was.

However, in Game 1 Newcombe gave up just two hits, with one strikeout and one walk, so he likely didn't throw too many pitches.

Newcombe left trailing 2-0 in the seventh, but the Dodgers scored three times in the ninth to win. However, Roy Campanella took a foul ball off his right thumb and ended up missing most of the end of the season and the Phillies won the pennant by two games.

lights out james loney

The best part about that was Lowe's little hop at the end.

It may be just my impression, but it seems as if the Dodgers have benefited from an inordinate number of errors, wild pitches, passed balls, etc. so far this season.

Lowe considers himself an athlete.

It's early, no doubt, and his bat is still in the "learning phase" but I'm curious for people's opinions: what will it take for Loney to Wally Pipp Nomar?

39

The scrappy Dodgers are making those things happen.

42
No doubt the speed and athleticism place a tremendous amount of pressure on the opponent.

41 Nomar being out for the season/Furcal or Mueller being hurt when he comes back.

I think Steiner was being a little enthusiatic about Loneys play. It was a nice stab, but it didn't look like he had to dive.

41. Well, I see it like this; Loney should hit like .265 with some walks but little power, and Nomar should hit like .275 with less walks and little power. Both should hit .340/.400, and Loney is a better defender, more depandable, and lefthanded. Loney is at least as valuable to the Dodgers as Nomar, not that that is saying much. I also like Loney because he takes pitches and works the count, almost like an anti-Nomar.

44

Monday made it sound JT Snow-esque on radio.

4445 Alright, makes sense. I'll rephrase the question: what kind of numbers does Loney have to put up in the next 5 games to keep Nomar on the bench? for the record, I think Nomar's salary makes it impossible for that to happen, but I'm asking just for fun.

45 Nomar hasn't slugged under .450 ever.

47 Banishing Nomar to the bench based on 30 at bats from Loney would make me lose any good feelings for Little.

He'd probably have to be hitting at least .400 for it to even enter anyone's mind.

48. He hasnt hit in Dodger Stadium ever, not exactly Wrigley or Fenway.

47. Loney has to do really, really well to keep an expensive veteran like Nomar on the bench. But Colletti seems to really like him, which is odd considering he signed Nomar and extended Kent, if Loney is ready to go those signings could look dumb.

My guess is that Loney gets sent down as soon as Nomar is ready, Nomar sucks for a couple months, and by Sept. Loney is the starting 1B. That is if Loney can stay healthy, which shouldnt be assumed.

[50] in 2004 he slugged .510 away from wrigley and .449 at home, and in 2005 he slugged .446 away from wrigley and .462 at home.

Anyone else watching on MLBTV? If so did it just change channels on you? For the first 7 innings I was getting KCALs broadcast then suddenly it changed to a horrible phillie upn broadcast.

i still have the dodgers broadcast.

It's Kuo time!

i hope kuos arm doesnt fall off by june.

okay little pulls a fast one, its brazoban...

... or not
Why is Grady going with Brazoban with Shane Victorino up next?

its like he didnt want to make Charlie Manuel look bad

the country boys always look out for each other.

Nomar will have a hard time getting to .450 on a quota of 9 home runs.

That was very ugh...

61
Well, given that he's only gonna play 20 games or so...

I'm looking forward to another Brazoban-Howard matchup, hopefully with the bases loaded.

how about a strike, brazoban?

50 That still shouldn't result in a .050 drop in slugging. Even before you consider that the new seats in 2005 might make Dodger Stadium more doubles friendly, only extreme shifts in the environment will shift a player's numbers by more than 10%. Case in point: park factors from 2003-2005:

Wrigley:
2B: 96
3B: 93
HR: 113

Dodger Stadium:
2B: 87
3B: 40
HR: 106

Considering Nomar hasn't hit a triple since 2003, the difference in triples in irrelevant. Now, if we prorate Garciaparra's stats over 450 at bats (to estimate what his play time over the year) we get this:

2B: 24
3B: 0
HR: 18
Total Extra Bases: 120

Putting those numbers into park factor (hits * (DS PF/Wrigley PF) we get this

2B: 22
3B: 0
HR: 17
Total Extra Bases: 114

With park factor taken to account, Nomar will lose six bases, or five percent off his isolated power. If he hits .275 like you predict, this is a .435 slug. Basically, it would take a complete disaster for Nomar to slug .400.

this is where you bring in Osoria, a double play would sure be good now

We should run that play more often.

shades of schmoll/milwaukee 2005!!!

I think my ulcer is back.

whoa, what just happened?

67 It's like the stolen base; a great play if it works!

There goes the win in fantasy. I blame you Little.

eh it doesnt matter, yhency still blows it.

From Yahoo's play-by-play:

"- A. Nunez out at home, S. Victorino to second"

What the heck happened? Single-throwout at the plate?

That was a planned play, right? Pitch out, throw it to the screen, and then catch the runner on third trying to score at home. Nice.

Can someone watching tell us what just happened? Gameday is confusing me more than helping me right now.

74 Wild pitch (on a pitchout, no less). Yay, Brazoban!

I can't remember the last time I was excited to see Yhency come to the mound.

[70,74] Pitchout goes to the backstop; bounces back to Navarro who feeds Brazoban who tags out the runner trying to scored from third.

53 - So who do you have to listen to now? Is it Harry the K, Wheeler, or Larry Anderson?

[cackle, cackle]

I'm thinking Yhency could use some time in Lhas Vhegas.

65 Dangit, 4+4 != 6. Nomar loses 6.6% off his iso, dropping the estimate to .428. Point still stands, however.

Chalk that one up on Grittle, even Steiner and Lyons knew that he should have brought Kuo in. Then again, maybe he was saving Kuo for the 8th when the heart of the line-up was projected to come up (two of which are lefties). I guess I call it a push.

Alright fellas, time for yet another patented Clutch Strikeout from "All-star", "Gold Glove" outfielder Bobby Abreu! Enjoy...

