Someone convince me that the Dodgers wont collapse.

I see a 44-41 record that has resulted from:
--many dodger players hitting above what they should hit considering their LD%
--Penny/Lowe/Sele being as good as they each are probably going to be
--Bullpen always a question mark with no Gagne

What could improve the Dodgers in the 2nd half? Where's the improvement going to come from when these other factors regress to more normal levels?

What could improve the Dodgers in the 2nd half? Where's the improvement going to come from when these other factors regress to more normal levels?

The only thing i could think of is replacing izturis with laroche and replacing lofton with kemp or loney.
Laroche > izturis
Kemp or loney > lofton

Also an improvement from billingsley.

Other than that i don't know what to tell you.

1 - Drew, Kent, Furcal each have room for improvement. That could make up for the 2nd half rookie regression from Ethier, Kemp, and Martin.

for one, kent and drew could start hitting homeruns like they can.

Agreed that home run power doesn't necessarily equate to winning baseball. That said, if we don't address the offensive chasm at 3B, we're not going anywhere...

3. Actually Drew/Furcal are hitting about what they should according to their LD%/BABIP. Kent has room for improvement though.

2. Interesting you say that because the tea leaves point to Tomko/Ledee replacing Billingsley/Kemp when they are ready to go in a few weeks.

...even though Boston has hit 35 more home runs
(The Dodgers have 18 more triples.) What I see is that they consistently score runs. Someone can look this up to see if it's true but its seems that they always score 4-5 runs a game.(not literally) Not like some teams that have huge games scoring double digits and then only scoring a couple a game later.

We were 41-40 at the exact half way point.
I could see a little improvement if the right decisions are made (improving cf and 3b), plus billingsley improving, kent and drew start hitting homers and furcal has a lot of room to improve.

But to tell you the truth, i highly doubt the team wins 90 games, and i highly doubt the team wins less than 81 games.
I bet we are looking at 85 wins give or take 1 or 2, 83-87 wins.

But if ned/grady sticks with izturis and lofton, this team will sit at 500% in my opinion.

I assume that line drives are subjective to whoever says they are.

Interesting you say that because the tea leaves point to Tomko/Ledee replacing Billingsley/Kemp when they are ready to go in a few weeks.

And that's why i keep saying that ned overdid it with acquiring mediocre veterans, but if he can unload some mediocre veterans in favor of the prospects staying/promoted then forget the overdid it thing.

This seems like as good a thread as any to post this:

For the last several weeks, I've been saying to friends that my goals for this season are:

1. 85 wins
2. Lots and lots of major league AB for the kids.

These goals would mean that the team won more games than they lost (duh) and that the prospects would have experienced a full year of ML ball.

If they go further, great. I would definitely love to attend a playoff game. But I share the fears in 1.

85 wins.
Lots of AB for the kids.

Here's what I think will happen (Impromptu prediction thread):
---Ethier/Martin will tank in the 2nd half. Martin hits the ball on the ground too much, he'll be worn out by August/Sept. Ethier's the luckiest guy in the game. It wont last either.
--Drew/Kent/Nomar will remain about where they are at. They've been consistent (except for Kent's 1st month). I dont see any change either way.
--Furcal- maybe this guy got a big contract and just quit working on his game. Maybe he doesnt hit in the cage enough, or concentrate while he's fielding. Whatever it is I dont expect him to improve that much.
--KLoft--he'll die in August (not literally die, but as a player he'll be done by then)
--Kemp/Billingsley--they'll be sent down, and when that happens the 2006 season will be officially useless in terms of either winning big or developing the youngsters. It'll be a repeat of 2005, except sub some vets in for the AAAA players we had last year.

The pitching staff will be about the same the rest of the season. Penny/Lowe will be really good. The rest of them...dont ask.

I'll say final record of 79-83.

What do you guys think about Hendrickson after two starts? I didn't have a chance to see his Dodger debut, but, despite that awful first inning last night, I thought he looked pretty solid.

13 You're assuming no deal at the deadline; I don't assume that. If we can make these predictions, I suspect that Colletti and Little can too, and they know a lot more about what they can practically do to improve than we do.

13

Is SARS, combined with a gigantic meteor going to wipe out the human race as well?

Don't know if ToyCanon is gonna be here or at the game, I just wanna thank him for the free ticks for tonights game.

Nate, why dont you make your predictions and we'll see who comes closer?

From what i've seen of Morris he looks like a feest of famon type pitcher let's hope he's famon today.

ps I don't know if I spelled that right.

whoo hoo I get to see Bills live!!

My predictions
* Nomar will keep up and end the season batting at least .340.
* Odalis Perez will be a decent middle reliever.
* Izturis will be traded for a pitcher. The quality of that pitcher will make a 4-5 win difference for the Dodgers' overall record.
* Ned Colletti's trade success ratio is even lower than his free agent success ratio, so it is reasonable to assume he will make one more good trade before McCourt fires him.
* Andre Ethier will be the first player whose uniform number has a decimal point.
* Hee Seop Choi will hit a home run against the Dodgers in his first at-bat as a Padre, then strike out the next 5 times.
* Kenny Lofton and JD Drew will both go down with injuries, prompting me to say this is why we should have offered Drew for Beltre while it was stil possible.
* Joel Guzman will redeem himself and appear to be a competent major leaguer.
* Sandy Alomar will never again call a game for the Dodgers, helping the Dodgers' team ERA drop.
* Rafael Furcal will end the year with more stolen bases than errors. However, he will strike out more than he scores.
* Brad Penny will win 20 games.
* Chad Billingsley will have a winning record for 2006.
* The Dodgers will not win 90 games, but will break 82, probably going for 86.
* The New York Mets will collapse and make a nice, stupid panic move that favors the Dodgers.
* Lastings Milledge is the next Darryl Strawberry.

On this day in 1997, the Dodger family lost one of its most beloved souls, Jerry Doggett, who died in Northern California. For those not old enough to remember, Jerry was a Dodger broadcaster for more than 30 years, retiring in 1987. He also announced college football and basketball, golf, and for good measure, even a little hockey. We miss you, Jerry.

20 Yeah, that'll be cool. I was at last night's game and was sad to have missed a Cain-Billingsley duel. I've been waiting a year and a half for that matchup and they missed each other by a day.

It'll be neat if/when those two face off as #1 pitchers a few times a year.

So, the last two days, the Nationals have been in these slugfests that explode in the early innings and make for a four hour game.

Now, my wife is at tonight's game with my older son. My little guy is asleep. Meaning, you see, I have the house to myself. I've got a bottle of wine open, some really hot andouille sausages on the grill, even (I'll admit it) tator tots in the oven!

And what happens. Woody Williams and Ramon Ortiz (Ramon Ortiz!) are just moving people down and the game is half over already.

Oh wait, Ortiz starting to melt down.

Hadn't seen thoughtful 22 when I tapped out my silly 24, of course.

