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
I'll go with Kemp, Martin, Guzman, and Aybar.
furcal
kemp
nomar
drew
aybar
ethier
guzman
martin
seo
Ethier, Guzman, Martin
I think he'll Grittle will play Lofton today with Kemp playing against the lefty tomorrow.
always to the left, right Marty? :)
grady isnt tracy, he played kemp against a righty last night and tonight's righty isnt that much better.
Kiker is in Milwaukee today for a workout with the Brewers. Had a workout in Texas that took his name out the hat for their first round pick. Also worked out for braves and didn't do as well as he had hoped there, Braves are out, Rangers out. Dodgers still considering him at 26 and 31.
Not only that, but their planes crash all the time.
The under wins but Grady does keep doing things like putting Guzman in the 4 slot.
Furcal, SS
Lofton, CF
Garciaparra, 1B
Guzman, 3B
Aybar, 2B
Ethier, LF
Cruz, RF
Alomar, C
Seo, P
Furcal, SS
Lofton, CF
Nomar, 1B
Guzman, 3B
Aybar, 2B
Ethier, LF
Cruz, RF
Alomar, C
Seo, P
815 is a music channel called "Retro-Active," which (from a very brief listen) sounds like electronica-metal.
33 - I agree with you, I'll be there tonight also.
Yeah, you know Saenz will get that start against the lefty on Sat.
1-4 2b 2ks
maybe it will pick up
the bull
the buffalo (sorry Bob)
the destroyer
we need more!
Joel the Slight Discombobulator
Miltie -- wasn't that big brawl against Seattle but at Dodger Stadium? I ask 'cause I was at such a brawl, sitting right by the bullpen. I got a ball that day signed by everyone in the pen, including Rick Dempsey and he got himself ejected the very same day! (That's got to be worth something, right?)
Speak not of the "buffalo" unless you put it in quotes.
Then again, are buffaloes native to Hispaniola?
I can't wait to get home to have my gnuburger.
Confession: I've been watching some Becker, lately. I don't hate it. It's not good, sure, but at two in the morning, it's not too bad. Sort of a proto-Curb Your Enthusiasm. . . No? Alright. Still.
Is there some sort of baseball game on tonight?
1) They're both about humans
2) They both happpen on Earth...Of the present
3) Ted Danson's rug
4) Dolph Lungren is in neither of them.
Yup, that's about it.
Bad move.
Hey, any excuse to stare at Nancy Travis's gams is fine by me. Plus, the blind newsstand guy was great in PCU. Favreau, Piven, Spade, Jessica Walters...what a cast. PCU, I salute thee.
Scoscia: Hey guys, stop swinging at everything.
Team: Oh, that's what we've been doing wrong!
perhaps my favorite quote ever:
"would you rather be loved or hated?
Scott: "I want people to hate how much they love me"
one of my friends (BJ Novak) is on that show. But I don't consider it a sitcom really...much like I don't consider Curb Your Enthusiasm a sitcom and that's the funniest show ever.
Just the real sitcoms like Friends, Will and Grace, Everybody Love Raymond...I just don't get how anyone finds that stuff funny.
"Bees?"
"Beads"
"Bees?"
"Beads"
"Buzzzzz....."
"He's back on bees again"
"Well, it's Thursday, but Dwight thinks it's Friday, so that's what I'll be working on this afternoon."--Jim
"If all those women stay in that office too long, they'll all get on the same cycle...Wreak havoc on our plumbing."--Dwight
A likely story. It's a good thing Will and Grace got cancelled, or you would still be raving about it to this day. Not to mention My Mother the Car
What about "Car 54 Where Are You?"
Eddie Murray deserves a little credit. He got fired by the Indians last year and they started hitting the day after. People blamed him (and still do) as if his years of working with those kids wasn't the reason they were hitting; his leaving was. Ridiculous. But if he gets all the blame, doesn't he deserve a lot of credit for a team full of rookies and old timers that is leading the NL in runs?
AND...
Murray worked with Nomar all winter and spring on how to play first base (a position where Eddie has played more games than anyone in the history of the sport). Nomar has been nearly perfect. Coincidence? Nobody remembers but Murray was on the Angels and worked with Erstad on his move from Center to First. Result: Gold Glove. Coincidence?
I hear this a lot. Yet Nomar's Rate2 at 1B this year is a below average 94. Why is it that so many people "perceive" that Nomar has been great at 1B when the stats suggest otherwise?
Ummm watching him?
He's been excellent and I find it hard to believe that anyone who has been watchin all year would disagree.
Oliver Perez is still terrible. All you fantasy baseball owners can re-waive him again.
