Kendrick has a 15-game hitting streak. Is that the longest current streak now that Utley's back to 1?

I'll repeat what I wrote at the end ogf the last thread.

I was just looking at the Gameday drawing of Dolphin stadium. It confirms what I thought I saw yesterday. It's a big park. You really have to lay into one to hit it out in left center.

Manny Ramirez has a 21-game streak, then Hendrick.

Raffy Furcal's 12-gamer is tied for third-longest with Mark Kotsay and Craig Monroe.

*Kendrick

I read that t-storms may make it difficult for this game to be played w/o interruption.
Radar currently shows v. scattered showers, with the barest hint of some heavier stuff. But this is Florida, so wait a couple of hours.
http://tinyurl.com/e6kj2

2 And I'll repeat my reply to it. ;)

Just noting that Ethier hit 2 balls on Friday night that would have been homers had they been hit the previous night.

then Hendrick
Jogging George!

5 I hear the plan is, if there are clear skies, to delay the start of game until it actually starts raining.

(Yes, I'm still bitter. I've never seen a no-hitter in person.)

3 thanks.

Paul Hoover looks like a tough out.

10
This year, at least.

I just saw today's line up & I guess Toby Hall is Hendrickson personal catcher (don't fall down again Hendrickson)

It's also a day game after a night game, so most catchers not named Russell Martin would get a routine day off today anyway.

So if Cleveland gets the lead again this afternoon does Fausto come in to pitch?

Eric Wedge was very encouraging in his postgame comments. So was Paul Byrd, who was in line for the win. Byrd knows that such things happen and he thinks he's blown his share of leads for others.

it looks pretty nice over in florida (sunny) I hope theres no rain delay.

13- Yeah, but this is the third consecutive time Hall has started for Hendrickson, and the fourth of the last five. I just hope it's not because somebody has decided that Hall is his good luck charm, and the cause for his unusually good half season in TB.

I'm very suprised Miggy hasn't been hitting

Do catchers ever have lucky pitchers? I think that Paul Lo Duca always seems to catch a winning game when he's matched up with Pedro Martinez.

17 Well, Martin has to rest sometime, so in my view it might as well be when Hendrickson pitches. He and Hall are familiar with each other, which is a huge thing for pitchers and catchers even if it isn't totally obvious to the rest of us.

Remember Billingsley's quotes about feeling comfortable in his debut because he was caught by Martin, who's been his catcher for 3 years? I don't see why the same wouldn't apply to Hall and Hendrickson.

thank you Ramirez

19 Rumor has it Charlie O'Brien has the best catcher's ERA in baseball history.

If there was ever a streak busting lineup it would be ours today. Our worst pitcher, a bad middle infielder replacing our star hitter and Toby Hall. Nevertheless, I have faith! Go blue.

for a sunday line up, it looks o.k. to me.

What is up with Lugo hitting third? Ethier is unquestionably our best hitter right now, while Lugo hasn't been the best hitter on any team since he was in little league.

This is not Paul Hoover's inning.

Supposedly, Olsen is a very hotheaded pitcher too so I fear for the dugout discussion between he and Hooever after the half inning.

Was that a little league play? Explain what happened for us unfortunate Gameday users.

Hoover blocked a pitch out in front of the plate and tried to throw out Furcal advancing despite Cabrera saying "Don't throw!" and the ball went into left field.

20- You're right, he has to play some time; it's only a problem if he plays more than he should, which, it doesn't seem like he has.

23

faith runs rampid in my brain.

28- Cabrera also did a barrel roll trying to avoid Furcal's spikes, and landed fairly hard. But he didn't come out.

Lucille II playing right field!! what!!

33 My thought exactly. I thought Lugo was supposed to be our outfielder of the future.

Ethier has to win rookie of the year no? (keep it up Ethier) woo!!

30 -- Who's Toby Hall?

36

some dude that came from the D-Rays/our sunday catcher.

36

some dude that came from the D-Rays/our sunday catcher.

36- He's the guy who, when his barber asked him for a photo of the sort of beard he'd like, brought in a clipping from Playboy.

Big RBI chance here Ramon!

39 - The "What kind of man reads Playboy?" clipping, or the centerfold?

Someone has to tell Steiner that Olivo is the Marlin's regular catcher, not Treanor.

39- That might be too far on a Sunday morning. More appropriate for the next instance of DT After Dark.

42
Let Steve do it. He and Charlie are good buddies.

grand slam from Hendrickson would be nice.

Lucille's 2006 OPS is now .014 higher than his career number.

JABLTFF...?

45

If that had happened, I would have started camping out for playoff tickets.

As it is, I won't.

You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille

Yikes. That was a wasted opportunity.

Furcal was awfully anxious to swing considering what a hard time Olsen was having with the strikezone. Bases loaded, no outs, 3-0 on the batter and he strikes out the side with no runs scoring.

48

I think he struck out the side no?

The 3 bases loaded triples in a season brigade:

George Burns, Giants, 1914
Shano Collins, White Sox, 1918
Elmer Valo, A's, 1949
Jackie Jensen, Red Sox, 1958
Ted Sizemore, Dodgers, 1969
Manny Sanguillen, Pirates, 1971
Alfredo Griffin, Dodgers, 1988

The last player to hit two bases loaded triples in the same game was, of course, Duane Kuiper.

that was a dinger, but let's see what the umps deside.

Of course we have to listen to these annoncers saying, "if he gets out of this one it will turn the game around."

the Marlins got robbed I have to admit.

Seems like everything is going the Dodgers' way these days.

Was that a squeeze?

We had a chance to put this one away, but you can't say we haven't been catching any breaks lately.

57 - ...if you discount Hendrickson.

It was a squeeze as well as a drag bunt.

if you discount Hendrickson

Always.

So I guess today is our Kids and The Hall lineup.

Man does Hendrickson suck.

Always.

Double you're thought

You would think that the umpires could just look at who is on the mound and figure out it's a home run.

If this is what "feeling comfortable" with your catcher is like, perhaps Little should put Martin in there next time Hendrickson comes up in the rotation. "Reverse psychology."

63 Ow. I guess we never had quite enough ex-Giants on the field at one time to call it the "They Might Be Giants" lineup.

2-1 Marlins I still think we will score more runs.

And why again do we have Hendrickson on the mound and Sele in the pen?

If Hendy fails to throw a quality start today he goes on my ship lisp and should be replaced by Sele.

Gosh, I wonder what the Red Sox would give for Dioner Navarro?

63- Don't Let's Start

The pitcher with the beard has an opportunity to lose 20 games this year. Who was the last Dodger pitcher to lose 20 games in a season ?

Icaros, you must have missed the part where he was the "Eighth Best Lefthander In The American League" (TM)

"Whats that ya say Mrs Robison...Joltin Jase has left and gone away"

Repko- 3-20 since coming off the DL.

My thoughts on the subject of this thread. Loney is the real deal. Forget about Nomar next year and spend the money on pitching. Loney/Saenz can hold down the fort a 1st quite well in '07.

I think this is why Ned let Choi walk. 1) He knew Choi wasn't that good and 2) there was no reason to put him in AAA because Choi would have only impeeded the progress of Loney.

I think some have been critical for letting Choi go for nothing and I think those criticisms are unfounded.

Saenz with a .422 AVG/1.226OPS vs LHP this year.
Problem is he's only gotten 44ABs against them this year.

76 Oh great, JoeyP's back with the constant negativity.

I may be being hypercritcal but our station to station base-running hasn't helped at all.

I pulled my hammy looking at Saenz stretch.

80 I was shocked Lugo didn't get to 3rd on that single by Saenz. Saenz didn't hit it sharply at all.

Hendrickson is getting a little unlucky so far, although that ball Helms hit was crushed.

79 Knock it off.

Cody Ross just missed hitting it out. I wish he were still a Dodger. I didn't like losing him for nothing.

Well, ok he is getting lucky.
Cody Ross hit it 430 feet for an out.

The last 20-game loser for the Dodgers was Boom-Boom Beck in 1933. He was 12-20, although his ERA was just 3.54.

The Dodgers went 65-88 that season.

The L.A. record for losses in a season is 18 by Claude Osteen in 1968 and Bill Singer in 1969.

79 Personal attacks aren't permitted here. Nor is baiting, such as with your comment about Choi. Please stop.

Did Repko have to jump the wall for that one? I'm stuck with gameday and it showed the ball landing in the little crimp in the left center field wall.

89- Nope. He was on the warning track, and it was a good catch, but nothing fancy.

89 No. Caught it flat footed at the base of the wall.

In 1912, Nap Rucker went 18-21 for Brooklyn despite a 2.21 ERA.

In 1910, George Bell set the modern era (60'6" distance) record for losses in a season by a Dodger when he went 10-27 with a 2.64 ERA.

90 - Thanks. Gameday is the 21st century equivalent of those times when everyone gathered in the town square to watch somone move little dots around a diamond while running back and forth to the telegraph clicker.

I dont think Hendrickson will get the chance to lose 20 games. If he gets to 19 losses, I doubt Grits starts him the rest of the season.

Didnt Alan Trammell do that with Maroth or Bonderman a couple seasons ago?

Bluetahoe, you are really testing me. The next time you violate the rules of this site, such as by using euphemisms for profanity or going out of your way to attack another commenter, you will be banned.

Bonderman was sat down to avoid 20 losses and also to not wear him out.

This doesn't seem to unusual because as I looked back, I saw quite a few players who lost 19 games.