80- I dunno can't understand them through the horrible Audio. The bits and pieces I hear make me wish for ear plugs.

83 Brazoban needs to demostrate he can get an out before we use him in high leverage sitations. The onus is entirely on the manager here.

65. Last year Nomar hit .283, and managed an OBP of .320 for an iso-D of .037, this after seasons of .056 and .049. If he hits .275 that would make for a ~.325 OBP. So he hits .275/.325/.435? Loney's davenport translations for his 2005 AA season show him hitting .267/.329/.407. I can see how a Loney/Saenz combonation would be as good or better than Nomar. Its hard not to improve on Nomar's production. Loney doesnt hit enough for a 1B, but niether does Nomoar, at least Loney's at an age when he should be getting better, while Nomar is certainly on the downslope of his career.

Brazodown = Broxton up

Broxton up = calm me down.

Not exactly related to the flow of the game, but can someone give me Furcal's AVG & OBP both right-handed and left-handed for, say, last year? Thanks!

87 That is a much better argument. (Though I don't see how Loney will basically stay the same from AA to the MLB). I mainly took offense at the Nomar will slug .400 comment.

85 - Welcome to Philhelldelphia.

I can't believe so many normally intellgent, rational posters on here are willingly subjecting themselves to a battle of wits between Grady Little and Charlie Manuel. --shudder--

If little can wear down their bench and bullpen this game we should be able to take advantage of that the next game. Hopefully Penny goes deep into the game.

90. oh i see, my main point was that neither was a very good hitter, but where about equal.

89 I don't think that's avialable, but if you assume he switch hit without getting fancy:

Batting left: .280/.351/.413
Batting right: .294/.339/.472

Wierdest thing just happened. I got someones cellphone conversation through my speakers! It was some guy apologizing to what I assume is his girlfriend. Very odd.

95
Maybe the was Lowe apologizing to his wife, from the dugout.

KKUO

Saito?

Bottom of the 8th, one out, runner on second, tie game.

Obviously time to bring in the worst reliever in the pen.

Leave the Killer in.

The Dodgers continue with their parade of relievers with mispronounced names.

It should be:
sa-ee-to

Not "cy-toe"

???

Where is Kuo going? Saito in? really? hmmm maybe the brightness of his glove will throw the hitters off.

Noooo they took away his bright orange glove!

little is taking out kuo? bah, i KNEW that would happen.

repeat after me, grady: kuo is not a LOOGY... kuo is not a LOOGY...

If anyone is unfamilar with Saito, really good strikeout rate, gives up the jack like nobody's buisness.

re 103

noo!! he has nothing now!

Saito!

Saito has a pretty high home run rate because he pitched his whole career in Japan in the bandbox that is Yokohama Stadium.

That stadium is quite cozy.

He threw that ball to second 10x faster than he pitches.

Jim Tracy 3 outs away from the promised land.

saito flashes the athleticism!

shades of hideo nomo 1997!!!

Looks like Grady made the right decision.

112 Getting David Bell out really isn't an accomplishment.

[112] if something works out does that always make it the right decision? i have trouble with that concept.

Yokohama Stadium is 308 down the lines and just 387 to center.

I take back everything I ever said about orange gloves.

114

Ahh, the Harry Truman/A-bomb quandary?

115 I take back my previous comparions to Jorge Julio.

[114] no, i actually believe the use of the a-bomb was a good decision, considering the alternatives.

but you get what i'm saying about decisions.

([119] was in response to [117] obviously)

But you're looking at it all wrong. Grady Little could have brought in the San Diego Chicken and gotten a double play out of David Bell.

Please, let's not have an A bomb debate.

Please, let's not have an A-bomb debate haha.

Chris Duffy's heroic effort to keep the ninth inning going failed; nevertheless, the Pirates are three outs away from avoiding the 0-162 tag. Good on ya, gents!

110 - I think Tracy just smokejumped with Mike Gonzalez...but now he is bringing in Roberto Horrendez anyways. Poor poor Pittsburgh fans...

A double play was the best outcome we could of gotten. Would Kuo of gotten Bell to ground into one, beats me, we'll never know.
These guys are all new to the majors, it'll take a while for their roles to be defined.

Furcal has been worse offensively than Izturis thus far.

E-Wilson keeps the Reds alive

The official scorer must not have Tim Hamulack on his fantasy team.

114, if something doesn't work out, does that always make it the wrong decision?

That usually seems to be the assumption around here.

129 I don't know, that looked like a pretty clean drop to me. Might have taken a bad hop, but Furcal had him easily if he wouldn't have bobbled it.

The fact that we aren't even considering using Baez is very disturbing.

130

You mean like the Bay of Pigs invasion?

Gameday's picture of Sal Fasano is kinda frightening.

fasano just looks like a baddd badddd man.

Why are we arguing about Kuo and Saito when Grady just brought in a 29-year old who can only charitably be described as AAAA to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning in a tie game?

Turned game on on mlb.com in 5th inning and it was on Phillies station. Color is strobing and the audio is very fuzzy.

One of my frustrations with this online thing is that I'm never sure whether I'll get the Dodgers broadcast or the opponents.

I wish I could use the Dogdger radio when the opponents TV broadcasters are on, but it doesn't work that way.

Here comes the superstar Phil's fans love to hate.

And the Pirates win the race to notch the first win by a Pennsylvania team.

132- The BoP was a hit and run where the batter refused to swing.

Well what's funny is that I'm not arguing about bringing in Saito over Kuo. I just mentioned that the move worked. Nothing more.
I was just commenting to my brother before Kuo came in that I was excited about Kuo because he has great stuff should be able to get lefties and righties out.

I keep telling myself that it had to happen sometime; and yet, disappointment is all I feel.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME

Thank you, for overturning that

Thank you, for blowing that.

In hindsight, the balk would have been a better call.

Your welcome.

Well I guess they won't hate him as much...

for at least a day.

BAH

That was pretty clutch.

That ended poorly.

what??

i take it we lost.

what happened?

BAH !