Now back to your regularly scheduled Becker Marathon.
I just watched the one last night where he sets fire to the building with his pita. I think he wrote it. Good stuff.
Yet the people who calculate the Rate2 stat do so by "watching him," don't they? In fact, don't they watch every single play he makes/doesn't make?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Bison
Hits Conine with a pitch
Gives up a double to Matos score a run
Intentionally walks Roberts
Farnsworth comes in to replace him.
Yes! I was going to say that yesterday but figured no one above 35 would get it.
I didn't even think about the M standing for Matt.
Perfect.
I'm not sure, but if you're right, then that would certainly cast doubt on the stat. But doesn't the term "Rate2" suggest that it is a "rate" stat that shouldn't depend upon the number of chances?
Sure, let's go. We can tease them about the Frieze. (A little thing I like to call the "Frieze Tease")
http://tinyurl.com/leoor
Well, that settles it. . .
The movie came out not too long ago and the cartoon still gets aired on cable.
Street Fighter II is probably my favorite arcade game ever. I was unstoppable with Guile. I could never do that handcuff move though.
An architectural expert informed that the thingee in Yankee Stadium is not even a frieze.
It's a fascia.
Needless to say, I was horrified that I had wasted all that self-righteousness.
Scored a CS, E4.
I'm sure you have some left...
Still, Nomar has looked might good.
Yeah, Guzman batting clean-up, a little, uh, surprising? Should be interesting. Is Drew aching again, or just getting a rest?
Yeah, I'm happy for him too. It was an unfortunate situation. Ideally, Shaq and Kobe could have coexisted and Shaq could have stayed for less money. But that obviously didn't happen.
Ahh, the problems of the zero sum game nature of sports.
Kupchak got killed in that trade in taking back Brian Grant's contract. Should have kept Shaq and let him play out his final year in LA, with Kobe understanding that it would be completely his team afterwards. Kupchak isnt the best manager of people. Jerry West could smooth egos much better.
This is L.A. baseball!
it's sad, but most of the GM's in the league have no idea how to work the salary cap in the NBA...if anything, Kupchak should have taken back like two or three expiring contracts instead of Grant. Getting Grant was the worst possible thing he could have done.
You've got guys like Thomas sending Davis to Toronto for Rose who stinks...when he could have just let the contract run out and had 15 more mill this offseason....ten steps beyond illogical.
Shaq's making slightly more than Kwame Brown is. He signed a 3yr 30mils extension with the Heat.
He's playing Cruz to keep him fresh. Good idea.
Guzman in the cleanup spot really shows a lot of confidence in him.
None of this will probably matter though since Jae Seo is starting (hopefully for the last time as a Dodger)
Excellent point, but he was so sick in the video game and cartoon that I'm willing to dismiss that fact. His scissor kick and flying flaming move were unstoppable even if you tried to block them.
having to make the salaries work is always a problem...but when your'e trading shaq, get odom and butler and then just a bunch of contracts that are expiring...then you can go right out the next year and spend that money on good players...instead, theyr'e still hampered with Grant's money.
Rollins made a couple nice plays there....let's hope guzman leads off next inning with a hit.
Though I don't think the trade was a good one, it's hard to succeed with other GMs when they all know you have to unload a player. Remember, there were significant rumblings that Kobe was going to leave the Lake-show to sign with the Clips last season. We don't know how much of that was Kobe grandstanding or whatever, but just imagine if he's been getting more and more upset all season long. I think the team did the right thing, because honestly, for the long-term health of the franchise you're better off with Bryant than Shaq.
The latter might have actually allowed for a better Laker team the past two seasons, but like thinkblue says in 126 the Big Fella wanted an awful lot of money for an awful long time, and as dominant as he can still be at times it's clear he has lost a step, and lacks the work ethic to prevent losing more. He's been in better shape with the Heat than he was for LA's last two seasons (something I doubt would have happened if he stayed with the Lakers), and he still looks slow. He's one of the strongest players in the game but gets by on brute force only, while he used to couple it with explosiveness and skill (just ask Ben Wallace - there's no way he makes that Game 5 block on 2001 Shaq).
The Dodgers are afraid to bunt after Steve sent each player a threatening letter. It's a trick he learned from some of his friends in the Ontario Mafia.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2122716
I think he simply fell victim to believing the jokes coming out of his mouth - "MDE: Most Dominant Ever" and whatnot - and believing that the only way he could stay in LA without feeling like a 2nd-banana was if the organization showed their support of him with a humongous contract that would have had the unfortunate side effect of retarding the growth of the franchise for years to come.
The record is 103 years old!
