The Dodgers have their eye on a pair of Twin outfielders, Torii Hunter and Shannon Stewart, who are in the final seasons of their contracts and probably will be dealt as the suddenly pitching-thin Twins plummet in the American League Central . . . The Dodgers also are looking at Pirate first baseman-outfielder Craig Wilson.

If we must give up our prospects for an OF that barely serves as an upgrade, I'd much prefer Wilson over the Twins' pair

http://tinyurl.com/rpz22

Bobby Doerr is visiting in-laws out here, and there's a nice profile of him (with opinions about today's players and game) in the morning paper.

http://tinyurl.com/ldrcy

ugh, those guys are not going to help our offense at all.

Torii Hunter (career .266/.320/.459) is making over $10 million this year.

I'm not sure which I'm more confounded by: The fact that I want to play Repko more, or the fact that the Dodgers clearly don't.

5
That's the way of the world. If you wanted to play Repko less, they'd be playing him more.

1 I hope Ned isn't going to make a panic move like that. But it seems to be in his makeup.

why was lo duca taken out of the game?

Torii Hunter is at the center of much of the Twins advertising.

But the Twins are in big trouble and they need somebody who can hit. Trotting Rondell White out there nearly everyday as the DH isn't helping them.

Lo Duca was ejected for arguing a call at the plate.

Then the umpire called time and Bobby Cox came out to argue that and was kicked out too.

.266/.320/.459

Repko can do that. We can debate how valuable that is, but Repko can do it.

I'm going with "not very valuable."

ahh. by the way, so far the angels/blue jays game is even more interesting than last night's padres/cubs game.

Well, at $325,000 it's nice to have around. I expect that any trade would involve the Twins paying most of Hunter's salary, but one year of Roberto Kelly, I mean, Torii Hunter, isn't worth whatever the Twins are asking.

BTW: What is the plural of "Torii"?

hah! and lackey's the first to give up a hit.

Angels/Blue Jays game just became half as interesting.

15

You mean as in two of these?
http://tinyurl.com/msfzn

Maybe Repko is doing better this year because he's being played less? Last year he played more and well wasn't very good.

I wanted Nomar from the git-go, but I wanted him at third, so we could have saved that $4 million we pay Mueller. (I don;t care how he pronounces it, it is Mule-er; way it was when/where I grew up) I think Repko can do everything Lofton does so there's another $4 million we could have saved. Not signing Lucille II would have saved nearly a million more. That would have bought a fairly decent left fielder, free agent or by trade. Just playing off what we now have, I would rather play Repko every day, use Cruz as the fourth outfielder, send Ledee somewhere else, Bring Choi back as left handed pinch hitter; send Robles down and bring up Aybar as infield insurance. Catching is OK, with either Navarro or Martin, and Alomar as backup. Pitching is ALWAYS a can of worms, they're all treacherous ------ you can never count on. Good news is that they're the same on every club, so it evens out. They're all about as dependable as used-car salesmen.

[17] okay, now it's not interesting at all.

21
:-)

Why all this Lofton hatred? What should he be doing better? He has 4 triples already and has scored the winning run in a least two games.

The one where he stole second and the Drew singled him home and then again last night with his double and being brough in by Nomah.

Sure he is more expensive than Repko and Repko is producing comparable numbers but at the time of the Lofton signing would it really have been smart to count on Repko as the Dodgers starting CF?

I want Repko to replace Cruz myself, and I agree with most of 23.

2 Bobby Doerr is a great guy -- a very humble man and probably the nicest player I've ever met.

I was invited to go deep-sea fishing with him in Alaska last summer, but to my eternal regret, my travel schedule didn't permit it.

24- But Cruz is looking very tough lately with his short beard an all. Very John Kimble.

When two pitchers have dueling and no-hitters and they get broken up, the descendants of Fred Toney and Hippo Vaughn open up a bottle of champagne and celebrate.

27
Do said descendants include Mo?

I suppose if Hippo's family was open-minded.

Drew gets the day off as Kent, Saenz, and Cruz move up a spot so Ethier can bat 7th

[27] mo does look rather hippo-like...

23 I don't have many problems with Lofton, but I do think that Repko should be his late innings replacement (as scary as that sounds).

Lofton throws like a little girl.

32
Does Lofton do a better job of catching the ball than Repko?

33 I don't want to judge Lofton on one play, but on the double by Fielder last night he took a Repkovian type of route to the ball.

Again, it was only one play. I just cringe when I see a short fly ball hit to center with a runner on 3rd when Lofton is in the game.

For full disclosure, I'm probably overreacting.

Wow Eric, you had the opportunity to go deep sea fishing with Bobby Doerr and didn't go? I'm sure there was a good reason but I would sell one of children for the opportunity.

I'm happy with the Lofton-Repko platoon, or both of them starting with Cruz coming in off the bench. In any event, I wouldn't mind a trade of Odalis Perez for a middle reliever or a solid hitter, but I'm not sure what those Twins guys would bring us other than debt.

Btw, I do think with Zambrano now out for the year, and the Mets so desperate they're calling in Jose Lima to help, I can see them being a likely target for a Perez trade. The only question is, what would they give in return, and what would we want? (As I said in previous thread, I wouldn't mind getting Duaner S back, but the Mets won't do that given how well he's been pitching versus Wagner...)

Did you guys know that Ben Sheets was scratched from today's game?
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2006-05-07-injuries_x.htm?POE=SPOISVA

Maybe this was mentioned earlier, but it looked like pretty new, uh, news. He hasn't been pitching that well so far but he's normally a pretty dangerous pitcher to have to face. And now I'm shutting up for a good while, have to shower after a grueling soccer game. I smell so bad even my cats are skulking away from me.

37
I don't see many Flanders-type players on the Mets' roster. (Coincidentally, the Mets have the best record in the league).