I pretty much like all the new stats that have been used the last few years. But things like LD%/BABIP are threatening to ruin my enjoyment of the game if all we can talk about is whether a player has been "lucky" or not depending on the stat.

It worries me.

Jerry Doggett and unnamed associate in 1960:

http://tinyurl.com/ka89a

Lima time not working out -- 7-0 Marlins over Mets in the fourth.

Tater tots are one of my fondest childhood food memories Sam.

24 mowing, obviously.

26

I am basically with you on this subject Marty. People should refrain from over analyzing things. When it comes down to it, it just ruins baseball when everything in your belief system comes down to whether one is lucky or not. You watch baseball because you enjoy the game itself, the numbers and stats and analyzation of them should be secondary.

thats just my view on it, not expecting anyone else to agree with me.

Lima gave up a grand slam to Dontrelle Willis.

Kent's in the lineup today. Gagne, however, will have surgery and is officially out for the year (although Rawitch mentioned he'd be ready for Spring Training).

Analyzation is a perfectly cromulent word too, Nate. ;-)

Whose spring training will Gagne be ready for?

32 Eeek -- and the bases are loaded again in the same inning.

Nate, why dont you make your predictions and we'll see who comes closer?

Why? So I can end up looking back at them and realize how dumb they are? If you try to predict the future, you are in all liklihood, going to fail because there are to many variables you have to factor in. Trust me, I know this from reading most of your baseball predictions the last 2-3 years.

I'll just stick to minor league baseball.

Seo Watch is on in NY. He is thru 4, 3H, 1ER, 1BB, 3K's. (The run is NOT on a HR)

36 Jacobs DP ends the inning.

33

Well Gagne will make at least 1 million next season. With the contract buyout and all.

Lastings Milledge is the next Darryl Strawberry.
So he's going to beat women and use coke? Or are you talking about as a player?

I'll say final record of 79-83.

I can definately see that if ned/grady stick with izturis and lofton.
78-82 wins with izturis and lofton starting at 3b and cf.

So, seriously, why is Aybar not a Dodger? Did he not have unexpected power and play both 2B and 3B?

6 I think you're confused about line drive % and BABIP. There is research showing that those things are mostly luck for a pitcher (and other research showing that, at least to some degree, it isn't). If there's any research showing the same thing for hitters, I've never seen it, and I'd appreciate a reference.

Also, even if Drew and Furcal are getting the hits their line drive % says they should, that doesn't mean they won't start hitting more line drives, and thus getting more hits, without any improvement in "luck," as they regress to their established levels of performance.

Nate and JoeyP, go to your corners and come out politing.

I'm interested in the comments about BABIP started by Marty. I'm wondering if it's so bad. What it comes down to is assigning a number to an adjective, lucky, that we've all used since we were kids. Thirty years ago, if Rick Auerbach went on a tear or Burt Hooton went into a slump, we might say they were lucky or unlucky. This just augments that.

If what you're saying is that it ruins the enjoyment of Andre Ethier's hot streak, well, I guess I can understand that. But if he slumps, that ruined enjoyment was inevitable, and if he keeps it up, well, great news!

Anytime Marty threatens to feel bad, I get real nervous. But I'm hoping this isn't as bad as it seems.

Interesting that before Kent got the starting nod, Martinez was going to bat sixth tonight, behind Ethier.

Having Kent in there is a nice change - just hope it's not premature.

Did he not have unexpected power and play both 2B and 3B?

What unexpected power? LaRoche, not Aybar please.

Okay, here's a stathead teeball for you.

The bleak forecasts for the remainder of '06 for the Dodgers rely, in part, on several players with better than expected first halves regressing to the mean offensively.

But does it throw your calculations off when you assess the incredibly crappy pitching that seems to plague almost every team in the National League? The presumed favorite to represent the league in the World Series is pitching Jose Lima tonight. The other presumed favorite just traded for Jeff Weaver.

With the Twins, A's and Angels no longer facing the Dodgers, we will face very few solid pitching rotations from now until the end of the season. I can't think of a single pitcher the Dodgers will face who scares me as much as the pitchers we just got done with, like Zito, Lackey, Santana and Liriano. Okay maybe Chris Young, Schmidt, Carpenter and Webb.

But Aaron Sele has the 7th best ERA in the NL right now. The NL is a cupcake league! A lineup with Kent, Drew, Nomar, Furcal and either Kemp or Ethier firing on all cylinders should be able to do just fine against most of the mostly crappy pitchers they'll see the rest of the way. Es verdad?

I can definately see that if ned/grady stick with izturis and lofton.
78-82 wins with izturis and lofton starting at 3b and cf

If we consistantly see a line up with Izturis, Lofton, AND Furcal, we'll probably finish with 83-85 wins because the NL sucks.

I predict that the US will shoot down a Taepodong-2 missile headed for Dodger Stadium and the Dodgers will win the NL West.

Sam, just out of curiosity, how come your wife went to the game and you stayed home?

"Aaron Sele has the 7th best ERA in the NL right now."

What?!?

(scurries off to find leader boards)

52 He doesn't qualify, but he would slot 7th if he did. Josh Johnson doesn't qualify either, but would easily be first.

51 I've gone to a couple of games recently, and it's really fun going with our 5 year old as he is so joyful about the whole thing, so she called dibs.

She likes baeball, though in some degree of moderation.

I, like you lot, don't manage the baseball moderation thing quite as well. Or at least my moderation doesn't mean exactly the same thing as hers.

32 - Willis isn't a bad hitting pitcher. He hits over the Mendoza line.

41 - What do you think?

And it's official, Gagne is undergoing back surgery according to Inside the Dodgers. No Gagne this year. He'll be ready for . . . spring training.

54 - I'm going to be at the game tomorrow, Young starting against Pedro Astacio. Let's see how long Astacio's 1.80 ERA will hold up...

In Tampa, Seo has made it to the 7th inning. Against the Yankees. Only allowed 1 run.

Unfortunately for him, he's not getting support. The Devil Rays have struck out 10 times in 6 innings . . . to Jaret Wright.

And Dioner Navarro stole a base. He's 1 for 2 thus far.

Having Kent in there is a nice change - just hope it's not premature.

You can say that again. If Kent tears or seriously strains the oblique we have, as my Dad likes to say, trouble in River City. (though I still don't know what it means.)

Hey Sam, very important questions here. Are you going with Ketchup or BBQ Sauce on the Tots?

59 See lyrics here:
http://tinyurl.com/b34st

From The Music Man.

Thanks for the kind words Jon. You're right, I'm enjoying Ethier's streak and am hoping he is as good as he looks so far. I'd like to think it's not luck, but I may have blinders on in this matter. I guess it comes down to I'd rather attach adjectives like "good" and "bad" than "lucky" and "unlucky".

Also, I'm glad that Sam's wife went to the game. My only World Series experience was when I went with my mother while my dad stayed home because there was only two tickets. It was a special day for me and I hope his son gets as much fun out of it.