Maroth lost 21 games in 2003.

94 He did it with Bonderman. Maroth was allowed to stay out there and lose 20. With Sele in the bullpen, there's no chance Hendrickson starts enough to lose 20.

just keep us in the game Hendy that's all I ask.

I think Eric Enders and I are the lone members of the Nap Rucker Marching and Chowder Society.

Can a suicide squeeze be executed successfully and not be "perfect"? I think the nature of a suicide squeeze is such that it's an all or nothing thing. It either works (and a run scores) or it doesn't (and the runner on third is out.)

100 There's the chance that if the rundown goes awry, the runner could make it back to third.

2-1 Marlins, this game can still be had.

Hendy's not particulary fun to watch. He seems like a 4.50 ERA kind of guy who would consistently go 12-12 with average run support.

100

the suicide squeeze is a great play when you're at the stadium.(pumps me up)

101

So, then it's still not "perfectly" executed.

It's just one of those lazy cliches that announcers use. Sort of like wild pitches being "uncorked."

Doesn't anyone ever just "throw" a wild pitch?

His career ERA is 5.01
His career record is 37-44

101 I suppose that doesn't really answer the original question in 100 as the suicide squeeze wasn't successful, but it does disprove the last statement, I think.

There is an old adage in baseball that you have to be a halfway decent pitcher to lose 20 games. Right now Hendrickson doesn't fall into that catagory.

Olsteen in 68 and Singer in 69 were far better pitchers they were just on really bad teams especially 68 for Olsteen. I believe Steve Carlton lost 19 and when Bonderman lost 19, everyone knew he had great stuff and his loses were due to his youth and and lack of control and a bad Tiger team.

107- I don't think it's a suicide squeeze if the runner stops coming home, no matter what happens. There are non-suicide squeezes.

Kind of a euthanized squeeze.

Singer didn't lose 18. I read the wrong line. It was Don Sutton. He was 17-18 in 1969.

Singer made up for it by having several losing seasons.

With different teams to boot.

Steiner keeps bringing up the 3 rookies winning 10 games thing, but cannot get the combination right. Olsen, Johnson, and Nolasco all have won 9 games, but Sanchez doesn't have as good a shot at 10 games. He's only won 4.

Singer would have blamed Kim Ng for that rumor Bob.

113 - No, Singer's diet was at fault.

I've been trying to figure out who Hendrickson reminds me of, and maybe it's the hoops connection playing tricks on me, but I think I've figured it out.

It's Mark Eaton.

The scary thing is that Hendrickson is 7-8 inches shorter than Mark Eaton.

Late, but credit where credit is due: 39 got a big LOL out of me.

And I will add that when you're tall as I am and you run into someone who is significantly taller, it's somewhat intimidating.

It's even stranger when I encounter a woman who is taller than me. I have to try very hard not to stare.

Mark Eaton was the Ninth Best Lefthander In The American League four years running.

Dewitt is making his Jacksonville debut today. He's playing 3B like expected, considering Abreu is also on the team, but Abreu isn't playing 2B. Rohan is.

I can't believe I got duped in to thinking Hendrickson over Sele (so far)

Marty, I missed it if you gave an update, how's the dog? Still making progress?

119

Who do you want for him?

Eaton has better command of his pitches.

Darn, you people are quick. I thought I had this "Eaton as pitcher" thing all to myself.

Should've known better with this crowd...

118. Bob, I know what you mean. I am 6'5" and there is a guy in my office who is 6'9". When I am stuck in the elveator staring at his back, I think so is this how most people feel with me in an elevator.

Lucille in right field scares me

I have a feeling that an everyday right fielder would have tracked that foul ball down. Martinez looked like he wasn't sure where the ball was going.

Since he's getting OJT, I don't fault him.

I have a feeling that an everyday right fielder would have tracked that foul ball down. Martinez looked like he wasn't sure where the ball was going.

Since he's getting OJT, I don't fault him.

I had a feeling that was going to happen....

Mark Eaton went to Westminster High, my dad's alma-mater. Ryan Klesko is an alum as well.

My dad was classmates with Angels scouting director Eddie Bane.

I think.

With the money Drew makes he needs to be playing every day the last 2 months of the season. He's been rested enough this season for crying out loud.

126

There's a female librarian who fills in at work who insists she is just 6'2" and I think she is my height (6'5"). I suppose she thinks 6'5" just sounds too strange for a woman.

I have no problem with the Cruz DFA'ing, but he would have seemed a better fit today.

133 - Perhaps she isn't looking in the right places. I had a friend whose sister was a dominatrix. I asked her what the strangest request she recieved froma customer. She said "This guy always came in with toy cars and asked me to step on them with my high heels. That's all."

Do I have to watch Raiders preseason games? That sounds like an awful experience.

Does anyone like preseason NFL games? Do people go on summer vacations to visit NFL training camps like they do with baseball spring training?

Dodgers lost a key piece to use vs LHP when they DFA'ed Cruz.

135

Thanks for giving me a weird image to have in my mind every time I meet this woman from now on.

103-

Hendy's not particulary fun to watch. He seems like a 4.50 ERA kind of guy who would consistently go 12-12 with average run support.

Yet, weren't you saying this trade was "gold" at the time?

Watching Hendrickson is just depressing. DFA him or trade him or do whatever...addition by subtraction.

You're welcome.

You know what they say about librarians. Female ones, anyway.

140

You mean that they're pretty much just like everybody else?

Betemit is 3-22 in August, but 2 of the hits are homers.

Not that this excuses Hendrickson but in 6 plus games, the Dodgers have scored 16 runs, its pretty hard to win with that kind of run support.

Its karma for Hendrickson.
Last year he went 11-8 and his ERA was 5.90.

141

Probably, but the rumors are fun. I'm dating one, so I get the inside story.

Thanks Toby. More support for my "Martin next time" theory.

I suppose with H-son hitting second in the 7th, they'll send him out there again. I have a feeling the real game won't start until we get him out.

Not that this excuses Hendrickson but in 6 plus games, the Dodgers have scored 16 runs, its pretty hard to win with that kind of run support.

Yet, despite run support, he still hasn't pitched well enough to win regardless.

He's simply not a good pitcher.

145

Hey, it's your funeral, pal!

But what a way to go.

150
Be careful because librarians will take their birth control pills and put them in alphabetical order instead of numerical order.

Olsen is at 93 pitches.
Girardi let him bat, in order to pitch him 1 more inning. We'll see if it works.

Eddie Bane - one of the best pitchers in Arizona State history. In 1972, his ERA was 0.99, with consecutive scoreless innings streaks of 43 and 38. Twelve complete games, seven shutouts.

151

Or Dewey Decimal, which is worse.

Hendrickson pitched an o.k. game, I still say the bases loaded with no one out, whas hard on the eyes.(no one score)

1. Hendrickson is a #5. If he can put up a 4.50 ERA and give us 6 or 7 innings, that's fine by me. He's not a #3 or a #4.

2. When Kent is activated, I'd DFA Ledee.

3. When Nomar is activated, I'd demote Beimel or Cararra (I would say Martinez, but he's been great for us all year and deserves to stay).

4. Loney should stay.

5. What to do with Nomar next year? He has to give us a huge hometown discount or there is no way, and I believe there IS NO WAY he'll sign for a deep discount!

Full count hit to Lucille may be a Grabowski Principle.

Judging from Olsen's pitch count, I think it probably is.

Hendrickson with the quality start.

153

I remember a character from the movie "Talent for the Game" throwing out Eddie Bane's name in a list of can't-miss-pitching-prospects-who-didn't-pan-out.

It appears that Scott Elbert is having another rough start for Jacksonville. He has given up 2 home runs in the 2nd inning.

I think its fine to send Loney down once you are satisfied that Kent and Garciaparra are healthy, let him get at bats in Vegas, he'll be back on September 1st.

159 - Probably because his arm was shredded in Tempe for the greater glory of the Sun Devils.

that bunt by Furcal pumped me up! woo!!!!

159

I'm more surprised you were able to stay awake through that movie.

Nice steal, but 1 run on 8 hits is not the Dodgers of the last 2 weeks. C'mon Repko.

take a pitch Repko.(3-0)

thank you (bases loaded)

Its amazing how often pitchers have a high pitch count, their manager lets them bat in the preceding innning, and then the next inning they cant finish.

Its Jim Tracy 101.

Another guy with 2 last names in to pitch.

If Lugo drives everyone in, Hendrickson gets the win! It's the convergence!

122 LAT, He's home right now. He's walking pretty good, and I think he made a mini-breakthrough on one part of his bathroom functions. But I found out I really need to keep an eye on him in the back yard. He thinks he's fine and is full of energy and tries to do too much. My back yard is horseshoe shaped and he was at one end and decide to take off and ran all the way around. I don't know how he stayed on his feet because he's pretty wobbly on his back legs. I was afraid he was going to really hurt himself. I've got a vet tech lined up to come in twice a day while I'm at work. I was worried about bringing him home full-time last Friday but so far it's not been that bad so I'm encouraged.

This guy really hides the ball well.

Injury?

Who is injured?

Gameday says injury delay. What's up?

Wow, it's a Larry Yount moment.

Now it's a pitcher with an alliterative name.

And 2 last names as well. What a game.

there pitcher got injured psycho Lyons made a great point about how weird the Marlins pitcher thruw a curve (great point by Psycho)

Dang, this Tankersly guy looks like the best guy in their pen, statistically.

