That game was just so weird last night. A day off is a good thing.

1
Anyone remember Dana Carvey's John Travolta impersonations on SNL?

I found this interesting in the 4/19 Jim Callis BA Chat:

"casey (NJ): does jeffery maier (the kid who caught jeter's "hr" to beat balt. in the playoffs) really have a shot at the big leagues? i heard he's in the minors right now.

SportsNation Jim Callis: He's tearing it up at D-III Wesleyan (Conn.). He's more of a good small college player than a legit prospect, but he'll get a chance to play pro ball."

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ECR will travel to Chatsworth on Thursday for the second game of a home and home series. ECR won Tuesday at ECR 4-1. The game will be televised on LA36 on Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. It will be televised on KLCS on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Chatsworth is currently ranked 8th in the country and ECR is 17th. Matt Dominguez and Mike Moustakas for Chatsworth might be the best 3b/SS combo in the country and they are both only Juniors.

Players from ECR who have played professional baseball:
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/high-schools/el-camino-real-89.shtml

Players from Taft who have played professional baseball:
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/high-schools/taft-121.shtml

while studying at the huntington beach library for the AP u.s. history exam in high school, my friends and i were accosted by a crazy, disheveled old nigerian man who introduced himself as "benjamin moonlight... like the light, from the moon!" he then proceeded to regale us with stories of his communications with God at the 3 holy places (the marsh by our high school, the albertson's parking lot across the street, and the skateboard park behind the supermarket), and how God had revealed to him the cures for AIDS and cancer. he said he tried to contact magic johnson and connie chung to get the word out, but to no avail. he also told us things about flying dogs and shopping carts in central park, but we were trying to get rid of him by that point, as he had wasted almost an hour of our time.

anyway, that's what the title of this post reminded me of.

4 - I wanted to headline the post "Suri with a Fringe on Top." I don't think I've burnished the cat with that one enough yet.

Meanwhile, I'm still trying to understand how 2 was a response to 1.

5
Well, the staple of Carvey's Travolta was his "It's like, so weird" line, and in particular, the way he said it.

6 - Ah, got it.

4. The title of the post reminded me of the George Burns body switching movie fromthe '80's. When he switches bodies with his grandson he has to sing that song to convince his friend that it is really him.

8 It's also the name of a great Los Lobos album.

If we lose the pennant by one game, last night's will be an argghh. But I doubt the Dodgers are going to be that close, so I'm going to just savor the 8th inning comedy.

. . . so they could marinate in married life and the excessive drama of their lives."

Great line.

I always thought that my parents sent me to camp for my sake. Now that I am a parent I know otherwise.

[5] i liked the suri joke :)

my dad had an odd record collection. because of his generational and cultural background, though, i missed out on the whole classic rock era which most of my friends were exposed to because their parents were boomers. my dad had mostly indian and western classical music, and a random assortment of musicals and folk music, including the oklahoma soundtrack. he used to sing "oh what a beautiful morning" in the shower when he was in a good mood :)

The real benifit of last nights game was that anyone who thought Danny Baez was the second coming of Eric Gagne should now be disabused of that notion. He is Gagne Lite. Of course, Gagne is Gagne Lite too (or worse).

My general rule in life regarding sports teams is always look for another team with more problems, if the Angels can't get Frankie to stop throwing sliders and start throwing fastballs, they will have a big problem.

Prediction: Escobar to bullpen (which he will fight because he is in his last year of his contract) and the Weaver brothers become the first to pitch on the same team. (Don't know if that is true, I don't think Joe and Phil Niekro, Bob and Ken Forsch, Gaylord and Jim Perry ever pitched on the same team).

But if I am wrong, Bob will correct me.

12 - Grady will get kudos from folks at BP because he actually had the plan to use a closer for 2 innings.

13. Pedro and Ramon had to be pretty close. Bob's probably busy protecting the maps.
vr, Xei

Well, though I never thought Baez was Gagne, Baez didn't pitch that poorly last night, did he?

12 Anyone who thought Baez was the second coming of Ozzie Smith also got a reality check.

13 What about the possibility of Jeff Weaver being the first pitcher DFA'd to make room for his own brother?

Dizzy and Daffy Dean pitched for the Cardinals at the same time.

[15] yeah, they were both on the dodgers in 1992-1993. pedro only pitched 8 innings for the dodgers in 1992, but he had 107 innings in '93.