37 Pay for his entire contract and 2 low level pseudo-prospects are about the best we could hope for

38 So we're upgraded from very little chance of winning to little chance of winning. I refuse to believe Sele can replicate what he did in Vegas for any length of time in the majors, and I doubt the Brewers offense will be nice to him

[39] jose reyes?

lots of interesting beginnings to games lately. minnesota has an interesting game going too, made perhaps a little more credibly interesting in that johan santana is pitching in it.

David Bush is a good looking pitcher- a control freak. 32k, 6bb to date. I have him on my roto team. He sliced through the Giants on Weds with Bonds in there.

Just watched the Angel game. The lineup has changed but the Hatcher Hack Attack has not. With a AAA callup out there they drew one walk. 8 of the last 11 Angel batters swung at the first pitch.

38 Ah, so THAT's what that was... Tell us when it's safe to open the windows again.

41 If so, then we may see Billingsley sooner rather than later, just imho. We'll see tho - I have more confidence in Sele (or Krusty the Klown) than I do OP right now.

42 Dream on. :-)

43 He is pretty good, you're right. This won't be any easier today...

okay, i'm really going now...

I'm somewhat glad that Lima did not fare well today in New York. I don't think I could have withstood seeing dozens of articles in the New York media about Lima's "infectious" personality.

Lima is infectious now in the sense that the Marburg virus is infectious.

I'm just running around and haven't looked at comments, but I just checked in on the Nationals game and feel compelled to report that in a 5-4 game (DC winning), with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, two men on, Chad Cordero is batting for himself.

I have no idea why a relief pitcher would be batting with a needed run sitting on second base (he pitched two innings in last night's extra innings game by the way), though I suppose it's a good thing for the Nationals that Robinson had him in to pitch part of the eighth.

Robinson has not subbed any position player today, so why he didn't double switch with Cordero is a mystery.

awww, no cigar for santana.

Ahhh... y'all can open the windows now.

So, Milton Bradley was just placed on the DL. The A's called up Andre Ethier to replace him... oh wait, we have Ethier. Neener neener.

they have jay payton to replace him. they put him on the DL retroactively so they could either get a catcher for kendall's suspension or a reliever because duchscherer has a sore elbow.

I read in the other thread that Depo is a candidate for the Nats job. Anyone have a link?

I can definitely see Ned giving away Perez to the Mets, then he'll start pitching well again and we'll be stuck with Aaron Sele in our starting rotation. Another scary thought, Brett Tomko will be our #3 pitcher!

Why is Ned even interested in Stewart and Hunter? Stewart has been declining ever seen he completed his "MVP" months with the Twins. Injuries have taken his speed and he seems to have lost his plate discipline too. Hunter has an option for $12 million next year. He'd definitely be an upgrade over Lofton, but at that price is he any better than Repko? Nope.

Payton wasn't starting already? Yeah, it sounds like the A's may actually call up a reliever to help shore up their bullpen, and that Bradley may be back as soon as next weekend.

Drew is sitting today. Ethier is in, as is Martin. Aw heck:

Furcal
Lofton
Nomar
Kent
Saenz (3b)
Cruz (RF)
Ethier (LF)
Martin
Sele

classic plaschke on the lakers today. i've never in my life seen a man quicker to exalt a winner and trash a loser than plaschke.

52 http://tinyurl.com/gbq9s -- note this is pure staffwriters' speculation. Dan Evans even makes an appearance in the small print . . .

You still torture yourself with Plaschke? I guess it's sort of like passing a car wreck, one just can't quite look away. But I stopped reading him last year because I was getting too angry and depressed with the idea that he continued to get paid for putting down drool marks on paper.

That montage of the last two games was pretty neat.

oh, i don't read him regularly. the headline caught my attention today and i just figured, "what the hack". i've long stopped getting worked up about him; it's actually pretty amusing if you don't think about the fact that people take it seriously.

So how are we supposed to take trips where we just make left turns? If I did that from my home, I would just end up driving in a circle all day long. Unless you live in some area where the streets intersect in a weird way, it just won't work.

Is anyone surprised that Martin is playing three days in a row to start his young career. I know they like him; I like him. But I expected Alomar to catch one of the three this weekend, especially with an off day tomorrow. Or was it because Martin caught Sele in Vegas?

One other question: I'm seeing the Dodgers play the Giants here in SF next Saturday. Can anyone calculate who will pitch that game? I was hoping for Penny but it seems like he'd pitch Friday. Gack... is it Sele? Sigh.

So what's the big crime in the Lakers losing? Jackson was able to do a pretty good job in getting that group to the playoffs and almost beating a much better team.

Did the Lakers lose because of some moral failing, according to Plaschke? Or would he take the bold stance that the Lakers lost because they weren't as good as Phoenix?

59 You're made of sterner stuff than I. ;-)

With an offday Monday and Perez's status up in the air, I would bet on seeing "TBA" pitch.

The Giants should be starting Cy Young Wright.

I think you're allowed to not turn. But that, if you turn, you must turn left. It's an irritating commercial, which is redundant.

But it's really hard to turn left out of my building and then I would have to take a left turn out on to a busy street without a traffic light.

I'd be stuck forever sort of like when Principal Skinner had to drive the school bus.

64 Thanks. I like TBA, he's usually fairly decent. Except when he isn't. But the same goes for Wright.

well, it's plaschke, so don't expect a coherent argument. they suck because 1)they weren't as good as phoenix in the first place and 2)they didn't have heart, because they didn't even show up for a game 7.

on the other hand, it was "one of the tautest, most dramatic NBA playoff series' in recent memory", for the first 6 games.

so really, he doesn't know what he's saying, except the lakers lost and he needs to vent.

Vin, Carlos Lee likely owns 6,000 steers, not cows.

My father would not let me use "cows" and "steers" interchangeably.

52. "Why is Ned even interested in Stewart and Hunter?"

Do we really even know he is? The story appears far more speculative than substantive. It could be more a case that the Dodgers are looking to see who may be available. Doesn't mean they'd actually make a deal.

!!!Furcal gets a hit !!!