31- honestly. Good players experience more luck than average players. I'm sure that Nomar has been lucky throughout his career (though not in the injury department). The stats may say that Pi is the luckiest player in baseball, but he still looks like a solid hitter to me, regardless of how lucky he's been. Certain statistics take the human element out of baseball. Should we replace umpires with robots? (Steve may say yes)

Yeah, they must have listened to Jon when they mapped out the line up tonight. (hee)

Does anyone else think Russ Martin looks like he's pressing lately? He's swinging at a lot of bad balls and just regressing a little at the plate. Maybe it's just a slump, or perhaps he could use a day off now and then.

Does anyone else think it surprising that Pedro Astacio and Jose Lima are still pitching somewhere, and not in a Jose Canseco-ish league? I'll take my answers off the air. Thank you. {click}

32

I'm not supprised, Dontrell is a good hitter

LAT, you married an Iowa girl and you don't know what "trouble in River City" means?

48

Seems reasonable to me. Your premise is that the NL pitching is pretty soft. No argument here. Against all that mediocre pitching out there, it's reasonable to expect Furcal-Drew-Nomar-Kent perform to career norms, which sets up some things for the whole offense. But it seems as likely that one or two of those guys hits the DL in the second half.

59 Ketchup, though I didn't think about bbq sauce. We have a hot sauce shop just opened a few blocks away, and I stocked up on a good lot of stuff on Fathers' Day.

Cla Meredith is nasty.

Some teams take solace when they at least clear the pitcher; the Nationals take solace when they clear Royce Clayton.

Complete aside: I got the 2006 Nebraska quarter in change today. 2/5 of 2006-issue state quarters are now in hand.

I've made a point of collecting these things as received in change, not buying them from all the various near-scam operators. I've got every one from 1999 (1st year) forward.

Now back to baseball.

60. Thanks Link, who knew my father had a penchent for campy musicals.

61. Marty, on Monday night I took my daughter and my Mom to the game. Mom's first trip to a MLB game in 35+ years. (I dragged her to some PawSox games when I was in high school) It was great. My daughter stars rooting for Shawn Green and my Mom starts rooting too. Only she is yelling at the wrong player. We are all teasing her but she could not have cared less. The idea of being at the game with her grandaughter while they screamed for her favorite player was all that mattered.

65. Marty, at the risk of re-starting the debate about the best plays/musicals, I have to admit I have never seen the Music Man. But just for fun I am going to ask her if she knows what its from when I get home.

71 Next time you hear somebody refer to "Marian the Librarian" you can nod knowingly. She was the love interest and only unconned citizen of the town.

I don't know if was said already but Gagne is out! (sergury)

I sat at the 4th of July game with a friend from Houston who was visiting Dodger Stadium for the first time.

He asked me:
"Why does everybody boo Shawn Green?" My response: "The average Dodger fan isn't very bright."

The Houstonian also noted that Dodger fans really get into Kiss Cam more than people in Houston. Out there, couples give each other a quick peck. On July 4th, I thought some of the couples were going to get to know each other in the Biblical sense.

75 Hey, you never know when a casting director is watching, right?

62 - Ethier's gone from 3.5 to Pi? I must have missed a few comments last night.

72

I've seen "Music Man" a bunch of times and heard the soundtrack dozens of times, but a lot that was because a brother of mine was in a production of it in high school.

He played the Buddy Hackett role.

That's Trouble with a capital "T" and that rhymes with "P" and that stands for Pulled Oblique...

Yeah, I know, it doesn't scan.

Meredith Wilson modeled River City after Mason City Iowa. One of my best friend's parents came from Mason City, so Music Man is her favorite movie.

"The Music Man" contains the first and last song ever written for the musical theater that was complimentary toward the city of Gary, Indiana.

There was a movie version of it in 2003; Matthew Broderick played Hill and Kristin Chernoweth played Marian.

Other songs: 76 Trombones and Till There Was You (which the Beatles covered on "Meet the Beatles.")

I'm trying to picture Bob's brother singing "Shapoopie"

I can rmember seeing The Music Man as a kid and thinking "why is Professor Hill singing a Beatles song?"

83
I have three older brother. One of them actually had some acting talent.

Trust me, I know the lyrics to "Shapoopie." I've heard it enough.

Ahh, the Padres just ran into the old K-CS 2-4-2-5-3-6-5 DP.

My ride is here, I'M OUT TO DS!!!

63 Yeah, I'm surprised the ergonomic minded Little didn't just delete Martinez's name and write Kent's in its place. Maybe he had a Red Bull to energise him for the job. Or he'll make one less trip to the mound tonight...

I should have said a television movie in 2003. The original movie was 1962, with Robert Preston as Prof. Hill and Shirley Jones as Marian.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056262/

Have fun Blue.

Bob beat me, but I've got the gameday goods:

"Mike Cameron strikes out swinging and Josh Barfield caught stealing home, catcher Robert Fick to second baseman Jose Vidro to catcher Robert Fick to third baseman Ryan Zimmerman to first baseman Nick Johnson to shortstop Royce Clayton to third baseman Ryan Zimmerman."

89

Meredith Wilson created the worst stereotype for people in my profession.

I am still waiting to work with someone who is as attractive as a young Shirley Jones.

84 That would have been a serious continuity error, considering the story's supposed to take place in 1912.

Everybody in the Washington infield got an assist on that play.

91 Chernoweth's no slouch, either, but I take your point.

Jae Seo taken out after 7 innings. Game Score 70. Aubrey Huff is Tampa's last hope.

Seo allows 1 run over 7 and takes the loss.

My cable has something called "The Information Channel." It's not what I was hoping it was. Right now, there's a program that shows a picture of the cable company remote control and a voiceover describing the function of each of the buttons.

13 Optimism.

Here's a link to the longest game in history, 33 innings. Imagine going 0 for 13 ONE GAME!!! Couple of Hall of Famers in the game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_baseball_game

83 A part from one of the Family Guy episodes from this last season makes a lot more sense now.

46 Kent hits Morris well so there is a possibility he was rushed.

99 More on that game:

https://griddle.baseballtoaster.com/archives/352439.html

All done in DC. 4-3 Pads.

Jonny likes him some "Music Man."

Years ago, I wrote a spec episode of the Drew Carey Show called "The Musak Man." That one didn't get me any jobs, though.

104

No doubt Jon is feeling a kinship with Tampa Bay's DH by calling himself Jonny.

Kent's not in the lineup anymore.

And Nate makes an oblique reference to Martinez batting sixth ...

I think anatomists should call those types of muscles "obstuses" instead. Sounds better.

Last weekend, I was in my car at a light and I tried to turn around and get something out of my backseat. And I tried to turned further than nature intended so I assume I tweaked an oblique muscle.

The term I used to describe that pain can be heard on next Sunday's "Deadwood" episode.

108 Wunschian.

Does it break any laws to say what particular case a friend got bumped out of the jury for?

