The pitcher is batting third? What is this, the 1870s?

1 - You're welcome to address that, but I'll just tell you he's the best all-around athlete on the team.

Try to keep them away from the liquor cabinet, first of all. ;)

Prospects for Phillip Marlowe. (Sam Spade could never clear waivers.)

Well, first thing, assuming Jim Backus is not already on my coaching staff (and why wouldn't he be?!?), I'm bringing him in.

I dunno, I think Jim's a better athlete than Rabbit (despite the name) but then I have only read one of those Updike books and it's been awhile.

McMurphy, wasn't he better at basketball?

Man, you're really trying to whittle away the commenter pool here aren't you? ;-)

Love the Holden joke.

I hear that Gatsby's minor league stats have been rigged up. I don't think he's as good as advertised. McMurphy is going to present clubhouse issues, especially since he had the lobotomy. Braddock is in shape. I saw him run a couple miles in Santa Barbara once and then he was still able to wield a big metal cross like it was a toothpick.

A good (though naturally very easy considering the crowd) trivia question -- what might a particular rendition of the third baseman character have to do with baseball?

8 - Yeah, that might be too easy.

Now you've done it, you have alienated anyone under 100 or who did not see Randle McMurphy's call of the 1963 World Series away for the night.

Since you brought up chemistry, I came across a story (in Fortune magazine of all places) that points out that Tinkers and Evers (of Tinkers to Evers to Chance fame), hated each other.
"Tinker and myself hated each other, but we loved the Cubs. We wouldn't fight for each other, but we'd come close to killing people for our team. That was one of the answers to the Cubs' success." – Johnny Evers
Maybe that's commonly known but was news to me. Doesn't prove anything but they're almost the poster boys for teammates working well together.

Personally, I think McMurphy was brought in to light a fire under Barnes.

8 Are we thinking about the same reason Hyman Roth likes baseball?

BTW, is it me or did his death scene in GF II draw anything from Oswald's.

6 - Believe it or not, I almost missed that one - it was not the inspiration for the idea. It was fortuitous.

You package up all of your best prospects and trade for Tom Joad. He's got a mean fastball and a wicked slider. He can be a bit moody, but he's a great guy to have in the locker room, really good at rallying the troops together.

8 It has to do with St. Olaf College, right? Strangely, two of my cousins from LA graduated from St. Olaf.

I'd try to dump Gatsby and see if Finny was on the trading block.

11 It was also well known that Eddie Collins was disliked by many of his teammates on the White Sox (aka Black Sox) teams of late 1910's.

Another favorite story is how Ty Cobb knew that Walter Johnson was always afraid of hitting someone so he would get as close as he could to the plate so maybe Johnson would throw it on the outer half.

8/16 - I was thinking Roy Hobbs.

"...though natural ly very easy considering the crowd..."

Hothead Ptah.

This is a tough group Jon. None of them are really bad eggs (well, maybe Gatsby), but there's not one guy I can just ship off and say "problem solved." They're all certainly over-sensitive, complicated, reserved in some cases. Some of them are known to have psychotic episodes, but some of those same ones have real leadership qualities (McMurphy comes to mind).

I think we just need to add somebody to lighten the mood, but we're not talking about Carrot Top here. That would rub this group the wrong way. (What a phoney.) Somebody who can both empathize and externalize some of our issues. Lenny Bruce?

Maybe they can add him if they want to get their team made into a mini-series.

http://tinyurl.com/fq4ca

Here's what I was referring to:

Who is he anyhow, an actor?"
"No."
"A dentist?"
"...No, he's a gambler." Gatsby hesitated, then added
cooly: "He's the man who fixed the World Series back in
1919."
"Fixed the World Series?" I repeated.
The idea staggered me. I remembered, of course, that
the World Series had been fixed in 1919, but if I had thought of it at all I would have thought of it as something that merely happened, the end of an inevitable chain. It never occurred to me that one man could start to play with the faith of fifty million people--with the singlemindedness of a burglar blowing a safe.
"How did he happen to do that?" I asked after a minute.
"He just saw the opportunity."
"Why isn't he in jail?"
"They can't get him, old sport. He's a smart man."
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

22 How funny, I just read that book earlier this year and spaced on that part.

16 Whilst googling around for St Olaf, I came across this:

http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/index.php3

The Carleton Knights who played St Olaf's here:

http://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/?sport=255&module=event&id=165345

I'd try to work out a deal for the Loman brothers, Biff and Happy.

Those two are usually pretty good at putting a positive spin on miserable circumstances.

I would trade them all to Tampa Bay. :)
vr, Xei

23 As I recall, that phrase is also in Eight Men Out.

I think the answer might be to fire the manager.

Is Santiago available? You know, for vetern presence...

Santiago just wants to get Dick Sisler in the lineup.

Bill:

How would this team do against the Algonquin Round Tablers? Would they have a tinker's chance? Ever?

I'll wait for the laughter.

Wow, I whiffed on 16 (see 18 and 19).

28 Dang. I was going to use Santiago as a suggestion for manager. He seems to be from the Felipe Alou mold.

I get the feeling there is posting in the air. Jon, I think you may want to post something before the game to reset the post Nos.
The last bunch got me thinking-how do Repko and Loney compare defensively as right fielders. I have to give it to Repko for his outfield experience. But it is interesting to note that both these guys carry a cannon for an arm. I remember once when this coupled with Repko's enthusiasm and he almost thruogh it over the backstop.
I actually did this a few times when I had a good arm, and a finite backstop(prob. Babe Ruth ball.)
This is one of those extra's that makes Loney so attractive as a first base man.
He has all the FB attributes, and others you might not expect.

I would suggest hiring that guy Ahab to run the team but his constant mutterings about something Dick could be distracting.

But he could call me Ishmael.

32 How did that get in here?

Okay some potentially bad news for Halo fans, Santana got hit on the knee with a line drive off Michaels in the first inning and was taken out of the game, no report on condition but it did not look good.

30 34 Man, that guy is killing me.

20 Hothead Ptah!!!

Gil Gamesh should be the pitcher.

32
Could you please stop interrupting our discussion with actual baseball related observations? Jeez!

So, will I be one of the first 20,000 fans in the stadium tonight and get a towel? I'm leaving work Downtown around 5:45 pm.

I'm thinking I will because who wants to hurry to get to Dodger Stadium just to get a towel?

I meant 33, no joke in 34

Hope Santanas OK.
33 Ishmael it is.

38 They must have had no hope of drawing a crowd but even with no-shows more than 20,000 show up.

35 Alright, alright. You get a laugh.

37 Sorry!

40 I wonder, and only if half jest if he got the reference.

13 I've always thought Roth's death was purposely similar to Oswald's

38 You greatly underestimate the power of free stuff over the typical Dodger Stadium ticket holder. Mother Teresa has been pushed back in the line on Q-Tip night.

I'd also suggest taking a look at that Boo Radley kid, but if chemistry is a problem, I hear he's not so great in the clubhouse. Or maybe a deal for John Yossarian?

I think Hu's on first.

45 Phillip Roth or Kemp/Roth?

Milo Minderbinder is already in the front office making profits by buying players for 7 cents and sending them to Tampa Bay for 5 cents.

There's two ways I want to die:
1) like Moe Green
2) as I lived, wearing a green shirt, a catcher's mask, and dancing the can can.

47

Radley is a little too quiet for my tastes. I think someone needs to light a fire under him.

[27] Edmond Dantès would be a perfect manager for this rag tag bunch.