68

Thanks, that sums it up well. It's nice to know Phoenix has more heart than the Lakers. I always just thought they had better players. How silly of me.

I think UCLA lost to Florida in the final because UCLA had no heart either. There was that and Florida's propensity for playing really well.

Boy, the Cubs haven't been very helpful against the Padres this weekend. Pretty anemic.

Every time I read a Plaschke article, I think of Jim Murray spinning in his grave. I think the Times should just run old Jim Murray articles every Sunday...They can borrow all my Murray books if the want.

Ahhhh, yay Kent - is he breaking out of his slump at last?

66- You'll have to venture out in the middle of the night, then. Jeez; some people. What do you think, that you can just ignore the commercial? We have a civic duty to do as the commercial instructs us. What would the point of having commercials be, if we didn't? When you think about it, it's like stealing if you don't obey.

70-

If he is interested in making a deal involving prospects, we better get a guy back named Cabrera or Dunn.

76

Do you know how I should go from South Pasadena to Camarillo today taking only left turns? I have to go to a wedding.

78-

just make left turns until you find a freeway, then drive straight down there, then only make left turns to your destination.

The whole thing sounds ridiculous, but it probably can be done.

If Ned really insists on trading for Hunter, giving up Izturis for him wouldn't be the worst thing ever.

Old Maid is awful is against RHP. The Dodgers are going to need to score at least 8 runs to win with Sele pitching.

I just found the directions from the invitation. There are two turns listed. They are RIGHT turns. This won't be nearly as adventuruous as Toyota wants me to be.

79- That's just crazy talk. How would you ever get off the freeway if you couldn't turn right?

OH! I know: just make your right turns going backwards. That should count.

There are occasional offramps on the left side of the freeway.

Very occasional.

It might take a while to find one on the 101 however in Ventura County.

[77] i'm sure the d-rays would be willing to give up scott dunn and the indians fernando cabrera. you're supposed to trade prospects to get middle relief, right?

I am having stupid arguement with my friend and I was wondering if some of you english wizards can help me out I say a developmental paragraph has 5 sentences and he says it's 3. Who is right?

[82] an offramp is not a turn.

83 has the answer Bob. Just do a 180 dgree left turn when you get to the offramp so you are now facing traffic. If you are going fast enough you can do it without leaving the lane. Then back down the offramp and make the right turn in reverse.

Couldn't be easier or safer.

82 Make a 270 degree left turn through several lanes of traffic?

What a stop by Martin.
Sele doesn't look like any lead would help him.

ot confession time:

i found out johan had a no-no going through 5 today, and, although he is on a couple of my fantasy teams (one of which counts wins, bb, era, whip and cg and shutouts), and i don't wish the hometown twins ill, i was rooting against him.
earlier this morning, i asked my son if he wanted to go to the game, and he said sure. at about 12:30, we decided (or i did) that it would be more fun to be outside and play than to go and sit in the metrodome. he didn't put up any resistance, so we stayed outside. when we came in around 230 for a snack, i saw that he was toying with perfection. now, i already missed the eric milton no-hitter a few years ago when i chose not to go after finding out the game time had been changed to an early morning start, and i would have been inconsolable if johan had pitched one after i had decided to stay home. anyway, we were listening to the game on the way for ice cream, and i was pretty happy when irod singled. i could have done without the magglio home run, though.

Cruz didn't know.

Whew.

Well, if he can just give us 5 decent innings, our solid bullpen should do the rest.

:-/

83 88

I will try that. My passenger might not like that. I have a Prius though, so I don't need to be adventurous, I just need to feel morally superior.

87- Hmm. Sounds like lawyer-ball to me.

If he could fing the plate it would help. His walks already got him.

That was a sick stop by Martin. He indeed does have tremendous lateral quickness.

Isn't it strange how coming into camp guzman was the one who had the best shot of making the team, yet Loney, Ethier, and now Martin are the guys who have contributed at the big league level this season.

Mon dieu!

Great, the Rockies are beating the Astros again, and then the Dodgers will get to face a hungry, angry Houston team this week.

Seems to me that Martin has no interest in returning to Las Vegas.

MARRRTTTIIIIINNNN

Go Go Canada

HOME RUN MARTIN!!

Woo hoo!!!!

I have a mancrush on this guy already.

Trade Navarro!

Let's all go stand guard for Canada. We owe it to them.

Martin! YES
97 so far its gone by who is hurt.

Ladies and gents, I give you Russell Martin, the Dodger catcher for the next ten years (or until we trade him for a bench player).

Kent looked pissed for some reason.

I love listening to Scully... sigh.. I wish he'd do all the radio innings... "And Bush almost disgustedly tosses the ball over to first."

104 Trade Alomar! For some magic beans?

That curve is vicious.

If it weren't for players getting hurt, most new players never get starts in any pro sport. You have to be really special to be picked out as a rookie and given a starting job right away.

Even someone like Henry Aaron only got a starting job because the expected starter at his position, Bobby Thomson, broke an ankle in spring training.

Just curious to get everyone's opinion... why is Repko not starting over Ethier/Cruz? The guy is hitting over .300 with speed and a great arm... why hasn't he earned a starting spot?

[108] Martin asked how many home runs he had.

Maybe Repko's just much more of a CFer than a corner OFer? Everyone needs a day off, too. I'm pretty sure he'll play on Tuesday.

113 Good question. But Rep definitely has that 3rd Outfielder tag.

(113) my feeling is that grady is doing the lefty/righty thing. with drew & meuller out he needs more lefties.

It might be painful to watch, but the intro to the Phoenix Suns website now is pretty cool.

http://www.phoenixsuns.com

113- I think the plan is to platoon Cruz/Ethier and Repko/Lofton. Cruz is starting today because Drew isn't, and he switch hits.

Vin left out one letter in his PSA he was reading. He meant to say the Dodgers were helping out "underserved" youth, but instead he said "undeserved" youth.

114- hehe.

i'd like to see martin hit higher up in the lineup. say 5th or 6th? the kid can flat out hit & defend.

