Not super hopeful about Guzman vs. Glavine, but at the worst, it'll be a good learning experience. I wish them buena suerte.

That said, I really enjoy watching Maddux and Glavine pitch, even against the Dodgers. Old pros, both of them. So I'm annoyed (again) that Prime Ticket isn't showing this game.

Other than that its not bad.

I guess for Saenz those extended periods mean for than 3 innings. Couldnt Nomar play 3rd with Saenz at 1st for one nite? Tonite is a pretty big game I think.

I don't have a problem with the lineup at all. Lucille is hitting well, Wilber could probably use a break, and he hasn't hit very well against LHP. My only question is why not switch Lofton and Cruz in the lineup. Cruz is a much more patient hitter and he gets on base more.

The Dodger's OBP right now: .360. Here are the NL teams that have had a better OBP since 1969:

'99 Mets - .363
'00 Giants - .362
'00 Rockies - .362
'00 Astros - .361

Im not sure we realize just how good the Dodger offense has been so far this year, at least I didnt.

I can't access the site at work, but you can get minor league splits here.

http://www.brewcrewball.com/special/LasPCL

In the majors, it's too small a sample to matter, but he's been better against righties so far.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/splits?playerId=6481

Aybar is 1-11 vs LHP this year.
Ethier is 3-11 vs LHP this year.

Both dont have much experience, but I guess tonite isnt a time to experiment.

I still think an opportunity is lost by not playing Saenz vs a tough LHP.

67AB RHP:.358/.443/.537
19AB LHP:.316/.458/.368

2001 4.8
2002 5.1
2003 4.0
2004 4.6
2005 4.5
2006 7.1

"We've got some professional hitters -- (Rob) Mackowiak, Cintron, (Ross) Gload"

So is a professional hitter a good hitter who can't field or just a guy who really isn't very good at all?

Which is a real Japanese phrase.

http://tinyurl.com/moeke

"The [Arizona] Republic reported that Latino players were cited by Grimsley in the court documents as a major source of amphetamines, as were major leaguers on California teams who could easily travel to Mexico to buy the drugs."

Where can I learn to do cool things like link to previous posts?

Gary Sheffield says hello.

I really don't want this thread to turn into a favorite Simpsons episodes thread, because those go on forever, ad nauseum. But my favorite two episodes of the show are that one and the one where Dustin Hoffman gives Lisa the note that says, "I am Lisa Simpson."

The Griddle is another blog. It's on the sidebar.

You link to previous posts by enclosing the post number in brackets.

So has anyone heard any recent news on Nick Akins and Alex White. The only thing I've read is this little blurb from the LA Times:

A late-round pick with potential was right-handed pitcher Alex White, who has signed a letter of intent to play at North Carolina, yet was picked by the Dodgers in the 14th round.

"He's a long shot to sign," Logan White said. "It was worth the risk where we got him."

Also, am I the only person who laughed at this line from Steve Henson's article this morning

"Kent's veteran leadership and consistent bat will be welcomed back."

"Kent's veteran leadership and consistent bat will be welcomed back."

Only because I hadn't read it yet...

That's why he went under the radar. If we sign him, I think he may prove to be one of the best picks in the draft period.

Joe Morgan would disagree. =P

Re the Hochevar stuff, there's a description of the quotes from Boras, Hoch, and the other agent on XM this morning and some comments from a random guy at http://www.thenats.blogspot.com/.

Even though I seem to be the biggest booster of Lofton on this site I would liked to have seen a lineup tonight of Cruz/Kemp/Guzman in the outfield with Saenz at 3b. Just my 2 cents. JD sure seems to be sitting alot more then he was, is that my imagination or is his shoulder bothering him more now then it was? Not that he's been particulary productive lately so maybe were not missing much.

30
My memory says that Sheffield, Gagne, and Beltre were all part of serious steroid speculation.

Of the non-family members, any episode that features Krusty is always good for a chuckle, "Krusty gets Kancelled" is a classic.