He didn't pitch that well, either.

I was one of the people who got sucked into thinking Baez was automatic. Why? I don't know becasue a little research would have shown otherwise. Putting aside last year, I have become spoiled when it comes to closers.

looked to me that last night was one of those "bad luck" games...

it just seemed that all the Cubs' runs were a product of bloopers and check swing hits

21 - At the risk of using the "who's to say" argument,
had been able to catch the ball, he would have.

just looks to me that Little may be having some trouble managing the pitching staff, but I am sure this is something new to him and he will work his way through it

Brothers, same team: Larry Sherry (pitcher), Norm Sherry (catcher), Dodgers: Then there were the Waner brothers, Paul and LLoyd, known as Big Poison and Little Poison and I believe there was a set of brothers that were pitch and catcher for the Cardinals in the 30s or 40s. There were the Aspromontes in the 60s or 70s, the Boyer brothers, three of them....Where was I going with this? Can't remember

There have been several brothers who have pitched on the same team. Rick and Paul Reuschel even combined on a shutout of the Dodgers once when they were together on the Cubs.
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B08210CHN1975.htm

Nothing good can come of giving up 0-2 hits to Neifi. He deserved what he got.

The two Boyer brothers, Clete and Ken, were opposing third basemen in the 1964 World Series. I believe Ken was NL MVP that year, too.

I don't remember a third one.

LAObserved relays that Ron Burkle and Michael Ovitz, who are being investigated in the Anthony Pellicano case, have hired on our favorite PR firm: Sitrick.
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2006/04/are_we_surprised.html

The 1964 series was the first one I paid attention too. I think Ken was the MVP. McCarver hit a big homerun if I remember correctly.

Say hello to Cloyd Boyer
http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/boyercl01.shtml

paid attention to

Bob Gibson was the MVP of the 1964 World Series.

If Cruise/Holmes ever have a boy, they should name it Cloyd.

27 - There is nothing like being wrong to spark responses on DT. :)
I really should have remembered the Dean brothers, pretty doubtful that Jered and Jeff will accomplish the same feat as Dean brothers, each winning two games in the 1934 World Series.

Keep in mind also, that I made extra strong coffee this morning. I may be flying all over the place for a while.

Then people can come by work around 3 and drag my lifeless body out of here.

Ramon and Pedro Martinez also played together on the Red Sox in 1999 and 2000.

28 - I believe you mean "Neifi!."

And hey, Baez still has no blown saves! He's perfect! Last night's game was a loss, not a blown save.

40 - Nope, he got the daily double: a blown save and a loss.

The MLB.com boxscore:
http://tinyurl.com/z8fh8
gives Baez both a blown save AND a loss.

40-42. But he still has a perfect ERA.

Rick and Paul Reuschel even combined on a shutout of the Dodgers once when they were together on the Cubs.

Vin must of had a field day with that.

Tracy used Edwards and batted him sixth last night. Andy Van Slyke blog does not approve:

http://whereisvanslyke.blogspot.com/

But, does his era go up, because he committed the error that let the runner get on, that then scored? Weird...

No wonder I didn't recall Cloyd Boyer. He was done with the major leagues before I was born. However, hearing that name did remind me that I must've read his name on the back of Ken or Clete's baseball card.

As a kid, I got so excited when Ken Boyer got traded to the Mets. He had a grand slam in the '64 series to help defeat the hated Yankees, and he seemed like one of the best players in baseball, the kind of guy the Mets never could get in the 1960s until they were washed up. Unfortunately, when Ken Boyer arrived, he was washed-up, too. Even on his Mets baseball card he looked like a fat old man.

One day in a doubleheaderm Dizzy pitched a one-hitter, his brother then proceeded to pitch a no-hitter. Dizzy was peeved at him for not telling him he was going to do it so he could have pitched one, too. A favorite Dizzy Dean tall story...

Actually, Wickipedia says it was a 3 hitter. Interesting stories anyway. Here's a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizzy_Dean

Re: the Boyer brothers. The only time I met Billy Martin was at a rather alcoholic party to benefit a fund to help Clete Boyer with his cancer treatment. Martin said that Augie Busch had not contributed a penny, so as a way to needle him, anytime he would see Busch at a restaurant, he (a Miller light spokesman) would send a Miller light to Busch. This when brother Ken had been a big star for the Cardinals, really rubbed Billy the wrong way.