You can do it Jimmy!
At least Ethier hit the ball in the air.
Why are we making easy outs here? Dont they know this is Ryan "i was demoted to the bullpen but then my teamates got injured" Madsen?
Mark Cuban is in effect trying to buy an NBA ring with his collection of awesome bench players.
There's good spending when it comes to going over the cap. And bad spending with Thomas/Knicks.
http://tinyurl.com/gpocy
Question: would Chicago be considered the early-2000s 'Oakland' of the NBA, with the 3rd-lowest payroll and a hard-fought 1st round exit to a 'big-market' team? Discuss. =P
Film at 11.
this is dodger thoughts, anything is fair game!
... Who had that one?
One can only hope.
Then again, you did invent it.
Oh, you mean he hit it out?
Mine was much more interesting.
Grady, yank this turkey, he's done.
"Bill" "Ing" "Sley"
Payback for last night, anyone?
Can we play Izzy part time?
Uh, yeah.
Well isn't that no longer special...
[/Voice]
... Aww, crud."
Boy am I glad KLoft tried to steal there and lit a fire under young Willy Aybar.
if it wasnt for the veteran, the game would be tied
On the other hand, the Korean Jeff Weaver is not done yet, and the only four hitters in the Philadelphia lineup are coming up.
Great move by Grits to take out Seo Seo and also bring in Kemp.
Seo doesnt have it tonite.
Good move to bring in OP.
This is your opportunity to get out of the pen.
it's because it was a stupid move. There's no need to risk getting a CS when you're already down by three runs with maybe the hottest hitter in the game at the plate. It's completely illogical.
It's not illogical. You just don't agree with it. There's a difference.
Actually Madson had walked Jay Seo the inning before. You NEVER run in front of your best hitter. Its just beggin for the bat to be taken out of Nomar's hands (even if successful). Also, running when you're down 3 runs...Stupid.
It was proven by the fact that Aybar should have had a three run double instead of a two run double.
Proven that it was an illogical move by the result?
Uhhh. Ok.
You are blowing your chance to get out of the pen.
I'm not proving it by the result, I'm proving it by how the game is played. JoeyP said it best
Actually Madson had walked Jay Seo the inning before. You NEVER run in front of your best hitter. Its just beggin for the bat to be taken out of Nomar's hands (even if successful). Also, running when you're down 3 runs...Stupid.
The risk FAR outweighs the reward in that situation...not to mention even if he was successful it would have taken the bat out of Nomar's hands so they could go after the rookie on deck.
I'm not proving it by the result, I'm proving it by how the game is played. JoeyP said it best
Actually Madson had walked Jay Seo the inning before. You NEVER run in front of your best hitter. Its just beggin for the bat to be taken out of Nomar's hands (even if successful). Also, running when you're down 3 runs...Stupid.
The risk FAR outweighs the reward in that situation...not to mention even if he was successful it would have taken the bat out of Nomar's hands so they could go after the rookie on deck.
Don't make the same mistake Vinny did.
It was a 2-0 count. Otherwise he couldn't have been caught.
???
OP needed that.
But if there is one thing good Coletti might bring from the Giants, I don't think there will be a lot of pitching contracts like Driefort and Perez.
In my opinion, when you are a team that can score runs, you treat a 3-0 game in the 4th exactly like you treat a 0-0 game in the 4th. Nomar being our "best hitter" is silly. The lineup is stacked with hitters right now.
It's like the Bradley bunt last year that caused such discord. Risk vs. Reward and thinking two moves ahead.
Sample size.
Umm, that's even more reason not to run there. You have a lineup stacked with hitters and you're taking the chance that you're giving away a free out, or at best taking the bat out of the hands of the guy who OPSed, what, like 1.000+ for the month of May?
I fully expect Odalis to get out of this with his "personal" catcher.
Maybe OP has turned a corner.
Didn't realize that Depodesta ruled the baseball world.
couldn't have said it better myself.
I think the operative phrase is "right now."
no one is saying that. I don't need to repeat what everyone has said but their arguments make sense and are based on common sense. A steal in that situation was completely detrimental to the inning.
Stealing is fine...you just better make sure you're the type of player who can make it the vast majority of the time or else you're hurting your team.
Kemp is a freaking beast. Grits is a genius!
The Cubs and Cardinals have used 15 pitchers.
The record for an extra-inning game is 18.
Hmmm. Like a guy who hadn't been caught since last year and had the longest string of steals without being caught in the league? Can't think of a guy like that.
But seriously, there are situations where a steal is a great idea, like close-late situations where one run is the game (to tie or win). The point is that when you're down more than one run, the risk/reward equation doesn't lean in favor of trying to steal the base.