Everybody has tried to get a read on the second baseman, but nobody understands him.

47 - Finch is on my tall list for new manager.

I don't know what I'd do. Proll just close the book on the season.

Or call up Patrick Bateman from the Manhattan affiliate?

Get that kid Brown as our SABR guy in the front office. I hear he has an encyclopedia for a mind.

I'd have Tyrone Slothrop as my main lefty pinch hitter.

57

I hear the Giants have hired Bugs Meany to be their GM.

Rabbit often runs from his problems, headlong into other problems, then doubles back into the mess his flight has wrought.

Sounds like Armstrong is often burnt by the base on balls.

Ten player BLOCKBUSTER Trade !!!

McMurphy, Bloom, Gatsby, Barnes, and Braddock for Who, What, Why, I Don't Know, and I Don't Give A Darn.

59 Any relation to this one?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Still_from_Baseball_Bugs.jpg

54 - Just getting the read on him is satisfaction enough.

47 Didn't you hear? Yossarian went on the DL with an inflammed liver.

[62] He was out of the running for the Colorado job.

Tell me, where's the team's stadium? In Yoknapatawpha County?

Which are you: big guy, beanpole, pudgy ones, or little guy? (I'm neither, being too short for pudgy one and too heavy for little guy).

The requirements for each group were, in order, 6'3"+ and over 205 pounds; 6'3" and no more than 170 pounds; 5'10" or less and more than 205 pounds; and 5'10" or under and 170 pounds or less.

http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/does-size-matter/

65 comments and no mention of Sid Finch. Maybe he is just in someone's imagination.

There's that kid, Nat Bumppo. Great tools and the best eyesight since Ted Williams.

Rumor has it Gatsby is a juicer.

Hurray for the little guy!

68 Sidd gave way to his second cousin Atticus.

67 Little guy (5'9", 150 lbs)

59 Bob, do kids still read those books, I grew up with those and Matt Christopher stories along with dinosaur books and the rare baseball book that was in the library.

71 Everyone rises when he leaves the field.

71 He's definitely the closer.

I'm close to being a little guy. I'd have to get on a scale today to say for sure.

Can there really be any option other than Lazarus Long for manager? The guy's seen it all, and is good with the media too.

I'm pudgy. And old. And bald.

I apoligize if this has been brought up already (I did search, I promise), but nice DT mention in Slate today.

Sports Nut: "Honey, the Dodgers Are Coming Over" http://www.slate.com/id/2147503

67
The categories weren't chosen very strategically, as they leave out quite a few combinations of height and weight.

67 Big guy (6'5, 230)

77 He'd have to be GM. Dude has problems with authority. I'd go Jubal Harshaw for on-field manager.

73

As Jacob L could attest, I wouldn't be clued in as to what kids read today.

[83] Harry Potter, prospect for the future.

Gotta love this line: "Also, they have to drive, because I like to get stoned before the game."

Harry Potter? Never heard of him. Must be British.

22 There is an interesting book called King of the Jews that makes a strong argument that Arnold Rothstein did not fix the 1919 Series, but that he knew about the fix and made some money with that knowledge.

83 I attest.

I hear Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise are trying to get out of New York. They're definitely rentals, but they're great on the road, and you could probably get them for a couple of characters to be named later.

79- Not only was it mentioned, the author unmasked himself as one of us. It's in the last thread.

67 I'm left without a home in that situation. I guess you could call me normal slightly-tall guy (6'2", 177 lbs).

Leopold Bloom thinks the team ought to bring up Stephen Dedalus from AAA ball. The rap against Dedalus is that, while a smart player, he stands in the outfield with his eyes closed and picks his nose. When he misses a routine fly ball, he explains it as the ineluctable modality of the visible.

But Bloom hasn't been right since Blazes Boylan sang the national anthem before a game last week.

Hmmm, I don't think I would be called someone who "reads books" or "gives a crap about literature" or "took any english classes in college" so I think I'm gonna have to sit out a few plays here until the game starts.

86 Meet Charlie Bucket.

93 I can almost guarantee that if you just make something up, the rest of us will nod along. Try it. Its fun.

93 Can I interest you in some whitewashing?

I would definitely trade Jake Barnes for the rookie phenom Cal Varnsen, he's a definite five-tool player.

96 Is that a Tom Sawyer reference or a racial slur?

Move the lanky Caulfield to first and trade the head case McMurphy for top prospect Tom Sawyer. Then sign "heart & soul" guy Robert Jordan (For Whom the Bell Tolls) to take over the catching duties.

97 - Doesn't Cal run Vandelay Industries?

98 Sawyer.

100 No, but he once mentioned something about a Saab factory.

("Jerry, that's in Sweden")

Wait a minute. After all these lineup changes, the scorecard's gonna get lost. Paging Aristophanes!

102 - Jerry answers the phone: "Vandelay Industries. Cal Varnsen speaking."

104 To the archives!

Jon, I thought you were trying to avoid Seinfeld threads. I could be wrong. Then again I always wanted to be an architect.

Despite his seeming experience at the position, I think you got to cut Holden as his character has no movie experience. Definitely a must for chemistry on this team.

Everyone else comes from a book that has been made into a film at one time or another (although I think Rebel Without a Cause was an original screenplay...?)

Not that I have ever seen Ulysses the movie, but it exists.

104 Hmmm, he does say that, but it's when Keith Hernandez calls. Does that really count?

Hmmm, I don't think I would be called someone who "reads books" or "gives a crap about literature" or "took any english classes in college" so I think I'm gonna have to sit out a few plays here until the game starts.

same here brother, I love reading DT thouhg.

And now for something completely different, I can't read or hear the phrase "What do you do?" (as written by Jon in the story) without hearing Dennis Hopper saying to Keanu, "Pop quiz, hotshot!"

102, 104 - My wife went to school with a lady named Vandelay... and yes, she was the source of that name on "Seinfeld".

I think the Angels would rather have J.D. Salinger than J.C. Romero today.

I think my favorite part of "The Puerto Rican Day Parade" episode was having all three of the male characters using their pseudonyms in the same scene.

That and Kramer yelling "Ay, mucho trafico!"

104 I think they're mocking me there. I've never worked for Saab, but my brother used to. And I toured a Volvo factory once.

Can I have more goo to go?

I'd like to trade Jake Barnes for Jake Gittes and get a local boy on the team. It would keep Plaschke happy, and we wouldn't want Two Jakes - it could be very disappointing.

And do you think Arturo Bandini is available? Let's trade Gatsby for him - for the heart and soul factor.

I need to do more reading.

Rob Fukuzaki says Drew's out for the night because of a strained quadricep tendon.

Signing Beowulf would produce clubhouse chemicals akin to Kirk Gibson.

Why is Repko starting?

We are facing a righty and Loney can play the outfield.

120 Oh, man. Sign that guy Grendel! What a mssher!

And for the owner, Ebenezer Scrooge.

Oops, sorry about the server freeze there. I turned the site monitor off and forgot to turn it back on. My bad.

[124] He's the owner of my all Brit team :P

SS: Artful Dodger (Oliver Twist)
CF: Robinson Crusoe
3B: Aragorn (LotR)
LF: MacBeth
RF: Alex (A Clockwork Orange)
1B: Victor Frankenstein
2B: Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)
C: Winston Smith (1984)
P: Zaphod Beeblebrox (HHGttG)

Felt cold with no Toaster.
Like last night,I feel we need to get to this guy while we can.