108 Hmm. I remember "left oblique" as a 45-degree turn while marching in ranks; we were never told it was a muscle (frankly, I doubt if my D.I. had a clue about an alternative meaning).

110 No.

Sorry, I couldn't come up with a funnier way to say it than that.

112
In that case...
My girlfriend was close to becoming an alternate juror on the case where they are trying the guys who went around Skid Row beating up homeless men with baseball bats because they thought it would be fun to do.

The trial was about to start when one of the defense attorneys started chatting with her for no good reason. The judge kicked her and another alternate off the case after that.

She's a teacher, so she has to do jury duty on her vacation and it doesn't have the same allure as it does for a civil servant like me.

111 - Ah, yes. Takes me back to my high school marching band days. I remember that only the really nerdy section leaders (myself included) and the low brass knew what the heck an oblique was.

I know when I eat Panda Express that it's gonna make my stomach feel like crap afterwards, so why do I continue to eat it?

Well, Grady decided that he'd put a .500 hitter in the lineup to offer some protection for Russell Martin.

99 & 102. I lived in Pawtucket at the time although I didn't go to the game. . .either day...thank goodness.

hey, Furcal handled a grounder!

Did anyone just see the Figgins play in the Angels/A's game? I don't think I've ever seen that before.

112. Bob, she's lucky to have been dinged. Being an alternate is awful. Having to listen witout knowing if you'll ever get to vote.

Loney is playing LF again in Vegas tonight. Guzman isn't even in the lineup so it's not to get Guzman time at 1B. I'm guessing we'll see Loney up soon playing in the outfield and giving Nomar an occasional rest at 1B.

That was just awful.

120

Listening without giving an opinion or being able to talk about what is going on is not something that would suit her.

120 -I was an alternate in a murder trial. It was still interesting.

I'm one of those weirdos who has liked jury duty, despite the inconvenience. I've had three interesting cases, though.

Good thing we have another good young catcher to back him up. Oh wait.

That must have been one wild pitch, what happened?

Gameday is currently suggesting the run is earned, which would be incorrect for now.

Billingsley's throwing really low, according to Gameday.

Did anyone else see how Seo already grew out a beard?

Bonds is going down in flames this year like Mark McGuire did in his last year. They both fell off a cliff in terms of production.

124
I've liked jury duty, but my job lets me do it pretty much anytime and I can serve indefinitely.

But I've only been on two cases that went to deliberations: an eviction and an armed robbery by a young man who likely had no idea what his friend was getting him into.

16 pitches in the first isn't bad.

130 Hmmm what do those two guys have in common?

127 - Gameday fixed it, Jon.

That was a really terrible play by Martin.

Fookie walks!

Gameday corrected, unearned run for C Bills.

How did Lofton not beat that bunt out? Seemed like really good placement.

why did it seem like lofton slowed down before he hit the bag?

That's so nice of Morris, pitching away.

138 - I wondered the same thing. Seemed like he was going to make it in time (or at least make it very close) and then he just sort of slowed up.

139 I thought so too

I meant 138. What nate said

138 - I saw that too. He would have been safe but he got off his stride. I think he thought he was going to overstride the bag.

Boy Ethier is unlucky. Swining and missing that never happens. :-)

Wouldn't that have been great if Sweeney dropped the ball?

It's hard to swine and not miss...

I guess I approve of Garc stopping at third.
But that was a deep hit, and if we keep the young guys in a couple of years that would make it 2-1. Good times to come if we don't panic and givew up the future. after all the guys we rely on right now are damn old.

Morris has turned into a complete junkballer.

He is the true BJ.

I guess I approve of Garc stopping at third.
But that was a deep hit, and if we keep the young guys in a couple of years that would make it 2-1. Good times to come if we don't panic and give up the future. After all the guys we rely on right now are damn old.

Morris doesn't seem to own a fastball.

And we avoid the benitez hypothesis!

Beware of innings-eaters

Or what Nate said.

Marty its an Iowa thing
Swine and miss=greased Pig competition

But Matt Morris is a savvy veteran who can keept the young Dodger hitters off balance.

Or so they said in 2004..

Our intuitions are correct! Kemp is in for Lofton.

Aah, that explains Lofton pulling up.

Lofton threw a gasket.

Sweet KLoft is gone.

Lofton threw a gasket.

LOL!

Man, that thing really carried.

That has to be a Grabowski Principle.
Durham should be retired by now.

The good news is Martin is still catching.

Morris has turned into a complete junkballer.
I was just going to say this. Since when did Morris become a junkballer? He used to throw around 94 mph and now he throws curveball after curveball.

That homerun looked like a flyball.

Nomar extends hitting streak to 19 games
Drew extends to 13

161 and 165

Weather: 82 degrees, clear.
Wind: 10 mph, out to center.

Man, Bills' curve ball sure has a sharp quick break. If he can harness it, that's quite an out pitch.

What are we going to do without K Loft setting fires under Drew's rear end? Everybody knows that no rookie is capable of performing this difficult task.

162 - An .800+ OPS at second base and he should be gone? That's rough.

An .800+ OPS disqualifies you from Grabowski Priniciple consideration, I should think.

For bolstering the rotation, why not see if Frisco's willing to part with Lance Niekro.

If Lofton goes on the DL, I wouldn't be surprised if Loney is called up now that he is playing both 1B and outfield.

The nephew of the most successful knuckleballer ever. Why not?

what a bullet by martin!

Time for the Billz to drive in another rbi.

I guess his back is better

Wow, I was really wrong when I said the Diamondbacks had the worst outfield in baseball.

Considering what date today is (july 7th) and the trade deadline is july 31, it might be bad news that lofton might hit the disabled list.

My PTIAL (please trade izturis and lofton) campaign might be ruined.

LOL!

Martin refuses to allow himself to be stereotyped as "slow" just because he's a catcher.

So much for that.

Oh man, that's embarrassing.

Also, I don't know why Ray Durham gets no love. He has more home runs than Jeff Kent.

173 Because his nephew isn't a knuckleballer (or even a pitcher)?

167 Imagine how far the ball would carry in Redding.

Hell must be pretty cold tonight, Navarro AND Chris Shelton have steals for my fantasy team tonight.

182 - so what's your point?

just kidding :)

Vegas odds on Martin stealing home?

Did the fans boo Kemp?

The Giants don't really have anyone in the starting lineup worthy of invoking the Grabowski Principle except for Matt Morris. Even Alfonzo is hitting respectably.

Now if Jason Ellison and Jose Vizcaino come in and start hitting taters, then we've got some serious GP action.

whats furcals SB% now?

182 - "Like his father and uncle, Niekro can throw a knuckleball, although he has not pitched professionally."

He'd be like the reverse Babe Ruth.

189. I don't know but whatever it is it still makes me uncomfortable

Morris looks pathetic. Curveball after curveball. Good thing Sabean gave him a 4 year deal. If he didn't have one of the best beards in baseball, he'd be a journeyman.