26 The Cards' players were Mort and Walker Cooper. Mort pitched.

28
Yeah, giving up a hit to a guy with 1291 career knocks is just asking for bad luck to follow.

51 If Neifi puts up his usual numbers this year, he will offically be the worst hitter of all time in terms of batting runs above average.

51 -- You're tellin' me.

3 - Interesting to see the list of professional players from Taft and El Camino. I went to high school with David Aronow and Kelly Paris from Taft and played in the same Little League as Robin Yount (starting the year he graduated to Pony League). I think there might be an error on the ECR page. Vince Pone definitely went to Taft, though I guess it's possible that he may have transferred to El Camino.

41 - Oops, my bad. Why is that, though? I certainly recall Eric Gagne garnering several 'losses' during his dominant years that didn't count as blown saves (including one or two during his streak, I believe)

54
The Baseball Cube has a lot of errors when it comes to high schools. It's a good place to start, but it's not perfect.

Fremont still has produced the most major leaguers of any L.A. high school, but none since Eric Davis. I think the total is in the 20s.

Locke High has the only pair of high school teammates who made it to Cooperstown in Eddie Murray and Ozzie Smith.

47 -

"You know, strange as it may seem they give these ballplayers nowadays very peculiar names."

"You mean funny names?"

"Strange names, pet names, like Dizzy Dean..."

"His brother Daffy."

"Daffy Dean..."

"And their French cousin."

"French?"

"Goofè."

"Goofè Dean, oh I see..."

55 You don't get a blown save if you come into a tie game, and then subsequently give up the winning run.

58 - I understand that... But Baez came in ahead by 2 - then gave up 3. I would assume that to be a blown save only - but it's listed that he also gets the loss? Is it because of the whole 'no runs earned' thing?

59. Who would you give the loss to then?

60 - I'd figure it to be a no-decision.

59 So, who would you give the loss to? Baez was the pitcher of record when the runs came across. Earned or unearned runs are irrelevant in determining W-L for pitchers--irrelevant for saves or blown saves, too. They only figure into stats like ERA.

62 - I guess I'm just confused because under that line of reasoning, I'd expect every blown save to be considered a loss, but it's not.

63
If for example a reliever pitching in a save situation only allowed the tying run to score, he would be credited only with a blown save and not a loss.

As for Baez, he gets a blown save for allowing the tying run to score, and then a loss for allowing the go-ahead run to score.

64 - Gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

He also blew his chance for a gold glove.

63 Also, if a reliever pitching in a save situation gives up the tying and go-ahead runs (like Baez last night) but then his team comes back to tie or take the lead, it's a BS but not a loss. (Unless, of course, he subsequently gives up the winning run.)

67 - Thus setting your team up to get more than one blown save in a game. Now that's something the Dodgers can aspire to.

4
late to the party, as usual, but the title of the post reminded me of thirtysomething. i believe the production company would sign off at the end with the lyric "dance by the light of the moon".

to properly set up the following story, you must know that pizza luce is a gourmet pizza place here in the twin cities - kind of a mom and pop/trendy cpk.

i was recently approached by a homeless gentelman here in mpls, and gave him some change in response to his request for money so he could eat. he looked at it and chastised me, saying "come on man, i need to get to pizza luce!"

69- Buy a man a pizza, he eats for a day.

Teach the man to bake a pizza he eats for a lifetime.

On Monday, the Mariners had a hold, two blown saves, and a loss.

http://tinyurl.com/pkeat

"dance by the light of the moon" is from Buffalo Gals.

69, 72 - Right, and I think that particular "dance by the light of the moon" in "thirtysomething" is taken from the brief duet that Donna Reed and Jimmy Stewart have on their date early in "It's a Wonderful Life."

Why don't you kiss her!

What?

I said, why don't you kiss her!

Oh, youth is wasted on the young!

69 - Letterman used to tell this joke:

Beggar in Las Vegas asks for money. Man replies, "How do I know you're not going to use it just to go gamble?" Beggar says, "Oh, don't worry - I've got gambling money."

By the light, by the light, by the light, of the silvery moon...the silvery moon...

From the game notes on Yahoo regarding last nights match-up between Cub pitcher Sean Marshall and Dodger pitcher Brad Penny:

Among the press box crowd observing the Penny-Marshall pitching matchup was actor David "Squiggy" Lander, who was Penny Marshall's co-star on "Laverne and Shirley" back in the 1970s. "She's probably at the Lakers game tonight," said Lander, who works as an associate scout for the Seattle Mariners.