I am really a big Gagne fan, but this elbow thing is getting annoying. The Dodgers have surprised me but without a lights out closer, their season is not going to turn out the way they want.

I think a trade for a closer is coming.

"Lisa! Get away from that jazz man!"

I have a friend who is quite good at impressions. He can demonstrate how almost any famous voice can evolve into Krusty the Klown.

That is just surreal.

Speaking of Simpsons episodes. I found this website awhile back and thought I would share.

http://www.snpp.com/

Also, I think this "Lisa centric" episode is rather funny.

http://www.snpp.com/episodes/5F05

cr

double error!

"Stupid Fordham Jesuit professors made me take three years of French, man, did I hate those classes!"

Also, it had an interesting link to the site HitTracker (http://www.hittrackeronline.com/), which records the distance for every home run, adjusted for altitude, atmospheric conditions, etc.

The longest HR by a Dodger this year? Matt Kemp's June 2nd blast against Ryan Madson (who, incidentally, gave up the first Dodger homer of the year), traveling 448 ft in 'true distance.'

The longest HR, uncorrected for various effects? 'Dearly departed' Cody Ross's home run in the 6th inning of the April 13th game when he went crazy. It traveled 432 ft of 'standard' distance (Kemp's home run went 429 feet of standard distance).

So the winning tradition continues this time with LaRoche and Abreu (Kemp was doing pretty well there too until he came up here)leading the way and a pitching staff not filled with many known prospects outside of Orenduff but yet is among the best in the league.

It means: Welcome, Mr. Gagne.

We tried that already.

I would say one if not all of his recent surgeries could be bothering him from time to time. Didn't he have a shoulder, knee and a wrist?

72 & 74 LOL

As well as Terry Smith from his Angels deal.

I think the two men would make an interesting pair.

How is Kemp's arm? Do we think he'll end up being a RF?

Because of Bob's 88comment I figured that the Drew holidays would be Atlanta and Atlanta.

Perez threw 23 pitches in the first inning, 21 for strikes. The Mets couldn't wait to start hitting against Perez.

Could Perez making about 25 times more than Seo have anything to do with it?

To whom are you referring?

I need to move back to LA.

Jon, seems like that's the most perverse thing I've seen on this site since I started reading here. As much as we all love and appreciate Bob, he really should get a week banishment for even conceptualizing such a thought as Leitner following Vin.

And just as I say this, the guy walks the pitcher. Par for the course.

guys

True. But, a lot of players lose their ability not because of age but lingering injuries. For some reason Perez has lost a lot off his FB.

Can OP even be sent to the minors? Bob, do you know the answer to this?

HOMER NUMERO DOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The force play bunt you see, set up the game-tying home run.

I think Perez has only been optioned to the minors twice, but I don't know if he has too much service time to get a minor league assignment anyway without his permission.

156- Wouldn't Odalis have to pass through waivers? Not that that would be a problem.

I can.

I think he would be in worse shape if he kept taking weird stuff for this long.

But what if the protein came from Gnuburgers...?

Remember gals love homers....

http://dougeddingsisadouche.blogspot.com/

His was all natural.

Lofton showing off that noodle arm again.

Why is Perez giving up so many freaking singles?

This is the first game in a while, if at all, that would go directly on Grittle's ledger.

Because he sucks.

Can we relax a bit here and not turn this into an episode of "Deadwood"?

Billingsley time!!!

I believe that we've gone past the warning level with some of those comments.

It seems like every year, year after year the Dodger's have an pitching albatross.

Lofton's done some good things, but he could have ended this side much earlier, roo.

Is cussing not allowed on this site?

Right now, until the pitching staff is settled, we are going to play a lot of these games, at least Grady is used to them.

no its not but sexual baseball innuendos are.

See 2004, September.

Not in the least.

It's a PG site.

B) Thanks for saying what everyone was thinking...Don't do it again.

I agree. He still nibbles quite a lot, evident by his low inning outings and high bbs.

havent heard that in a while.