Kent changed back to the newer helmets.

Did Martin light a fire under Kent?

Detroit leads Cleveland by 21 at halftime. I suppose the Cavaliers have no heart.

Uh-oh-just noticed Drew's out. Did he get hurt? Wait, I remember, it could be the exhaustion of playing day after night game.

125
It's not reasonable to expect a guy to play every game when he's only being paid $11 million/year.

Olmedo delivers woo woo.

122-I'm a huge advocate of the David Wright method of putting prospects in the order. Let the kid bat seven, with no undue pressure, and let him get used to hitting for awhile. Next year, we'll see.

Hmm, looking at the directions to the wedding, I've just noticed that the wedding is starting 30 minutes earlier than I thought.

I guess I should get dressed.

[118] hahahah, the best part is where it says "the clippers are from LA TOO, aren't they?"

112 The real question is why unknown rookies sometimes lose opportunity to known mediocrity. Honeymoon periods exist in all performance related endeavours. Even Grabowski was good in his first 100 at bats until pitchers adjusted IIRC.

The Killer Tomato And Meatball Crusher

82-

Let's not forget, there's nothing in the rules about driving straight. So it actually probably IS possible for Bob to do this.

Bob, try it, it may take you an extra three hours but it'll be worth it.

I can't believe I'm still discussing this...I'll now go drink a gallon of bleach.

I hear the Times circulation is dropping at an alarming rate. The Times must be lacking heart.

132-I'll take driving conversations over 187 posts on male height anyday. Still trying to recover from that one. I'm 5'11", by the way.

And the invitation oddly says "Formal attire - no denim please."

To me "formal" means "rent a tux". And I ain't doing that.

I guess if I get turned away, that's my friend's problem isn't it.

126 Sorry-I was being a little unreasonable.

Kent now officialy crosses the Mendoza line.

Actually it may be a good move by the Glanders administration.

137 - In the right direction.

[135] but what if you've got a snazzy jean-suit?

http://www.kakkoiimono.com/images/detailImages/695.jpg

Can someone please make this new camera angle stop? Its almost the television equivelant of Plashke articles on the front page of the sports section. Unpalatable but must be seen.

135-

hahaha...the "no denim please" would have made me lose it. I always wear a suit to a wedding, but the fact they put that in there is hilarious.

To me, formal means "wear a tie" unless you're IN the wedding, then you better show up in the penguin suit. Throw on a tie, slacks, and you'll be fine.

But you can always show up in ripped jeans to make things interesting....

137
Is there a Mendoza corollary for the .600 OPS line? How bout the Neifi line?

142 What's a suit? Formal attire in Hawai'i means "dressy Aloha shirt, slacks, no slippers."

And behold, the Neifi Line defined (sorry, it's on a Giants blog):

http://acrosstheseams.typepad.com/across_the_seams/2004/07/the_neifi_line.html

(128)martin's been in the 8th spot which is a waste. his bat is better than cruz & ethier.

The invitation should have said "business attire".

But maybe we'll be told to leave. We'll go to the outlet stores instead.

Does anyone know why Steven Johnson is pitching for Jacksonville? It could be a different Johnson, as no Johnson is listed on their roster, but after a search for the name "Johnson," Steve Johnson is listed under Jacksoville. He was drafted last year in the 13th round out of high school (he had committed to some college, but the Dodgers managed to sign him, much like Van Slyke), and was a member of the group that the Dodgers planned to play in Ogden this year (Josh Wall, Andy Van Sluke, Josh Bell, Trayvon Robinson). If he was especially impressive in extended spring, I could understand him pitching for Columbus, but Jacksonville? Nonetheless, his debut was 2 perfect innings in relief

145
I guess someone beat me to it.

Sorry if this was noted upthread and I missed it: "The Mets played the last 7 1/2 innings without catcher Paul Lo Duca, who was ejected by Hernandez for disputing a safe call at the plate in the second inning when the Braves took a 2-0 lead. After the call, Lo Duca slammed the ball to the turf, earning an error for allowing a runner to advance on the bases." From mets game article at mets page at mlb.com

I'm proud to be part Canadian today!

144 Gotta ask some advice. Im going to a weeding in Kaui next month, of course, no formal attire required. Yet, there is a "worst Aloha shirt" competition. What would be the strategy for finding that winning shirt?

Hit submit before adding:

You can earn an error after you've been ejected? Seems unnatural.

144-

True. I guess I was operating under the assumption that Bob isn't attending a Hawaiian wedding in Camarillo ;)

Good thing he's not going to a wedding with the indigenous people of Mau Mau...formal might mean your birthday suit.

152-

Just a thought, but try one of those novelty shops on Hollywood Blvd....you might even be able to find an amazing one on Melrose.

A guy recently showed up to a party I was at with a Hawaiian style shirt on, but it was flowers and DICE. Yeah, you read that right. Most hideous thing I've ever seen. Stood out like a sore thumb amidst all the hipsters.

148 If anyone cares, I was able to answer my own question. The 18 year old Johnson replaced Hanrahan, who went to the DL

[153] I believe he spiked the ball when the play was called safe, which resulted in the error and the ejection.

152 Hmm. When looking for "worst Aloha shirt" you should stay away from Tori Richards and Reyn Spooner brands; they're the top of the line. I'd try K-Mart/Wal-Mart; even Target might be a little classy if you're trying to win the contest.

158
In general, Wal-Mart is the best choice for worst anything.

Vin on Tomatos HR. "like trying to throw a lamb chop by a hungry wolf".

158-

great call. Can't believe I didn't think of that myself.

Flowers and dice on the same shirt? Thats pretty good, I was thinking I should look for something really random like that. Better chance at success with something like that than an authentic Hawaiian shirt thats just ugly.

I'd buy a good shirt to switch into after the judging is over. You'd feel better and so would your friends. ;)

Sele must have hit some sort of rhythm, he's mowing 'em down. No radio or TV for me today, so I'm blind and deaf with Gameday.