Surprise! It's Gradyball!

153 Abreu hit it out.

Hamulack pretty much gave that to him like he owed him money.

Great way to start a double header. Phillie fans are right, Abreu sucks.

nice hit. bad pitch.

Will game 2 of the doubleheader be on KCAL?

156 - Thanks. Gameday was running slow.

160

It's supposed to be on KCAL.

Since we're getting all existential here, what is it when it's a crappy decision, and it doesn't work?

Hamulack now has a 0.00 ERA and an 0-1 record.

163- Brilliant!!

The Brewers are wearing 1982 throwback uniforms and are down 4-0 in the 7th. The Tigers are down 5-3 after 6 1/2 in Texas.

The Dolphins are going to be popping the champagne soon.

For the record, I hate EVERY single person on the 1972 Dolphins.

good thing i have an un-open bottle of Mickey's in my fridge.

If they haven't already, the Dodgers will someday drive Nate to alchoholism.

163

Ahh the bad decision and one that has poor results is known as Paraguay starting the War of the Triple Alliance in the 1870s.

Of course, if Tracy had still been managing, it would have worked out the same, only Saito would have hit for himself in the Top of the Ninth.

So, the last 2 pitchers we send out there in a tied, late-inning game are the last 2 guys to make the roster? Well, at least we had the lefty-lefty matchup we wanted.

171
Yeah. Why not bring in the All-Star or Mr. 41?

Atleast Baez will be ready to not come into the game in game 2...

Idiotic.

Before the season started, the thing I learned about Grady from ex-Boston fans is that he's an idiot with the bullpen. Absolutely has no idea how to handle pitchers, no idea what he's doing out there. This is at least the second game this season we've lost because of this fact.

One time our women's soccer team here was up 1-0 with 0 shots on goal, that sounds kinda like what Hamulack just pulled off.

Abreu is still a bum though.

We haven't even gotten to walking Jimmy Rollins yet

Great, I wake up to see that the Dodgers lost and Derek Lowe pitched pretty well and didn't give up a home run! So Brazoban still stinks, Hamulack is AAAA pitcher, and Grits has no clue how to manage a bullpen. Looks like nothing has changed.

177
Pretty much

The Dodgers are on a pace to hit 32 home runs this year...

179 -- If Nomar hits nine, that will leave 23 for everyone else.

its cool guys, david price in 07!

Navarro's home run was the only run the Dodgers deserved in the game.

179
As Jon alluded to, it's only a matter of time before

1. The high batting averages regress to their mean
2. Opponents' gifts (e.g. errors, passed balls, wild pitches) dry up
3. The Dodgers struggle to score runs

and the Dodgers' lack of power becomes a glaring weakness.

183

but they're scrappy..you can't teach that

So how bad was Furcal's error? Did it cause us to lose or was Hamulack going to give up anyways?

Thus far, Furcal's contract is looking like Beltre's.

186 -- I liked the limping going up the first base line.

Considering Abreu wouldn't have come to the plate, I'll say it was pretty big.

It's hard to determine causation, but Furcal's error set in to motion a series of events that were bound to end up in disaster.

Sort of like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Now that is power in the clean up spot.

Abreu might still not have come up if we hadn't walked the 15th best hitting shortstop in the majors.

Down go the Tigers.
The Brewers are the only undefeated team left and they're down 4-0 in the 8th against Arizona.

The Braves starting pitchers now have an ERA of 12.08 on the season.

193
The good news: they've scored more runs than any other team in the league.

Our success at holding runners continues.

Why is Cruz playing CF and not Drew?

If Brett Tomko will not come to Adrian Beltre, then Adrian Beltre will just go to Brett Tomko.

aybar is 2-3 with 2hrs today.

Drew figures that if Bradley will play right field in Oakland, he should play right field for the Dodgers.

196 Probably because Cruz won a Gold Glove, regardless of merit.

If there's a more imposing set of 4-8 hitters in a lineup than Ledee, Loney, Mueller, Alomar, Lucille, I haven't seen it.

183. My only problem with that outlook is that everything that the opposing team does wrong is a matter of bad luck, but all the Dodgers shortcommings are for real. Do really the Dodgers are only going to hit 34 home runs this season? If you compare the Dodgers to Boston or New York, or even the top NL East teams, theyre going to look sad. But thats not the competition, San Francisco and San Diego are the competition, and they stink too.

202
I may be wrong, but it seems to me as if:

1. The Dodgers' BA is higher than it will end up being (not that BA is necessarily important, but for a team like this with little power, it probably is)
2. Gifts from the opposition have been more frequent than they will end up being

Course, the Dodgers will inevitably start hitting HRs at a greater pace than then have thus far too. But will that be enough to compensate for the first two?

202 The current issue of SI has a Verducci-penned article about the weakness of the entire National League when compared to the American League. I'm sure it's online, but I imagine it's subscriber-only. His point is that teams like the Indians, which won 93 games last year, couldn't make the playoffs in the AL. In the NL, San Diego did with its 83 or 84 wins.

It's worth a read.

179 My mistake:64 homers....

203. I dont think it will be enough to compensate, but I also dont think it has to. Its not going to take 90+ wins to win the division. If the core hitters stay healthy (Furcal, Cruz, Kent, Drew ...) it should be enough runs to stay competative in the NL West. Remember that the Dodgers scored more runs last year than either San Diego or San Francisco.

Anyone who's watching Alomar hit, does his bat speed actually look quick or is he just seeing lots of mistake pitches?

And every team has now lost.

Milwaukee lost to Arizona.

guzman hits his first homerun of the year.

203 - These "gifts," do you have a count on opponents' errors, wild pitches and passed balls?

204 Number of wins isn't a good indication. To make an extreme example, if every team in the AL was better than every team in the NL, but they were all exactly as strong, they'd all win 81 games. Less than the eventual NL winner.

208 - Out of habit, members of the '72 Dolphins are gathering for champagne toasts.

