I wonder if his success so far is because he is actually good, or that nobody has faced him before.

Will he get hit once the league has seen and scouted him a couple of times.

Biggio - 2B
Tavares - CF
Berkman - 1B
Ensberg - 3B
Wilson - LF
Lane - RF
Ausmus - C
C.Everett - SS
Nieve - P

I would also be surprised if we don't see Houlton, Billingsley, and Broxton around the All-Star break. Especially considering our SP and bullpen woes. The aforementioned have all been pitching very well in Las Vegas where EJax and others have struggled.

Is it just me or is Tim Hamulack really not impressing? His FB only goes low 90's from what I have seen and his balls have absolutely no movement on them. Don't be surprised to see a move there to one of the following: Wunsch, Beimel, Greg Miller.

And the sooner we send Carter down, and call Broxton up, the better.

He only made one mistake. It's not that his delivery is being figured, but he just left a fastball over the middle. I think he'll be good at least for the rest of the year- I mean, he has an 11-1 K/BB ratio.

And why convert Izturis when you have Joel Guzman who can play 3B,SS,1B,LF,RF?

Sounds like a character out of Jellystone Park. "Hey, Yi Yi, let's go get some picnic baskets."

Playing Mueller everyday right now is going to show in July and August.

Also we need to do something about Cruz Jr. and Navarro while we are at it. I have no doubt they will both be better than they are right now but maybe Cruz NEEDS that protection of Drew and Kent to hit well. And Dioner needs to get his swing figured out. Looks like he's going for a HR everytime up and whiffs.

Kent Day Off:
1B Garciaparra
2B Aybar
3B Mueller

Nomar Day Off:
1B Kent
2B Aybar
3B Mueller

Mueller Day Off:
1B Garciaparra
2B Kent
3B Aybar

Aybar could definitely play 3-4 games a week just by spelling Mueller, Kent, and Nomar.

25. I would love it if they tried him out in LF and RF his arm is below average at 3B and im sure in the OF also but if you have ever seen Delwyn Young's OF arm then you'd know Aybar's CANT be that bad.

Anyway, it's been decades since I've seen it, but I remember them singing a song that went something like "Aye aye aye Wilma". But for the life of me, I can't successfully Google the lyrics to the thing.

Maybe I don't know how to spell "Ay yi yi", but I tried "Ay ay ay", "Aye aye aye", "I I I" and the correct Swedish spelling, which would be "Aj aj aj", but--zippo.

This is really going to bother me now.

I'd like to see our prospects tear it up to the point where they are really forcing the issue to take over starting spots, not bench roles.

And all 3 of them are sssssssooooooooo replaceable.

That's enough money for a top line starting pitcher or powerhitting outfielder.

What a waiste.

Andy LaRoche I think is a bit overrated but I don't know enough about him to be honest. I would trade him while his value is high and stick with Guzman at 3B.

As far as pitchers. Billingsley, Houlton, and Broxton are ready.

"The Flintstones" featured some great music. From the theme song "Meet the Flintstones" to "Bug Music", and from the "Way-Outs" to the Swedish visitors Ingmar, Ole, and Sven Erocksen, who sang "I Love my Vilma".

Al Downing:
http://tinyurl.com/ozq68

Jerry Reuss:
http://tinyurl.com/mfya2

Only if he is better than Craig Counsell was when he was on the Dodgers.

My guess is that Saenz will spell Mueller occasionally now that Nomar is back. Of course that may just transfer the fatigue problem. Is baseball really that grueling? Besides playing catcher, I mean.

Also, can someone remind me how to make that "16" a link? It's pretty far away from the late forties, after all.

He's a man of few syllables.

Navaro fails to throw someone out. ble.

From the last thread. sorry i didnt answer, I have been busy all day until now.