Astro's swept. Coming here.

Looks like Sele is doing a great job of ensuring a rotation spot, forcing Ned to trade Odalis for a pallet of beer, thus allowing Sele to get lit up, and finally allowing Billingsley to get a rotation spot

The Astros have a makeup game in San Francisco Monday before they get here.

Why does Vin think good control means giving up homeruns? I always thouht good control meant pitching to the corners and not offering up fat pitches.

166

Yes, all the pieces are falling into place ...

164 Blind deaf and dumb--no offense intended personally--but toward gameday!

[152] Hawaiian shirts are like middle relief. Just varying degrees of bad.

168

Don Sutton gave up a lot of home runs (475) and he had great control. Robin Roberts gave up over 500 in his career.

Are you describing control or command?

andre!

Arizona is surprisingly good. 7 of the 9 players in their lineup are OPSing over .800, including "old friend" Shawn Green (who just homered).

Anyone got a good definition of "command"
Seriously.

163 Im actually curious to what people are going to do with their shirts after the competition is over. Kepp for a future Haloween? Donate it to the Salvation Army? I hope we can have a beach bonfire.

172
ah, the precision or accuracy discussion...

Tommy was on t.v. last night. Man am I glad I missed the 70's.

Control is what a girlfriend has. Command is what a wife has.

The way I view it (which may be wrong), "control" implies not walking batters and being around the plate. "Command" implies the pitcher is able to make his pitches do what they want, such as place them in the right spot or get the right break on them.

170 - Gameday is just a tease to get people to spring for MLB TV or radio. The radio option is what, 14 bucks for the season? I wonder if you can refuse the "free" Sports Illustrated 3 month subsciption? I don't want to be on yet another junk mailing list.

How big of a jump did Cruz get on that steal? I've watched him the past few years and it appeared as though he had lost a lot of his speed because of back injuries. I doubt he's as fast as he used to be with Toronto, but maybe he has a chance to steal 20. The Dodgers lead the majors in steals and their SB % is great. I have no problem with stealing when the success rate is as good as it's been so far.

172 I think Vin was saying control, which I defined, maybe incorrectly, as the ability to effectively locate pitches.

181
You should be able to decline the subscription if you look hard enough.

174 worrisome, because Arizona also has some awesome position prospects. I wish we had a few more guys like Billingsley for pitching may be the only way to beat them.
I think you make your best prospects starters, and turn one into a closer if you have to. Alla the Braves and Smoltz. This means guys like Broxton and Miller.

I'm about 15 minutes behind due to a tivo delay, but lets hear it for Sele thus far. Hope I haven't cursed him.

Seles glove seems to be made of Iron.

Carter had loaded the bases with 2 outs in Vegas before Kuo mercifully got out of the inning without allowing any inherited runners.

Facing the astros and we get to avoid Oswalt and Pettite again? Lets hope we can capitalize on that stoke of luck this time.

171 That's just not true. In their natural habitat Aloha shirts look great, particularly the subdued reverse prints that Reyn makes.

http://tinyurl.com/k798e

dewitt is heating up.

today he went, 3-4 bb hr(2). his average is up to .304 now.

if only laroche can get it going now.

185 Lately, Miller seems to be pitching less often and more innings at once, so there's a pretty good reason to believe he's being groomed for his return to the rotation. It's not like he has other pitchers blocking him at Jacksonville, with Spike Lundberg and Heath Totten in the rotation

That was a really nice spot start by Sele. We needed it. Hope the dreaded bullpen can finally hold a lead.

189- Pettite is scheduled for Tuesday. Did I miss something?

189 - Pettite is scheduled for Tuesday. Did I miss something?

189 Pettitte is pitching on Tuesday

174
In addition to the sticks, Brandon Webb has been equally outstanding. 5-0, 2.05 ERA, 1.04 WHIP.

[190] I am traumatized by my father's love of them, which in England does not bring to mind the notions of natural or subdued.

At least we steal bases. A Dodger team that gives up stolen bases and doesn't steal would be an unholy thing, sacreligious to boot.

188
Do you think the folks who live in Vegas and follow the 51's and not the dodgers are wishing Carter would be sent down to AA? How do you stomach getting saddled with all of the big clubs headaches.

It was so simple to be a D's fan when it was Beltre, Izturis, Cora and Roberts etc.
Speed and D. Not great, just feeling right for the Dodgers.

198 Well, I'm not traumatized by them, but I haven't owned a suit in 30 years. I own two sports coats, four or five dress shirts, and about six ties. All of them for use when traveling to colder places.

194 and 195, just going off of what Vin said back in the 5th. Didn't look it up myself.

Sorry if this is a repeat: Aybar hit his seventh home run today.

He's been in the No. 3 spot for a few days. When Mueller goes on the DL this summer, Aybar should be ready to do hold his own.

Nate, it appears LaRoche is coming around a bit. I'm kind of glad he started out slowly. It gives Aybar more of a shot.

192 Hope you are right,
180 BT i'm afraid lots of people like you or me have this rather vague definition of command, including scout who use it like a definite quantity.
I have thought it meant the ability to throw any pitch you use where you want it, but that sounds like control-doesn't it

Seanz just has to make you wonder if we are using him correctly. This guy could put up Carlos Lee type numbers if he could defend and withstand the grind of a full seson.

At least those are the knock "the man" has used in the past to keep him down.

206- How would you prefer he be used?

Vins the best, but he hasn't mentioned who is pitching for a while. Who just got out of the inning. Whose on first? Who was pitching?

Does anyone think it's surprising, or maybe it's not at all, that of the former TB Devil Ray relievers the Dodgers have had in the bullpen so far this season, Joe Beimel has easily been the most solid? (Again, so far.) Another two scoreless innings for him today.

Oscar seemed to know just where he was dumping that. Impressive.

Vin seems to be getting the "Break Dancing" era of the 80's and the 70's "Saturday Night Fever" era mixed up while telling his story regarding Fernandez.
Funny in an absurd way.

it takes a knuckle baller for furcal to show off his power.

