Tomko just lost one of his primary competitors for the HR title, Eric Milton is gone for a month with knee surgery

So how many hits will Chad Tracy get today?

Going to the game today to see this quality match-up. Ned must be peeing his pants with excitment at the prospect of two ex-SF pitchers matching up today. Its hard to figure which one is worse. Generally I would say Ortiz is good to give up five runs in three innings or foue innings but this is the Dodger offense and Ortiz's numbers in DS are pretty good.

How long until we call up Billingsley, and send Seo down?

I'm off to the game today also.

2003 I was a perfect 7-0.

2004 I was 1-12, and fully believe the game they won was due to the fact that I left early. The next game I went to, Gagne lost the game to the Marlins. Unbelievable.

2005 was half and half.

Here's to hoping that pattern continues and we go undefeated this year.

3. Wow, the spelling, sentence structure and typos in that post are worse than ususal. One too many vodkas last night.

"Hola, Darren? Estoy Antonio Osuna. I sympathize, my friend..."

For more than a decade, there have been suspicions about the initial blowout, the first Tommy John surgery after a half-season in the Dodger bullpen, and the long-term effect it had on what agent Scott Boras called "the best college pitcher I've ever seen."

Dreifort held a copy of his 1994 game log, his rookie season. Two innings one day in mid-April, three innings two days later. Nine appearances in 13 days in late April and early May. When Lasorda called, he went. Fellow relievers advised him to refuse. By late June, he was in the minor leagues. Nine months later, he had packed his pajamas and gone to see Jobe.

http://tinyurl.com/ead5o

[5] i was at that game in 2004. lenny harris, right?

Marty, the food at Wilshire was pretty good, not great. I had an unusual appetizer; a panko (Japanese bread crumbs) fried egg with lentals. It was so weird I had to give it a try. It turned out to be pretty bland. My wife had scallops as an appetizer. They were very good. Other people had the beet salad which was fairly pedestrian and the hamachi which was good.

As for entrees I had the braised boneless short-ribs with onion mashed potatoes. It was excellent. My wife had the salmon which I didn't like, she did however. Others had the halibut which was bland and the pork chop which was really good but a little over cooked.

The deserts were unremarkable but we didn't order very well. Cookie sampler and sorbet sampler.

The service was very good. The restaurant itself is beautifully designed and the people were reasonably hip, although not a young crowd: 35yrs+ (a good thing at my age). (I'm sure Nate and some of the other youngans are thinking "reasonably hip" and "35+" that's an oxymoron) They have a large back patio which is the place to be in warm weather. All in all, I would give it a 7 out of 10. It was pretty expensive so someone else might expect better.

Oh yeah, and a star sighting too. Mrs. Carole Brady at the very next table.

That was the one. I remember really starting to worry when LoDuca came up. I headed to the exit to smoke. Saw Dukie work the walk. Went outside the gate to try to reverse the jinx that was me attending that year. It was too late.

Normally I'm a rational and unsuperstitious person, but when it comes to baseball...well, you know.

So how many hits will Chad Tracy get today?

with Tomko pitching the better question would be: "how many home runs will Chad Tracy hit today?"

4 Weren't you claiming that Seo was going to be awesome just two weeks ago?

It's still a very small sample size. You really shouldn't be changing any of your evaluations this early.

No Nomar in the lineup today. It's understandable, he did play one game in a row. They're overworking the poor guy.

Today you can watch Texas and Tampa Bay on Extra Innings! I know people here are wild about those teams.

Two years ago, during the NHL playoffs, when my cable system shared the Extra Inning channels with NHL Center Ice, I would get some free hockey.

But they fixed that this year. I don't know why they made me watch all those unimportant regular season games though.

Morning people>
Where is 'inside the dodgers'?
Many thanks!

There should be a link to it on the home page of dodgers.com

[16] there's a link to it here on dodger thoughts.

11.

What's Tracy hitting against the dodgers, .500?

Bonds will be sitting out today, but no doubt the Giants will win that game in spite of themselves.

When the Giants house of cards tumbles, it won't be pretty.

In his career, Tracy is hitting .282 against the Dodgers.

20.

Really? I thought he was hitting better against us, because he always seems to kill us.

Why no Nomar? Anyone know?

This is mildly interesting:

Ortiz has ERA of 6.10
Tomko has ERA of 5.82

However, Tomko has lifetime ERA of 2.83 at Dodger Stadium.

Ortiz ERA is 2.74 in his last seven starts at Dodger Stadium.

Who would have though that today's match-up presented any prospect of a pitchers duel.

Nomar says that was the plan.

19- I am glad that I am not the only who realizes the Giants victories have been pure luck. If Alou manages the way he has been managing all season then the only way the Giants will win the west will be if the regular baseball season is a hoax rigged up in Vegas.

Lets hope repko knocks the cover off the ball today, so ned and grady think twice about starting lofton ever again.
Its getting to the point where our season hangs in the balance of repko (a little exageration but still).

Anybody watching the Colorado/SF game? The Rockies announcers are pretty sure that the second HBP was intentional, too. I'm not so sure. I just can't figure out why he would do that.

25 Something is seriously wrong if you think Repko is the answer.

I mean, I don't want Lofton, but I'd much rather see him than Repko. 47 at bats this year is not enough to convince me that he's not the same guy with a .280 on base percentage.

After 48 at bats last year, Repko's isolated stats were actually better (.110 patience, .271 slug versus .084 patience, .234 slug) so it's entirely possible that Repko is just getting lucky right now.