In the inside the dodgers blog, i asked Roy Smith if there was an offensive philosophy the Dodgers tr to teach to their positional prospects, specifically patience at the plate and working the count.

this is his response:

To answer your questions---yes. All the things you mention are emphasized. If you look at our AAA team I think that there are 2 players there who are good examples—Russell Martin and Andre Ethier. We do not set specific statistical goals, but each of the things you mentioned come into play.

Nice of him to respond.

That should be a fun game to sit through.

Meanwhile, hope people aren't giving up on this game too early, given last night and all. Penny seems to be settling down a bit (hoping to not jinx...)

Are they both Hall of Famers?

I didnt realize Biggio was that old. He doesnt look it.

I'd rather see Alomar...can't believe I just wrote that.

navarro is still 22 yrs old. Be patient with young players.

Jose Lima and Mike MacDougal

It was back on June 15, 2005 in Kansas City.

Why wouldnt you want to see him do great?

So:

Biggio doubles
Taveras singles, Biggio to third
Berkman grounds out, Taveras moves up to second, Biggio holds
Ensberg flies out, you have to presume the runners would hold
Wilson singles, Biggio scores, Taveras to third
Lane flies out, inning over

Only one run "should" have scored.

Ensberg popped out but Wilson then got a hit. Taveras woudl have scored either way. Both runs are earned.

I've VERY patient with young players...but right now, we can't afford to have two automatic outs at the bottom of the lineup when we have a hard enough time scoring runs as it is...

Homer Scorer.

Ahh, the scorer changed his mind I see. The alternate version makes sense too.

The rulings are discretionary at times.

Patience is waiting more than 20 games into the season.

Whats done is done. I hope Choi turns into David Ortiz.

You rang?

He was struggling before the ball hit him, I don't think that has much to with his slump.

84,85 Both of you seem to think if Ensberg and Wilson struck out that the Biggio run would become unearned. To me the error led to Biggio scoring "prematurely" so it should be unearned regardless of what happens after.

I'm not saying to give up on the guy, but shockingly Alomar has actually been hitting when he's in. Maybe it's a good idea to get Navarro out of the lineup for a day or two to see what happens.

Again, we can't score runs as it is...having a guy that can't hit the broad side of a barn in there EVERY day does nothing but hurt us. If we're gonna go with a rookie, we might as well just go with Martin and see what he's got...he can't do much worse...

Kent's wrist surgery may have been more than a minor thing.

I'm reconstructing the inning from text accounts instead of seeing the plays, so there can be different interpretations. I would tend to trust the interpretation of the people who were actually there.

Pitchers are supposed to be given the benefit of the doubt on earned runs however.

I'm prepared to go 162 games if need be but it won't be necessary.

Yes, he did.

Whenever a fielding error occurs, the pitcher shall be given the benefit of the doubt in determining to which bases any runners would have advanced had the fielding of the defensive team been errorless.

And now Navarro throws it into center...

1. Begin season in #2 spot, ahead of Drew and Kent.
2. Succeed.
3. Get moved down in lineup.
4. Struggle.

Kevin Goldstein, an excellent writer for Baseball Prospectus, did a story a few months ago where he looked at Baseball America's 2001 Prospect List and reviewed the 900 (top 30) players to see how many had progressed to the majors. He found that the average system produced 8 players, 4 position and 4 pitchers, out of those, 6% were what he considered star players or pitchers, around 43% were either regulars or 3-5 starters.

The odds tell us that out of this great group of prospects, if we get one great regular and one great starter, a couple of regulars, a bench player and some bullpen guys, that is really doing well.

I hope that this is a Garvey, Cey, Valentine, Russell, et. al. group but I would not be surprised if all them don't wear Dodger Blue when and if they ever make the majors.

In Taveras case, its almost assuredly he would score. And scorekeepers use a player's speed to determine hits and errors all the time. How many times is a play scored a hit bc "he would have beaten it out anyway" reasoning...? A lot.

