Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
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1) using profanity or any euphemisms for profanity
2) personally attacking other commenters
3) baiting other commenters
4) arguing for the sake of arguing
5) discussing politics
6) using hyperbole when something less will suffice
7) using sarcasm in a way that can be misinterpreted negatively
8) making the same point over and over again
9) typing "no-hitter" or "perfect game" to describe either in progress
10) being annoyed by the existence of this list
11) commenting under the obvious influence
12) claiming your opinion isn't allowed when it's just being disagreed with
Lance Carter does have a minor league option remaining, according to Tony Jackson of the Daily News - making the decision to keep him on the major league roster that much less explicable.
Jackson also supplements my thought Sunday that Derek Lowe ended his start prematurely:
Lowe left the game following the sixth inning, during which he turned his left ankle when he stepped in a small hole on the side of the mound and then took a line drive from Mike Cameron off the instep of the same foot. Lowe said after the game he didn't think either injury was serious enough to sideline him.
Finally, in a sidebar, Jackson writes that infielders are saying that they are have trouble picking up balls coming off opposition bats against the new color of the seats at Dodger Stadium:
The seats in the dugout club now are pastel yellow. Baseballs that have been rubbed down with mud - something umpires routinely do before games - certainly can't be described as pastel yellow. But they are close enough that some Dodgers infielders are complaining that they can't initially see the ball against the background of the seats when it is hit at them.
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Hong-Chih Kuo more or less previewed his demotion in comments he made Saturday to Allison Ann Otto of the Press-Enterprise:
Kuo said he has been struggling with his location and relying primarily on his fastball and slider.
"The last three games, I can't throw low," Kuo said Saturday. "And every time I try to throw strikes, I throw a little high."
Meanwhile, every time Eric Gagne throws, I get nervous. But he did some tossing for the second day in a row Sunday, according to Otto.
* * *
Anyone who is a fan of the Lakers and the Dodgers had to feel a certain Even Steven feeling when the incredible Dodger collapse immediately followed the incredible Lakers rally. By the way, has anyone commented on how similar the end of regulation of the Lakers-Suns game was to the end of the UCLA-Gonzaga game in the NCAA tournament?
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Update: From Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus:
Pitching for Triple-A Las Vegas, Billingsley took a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Friday night, lowering his ERA to 1.59 in 28.1 innings. In his last three starts he's allowed just seven hits in 18.1 innnings while striking out 20. Add in that he's pitching in the Pacific Coast League and his home park is a hitting paradise, and the degree of difficulty makes his accomplishments that much more impressive. A scout who recently saw Billingsley thinks that the righty might be the answer to the Dodgers' bullpen woes. He thinks Billingsley could handle the switch, that it would keep his arm fresh, and that he could learn on the job. Sounds like Pedro Martinez' entrance to the big leagues. Why don't more teams do that?
I also feel that middle relief in the majors can be a great apprenticeship for a starting pitcher, though I have to admit that in Billingsley's case, I've been wanting to see him stay in the starting rotation kind of groove. The two main things are that I don't want him overworked, and I want him to be allowed to make mistakes in the majors without the world criticizing him.
In the same piece, Goldstein throws some cold water on the Andy LaRoche hype. He points out that La Roche is batting .273 with 16 home runs in 440 at-bats away from Vero Beach over the past two seasons. Are LaRoche's numbers really so bad, especially considering that some of them come in the tough AA hitting environment he is now in? "I'm not writing LaRoche off, but I am concerned," Goldstein says. I guess, for now, that's a reasonable straddle.
I have three witnesses! Maybe even four, but my niece may not remember what I said. She was just happy that everybody else was happy.
As for the seats, I guess it's time to check to see if anyone complained about them in the 1960s. I doubt it.
A healthy Gagne would force Carter off the roster. The Dodgers could bring in Hamulack or Kuo or Saito with a 5 run lead. Baez could return to the set-up role.
I know it is April, but San Diego is a division rival and the Dodgers should have swept them.
That is all.
This is a small thing compared to what went on in that debacle of a ninth, but if Bob Boone is catching, that might've never happened.
Okay, it's a new day... I'm over it. Sorta.
At least we don't have Jason Isringhausen, he almost imnploded on Saturday. I think Baez just shouldn't have been out there, that choice was Little's.
We thought the Cards/Nats game would get rained out up until they took the tarp off, then it just stopped raining. The new park is nice, we had good seats and we got to see a record HR from Pujols. He also made some great defensive plays. Got to see Mulder do his offday routine, which was cool. Anyway, everyone had a good time. Just wish I could make that trip to LA.
Let me say to all the Stanford kids at DT: Wow. What a great place. I am envious of what must have been an incredible experience for anyone that went to school there. I visited the campus/area for the first time this weekend while participating in an MBA golf/sports tournament and am already trying to figure out how I'm going to (1) raise my future children so they can gain admission and (2) pay tuition, or (3) raise my future children such that they gain admission AND earn full scholarships.
A really great place. The golf course is incredible, too.
She's not a tough critic.
Kuo's not his guy. Carter is.
12 - Yes, my hunch is that Colletti has been stalling.
I'm a fan of Kuo and I root for him, but he HAS had control problems. It's not like he was lighting the league on fire. Some time against easier opponents might be just what the doctor ordered.
That said, Carter needs to be exchanged for Broxton ASAP. It MIGHT be a good idea to send down Kuo; it WOULD ALSO be a good idea to jettison Carter.
James Loney leads Dodger hitters in GIDPs at 5.
Kent has 2.
A bunch have 1.