16/ 17
Thanks, guys!
Last dumb question (for today) -
how do I reference a contributor (like the two above) and highlight it blue?

27

Repko is not the answer, but when it comes to a choice of repko or lofton, i'll take repko.
Repko has more power, and last i checked we were ranked 14th in the NL in slg.
Plus usually repko bats 7th, not today tho.
Lofton allways bats 2nd.

Matt Morris, along with Alou and Righetti were kicked out in the first inning in Denver after Morris hit Marrero with a pitch. I'm not sure of the whole context.

Looking up Repko's BABIP and Line Drive Percentage statistics, he is definately getting lucky, He has a .389 BABIP and a 26.3 line drive percentage (26.8% lead baseball last year). Line drives percentage is almost entirely luck (this is in the Hardball Times Annual) and this and BABIP are very closesly tied. If his line drive percentage starts to drop towards the 15.8% he put up last year, he'll be the same player that we were trying to boot off the roster a month ago.

I surely hope Furcal and Kent start hitting soon. The former is at .243 and the latter at .220. I'm beginning to wonder whether the line you always see in the brochures about financial products is holding true for those two:

"Past performance is no indicator of future results."

Off to the game. . .
Going to miss the first inning but a wife and two daughters out the door on time is always a challenge.

32 Fortunately, Furcal always sucks in April (OPS is about .100 points under his career norm) so this is probably expected.

29 There comes a time when power isn't worth it. Namely when it comes attached to a sub .300 OBP. I wouldn't want Tony Batista anywhere near this team either.

28 Put the post number in brackets like this:

"[##]"

33
It's tough enough with just a wife.

Jim Thome might get one more chance to tie a record held by Kenny Lofton. Thome has scored a run in 17 straight games, but hasn't scored today (and the White Sox have seven runs too!)

Kenny Lofton and Red Rolfe hold the AL record with scoring runs in 18 straight games. The NL record is 24, by das411's enemy, Sliding Billy Hamilton.

34

There comes a time when power isn't worth it. Namely when it comes attached to a sub .300 OBP. I wouldn't want Tony Batista anywhere near this team either.

I agree.
But if the choice is lofton or repko, i'll take repko.
I think cf is a hole that needs to be fixed.
I don't like both repko and lofton.

35

YES!

Kayaker7

I needed a little help with that too thanks.

38- Why all the ill will towards Lofton? Did he burnish your cat?

Dontrelle Willis offered for David Wright. lol.

http://tinyurl.com/zzv8n

In defense of Repko (i cant believe im saying this) through his first 46 ab's last year he had a 3:11 walk to strikeout ratio. This year he has 6 walks to 9 strikeouts. This also corresponds with the fact that he looks much more patient and selective at the plate this season whereas last season hacking at everything. You dont need to look at his line drive %'s to know he's been hit lucky, he's not a .340 hitter. But the question with Repko was never about his power, it was his control of the strikezone. I want to see Repko play because he's 25 and Lofton is 38. The Dodgers have a lot more to gain from seeing if Repko can improve than to watch an overpaid, overrated veteran push his team towards 85 wins.

Why isn't Nomar playing today?

I guess just for a break. Olmedo Saenz? We're not playing Pittsburgh are we?

45

I've been asking around as well.

Chad Tracy is Arizona's version of Saenz & Pittsburgh.

According to Ted Brock:

"Dodgers manager Grady Little said Nomar Garciaparra will sit out Sunday's finale."

Even Seo has sucked so far, i still think Seo will post an ERA a little bit under 4. His career era is 3.85 before coming into this season. He knows how to pitch.

Nomar said that they had always planned on giving him the day off after his night game debut.

How long till Brett is TomKO'd ??

I give him 5 innings

Tomko will have to go at least 5 unless he is battered from pillar to post (to borrow a Vinnyism) since Seo didn't go long yesterday.

Remember that the first guy out of the pen today would likely be Lance Carter! Woo hoo!

I think its more likely that tomko or seo will be moved to the bullpen when Billingsley is called up.

Hearing/seeing Carter warm-up in the bullpen tells me the Dodgers are ready to give up a game.

54

And then Carter will be DFA and DT will hold a party.

The Dodgers have a lot more to gain from seeing if Repko can improve than to watch an overpaid, overrated veteran push his team towards 85 wins.
I think its more likely that tomko or seo will be moved to the bullpen when Billingsley is called up.

I agree with you alot sanchez101.

Navarro & Tomko lost there wollet there!

I`m beginning to think Mo Vaughn might come out of retirement to be a pinch runner for a NL West team, even he would be able to pick a base from the Dodgers.

I'd try an off speed pitch here.

Thank god Shawn Green is coming up.

get HONEYCUT OUT OF THERE!!!!!!! PLEASE!!

Would it hurt Tomko throw something other then fastballs?

This team's defense is so terrible.

Can't help but laugh.

Way to go "Ormeldo"

i hope loney was watching that

!!!!!!!

Cue "Keystone Cops"

what happened?

Olmedo Saenz happened

-J. DaVanon stole third

great, so now we're not just handing out 2nd base for free, we're giving the other team 3rd as well.

Dear James,

Don't get too comfortable down there.

Love, Olmedo

Hudson is like a 4th outfielder. He's around every ball hit to shallow center-right.

Is there really any chance that Furcal will be worth $13 million this season?