Evrytime we lose a game or someone commits an error we cannot knee-jerk promote a prospect. This is true even if the problem persists (read Navarro). If you are going to promote Martin promote him when he is ready, not when we need him. (duck)

Good job Kenny.

prospect that should spend the whole season in minors:
guzman
martin
laroche
kemp
etc
etc
etc

I ask for unanimous consent to advise and extend my remarks ....

I've forgotten how to make italics, if it can be done here.

66 pitches and only one two out rally and he gets yanked?

Was he injured or something? I am only getting the game via online updates.

KENT!!!!!!!!!

Let's be optimistic on Kent. I am willing to bet on 28hr 100rbi out of him still vs 90 percent of Baseball.

I hear ya guys on Cruz, but I like Lofton in the two hole. He is pretty exciting.

I just think he will be ready by midseason. somewhere between june and july. By that time, tomko will have more then enough starts to show he belongs in the bullpen.

Chad Qualls 7.84
Trever Miller 12.27
Mike Gallo 12.46
Ezequiel Astacio 27.00

Wheeler and Lidge are their set-up and closer.

I'm not sure about Kent, but I think Biggio is clearly a HOFer. Didn't a Bill James book describe him as the second best player of the 1990's? Behind Bonds?

Anyway, hope for a win, and a Willy Aybar call-up. Wasn't he projected to be a super-utility man in the first place, why don't we bring him up for that?

I don't see any scenario where Jeff Kent wouldn't make the Hall of Fame. He has the most home runs by a second baseman. He won an MVP. He played in a World Series and several other postseason rounds.

Biggio's HOF monitor is at 130.

I agree that Kent should make the Hall, but you never know with these voters. Just to play devil's advocate, they might cite the perceived lack of defense, the whole bit about playing in the "juiced ball" era, and clubhouse chemistry stuff.

But now that I think about it, yeah, he's pretty clearly a HOFer.

Steve -- Gigantor (who apparently is called Wookie by his teammates what with the new look) seems to be mired as long reliever. He keeps pitching well, and keeps getting saved for 3-inning, close-game situations. That's a useful thing to have, but given that the nationals cannot get passed the third inning of any game w/o being down 4 runs, odd they're not looking harder for starter help.

Billy Traber is a lefty and a fomer top Mets prospect (was traded to Indians as part of the Robbie Alomar deal). Had TJ surgery in 2003. Now oldish, but was doing well in minors when called up after Ryan Drese was injured. Pitched pretty well last time out v. Philly; shelled tonight obviously.

One thing to watch is what happens with Werth and Izzy, once they begin rehab assignments, they can only be down there for 30 days.

My guess for players to go down or looked to be moved would be Robles and Repko. Robles would probably be sent down because he has options and a good salary. They would probably love to trade Werth but he has no value until he plays.

Doerr is in the HOF (although it took a while). Alomar should be an easy pick.

Guillermo Mota gave up a 3-run homer to Manny Ramirez in Cleveland to give the Red Sox an 8-5 lead.

It being a low curve didn't help either.

I assumed that meant there was a wild pitch before it went up on Gameday.

Reports out of Toronto say Molina's defense is pretty bad. It wasn't that great last year with the Angels.

could it be nearly as bad as Navarro's? Not to mention, at least Molina can hit.

THe defense could have been better, but Penny really didnt help himself out much either.

Penny could have pitched better, and Navarro could haveplayed better behind the plate.. But if you only score 2 runs chances are you wont win.

Penny could have pitched better, and Navarro could haveplayed better behind the plate.. But if you only score 2 runs chances are you wont win.

well that goes back to the same old problem: we need another OF bat in the lineup.

Us not hitting their mediocre bullpen on the other hand...

Stop Catching Porosity!!!

As I've said many times, Aybar's future should be as an everyday 3B. Not a utility guy, although it could be a stepping stone.
Aybar's actions at 2B are mediocre. Let him play 3B every day in Vegas. He needs to work on a few things, including his baserunning, because he could see time as a No. 2 hitter in the majors (and spot Furcal as a leadoff man).
He's having an nice month, but he's learning how to translate his good approach into better power. Let that play out.