The Dodgers are going to need these runs in later games.

!!!Furcal!!!

209 - I dunno... 5 innings is an awfully small sample size - do we really expect Sele to have a 1.35 ERA for the rest of the season, too?

In other good news, Reds are now up on Arizona 8-5

See, here's a situation where I miss Lance Carter - you figure he comes in and makes the game interesting.

The season he had last year and the season he is having thus far makes me question whether we need to get Saenz more ABs. I guess if I were convinced he could be a .280/30/80 guy, I may have approached the Mueller/Nomar investment we made this offseason differently.

His productivity makes me wonder if there have ever been guys with the ability/potential to be All-stars, but just never got the opportunity due to playing behind a legend or never being able to prove wrong a false reputation.

To your point I can tell you're making, there is little different I would do with him given our current team makeup. But Mueller can take as much time as he needs before coming back in my opinion.

217- Thanks alot.

So how did Furcal's HR look?

Broxton gives up the first home run of his major league career. Good time to give it up.

215 True - especially with Sele. Beimel has shown some pretty good stuff to me so far, though.

Speaking of which, Broxton is pulling a Carter here so far.

218 The issue with Saenz has been, from what I know, that he has back issues and can't play full time with great consistency before his body breaks down a bit. It is too bad because he can certainly hit.

The Dodgers win tha-a-aa-a Dodgers sweep!
Underdog talks to Underbruin underwho underwhat underwhere; understanding comes.

How can a kid like Broxton learn to pitch rather than throw if he doesn't start.

Furcal's defense is not very pretty.

that last slider broxton just threw was so nasty.

223 How understanding of you!

Isn't this the first sweep for the Dodgers since last april?

I believe the children are our are future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside

222, I've heard the same. I just wonder if it is really true, or if once he got alot of ABs, and started to break down, and ever since that has been the knock on him.

I would think that if it were just a bad rap, he would:
1. be bucking for more playing time
2. not look like a guy who could down hotdogs and brew at an impressive rate.

224
Furcal's defense

Is there one?

228

UGH! No posting of lyrics unless they're decent rock `n roll songs. Having a Whitney Houston tune running through my head all afternoon would definitely take away from this magnificent week-end sweep.

231 - So that's why that song is familiar. Couldn't put my finger on it. Oh well. It's not in my head.

232

Me either, fanerman. I had to Google it.

Objection sustained. Maybe this weekend will take the pressure off of Ned to do something crazy.

231 Thats nothing. Here on the east coast, Imus has been playing(humping, as he calls it) this truly evil tune called "Once a Day" off the Van Morrison "sings" Country Album. I would gladly have "Greatest Love" or whatever replace this horrible lyric that has been in my head all week.

No matter what they take from me
They can't take away my dignity

Guess she was wrong on that one...

231- Now, now. The definitive version of that song was recorded by Randy Watson with Sexual Chocolate.

224 --

Fear not. When Furcal is playing CF later in this contract, he'll get back to being a plus defender.

I prefer to think of that song as the version sung by Eddie Murphy and Sexual Chocolate in the movie Coming to America.

nice trigger finger 237. Beat me to it.

Can someone please tell Joe Mogan to get off of Barry Bond's jock. I hate how ESPN his annointed him, official gate keeper to Barry Bonds inside info.

wow, lima bleached his hair. its so ugly.

With V Zambrano going down, the mets are in the market for a starter. Sele, OP, Houlton?

240- That boy can sing! He good.

Once a day.
Thats how I'd like to win.
Tomorrow's a day off. Damn.

243-

OP. Wouldn't it be sweet if we can get Sanchez back for OP and NOT have to pay any of his salary? I know, in my dreams...but it'd be nice.

Good win, today! Maybe Aaron Sele isn't the reincartion of Scott Ericson? Does Odalis have to come back? I had just been ready to give up rooting for LAD and permanently rooting for the Red Sox after blowing the 5-0 and 6-0 leads earlier this week. Can Willy Aybar play 3b(though I like Bill Mueller if he's healthy)?

God, Jonathan Broxton is BIG (call him "Hippo, II)! Still can't prevent a HR even if he could throw 100 mph. By the time he's 45, he'll be one of those 600 lb. guys you see on Discovery Channel having a gastric bypass. He's got a body mass index of 34 while 25 is considered healthy (by CDC and the American Heart Assoc.). That doesn't take into consideration muscle mass, but is still very high.

I wish you guys would stop whining about Adrian Beltre and HeeSopChoi(now at Pawtucket). They're gone and ain't coming back.

We've got a new "Sopranos" tonight to look forward to, which is the high point of my week (as pathetic as that may sound). I got screwed out of the 5th season of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" because I only pay for HBO during the "Sopranos" season. Where I live CYE is only shown on HBO Comedy. Guess I'll have to wait till season 5 of CYE comes out on DVD unless one of you taped it last fall and is willing to share. Larry David, "King of the Jews"!

I guess I'll be the first to say it...

Has anybody talked about Beltre or Choi lately?

Does anybody miss Beltre?

Joe Morgan is sick. He's already making excuses as to why Bonds hasn't hit Lieber in the past.

Why are they walking Bonds? Nevermind, Finley's batting behind him.

248-See #1 and someone else who said bring back HSC.

Though speaking of Beltre, he's showing signs of waking up. He's currently hitting .292/.346/.458 in May (maybe not be including today).

I think Sal Fasano and Jeff Kent chose the wrong line of work.

morris' beard has lost all its magical powers.

252 are you saying they should be CHP officers or work in the, um, entertainment industry?

Joe Morgan, on Pat Burrell's home run:

"Pitchers are making more mistakes now than they ever have before."

Occasionally I just mute the broadcast if Joe Morgan or some announcer I can't stand is broadcasting, but I occasionally like to hear what kind of stuff he comes up with.