121 I feel your pain.
Furcal's been leading off with extra bases very often.

Corey Sullivan amuses me almost as much as the idea that you need Derek Lowe to get him out.

scary times in the ballgame.

126 I think you need a place on the bench for Lord Peter Wimsey, the greatest cricket player Oxford has ever seen.

131 -- Well played.

131 - Except, wasn't it Eton?

First off, I'm releasing Bloom -- have you seen the garbage that guy eats.

I'm brining Billy Pilgrim up from AAA to play second; I know Plaschke thinks he has makeup issues, but I think he can hold it together and, in the end, transcend.

I hate to lose McMurphy, but I'm trading him and Caulfield to Chicago for Studs Lonigan and Carl Sandburg. Lonigan was mdae to play first base, and I think big-shouldered yet cerebral Sandburg will be our catcher for ten years.

Finally, I agree that Gatsby's a faker. Maybe if we put him on waivers he'll charm someone into biting. Think that Odysseus fella's got one more good year in him? I know he's a journeyman, but . . .

[131] Good idea as we would not want one of those war flashbacks occurring in the field. Also on the bench can go his aptly named right hand man Mervyn Bunter.

Folks see that A-Rod threw another DP ball into right field?

[133] Both if I recall.

http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=283&p=2&c=555682

Jon Meloan article!

way to squeeze the rooke ump.

Hunter Wendelstedt behind the plate. He was fighting muscle memory to call that swing and miss a strike.

139 -- no kidding. That 2-2 pitch to Atkins was right there.

honestly, that was ridiculous. Grady needs to argue for his young guys.

haven't read the whole thread, but I'd trade for Edmund Dantes and hit him clean up.

Can Santiago from Old Man and the Sea be our manager?

If Grits was going to get thrown out of a game, yesterday would have been a better one. Maybe Martin could get switched up and "miss" a high hard one.

131, 133, 137 -- Just so. Eton and Balliol College, Oxford. Wimsey is about the fourth name on this thread that I've recognized.

137 Yup.

FYI, jon. on the radio this afternoon they mentioned that chery tieg was at the dodger game last night. You have a great eye.

Does anybody think that Billingsley might have been a few pitches away from Las Vegas right there? When you've got guys like Sele/Tomko in the wings and you can't throw a strike in the 3rd... wonder how much rope they'll give him if that sort of rookiness continues.

Dummy Hoy? Who allows themself to be nicknamed Dummy?

Who allows themself to be nicknamed Dummy?

That's like throwing chum in front of hungry sharks.

Kent took a pitch. Did we like that better?

He's patient as an emergency room nurse.

Ah, Holden Caulfield. A character in a book that I actually liked. I love how he referred to everyone as a phony.

Sorry if this has been mentioned but...
I know there have been some mentions of Cheryl Tiegs sightings last night. I was at the game and she actually threw out the first pitch and then was involved in some late inning contest. So she was there in "official capacity".
Sorry to say it but Father time is apparently her Daddy.

148- no, the wild Billingsley is still a better pitcher than BJ and Sele.

134 I'd rather have the Bloom from the Producers. Is it Leo?(as played by Gene Wilder)
148 I think you are close to right. Although as long as Bills gets the results he has, I think he would get at least two consecutive disasters to get sent dowm.

Thanks for the Meloan article Nate.

I like how most of the prospects are as old as me.

this ump sucks.

Yea, he's been getting squeezed all game

honestly, the strike zone is messing with chad's head. this is unreal.

Is Billingsley as wild as Gameday is making him look? He's not even near the strike zone, if Gameday is any indication.

Even if the ump is squeezing him some, this is pathetic. How long is this going to go on?

Gameday tells me those pitches were balls. I trust my Gameday.

Nate, did you see my note earlier that today is Sal Fasono's birthday?

Chad's gotta stop looking into the dugout between pitches, it's looks almost as if he's waiting for Grady to come get him.

Watching Billz pitch is the kind of thing that turns off casual baseball watchers.

Billingsley gets squeezed every game.
That, or he's just not a very good pitcher at this point in his career.

He is, in my opinion, more wild than a Major League Pitcher should ever be.

Cory Sullivan attempting to sacrifice with the pitcher on deck.

Why not just bat Sullivan 9th?

Why not just bat Sullivan 9th?

Because Barmes should be batting there...?

164

no. but he is this game. and i dont think someone who is "watching" on gameday can make an accurate statement if he is or isn't.

Billingsly's wildness is no match for Clint Hurdle's being an idiot.

Clint Hurdle is one of a kind - call for a bunt when a pitcher is clearly struggling with his command. I used to call Cory Sullivan the left handed Repko. Now, that's an insult to Repko.

162

yea i saw that. ive been to busy (drunk) to really do my mock birthday party for him today.

Apparently the umpire isnt affecting Jason Jennings. He hasnt walked anyone.

Where's Bloom's share? Where's Leo Bloom's share?

I thought that's who jon was talking about.

"don't jump on me!"

Billingsley deserves credit for consistently being able to get himself out of jams. For all his wildness, he seems to keep his wits about him, so kudos to Chad for that.

However, pitchers have to be able to deal with umpires' varying strike zones. Billingsley allegedly has good "stuff," so at some point he needs to trust that stuff and just throw it over.

Billingsley has done a remarkable job of walking a tightrope the last three innings. It's time to pull him, whether or not the Dodgers get to his spot in the batting order this inning.

Betemit is a monster. I love Vin
"How ever did the Dodgers get Wilson Betemit for Danys Baez"
I'm a big Wilber fan, but he's no Betemit.

174
I was just thinking the same thing. It is something how Chad can get himself in so much trouble with so little damage. That must say something for his stuff. I think there is a lot of reason to believe he will be great... at some point.

if we score this inning, whisky sours all around!

If Billingsley is throwing so many strikes, why aren't the hitters swinging...?

175 I disagree. Pulling him now puts the Dodgers at a disadvantage in the pen. It would be better to let him try to get through 5 or 6 innings.

Jennings' slider is nasty.

Apparently the umpire isnt affecting Jason Jennings. He hasnt walked anyone.
Jennings has better control than Billingsley. He's also not a rookie.

I wish I had a whiksey sour right now.

*whiskey

Billingsley is at 85 pitches.
Keeping him out there for the heart of the Rockies order in the 5th is an unwise maneuver.

180 -- I would prefer that you are right and that I am wrong.

I do prefer Leo Bloom to Leopold.
I can't get into criticizing our pitchers, who only give up one run in the first half of a game, when in the last two games the only people able to bat in a run have been Lowe and Lofton. I'm afraid this streakiness could be due to having too many people with a herd mentality.(ie. if they can't hit him, I can't.)

Billingsley may be getting squeezed, but he's also been very wild. That first pitch to Helton just now was a foot outside at Helton's eyes, and he had little control during the duration of the at bat.

Gameday is telling me that the first 3 balls to Helton were about as high and outside as intentional balls...

Billingsley just threw the same pitch described in 187 to Atkins. It was a foot inside at Atkins' eyes, barely missing the face. But he had enough control with the other pitches apparently.

177

In that sense Chad reminds me a lot of Kaz Ishii, although I certainly am not equating the two.

What I find the most frustrating is that Chad isn't getting hit -- he's allowing fewer than one hit per inning pitched. If he could just his control under control (ha) he could one of the nastiest rookie arms around.

Obviously, Chad has a ton of potential and figures to play a huge role in the Dodgers' future, but we also need him to contribute now. It would be helpful if he could start to figure this out.