74 - Love that!

68 I guess that, in theory, there is no limit to number of blown saves that can be awarded (to the visiting team) in a game, with the caveat that there can be only one BS per inning. I thought momentarily that the limit would be 24 (one for each player on the roster who was not the starting pitcher) but of course a player could receive two blown saves in the same game if he was to be moved to a fielding position after his first BS and then asked to pitch again later in the game. Unlikely, sure, but I'm looking for actual limits, not practical ones. The home team, of course, cannot blow a save after the ninth inning.

How early can there be a blown save? This is kind of a tough question. A blown save can only be awarded in a save situation, which means that at the time the pitcher entered the game A) if he were to finish the game without giving up the lead his team would win, and B) he cannot be the winning pitcher. So this would (almost?) mean that any pitcher coming in before 15 outs have been recorded by his team could not be awarded a save because he would be awarded the win instead (the starting pitcher being ineligible). This would suggest a maximum of four blown saves for the home team in a given game (6th, 7th, 8th, 9th).

But what if the starter comes in, goes 2 innings, and is injured? Reliever A throws 3 innings of shutout ball. Reliever B comes in and is handed a 6-0 lead. Save situation? Only if Reliever B is not granted the win by the official scorer - but we don't know to whom the official scorer would grant the win yet. If Reliever B goes 4 perfect innings, the official scorer should probably grant the win to Reliever B because he was "the most effective pitcher", the subjective criterion which applies in cases where the starter doesn't go 5. But what if Reliever B gives up 3 runs, or 5? Clearly Reliever A was the most effective pitcher, so he gets the win. Now, though, Reliever B gets a save because if a reliever pitches at least three innings to finish a game, he gets a save no matter how big the lead was when he came in! So here, Reliever B gets a save (and thus finds himself in a save situation) only by stinking it up. Thus, by reasoning, if he stinks it up enough to lose the lead, he should get a blown save, even though it wasn't necessarily a save situation when he came in, right? That's kind of confusing, but if that's the correct application, a blown save could probably be awarded, in rare circumstances, before the 6th inning. Cool. Wow, that was long. Anybody still reading this is entitled to one beer, on me, next time you're in Davis, CA as a reward for actually sitting through that bit of triviality.

It just hit me (from glancing at the sidebar) that Odalis Perez is making $9.5 million this year.

Wow.

Oakland is getting Machaed right now.

Is Street hurt or something?

So who's gonna be the first to post one of the funniest things I have ever read on the internet, the McCovey Chronicles game thread from this date last year?

I think the MLB schedule makers have learned to avoid home games for the Giants on this particular date...

Dan Johnson is 1-32 this season.
Crosby hitting in the #3 spot isnt helping the A's either. He's also bringing down my fantasy team.

Speaking of funny things on the internet:

http://tinyurl.com/pcuhe

It's from Adam Felber's blog Fanatical Apathy. It's his take on US-Iran relations post-9/11, but it's apolitical.

Macha's players are working on bailing him out.

Dan Johnson, 1-35, is taken down for Adam Melhuse.

83 The last post on that thread was by our very own Jim Hitchcock. He's not been seen around here for many moons.

[79] what kind of beer? :)

74,78
Oh, youth is wasted on the young!

I remember it as "...youth is wasted on the wrong people."

89 Ah ha! I have defeated you! ("Can't believe I read the whole thing...Must DRINK!") Brew would of course be your call, but the less rice the better.

91 Well, his career K/BB is under 2.5, so I'd say the jury's still out on that 12.5 K/BB so far.

Last night I was wondering, why is it that the Dodgers are being plagued with Keystone esque type play? I came to the conclussion that it was because I had yet to shave my head this season. I Shaved it before 04' and they win the division, I grew it out in 05 and they lose horribly. Today I went out first thing and got my head shaved, so have no fear, the Dodgers will win the west!

Also the A's have the same record as the Dodgers so there is still much hope for both teams.

91, 94 - I think the larger point is ... who's unhappy with Brad Penny right now? Why phrase your post that way?

New post up top.

Whom's unhappy with Brad Penny right now.

96 I certainly didn't mean to imply by my post in 94 that I'm unhappy with Brad Penny right now. Much the opposite. I just think his extraordinarily good K/BB is due to a small sample size.

99 - No, I understood. I was really responding to 91.