210
No. Like I said before, it is just my impression that the Dodgers have received gifts at an unnatural rate. But I could be way off.

207 -

I was at opening day and I've seen most of his other at bats on TV and he does look good.

Small sample size and it won't last, but we at least have to give him credit for one really good week.

If you add his dugout mentoring on the days he doesn't play, he qualifies for First Week MVP.

furcal looks horrible from the left side of the plate.

The Dodgers have scored 7 unearned runs so far this season.

215 -

Isn't Furcal notorious for slow starts? Maybe we should be glad he looks ok from the right side.

216 -

Glass half full or half empty. Should we assume they're getting lucky or taking advantage of opporunities?

Beltre breaks up Harden's perfect game.

Has anyone ever noticed if there is any relationship between the age of a team's players and how well they start the season?

Do teams with older players get off to slower starts, faster starts, makes no difference?

Since older players often take it easy in spring training, I wonder if they can just turn it on once the season starts?

220

I doubt you would find a correlation between team age and how well they start. You would likely have a hard time defining an "old team" and teams that are very young would probably get off to worse starts because the players aren't as experienced or good.

221

On the other hand, "young teams" might have an advantage in that opposing pitchers haven't figured out their weaknesses yet, but I guess you're right, it would be very difficult to make any valid conclusions.

198- that's definitely good news considering he only hit 6 last year in Vegas. Hopefully, he continues to walk.

Predict the number of walks Sandy Alomar will draw this season. I'm going to say 6 if he gets 200 at bats.

Loney draws a walk!

223

I'm willing to forego the walks if he keeps his BA over .400 and his OPS over 1.000

Another hit. Who needs walks?

Alomar is a monster. .500 BA 1.167 OPS. Alomar for MVP!

A. Jones ties it up in San Francisco on a 3-run homer off of Schmidt.

guzman up with bases loaded

That was quite possibly the worst run to home ever

215

Suddenly Fucal looks OK from the left side of the plate, but why did they send Alomar in? The man has had 11 knee operations. He would have needed a wheelchair to score.

Sssuuuuuppppeeeeeerrrrrr Ssslllooooowwwwww mmmmoooooooo

What is Penny's fastball being clocked at?

231- We don't use that kind of language on this board Will!

i.e second word in your post.

232 -

Obviously a graduate of the Jason Phillips School of Running.

Buehrle could have thrown 3 innings while waiting for Alomar to get tagged out at home..

234 -

Sorry about that. I'll have to go out shopping for an "r"

Alomar is 38 and needs one more knee surgery to qualify for a free sandwich at Subway! He has a better excuse than Jason Phillips or Bengie Molina.

238- "one more knee surgery to qualify for a free sandwich at Subway"

funny.

For people as slow as Alomar, Molina, phillips etc..

They should have a designated runner that prepares to run next to the batters box.

Smoltz has settled down in San Francisco and hasn't given up anything since the 4-run second inning.

What exactly is proper etiquette for wearing Dodger gear at away games and not getting kidnapped/beaten up/brutally murdered/trash thrown at me/beaned in the neck with a rubber ball..anywhere but PacBell/SBC/AT&T Park?

Harden looks dominating today.

242

Don't sit in the cheap seats and don't make a lot of noise and you likely won't run into any trouble.

242- at Pac Bell Park, I wore a Dodgers hat and pretty much everybody I passed by said "Dodgers Suck". A few cussed me out and some people behind me threw peanuts and popcorn at me, but I got them back :) (crushed peanuts and beer on their seat). Nothing like Candlestick, where the fans used to throw batteries.

Renteria with an RBI double, Braves now winning 5-4. Schmidt is off the roids.

242 I don't think you have any worries, even in Pac Bell. I always wear my Dodger hat to SF/LA games and usually the worst I get is some joking around. I've even gone so far as to wear the LA hat to a Giants/Pirates game during the stretch run and I'm still here to talk about it. But I wouldn't go around taunting anybody you don't know.

Harden now gives up his first walk to Beltre... in the 8th.

In San Francisco, there are no zones of safety. You just have to cowboy up.

Schmidt hit 94 on the gun, but Frisco's gun is fast.

249
This august im going to a game in PacBell, there will be like 8 of us that will be dodger fans. we are gonna be in the top level first base side. Maybe i should bring a batting helmet and catchers mask.

Lucille's OPS just skyrocketed to .600

252
But, but, he's hitting .300...

Chipper Jones just got hurt, couldn't he have waited until the end of the game (I'm half joking). Kuiper just called this "an incomfortable sight".

I didn't know Penny was a Soccer enthusiast..

Ichiro just hit a pop up in the infield with bases loaded and 1 out.

What happened to Chipper? Another knee injury?

The A's 27 inning scoreless streak ends with a hbp.

257- yea, it looked like his knee

Good thing they traded Andy Marte

i've gotten heckled in anaheim for wearing A's gear.

261- Angel fans don't do much. I've worn A's and Dodgers gear to Anaheim.

I no longer need to watch the Masters as Nobody's Hero, Phil Mickelson, is up by 3 strokes.

nice work Loney

263
Disappointing final round. I'm not a Mickelson fan, and everyone else is falling apart. No drama.

Sal Fasano looks like Todd Jones

Is anybody a Phil Mickelson fan?

Lyons finally got something right..Fasano does look like Clue Haywood from Major League..

267 Waves hand. I'm sorta a Mickelson fan. I'd have loved to see Couples do it today, though.

Uh oh, Ryan Howard's up.

267
Evidently so. There's always plenty of spectators rooting for him.

I think he appeals to the "According to Jim" crowd...

So did Penny just throw Howard three curveballs?

267 all left-handers, maybe?

the last one was either a slider or a splitter. i couldnt tell.

269

Eeewwww, sorry to hear that. From all accounts I've read, Mickelson is really disliked by the rest of the players on the tour. In a individual sport like golf, even Mickelson comes off to me as a glory hog and phony.

Sort of like that one U.S. Open were he openly wore a pager that he said would go off at any time if his wife went into labor.