176 - Never mind. I thought the injury came during Kensing's warmup throws.

Ladies and Gentleman, the Florida Marlins!

Sweet.
And now it's Saenz against a LHP.

Girardi bringing in a LHP knowing Saenz is on deck.
Thats just asking for trouble.

Just woke up from a brief unscheduled nap to find the bases loaded. Nice.

wow the Marlins relief is really bad.

That was TERRIBLE. Lugo took strike 3. Considering the situation maybe the worst ball call I've seen in my life.

Walk in another!

Dodgers caught a break on that last pitch to Betiment. I thought it was strike 3 but what do I know. I'll probably fall asleep again before the inning is over.

Thank you.

There are some bad teams in the NL.

I guess I'm not the only one watching the game so I will fill you in. Kensing went 2-2 on Lugo and something happened. The trainer and Girardi came out and took him out of the game for an injury. The injury, I don't know.

I must still be sleeping cause that was Lugo not Betiment

187 considering the situation maybe the worst ball call I've seen in my life

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B10170NYA1998.htm

Mark Langston may disagree with you.

I really dislike Grady not playing Ethier against lefty's early in the eyar, I heard he hits lefties really well.

187

the ump must be from SoCal, woo!! Betemit!

Thank you Wilson. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO's

194 But I didn't see that one. LOL...

Seriously. If the situation were reversed my TV would be in pieces right now. I'm not joking.

TOBESTER

Boy, are the Marlins' announcers (Rich Waltz, Tommy Hutton) mad about that ball call.

Who will the Dodgers be playing in the first round of the playoffs...?

I like the Marlins, but I dont they'll get anywhere with Joe Girardi managing.

Tankersley is well-named in this outing.

I go sweep the dining room, and all hell breaks loose while I'm gone.

If the Dodgers hold on this win won't feel right.

It's funny too. Hendy's 'decent' start all of a sudden looks 'very good'.

Playoffs?

I've seen much worse than that call to Lugo. The catcher was set up off the plate.

The ball hit the target, but the target looked up and in to me.

I guarantee you've never seen that pitch called a strike on Barry Bonds.

3 games behind in each race is I guess more logical to think playoffs than 6 games.

200 - Easy there, bub.

Thank you, Jim Mora, for the greatest quote ever.

mmmm...nap time

Rally killer.

205 - Jim Mora! Thanks for dropping in!

200 The Cards or the Mets. Most likely the Cards because the Dodgers will have the worst record for a division winner and the WC won't be coming out of the NL East.

205 Why not?

The Marlins are only a year or two away from being really good again, I bet. They have so much pitching on the way that they'll be naming their price when they start selling the superfluous bits. I like Hermida a lot, too.

The Marlins shouldnt be griping about one call. It was Joe Girardi's poor managing the hurt them.

You dont bat a guy in one inning, just so he can pitch at the most 1 additional innning when he's got a high pitch counts. Thats just bad baseball, and he rightfully got burned. Bringing in a lefty with Saenz on deck and the bases full?

This game is on Girardi's head.

You think you know, but you just don't know...

Most likely the Cards

Cool. I like the way we match up against the Redbirds...

Oh my. Tomko time. You better be up JBrox.

215 - Over the years, the Fish have learned how to throw effective fire sales. Unlike, say the Pirates.

I can't wait for the headline "It's not the heat, it's the Hermida"

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jim+mora&search=Search

A cartoon Jim Mora? Why?

Is Hendrickson really going to back his way into a win???

The Dodgers could possibly win 12 games in a row bc Colorado is horrible as well.

Marty, gald to hear it. We are close to rescuing a dog that will need a little work. A 1 1/2 old mutt whose owner kicked him in the head breaking his jaw and is underweight. The jaw has been reset but is still a little cockeyed. My daughter found him at the Amanda Foundation and he is remarkably mellow. Have to see how he gets along with our current dog. In the meantime, I'd like to find the owner and kick him in the head.

218 Hey. We all remember '88. That's the year we went 1-10 (1 rain out) against the Mets in the regular season.

205 Playoffs?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwq7BYOnDrM

Classic

These Marlins announcers are really crying like babies now.

It's funny too. Hendy's 'decent' start all of a sudden looks 'very good'.

it does?

224 Why not 22 in a row? The Giants and Marlins are worse than the Rox. After 4 with them we got 9 verse SF/Fla.

228 - Showing my age (and taste in entertainment), I read that with an accent straight out of Hanz and Franz.

I'll revise my 12 games in a row.
Its possible the Dodgers could win 19 games in a row. The upcoming homestand is 10 games vs the Rockies, Giants, and Marlins.

229 Yeah, because we're winning big. GO BLUE!!

228

you kind of can't blame them, but in my case I'm very happy with the call.

229 - Hendrickson's Game Score is 50 on the nose.

234

Like I said, I don't think it was the worst call ever.

Bretty likey the bullpen.

Like I said yesterday. Brett's our good luck charm. All we do is WIN with him on the 25 man roster.

232 I think that if history teaches us anything, it's that it's a mistake to count on winning Giants games, no matter how bad they are playing.

Brett's our good luck charm

Better to be lucky than good

On Gameday, Pinto is pitching to Drew with a shotgun. Volleys, instead of single shots.

I guess JD should have been given the whole day off.

Why did Drew stay in the game?
If he was going to get an off day, dont put him in the field after the team is up by 4 runs.
If this wasnt an off day, then they should have played him from the start.

233-

yeah, no thanks to Hendrickson.

239 Sometimes it is. He's a pricey good luck charm, but I'll take him.

All we do is WIN with him on the 25 man roster

9-0 since removing Baez.

243 That's not true. That's not true at all.

242 - It was a half day for Drew.

246-

It's absolutely true. He didn't pitch well today and still has not pitched well for us since he came over.

He lucked out that we scored 7 runs.

Half day Sundays?

Sort of like Casual Fridays?

245 Without Baez on the roster we are a team 8 games below .500.

Without Bretty on the roster we are team about 12-15 below .500.

8 games over. My bad.

The other outfielders available are Lofton, who just plays center and doesn't play it well, and Ledee, who isn't so hot in the field either.

248 - I disagree. It was a quality start, albeit just under the wire. If your starter allows three runs in six innings, I'd say you have more than an even shot to win.

219. bluetahoe
Oh my. Tomko time. You better be up JBrox.

OR

237. bluetahoe
Bretty likey the bullpen.

Like I said yesterday. Brett's our good luck charm. All we do is WIN with him on the 25 man roster.

So which is it Tahoe? Does Tomko suck or not? Talking out of both sides. No?

248 Giving up 3 runs in 6 innings keeps your team in ballgames. Hendrickson gets some credit for today's win if we hold on. With our offense, and with Kent/Nomar coming back I'll do flip flops from here to Katmandoo if Hendy pitches 6 innings of 3 run ball every single start for the rest of the season.

wow, if the Dodgers win this game it will be another day without shaving for me and a few others who have pledged not to shave until the Dodgers lose. Feel free to join the cause. Here is a link to the "Dodger Beards" picture gallery. vr, Xei
http://tinyurl.com/eknzz

If Ledee cant play the OF, even for a few innings on a sunday, then what is his use on the team?

DFA'ing Cruz instead of Ledee just seems too strange. Is Ledee's value as a pinch hitter that important?

248 Obviously you've never heard of a little thing called a "quality start"

Seriously though, what else are we supposed to expect from our 5th starter?

Brett makes me nervous. I want an arm already loose in the case Bretty doesn't have it. If you remember when he was struggling as a starter his 1st innings were rough.

256 - Ha!

254. Maybe some bipolar tendencies. Last week BlueTahoe said he was going to quit following the Dodgers as much.

Hmmm...guess winning changes things?

But if you only follow a team when they are winning, what kind of fan does that make you?

257
"strange" is kind

258-

What else do we expect?

how about a guy where his BEST start isn't giving up three runs in six innings?

That's actually about as good as Hendrickson is ever going to do...it's really depressing seeing him penciled in and knowing we've gotta score about 7 or 8 runs to win the game when he pitches.

259 - Perhaps Tomko no longer has to worry about pacing himself as he did starting. Now, he can just air it out.

When Kent is activated Gio should go down for 4 weeks with the guarantee he will be back 9/1. Nomar should replace Loney, with Loney coming back 9/1.

Dan Uggla is less nocturnal than I thought. His daytime OPS is .901 and his nightime OPS .810 .

Seriously though, what else are we supposed to expect from our 5th starter?

The problem is the team has 4 #5 starters (Maddux, Hendrickson, Sele, Billingsley).

264

he toped out at 96 MPH.

Adam Eaton got booted in the first inning today in Anaheim. After Anderson hit a 3-run homer, he threw a pitch behind Juan Rivera and he was sent packing.

263 We're looking at 9 in a row. It's all good.

267 #5 starters are basically irrelevant in the postseason. We just need one hot arm and Penny/Lowe.

You guys just crack me up, I know after today we may be only 1 game over .500 but really guys it is just a game, have fun with this while it lasts.

269 Thanks, Bob. I hadn't realized the game had started already! I am supposed to be making meatballs.

263 I think you're being a little too critical of Hendrickson, here are his IP(ER) in his 7 starts for the Dodgers:

5(1)
6(5)
6 2/3(1)
5 1/3(5)
6(4)
6(3)
6(3)

Looks like a pretty good 5th starter to me. Not spectacular, but definitely keeping his team in the game every time he's out there and doesn't tax the bullpen too much with short outings.