I don't even think Guzman is second on that list.
Win expectancy loss for a CS: 8.3%
I don't love win expectancy numbers, but it looks like the gain for a successful steal in that situation has been, historically, pretty small.
316 - I'm actually not as much against the steal as some of the people in here (especially not with a guy like Lofton, who still seems to be able to almost will himself safe sometimes). I actually like being a bit more attacking on the basepaths in late innings in close games, as I mentioned earlier.
However, I do think that being down by 3, with your pitcher struggling heavily, in the 4th inning with the red-hot #3 hitter up to bat and ahead in the count, and a lineup that has been remarkably good at scoring runs and getting on base (1st in the NL in OBP, if I remember Jon's summary post from earlier correctly), there's very little that suggests attempting a steal is really the right play.
And the shot at DePo is a bit unfair. He doesn't rule the baseball world. He rules the whole world. [Insert evil laugh here]
And with that, I'm off for the night. Go Dodgers!
SIGH....I was replying to your comment that was something to the effect of "so it's never the time to steal?"
Lofton made a bonehead move there, that's all there is to it...stealing in that situation is a remarkably bad move no matter who the man on base is.
I have no problem with Lofton trying to swipe bags as long as it isn't ruining a potential rally and taking the bat out of our best hitter's hands....
I don't want to go too far out on a limb, but those players may have arrived.
Props to whoever came up with that modification.
You have to admit that it's more original to argue that Kenny Lofton should get thrown out in front of the heart of the lineup facing Ryan Madson.
Nomar just drove him in.
Meanwhile, this Kemp fella, I think he has some power.
Hit n' rbi!
In this situation, you have Drew, Lofton, Ethier, Kemp, Cruz Jr., Repko, Ledee, and Werth...not to mention Guzman. Obviously, a number of them are currently hurt and/or injury prone, but I can't help wondering if we'll be able to trade off people like Repko, Cruz Jr., or Werth (if he ever gets healthy) and get a boost in the rotation.
What's the sense of how much guys like Repko, Werth, and Cruz Jr. could bring in a trade?
However, once Furcal made it to 2nd with 2 outs, the Phils should have just gave Nomar an IBB. I dont agree with stealing in that situation either, but Madson was dumb enough to let the Dodgers get away with it by pitching to Nomar with 1st base open.
He really got screwed a couple pitches ago but drew the walk anyways. Guzman is looking good tonight.
JA10PWFA
Wow.
what 372 said. even bert be home blyleven is a bigger homer than steiner, but in an "aw shucks" kind of way, so it's not as annoying as skip carey or the hawk.
Meanwhile, I think we'll be seeing Gagne tonight...
the buffalo felt like grazing tonight.
So perhaps if there's a wild pitch in that situation the runner should stand pat.
And he's on his fourth team.
somewhere ozzie smith is smiling
His shoulder is still a little sore.
Secondly, the run expectancy probably increases.
The thing about win expectancies is that it's emperical. It just means that one in thousand more home teams lost in the latter situation vs. the former.
Braves.
The Cardinals are now racing with Saint Louis U, which is playing Cal State Fullerton now in the NCAA tournament.
Titans lead the Billikens 3-0 after 5.
427 - Please?
He's already improved.
(Comparison not valid at Fenway Park.)
462 - And why does he not have any arms??
Doesn't that seem like a high pace for the relievers?
I would look up games/innings pitched and all that to see if my theory holds weight, but I'm at work and my work computer sucks.
Commence...now.
Little thinks he's Tony LaRussa tonight.
YOU ARE DEAD TO ME.
Transactions: LA (NL) - Baez, DFA
Are you saying 41 saves isn't...any...good...?
And you need to get your own blog and make your own lists.
being cautiously optimistic he could turn it around.
At least we've got an out now.
Man, this stinks.
WWSH
Pitchers who don't get beaten up by the water cooler.
Argh Rowand, where was the face-sacrificing tackle of Old Man Alomar there??
WWSH
2. The Dodgers will blow leads at times. So will other teams. It happens.
But you can close the book on Baez as 5 runs score without him retiring a batter. His ERA went up to 3.95.
He didn't just blow that lead. He went all the way with it.
At least he stranded his own runner. His ERA for the evening is a nice 0.00.
As for Ned, the Ethier trade has been brilliant, but I doubt he expected Ethier to give this much production. I still think the Seo trade was reasonable, as badly as Seo has pitched, and as good as Duaner has been for the Mets. So the two balance each other out.