Yeah, sure.....

Sal Fasano aka Tom Savini.

Sal Fasano looks like [ron jeremy]

274- I was just guessing (I'm watching on gameday) because Howard didn't swing at any of them, so I knew they weren't fastballs

275
"Phony" is a word that is commonly associated with Phil. As an amateur, he was known as being arrogant and cocky. Now he tries to come across as nice and smiley, but a lot of people don't buy it.

J Lo with a hit. Probably better than walking with Ned evaluating his performance.

i find golf spectation incredibly boring. playing is all right, but i don't really get the point of watching it on tv. for what it's worth though, my freshman dorm roommate was a big phil mickelson fan.

hey, looks like jason repko is now batting cleanup. :)

I wonder how much money Mickelson bet on himself to win the Masters?

Great, Street just made an error.

I have decided that the only truly fair thing to do know is to use "guilt by association" as my guideline about Phil Mickelson fans.

The machine keeps producing

A's win

281
At the very least, even if you're not a big golf fan, you ought to take advantage of the opportunity to watch Tiger Woods play. He's truly a remarkable competitor, and will go down in history as one of the best sports figures in history.

[283] i'm not seeing street's error in the boxscore...

I as well can not watch golf at all.

I can't believe they gave Ichiro a hit on that one. Hometown scoring, I guess.

Ramon Martinez II: RBI machine

284 Sheesh. If you're gonna do that, I'll retract my statement in 269. I can't afford to be on the wrong side of the resident esoterica expert and librarian. ;)

Lucille II did good right there.

[286] i've watched a little golf. i gave it a fair chance, and i've seen tiger play a little. and i do watch highlights from time to time. golf highlights can be pretty entertaining. watching it in realtime though... eh. there's no strategy or anything really. it's just, can the golfer execute or not. and it's slow! people complain about the pace of baseball, but golf is in another league.

Old Maid with an RBI 2B. I thought he was injured.

This is a game for every Dodger Thoughts bete noire.

OT but Lukoil advertises on billboards on Philadelphia's centerfield wall? Isn't this the Russian oil company that was bribing Hussein in the oil-for-food scandal? That's surreal.

Woah.... Look at the effectiveness of those XBHs. Imagine if they got more of those.

294- You cannot inure the Killer Tomato, you can only hope to slow him down.

Golf is more fun to watch in person, at least for me. I used to go to the Hawaiian Open at Waialae pretty regularly.

Dammit Furcal. I guess we swing 0-0, 2-0, and 3-0 here with Grits and Ned. Even Tracyball doesn't include swinging 3-0.

Lukoil, coming to a corner near you:

http://www.lukoilamericas.com/

Gameday's gone berserk. It tells me that Lance Carter has 37 lifetime homeruns, 924 AB. No pitching line.

Giants tie it in the 9th and now have the winning run at second after a Matheny sacrifice.
Braves are now intentionally walking Finley.

Niekro tied it up in San Francisco with a homer off of Rietsma in the 9th.

Feliz on 2nd with one out.

Why are the Braves walking Finley to get to Winn?

Well, game over. Nice managing Bobby Cox.

Giants win

for the 10% chance of a DP groundball?

Lance Niekro has taken over the Matt Williams role of "young guy who is prematurely losing his hair".

If all we had received was Penny in that trade, it would still be a good trade.

Wouldn't it make more sense to pitch to Finley?

No lead is safe with Carter in the game.

bring in the closer (version 2.0)

Furcal was/is horrible Today.

Carter stinks. I don't think anyone here was fooled by his good spring training.

Since the Braves have to use Chris Reitsma as their closer, their options aren't great.

miltie, just like it made more sense to pitch to Rollins last game than risk not getting a DP ball and having to pitch to Abreu with the game on the line.

Carter stinks. I don't think anyone here was fooled by his good spring training.

well, there were some people that were saying lance carter is a "great" reliever. But i wont name any names...

Tracyball update:

Tracy said he's excited about a young team with "high-ceiling" talent."

"There's no complete cure-all overnight," he said. "It didn't happen in L.A., and it won't happen here. You stay with the format and it can get to be very similar to L.A., where we are playing baseball in October."

http://tinyurl.com/evh7n

Id rather have Carter in there over Brazoaban right now. Although its pretty close.

316- I wasn't awake during the 1st game. You mean, Grits intentionally walked Rollins to get to Abreu??

So Manuel keeps Fultz in there? What does someone have to do to get the hook?

Gracious me. Repko seems to have remembered how to hit this season.

321- ....but he's left handed

Seems like every at bat Loney gets more comfortable. Good job kid!

Loney with an RBI. That's our 5 HR 100 RBI 1st baseman right there!

320
Little intentionally walked Rollins in hopes that Fasano would hit into a DP.

322. "remembered", or learned ... or lucky?

I guess Loney is taking one for the team. Considering the Phillies scored a run in the eighth and how bad our bullpen has been I thought they would of tried to stay in it.

But you're right Fultz is lefthanded.

320 With a man on second and one out, Grittle intentionally walked Rollins to get to the #2 hitter followed by Abreu. I think Fasano hit for Rowand in the #2 slot. Needless to say, I'd rather have faced Rollins and the #2 slot than the #2 slot and Abreu.

[320] technically he walked rollins to get to fasano. but i believe there was only 1 out and abreu was after fasano. so he should've pitched to rollins.

Could it be that Nomah becomes Wally Pipp to James Loney's Lou Gehrig without ever having played a game?

300 Lukoil's got a creepy slogan:

"Always Moving Forward"

And their chairman has a "24" villain's name: Vadim Gluzman.

328 - I meant Fultz. Sorry

Lets see if Kent gives Loney crap for not scoring on Muellers Double(single)

Ahhhh Carter back in.

If Carter gives up 0 runs and gets 3 outs, he doesn't get a "save".

If Carter gives up 1-3 runs and gets 3 outs, he gets a "save".