Garret Atkins of Colorado and Shea Hillenbrand of Toronto lead the majors with 7.
I caught a little of post-game Dodger talk yesterday, and didn't notice anyone blaming the GM for acquiring Carter (or Baez for that matter), only plenty of complaining, including from the host, about the manager thinking that his worst reliever could hold a five run lead with three outs to go.
What a difference a year makes. And I know I should never listen to Dodger talk, especially in the post-Ross era, but I was on a long-ish drive, so what can say?
"Billinglsey Deals--Again
The Pacific Coast League is perhaps as tough as it gets for pitchers. What may be the best hitter's league in the minors eats arms, from prospects to minor league veterans.
Take a look at Giants rookie Matt Cain's numbers last year at Triple-A Fresno: while he had 176 strikeouts in 146 innings, Cain finished with a 4.39 ERA. But that wasn't bad in a league where four out of the top 10 pitchers in the league wound up with an ERA over four.
"The only thing comparable in minor league baseball is either the Cal League or the Arizona Fall League," Triple-A Tucson lefthander Bill Murphy said. "But if you pitched in either one, you have some kind of idea how to pitch in the PCL."
Don't tell any of this to Dodgers righthander Chad Billingsley. Billingsley, who was pulled from the Phoenix roster just before the AFL season started last fall, never pitched in either league. And he's doing just fine.
In his latest outing on Friday, the Dodgers' top prospect allowed one hit over eight innings and struck out six in a shutout against Colorado Springs. Billinglsey is now 3-0, 1.59 overall, with awesome secondary numbers: in 28 innings, he's whiffed 31 and walked 10."
A few more injuries to some Major League staffs and Ned should be flipping Sele soon.
Current:
Navarro - 14/0
Alomar - 10/1
Past:
Piazza - 21/2
Lo Duca - 17/3
Melhuse - 5/4
Bako - 2/4
Ross - 1/0
Phillips - 1/0
I really need more sleep.
He's allowed one steal and caught three.
I like the CD a good deal, but the live tour is infinitely better.
One reason is that the best song in the live show didn't make it onto the CD, because it's not "associated" with Pete Seeger. It's a rewrite of the old blues song "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live." I think it's Bruce's best piece of writing in some time.
Fortunately it's freely available online.
http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/indx.html
Baez has now allowed 7 out of 11 inherited baserunners to score. According to ESPN.com, he has already surpassed his season high from last year of 6 (which was out of 31 inherited baserunners).
Baez has allowed 3 unearned runs, all off of a fielding error he committed. The fact that these runs get counted as unearned runs is one of the quirkiest issues with ERA.
I then went about my afternoon, made some pasta, watched Sopranos, and went to sleep thinking it had been a pretty darn good day. Now, discovering that the Dodgers did indeed live in interesting times, I'm not nearly as upset about it as if I'd watched it happen. All because of a demanding beagle.
1st - Nomar - Not enough at bats to make any judgements but I'm still staying with my prediction that he will post a > 800 OPS. Health is still the biggest issue with him. The power that was supposedly gone seems to be just fine with both his homers going 400 feet so far in limited at bats. Has looked agile and competent at 1st base.
SS - Furcal - what a bust so far. The player I expected to be the biggest upgrade to the offense has instead been the biggest anchor. Even his defense has been subpar. We know he's injured and he'll bounce back but yuck.
3b - Mueller - as good as gold. Excellent defense coupled with above average offense. The offense should drop as the season progresses but man I love the defense. Rarely have I seen a ball get by the guy.
Utility- Ramon Martinez - can actually play defense at 2nd/SS/3rd just like Robles. I never expect much from any utility player so I haven't been dissapointed.
CF - Lofton - I expected Lofton to be average but I remain impressed with how he's retained his speed at age 39. He always seems to be on 2nd or 3rd when he gets on base. His arm has always been weak but when you see it on a daily basis you just winch when he has to make a throw.
Ethier - AAA numbers are impressive
Seo - until Friday a big dissapointment but maybe he'll build off that great game and be the pitcher I expected to post a 3.50-4.00 and give us 6 solid innings almost every start.
Tomko - Surprise - ERA right at 4.20 where the optimists expected him to be. Nothing great but not the disaster that so many predicted.
Baez - until Sunday he was good as gold.
Hamulack - after posting a 0.00 due to luck, he actually started pitching better. He's a one inning pitcher and he has his uses.
Carter - didn't expect much but what we've gotten so far was 2005 Lima in the bullpen.
Saito - without him I don't know where the bullpen would be. He came up big for us when we were expecting nothing.
Players that Ned traded to acquire some of the above:
D Sanchez - has been lights out for the Mets and might be the best setup man in the NL right now.
E Jackson - same ole, same ole. Until he gets his command under control he will be hot and cold.
Tiffany - moved upto AA. He's been terrible with a WHIP over 2.00 and more walks then K's.
Milton - was doing adequate for the A's before hurting his leg(suprise) and has not played for a week. Lofton was outhitting Milton before his injury.
A Perez - the player that so many regretted including in the Ethier deal has yet to get a hit in 2006 while being replaced defensively in the two starts he has gotten. Ron Washington may tell the press that Perez can play a solid defense but actions speak louder then words and the A's actions show they have no more confidence in his defensive skills then the Dodger staff did.
Discworld?
That was the first thing I wondered about when I saw that light color in the lower section. I would think that pitchers would be even more at risk.
The box seats were "Rio Grande Orange". The grandstand sections were alternating colors of turquoise and chartreuse.
The bleachers were pink.
https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/363256.html
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