Look at that empty stadium, when did the Marlins become the Expos?

264 Tomko could be a wonderfull bullpen option next season. A bit pricey though. But it aint my benjamins. LOL.

271-

That does not justify pitching him during the ENTIRE regular season.

Bull may be the next Gagne in a couple of seasons, if he hangs out with Maddux like the coaches have told him to.

274 I agree. Just change "every time" to "most times".

In nine starts (56 IP), H'son has an ERA of 4.82.
Probably about middle-of-the-pack for a fifth starter.

275
The Marlins have almost always been the Expos.

Steiner forgot about Carter! Seo was the 5th starter and only in the bullpen for a small amount of time.

274 Nice analysis. He strikes me as a consistent 6 IP 3 runs pitcher. Not spectacular. Not terrible. An average pitcher that keeps his team in ball games.

And during that time period it wouldn't surprise me if Hendy's ERA and total IP's is better than both Lowe and Penny's.

I agree. Just change "every time" to "most times".

I agree. Just change "most times" to "twice".

Watching that Marlin bullpen meltdown reminded me too much of all those we sufferred early this year. It really doesn't take much to tip the balance either way.

Borowsky if only Grabowsky was here (did I spell that right)

284 - Sixty percent of the time it works every time.

Ethier is looking more human today.

Oh well. Ethier strikes out. But looking on the bright side that's 5 PA's for Ethier today. If he keeps that up...who knows? Batting title?

When is the last time a pitcher was tossed in the first inning for throwing BEHIND a batter?

re: Eaton getting tossed today in the first v angels?

288
I can't see the prehensile tail anymore.

It's getting to be really hard explaining about baseball teams to your kids. "Oh yes, there used to be a team in Montreal, called the Expos. They moved to Washington DC and became the Nationals. Yes, yes, they needed a team because they didn't have one. Yeah, sure, they had the Senators a while back, but they left and became the Twins. What happened to the owner of the Expos? Oh, he became the new owner of the Marlins, a team that was in Florida before he bankrupted them and they moved to New Jersey, except they call themselves the New York Marlins like all the New York football teams.

290

I don't know

290

Throwing behind a batter is considered throwing AT him, since most batters back up. Throwing behind his head is particuarly bad form. Did Eaton do that?

272. I think its more that this season, and even last year's hot beginning, have kind of dulled the exuberance of a winning streak.

This team is just too streaky to really feel confident. Its difficult to just enjoy, bc you just know the team is capable of losing a bunch in a row also.

Its hard to suspend rational thought and just enjoy a streak, given the Dodgers' last 18 seasons. I think its really jaded some.

Maybe if the team recaptures 1st place, then the confidence will return.

According to BPro's FLAKE state, H-son is the team's steadiest starter.
Unfortunately, his pitching is the epitome of replacement level

I meant that they back up if a pitch looks like it's headed for them.

I could only see the Gameday description of the pitch and they put the "ball" right behind the part of Rivera where the sun shines only very infrequently.

That Majewski character has been a real bust for Cincinnati. We could be 10 minutes away from trailing in the WC by 1 game.

Why do I set myself up for a 5 run comeback win? Why do I do it? I'll never learn.

284 I guess we just disagree about what to expect from a 5th starter. When you give up 4 runs or less in 5 of your 7 starts, with all of them being for at least 5 innings, that strikes me as a pretty good 5th starter.

Can someone explain why Quinlan replaced Izturis at third after one inning?

293 O.K.

294 The ball was at lower back level, perhaps a bit above the belt. Seemed totally harmless.

Nats with the (very) early lead in San Diego.

SAITO TIME

He's definately been the shiniest golden nugget Ned found on his archaeological excavations.

Who really wants a #5 starter on a pitching staff?

Should not the goal be to have #3 and above guys filling out each spot?

300- Four of his seven starts. He gave up four unearned runs in the first, for a total of five.

Our ROY doesn't need to dive for a ball in a 4 run game and risk injuring himself

291 The shoes could be hiding those opposable big toes
And that was one tough lefty for a while.

Is Elmer going to end up on the DL? This is the third game in a row he should have pitched in, but didn't, right?

It's uncanny how many times I've looked at a Nats game on GAMEDAY and seen something like this:

Top 1ST B:1 S:2 O:0
Alfonso Soriano homers (35) on a fly ball to left field.

The Minn-KC game just had one of the most unusal double plays. Both outs at home plate.

305 Ned will get that handled next season. Trust me.

I think a lot of this talk about hendrickson being "good enough" is a difference in philosophy, why settle for good enough and be just like the ordinary average team, why not shoot for the stars and be better, maybe that's why the dodgers haven't won a world series in a billion years, because management shoots for being good enough, just like every other average team.

Another thought: This offense is good enough to win games when the pitching gives up 4 or less runs, maybe even 5 or less, its all about pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching, pitching.
When we were losing games left and right, we not only didn't have good pitching going on but we also had several slappy hitters in the lineup at the same time, including lofton, izturis, martinez, and at the time furcal was being a slappy.

305 - Of course. But the real trick is to avoid giving the ball to those No. 6 and 7 starters.

301 I'll answer my own question, Izturis out with a hamstring injury. If it is bad they will need to call up McPherson.

I'm trying to figure out why Saito hasn't been a major league stud since the time Nomo originally came aboard.

Oh that Saito seems like a cool customer.He's a keeper.

9 in arrow

313 Because Ned wasn't willing to trade Billz/Ethier/Kemp to get that guy.

317 I hope he's back next year. Thank God Ned didn't give up on this team and trade Saito. He's awesome.

313 How many teams out there have excellent #5 starters? There's just not enough good pitching to go around these days.

Because Ned wasn't willing to trade Billz/Ethier/Kemp to get that guy.

Right, and i'm glad he didn't.
But i was talking about landing top tier starting pitching from free agency, something the dodgers haven't done in a long time.

314. I dont think there's much of a difference between 4,5,6,7 level guys.

Talent in baseball is exponential in my opinion, meaning that #2/#3 are way way way way better than #5/#6. But that the further you go down the talent chain, the less meaningful drop off you have.

There's a much more meaningful difference between a pitcher with a 2.00ERA and a 4.00 ERA, than say the difference between a pitcher with a 5.00ERA and a 7.00ERA.

313 May be true about not aiming high enough, but thinking harder about this - how many teams have 5 "great" starters? I'm pretty sure it's: zero. This is partially because there are too many teams and not enough great pitchers, and also because great pitchers are expensive. Who can afford to pay astronomical salaries five times over for pitchers? Well, the Yankees would, and even they don't have 5 great pitchers.

In a year or two, though, the Dodgers may be closer to that when they have more of the kids come up to pitch (Elbert, later Kershaw, maybe Kuo, etc), but even then, we should probably enjoy it while it lasts because affording five of them for a long time is going to be hard. I'm just saying I think you need to look at it a little differently.

Meanwhile, 9 in a row! (6 on the road!) I'll take that, thankyouverymuch.

Saito was a starter in Japan and under his team's control for 10 years. When he finally decided to test the waters in the U.S., he found out he had to become a reliever, which is considered a big demotion in Japan.

However, he's taken to the role well. I can't really think of any starter in Japan who has come over as a reliever and done well.

Sasaki was already a reliever when he came over.

Shigetoshi Hasegawa was an adequate reliever.

Giles fails to move Roberts over from 2nd base with no one out. Could you imagine the pickle we would be in if we signed Giles for 4 years like he wanted. Giles is an aging/average OF. Thank the high heavens he stayed in SD.

Could you imagine the pickle we would be in if we signed Giles for 4 years like he wanted.

Better him than Lofton, Mueller, Tomko.

From Dodgers.com:

The sudden deployment of Martinez in the outfield Sunday fueled speculation that the Dodgers might deal him to a club interested in seeing how he handles the outfield.

All I know is that I am watching the best closer in sports, Tiger Woods going for PGA Tour victory number 50.

327 I don't thinks so unless you think Drew was going to play CF, with Giles in LF, maybe no Andre Ethier.

That is why looking back on who we should or should not sign is difficult.

329
So you must be mad at Papelbon for giving up a game-tying homer to Navarro.

I agree that Hendrickson is fine for a fifth starter, as it happens. So was Jae Seo.

330. I know. I mean....Mueller signed for 2 years and is hurt, insurance should cover it. Lofton's a 1 year stop gap and has been as advertised offensively. Tomko is pricey, but he's not a problem. Could you imagine being stuck paying Giles 10+ million from '07-'09. My goodness, the guy is average and you could forget about Zito/Schmidt. Signing Giles for 4 years would have been complete insanity. Totally illogical.

Shigetoshi Hasegawa was an adequate reliever.

I like that name

I agree that Hendrickson is fine for a fifth starter, as it happens. So was Jae Seo.

I still think Sele will make spot starts, he seemed to burn out last year after starting all season long, so I'm thinking this demotion is agood thing for his stamina.

Hey, Angels out to an 8-0 lead now. Fantastic. My dreams for a Freeway Series are alive.

Actually, my real dream is for a subway series in LA. Public transportation uber alles.

Actually, my real dream is for a subway series in LA. Public transportation uber alles.

can you imagine that mess.wow!.

The Giants always do this thing at PhoneCoPark where they have little kids announce the batters for one inning. It's either really cute - or, in my opinion, incredibly irritating and nauseating (and I like kids). I thought when they did it at the game I went to it was just a one time gimmick, but nooo... they do it every game. Further making the game a gimmick.