335. Don't worry. According to Lyons, Carter makes the batter put the ball in play and that is why he's successful. lol

337- I kind of tilted my head at that one too.

336 I think the save stat is baesd on the game situation when the pitcher enters, so Carter (entered at 5-1, no outs, bottom 8) shouldn't be in line for a save no matter what.

There was no way for Carter to get a save in that game at all. He came in when it was 5-1 in the 8th.

Dodgers win!!!

339,340
Ah, that makes more sense.

After 6 games the Dodgers are 3-3 with one series loss and one series win. When would it be appropriate to do a State of the Bullpen report?

Why didn't Little use Baez today in either game, I wonder?

Strange Double Header related question:

I was explaining the difference between a normal and a Day-Night double header to my wife earlier, and she asked me, "Do they change into clean uniforms between games?"

I'd imagine that they probably do for day-nights, but what about normal ones?

344 Tomorrow the Dodgers will announce that Baez has left the team to fly back to LA to have his rotator cuff scoped.

He's expected to be back in August.

346 Well then, we'll just have to replace him on the roster with his Auntie Joan.

We're just about officially at the point where I could care less if Lofton ever comes off the DL.

347- Brazoban will become the closer, Carter will be his setup man.

346 -- This is humor, is it not?

346 I hear she's got a wicked change.

Seriously, the reason Baez did not come in to pitch was because there were never any 9th inning save situations.

And he's a Closer(tm). How could we forget?

334 --I think Loney has earned at least a start against a lefty the rate he's going

331 even in regards/reply to Loney.

332 - Lukoil has some pretty weird ads they run during the radio broadcasts too, they talk about how much the bullpen car is part of the American baseball experience and then finish with "Lukoil. We love cars." ....somewhat disconcerting, especially since only the Phanatic uses one of those in Phila anymore.

My overall impressions-- Excellant start for Penny. Better start for Lowe, almost adequate. Loney doing well. Though I may not like it much, Alomar and Martinez are hitting well. This may be small sample size.
I was about to say we look like an easy .500 team, but then remembered last years 10-2 start.

Is anybody a Phil Mickelson fan?

I came to like him after he went so long without a major, and had to answer questions from the media time after time. I was happy to see him win.

The only golfers I dont like are Colin Montgomerie and Vijay Singh. Singh I've heard is one of the worst people on Tour. His comments a few years ago about I think Michelle Wie playing as a sponser's exemption were way out of line.

My favorite golfer is probably Sergio Garcia. He has that "best golfer to not have won a major" stigma attached currently, so he's easy to cheer for.

Tiger I'm indifferent towards. Since he's won so many times, I probably find myself rooting against him more than for him. I do hope he's competitive in every major, bc it makes for great TV.

Vijay made some remarks about Wie playing in a PGA event when she did that last year. I think he's got some sexist attitude left over from his upbringing in Fiji.

Juan Pierre plays defense like Repko, but I think Repko is better and he has a much better arm.

Steve- I know this is a tough question, but not including salaries, would you take Repko over Pierre?

loneys BA has crept over 300 (316) at the end of today. Hopefully he can keep it around there and before you know... 5 homeruns 100 rbis from our #5 hitter!

Loney's line by the end of the year will be .280/.360/.450 5 HR 100 RBI 50 2B

Vijay also has the stain of being accused of cheating in his career. I don't mind Mickelson, just don't particularly root for him. Ernie Els is probably my favorite golfer right now. Wish I had his swing.

Yes -- not even close.

364- as your starting CF? Why?

If I remember my salary numbers right, there are roughly 4.7 million reasons.

[364] but but... pierre is such a professional! he even rolls baseballs down the foul line before each game to see which way his bunts will roll!

but not including salaries

367- but he doesn't run into to walls or leap up for flyballs hit at him

Sorry. Yes, because Repko has more power potential.

363
Ernie's my favorite too, though he's frustrating to root for. He's not mentally tough. I doubt he'll ever win a Green Jacket.

He's got two U.S. Open trophys, which I think are much harder to win than the Masters, so IMO he's mentally tough enough. I think he may be in decline though, starting with his bum knee.

372
The Open trophies are a bit of an anomaly. His game is much better suited for Augusta than for Open style courses. Of all the players on tour, I think Ernie has been the most affected by Tiger. He has finished 2nd to Tiger more than anyone else, and he has struggled to overcome the belief that he can't compete with Mr. Woods. He has some demons now that he didn't used to have.

What makes people think that Ronny Cedeno is going to become a great player? He's had one great year in the minors and it was in the PCL.

He has some demons now that he didn't used to have.

If Els has demons, what does David Duval have?

It's a hard life being compared to Neifi.

LaRussa with the charity double play there.

10 most hated athletes

8. Phil Mickelson

Mickelson has earned many nicknames on the Tour, but our favorite is FIGJAM (, I'm good—just ask me). "There are a bunch of pros who think he and his whole smiley, happy face are a fraud," another reporter says. "They think he's preening and insincere." Mickelson has aggressively pursued a family-man image that is crucial to his success as an endorser.

http://tinyurl.com/f988k

I forgot to mention that Pierre is approaching 45.

The Clippers should tank this game. They should go for the 6th spot and face Denver. The Lakers need the win so they can get the reward of being whooped in the first round by the Suns instead of the Spurs.

379- naw, they want to beat the Lakers and tank the other games

I forgot to mention that Pierre is approaching 45.
45 what? Pitches he's seen this season?

In ex-Dodger news, I was at a Pawtucket Red Sox doubleheader today versus Indianapolis, the Pirates AAA affiliate. The first game was a pitchers duel, with both teams took perfect games into the seventh, and no-hitters into the eighth. Despite that, the PawSox lifted their starter (Matt Ginter) after five, and Indians pulled theirs (Nerio Rodriguez) after six. It was still 0-0 when Giovanni Carrara trotted in from the bullpen to pitch the bottom of the tenth. He looked pretty sharp on his first pitch, but then gave up a rocket to right center for a double. Gio walked the next batter intentionally, and then walked the guy after that unintentionally. The next batter hit a sac fly to right. Giame over. PawSox win.

