I am not sure what to think about the revolving door in the bullpen. I guess they are going with whoever pitches well and shuttling players back and forth from the minors to take advantage in the majors.

What's the weather look like down there for tonight? It's been drizzly all day here in SF.

Anyone know more? Nate?

Then the 6th reliever later on could be a former starting pitcher when billingsley is brought up.

(probably too esoteric, and it jumped the shark awhile ago anyway)

BA has posted their first round mock draft. they have for the dodgers:
7- clayton kershaw (##^*$@ yea!)
26- Kevin Mulvey RHP Villanova (boo!)

Mulvey has not been consistent this spring but has flashed 4 above average pitches depending the day he pitches. I am not feeling this pick at all.

also ive had correspondences with Jonathan Mayo and he thinks if Kershaw doesnt drop to the Dodgers, this is the year White does something different and goes college with the 7th pick. But it wont be reynolds because he is climbing up draft boards and will go before 7 now if he continued to roll through the pac 10 schedule.

9 - I'm glad you're hooked, since you started with the big finish to season 2, it will all seem like a flashback.

A few issues might occlude the dodgers from signing hochevar. BA is reporting that the draft is thin on position players, so it looks as though pitcher selections will be top heavy. With three first round selections, the dodger's need for hochevar may not be as great as two of the three drafts picks will probably be pitchers. Also, Hocevar is going to demand a first round signing bonus, and my gut tells me that mccourt wont pony up the money neccessary for signing 4 first rounders. Granted, the dodgers don't have a 2nd rounder, so there may be an outside chance that the money that would have been spent on the 2nd rounder be allocated to Hochevar (which will cover only but a part of the actual signing should it happen, though perhaps the money not spent the previous year would also be alloated to this endeavor). hopefully they can sign the kid, and put him on the fast track. he's definitely rusty, but im sure hungrier than before the whole fiasco.

no. Luke was not a first round pick but a supp first round pick. You only get sandwich picks for pure first rounders.

Not me.

One thought. Are there any college hitters that can step in and produce very soon? The Rangers got Mark Teixeira with the 5th overall pick in the draft. I know the Dodgers are drafting 7th. Is there a Ryan Zimmerman/Teixeira type out there to be had. Preferably a 1st base power hitter.

13 Yeehaw, the "rhymes with a female body part" episode - classic. Right up there with "The Contest."

no teixera, zimmeramn, alex gordons or any truly elite college hitters in this draft. the best one is evan longoria and he projects as a bobby crosby/chase utley type and he is likely to go top 5.

this draft is the year you stock up on prep lefties, for the prep lefty class is one of the best in a long long time.

this is a good rundown of the top prep pitchers.

How many more times do I have to watch Grady put him in with a four run lead in the ninth and then see the game blow up?

I confidently told a fellow Dodger fan that we had seen the last of this sorry reliever. Well, I can still make this true. I just won't watch him pitch. I refuse. No more malaise!

http://tinyurl.com/jl73k

Both.

7- 2.3 mil
26- 1.325 mil
31- 1.05 mil

im guessing hochevar is roughly 3.5 mil or so. thats about 8.1-8.3 mil to sign our top 3 drafts picks+ hochevar.

A six run lead?

Oh my no. The Jeff Hamilton rule applies here. The only acceptable time to put Lance "Malaise" Carter into a game is in a situation in which it would also be acceptable to run out Jeff Hamilton to pitch.

Is it possible that the "Dodger Brass" is bringing Carter up to determine whether or not he will be in the band for the 2006 Summer Tour?

I keep hoping this is the reason behind all of the at-bats Scoiscia has given to Edgardo Alfinley.

I have a feeling that
44
may actually be right...

"Old friend" Brent Mayne is the last non-pitcher to credit for a win. Back in 2000 when he was on Colorado. I think he threw knuckle balls.

My overall impression of the movie is:

Is it over yet?

Oh, that's the ending?

Really?

That was it?

It's nice to know that you can store paper documents that are thousands of years old in a basement in a church and not even use any archival preservation. You can just pull it. The hero can apparently find any document at will.

I did not read the book. My girlfriend had and she said that the movie was entirely uninvolving.

Ah well, the book kind of sucked, so I don't know why I expected more from the film. Maybe it was that the cast is so good.

There is a huge continuity error in the film (and I usually don't notice them) when the lighting of a scene goes from night to dawn to morning back to night then to dawn then back to night, all in about 10 minutes.

the team Hochevar is currenntly pitching for is the forth worth cats. The official Mascot of the cats is "Dodger"

http://www.fwcats.com/feature_display.cfm?id=82

crazy eh?

Go read about a baseball game from 1891 instead.

Did I say "revival"? I think I meant "revile."

So, what's Pujols' pace this year? 80hr and 200rbi?

I have figured out who I want us to draft now. Kershaw, Kiker, and Cody Johnson.