How Can You Contradict Bill Plaschke and Still Be Wrong?

http://tinyurl.com/kav8o

338
In fairness, the Dodgers have kids run out with the players every game and I have to think that gets old.

Unless of course, you're the kid, then it's a lot of fun.

Teams need to make the kids feel like they are part of the game with events like the PA announcing and the running out on the field. It's better than having to do things like building a Ferris wheel like they did in Detroit.

340 Yeah, I forgot they do that. The Giants do that as well. But the kids running on the field thing gets less old then making them a part of the game itself, every game. But, yes, I guess it could be worse.

Hey, Bob. When is Matsuzaka actually going to become available? Will it be before winter meetings?

Seems like he was discussed around here some time ago, I'd at least consider it. If he is good enough for Sadaharu Oh, he's good enough for me.

Old (young) friend Edwin Jackson was part of the Devil Rays bullpen implosion against the Red Sox today, though they ended up coming back and winning in extra innings.

322 But i was talking about landing top tier starting pitching from free agency, something the dodgers haven't done in a long time.

There's a very simple reason for this, top tier pitchers don't become free agents. Let's look at the top 20 pitchers in VORP this season:

13 of those 20 pitchers were drafted/signed by their current team, or traded for as a prospect. None of them have become eligible for free agency.

2 more were acquired through trade after they were somewhat establisehed, neither have been free agents (Schilling and Penny).

1 was signed as a "established" free agent out of Cuba. He has never been a free agent since establishing himself in the MLB (Contreras).

1 was an injury risk that was signed to a low risk deal ($500K + incentives), but was not expected to be an ace (Carpenter).

That leaves 3 guys who signed big deals with their current teams through free agency: Mussina, Schmidt, and Smoltz. They were signed in 2000, 2001, and 2001 respectively. That means no top tier pitcher has signed as a free agent in the last 4 years (unless you want to include Carpenter, and Pedro, who missed out on the top 20 VORP thing).

Of the 21-30 in VORP, none have reached free agency. 31-40 has several free agents, but most of them are relievers (Pedro and Glavine are in this group).

342
Matsuzaka would be only be available if Seibu decides to post him I believe. Teams would have to submit sealed bids just to get the right to negotiate with him.

I somehow doubt the Dodgers will get involved in the bidding. I think it will be a duel between the Mariners and Yankees.

And as recently as the 2004-05 offseason, the Dodgers signed two of the top five free agent pitchers on the market. The fact that one of them sucked and the other one really sucked doesn't change the fact that they did go out and sign what was believed at the time to be top-tier pitching.

The Angels' definition of a #5 starter: Joe Saunders. 4 innings, 5K, 1 hit, no runs so far. And he's taking over for Bartolo Colon, their #1 starter!

344 This is the definition of why Dodger Thoughts has become a great site.

It appears that the Twins will finish today's game in KC with a mere 22 hits, 3 off the franchise record set in 2002.

The Twins drew 14 walks yesterday, but only 2 today.

When is Kent available to play? Grady will have a tough time replacing Lugo if we continue winning.

350 Supposedly tomorrow, according to the Times today. I think the plan is for Kent to play 1B until Nomar returns, and then Lugo becomes a super-sub at 3B, 2B, SS, CF.

344
Great post KOTH, some posters seem to think these great pitchers just fall off of trees.

Whenever Bowden gets to big a head he should be forced to watch the Angels and Juan Rivera. Whenever Stoneman gets dissed for not making the big trade the detractors should be forced to watch Juan Rivera and all the kids he has kept in the stable.

Love the Angel move of Kendrick to 1st base like the Brooklyn Dodgers did with Jackie Robinson in his 1st year when 2nd base was blocked in his inaugural year. How bizarre to be married to a 1st baseman who was all defense and no hit and then do a 180 and put someone at 1st who is all hit and no defense. Scoscia continues to confound me as you just can't pigeonhole him.

350 Apparently (likely) tomorrow. Then they'll have a tough decision as far as roster move - especially if Dessens is okay after all.

Elbert: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 10 K, 2 HR
Elbert continues to strike out batters, and his control is improving, but he's starting to give up a lot of homers. He gave up 4 in 78 IP at Vero, and 7 in only 35 IP at Jacksonville. Hopefully he can improve upon that. Also, Dewitt had a rough Jacksonville debut, striking out twice and failing to get the ball out of the infield the other 3 tries.

349 And (non-great starter) Odalis pitched non-great in that game -

5.0IP 9hits 5ER 2BB 1K 1HR

352 I agree; unless you feel like throwing a ton of money for too many years at someone like Schmidt, you're gonna have to settle for the best of the rest, which ain't pretty. Those thinking we have a chance at getting Schmidt AND Zito this offseason are dreaming. Someone like the Mets or Yankees will throw a ton of money at one of them.

I looked up Ethier's chances of getting enough PAs to qualify for the batting title. I believe the qualification is 3.1 PAs per team game played, so at the end of the 162-game season, Andre would need 503 plate appearances.

He currently has 284, so he would need 219 plate appearances over the next 51 games to qualify. That's an average of 4.3 per game.

Not impossible, but not easy either.

357 Put him at leadoff!

Nah, never mind.

357 Isn't there the rule where you can still win the batting title if you re-calculate the batting average of the player with the difference between actual at-bats and qualifying at-bats being considered outs? I don't know how much of a lead Ethier has right now, but if it's a big enough lead he might be able to squeak that one out.

Does anybody have a theory of what the difference has been in the last nine games compared to the previous eight? My best guess is that it's a statistical anomaly mixed with a bit of boosted confidence. But could it be something else? Is anybody else nervous to see Kent and Nomar come back and change the core of a team that has been winning? Is that "jinxing a no-hitter" thinking? Find out next time on... Soap.

354 Without more information, I am not sure much can be made of the HR rate. There is no place I know to get GB/FB for minor leagues in the current season. Pitchers are expected to give up about 11% of fly balls as HRs - variation from that is generally considered luck. Unless he is consistantly (not enough time in to know that) giving up HRs above that rate, I don't see anything about which to be concerned.

360 I'd bet heavily on NSV.

359
You are correct. Tony Gwynn qualified for a batting title in this fashion toward the end of his career.

In 1996, Gwynn batted .353. He had only 498 PAs, 4 short of what was necessary. But the next closest person to him in batting average was Ellis Burks at .344, so he had a lot of space.

For instance, if you take the necessary plate appearances to qualify up to this point (344) and count the difference in PA's as outs, Ethier would be at .284. This number will continue to be closer to his actual batting average as the year goes on.

So far this season, Kenny Lofton leads the Dodgers with 8 triples.

Lofton has hit just 8 doubles.

And to answer my own question, the current leader is Freddy Sanchez at .339 (before today's game).

361- You can find those numbers here: http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/

Freddy Sanchez trying to become the least remembered NL batting champ since Terry Pendleton in 1991.

Or maybe Ralph Garr in 1974.

Or maybe Debs Garms in 1940.

Or maybe Bubbles Hargrave in 1926!

368-9
I didn't remember any of those NL batting champs! (Well, I remember Terry, but not his batting title)

Pendleton won the MVP that year.

368 Hey! Where's the Freddie Sanchez Marching and Chowder Society to speak for that fine young man?

Elbert has given up 33 line drives/fly balls, 7 of which have left the park (21.2%). Overall, he's given up 20 ground balls, 9 linedrives, 24 fly balls, and 14 pop ups. This includes hits and outs.

371
That gave the dubious distinction of being the least remembered batting champ AND the least remembered MVP in the same year.

Pendleton barely beat out Barry Bonds for the MVP.

I believe, as the poet once said, Bonds had the last laugh.

Didn't he only hit something like .319 that year? With like 20 homers?

Then again, Gibby's MVP season wasn't all that impressive statistically either.

357
I think it pretty much is impossible. Even playing full time, he would still come up some 25 plate appearances short. I posted about it last night:

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/comments/post.html#270

"Ethier needs to average 4.29 plate appearaces per Dodger game from now through the end of the season to qualify for the NL batting title.

Since his callup he has averaged 3.36 PAs per team game. Since becoming a regular on June 30, it's 3.81.

Sorry, Andre, looks like no soup for you."

Sanchez is the pride of Burbank High, which is also the alma mater of James Mouton.

And is usually a school not good in any sport.

Bonds isn't laughing much these days.

Interesting that Two of the least memorable batting champs were on the Braves.

Pendleton won the MVP that year.

& of course everybody knows he was with the Braves that year.

292 - The Manhattan Nationals would have been cool also...

374 - Oh but Bob, the sportswriters that vote on the HOF class of 2014 will have the last last laugh, voting McGwire in but not Bonds!

374 "I believe, as the poet once said, Bonds had the last laugh."

Sen. Mitchell might argue that the laugh cycle is not yet over.

Ralph Garr hit .353 with an OBP of .383(!)

Man, he was a hacker.

382 And that batting title probably netted Garr a lucrative contract, thereby turning him into:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hackeri01.shtml

Not only did Ralph Garr hack with the bat, he was also a hack with the glove. There's a reason why the Braves got rid of him after just having him one year.

The coyote finally caught him?

385

Depends upon which nickname you want to use.

Padres getting shut out. Reds lost. D'backs in a tie. Giants are up by 4 runs late in the game.

and that batting title probably netted Garr a lucrative contract
To put things in perspective, Garr likely never made as much as $100,000 per year. My, how things have changed.