Indy won the second game 6-0 in seven innings. Mike Edwards played right, going 1 for 3, and scoring a run. Terry Adams pitched the last two innings for Indy.

358

There are men trying to make a living on the PGA Tour. Never, under any circumstances, should a spot be given to someone outside the tour. Singh was totally correct in this assesment.

There are three players I would love to watch live: Vijay, Freddie, and John Daly.

I got the chance of meeting Daly last year at the Open in Pinehurst. The man was straight wasted! But hes still great..

Actually, I've heard from golf writers (not from where I work) who say Tiger is one of the biggest jerks on the tour. Some of that comes from being the best I'm sure, but I have friends who root against him because he's an arrogant ass.

Considering most people wouldn't even know how to spell golf without Tiger Woods..I think that's warranted..

Being a jerk is never warranted. That said, I love Tiger.

Since the Masters wasn't close and I was watching the Dodgers games, I didn't see much of the CBS broadcast.

Was Jim Nantz depressed about Fred Couples losing? They're pretty close friends.

381 As glad as I am that all of those guys are no longer on the Dodgers, I still feel sorta bad for older former major leaguers trying to make it back, stuck in the minors. It's gotta be a little demoralizing. I felt bad for Aaron Sele, really, for the same reason even though I would rather see Chad Billingsley showing us what he has when the next opp. arises over Sele, but still, you feel a little bit for people.

Dunno what other job skills they have either; probably keeps them in the game a little past their expiration date.

If Aaron Sele had only studied for that MLS degree like me, he could retire in a cushy job making about 5-10% of what he makes now.

Never, under any circumstances, should a spot be given to someone outside the tour

Without the sponsors, there is no tour. Sponsor's exemptions are given all the time, mainly to boost ratings for an event. A professional golfer like Singh should know that if a sponsor wants to let an attraction into the tourney (like Wie), its well within their right to do so. And really he shouldnt complain, bc its the sponsors that make it possible for there to be such large jackpots.

I heard Tiger was not a very good tipper haha. I remember reading some story where a Vegas waitress said Tiger was the only famous person not to leave her a tip and Drew Carrey left the biggest ($100).

I think Nantz does a pretty good job of not overtly rooting for Freddy. Fred had his chances. He missed at least 3 and maybe four short, makeable putts.

Drew Carey is legendary for other reasons...

392
Is it something Pat O'Brien would be proud of?

389 I totally agree. Plus, Wie seems to be good enough too.

393 I've been told Carey really likes professional women.

That is what I thought you were referring to.

Pat O'Brien would be proud.

Tiger is one of the biggest jerks on the tour.

See thats why I like Phil more than Tiger. When Phil would get constant questions from the media about never winning the big one, he never got defensive and always handled the media with class.

On the other hand, I saw Tiger get flat out defensive when the media questioned why he was changing his golf swing. I dont want to say Tiger was acting like a spoiled brat, but great athletes who get defensive at the first sign of criticism dont seem very mature.

I also think Mickleson and most other golfers on tour are easier to relate to than Tiger. Tiger Woods was trained from like 2ys old to be this golf prodigy. He's like a robot. His whole life has been golf.

Thats hard to relate too.

Woah... Joe Morgan just advocated bringing in the closer in the 8th with a runner on because otherwise, "There might not be anything to close in the 9th."

Of course, the manager making the decision was LaRussa. And it turned into a grand slam to put the Cubs up 7-4, but still...

398- it was the right decision. Isringhausen has nothing tonight.

395

Drew Carey = not good at kareoke(sp?)

397
He's like a robot.

It's interesting that you say that, because one of the things that most impresses me about Tiger is his seemingly super-human ability to control his thoughts and emotions on the course in a way that no other player seems to be able to do. He has seemingly defeated the fears, doubts, negative thoughts, etc. etc. etc. that paralyze other players, and his ability to recover from bad shots and truly take "one shot at a time" is incomparable.

388 Heh.

Yes, or he could have overpaid for an MFA like I did (which still cost what Alex Rodriguez is paid every day) and that, + $2.00 will get him a cup of coffee.

The eighth inning of the Cubs Cards game was unbelievable.

379 -Kaman is living proof that neolithic man could have exceled at the game of basketball.

Well, I would have loved to stay for two, but sitting there after Abreu hit that awful blast with two five-year olds looking at a two-hour drive before bedtime, it was a pretty easy choice. Just one of the moments where you realize you've traded some things you like in for others.

Needing bed myself but a few liner notes from the game . . .

Not shocking I suppose that the National Anthem singer got booed, what with the PA zinging in and out. What an awful presentation of the National Anthem with the not-great singing over kind-of-bland recorded music. And I love the National Anthem. Also, re Miss Philadelphia, somewhat hard to come up with a feel-good answer when a five-year old asks "what is she famous for?"

Fun to watch James Loney have a great game.

My Ghame Over shirt didn't really have it's mojo, I'm afraid. Admittedly, it was under a giant blue sweatshirt, so maybe that was the cause. On the play at home, where Nunez got thrown out after the bizarre pitchout/wp, was it obvious on the replay that Rowand at first had his hand up and was telling the runner to hold? That's what I thought I saw. Meanwhile, the fans around me (I was near third base), were roasting the Phils' third base coach, one "Dancy," for the rest of the game. "Send him Dancy" they shrieked, as if the third base coach sends the runner on that play.

The Dodgers have a tall thin batboy who wore a batting helment the whole game, and the crowd had a lot of fun calling him "Olerud" every time he walked by. It was pretty good stuff. He was shaking his head and enjoying the moment too, I thought.

The Phillies played the Queen "Flash Gordon" thing when Tom Gordon came in. It really really didn't work. On the other hand, they did a big long Rocky thing coming into the bottom of the ninth that, kitschy and over the top or no, really got the ballpark rocking and was pretty irresistible. If you're Philadelphia, you've always got Rocky.