I just lost all respect for Mark Grace, he just said "Git-r-Done"...

Holy Tomato, Batman!

Repko on! let's steal a base Repko

69- On a weak grounder to 1st. Olmedo fielded it then weakly flicked it out of his glove at Tomko(it did not reach Tomko) which allowed Green to take first safely and Davanon to score from third.

It would have been the third out.

I have a FEVER! & the only prescription is ALMADO MAKING THAT PLAY!!

Repko's taken 7 walks this season in 17 games, he took 16 walks last year in 129 games.

I like watching Repko at the plate... /ducks

81- I like watching paint dry.

Drew Drew Drew

"Je" "fF" "Kent"

Let's get that run in Kent!

84 ??

86- Chant it.

Ah, Repko got hit four times in his first 48 ABs last year. That explains the patience.

78 - haha thanks

88
I think hitters should receive more credit for reaching on errors than they do for getting hit by a pitch.

000000HHHHHH! How could he take that pitch.(good eye)

Lucky Ortiz!!

You've got to be kidding me.

Why do I keep watching this team? Sigh....

Nice one, DJ.

87 Thanks for that...:)

So the "steal" costs us a run against he-who-shall-not-be-named.

94- It's this kind of stuff that will happen less and less throughout the season, which in turn will bring more wins. Through thick and thin. Sickness and health.

30 Bob Timmermann

In last nights game there was a question if something would happen when Vizquel faced J. Mesa. Apparently, Vizquel wrote a book when he was with Cleveland and said some things about Mesa. Mesa took offense and said that he would would do something about it. (do not know the details) Mesa's second pitch to Vizquel was a 95mph fastball that hit him in the back.

Woo! Go B-Unit!

37 - Thanks Bob. Was that a one-season-only streak too?

43 - Nate, who will go higher in the bidding war for Dontrelle this summer, Mets or Yankees?

75 - "Git" "r" "Done"?

99

Bad Altitude explained what happened.

Well, it ends up being wise to hold-up Kent.

You guys think Tomko will hold the lead?

The Dbax sure had a great off-season when they signed Russ Ortiz to a 4/40 and Shawn Green to 3/30.

Ortiz seems to have less than Tomko.
Ah! Disaster for someone besides us!

Git-r-done is an extremly annoying catchphrase by redneck/racist/extremely popular comedian, Larry the Cable guy. Quoting him is actually proven to lower your IQ by 3 points.

Nate, who will go higher in the bidding war for Dontrelle this summer, Mets or Yankees?

dodgers or dbacks. they have the most pieces to trade.

He-who-shall-not-be-named is shockingly horrendous.

well, at least this year we're getting the stolen bases back on offense.

Who will the second pair of starters be.
These guys are approaching their pitch limits.

I had the O/U for the game time as being 3:20. I think its safely going to be the over.

101

Thome's streak was all in one year. He didn't score in his last game of 2005.

Hamilton's streak in 1894 wasn't surprising since that was the highest scoring season ever in baseball. Hamilton scored 192 runs in 1894 and the Phillies scored 1143 in 129 games.

And they were only third best in the NL in runs scored.

another nice start by houlton, 6ip 1er 3h 2w 8k throwing 97 pitches.

113. wow, steroids must of been rampent back then

Poll: More annoying color commentator for the D'back, Mark Grace or Steve Lyons? I'm undecided.

Oh great... now Grace is sexually harrassing some actress in the audience.

Ortiz can bunt! I knew there was some reason they wanted him in their lineup.

114

good to hear, it's always better to get the pitching from the farm rather then going out & buying them.

I hope that error dons't hurt us.

alot of people down play erros but man! they've cost us a couple of games!

115

They've been cheating with that stuff however.

http://tinyurl.com/nbov9

Orlando Hudson is no Craig Counsell.

116
Is there any way to get Vin on the mlb.tv subscription, or am I stuck with Grace and this other guy? They are both absolutely terrible.

according to Karros Grace likes talking to trees!

are my eyes seeing correctly? (tracy strikes out for the second time)

Larry the Cable Guy isn't a racist. He also isn't funny.

121. i hope rocky mountain oysters are on MLB list of banned substances

Lakers are playing their heart out. I'm proud right now.

Tomko's thrown 63 pitches in 2ip.
Arizona's left 5 men on base.

126
Have you ever heard him talk about muslims??? Some of the most racist things I have heard in a while. I'm pretty sure "...just nuke 'em all" is quite racist.

You couldn't be more correct about the not funny part though.

128. ditto. lakers have outscored phoenix 35-32 since the end of the 1st quarter

4 Lakers currently have more points than Kobe. When was the last time that happened?

132. 1998?

128

what channel?

134- ABC

135

thanks

is that the fany cam?

did you guys see that? LOL!!!

tie game, holy crap!

Fany cam,

hehe.

Muslims are a religious group, and possibly could be an ethnic group, but are most certainly not a race.
Thank god the more we learn of genetics, the more it seems that race doesn't really exist.

Please no race talk.

And I don't care who you are--he's not funny.

Can we stop the RACE thing.
Larry the cable guy is funny to me.lol!

According to CBS, the Lakers rebounded a Phoenix miss with 22 seconds left in the 3rd quarter, then got a shot-clock violation with 5 seconds left.

It's like calling Randy Newman a racist because of his music, or Ed Norton a racist because of American History X--you have to see that he's playing a character; it's satirical. That it's poorly done doesn't make him a racist, just a not so good comedian. This will be my last defense of LtCG, forever.