Great finish to the inning by Billingsley. He showed a lot of poise tonight. He had terrible command, but was able to get out of a lot of jams. He doesn't get rattled. Very un-Jeff Weaver like.

Billingsley's HR rate isnt anything special. He doenst K many people.

I think that he isnt getting hit might be due to some luck. Its amazing his ERA is as low as it is, considering all of his peripherals. He really hasnt pitched well at all this year, except for the Marlins game.

Why are we wasting Drew right now?

Is Billingsley "clutch"...?

[194] ...or is it swagger?

They have to double switch Repko out right?
If they dont, they are burning Drew awfully early.

Billingsley is the truth. he defies all "logic"

Joey, I know you are a gameday watcher who likes to use stats to judge players, but you also have to at least consider what scouts say. Having good makeup is extremely important for a pitcher. It's the difference between a good pitcher and a Jeff Weaver.

Fur-kel has now reached his career OPS (.756)

197
Lets nickname him the Truth.

There's more than 'makeup' that separates Jeff Weaver from being a good pitcher.

192

I don't think Billingsley's success in preventing hits is due to much luck at all; he's been very consistent. He's only once allowed as many as seven hits in a start, and that was on June 26th, eight starts ago (counting tonight).

Nomar gets The Job™ done

I was going to say Nomar used up all his clutch in the first half, but a run looks good.
I doubt its enough but we have time.

Bills could get a win tonight while Lowe took the loss last night. If that's not fodder for the "win-stat-haters" I don't know what is.

It'd be disingenious of me to attack Mark Hendrickson's peripherals, but look the other way on Chad Billingsley.

That has nothing to do with what each may become in the future, its simply a present day assessment of each one.

Billingsley isnt a very good pitcher right now.

The adventures of Milton Bradley, contd....

http://www.modbee.com/sports/story/12569439p-13279616c.html

It is not Billingsley's job to NOT walk batters. It is not Billingsley's job to strike out batters. Billingsley's job is to keep runs off the board, and in his first couple months in the majors he has done that better than every member of the Dodger starting rotation not named Brad Penny. That he hasn't looked dazzling or even pretty doing it is irrelevent, though I expect those types of performances will be numerous in Billingsley's future.

Billingsley
2.14 G/F ratio (and now) 9 GIDP

BJ is a flyball pitcher who doesn't strike anyone out and really doesn't have any above average pitches.

I love Whisky sours. But I can't believe anyone as young as Nate likes them. I wouldn't have been caught dead drinking a whisky sour when I was younger.

Yea...that's why Billingsley is better than Sele

208 Yeah, but having a K/BB of .7 isn't conducive to not allowing runs. Billingsley is doing his job, but if he keeps pitching like this, he won't be so great at it in the future.

210
I like them too, but for some reason I think of them as more of a "winter" drink, with margaritas being the "summer" counterpart

+1 for Whiskey Sours.

Way to hold that lead. I've seen a few teams like this but it will take me till after the game to find the rules that describe the D's.

I don't feel good about this game at all. It's been very unenjoyable for me If we win this thing I'll be surprised.

mmmm....margaritas

we were too lazy to make margaritas today. we did make moquitos (sp?) though and some other fancy drinks that requires an umbrella.

Billingsley's just turned 22. His command will improve.

216 I feel better about this game than I did about last night's game, especially after Drew exited.

For anyone here in L.A., there is a restaurant in Eagle Rock called Colombo's where they make incredibly strong drinks. Two of their margaritas has me spinning. Their motto is "we're known for our generous pour".

218 Hey Nate, what time did you start with those? Seems like it was the afternoon. I wouldn't be able to type by this point.

Mojitos? A cuban cocktail I don't really care for.

Since I can already see what road this conversation is going to take, I'm not saying Bills will never be good, I'm just saying that he's not very good right now.

218
Margaritas on the rocks are much easier to make than the frozen version

220 I don't have that feeling in my bones. Something's missing tonite. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe I'm just not concentrating hard enough.

225 IMO on the rocks is the only way to drink a margarita.

My friend loves mojitos, I have never tried one. Man you guys are making me want to drink.

224 I would agree that any pitcher who walks six in five innings is not doing very well. Giving up only one run tells us something but it's not likely sustainable. But watching him now gives you strong reason to believe he can/will be good.

226 Something's missing tonite

The offense? :)

222

i dunno, probably around 3. i took a break after i did a spa sesh. but the night is young and im a loser because im in my buddies room watching the dodger game and talking to you guys while the whole world is out in the living room with loud music.

my devotion to the dodgers runs THAT deep.heh

After the Rox failed to get Billingsley, I started to fell pretty good about this game.

231 All on a Thursday. Man, I wish I were a kid again.

I don't have that feeling in my bones. Something's missing tonite. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe I'm just not concentrating hard enough.

If i was drunk enough, i would think you are trying to tell us you have "special powers" or something.

225. Agreed. And believe it or not, Cheesecake Factoty makes an Ultimate Margarita that as big as their dinner portions and seems to be 90% tequila.

Any drink with American whiskey (Boubon) is apt to be good, as I am reminding myself.

229 I agree, the guy will be a stud. I'm just trying to cover my bases so I don't end up having to explain why Justin Verlander is better than Jeff Weaver.

From Dodgers.com:

Infielder Ramon Martinez will sign autographs Monday at the Valu Plus in Baldwin Park from 1-2 p.m.

Perfect margarita at Margaritaville is pretty much all tequilla.

212 -- You are assuming that Billingsley's BB rate and K rate are going to continue into the future. Apparently statheads quite illogically believe in "regression to the mean," but not "progression to the mean." Billingsley's current BB rates and K rates are completely at variance with his minor league rates, and he has logged many, many more minor league innings over three years than he has MLB innings in two months.

And my, didn't Sele show Billingsley how to be a good pitcher, per JoeyP. He didn't walk anybody and struck out 2 in one inning. Who cares if he ERA for the game stands at 9.00?

Jennings, in 9 of his last 10 starts, has given up 2 ER or less. He's pitching as good as I've ever seen him today. He's really working the outside corners and changing speeds exceptionally well. He's pitching like an ace.

Steak houses tend to make really good Margaritas.

212 -- You are assuming that Billingsley's BB rate and K rate are going to continue into the future. Apparently statheads quite illogically believe in "regression to the mean," but not "progression to the mean." Billingsley's current BB rates and K rates are completely at variance with his minor league rates, and he has logged many, many more minor league innings over three years than he has MLB innings in two months.

And my, didn't Sele show Billingsley how to be a good pitcher, per JoeyP. He didn't walk anybody and struck out 2 in one inning. Who cares if he ERA for the game stands at 9.00?

is it ironic that i live in Santa *Margarita"?

is it ironic that i live in Santa Margarita?

Oh, good,a strikeout

My new drink of choice when I'm out and want to look like I know what I'm doing is the "sidecar." It seems pretty similar to a whiskey sour, but is more "sophisticated"...

Martin should have handled that K. Instead Helton's at 1st. This doesn't look promising.
Sele got the ground ball but it found the hole. Oh boy. 1st and 2nd.

Nate, do you live in Rancho Santa Margarita?

It's just not meant to be tonite.

243 True, I am completely baffled as to why Bills is walking so many people, but the fact that only Daniel Cabrera has a higher walk rate is indicative of a problem.

244-245
Wow, and I used to swim in Whiskey-town lake...!

Why don't throw throw these dipsticks out of the stadium who bring beach balls?

I drank a lot of "cable cars" the last party I was at. I have no idea what's in them but they were tasty.