Oddly, some of my favorite baseball watching memories are of Joe Morgan on Sunday Night Baseball. In high school, summer weekends were my only real time to relax. Vin was great, but because of summer school or internships or whatever, I always associated Vin with weekdays and having to wake up early and that stuff. Something about the atmosphere of Sunday Night Baseball on a sunny afternoon without work to worry about made it very relaxing for me. Of course I didn't like a lot of Joe Morgan's arguments even then, but I didn't understand enough about baseball to despise them.

Anyway, just reminiscing a little. Now it's just Vin who I really enjoy listening to, but Sunday Night Baseball was a good escape, and minus the dialogue, still is.

work in the, um, entertainment industry
Exactly

253- Scott Elarton's beard seems to be working quite well http://tinyurl.com/lytdq

Joe Morgan is still making excuses for Bonds. I don't think he believes that Bonds has ever taken steroids.

Anybody read "Here's to You, Jackie Robinson?" The author is on CSPAN-2, now.

http://tinyurl.com/znrqs

Hang it all. The segment ended just as I hit submit.

Wow! I was just looking at the box score and it seems Nomah has as many RBIs on the season as Kent does. I know Kent is slumping but that still shocked me.

Sweet, Fasano just grounded out off of Matty Mo in what might have been the grizzled-est at bat in MLB history!

Morris with a MEAN hook to Howard and the Phillies un-clutchitude continues.

So glad I have four and a half more months of these guys to watch.

I am so so so SOOOOOOOOO sick of hearing about Barry Bonds constantly.

Joe Morgan might be the worst announcer in the history of sports. Well, Tim McCarver belongs there as well. The worst part is that he spends about 6 innings every Sunday talking about Bonds even when the Giants aren't involved in the game.

#713...I can't wait till the day this guy retires.

Bonds just hit a bomb. Joe Morgan said a lot of fans are standing (yea to see where it went). Joe thinks they are giving him a standing ovation.

Imagine Joe Morgan shaking Barry's hand.
Joe "Oh thank you Barry. I treasure your friendship. I will never wash this hand again."

Jon Miller (even though he's a homer) is funny and intelligent. Why does ESPN insist on pairing him with such a dull, uninteresting person in Joe Morgan?

It's nice to have the Giants in last place now, even if it's likely only fairly short-lived.

Isn't it obvious that the NL West, even if it's still arguably the weakest division in the NL, is much more competitive last year, with none of the teams an easy W. Whatever that's saying...

And yeah, I can't stand listening to Joe Morgan, and not just because he overtly hates the Dodgers, even in his announcing duties, but because he's always right, even though he's often wrong, and, yes, especially for his (and ESPN's) Barry Bonds fixation.

267 Meant "much more competitive than last year," of course.

Who does Morgan work for? I only pray I can avoid hearing him ever again. I asscociate him with The Reds and Giants beating the D's. Then with being boring and being a homer whenever the D's played away. And some network allowed him to do this forever.
He seems to have based a career on trying to put down the Dodgers and supporting a few now crumby teams.

247 --

Third base is Aybar's best position. His actions at 2B aren't good.

Is he as good defensively as Mueller? I'm an Aybar backer but would give Mueller a slight nod, although Mueller's arm isn't as good as it was 2-3 years ago. Aybe turned 23 last month. He's already played a ton of pro ball. He should get better.

I loved watching Morgan play in the 1970s.

I hated watching Morgan play in the 1980s -- he believed no borderline pitch thrown to him was a strike.

So, Tuesday should be interesting. According to the latest notes on Dodgers.com, Perez is coming back, possibly as soon as Tuesday and then they'll try to make a roster move. It goes on to say (and remind) that Perez has done well against the Giants, including at PhoneCo. Park, and so they likely will have him start in that series. But Sele isn't going anywhere either. So who will go? One less position player? Or a relief pitcher? And will Perez be traded sometime after next weekend (probably only if the Dodgers paid a chunk of his salary)? Stay tuned to As the Roster Turns.

270

Oops, sorry for the garble, Aybar turned 23 in March.

You can still plug Perez in for a start -- in the long run, a six-man rotation for a week or two is fine. It also breeds competition.

Or you can move him into the bullpen. Subtracting a reliever shouldn't be hard.

There are worse problems to have. I'd go with starting him.

"Willie Mays is an icon for the game....and Barry Bonds is becoming one too" -Joe Morgan

This guy is amazing...

6 starters isn't so bad, but when 3-6 by and large stink, it is a horrible idea.

275 Yeah, I heard that. Had I still been emptying the dishwasher I'm sure I would have dropped something.

Last I checked, icons were to be revered. I have my doubts that too many people, even 9-year-olds, revere Barry Bonds.

Fact is, I got annoyed earlier and actually wrote a brief note to ESPN:

http://tinyurl.com/zlv9b

I'd go with starting him... against the Giants. And then taking it from there. The Dodgers did need a long reliever, I think, so Perez or Sele could fit that role, or rotate in it, and it might work. Ultimately, though, I still get the sense that the Dodgers were close to fed up with Perez and he needs to show more consistency as a starter before they lock him in (or trade him).

(272) I say Osorio or Hamulack will go down. I think they still would like to keep Hammy over Frankie to have another southpaw in the pen.

279 You're probably right there.

276.

Tomko and Seo do not stink, they may not be great, but they don't stink.

he believed no borderline pitch thrown to him was a strike.

The only thing Joe Morgan and Jason Grabowski could possibly have in common.

I think middle relief is a joke. My philosophy is this. A team should only carry starters and closers, and whoever is having trouble is middle relief.

I may be wrong--if you stockpiled guys like Quantrel, Mota and Sanchez it might work.
But then you might have teams making good offers for them and you might get sucked in.

283 And these closers should be guys who spent a lot of time in Pro ball trying to be starters.

I think Odalis Perez said in an interview last year on Dodger website that he might be the best pitcher in baseball when he's not hurt...and he wasn't joking. Wonder if anyone else shares his delusion? A legend in his own mind, maybe.