189 - Martin's is 75%

192-

Matt Morris has a four year deal?

Brian Sabean is awesome.

If Morris grows his beard out a bit more, he will gain more velocity.

true story.

I like how a proposition is a story.

Morris would be pitching better if Mike Matheny were around to provide his usual steadying influence. Matheny has magical powers.

So that's why Billingsley's not the top pitcher on the team yet. No beard!

190 In that case, sure, let's try to get him.

when it involves a beard, anything is a story.

Alou didn't like Chad's curveballs.

Afer all, Francisco Liriano has a beard.

What's Billingsley's velocity tonight?

Chad's finally getting the all-important K:BB ratio back in order; 3:0 so far tonight.

That home run pitch was 93.

And I was just about to complain about how many walks Barry has this year.

I really hate that guy

Lame!

Well, Bills just joined a very large club.

202

Apparently not high enough to get it by Bonds.

Wow, that was a terrible pitch.

Now that reall really sucks

Billingsley becomes the first Dodger to give up a homer to Bonds this year.

Billingsley gave Bonds a steak. Bonds was having trouble timing Billingsley's curve. I'm going to blame Martin for calling that pitch because last inning after Martin went to the mound, Billingsley started throwing more fastballs.

Vinny said Martinez was playing in Pasadena. He should have been playing in Redding.

Yes, I will run that joke into the ground.

I think Redding would be too shallow. I think Martinez should have been in Weed.

Of course, Martinez could have moved up and just been playing in Martinez.

214 What does Pennsylvania have to do with anything?

Chad is learning. I think he is pitching better tonight then any other night so far. Just that mistake to Bonds.

He is showing why baseball america said he has the best curve in our farm system. Why wouldn't Martin keep calling for it, especially against a guy who was having trouble doing anything with it. I'm not saying he should go the Matt Morris/junkerballer approach and use it over and over again.

Did anyone else's TV just freeze?

Okay nevermind. that was weird.

Everytime Lofton runs it looks like he strained a hammy. I think he needs to rest.

I was wondering how Gatorade made that great commericial where Jordan misses the shot, Montana to Clark fails, and Jeter blows the play. Well, lo and behold:

http://tinyurl.com/m7a6c

And yes, this guy writes an entire blog dedicated to Gatorade.

2 outs why wasn't Ethier going all the way

222- "Blog entry, 7/7/06. Is Fierce Grape really that fierce?"

215, 216. You guys are too funny.

well, it was a single to first base

Bob, do you also have a campaign against sliding head-first into first? Maybe Mickey Hatcher showed Izturis how to do it.

I have made the Martinez-Redding-Weed drive way too many times. And never stopped at Lassen! Doh!

Not a whole lot of power at the bottom of this line-up.

Ethier 6HRs
Ramon 1HR
Izzy 0HR
Martin 4HR

Feliz had no clue there.

Billingsley does look really good tonight. I've seen a curve, slider, two seam and four seam fastball. I thought he has a changeup too?

Ethier's got 6 in 159 AB (1 every 26.5). Nomar has 10 in 256 (1 every 25.6).

Ok, 5 K's to 1 BB isn't bad

this ump is starting to squeeze chad.

Just a bit late.

I'm not worried about the runs he is giving up because he is at least letting his defense play rather than walking every batter and giving up cheap hits for the other team to score. He is looking good to me.

Felipe Alou at his best.

Worst steal ever.

Looks like Orlando's streak is going to end tonight.

When I was a teenager I was on a road trip with a friend. We had another friend who's last name was Martinez, so we had to stop and get a picture in front of the Martinez city limits sign with us holding our noses.

I'm reminded of when in Spring Training, Brad Penny asked what his steal sign was.

Grady said when Rich Donnelly jumps up in the air and doesn't come down.

I'm also very impressed with Billingsley tonight. His control (especially early in the count) is a lot better and he's mixing in a lot more curves. If he can control his curve a little better and keep developing his change-up he could live up to his top prospect billing.

241 Whatever Grittle's shortcomings are when it comes to strategy, his sense of humor has got to have a positive effect on the team.

243

I agree. Little's humor is sooo much better then Tracy's.....whatever.

Billingsley's fastball seems to be really straight. Like Penny's.

Off-topic a little bit, but why is oakland's offense so awful? I didn't think a team with those players would be last in the AL in offense.

I love Felipe

246
Payton's numbers last year were a fluke. Kendall stinks and Crosby has not progressed. A lot of players are underperforming (Johnson and Ellis). They have also been dealing with injuries.

So nice of Moises to get out on the first pitch.

John Lackey gave up a 1st inning lead off single to Kotsay, and then retired the next 27 A's....awesome

Ethier is so handsome. Haha.

That Ethier sure is lucky ;-)

Ground ball or not, lucky or not, Ethier's got an RBI single.

Ethier lights my eternal fire.

We didn't start the fire...Ethier did.

Anyone want to nickname Ethier "The Rock" since you can't stop him?

This is why the Angels have a chance to win the division. Lackey-Colon-Santana-Escobar-Weaver is an awesome rotation.

I wish Don King were here to explain the Lackey effort. It was truly splindifferous.

Yeh, he lights my manfire.

With the way Bartolo Colon pitched against the Dodgers, I wouldn't quite call Anaheim's rotation "awesome."

All of Izturis' RBI this year are at home.

I have a call into the pitch fork guys.

Morris is even more of a junkballer than BJ. At least 90 % of his pitches tonight have been curveballs and changeups.

Ethier is almost as handsome as Grady Sizemore

The Tigers are the anti-Dodgers when it comes to runs from home runs this year; 7 of their 9 starting hitters have double-digit homers already.

Bills getting tired

Grady's Ladies: Andre's Madres

Carrara with the bases juiced. This should be ... um ... exciting?

thanks for driving up Billingsley baserunners and walk totals. If you're going to IBB the batter, pull chad and then do it with carrera. Now if carrera stinks it up, those ducks on the pond will be charged to billingsley.

Gio, are you kidding me? That's like playing with fire while jumping into a tank of gasoline. This is the type of situation where I'd bring in Saito.

259 He was just back from an injury. He pitched a four-hit shutout his last start.

Gio is the Redding of pitchers, except for the part about being really hot. That part doesn't fit.

This is a familar scenario. Let's hope he doesn't walk the leadoff guy like he always did last year.

Let's hope Gio does his best Paul Quantrill impression, especially with the catcher at the plate.

Grady gets ladies and Andre gets moms? That's just not fair.

Fortunately, this guy was hitting .273 in AA a week ago.

Thou shalt have faith in Carrara

Could this be Gio's second resurgence in the last three years? Eliezer Alfonzo says yes.

Kemp trying to give us a heartattack

Wow, Morris bats for himself?

Kemp almost pulls a Lofton again!

I apologize to Gio. I will now send him a fruit basket (south park reference)

274

I couldn't think of anything else.