Canuck, you're making some good points, but per the earlier discussion in the comments today about how we address each other, you're making them in a fairly aggresive way. I don't think you need to have such exasperation. Just relax a little.

249

yep. with a murder rate of... 1 since its conception.

[253] I went to the beach the other day and the first thing I noticed was the complete absence of beach balls. But I was listening to the ball game on the radio so I felt as though they were there in spirit.

Did someone say Whiskeytown? Great band.

Nice, Torrealba.

Santa Margarita High School is still the only school I've been to that has both an equestrian team and a bell tower.

JoeyB!!

That perked me a little bit. Now prove me wrong and win this mama.

260

heh my alma mater.

243 Of course moving to the mean goes both ways. But using minor league numbers to directly suggest a true skill level makes no sense. If that worked, the pool of players able to play in the majors would be considerably larger. Billingsly has a significant problem right now at the major league level. I can't explain it, but I also can't just look at his minor league numbers and be confident that all will be o.k.

Repko tries to pull everything.

Jennings is really painting that outside edge off the plate. Really sharp.

256 Cool, I lived there from '89 - '00 when there was only one supermarket and a couple restaurants. Hung out at Daily's Sports Bar quite a bit. Carson Palmer was a man amongst boys at SMHS. Been back a few times, there is a lot more convenience now.

254
Hey Marty, I looked up that Cable Car and it sounded so good, I went and made myself one. Had to replace the Orange Curacao with Triple Sec but should be right.
Not bad! Cheers!

Jerry told me that when he moves to Bountiful, he's going to make the intentional walk cool again.

It's indicative of an umpire that wouldn't call a strike if you held a gun to his head.

Furcal draws the walk. I say send Furcal on 1 of the 1st 2 pitches, hope he makes it, and pray Lofton delivers again.

264 -- Counting tonight, Repko is 4-for-25, all singles, and no RBI since his return from the DL.

Ray King does his own version of Tai Chi.

267 Cheers yourself! I'm settling for a decent Cabernet right now.

267 Cheers yourself! I'm settling for a decent Cabernet right now.

Wow, I rarely double-post. Must be the booze.

[267] Orange Curacao, Cable Car? Sounds like the drink of a Giant fan. Use Blue Curacao and call it a traffic jam and we'll be in business :)

Like many people here, I am superstitious about how my actions during a Dodger game will affect its outcome. For example, whenever the Dodgers make the playoffs, I switch to taking showers at night, because that's what I did in 1988. I have a lucky LA cap that must be resting on an upholstered surface at all times during a Dodger game (this is proven!). Also, I am currently not using Gameday, because I didn't use it all throughout the recent streak. So I am stuck refreshing Yahoo's page every 15 seconds.

I am trying to give these quirks up, because I know they are irrational, but no matter what I can't shake the feeling that something I'm doing is changing the game somehow. A sort of baseball butterfly effect.

Anyway, part of my recovery from these habits includes occasional viewing of a movie called "Frequency." It's about a guy who is able to communicate over a ham radio with his late father, decades in the past, so that he can try and save his dad's life. He is only able to convince his father that he is a voice from the future by predicting the exact events of a baseball game. As a result of his meddling, events are altered irreparably and catastrophe ensues, which is the case in all time-travel movies. But the baseball games remained a constant, fixed in stone. No matter how differently people acted, the events in baseball games were entirely unaffected.

I think we should all take heart in the constancy of baseball, and its independence from the desires and thoughts of its fans, or else come November we'll be blaming ourselves for what will most likely be another season without a world championship.

Steiner: "Moments like this are made for Nomar"

Nomar doesn't come through. We haven't had an RBI base hit since Tuesday.

I have a bad feeling our good luck charm's due to sour.

274/275. Nothing wrong with double cheers.

276- Yeah, you might be right about that. I'll get some blue curacao for next time.

We now have our 3rd starter in the game with the actualy starter having the fewest careers starts.

Ron Perranoski yes.
Brett Tomko no.

I like Tomko in this relief role.

That sequence of pitches to Carrol from Tomko was awesome. Didn't know Tomko could throw like that. He might really be able to contribute out of the bullpen.

That was Jamey Carroll.

Dodgers have thrown 161 pitches through eight innings.

Bretty gets out it. I don't know what to make of this game.

I have a comment on Billingsley. Many things trouble me about Billz, but one thing I'd like to bring up is that he was only topping out at 91. He was throwing 89-90 for the most part all night. I thought it may have been a slow gun, but Bretty was hitting 94.

287 The gun may still be slow. Tomko has been raring back ever since becoming a reliever.

Corpas, his attorney friends call him "Habeas."

The Rockies have 11 LOB and hit into 2 DPs.
They dont deserve to win.

And Clint Hurdle is their manager.

So um yeah.

We've replaced a $4 million middle reliever with a $3.6 million version

289 - That's great. I understand why Hurdle's taking him out, but I'm not sure it's the best move--Corpas has been lights out.

Clint Hurdle trying to get us the win, just like last night.

And there it goes!

Ethier

If I were gay......

LOL

3.5 booyah!

The Rockies need to lock up Clint Hurdle to a longterm extension now!

I was thinking a Dodger would hit a HR this inning.

Andre!

That's good for what ails you.

Why even turn around Ethier? Its not like he cant hit lefties.

McCourt should send Hurdle a check.

I'm really beginning to belive Hurdle is worse than both Tracy and Dusty.

299 -- I think we should spend our Hochevar money on making sure Clint stays the Rockies manager forever.

299 I think it was the right move. You play to shut the Dodgers out in the 8th. You have 2-3-4 coming up in the 9th. You gamble you score and Fuentes nails it down in the 9th.

303 - Hurdle = "Trusty?"

Let's hear it! R-O-Y R-O-Y R-O-Y

Geez that ump freaked out.

Billz got squeezed on a few pitches. The Rox have no right to argue.

3.5 booyah!

Trusty is good one.

Wendlestedt should be stocking shelves at Food 4 Less.

Clint Hurdle should be putting the tags on.

raking leaves

Ray King apparently hasn't watched the rest of this game if he wants to know where that pitch was - because the two starting pitchers were squeezed like that all night. The strike zone is about as big as a soup can, but, hey, it's consistent!

I can't believe Ethier, a lefty, is batting .356 versus lefties. That's pretty amazing.

Boy, King looks happy, huh?

Or rather, Ethier's now batting .370 versus lefties. Wow.

The Win Expectancy Calculator gives us roughly an 85% chance of winning if we take a 1 run lead into the 9th inning.
vr, Xei

Hah hah. Angel Hernandez, another one of my favorites.

310 We may be able to upgrade him to 3-1/3 if that's the difference maker.

304- we need to save some of that money to ensure that Felipe Alou stays in San Francisco for a very long time.

Isn't Doug Eddings here too, or was that last week? It's like the cast of Mad Mad Mad Mad World is umpiring the game.

Since Ethier's name is clearly R-O-Y, I think his nickname should be "Hobbs". :)

Do you give the ball to Saito again in the 9th tonight? I'd bring Broxton in myself. Or will Tomko stay in and act like a "closer"?

Interestingly, Wendlestedt is near the bottom in walk rate for umpires.

3.5 booyah!

I'm honestly surprised how the Rockies can maintain a 55-58 record, when their lineup is full of banjos and Clint Hurdle is managing. Its really a trip.

okay everytime i refreshed it sends "3.4 booyah"

i didnt type it 10 times. i promise!

So when does MLB start replacing umpires with robots?