I think he should stop walking people but still K the hell out of the opposing lineup :)

when does it stop being luck and starts being well... a fat tub of goo.

well Orenduff hasnt pitched in over a week and I fear the worse for his elbow.

thats the thing though, it hasnt been one game. hes been crap since last year.

Probably not. The Tigers were hot after Kershaw and liked Stubbs very much as well. They were going to choose between Stubbs or Kershaw if none of the top college pitchers dropped to them. We would probably had picked Bryan Morris at #7 or take a chance on Drabek.

Odalis was among the league leaders in K/BB ratio almost every year, despite not being a strikeout pitcher, indicating excellent control.

The other things, I'll give you, though I really don't care about his attitude.

None of your points hold water. Just admit it, you don't like the guy for reason that have nothing do with his pitching ability. I'm sorry that Perez isn't a 6'5 220 pounds All American boy.

He pitches left handed and.......thats about it.

Now that said, I honestly can't say we have any other options available.

At least she can speak jive.

By way of crafty, under-handed means...

AKA "Sauron"

We have billingsley, but thats it for the near future.
Orenduff 2008 if not 2009
Elbert 2009

I know i'm a broken record but lofton, mueller, baez contracts combined could have paid for millwood this season, but the bad thing about millwood is the length of his contract.

The way money has corrupted baseball, the teams that can build around prospects are going to be the sucessfull teams.
Thank you logan white.

No argument from me. But where's the talent part?

And the lone Mets fan here chimes in!

Thank you.

I also believe he is the only Mets fan online who is polite.

Even the ones I know in SABR seem kind of grouchy.

As far as grumpy, aren't all fans on the east coast? Gets kind of annoying.

Milledge really looking good lately.

Hasn't Odalis been rumored once or twice to come to the Mets.

Eeeeeeeek!

its not that he has a 10 cent head, its that he is almost bi-polar.

Right fielder J.D. Drew, who left Tuesday night's game after six innings, was not in the lineup Wednesday night while nursing a tender right hamstring muscle.

But Lofton did indeed do something stupid.

my idea of the "10 cent head" stereotype is of person who is perfectly normal but acts like a moron/idiot/imbecile not of someone who is mentally sick. But whatever, I learn something new everyday.

Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days

With that said, give that to him immediately.

You would have to think that dozens of players before Johnson suffered from depression or some other mental illness. If they weren't stars, they were likely just cut loose.

i agree. One of those college picks D'Alessio has talent though. he was the best defensive 1b in the SEC and he smacked 20 homers.

Nomar just made a big Lofton.

I feel like that's similar to getting "Munsoned" from the movie Kingpin.

EEth EE ER

I mean, it was still a good trade for us, but we're a little confused over here.

The Dodgers bonus to Andy LaRoche has been mentioned as one of the times the MLB office may have fined a team for going over the slot bonus.

But then again, Logan White and his staff probably have some idea of what it might it cost, he surely was going to accept 5 figures.

because he is a college 2b that went to a very small school (central missouri st) and he isnt very toolsy.

He did that for us last year, but in reverse.

he's a middle reliever, they are as combustible as a fat tub of goo starting pitchers.

Dodgers got fined for that? Can you link me to some literature on that. I dont remember them getting fined.

I agree, his numbers look very solid. We'll see how his bat translates to wood and go from there.

Thanks, Vin.

Want to also talk about that time that kid stepped on my macaroni picture in preschool?

Danys is a rare breed: fat tub of goo middle reliever.

Bob Wickman says hi D4P! he wants to join the club.

Your clever slides will not help you NOW Mister Bond! Er, Wright.

The longest the Lakers have gone is 9 years in their history.

Mr. Wagner: Please give up a two singles followed by a three run homer. Please?

Whatever happens tonight I don't know what to make of this game or how much import to attach to it except that Odalis Perez is on very thin ice/a short leash.

That game will never end.

However, there was a lot of speculation is that the MLB office weighted heavily in the decisions re why the Mets and Rays did not pay their draft and follows the money they wanted.

{sulk}

{pout}

Night!

Well, not really.