He shows tons of talent in flashes but a terrible mental game when he gets in jams. LA needs to get rid of him, somehow, someway

A few questions and answers, MOrgan I believe hates the Dodgers because he played for the Giants grew up in the Bay Area, and sadly a number of years ago had a terrible racist incident with the LAPD, and won a huge out of court settelment-he ruffed up at LAX. Hence I think it reflects on the Dodgers...I have a delima, I may go to the Dodger Giant Game either Friday night or Sunday and don't want to be in the park if Barry hits 714 or 715 against the Dodgers...If anyone is planning to go either of those nights give a shout out and we can at least commune....There seems to be no Dodger highlights on baseball tonight or Sports Center anymore. I will be so glad when Bonds passes the Babe and they can start covering something else.

I'll be at the game in SF on Saturday with my dad, if that helps any. We're also hoping not to have to witness Bonds record breaker, but more important to me would be to see the Dodgers win. With 4 games before Friday tho it's probable he'll at least tie it before then.

I will be so glad when Bonds passes the Babe and they can start covering something else.

Common sense says they'll cover something else, but they won't. They love Barry and the drama he brings.

I love the idea of sunday night baseball. Lets me see teams I wouldn't see normally...but with Morgan, he'll spend three innings of an Indians/Sox game talking about barry bonds....sometimes I want hurl myself off a bridge after sitting through one of his games...

I forgot to add that if we trade Odalis, we better not have to pay any of his salary. If we're gonna get a B-level prospect and that's it then they can take on the salary.

Any chance the Marlins take him for Cabrera? ;)

I have added a few more profiles on my website (Steve Howe, Stan Williams, and Mike Marshall).

Check it out and leave any comments you may have about the biographical player profile or memories you have about a particular player.

http://dodgerprofiles.blogspot.com/

290 -- Great site. I love it.

Did anybody take note of James Loney's 22nd birthday today? I'll confess to hoping that we're celebrating his 42nd birthday here as well.

My next profile will probably be on Luis Alcaraz, a middle infielder who played with the Dodgers for a couple of seasons in the 1960s.

Let me know who you would want to me to write about.

http://dodgerprofiles.blogspot.com

292 Man, you could do a week's worth of posts just on Dodger third basemen after Junior Gilliam.

Catchers? Joe Pignatano, Tom Haller, Joe Ferguson

The Aspromonte brothers: Ken and Bobby

Ex-Cardinals: Wally Moon, Daryl Spencer, Ken Boyer

Outfielders: Don Demeter, Jim Fairey, Al Ferrara, Len Gabrielson

It just goes on and on.

291 What if he leaves as a FA in 6-7 years, and returns at age 41 to block some promising prospect?

By the way, just watching the highlights and good on Grittle for putting Saenz at third the last two nights. Not something I would do all year, but with Mueller out for just a days (allegedly) and Aybar in limbo, it was the only option that didn't involve an Arrested Development character, much less evoke the painful memories of 2005's Tracy Death March. I go back and forth on Grittle, but have to admit that he is achieving some distance between himself and his predecessor.

295
...like you can figure out what the heck he is saying just by listening to him.

The way Marty looks at Robles, I look at Saenz playing 3B. It may be irrational, but it absolutely does evoke memories of the TDM, for me.

but with Mueller out for just a days (allegedly) and Aybar in limbo

Limbo is the first circle of Dante's Hell where all the virtuous pagans end up.

Friend gave me his seats in Row A Section 43 today. The next row are the new box seats, 4 seats to a section with a table. The 4 guys sitting in front of me have the season seats. They are two brothers, one from Vegas, the other from Utah. They go to 1 game a month on average. They left in the 3rd inning and gave me and my brother the tickets so we could use their seats. Let me tell you, padded seats with tables are awesome. Lady got nailed with a linedrive and they had to carry her away. Looked like she my have had a wrist or arm broken. Course it was Tomato who hit the rocket. I would never sit there without a glove just for protection.

Even at 39, Lofton is the fastest player I can ever remember playing for the Dodgers and that includes the 21 year old Rudy Law, Goodwin, Cedeno, Duncan and countless other worthless speedsters.

Cannon, I was on the Loge level just above that woman. Man she got hit hard, though it looked like she took it in the head not the wrist. It was strange the way they carried her off. No gurney, just one guy had her feet and the other unnder her arms. If she got hit in the arm I assume she could have walked. Also, given how bad it looked, security or help (other than an usher) was pretty slow in coming. The lesson there is pay attention when you are sitting down the line.

290
Love your site and very jealous. Some players I'd love to see profiled are:
Bill Sudakis
Willie Crawford
Lee Lacy
John Purdin
Jim Fairey
Billy Grabarkewitz
Bobby Darwin

300
Didn't you think it strange that as the ushers were taking care of her, the man with a baby in his arms was standing with his back turned to the hitter as the game was going on right after that rifle shot. I'd have to really think twice about having an infant in that area and I'd never stand with my back to the hitter.

The first usher didn't seem to have a clue what to do. Then the "perimedic" looking guys finally showed up but what I couldn't get over was how they carried her out like a sack of potatos. I didn't notice the guy with the baby until they were walking out. I didn't see it but my buddy said the Tomato even made a gesture like "ouch that must of hurt."

The first usher didn't seem to have a clue what to do. Then the "perimedic" looking guys finally showed up but what I couldn't get over was how they carried her out like a sack of potatos. I didn't notice the guy with the baby until they were walking out. I didn't see it but my buddy said the Tomato even made a gesture like "ouch that must of hurt."

I have no idea how that double posted.

For the record: Mets, Rox and Reds all sitting atop their respective divisions. Who'd have thunk it? Not I.

Dodgers are going to try to trade (dump) Odalis Perez on the Mets. I smell another terrible trade by Ned.

Perez and $10 million for Chad Bradford?

http://tinyurl.com/gnkwv

307

Can we just give them perez with nothing in return, as long as they eat his salary. lol

if we could get heilman or nady for odalis, that'd be nice.