Alou is the dumbest manager on the face of the earth.
How can you let Morris bat with the bases loaded in the 6th inning of a game in which he has basically stunk in?

274 Andre does seem to have the look that the older ladies might like. While Grady looks a bit mysterious and a touch dangerous, Andre's got the pleasant smile and kind eyes.

I'm heterosexual, I swear.

282- we have some of the worst managers in baseball in our division. All of them stink except for Grits.

282 It's gonna be awesome when they pull Morris after giving up base hits to the first two batters.

282

Hey Tony La Russa let Matt Morris bat in the 8th inning of a playoff game with 2 outs against Curt Schilling!

I shall forever wonder what this season would have been like if the Angels could have traded Figgins for Thome.

On sheer karmis principles, I expect the Dodgers to score at least 2-3 more runs, and for Morris to not get through the 6th or at the latest 7th.

I've seen some bad managing, but I think tonite might just be the worst I've seen this year.

Of course, now we know where Tracy learned all of his nonsense.

285

theres one...

284

What particularly bad things does Bruce Bochy do?

283
mysterious lol

Russell's.... hussies?

LOL... Martin with a double.
Please, pour it on.

Time to wake up Felipe!

The giants should worry about their own dam manager before they pick on ours.

The ladies on Dodger Thoughts need to start the Andre's Madres fan club. Pleaaseeeeee.

It might be defensible if Morris was throwing a good game, but he's been awful tonite.

248 - Crosby not progressing could possibly be a function of the kind of players the A's have picked up in recent drafts. Crosby is a good guy but I'm not sure that we haven't seen everything we're going to see out of him.

Seriously. I don't know if there are any ladies though.

Lay off the man, its tough keeping that beard looking all rugged all the time to even think about trying to pitch well.

Clash of dumb managers.
Now Grits invokes the stupid bunter principle on a guy thats obviously done.

All 13 completed games today have been won and lost by the starting pitchers. Obviously our game will screw up the trend, but that doesn't seem to be something you see that often anymore.

I heart Alou's throwing arm.

There's your karma Felipe

295
My friend who is an A's fan loves Ethier. She is becoming a dodger fan after I got her to pick up our prospects for her keeper league.

I really love the Giants.

And the error is on Morris for not backing up properly? Bob?

14 of the 15 games are done now. Bonderman beat Pineiro in Seattle.

By the way, the Angels batted Napoli second tonight.

304 - waitaminnit. She? Keeper league?

Has she ever kissed a girl?

Wait, that question only work for Trekkies and only if it's William Shatner doing the asking.

308 - and it worked every bit as well as the last time Scioscia tried it (i.e., not at all).

There is no set of circumstances where what just happened is defensible.

Why wasn't that a sac fly for Kemp?

310 Well, he did get one of only 6 hits. Thought it merited mentioning, with the call for Martin to hit higher in the order.

312 He scored due to the error, not the fly out.

307 That's the 13th game. The Arizona-Colorado game is currently delayed (at least that's what MLB.com tells me).

309
Not to my knowledge.

Justice prevails. The scorer has revised the error and charged it to Alou.

It's not a sac fly because Martin didn't try to score on the throw. He just ran home on the error.

I think a Dodgers win tonite would even out the balances.
Stupid teams do not deserve to win.

316 - those were meant to be rhetorical questions...

The only thing stupider than Alou would be Little's letting Baez anywhere near this game.

Of course, Alou did not get charged with an error on Martin's "triple". If I could make one change in scoring rules, I would assign errors even when the player doesn't touch the ball.

315

Oh so you now you're going to try that old trick again.

You people and your use of numbers! In my day, when your elders said there were 14 games over, there were 14 games over and we didn't take any backtalk!

Kids today...

317 I think the error should still be on Morris since even with the bad throw, Martin never thought about scoring until Morris muffed the easy bouncer right to him.

Great play by Kemp, that would have been a triple if K Loft was in center.

I am positive that Vizquel never stole 80 bases. Maybe he walked or struck out 80 times. Vin is looking in the wrong column.

Maybe Steve's right?
Its possible Felipe was asleep during the top of the 6th. He is pretty old.

324 But he only had to make that play because the catcher missed the throw. And he only missed the throw because he had to run up the line quite a ways due to Alou.

How many times has Ethier just fallen down like that this year?

That was a nice pitch. Nice hit by Moises.

325 That is correct. Vizquel managed 43 one year, and 42, but never anything close to 80+. I believe he was looking at runs, which Vizquel had 82 of two years ago.

A buddy of mine who is a huge Giant fan just called from the game absolutly livid at Filepe.

Ethier needs to learn to play balls off the wall better than that.

hit bonds and pitch to durham.

Why are we walking a gimmpy .242 hitter. Grady don't be a wuss.

I really don't like that move with 2 outs.

If the second baseman is behind the pitcher so as to cover an errant throwback from the catcher, with a runner on 2nd why isn't, say, the first baseman backing up the catcher in case of a wild pitch?

Anybody have tips on making a great margarita? i.e. what setting to put the blender at, how much ice to use, etc.

335 - your intuition was correct.

336 There has to be a rule against that somewhere.

337 - I always use the recipe on the Mr. T's (or is it Mrs. T's?) margarita mix.

336

Everybody has to stand in fair territory except for the catcher.

Ethier is just going to have to drive in another run.

Whatever Honeysuckle had planned during that meeting at the mound sure backfired.

Man, Kemp has five errors this year.

Hmmm...now Felipe takes out Morris?

340 In lieu of going back in time and choosing that brand of mix instead of the one I did, you wanna share the recipe?

My main problem is that the one's I've made so far are too chunky and start out very foamy.

337- use a lot of tequila (at least 5 shots), a lot of ice, a little 7 up, and very little margarita mix

I think Broxton really wanted to go after Bonds and the order to IBB him made Broxton lose concentration. Of Course I am makeing all this up.

Will Drew ever hit another HR

Home run time

The rock failed :(.

Nomar homered so now Drew can't hit any more this year.

347 Interesting, luckily I've got a little 7-Up lying around.

Is there any way to avoid the froth or do I just have to wait for it to settle? Does putting it in the fridge/freezer for a bit help?

The world needs more bartenders with an attitude like 347.

Rule 4.03
When the ball is put in play at the start of, or during a game, all fielders other than the catcher shall be on fair territory.

There is no penalty attached for violating the rule. All that would happen is that the umpire would tell the player to stand in fair territory before letting the game continue.

352

make sure you put an umbrella in it. you can't have girl drinks without an umbrella.

353

When he pours, he reigns.

Now do you IBB Martin so the Bull doesn't pitch another inning?

Or pitch around him

Are you calling a margarita a girl drink? how dare you. maybe the girls can get the umbrellas and the guys can have margaritas on the rocks.

I think my sentence making skills are slumping.