141. race exists as long as people believe that it does.

in case anyone cares, LV just took a 4-1 lead in the 8th inning. the bull is just around the corner.

145. that was all vujacic's faulth, brian cook was wide open at the three point line.

141
Whatever you want to call it, advocating the bombing of an entire group of people based on their religion is f-ing evil. And I don't think he called them Muslims, I just figured he meant Muslims when he refers to "towel-heads".

149- You have him out of context anyhow please stop the race talk.

147 I've never understood why Broxton is nicknamed "The Bull" and not "The Ox".

146
I know he's doing a character, but he does not come across as the least bit satirical when talks about "towel-heads". He has gone on these horribly dispicable rants in order to get a rise from his rabid and by-large quite raist fan-base.

finally lakers are up

King and Hurdle were ejected in Denver. The Giants have tied it up at 2-2.

King hit Vizquel with a pitch after the benches had been warned. And who relieved King.

Jose Mesa!

Am I mistaken in thinking that Loney went back to AAA? Why is he out of the LV lineup two games in a row?

152- Now you generalize his fanbase as racist, please stop with the comments.

The Giants are feeling good vibrations now with Brian Wilson pitching.

Since someone mentioned the Hardball Times, I popped over there for a minute, and found an interesting recent article on the worst pitchers of all time (not sure why that would have crossed my mind given the classic pitching matchup we have in today's game; maybe it's because the article was titled "Fibonacci Loss Points," and I'm a math major). Anyhow, the article included a list of the fifty worst (Milt Gaston was #1), and I thought a few names might be of interest to those at DT: Rick Honeycutt (#19), Charlie Hough (#29), Kevin Gross (#44), and Claude Osteen (#49). Terry Mulholland almost made the list (he's #55).

141

I totally agreed with you. Great point!

152

Pollitical correctness, getting offended easily.
Puke.

155

Loney may just be sitting out to let him get back to Las Vegas and get settled in and find a place to live. It's not like he's urgently needed at AAA.

I guess I had never seen Phoenix's basketball court before. It looks more like a college court than pro.

Thanks 35!
55 Carter reminds me of Mr. Lisa Guerrero.
Just up from a nap. What'd I miss? Are we condos yet?

I'm not sure which is more offensive--the racial stuff, or the basketball stuff.

151. its probably because they both start with "b". As in Jon "the bull" Broxton. Is that alliteration? am i even spelling that right?

160
Calling "nuke em' all" a racist statement is political correctness???
give me a break.

166
STOP.

166- Drop it.

Like its hot.

165 Yes, that is alliteration, and yes, you did spell it correctly. But "ox" as in BrOXton still makes more sense, just as Broxton, instead of Carter, makes more sense, at least to people not named "Ned."

169 That's Mr. Ned to you!

why did shawn green dive? is it "style over substance"?

Thats for you Gracie, ya idiot.

And that is why people Boo Green.

Aren't Ox's only found in Europe?

Mr. Abdul Jabar (sp?)is wearing a very interesting jacket.

I would rather be nicknamed "Bull" instead of "Ox" since bulls have two things that distinguish themselves from oxen.

173- Oxen

167
Just defending myself, and why I think he is racist, I will not post any more regarding this. Sorry. When someone advocates bombing an entire region of the world I have a right to call to call him racist. I did not try to bait anyone into an argument, just stating my opinion.

Anyways GO DIONER!

Geez, this game is only in the 3rd inning.

Bulls - used to make more bulls and heifers, but there usually aren't many kept around and most of their "stuff" is collected and then sold and then distributed to heifers and cows by artificial means

Oxen - Bulls that cannot provide anything to make more bulls and heifers, but are put to work on farms to pull things.

Steers - Like oxen, except they exist because they are usually good eatin'

Tomko is racist against being worth anything of value.

177- You're allowed. There's one person who has the right to tell you to stop talking about something, and he hasn't weighed in. In the past Jon's not been super happy about race talk, but, save the people telling you to shut up, over and over, I don't think this tangent got too hot.

The bull strikes out the first batter, allows two gb singles, and then strikes out the next 2 batters. Heh, I think he got mad.

Broxton strikes out all 3 batters but gave up 2 hits.
1 inning pitched.

wow! Tomko dose something right!

Ned is racist against good baseball players

I'm going to get the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy on DVD and go watch that and see if this game is still going on when I'm done.

I'd like to see ethier get called up and see what he can do, 1 for 2 with 2 walks today.

Why does Green's hat always fall off when he is chasing a fly ball. That, along with the uneccesasry dives always drove me crazy.

186

LOL!

Green still knows his way around Dodger Stadium

bob will be singing take me out to the ballgame with us.

The Dodgers already have the record for longest 9-inning game by time.

4:27 in San Francisco on 10/5/2001. The Dodgers won 11-10. Some guy on San Francisco hit a couple of home runs and people cheered for a long time.

I love the way the D'backs announcers get excited over every fly ball hit by Arizona.

I'm racist against the D'backs announcers. I say nuke them.

193
I love the way the D'backs announcers get excited over every fly ball hit by Arizona.

See: Steiner, Charles

186 Make sure you get the extended edition. The theatrical versions probably aren't long enough.

"One Two Three!"
"One Two Three!"

195

Do the extended versions have an even longer sequence of Viggo Mortenson floating down a stream?