Ray King gets kicked out of the game for looking at the umpire...

Some of these umpires have bigger egos than the players

Ethier's only been coming to the plate 4 times a game. He can forget about the batting title.

325 Suprisingly good pitching, I'd say.

325 They have the lowest starter ERA in the NL.

320 Holbrook and Marsh are the other umps.

Ah, here's Saito again. Come on, Sammy-san, don't blow this one.

277 -- Thanks for your honest, revealing posting. When I was a kid, I would chant "(Fill in name of the Dodger who was then batting) is going to hit a home run," again and again and again. My parents never made fun of me for it. It worked the first time I did it -- with Carl Furillo batting -- and a few times subsequently, more than it should have, and so it became somewhat of a habit. I realized that I could do it only sparingly. I haven't done it in a while. But I had a great hunch that Ethier would homer.

325 Are you upset or something? Just asking.

327 See, that's what I was asking about awhile back - why not just make the home plate ump a robot, or a scanner, some kind of computer read strike zone so it's not all over the place.

Jesus.

Well, there goes Saito's save streak.

325, 329 - Atkins, Hawpe, and Holliday make a pretty good 3-4-5 as well.

I can't take it. I'm so used to these streaks of slaughtering or being slaughtered, that these close games are killing me.
Way to hold the lead.

Ugh.

Tomko in line for another "relief" win

Repko with another highlight reel play.

That sucked.

Repko needs to twist his leg again.

I'd really love to knock out Jeff Kent's beaver teeth right now...

Ahhhhh....2005

Now I'm upset. I need to start humming that orphan Annie song.

Um.

WHA...??

Do the Dodgers just not want to play 9th innings any more? They do know there are 9 innings in a game right?

Sounds like Repko did make a good throw to Kent and Kent misfired. But what's up with Saito lately? I'm a little worried...

That wasn't a bad throw.

That was cheap.

It's my fault. I just put on gameday.

That was in no way Kent's fault.

Helton should have been dead at third. KENT!!!! >:0

351 Betemit's then?

Maybe Saito just needs a warm up batter from now on. The first batter doesn't count. Uh-oh, Hawpe's awp, er, up.

What's sad is checking Yahoo and seeing a 1-0 count to Helton, then checking DT and seeing cries of outrage and horror.... and then checking Yahoo again with a deep sinking feeling.

Well, if anything can spark the team up again, it'd be a walkoff in the bottom of the ninth.

344 That was hardly Kent's fault. With Lofton and Repko both out there, it's amazing this is the first time all game a bone-headed OF play was made.

Actually whoever told Repko to play that shallow. That should have been in his range...

Betemit needs to get off the bag and block that throw at all costs.

351- Repko misplayed the ball and turned a double into a possible triple, but a good throw gets Helton at 3B. Helton has lead feet.

Saito sets himself up for the "win"

Well, I'm going to sleep. It is 1 am here in PR and I have work to do tomorrow...

It was Repko's Outfield Misadventures that caused that meltdown.

STOG will save us

I knew Loney should have started over Repko.

I'd sure rather see Lugo in the OF over Repko.

Might as well play the guy all you can for the 8 weeks you have him.

Repko is once again an automatic out.

The billionaires behind Project BROTheR are stirring.

Meanwhile, Lugo came one pitch from being an Honorary Jason, but he avoided his fate.

365 - Yeah, me too. Here comes Kenny with a chance to win it.

Wait a minute. This is Jose Mesa. We have this.

Nice at ba by Lugo. Probably worth stealing here...

Duh

woo hoo! I called it!

3 banjo slappys in the 9th for the win.nice.

Stupid Lofton swinging 2-0!

Hooray for the good guys!

Ken-ny Ken-ny... Come on kissy kissy.

Pulse-rate returning to normal...

Mesa has been LOFTONIZED

Way to go after that 2-0 pitch and win this game.

Thumbs up to Lugo for starting this rally.

Nighty nite folks.

The Timmermann effect comes through. I didn't doubt it for a second.

I knew Loney should have started over Repko.

First place! For at least 10-12 hours.

Ya gotta give K-lo some love tonight, his hitting was on and he came through in the clutch.

Ice Cream for everybody!

Hooray

Great "win" for Saito tonight.

When was the last time we were in first place...?

Did you see Lugo trying to pad his stats by getting that run? Despicable!

Whoohoo! First place.

Say, how does Lugo score from second on a single to left? I only saw GameChannel. Was Lugo in motion? Was it really like a double but Lofton doesn't need to advance since Lugo scored?

Im still here, great win!!!

383 Right before the all-star break, I think.

The comeback is complete. From "out of it" to 1st place... in 13 days.

385 I was listening to it on the radio, can't say for sure but I think Lugo was going, and also: he's very, very fast.

[384] It's all about the draft picks, baby.

385- A decent throw gets Lugo. It was a pretty crappy one, that the catcher went ahead and dropped, too.

385

It could have been close, but it was a bad throw from left, on the first base side of home that got past yorvit

385 A very bad throw by Holliday helped. That Lofton's hit was so weak and took a while to get to Holliday also helped. Lugo was not in motion.

The throw was way off line. I agree with 391's assessment that a decent throw would have nailed Lugo at the plate.

385 No, it was a single all the way. Only a fast runner could've scored on that hit.

Lugo was not going. Anybody not named Saenz better score from 2nd on a single in that situation.

385 And also, what 391 said.

It almost would have been worth it, just for the meltdowning. But winning the game is probably better.

391 Yeah, except the throw was rushed because Lugo can run. It was a desperation heave. It would have been a great play if they'd nailed him.

In 1st for the first time since 6/26

Donnelly would have been a major league goat, because he would have been out by roughly a Ja(y)son.

Despite the fact the Dodgers won, I think we should all argue about something. What do y'all say?

402

I say we argue about Billingsley's walks, a popular topic

402- sadly, Repko has returned to being Cory Sullivan's right handed twin and I can no longer say that Repko deserves to start over Lofton.

Lugo may be fast, but he rounded third by going twenty feet out of the baseline, for no particular reason. A decent throw, with good placement gets him. From where I'm sitting, anyway.

Let's argue about where we're going to sit during the NLDS.

If the Dodgers win tomorrow, they will have followed 1-13 with 13-1, and hence be .500 since the break.

Hmm, I just saw the highlights on SportsCenter (already!) - so the throw was rushed, Lugo was motoring, it would have been a close play at the plate had Torrealba caught it, if it was on target it would have been close, but it didn't look like any done deal regardless. At any rate, three straight speedsters can be tough outs.

402 Personally, I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony.

403 Naw, I'm already bored with that one. How about we argue about Rich Donnelly? Or umpires vs. robots? Or Gamera vs. Godzilla?
Or... I think I'm going to bed. Night all!

three straight speedsters can be tough outs

That explains the Cubs juggernaught - it's all that speed they have.

He had a lot of them.

Furcal, since July 4: 364/418/564/982, with 21 runs scored in 33 games.