Garr's best seasons were before free agency. I doubt he ever made $100,000. His career ended in 1980 after a dismal couple of months with the Angels.

I would assume that the only teammate of Garr's who made over $100,000 was Henry Aaron.

And the Padres are not being shut out anymore.

Brian Giles says "Take that!"

And the D-backs are no longer tied (up 3-2 in the 6th)

Would a genius have signed Brian Giles to a free-agent contract or would that same genius have tried to sign a cheaper, younger player?

There is apparently some confusion about Mark Hendrickson. The issue is not whether he is a "fifth starter." That can hardly be gainsaid. The issue is that he was acquired on pretext of a lie.

Giles' numbers are a bit misleading this year. He still gets on base a lot, but has no power left.

The Dodgers just moments ago reached a milestone, at least as their play pertains to my spending. I just purchased the remainder of the season on DirecTV Extra Innings which I vowed to do only if they were in the race in August. Congrats to the Dodgers. May you justfy my expenditure.

Hilarious column
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/060803

Some of use our Extra Innings package to watch Royals games.

Just because we can.

And the Nats tie it up!

396 -- Somebody is going to have to write Bill Simmons and determine if this is streak-breaking behavior. :)

398. I believe that they offer channel blocking for content that is not suitable for younger viewers.

Thank you Brian Schneider

Frank, if you don't mind, would you please run for the go-ahead run next time?

400. My vow was not streak related, only competing related. If we fail to keep competing immediately, I will contact my karma lawyer.

I'd feel more confident about the Nats holding on to the tie if they still had Gary Majewski!

Now, I've been in and out all day. Please reassure me that we all had a good laugh at Wayne Krivski's expense earlier.

406 Brief mention, I think it's too much like a broken record to be considered news anymore.

405, 406 This site is obviously biased against people whose names end in "ski."

Isn't it Wayne Kriv*sky*?

With the exception that the man does not spell his name with asterisks in it.

If Ethier continues to hit .349 and is 25 plate appearances short, then hit BA would fall to abotu .330 when those hitless AB are added in. The current leader is at .349. So either he needs to hit more or the leader needs to hit less.

"So either he needs to hit more or the leader needs to hit less."

Finally we figured out a way for Cesar Izturis to win a batting title!

Meanwhile, you might enjoy this:

http://www.athleticsnation.com/story/2005/12/4/34515/9698

I hope they don't spell his name wrong on the gold watch he deserves to get at the end of the year.

411 Should have read that the leader is .339. I was being sloppy.

414
Everybody gets a gold watch as a prize for being named "Biggest Winner at Trading Deadline" by Buster Olney.

409
I, too, have fallen prey to the "failed attempt to emboldenate part of a word."

It is also 3.1 PA per team game played. So if a team had a bunch of games rained out that were not made up (maybe they have a big lead like the Tigers?), then you could have a batting champ from that team with significantly fewer PAs.

I remember when the D's tried to land the best pitching by the free agent route, early on. One was Goltz I think, and I think I repressed the other name.
I am afraid top level free agent pitching is a fools game. The money and time given the best hitters I find preposterous, but this is partly old fashioned thrift. A golden arm is even more ephemeral. A pitcher is more than likely to ruin his arm in a period like 5 or six years.
Although you can argue that the D's have evaluated poorly on contracts like Kevin Brown, Darren Driefort, and Perez, I would say that even the best research and thinking can't justify 10mil for six years for a pitcher. Only the very lucky will survive. As much as a hate it, offense is probably a better investment. On the other hand, if you are blessed with young pitching, defense may be a good investment, as it is currently probably under-rated.

Rainouts that aren't made up don't help. It's games scheduled

"The individual batting champion or slugging champion shall be the player with the highest batting average or slugging percentage, provided he is credited with as many or more total appearances at the plate in League Championship games as the number of games scheduled for each club in his league that season, multiplied by 3.1 in the case of a major league player."

The only time this came into play though was in 1981 when Bill Madlock qualified with 320 PAs during the strike interrupted season. Pittsburgh played 102 games, although some played more. (The Giants played 111). So if you went by the highest number of games played (111), Madlock would not have made it. However, since the Pirates had just 102 opportunities to play, Madlock made it with four PAs to spare.

419
The problem with the acquisitions of Dave Goltz and Don Stanhouse is that they weren't very good pitchers to begin with.

Buster got a lot of awards like that dancing with his mother at the yacht club.

One was Goltz I think, and I think I repressed the other name.
I believe you are looking for Don Stanhouse. Please don't blame me if this causes nightmares.

413 -- shhh! They love Mark Kotsay. Let them be.

at the yacht club

And at MotherBoy.

420 Does your post contradict itself, or am I imagining things?

According to the rule as written, there were no eligible players for the batting title in either 1981 or 1994.

426

The games that were wiped out were no longer considered "scheduled", it's like they never existed.

But a rainout that isn't made up is a different animal.

Don't you read all those incredibly arcane articles on this topic that appear in SABR publications?

And wasn't that a great recruiting message!

The Padre person who signed Dave Roberts was pure genius.

Brian Giles: "And that!"

Motion to suspend D4P's bolding privileges for the rest of the day.

I don't know why talking about Ralph Garr stirred this memory, but I remember when people conspired( even some in MLB) to anoint Lou Brock the father of the modern stolen base. I never saw a campaign vanish so fast, or people hide so fast.

Dave Roberts couldn't hit his way out of a paper bag when he was with the Dodgers. For the past 2 years, he's posted a .425+ slg. He has an .800+ OPS. Maybe Brian Giles supplier gave the supplements to the wrong Padre.

427 I'm about 6 years behind on all things SABR, including the SABR bulletin, committee newsletters, the National Pastime, the BRJ, SABR-L, and all the administrative mumbo-jumbo which technically I'm supposed to read since I'm a committee vice chair. I just find I have way too many other things to read that are more interesting at this point in my life.

Another great recruiting message.

430
Bolding is a right!

433

You're missing some groundbreaking stuff.

At least you could have read "Underestimating the Fog".

423 Greg--that's it and I'm confident those nightmares are long in the past.

435 Actually I did read that.

435 And actually, I've spent a lot of the past 4 years reading (and re-reading, and re-reading, and re-reading, and rewriting where necessary, which isn't fun for either party) the two Deadball Era volumes.

Yeah, when do I get my AL Deadball Stars volume?

That's like waiting for a Terence Malick film to come out!

Ugh...bad news
http://tinyurl.com/mh7rk

Loney could be hitting .600 with 3 HR and he'd still lose his job to an expensive proven veteran. Why is the old man so anxious to be activated? This seems way too soon to activate him. Can't he just pack his bags and heal up for next season (with the Red Sox or Mets)?

Records since the All-Star Break:

D-Backs 13-10
Padres 10-13
Dodgers 10-13
Rockies 10-13
Giants 8-14

No comment, just the facts.

439 As soon as the people with the checkbooks decide to pony up and actually order the photos we decided on months and months ago. Everything else has been done for a while.

442

And maybe there will be an index too?

440 I like that we have a strong enough team right now that people are ticked off when Jeff Kent is added to the lineup.

443 Don't get me started on that....

Yes, there will be an index.

Eric's Rule of Baseball Publishing #1: If you're going to publish the book without an index, you might as well not publish the book at all.

Needless to say, I lost this argument the first time around. Not this time.

444 - Miltie gets ticked off when Jeff Kent is added to the earth's atmosphere.

444- this isn't 2000 MVP Jeff Kent we are talking about. This is 38 year old, .449 SLG, poor defensive 2B (even worse defensive 1B) Jeff Kent. Even if I was a Jeff Kent fan, I'd realize that he is not an upgrade over any of our other players (Loney and Lugo). Loney has a future with this team. He's saved his infielders from making numerous errors in about a week of play. The infield defense has been outstanding since Nomar and Kent went down and Lugo and Loney arrived.

Right on cue...

447
Shall we start calling him "Clark"...?

447 Another reason to hate cell phones: Our kids won't ever understand the thing about Superman changing clothes.

For those interested in our man Saito, he was both a starter and closer in Japan for the Yokohama Baystars. Over 13 seasons and 339 appearances, Saito was 87-80, with 48 saves, and a 3.80 ERA. The Dodgers tried to get Saito three years ago ['02], but the Baystars ponied-up the yen and Saito stayed. When that contract ended, it was come to the US and MLB at all costs.

Saito otherwise sat out all of '97 with injury, but was comeback player of the year in '98, when the Baystars won the Japan Series. Saito was 13-5 with a 2.94 ERA that year. In '99, he went 14-3. Then in '01 and '02, Saito was a full-time closer. Saito was 7-1 with a 1.67 ERA and 60 K's in 64 innings in '01. 47 of his 48 saves came in '01 and '02.

In the meantime, someone please tell Mr. Little for me that we have a saying 'round here, to wit, if it ain't broke, don't fix it [big contracts and/or big egos be darned].

Now to continue with Japanese baseball, the fight song for my favorite Central League team, the Yakult Swallows:

"Man blossoms as a flower of the earth
Baseball is a drama, it is life
Take the Tigers alive, catch the Whales
Swallow the Dragon, pull in the Carp
Knock down the Giant star
Fly away Swallows!"