-very quietly walks away-

And I was just wondering if I was eligible for a HLD from Sori on my fantasy team because the tying run was at the plate when he came in.

grrrrr

The Dodgers remain 1 1/2 games behind Arizona. El Duque makes his triumphal return to Arizona.

If that is confusing than let me try it this way, as it stands Grady has 3 guys who will all have plenty rest come next Tuesday, Sele, Perez and Seo, however whoever he throws that day is going to pitch again the following Sunday, while the one of the other 2 won't be needed until the Saturday game in Oakland.

The Dodgers also have pretty much said that Kent is coming off the DL next week and with Izzy and Navarro off in Vegas, many moves will have to made in the near future.

BTW - Chad's next start is probably Saturday so if he doesn't pitch that day, then maybe something is up.

The Dodgers pitching staff is a tough problem. On one hand, (Seo, Tomko, Sele) are all #5 level starters. Its only a matter of time before Sele regresses. Also, while Penny/Lowe are good, I think even Lowe is pitching above his head. I didnt think he'd be this good. I dont think he'll continue to be that. Penny I expect to maintain his peformance.

The only starter that can be expected to reasonably improve on what he's done this year is Odalis. He's 29, and even in his worst seasons he's around league average. In his best seasons, he's well above it. OP is the one pitcher the team should count on to improve as the season wears on, but its looking more and more like he'll be given up on.

With Lowe regressing (at least slightly), (Seo, Tomko, Sele) just not being any good, the pitching is in a tough bind. I dont think the answers are going to come from a trade. The only way this situation improves is if OP, Billingsley, Broxton, Orenduff emerge.

If it doesnt improve, I think the only way the Dodgers stay in the race is if Arizona continues to make dumb personell moves or has injuries.

Beltre

225AB, .232, 4HR, 12XBH, 19RBI.

Ethier

85AB, .291, 4HR, 9XBH, 14RBI.

http://tinyurl.com/zpnn5

I think Hussein's trial/conviction/execution will be of importance as well.

Wow, this must be a Mission Accomplished. You know, like the other 89 missions accomplished.

I think comparing OP to Erickson.. man thats harsh. Erickson gave almost as many HRs as K's last year. OP isnt that bad.

[Once the story gets around that growing up Billingsley learned about pitching from studying baseball cards, the sales of cards could soar.

"I learned how to throw most of my pitches by looking at the cards of Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens. I got the motion to throw the knuckle curve and the grip to throw a changeup and curveball," Billingsley said. "You'd be surprised how much you could learn just by looking at baseball cards."]

[Las Vegas 51s manager Jerry Royster has called Billingsley "the most mature 21-year-old I've ever seen. His combination of command and maturity, you don't get to see that very often in young pitchers."]

[Billingsley has seen his share of adversity--and then some. By the time Chad was 8, his father Jim was battling cancer. By the time he was a freshman at Defiance (Ohio) High, his father suffered a stroke. Jim was put on disability from his supervisor's job at the local General Motors plant and had to go through chemotherapy.

"Seeing him after his chemo treatments broke my heart, but also showed me how much heart he had," Billingsley said. "He went to my brother's (Shaun) junior high football games or went out to the backyard and play catch with me. He never let the pain show because he didn't want to scare us. He just kept on fighting and never let it get him down. That's what I learned from him, and it's still with me to this day."]

["I still think about those days. I have wonderful memories of the hours and hours of playing catch in the backyard with my dad. No matter what may happen in the future, those will forever be some of my greatest memories," Billingsley said. "I remember sometimes I didn't want to be out there because I wanted to watch TV or play video games, but that feeling usually didn't last long. I'd just remember how close it came to those memories never happening because of my dad's ailments."]

It goes on to talk about a football injury that ended his gridiron career and luckily for us made him focus on baseball. He had a ruptured spleen and spent a week in the hospital. It is a very long and great article and I recommend it to everyone if they have a BA account. Wish I could post the whole thing but even these snippets are probably out of bounds but hey, he is our golden boy.