Q: jason from mansfield ohio asks:
i've heard some about Cody Johnson where do you think he will end up goin?
A:

Alan Matthews: We don't have a good feel for where Johnson is going to be drafted, and that might be true for some major league teams. He has outstanding raw power, but big holes in his swing, especially handling hard stuff above his hands. He has hindered his stock a touch because of his inability to improve defensively. He might be stuck playing first base. He could slip out of the top 10 rounds if clubs don't believe he's signable in the third- to fifth-round range, or he could wind up going as high as the supplemental round. Thus the theme of this year's wide open draft.

And a David Wright.

hes a sidearmer type guy.

Kelly Clarkson looks good at times and then sometimes looks like Kelly Clarkson.

2) When Russell Martin gets into Cooperstown, can I give his nominating speech?

Vin just spoke on Nomar's pre-6th inning hitting, versus his bat at the end of the game, noting that Nomar is hitting .800+ from the 7th on, but sub-par in the first part of the game. My initial thought is that Nomar is getting fat on relievers, but his bat speed is not able to handle starters. Does anyone have a better theory?

I saw nomar hit a grand slam off of a 2-2 96mph fb to left center off brad lidge. I have no questions about his bat speed.

Maybe he just started the bat moving really early.

Stranding runners on second and third with no outs is nice, even if it was Sele. ;-)

...and the kids come up with a bloop and a double for a run. [tickled pink]

Martini time?

but, but....vegas....PCL championship.... :(

yes i think so.

kemp has a 1000+ OPS. why wouldne he see AAA this year?

"Je" "ff" "Kent!"

prospect development is more important then minor league championships (contrary to my fecetious comments about PCL championships).

Lazily robs a homerun.

Kemp is 21 which is young and i dont think he should skip vegas. Half a year in vegas at least.

I hope Young gets called up. In place of Beimel, Hamulack, or Carter.

Weaver's 2006 is rivaling Beltre's 2005.

the dodgers like to challenge their prospects instead of letting stay in a league they can handle with ease for a whole year.

both cases involve the same hooker.

Weaver has been mediocre, but I do have to wonder whether his opportunities to redeem himself have run out.

why are they demoting him?

He's living off his draft position and what scouts say about his "stuff". 3-5yrs from now Adrian Gonzales will be bouncing around still getting the same sorts of chances. It happens.

dont forget pick 26 :)

[slaps self, "Snap out of it!"]

Is this familar?

I think his name was something like Baron von Sandie.

229 Just kidding...all season last year, they talked about Wallach's patient approach while everyone's walk rate dropped.

Every spot in the lineup but 4th, Drew, has a hit now. Drew, however, has 2 walks, so he's participating as well

Okay, maybe not that confident, but copacetic anyway.

What's up with the much vaunted Angels bullpen?

[swoon]

im gonna see the 51ers in Texas this week. Anybody have anything they'd like scoped out? Anybody in the area going?

(goes into the store, waits in a line for a moderate time, gets frozen yogurt and returns to car...)

WOW!

I think Russ Martin should be Russ "Eh" Martin, because nothing's more Canadian than saying, "Eh."

I hate you Saenz.

"Duro con el Invalido"

"Hard with the handicapped"

Time to bring in Carter. He needs to get some innnings in. Enough innings where he can't be used for another week or so. I'd like to see him throw around 80 pitches while giving up fewer than 5 runs.

Btw, I hope we save a little of this for the rest of the series. The pitching matchups do favor the Dodgers in the last two but I don't want to get too cocky or jinx it. One at a time boys, one at a time...
Ah screw that, this is fun.

Go Dodgers! How about a new record, 10 runs, in the 7th??

It should be your birthday every year!

Carter specialty is giving enough 9 inning runs so Baez can blow another save!

Or not.

Probably not, I'm thinking. But then again, we do still have Baez down there, and of course, Carter.

Weaver is a better hitter than Molina and Mathis.

All right, CHONE!

And does Carter get the save, too?

[chuckle]

378 Apparently he was misquoted; he was talking about how Ray Davies was hanging out with some of the 51s in Vegas, used their exercise equipment, somehow it all got confused...

6IP 4H 2ER 4bb 10k

the walks show he is obviously rusty, but the 10ks shows he still has quality stuff.

Andre Ethier Desktop Background!

http://homepage.mac.com/jairodelatorre/Ethier.jpg

I mean, if not for the fact that Napoli decided to run himself out of a single (the Angels running themselves out of innings? SHOCKING), we might still be sitting here watching the game.

No more Jose Lima. He has been DFAed.

Let's not get carried away. Aurilia and Hatteberg are hitting 4-5 before you finally get to Kearns batting 6th.

ah, didnt know that.

Well, that was the most satisfying win in some time. LA has a pretty easy schedule the rest of the month. This team could stay hot for awhile.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/48680

No one commented on the great new word I think Nate invented tonight: fecetious? To be stinky but not really mean it?