On some other rather recent thread, someone wrote something about Mr. Baseball and about how the shuto might have been made-for-television baseball. Not only "no" to that, but the scenario re most homeruns in a season echoes the race of Randy Bass. Going into the last two games of that 1985 season, Bass, playing for the Hanshin Tigers, had 54 homers, one short of Oh's 55 homer single-season record. Bass got nothing to hit in those last two games. Bass was so disgusted with the unintentional but intentional walks that for one pitch, he held his bat upside down. According to reports, the pitch was about two feet outside for a ball. And not coincidentally, Mr. Oh just happened to be managing the opposition at the time.

And so too in 2001, when Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes' star Tuffy Rhodes was tied with Oh at 55 homers, with three games left. The Buffaloes traveled to Fukuoka to play the Hawks for one game, and sure enough, Rhodes didn't see a pitch to hit. Rhodes did not manage to hit a homer in his last two games against the Oryx Blue Wave, but at least they pitched to him. In both instances, i.e., Bass and Rhodes, Oh's team[s] had already clinched, so a homer or two and a loss would have meant little to nothing for his team. And so the moral of the story is that Mr. Oh, Mr. Homerun in Japan, is a classless loser who deserves nothing but our contempt and scorn.

Lastly, the Yakult Swallows are, were, the Chicago Cubs of Japanese baseball. They hadn't won a thing until '78. And then came the 90's with 3 Japan Series championships, and they added another in '01. But still, over the life of the franchise, the Yakult Swallows rank 11th in record, with only, you guessed it, Takashi Saito's Yokohama Baystars having a worst lifetime franchise record.

Miltie and D4P are the burser and quartermaster of the Jeff Kent Pea Soup and Defamation Society.

449- I'd have no problem if he would just fly away.

Some people react to Jeff Kent's name like Maynard G. Krebs reacted to the word "work".

Hey Eric, just sent you an e-mail. I think I have the right address for you but let me know if you get it.

430 -- By the way, I think the chair has no choice but to deny the motion for lack of a second.

456- Let's not be hasty. I think I can gin up a second. Motion to extend the vote for five more minutes?

430- Second!

Thanks for that, Greg. It was a great read.

456- See?

447 - "Even if I was a Jeff Kent fan, I'd realize that he is not an upgrade over any of our other players (Loney and Lugo)."

You're not capable of making that statment. In fact, though you're welcome to dislike Kent as much as you want, your bias completely undermines any conversation about Kent that you're in. I'm not trying to attack you, but I don't know how you get around that.

Lugo's offensive stats are barely better than Kent's this season, despite this being a career (fluke?) year for Lugo and an injury-plagued one for Kent. Now that Kent is coming back after a long rest, I don't think it's crazy for the Dodgers to think he's better.

I don't rely on Rate 2, but you might note that Kent's Rate 2 at second base for the past three seasons is 106/96/120.

Meanwhile, Loney's had one good week. I love him, but again, we need a little perspective.

I've just had a vision of what this place might look like if everybody started sock puppeting. Probably better not to go down that road. So, I withdraw the motion (which I was kidding about) and let's all just agree to ignore Nobody.

I object! Certiorari! Res ipsum loquitur! E pluribus unum!

451 You shouldn't use your password as your username too. :-)

I see that we have the same record as Arizona, despite the fact that we've scored 7 more runs and (more importantly) given up 42 fewer. 42!!! It's almost as if our players don't know how to win or something...

Michael Hiltzik, you card...

465 They didn't, but now Maddux has brought them his "winning attitude" and everything is all better.

461- Lugo is definitely having a career year, but he's also playing for a contract. Prior to the trade, he an EqA of .292, compared to Kent's .283 (still above average for a 2B). Lugo will likely regress to around .280 or so, but I don't see Kent improving much offensively. Defensively, there's no comparison. Lugo is an above defensive SS and an even better defensive 2B. In his prime, Kent was underrated defensively. He is still fairly good at turning the double play. Kent, however is now 38 and clearly on the decline. Last season, Kent was 7 runs below average defensively and has definitely been worse this season. Going forward, I would say that Lugo will be a more productive all around player than Kent.

Loney and Kent are much closer. Loney right now is performing fairly well since his recall, but it's an extremely small sample size. That said, his approach at the plate has been much better and he's driving the ball into the gaps. He probably would not be able to match Kent's offensive output. Defensively, there is no comparison (again). Kent has historically been an awful 1B. His unwillingness to play the position may have a lot to do with it. He's a better defender at 2B than 1B, but he hurts you in the field at either position.

Then there is the prospect of Nomar coming back. Which Nomar is it going to be when he returns from the DL? The one who was contending for a batting title or the one who was one of the worst hitters on the Dodgers after the all star break and was a major reason for their big losing streak. I'm guessing that Nomar, if completely healthy should be very productive. His defense is a bit overrated, but he's at least average defensively. Nomar will have 1B job back and deservedly so.

467
Nothing like "farting on each other" in the locker room to turn things around...

468 was a good post. I don't agree with it, but it was a good post.

469 I have a couple of good Maddux stories, but alas, neither is fit for DT consumption.

471
Maddux is the consummate professional...

I'm afraid a few guys are realizing,gee this LA is a nice place to play, we get about 10 mil, and the manager says you guys are my prize vets, and if you get a bruise we will give you a week off. Here comes this guy Loney who will play every day for next to nothing, and act grateful! This must be stopped.

473 I wouldn't complain if I had one of Loney's paychecks.

468 - On what basis has Kent been an historically awful first baseman?

474 I agree, but for many teams if player A is a defensive plus over anyone, might be close in offense and costs 30 times less, it would seem logical. I too would love Loneys salary.

Jose Reyes hits grand slam.

Time to go watch "Deadwood."

Sorry to interject with the irrelevant, but one last word [or a thousand] on the Yakult Swallows:

http://www.numenware.com/article/345/
http://www.yakult.co.jp/english/htm/index03.html
http://www.yakult-swallows.co.jp/

So remember to swallow your Yakult [and so, Yakult Swallow[s]]. And that's my Shirotaism of the day.

Oh, and Dan, the PDH are my initials and the 5204 is a certain number that some use to identify just who I am. My password? Gentlemen don't talk about such things in mixed company.

Oh, and I'm still holding out for, should someone decide to fix something that isn't broken:

1B - Kent
2B - Lugo
SS - Furcal
3B - Garciaparra

Send Loney down 'till roster expansion, with Betemit playing super-sub, and if need be, Lugo occasionally playing CF. One other option is to keep Loney up and say goodbye to Ledee. And, yes, though some think it insane, the Furcal, Lofton, Lugo trifecta is preferred. Nothing like speed on the bases to put pressure on the defense and the pitcher and otherwise guarantee some more fastballs for those following to hit. Or should I simply report that a divided concentration on their part works to our advantage?

Dare I say it...
Option Repko?

I'm afraid the only one that might cause some divided attention with his speed is Lofton. He is getting a bit old and decrepit for long term plans.

How can Yakult claim to be the Cubs of Japan when the Hanshin Tigers make the same claim?

You can't have two sets of Cubs!

I see Yakult as more like the White Sox.

Which raises the question, why in the world would any team want to be like the Cubs?

None Dare Call It Project BROTheR

I think it ought to be Ledee who goes. I'm still kind of surprised they DFA'd Cruz instead of him. At least Cruz could fill in in right on days when you're trying to give Drew a day off.

I can only assume that Cruz didn't mingle enough at parties

I'd rather have Ledee instead of Cruz.

When forced to choose between a player who can hit and a player who cannot, choose the player who can hit.

And defensive replacement in the outfield is what Lugo and Repko are for.

475- Kent has played 107 games at 1B and started 73. His career RF of 8.79 would put him 2nd to last among all qualified 1B in baseball. His career ZR is .848. That would put him in the middle/lower end of qualified 1B in baseball. Then there's rate2 (which I don't trust since it makes Kent look like Orlando Hudson at 2B this year). His career rate2 is 92 (below average). Finally, there is fielding percentage (probably the worst fielding statistic available). Kent's career FPCT of .989 would tie him for 2nd to last among qualified 1B. If all these fielding statistics say that Kent is a bad 1B, I'd say there's a pretty good chance that they are correct. I also remember watching Kent play 1B while he was with the Giants and he looked out of place. He looked like an amateur at 1B and had a very difficult time scooping balls out of the dirt.
478- that doesn't make sense either. What's the point of taking Betemit's superior bat and glove out of the lineup in favor of Kent? You are moving Nomar to a position that he doesn't want to play.

486
By what standard can Ledee "hit" but Cruz cannot?

488 Well, mostly by dint of the huge vortex of suck that Cruz has been this year. (And two-thirds of last year, for that matter.) But if you want to hope for a big turnaround at age 32, be my guest.

It is true that Ledee also sucks this year, but (a) it's a small enough sample that he hasn't proven beyond all doubt that he sucks, as Cruz has, and (b) almost all of Ledee's playing time has come as a pinch hitter, which reduces offense by 20-25%.

Cruz, Jr. (223 AB)- .233/.353/.381

Ledee (50 AB) - .250/.278/.404

As you say, small sample size for Ledee, but I'd still rather have kept Cruz.

Since Ledee stayed, if we need a left-handed bat off the bench when Kent and Nomar come back, I'd rather keep Loney with the team at this point.

You know, I was just thinking, I bet Oscar Robles feels wonderful about all these recent trades.

Fun random fact: Matt Kemp, based on his current walk rate at Las Vegas, would walk 90 times in a full season.