355 I'm taking it easy tonight in preparation for a beer bus to the game tomorrow. I'd like to apologize in advance to anyone who may sit near my group, we're stuffing 30 recently graduated people into a bus full of kegs on the way to the game.

Memo to Tomato: Make the pitcher throw a strike before swinging

IT might be Grabowki principle time when Lucille walks, and then Izzy gets a hit.
Is Olmedo going to be the hero?

358 - yep

I'd rather have Sandy Alomar up here

361 Where are you guys sitting? Although I'm guessing you'll be easy to spot.

359
Coughlin's law: never show surprise, never lose your cool.

Please just throw fastballs.

361 I have good seats to a Dodger game for the first time in my life. Please don't vomit on me.

Wasnt this guy in the Beach Boys?
Olmedo has to hit him.

367: Tom Cruise movie reference. . .Boo!!!

I don't care how liberated this world becomes - a man will always be judged by the amount of alcohol he can consume - and a woman will be impressed, whether she likes it or not.

361 Field level, section 50, not sure how high up

This pitcher for the Giants hasn't done very well since Dr. Landy died.

367. Althoug Brian Brown was married to Rachel Ward who in her day was Veronica Hammel to me. Really she had a sexy voice.

Tomato looked rotten there.

Game on in Denver!

372 So that's why the ladies love me...

;)

Nooooo! Wrong kind of Game Over!

we are about to be baezed. everyone have your hard hats on? its going to be ugly.

375
Rachel Ward is still hot to me.

Are there any eight more terrifying words in the English language than "Danys Baez coming out of the Dodger bullpen"?

353- I don't drink for the taste :)

I'd almost rather have Izturis up instead of Old Maid against a right handed pitcher.

Nobody good enough coming up for Baez to plunk

Its official, Little really is as stupid as Filepe

I've got the pitchfork guys on speed dial

It begins...

377 - it worked on my grandmare...

Leadoff walk by Baez.

Ladies and gentlemen, please make sure you remain seated and keep your arms inside the vehicle for the duration of the ride.

Bunting against Baez?

can Baez get Winn out?

Woo hooo! Everybody dance now!

Time for Kemp to be the hero.

381

"Your tests came back from the lab negative"

is the eight word counterpoint.

Felipe does it again. We should all contribute to make sure that he gets a very long contract extension. It doesn't even have to be with money. Maybe start a petition or a website.

391 - Nomar can help too. He's due for an 8th inning RBI.

Rachel Ward in the Thorn Birds/Sharky's Machine/Dead Man Don't Wear Plaid era? Yep.

When she cut her hair for Against All Odds, that's when she turned the corner.

It was nice of SF to make Baez only have to get 2 outs in that inning.

Is Izturis backing off, or are there just more balls going up the middle? What happened to our thirdstop?

That's a start

I predict Furry runs and gets caught this time.

395. Exactly right!

392 -

"Negative? Oh, my God. WHY! WHY! WHY? What? What? Negative is good? Oh, yes of course! How stupid of me. Thank you. Thank you very much."

395

Against All Odds came out in 1984, so that's a long downward stretch you have for Rachel Ward.

NOOOO!

Interesting question my dad raised:

Back in the day when your number corresponded with your spot in the lineup, did you have to switch your uniform everyday?

Fire Grits!!!

Kemp has really turned into Mr. Hyde lately

OK Grady just passed Alou in the Stupid Dept.

Matt Kemp bunting? I understand the situation, but he can't be the guy to do it. Just let him swing.

The Dodger Thoughts crowd was angry my friend, like an old man trying to send back soup at a deli.

Furcal's SB% is 72.4%

404

No.

Never have Kemp bunt.

What's worse:

1. Bunting against Baez
2. Kemp bunting

Sic semper tyrannis!

Nomar's turn

That high fastball is Nomar crack.

... Kemp bunts. Great. Tracy's gone, but his spirit of awful managing lives on.

every manager is the same. There are no good managers.

What's the highest score that the Dodgers have been tied at this year? Higher than six?

As soon as Bob says go, we'll start the race to see who can answer first.

414 - Virginia's state motto! Also what JWB exclaimed after shooting Lincoln.

If John Wilkes Booth had been born in Detroit, would he have yelled:

Si Quaeris Peninsulam Amoenam Circumspice!

401 "Prog-nosis NEGATIVE!"

I watch way too much Seinfeld

That's an all-star, baby.

Nomahhhh!

Grits is a genius!

394 is the winner

(Enter one-armed man)

"And that's why you don't have a power hitter bunt!"

OMG, Baez gonna get the W. That's ok given the circumstances

Nomar says, enough with bunting...

The rain delay in Denver was officially clocked at 2 hours and 39 minutes.

411 Thanks Bob, knew you'd come through with that.

Whooo Nomar.

Duh-da-do-dee-dum dum. Duh-dah-do-da-dee-doo-duh-dah, doo-da-dee-dum dum.

Grady has the Bison bunt, and Nomar bails him out.

A Grits, divided against itself, cannot stand.

Accardo said a naughty word.

I think Alou fell asleep again, why did he have the righty face Drew and then bring in a lefty to face Ethier (who hits lefties well)?

427
Thanks for the lesson, J. Walter Weisman.

The 3.5 Rock

OOOOH, That helps at 1:30 AM HERE BACK EAST

Aacardo just dropped a big F-Bomb when Filepe took the ball.

OMG, Baez gonna get the W. That's ok given the circumstances

Good, lets give him 15 wins. That will for sure make him a type A free agent.

431

You could ask me for proof if you need it. But the Yankees teams that did that thing with the numbers quickly found that their players were in the wrong order. They just used the lineup order numbers as a starting point.

And it wasn't like there were a bunch of number 9s sitting around for the pitchers.

441 Nope, I trust you.

Why is the Dodger trainer going to the all star game?

Baez has a way to go to catch Oscar Villareal. He's 7-1 as a reliever.

With a 4.29 ERA. And even worse peripherals.

Did we ever come up with a theme song for Saito?

Ethier has no choice, he must stay in the game.

427 - I thought Jim Abbott had retired?

445 "I Think I'm Turning Japanese"?

3.5, it's the magic number, oh yeah it is, it's the magic number.

Can't stop The Rock.

Those of us attending tomorrow's game will be treated to Toby Hall, according to Blue Notes.

Any word on how tonight's bingo game went?

Toby Hall has played first base. You could probably move people around if you had to.

Or you could just stick Toby Hall in the outfield and flop him depending upon the batter.

it seems that Ethier has a lot of 3 hit games.

The luck continues.

446 - ?

455
Ethier fouled a ball off his foot and looked to be in discomfort.

He got better.

He fouled a ball off his foot and was writhing around on the ground for a while. I didn't like the most reasonable option of Lucille II in LF.

These Giant pitchers are potty mouths

Giants pitchers fear Lucille.

Ok. As much as I'd love to see Izturis drive in as many guys as possible, I want Saito to get my fantasy team a save tonight.

Was Martinez's tag out at third the fault of our estimable third base coach?