The Baez trade really was indefensible, though, and all these kids are to Logan White's credit, so I guess Ned doesn't deserve much credit at all. His best free agent signing, Nomah, was also a target of DePo, so I don't think he gets much credit there. That being said, Ned's let Little play the kids, which is nice. Maybe they'll save us from Baez's fiasco.
WWSH
Thanks a lot for jinxing it. It obviously would have happened if you hadn't explicitly predict it.
503 - Noisy am I, huh? I would imagine Cub Town on a night Todd Walker drops an 0 for 7 from the cleanup spot would be quite a lot noisier than I am...
518 - Ehh, can we give you back David Bell instead?
1. Jeff Kent
2. Danys Baez
3. Tom Niedenfuer
I honestly cant wait for Fasano. Fasano is the reason I wish we would play the Phillies in more then 2 series this year.
Replace Kent with Carlos Perez and you've got something.
.....ooops?
Jason ______
ERA: 1.57
WHIP: .96
Hopefully we can get to their set up man, whom I can't seem to find.
And his new 3.95 ERA really doesn't even reflect how truly awful he's been.
Darryl. Delino.
I don't know where to begin at pointing out how wrong that list is.
First of all, the list does not have Darryl Strawberry on it.
The list also doesn't have guys like Don Stanhouse or Dave Goltz.
I don't think anything Jeff Kent has done in his life can earn the same level of vituperation as Strawberry deserves.
Strawberry told people that he hoped L.A. would all burn down during the riots of 1992. Around the same time that his brother, an LAPD officer, had been injured on the job.
Kent is not a drug addict. He's not a criminal. He's not a pathological liar.
Box score says it all.
Danys Baez my word.
Whoever brought up the idea of a player-manager a few days ago clearly had in mind Chase Utley calling for pitching changes in situations like this, right?
Gagne's cmoing in.
Vin seems happy to see him.
Stupid Baez really ruined this game.
Dionner Navarro's CERA
Russell Martin's CERA
One of these doesnt belong.
Very good stuff. Just a little over anxious.
Stop the presses.
Nomar is the important run.
he could still use HGH. Baseball doesn't blood test and there is no test for HGH with urine.
Grrrrr!!
597 - You say that like it would be a bad thing Bob!
you should have said steroids, it's a honest mistake.
Blows the game
Blows Odalis' win
Blows Gagne's save
Blows the win streak
Blows the chance to move into a tie for first.
That's a whole lotta blowin'
In an extra inning game (25 innings), the record is 104.
P.S. When you have a chance, please point out the scientific inaccuracies of Star Wars, and explain how explosions don't really make a sound in space...KILLJOY.
Broxton too. The guy threw only 11 pitches.
That's all I wanted. ;)
NERD ALERT...I kid because I love.
See youse all tomorrow for the rubber match. Nate: make sure you wake up early enough to see Salitalian!!
JtD's learning curve may be a little steeper than other players bc he's so tall and has a large strike zone. I think he probably feel pressure to not strike out, so you see him reaching for pitches. I may look at Richie Sexson's early career to see how fast he adjusted to the league. There's arent many hitters as tall as Guzman. Larger K zone would seem to make it easier for the pitchers.
And Sexson really only had 1 dominant minor league season (at age 22 at AAA where he hit 31HRs). However, his OBP was never that good in the minors.
I think Guzman's gonna have the same struggles as Sexson, but hopefully he adjusts faster. There's a lot less pressure on a young hitter to produce when he's playing SS, rather than 1st though. I think Guzman/Loney (1 of them) the Dodgers will decide on at 1st, and the other gets dealt.
JtD aplogists of the world, unite!
Lofton 3.85 m
Mueller 4.25 m
Baez 4 m
Total 12.1 m
Also we would still have jackson and tiffany to trade with izturis and navarro and maybe someone else for a high priced good starting pitcher that is only signed this year or thru next year, giving us a playoff rotation of lowe, penny, new pitcher, billingsley.
And a lineup of drew, kent, furcal, nomar, ethier, aybar, martin, and the last spot between kemp/cruz/repko.
643 -- That sounds like me.
Its a bad dynamic for Guzman (and really all the youngsters that come up). I know they dont want to strike out, bc when a rookie hitter strikes out immediately most will think they are over matched at the MLB level. So that leads to batters reaching for pitches they normally wouldnt, just so they dont K.
IF I was instructing Joel Guzman, I'd tell him that we're only concerned with his hitting for power. That right now we dont really care about the strike outs.
Because honestly as a tall hitter, the K's are gonna be there no matter what. I dont want to see Joel Guzman taking defensive swings up there. I want him swinging hard and lettin loose.
Not good enough; add DEAD!
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