478 - I disagree with the defensive alignment you have for the infield. Especially on days when a sinkerballer like Maddux or Lowe is on the bump, you need to have the best defensive infield with the most range. Nomar if healthy is a better option at first, otherwise if not healthy, Loney stays. Kent for his offense goes at 2nd, Furcal SS and if he needs a rest, Lugo and keep Betemit at 3B, he hasn't done anything to give up the position yet. Besides, you don't mess with a winning streak. We have Penny and Maddux going the first two days against the Rockies, let's try to make it to 11. The Padres will be on the road facing the Mets this week, Go Mets!!

Cruz/Ledee - toss up really, but I understand the choice. I'd probably have kept Ledee as well (though any choice that results in Martinez getting a start has to be questioned on some level).

Neither should be used to give Drew a day off, since Repko fills that role better. So both are bench/defensive replacements. At the time of the choice, Saenz was our first righty off the bench and Ledee our top lefty off the bench. That role is probably more significant than being the 5th OF, so choosing to keep Ledee made sense (until today, of course).

494 But of course, with Kent coming off the DL, today is the last day that Martinez would be forced to start if you want to give Drew a rest.

Found just what everyone's been waiting breathlessly for==

Caution: unless you read fairly quickly, bring something for intermission..

http://www.topix.net/content/kri/3195956469364581173032429204124197322070

Addendum-Kent as I have seen hasn't hurt the team at 2nd, so he shouldn't lose a job on basis of an injury, even though I like the extra wheels Lugo provides. Mainly, I hate to see them make a change right now in the middle of this streak, changing the karma by daring to change the lineup.
I really enjoyed watching and following the team during this road trip.

495 Since Kent is replacing Loney, if Little wanted to rest Drew (on a day a Lefty was tossing), I presume the same thing would happen again.

498
Saenz 1B
Kent 2B
Furcal SS
Betemit 3B
Lugo OF
Repko OF
Ethier OF

Perez threw just 69 pitches and four innings in his Royals debut, restrained by a predetermined pitch count. His fastball peaked at 93 mph, faster than the scouting reports the Royals looked at before making the trade.

Sure it did.

Excerpt from article linked to:

"He needs to reacquaint himself with that desperation, that motivation that made him pitch well his first years in Los Angeles,' says Jim Colborn, Perez's pitching coach for four years with the Dodgers. 'If he finds that, he'll be that killer pitcher they're looking for."

This could bring a whole new meaning to killer pitcher ..

499 Of course. Stupid me. :)

I like dumping on Odalis as much as the next guy, but this criticism was a little lame:

"He once asked to skip a start because of a broken fingernail on his pitching hand."

Fingernails are important things for pitchers; pitching well with a broken one is darn near impossible. If it had been any pitcher other than Odalis, it wouldn't have been an issue at all.

Nobody has talked about Saenz being sent down, rather than Loney. Given that we have others who can play first (Nomar, Loney) and third (Betemit, Lugo), and that Loney can also play OF, why not keep him around? Then he is available for the postseason, should the Dodgers make it. Sure, Saenz can kill lefties, and I guess he has a contract for next year, but is he really that important to the team?

Loney is already eligible for the postseason. And I have no idea why you would sever ties with Saenz (not send him down; he'd be claimed without question) when there are so many worse players around you can get rid of.

"He needs to reacquaint himself with that desperation, that motivation that made him pitch well his first years in Los Angeles"

It's called "securing a big contract."

227 Sorry, very late to the game. But credit where credit is due. Playoffs? "We talkin' 'bout practice? That what we talkin' 'bout? We not talkin' 'bout the game."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI

If Loney is taken off the roster, then called back up when rosters expand in September, can he be on the postseason roster? I thought you had to be with the team before rosters expanded. Maybe I'm wrong.

491 Does anyone think Robles will ever make it back and stay?

Snell, pitching because scheduled starter Kip Wells has a broken fingernail on his right hand, never retired another batter. Cesar Izturis, Oscar Robles and Milton Bradley singled to make it 1-0. Jeff Kent walked to drive in another run, and Ricky Ledee and xxxx each singled before Snell was lifted after giving up six runs and seven hits.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=250807123

But he is not throwing 93. The number of lefthanders in baseball who throw 93 can be counted on five broken fingernails, and FTOGS is not one of them.

I truly doubt that anyone will make Kent play first base . This is a somewhat logical organization, after all. I hope this is the fantasy that it appears.
My main fear is what managment will do w/ Betemit and Lugo to justify these irrelevant trades, and what prospects will suffer. It is obvious to Baseball people that the D's could field a good team (without pitching) for 10 million $. Politics won't allow this, so it will be fun watching, but for a true D's fan, the fun will probably be muted.

"I thought you had to be with the team before rosters expanded."

You do, and he has been.

We could just commit Frod like the Angels did.

512 (And actually, even if he hadn't been, there's always the K-Rod loophole. Wherein you say, well, Bill Mueller or Jayson Werth was going to be on our postseason roster, but since they're hurt we're gonna take this guy instead.)

487 - Okay.

I guess I was under the mistaken impression that you had to literally be on the roster the day before they expanded to be eligible. Huh.

The K-Rod loophole made me very very happy, since I grew up going to Angel stadium and watching Bobby Grich et al. I will look the other way on that one.

I know this is meaningless but were not all blessed with insight. The Las Vegas 51's have been shut out 4 straight games, 39 innings without a run... Did they hire Jack Clark as their new hitting coach?

516 If that were the case then postseason rosters would be effectively frozen on August 31, and there would never be any suspense about whether so-and-so is going to make the postseason roster.

What the K-Rod loophole does is allow even guys who haven't been up before roster expansion to be used in the postseason. So if, say, we wanted to use Scott Elbert in the Division Series, all we'd have to do is point to Yhency Brazoban and say Elbert is his replacement.

517 Well, we usually outhit the team that shuts us out. Perhaps it shows how few pitchers of note we have at triple A. At least of note and under 27 years old.

516 - Every year, someone (not you, obviously) complains about the K-Rod loophole, and every year, I'm mystified. The complaint is essentially that a team has taken a player from its own organization not deemed to be one of the top 40 for the entire season and put him in the playoffs. I never understood the fuss. You want to bring up a player from the minors and put him in the playoffs, why should another team complain?

Yeah, I've got no problem with the loophole either.

Time for a Loophole Marching and Chowder Society?

I think the post season roster gets set on 9/1. If an injury occurs after 9/1, then a team can add a player to post season who was on the 40 man roster on 9/1. I think that is how KRod was added to the Angels post season roster.

Stan from Tacoma

Loopholes are as American as Mom and apple pie.

523
Oh: and Derek Lowe

Loopholes are as American as Mom and Derek Lowe?

(Mom and Derek Lowe -- talk about an image nobody needs.)

487 / 493 - I would simply like to keep Lugo in the lineup, both for his middle infield defense and speed on the bases. That play yesterday explains the defensive part of the equation. Re the speed, if Grady played it right, 2 of 3 Lugo singles or walks with no one on would end up being a double. Re Nomar not wanting to play, well, first, call me old school if you must, but who cares where he wants to play, as his task is to help the team win, and by nearly any means necessary. Second, how long do we expect Nomar to be with the team? I would otherwise hope that Nomar has enough self-respect to do his best no matter where he might find himself in the field and in the batting order. Lugo is a free agent at year end, and Ned reported that given the last minute nature of the thing, no thought was given to any contract extension when the trade was made. Understandable given the circumstance. But I would like Ned to convince Lugo to stay and play second. That won't happen if we start shuffling him around. As it is, the struggle will be uphill to convince Lugo that a natural shortstop can make for one heck of second baseman as well [and that as good as he might have been, and he was good, still, we all remember Morgan more than we remember Concepcion]. And I share the long term concern re Kent, I mean, how much longer is there for him? If Lugo goes, who plays second when Kent goes?

We must all otherwise make sacrifices, and I would hope that our pitchers would feel confident that the middle infield could rightly be called the Vacuum Co., and the corners, well, they purportedly have the bats to make up for any shortcoming on the field. As I remarked above, I would like the Dodgers to keep Lugo for a while and I would simply submit that the balance of bat over fielding will more than compensate for any deficiency that might come with Nomar over Betemit and Kent over Nomar/Loney. Oh, let me add re the future. Do we not have a 3rd baseman in the works? So where does Betemit play if LaRoche works out? Betemit too is a free agent at years end, and I would prefer the Dodgers keep Lugo over Betemit, should it come to that. Please see this piece for the report re Royster reporting that the Dodgers need soon make a spot for LaRoche:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Jul-31-Mon-2006/sports/8794261.html

515- is that an "okay, you brought up some good points and maybe I agree with you" or "okay, I'm acknowledging your response to my previous post" :)

If we've already bought in to the concept that a baseball team can expand its roster by 60% for the last month of the season, what's the problem with what the Angels did with Frankie Rodriguez/Steve Green?

527 - Well, I think you make a stronger case against Kent's defense at first than you did when all you were saying was "he's awful."

I still don't know if Kent's weaker defense is worth exchanging a historically better hitter for. I get that Kent is 38, but again, Kent at his worst is just about as good as Lugo at his best. I think the odds are very much in Kent's favor if he's healed. And as for Loney, I still think you may be making too much out of one week.

Bottom line, I don't think you risk cutting someone now, for what would at best me a marginal improvement over Kent, when it's under four weeks until the rosters expand. I think you've got to either put someone else on the DL or accept that a guy like Loney or Repko goes back to the minors.