Holy crap..Izzy with 3 hits.
Its the Dodgers nite.

461 - The Dodgers don't seem to think they can score on a single without making a sacrificial out. No, it wasn't the coach.

So who ends the season with a better BA - Izturis or Martin?

461 Eh, it kinda looked like one of those things where they wanted to ensure the 1 run to score by sacrificing another runner.

443. Hopefully to do for the Giant, Pods and Az All Stars what he has done for the Dodgers the last two seasons.

Are those 3 walks a career high for Lucille?

Bold prediction: Saito will get Bonds to hit a weak groundball.

But, what does o ye como va mean, anyway?

Martinez is just helping my fantasy team. Now Saito has a save opp.

Eeep.

We can never do it the easy way can we?

Not liking that leadoff walk with the heart of the order coming up.

Ramon Martinez drew 3 walks in a game on 8/18/1999 for the Giants in Montreal.

Is it just me, or is Giddyup a good pronunciation of GIDP?

468 Loosely translated, "hey, what's going on?" I think

473
Correction, the game was at Candlestick.

The heart of the order has more mileage on it than Dick Cheney's.

Bonds GIDP?

Oh please, oh please.

"Oye Como Va" is an easy song to learn the words to:

Oye como va mi ritmo
Bueno pa gosar mulata

Oye como va mi ritmo
Bueno pa gosar mulata

Repeat

475 Literally "look before you go".

Don't pitch around Barry. He is hitting .245 and can barely stand up. The shot off Bills was a gift.

Also spelled:

Oye como va mi ritmo? Bueno pa gozar, mulata.

Also spelled:

Oye como va mi ritmo? Bueno pa gozar, mulata.

468 I believe it translates to:

Louie Louie, Oh, Babe
We gotta go now
Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya Ya

The game is so tense that I'm hitting the submit button extra hard!

Somebody has surely done a study on whether those exaggerated shifts are really effective or not. In this case, not.

this is a better time for the GIDP, because it shows off Bonds' missing speed

Last time Barry stole he was out for two games. Why doesn't Alou pinch run for him--use a pitcher if need be

The Archive of Misheard Lyrics:

http://www.kissthisguy.com/

PCL leader watch:

Loney: .383
Kendrick: .369

489 As in, "Excuse me, while I kiss this guy?"

Ramon Ortiz scored from second the other day, so Frank Robinson used him as a pinch hitter the other day.

Now that was a breaking ball!

492 - excuse me, pinch runner

Woot!

491
Or "If you wanna kiss this guy, better learn how to kneel. On your knees boy."

Phew. Now I can go watch "Washington Week" with my mind at ease.

I love Vin Scully, and this only bothers me when we're playing the giants. Vin is too nice to this team. I realize Vizquel has had a fine career, but I don't want Vin to praise him.

Giants announcers never miss the opportunity to rag Dodgers players or fans with their screen pens. Vin always takes the stinking high road.

I feel like Sonny, sometimes I need a wartime consigliere.

498 So does my political party.

Bye y'all.

498. That's exactly why Vin is the very best

498 - you could always be an Angels fan. Rex Hudler always has dumb things to say about the Angels, especially the veterans.

Vinny always tells it like it is, no matter who he's talking about. I like that.

498 - you could always be an Angels fan. Rex Hudler always has dumb things to say about the Angels, especially the veterans.

Vinny always tells it like it is, no matter who he's talking about. I like that.

496 Dios Mio

I'm going to declare this to be Saito going through a rough spot. And then make the point that Colletti should improve the team with more non-roster invites.

That was tremendous. Felipe Alou is brain dead. Nomar is dog spelled backward.

Nomar has quickly becoming the face of this franchise.

Okay, enough is enough. If Martin doesn't start the post all-star break in the two hole, I'm taking hostages.

Not really. I'm all talk.

506

is quickly becoming

has quickly become

you can't have it both ways!

Did anyone notice that when Saenz went up to the plate, the announcer didn't announce him. Therefore, everyone just kind of stood around for awhile -- the catcher and an infielder on the mound, Alou on the bullpen step waiting for Saenz to get announced, and Saenz standing there looking kind of goofy. The umpire went to go break up the meeting on the mound, but then somebody shouted from the Giants dugout what they were waiting for. So the umpire raised his hand and pointed at Saenz, then immediately Alou came out to get the bad LOOGY, whatever his name was. Saenz wasn't announced until much later.

Well, I thought it was interesting anyway.

And Carrara takes his share around here, but his 0-2 pitch to whatever E. Gonzalez or whoever their catcher is with the bases loaded was absolutely the most wicked pitch of the year. I would go so far as to call it Gagne-against-Bernie-esque

Wow, Kennedy knows so much about the mechanics of hitting, why isn't he a coach!

Only Kidding--Please.

509. I won't get this story right but earlier in the season, against the Pods I think, Alou changed pitchers before the pinch hitter was announced. Bochey called the PH back and went with a diffrent PH requiring Alou to make another change and burn first pitcher.

Goooodnite!!!

506 - But face transplants hurt. I'd like to see the Dodgers become a two-faced organization, with Gagne returning to form and making a run at Hershiser's streak. But while the Canadian fireballer is back out on his back, this time because of his back, it's very likely he won't be back.

I can't imagine him anywhere else, and I can only hope that he'll come back at a discount and return to form. That won't happen, though, and as Izturis is inevitably traded, and Odalis Perez is dropped off on a curb somewhere, this will not be the team that got me excited in 2004. I know the future of the organization is bright, but what will actually happen? I shudder to think that the Dodgers will grow players for other teams like Oakland does, or as been the recent tradition, trade off franchise players to the Marlins. I don't want Russell Martin to be the next Mets catcher. I don't want the Dodgers to break something that works.

All the frustrations that come with being a Dodger fan - 1 playoff win in the last 18 years, Kevin Malone's tenure as GM, Paul Konerko, Darren Dreifort - are in their own way unique. Yet they're what make being a Dodger fan more special than being a Braves fan just because you have TBS, a Yankees fan for all the overpaid guys, or a Red Sox fan because you're still buying into the underdog thing. These frustrations all remind you that fans have been calling this blue team the bums for generations before I was alive.

One time this year I was watching ESPN and I wasn't exactly sober. I thought I was watching a tennis match between a man and a woman. After seeing the person who I thought was a man sober, I realized that the alcohol did not impair my judgment at all.

Here's some proof
http://tinyurl.com/mas8l

That's why beards are important.

Why, oh why can't Kemp have discipline and a short quick stroke? Why must he have a long, loopy, uppercut swing, and swing at everything?

because hes 21, hes going to flail at everything.

He also kinda quivers with his front leg, instead of striding.

512 Close. Pinch hitters are not into the game until announced. But they can be replaced without a plate appearance. But the player is 'burned'; he cannot be used again. Once a pitcher is announced into the game, he must pitch to at least one batter before he can be removed. (Unless injured, of course.)