Or more scenes of Liv Tyler just sort of staring blankly into space?

Repko hitting the ball the other way (love that)

Repko!!

The little engine that could.

197
Yes, and the extended version of the 3rd installment has 10 endings, 4 more than the mere 6 included in the theatrical version.

Oh, and an additional 5 Armageddon-esque "Good Guy vs. 10 millions orc" battles.

Olney him.

Big day for dodger minor league hitters, columbus, vero beach and jacksonville combine for 23 runs and 5 homeruns. Among pitchers, Malone and Miller looked good. Greg Miller two hitless innings, no walks, two k's, 4 groundballs.

Rick Monday just said, concerning the Kent RBI groundout, "that's a run that won't show up in the box score."

Lofton's shaking in his boots, after that blast by repko.
Again i'm not high on repko but sanchez101 put it in a good way.
"the dodgers have more to benefit starting repko and seeing what he can do, instead of starting an old overrated veteran".

197 Yeah, basically. Really, they're a mix - there are both extended versions of some existing scenes (some of which are useful and some not) and there are full scenes that are inserted which were cut for time. Kind of like deleted scenes on your regular old DVD release of Movie X, but fully produced and integrated into the film. "Fellowship", especially in the Lothlorien scenes, was greatly improved.

Grittle is quoted by Monday as saying that Nomar took today off, but will play the next 140.
"No Mar G!"

204
That's odd. After Repko crossed the plate, there was a "2" (instead of a "1") in his box score in the "R" column, and a "1" (instead of a "0") in Kent's box score in the "RBI" column.

you said >>"that's a run that won't show up in the box score." <<

I swear to you I busted out laughing out loud with that!! OH MAN!!!!!

I'm going to go to my barber and say "Give me a Steve Nash haircut".

Anybody else have MLB Audio kick out on them entirely? I swear, I can't remember the last time I tried to listen to a game and actually was able to hear the whole thing without a problem.

203

matt kemp, is adjusting to AA really well, a lot better then i would expect.

today he went 2-4 2b, hr, bb. hes batting .319 on the season with a 13:7 k:bb ratio in 72 ABs.

210
Would that really involve "cutting"?

208 Who are you going to believe, Rick Monday? Or your own eyes?
209 Yes, pretty amusing. I guess he was just stunned momentarily by the back-to-back Olneys.

212. i was expecting him to struggle in AA. he seems to understand, though, that plate discipline is his biggest issue.

How did Guzman do today?

216. 1 for 4 with an rbi

The Dodgers found Chad Tracy's hole... High heat outside corner.

Navarro with the rare unassisted DP by a catcher.

Jason Phillips had one last year.

That was a deserved 2 outs.

217 - How many strikouts?

Why would Tracy walk onto the plate in front of Dioner?

I don't think Tracy even knew there was a play on. Funny!

221. none

I was switching between sports center and the angels-a's game when i realized, oh, there's a dodger game on.

Tomko has thrown 96 pitches, but Little leaves him in to hit. I guess Tomko pitching the 6th inning is that important......

The Angels and A's are in the bottom of the 9th.

225. why do you babby tomko? especially when the the bullpen when 5 1/3 innings yesterday

Cody ross might be traded to the reds according to dodgers.com

http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060423&content_id=1414618&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la

Why would you want Tomko pitching the 6th inning? Granted, the bullpen blows, but Tomko pitching 96+ above doesnt seem very smart.

Also, letting Tomko hit just so he can pitch 1 more inning is something Jim Tracy would do.

Angels "K-rod" just dodged a bullet (A's hitter hit a BOMB!! but it was foul)

I've gotta say at the risk of jinxing Tomko, he really looks good compared to Ortiz. More generally he looks healthy compared to Ortiz. More generally he looks more than two weeks from death.

229. so are you advocating more Lance Carter? Tomko can go over 100 pitches, nothing wrong with that, especially since he's seemed to settled down since the 1st.

All over in Oakland.

The Mets and Padres are in the 7th.

232
so are you advocating more Lance Carter?

Careful, you know how Jon feels about personal attacks...

JD BOMBER!!!!

My god this game is long. I have things to do today. By the time we get to the 9th I'll have a beard and 2 kids.

BOOYAAH!!!!
Hr drew.

Drew or Beltre?
Drew or Beltre?

Hm.......

Allright JD. I give him enough crap that I should give him credit. That is a "sweet swing".

236. Arizona hurlers 137 pitches in 5.1 ip. Tomko 114 pitches in 6ip.

BOOYAAH!!

238
Speaking of Adrian, he is 2-4 today, raising his OPS to .478

[99] jose mesa can still throw 95mph?

bob - bull has better contextual meaning, but "ox" has a more satisfying sound. brox the ox! say it with me. :)

238 Thats a tough choice.
One must consider that if Beltre stayed in LA and this mercenary attitude didn't exist,
Beltre might have continued to develop with his nurturing organization. Boras doesn't give a damn as long as he gets a few more bucks commision. ( Of course, Beltre tried to escape his nurturing organization a few times. Early on he tried to sue for an out because he lied about his age and the D's signed him too young(supposedly)). I can still put that down to Boras. But when you get to parenthesis within parenthesis, all bets are off anyhow.

Mueller rocks!

"But when you get to parenthesis within parenthesis, all bets are off anyhow."

Particularly when the Toaster software might have "unexpected results" if you tried to use brackets within those parentheses.