Great win, makes last nights blowup all the more painful as the streak could've been at a record tie-ing level. Luckily, I was able to get ahold of a new superstition that quickly stopped the Dodger losing streak at one. Game two won't have a superstition riding on it as we need to get to a 2 or 3 game win streak for the new superstition to appear. A few comments on the late innings. Betemit needs to do a better job of blocking Kent's throw. Saito needs to do a better job of backing it up. It looked like Betemit didn't even touch the ball, so what happened on the backup. Not backing up throws correctly is a baseball pet peeve of mine. Another pet peeve surfaced when Repko struck out in the 9th inning. Every pitch he swung and missed on was a ball. Kudos to Lugo for being patient and drawing the walk. Also, that throw from the Rockies LFer on that last play was pretty awful. He had the ball in his glove before Lugo even reached 3rd base. The catcher never took his mask off, is that normal for a catcher to take a throw on a play at the plate with his mask still on? Tonight we should've lost, last night we should've won. It all evened out.
vr, Xei

Here's a story about Clint Hurdle that is worth reading. It appeared about a year ago in USA Today:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/rockies/2005-09-12-hurdle-family-cover_x.htm

411 Can be, doesn't mean it often is... ;-) (Helps when the speedsters are also good hitters.)

Btw, in the "Nice try, no cigar dept.", from tonight's game:
http://tinyurl.com/kld58

I never noticed Ethier's opposite field power before, has he hit many to left?

"Look at the run they've made now that Kent is back in the lineup." - Some yahoo on SC for Miltie's enjoyment :)

415. Nice heartwarming story. Hurdle seems like a good man. It's easy to bash people, especially when it comes to sports and often difficult to remember that each one of them is an individual many with real life problems that we would all not want to deal with. Doesn't matter if you hit 50 home runs, blow 10 saves, or trip out in right field on routine fly balls, we are all equal opportunity partners in the game of life off the field.
vr, Xei

418. haha, the streak has more to do with the deep scrub the bullpen got with the departure of Perez and Baez. vr, Xei

1. The Dodgers win and are now in first place
2. The Pirates lost and have the worst record in the NL and 2nd worst in baseball
3. Geoff Blum has started the Padres last 7 games
4. We have Wilson Betemit and the Padres don't

Oh, happy day.

That was the only fourth home run the Dodgers have hit in the nine games I've been to in person.

Two by Ethier
One by Kent
One by Drew

Nevertheless, the Dodgers are 6-3 when I attend.

419 Lot's of nice people suck at their job. Most of them aren't making a boat load of cash to suck. It's hard for me to accept any heart tugging stories of sports "heroes" - or even the less than heroic, as the case may be.

Apparently Ethiers opposite feild power is a big deal. I had only noticed he had an ability to hit the ball where it was pitched.
What is strange is how much we owe to K. Lofton's bat this season. From the Babe on I thought hand eye coordination was the hardest thing. But Kenny is losing his ability to judge balls in the field, while hitting as well as he ever has.
Some nights he seems to be the only guy to hit in the clutch.

423. Bah-humbug?
vr, Xei

The Dodgers went 3-1 in the series. Could have done better but could have done worse. :-/

Since I've been Lugo's biggest fan since he's been a Dodger, yes, his rounding 3rd was a tad bit wide, but no matter, since if the throw would have been on-line Lugo is out anyway. Lofton's hit was a one-bouncer to the left fielder who was able to field the ball in position to throw to home. So write this one up to that horrible throw from left field [so an out with a good throw went to a stand-up score (since Lugo could see how far up the line YT had gone to retrieve the errant throw)]. And, yes, no doubt Lugo's speed played some as yet not understood [in the medical science (neurological) sense] role in our man in left making that rather errant throw.

Oh, and I would have scored that "hit" last night in the 9th as an error, not so much because no out was recorded at first, but because Lugo should have kept the ball in the infield. Betemit should have done the same tonight [and he was in the better position to do so]. But, hey, we all have our moments.

Oh, and underdog, it's Gamera all the way! Now if you had brought Godzilla's little one into the discussion, well, how does that movie go, with the Ichiro that we can like, calling Monster Island, calling Monster Island...see:

http://tinyurl.com/j5kbc
http://tinyurl.com/h9k7e

427 Ever see the MST3K Gamera episodes? Pretty funny. "Gamera is really neat/He is filled with turtle meat." Those kids were annoying as heck, but good fun.

LOS ANGELES - Randle P. McMurphy and Leopold Bloom have been traded for Jack Tripper and Keith Partridge.

The team is also paying the remainder of Bloom's contract.

FYI

Time Warner On Demand is now available. Go to On Demand. click ok more On Demand go to local and then go to sports.

5 videos now available

1981 Game 5 NLCS the last 24 min of the game. starts in the top of the 9th inning

1981 NLCS postgame 5 after show

Another video about the 81 WS

A video about Fernando

intro video

The longest video is 37 minutes and the shortest 7 minuets.

Very cool to watch the nith inning of Gm 5 NLCS. Need to add more content down the road.

424

I don't think his opposite power is that big a deal, I just don't remember seeing it before. But, it is nice to see him be able to hit it out on a pitch away rather than relying on a pitch he can pull to right.

I'm glad to see that in almost every game K-Loft is exceeding my expectations for him on offense. I didn't think he would be a great addition to the team, but am happy to admit that I underestimated him.

Clearly the GM is an illiterate boob.

Ethier's hit chart: http://tinyurl.com/onakm

His XBHs seem to be hit to right field, but he flies out en masse to the opposite side.

429 Ah nuts! We're gonna miss having a guy around who can eat with relish the inner organs of beasts and fowls. What about Leo Bloom (theatrical accountant for Max Bialystock)? Is he available? He's good for some late inning hysterics.

403 - Yeah, Bills had a tough night with the control, but he wasn't getting the corners from the home plate ump either. Was that strike zone the size of a gnat?
414 - I failed to see any mention of why Repko had that ball hit over his head in the first place? Isn't the 9th when you play deep so a ball doesn't get over your head unless it's a homer? Once he knew it was over his head, he should have just played the carom of the fence and held the slow-footed Helton to two bases. Saito proceeded to strike out the next three.
Kudo to Lugo's eye in the 9th and the clutch hits by Raffy and K-Lo and of course Ethier who would have been the hero if not the 9th inning misplay. I will savor 1st place for night and gear up for the "Hated Ones".

Good to see Chuck Lamar at work again.

Thus far, Dodgers on Demand has not appeared on my Time Warner Cable.

Then again, I'm in San Diego.

5-5 against the Giants this year 3-4 here, 2-1 at SBC. If we go 4-2 the rest of the homestand, that's a 7-3 homestand, I will take that anytime. I am looking for consistency the rest of the way. 47 games left - 27, 28 wins should be enough in a division where teams beat up on each other.

431 Its all to the good. Ethier is a pleasure. Many seem to have trouble w/Lofton's success, but I'll take it.
Hope several prospects work out as well.

Broadcasters jinxing perfect games discussion (.wav file). Wierd stuff. vr, Xei
http://tinyurl.com/s7j3a

438. 7 games here and 3 there? With 3 more being played here?? Does that mean we still have 7 more games At SF? Yikes.
vr, Xei

The Dodgers gained 8 games in 15 days and they did it without playing the team that was ahead of them, San Diego. The Padres went 4-9 compared to the Dodgers 12-1.

Since the Trade deadline, the Padres have gone 3-6, the Dodgers 9-1.

I know Jon's earlier piece about the energy it takes to make a big move and how it takes a lot out of you, that is what will make the next few weeks important for the Dodgers, outside of the 3 games with the Marlins, they will be division teams in 12 out of those 15 games. If they can continue to win series, they should be in good shape.

The last time they won as many as 4 series in a row was in May when they won 6 series in a row on their way to a 7-1-1 record for a total of 20 wins out of 28 games.

441 No, six games left there.

422 Did you get a towel?

Record in games I have attended 7-4, I have seen 13 Dodger home runs in those games.