And am I the only who thinks it was ridiculous to walk Rollins in the ninth? I was hollering about this when it happened because wishing for Sal Fasano to hit into a DP is fine and all, but ramping up the odds of bringing Bobby Abreu to the plate in this situation is nuts. The Phillie fan college kid next to me told me I was wrong b/c Abreu would choke. Pyhrric victory for the old guy.

Great day at the ballpark. It's really something watch my older son from season to season, as the game moves from a place to eat to a place to run around to a place now where he really wants to watch the game (and eat and run around). And when we got home and he was jumping up and down telling my wife about all the dropped balls in the first ("and it was two bases, but it should have been no bases,"), aw shucks.

There has been some, what I think unfair criticism of Grady as far as handling the pitching staff. Obviously his reputation proceeeds him, and my Boston friends are also chimming in.

With Gagne gone for 6-8 weeks minimum and no indication what he will pitch like he used to or how long it will take him to get his mechanics back.

The Dodgers initially have gone conservative-hence the call-up of Saito. Although Haslick failled today, he had a good outing aginst Atlanta. In looking at the highlights on Sports Center, the hit that tied the game at 3-3 sorta looked like a bloop and not a absolutely terrible pitch by Yahncey. What they are lacking now is that automatic-7th-8th-9th inning domminance they had a few years ago. Their current pitching staff will not be able to achieve this. Baez so far is doing fine as a closer. Since the 7th and 8th are still a bit of an adventure, perhaps the Dodgers should try to push their starters a bit more. Could Lowe have gone one more inning today?

As far as power goes, the Dodgers will improve, but it would be ridiculous to think they are going to hit many-if we could hit between 100-120, I would be floored. However, this team was not constructed to for power, and while I agree the BA and OBP will drop some, in many ways although a small sample the team is doing what should be expected with many positive suprises.

So my hope for pitching is that Billingsley takes off in LV or someone else does, and the Dodgers take a chance and let someone who maybe is scheduled to be a starter, work his way up through the bullpen-like the old days!

As far as additional power goes, when Nomar returns, who really doesn't have much power, the Dodgers platoon Loney with Nomar, with the edge to Loney, and let Nomar DH when we play interleague, and go from there.

Oh also, Furcal's error in the ninth was probably a fair error, but that was a hard choppy ball and sure looked like a tough play to me.

Did they say anything on TV about a fan being taken out of the stadium on a stretcher from the seats behind first base. I mean they strapped the person to a board right there in the seats and carried them out. ??

The Clippers played like garbage. This isn't the way to go into the playoffs, even though they didn't have Maggette. They even made Odom look good.

And am I the only who thinks it was ridiculous to walk Rollins in the ninth?

You'll find on review that topic was given its due.

Pardon my misspelling for Hamulick

409
It's almost enough to make a guy call for the manager to be fired...

It's not like this stuff is hard.

Yeah, but Grittle's from the south...Have you heard his JiffyLube commercial?

Let us not speak of this again. Let us just pretend that the man asks himself questions and answers them, like in the good old days.

If the Twins keep losing, they are going to need a new shortstop - One with great speed, a gold glove, an all star. A guy who is a master bunter and is as fundamentally sound as any player in baseball. A sparkplug who can hit leadoff or 2nd. A leader that has guided his team to the playoffs.

Izturis and Tomko for Kubel and Baker.

You can't trade Tomko, you can only hope to bench him.

415
At this rate, let's trade Furcal and keep Izturis.

HAHAHA, just noticed the current Bronx Banter headline, that sketch was awesome!!

405 - Sam, what kind of ballpark food did you and your family try?

Steve Phillips, when asked on Baseball Tonight to name the best left-handed pitcher in baseball, chose Cliff Lee. Did Johan Santana get hit by a bus or something?

Amazing that he actually got paid to evaluate baseball talent.

Pretty sure Dontrelle won like 8 more games than Lee last year too...

Also this is just funny: http://tinyurl.com/g2yx9

Hey Jon, somewhat apropros of this thread, you've got a brother in blog:

"Frank Robinson did what Frank Robinson does best: Makes me forget about how crappy Jim Bowden is. Down by three with a hot-hitting Jose Vidro at the plate and two runners on, Frank put the hit and run on. If you were here last year, you know I HATE the hit and run. Want to know why? Check out this post last year, which I plagiarized borrowed from Earl Weaver. In short, the benefits of the HNR typically pale in comparison to the costs.

And when Jose Vidro's liner sailed right into the glove of Lance "Bullfrog" Berkman, who was standing way off the bag because with the runner moving, there was no need to hold anyone at first, we saw that for the first time this year. (By my unofficial count, that's the third failed HNR this year.)"

there are links embedded in the original at http://dcbb.blogspot.com/

409 Indeed. I never should have doubted.

418 Isn't asking a fella what he ate the ballpark sort of like asking a lady her age?

That said, and without identifying any of the perpetrators, the list goes something like this. It was dollar dog day, so there was that. Cheesesteaks froms Tony Luke's were eaten (no Pats!?). Too many curly fries. A gardenburger on a very fluffy roll was much praised. There was a foolish episode involving the dipsy-doodle "peace pizza" stand, which was scorned by the rest of us and not very good either. Peanuts, popcorn, and finally turkey hill ice cream.

Hard to believe actually we didn't stay for both games looking at that list. (But we were six folks.)

Bingo! Case closed. I didn't see this quote linked up above (admittedly, I read fast this am), and I should acknowledge finding the link at a certain site-that-shall-not-be--named, but the "bingo" makes this quote too good not to pass on:

"Tracy also played Jose Hernandez at shortstop last night and sat Jack Wilson.
Hernandez entered the game 6 for 16 with two home runs against Cincinnati starter Eric Milton. Wilson was 1 for 11. 'Bingo! Case closed,' Tracy said of the reasoning behind starting Hernandez."

http://tinyurl.com/rg4zr (link to Pittsburgh Post Gazette, sat Pirates Notes column).