[Particularly when the Toaster software might have "unexpected results" if you tried to use brackets within those parentheses.]

sorry linkmeister curiosity(sp?) got the best of me.

[245] oh no!!! the "who's to say" argument.... my eyes!!

I dont think Beltre was 'developing'. He started out good, then gradually got worse.

249 You proved something; I'm just not sure what. If Ken drops by maybe he can tell us. Having seen what happened with your sentence above, I suspect the program looks for a number between the brackets in order to determine whether it should be hyperlinked.

so.. tomko didn't suck today, eh?

Apparently an agent got in touch with Reggie Bush and hooked his family up with a large house while he was playing at USC. They are going to be investigated now and Reggie Bush may be disqualified, which would disqualify the Trojans' season.

I doubt that will end up happening.

www.Bruinsnation.com

The best SG on the West Coast (Chace Stanback) committed to UCLA for the 2007 season.

I love Ben Howland and Co's recruiting.

LOL....I wouldnt trust a UCLA fan site for news on USC.

Tomko was Tomko, but without the home runs.

more ex. on the who's to say argument?

When does April end and Furcal begin?

Furcal another fly out!

I wonder if Izzy smiles everytime Furcal makes an out? If Furcal is still struggling when Izzy comes back, does Izzy demand his job back?

258. That would make a great song lyric.

who's watching the game on FSN/PT?

260 Yes, but that may only get him traded faster.

The games on Fox/PT?

Brian Giles and his fake tan just stole 2nd off of LoDuca, 7-4 Padres and it's almost time for Hells Bells in SD.

236 - Is that a Matty Mo-level beard or just a Lowe/Gagne beard?

243 - Joe Table is a freak of nature. Even if he is still POed at Vizquel for writing in his book that Jose blew the 1997 World Series.

There are some who prefer to think Craig Counsell won that WS. But they know better than to mention that here on DT.

249- If you check the, "Preview comment before saving," box before hitting submit, you can see what your comment will look like when posted. You can do all the experimenting you like without making it public.

[257] last year when drew was hurt and beltre was performing poorly, there was discussion of whether beltre would have performed better had he stayed a dodger, and while there wasn't universal agreement exactly, there was kind of a consensus that you can't generally make good arguments based purely on counterfactual conditionals.

264

Yes, are you watching there or some other way?

Conor Jackson helps the Dodgers out. 1st pitch DP.

252 You are correct. Only if the text between the brackets is a number will it be converted to a link. [Otherwise], it's left alone.

Non Save situation !ALERT!

264

Fox Sports Network/Prime Ticket are you watching the game there or thrue gameday?

It is a save situation right? If the tying run is on the on-deck circle?

kent has no range

This Bullpen!

gamys overz

Kou couldn't get it done so we bring Baez in to get 4 outs. NOT EXCEPTABLE

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!

exceptable? except for what?

275. that gb would be an out most of the time. oh, great, nice job baez. unless he's pitching in the 9th, he sucks.

Who was playing left? & why did Little get him out?????

i wonder if broxton is watching this

oh thank you. Lets get some insurance right here please.

we need to get that run back.

270 Thanks. I knew those years of writing RPG II (poorly) would come in handy. ;)

hah, clever move by baez. he just tacked on two runs onto his bullpen competitor's (kuo's) ERA, and he'll pick up another save.

that sounds cynical, but i don't really mean it.

274
That was Ramon, Grittle took out kent on a double switch

oops, I'm wrong. Sorry.

Thank God I'm not scoring at home.

Martinez came in for Saenz at 1B. Cruz came in for Ledee in LF.

Jeff Kent's agent is looking pretty smart about now.

272

"PUT YOU'RE KITTENS ON YOU'RE MITTENS & AWAY WE GO!!" Quote from The movie Greece

I'm gonna have to write to fox/PT, the tush cam has to go!!

!!!YAY!!!!

Chad Tracy with his 4th K of the day.

nice win...and we won't be facing Oswalt in Houston.

BOOYAAH B/M

Why didn't Nomar play? I never got that.

Doesn't sound good.

297 Well, Pettite's still pretty good. No Rocket this year (so far).

Sports soap operas:

Bonds (nuff said)
Clemens: has he retired or will he come back?
Favre: is he gonna retire?
Young/Leinert: Who goes first in the NFL draft?

I don't think anyone thinks Vince Young is going to be the first pick in the NFL draft anymore.

It's Bush/Leinart.

299

Clemens is loving all that attention. He wants to go out "with a blaze of glory" so I'm thinking he's gonna go with a club that really has a chance for the BIG SHOW.

It is Bush/Williams for the first pick in the draft.

The Bush story is also on yahoo.

303-304
No

So much for my prediction of Tracy killing us today. Maybe I should hype up Ensberg now ;).

I had to work most of the day. Only saw the last couple of innings and had to listen to the D-Backs annoucers on mlb.com. I don't feel like reading through 300+ comments, though I'm sure they are all filled with wisdom. Could anyone tell me why Nomah didn't play today? Please!

303

nah! he hit an inocent blooper to 3rd base, then in tipical Bradley fashion, got mad & tossed the bat ANGERLY to the ground.

308

From what I read THE GREAT MIND that is Little, thought to rest him today.

LAT, nice restaurant report. Short ribs is always a good choice. It's one of my favorite things to cook. I've used panko when I want a fine crust on a scalloped or gratin potoato, but never tried it with eggs.

I just checked into my hotel in D.C. The first thing I'm doing is checking Dodger Thoughts. Priorities, right?