Is walking Robles on four pitches worthy of the Grabowski principle?

Wasn't his 71st home run off him too?

Would that mean Russel Martin = Paul Lo Duca? Oh my...

Come on Kent...be a hero.

"Je" "FF" "KENT"

Now I'm starting KENT STOP SWINGING AT THAT BELTRE SLIDER!

Good? Bad? No effect?

"Sa" "m" "my"

Gameday has him listed as the last guy on the bench.

Coincidence...?

...and I know almost every player in the major leagues, we need to scrape together a run off this guy

It is a pretty lonely feeling.

Okay, partly because he's on my fantasy team...

"Lu" "Cille" "II"
"Lu" "Cille" "II"

(It may not matter)

Rule 10.17 (b): When the batter leaves the game with two strikes against him, and the substitute batter completes a strikeout, charge the strikeout and the time at bat to the first batter. If the substitute batter completes the turn at bat in any other manner, including a base on balls, score the action as having been that of the substitute batter.

It's not even 11:00 pm in Houston.

0 for 3, 1 RBI.

The Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the seventh. Damion Easley led off with a double, the second baseman's second hit of the game. Easley moved to third on Gabe Kapler's single to center. Deivi Cruz followed with a base hit to center to score Easley for a 1-0 lead and [Dave] Borkowski followed with a groundout to the right side to score Kapler.

----------------

Borkowski gave up solo homers in the 8th inning to Biggio and Bagwell. Todd Jones lost the game in the 9th.

"To" "m" "ko"

I guess Kuo/Baez are unavailable?

Meanwhile, look at Biggio's hustle! (Please.)

See if Grits had just gone with Carter, he wouldn't have wasted Tomko.

Oh well, good game.

And now Berkman's up. I'm guessing Grits is bringing in Kuo now?

Is Kent slightly more agitated this time?

Give me a break.

Say hello to the Dodgers 7th inning pitcher from now on.

Oh, is there a baseball game going on.

You know as much as I don't think Lance Carter isn't all that good, I don't see the point in rooting for him to fail if he's on your team

463 Because it was way too shallow.

So, can Eddie Murray grab a bat? I think there should be a rule that allows for bench coaches to be eligible to play in games that go longer than 12.

Furcal, Lofton, Martinez, Repko, Alomar, and All Star Lance Carter.

Perfectly legal.

Geoff Blum is on San Diego, so Astacio is safe.

Oh wait... sorry, I was supposed to be writing. Er, sorry. Lurking instead of working.

Why is anyone (Furcal) swinging. This guy can't find the zone

Something like that just happened, except Carter recovered.

"I'd like to see them get very agressive on the Astros" -- yeah, you know, on the guy that can't throw a strike and is so great, that they had some guy named Borkowski throw four innings.

Now all they have to do is walk Kent, and Nomar and then face the pitcher.

I'm doing my part by stupidly double posting a couple of times tonight

J.K.

This game and the White Sox-Mariners are the only ones still going. And they're in the 9th inning in Seattle.

568 - My two on-deck posts hurt the odds of that.

So.

I remember the Tim Leary game as being in 1988, but I didn't know whether I was just being romantic.

P.S. Yes, I'm calling Lofton "K-Lo".

Actually, Kuo has kind of sucked this season, to put it more bluntly. He's been no better than Carter. Could he perhaps use more seasoning? I wasn't sure I'd say this but I'd almost rather see Houlton or Sele up - they'd help a lot more in long games like that one.

Oh well... guess it's only fair after the win last night.

Night everyone!

they need to teach this guy some control..

so much potential.... but not there yet :/

Two new posts up top.

Perhaps...but I get to hear from the oh so polite St. Louis fans and their rabid neighbors to the north as well. Wait....oh maybe you're right.

612 - Try readin' up on them all after you've come back from watching "Boston Legal" here on the East Coast!

Ok, now this thread can die.