I see that the Dodgers won, but haven't read the comments yet or seen any stats. Hopefully Tomko pitched reasonably well.

308 310 - Apparently, the plan was to rest Nomar no matter what, at least as far as I can tell from 49 and 51.

305 - You're talking about Mario Williams, I presume? I don't think he'll go higher than 4 or 5...

Oh, geez, I get Joe Morgan and Frank Robinson tonight.

What the ####??? are you guys hearing Dodger talk? on KFWB

301 I should have specified "of the quarterbacks." I don't doubt that Bush will go first overall.

314- No whats going on?

So why isn't Nomar playing?

(I know why but I just felt like being annoying)

What the heck is that Nationals mascot?

318 I dunno, but I do notice that the Nats' catcher has thrown out two runners trying to steal second base. So that's how it's done.

Frank knows how to spit.

Just got home. 1-0 this year.

Great game, but long. Whoever said a beard and 2 kids is right. I was predicting 6-2, but I ruined the karmic force by rooting for Shawn Green in the 8th. The young girl behind me was a fan and her dad was booing him.

Geez, LAT, right in front of your daughter? Everyone has heroes.

317

I just had to reply to this one! LOL!!!

322. Steve, it wasn't me I promise. I could not live in a house divided.

322 Was dang funny.

That blue mascot thing at RFK was not a regular -- I think it might be the Potomac Nationals mascot (maybe he got called up when Screech slipped carrying a side of deer meat or something). Will get back to you with an authoritative answer.

Having watched half of the Nationals game on TV, my heavens it is remarkable how little Joe Morgan and Jon Miller add to the game at this point. They say three things: (i) frank robinson is a legend, (ii) it is good to go from first to third, and (iii) it is good for the hitter to be ahead in the count and it is also good for the pitcher to be ahead in the count. All good points. Thanks.

Indeed -- the blue thing is Uncle Slam, the P-Nats mascot. He did indeed get called up for the National TV game. http://tinyurl.com/p22h4. The press release also notes that he has a myspace page.

325. Runs are also good. I can't believe those guys didn't mention that. They must not be very good announcers.

Steve and LAT, you're too funny! I actually thought of LAT and his daughter for a minute, but the folks behind me actually recognized us from where we live (which is quite a ways away and I hate to say it...cough/high desert/cough)

And I think I found a good source for a construction loan in Pinion Hills. I have a couple of vacant lots to develop there.

That was some high quality Frank Robinson sycophancy during the game.

You can hardly blame me for the mistake. After all, LAT comes on here every day and beats the same old dead horses that always get beat around here -- Shawn Green never hit in the clutch, he only hit home runs when we were behind, he was too lazy to play on religious holidays, he was a walking 4-3 machine, etc., etc., blah-blah-blah, all day long. We can never get a conversation going, because all LAT wants to talk about is some game back in '01 where he grounded into a 1-2-3 double play with the bases loaded or his moderate resemblance in right field to the Statue of Liberty. Let it go, LAT! Let it go...

:)

From the AP story:

Green, who was constantly booed by fans for not diving after balls that were out of his reach when he played for the Dodgers, robbed Ledee of extra bases with a diving catch in right field in the third inning.

Just checked the schedule for the Astro series and while were throwing our top 3, we only have to face Pettite and two rookies so maybe we can take 2 out of 3.

Was at the game today and Tomko looked good after the 1st 5 batters. The defense looked like crap except for Mueller who by my eyes only and no defensive metric seems to be saving the pitchers just about every game. He also does not seem to have any problem hitting doubles without a 30 foot wall to help him. Kuo again walks himself off the mound and if this pattern persists it is going to keep him from being our key setup man.

330. Unfortunatly he isn't doing much to dispell any of that. I hate to admit it but if I were a D'Backs fan I would be unhappy about my right fielder.

331. Green had a busy day in RF. Lots of balls coming his way. When he made a nice running catch of a foul ball (hit by Ladee maybe) he got close to the stands and was booed very loudly and aggressivly. Sad really. I wonder what he is thinks of it?

Lauren Bacall is one tough broad.

I was under the impression that Kuo was a real fireballer. But I watched the gun today and the high number I saw was 92mph. Tomko was routinely faster than that. Was Kuo off today or was I mistaken in my impression that he was a 95mph+ guy?

if I were a D'Backs fan I would be unhappy about my right fielder.

Rabble-rouser.

Laurne Bacall in "To Have and To have Not" gives one of the sexiest performances of all time. Just smoldering hot in a way we don't see in the movies anymore. In her day she holds a candle to anyone, even Grace Kelly (or in Jon's case Victoria Hamel).

335
Before his two TJ surgery's he would normally hit 95-97, since he's come back I think were talking 90-93. He has had less then 100 innings since his return so he still has time to build up arm strength and possibly add more speed but a LH throwing 92 with his action is still very good. His problem is not his stuff it is his command.

Victoria Hamel or Paula Marshall I believe.

Hasn't Shawn Green had a terrible April just about every year of his career? It was a wonder the Dodgers of 2001-2003 scored any runs with their two best hitters in Green/Beltre usually missing in action in April.

340. Yes April is always slow but I think this is a new bottom.

I hate Chris Berman's HR call.

Shawn Green has a career OPS of 814 in April. His best month is August at 932.

How about that Brandon Phillips guy?

333- True. Classic Green though, as he was jogging toward the dugout (the catch was the third out) he gave the ball to a little kid. As much as I used to inwardly groan every time Green rolled a grounder to 1st or 2nd, I loved his presence in the organization and his role in the community. (Yes, yes, wishy-washy, but people liked Paulie for the same reasons, despite his annual post all-star game falloff.)

342- I hate Chris Berman's insistance on making up annoying nicknames. I mean, Albert "Winnie the" Pujols? Really? C'mon.

346 Agreed.

BTW, on TV did they show the guy who caught Drew's HR in CF. The guy caught it, leaned to far against the stair railing in the pavillion and flipped right over it. He caught himself with his free hand and held on till his friends pulled him back over the rail. All this while holding into the ball. If he hadn't caught himself he'd be in the hospital right now. I thought it would make ESPN. The Dodgers showed it three times.

Paula Marshall played the reporter in the infamous "Seinfeld" episode in which the catch phrase "Not that there's anything wrong with that" was used by Jerry and George when Marshall thought they were gay.

Of course during its run, many actresses had notable appearances including Teri Hatcher, Denise Richards, Courtney Cox, Debbie Messing, Kristin Davis, Jami Gertz, Amanda Peet and Marcia Cross.

A new wrinkle in the Nats' ownership derby. The Smulyan group now promises to name an African-American team president if they are selected. http://tinyurl.com/mnm5a. At this point, officially, nobody knows what the heck's going on.

I thought using Kingsley and Bacall was a little weak, but Artie was great. He might have found the answer to his restaurant problems by going back to cooking his old recipes but may not live to enjoy it.

Tough episode for the rabbit though...

Hey Marty -- nice day for you today! Let me know if you need anything (although I leave tomorrow for a few days myself).

I will actually be in Chicago tomorrow and weds. I've never been to Wrigley Field. There's a real small chance I can sneak away tomorrow night and go to the game (real small, sadly). If I just head over to Wrigley, any sense of how hard it will be to get a seat(s)?

Thanks Sam. It is a perfect day. Looks like I'm on my own until this evening's cocktail party. I'm going over to our bureau this afternoon. I'm staying on Thomas Circle, so I'm close to all the sights. I'll probably take in the memorials.

My favorite memorial thing on a lovely day like this (though its more walking than other options) is to start at the Korean War memorial (often skipped but very moving -- a statuary field of just exhausted soldiers, trudging through what must be snow), than cross over Independence ave (away from the center of the mall) and walk through the FDR memorial, and then around the tidal basin to Jefferson. At Jefferson, there's usually an Italian Ice cart and you can sit on the steps and see all the way up to the White House.

But there's a lot of good choices. Have a good day.

Jon, there's a "chat" with John C. McGinley in today's Washington Post sports section.

351. Sam, if you can get away to Wrigley, if only for a couple of hours its well worth it. Its a ballpark, like Fenway that you have to see. Remarkable how old it is but what a great stadium. I really enjoyed it. Two years ago I was taking a depo in Chi that was supposed to last two days. Of course we get there and the witness the knew nothing. In fact he had worked for the company for less than a month. We were done by 10:30am. Got on the train, scalped a couple of great seats ($50 per IIRC) and spent the day at the Cub game. Its one of those places where you feel like you are a real baseball fan for having been.

I missed Wrigley the one time I was in Chicago. Hopefully I'll be out there again since I work for a company based in Chicago. I did get to Fenway the one time I was in Boston in 1988. It was like going to Mecca. The Angels were playing, I was so disappointed.

When riding the El to Wrigley, my suggestion is to hold your breath and make yourself as thin as possible as you will be packed in tightly.

Also buy your return ticket before you leave. And bring a coat. Even if it's a sunny day, you will may end up in an area that's not in the sun and if you are, it's like sitting on an ice floe.

357 True. However, there are options. Most people take the El that stops right at Addison, adjacent to the ballpark, and it is a high impact experience. You can also take an entirely different line (brown, I think) that stops three or four blocks away, and leaves you a very pleasant walk through the neighborhood. As far as I can tell, this other line doesn't get nearly so crowded for games. Also a four block walk to Wrigley from just about any direction allows plenty of chances to stop for libation.

BTW, did anyone see in today's Times that Gagne is ready to start throwing three weeks after surgery? Groundhog Day?

Maybe I'm just jaded, but I hate Wrigley. I hate all of the stupid drunk former frat guys and dolled up trixies who only go to the game in order to call their friends and tell them that they ditched work to go to Wrigley and they never seem to even know what the score is. NIghtgames are even worse. The stadium is nice, but the fans make the place intolerable, and its not like there is any section where you can get a reprieve from the morons. I always feel bad when I see someone with their kids there trying to enjoy the game.

359

You must have been sitting with the people who were bugging Chad Kreuter.

There is an element of truth in that statement. If you go to a night game, you don't get as much of that. You also get the chance to be extremely cold.

I would also add that Dodger Stadium has its own share of jerks, but they are different than Wrigley jerks.

Thanks for the tips all. Would not have been prepared for an ice floe w/o this guidance, that's for sure. If I can get there (and despite all this windup, I probably won't) I'd be a few innings late. So the L wars may have abated. And I certainly won't be wearing any Marlins gear!

360. At least those guys bugging Chad Kreuter were paying attention to the field. The jerks at Wrigley seem to be less belligerant than some of the stories I've heard about Dodger Stadium on this site, Wrigley jerks are just incompetent as fans.

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