[430 & 437] Dodgers on Demand is available in my area (West Valley) and it also has the last four Inside the Dodger episodes, player and staff profiles, Dodger News and something about the 2006 Draft.

I got a towel. It's in my glove compartment. I figure I might need to mop something up sometime.

442 An example might be the Angels, they trailed the A's by 7 games prior to their game against the Dodgers on July 2nd.

By the All Star Break it was down to 2, it took them 10 or so days to tie it up and then just less than 4 weeks after they trailed by 7, they had a half game lead. Since then, they have lost 4 games off that and now trail the A's by 3 1/2 with a tough schedule ahead of them for the next 2 weeks or so.

The question will be, can they battle back and will their injuries and schedule allow them to climb back if they fall back anymore.

That's what I see for the Dodgers who climbed back much, much faster, will they now be able to win series and go 7 out of 10 for the next month or so, if they can do that, they should be in the playoffs for sure.

Listened to the 3rd inning onward while driving across Idaho and tuning in to KOA 850 AM from Denver. That's about 800 miles away. We also picked up stations from Albuquerque and San Francisco. I love tuning in baseball games on AM radio during long drives.

Here's how the evening went:

* Ran into a nasty wind/dust storm outside of Boise. Drove through a swirling sea of tumbleweeds, while Billingsley dealt with a cascade of walks. We both got out of the trouble safely.

* Hit a full-stop traffic jam in Nampa, with the entire interstate shut down due to construction. Meanwhile, Sele came out of the Dodger bullpen and gave up the tying run and many nailbiting moments. Each pitch he threw was as excruciating as the bumper-to-bumper traffic.

* Drove up into the Blue Mountains in eastern Oregon, the signal fading in and out. Ethier hits a homer to put the Dodgers up -- static -- Helton comes around to tie the game on a bad play by Repko, Kent, Betetmit -- static -- Lugo, Furcal, Lofton win the game, just in the nick of time before the station faded. A nice end to a very long drive.

I love the Dodgers. Good night from Baker City, Oregon.

underdog:

No, never got the chance, though I saw other MST features. But, hey, if you can't poke fun at that certain genre of Japanese monster movies, then what can one poke fun at? And call it whatever one wants to call it, but one of the "wonders" of life is that one could truly enjoy such films when one was but a lad and now have a laugh at their expense. And maybe rather than some of the negative reviews I've read, some might consider instead that it was all genius, since some understood that we might watch their movie as enchanted little children and then grow up to watch it for laughs.

gibsonhobbs88:

Simply pray that we win each and every series from here on out. That should do it. And for some hope in the interim, both Lowe and Kent remarked on the same after last night's loss. So at least we know that two minds are running the right program.

[429] Trying to draw more females to the stadium?

The Brits will trample you :)

[446] Is the back seat of the Prius big enough for that...

Good night everybody!

Xeifrank:

Not only perfect games. Replay the last few games. Everything that has gone wrong, the exact thing, has been immediately preceded by some comment from Vin to the opposite. One example is last night's comment on the previously stellar fielding. Then came, as in immediately, the ninth inning meltdown. Either that or I'm simply hallucinating.

By the way, I think we all deserve congratulations for not going for the cheap no-wood joke about Jake Barnes. It was a war wound, people! No laughing matter.

Repko speaks out (or kind of does) about the ball he misplayed.
http://tinyurl.com/ehhwj
vr, Xei

[440] It's against baseball etiquette to report a perfect game on TV. Slavery is acceptable. You do the math.

I just watched a nicely dated interview of Jayson Werth where he speaks optimstically of rehabbing his wrist injury.

Werth says that Jim Tracy is a good manager to play for.

Too tired to link it but Tim Brown has an interview with J.D Drew in today's (August 11th) issue of the LA Times where two things seem pretty clear, Drew isn't going anywhere and he thinks next year (if not this year) he would not mind batting 2nd.

Drew 2nd, huh? Interesting...

Furcal ss
Drew rf
Nomar 1b
Kent 2b
Ethier LF
Martin C
Betemit 3B
Lofton CF

That's a good lineup... but Lofton would probably throw a hissyfit.

These are four songs I would love to hear tonight on the Dodger Stadium speakers as Barry Bonds slowly strolls into the batters box.
1. The Beatles - Taxman
2. The Pretenders - Mystery Achievement
3. Otis Redding - Mr. Pitiful
4. Patti Smith - Kimberly

Brown's article states that Drew would bat second if Lofton weren't playing.

Drew also didn't seem to care for Tony La Russa's comments about him from "Three Days in August."

I take Drew's comment as another way of saying, "I don't have the HR power I did a couple seasons ago."

I love Grady Little sometimes. His quote in the Times this morning when talking about the Dodgers' inability to execute a rundown:

"He fit right in with the way we do rundowns," Little joked of Betemit. "He's a Dodger. He thought he could catch him and it looked like Olmedo [Saenz] trying to catch me in a footrace; he just couldn't quite do it."

He's funny ha-ha, whereas Jim Tracy was sometimes funny peculiar.

The Dodgers have the fourth best bench among playoff contenders, according to ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?id=2544250

The Mets, now that they have Ricky Ledee, apparently have the second best.

463 You'd better watch out for the White Sox, they have Rob Maciowiak and Alex Cintron!

Question from the game last night. When Wendlestedt went nuts at Ray King, Torrealba, the Rox catcher, went out and got in front of the ump, bumping him in the process. Isn't that completely verboten and shouldn't he, by rule (not sanity) incur some sort of wrath ???

Again, I am not advocating in favor of it -- Wendlestedt was way over-reacting and Torrealba was peace-making -- but isn't it automatic when you touch an ump, no matter the circumstances ???

465
No, with umpires I don't think there is anything that is automatic. What you describe is certanly a general rule but far from a hard and fast one. Otherwise you would see a catcher pat one on the back after a joke and be suspended for 10 games.

Hey Bob- You seem like the perfect person to ask this question: What's the difference between a dry sense of humor and a wry sense of humor?

466 Greg, reasonable point. I guess I'm thinking of times when the player/coach/manager has been the one doing the arguing and in the course of the argument inadvertently bumps the ump (albeit while trying to get in the ump's face).

A dry sense of humor tends to have less emotion attached to it. It's more deadpan.

A wry sense of humor tends to involve more twists of meaning of language.

468
Even then, I think you'll find that umpires' acts of discipline vary more than their strike zone. The stories I've heard from ballplayers are mind boggling. Some umps will bait players in ways you wouldn't believe, going as far as intentionally missing a call and then telling the player he's done so. I'm sure that's extreme but my understanding is that that type of behavior happens more than you might think.

469
Well then, you sir possess a dry/wry sense of humor.

Don't know if this has been posted before.

Matt Kemp cumlative stats(ML/AAA/AA):

.314/.382/.519**

He has 28 Doubles, 6 Triples and 15 HR's in 414 PA's. Throw in 25 for 28 in sb's just for fun.

My humor tends to by dry. Wry never works for me, although I wish it did.....

**I had to approximate OBP since I couldn't pull all the components from his minor league numbers.

cr

471

I consider myself a five tool humorist.

470 I can't say I'm surprised by that. Disappointed, but not surprised. Unfortunately there is no way (at least that I am aware of) to hold umpires publicly accountable. At least not to the degree players, managers, etc. are. Their union has seen to that.

I do need to attempt to be fair however and remember how tough a job they have. Their calls must be made from imprecise information (no, I'm not in favor of instant replay) and must be immediately rendered. The only time they ever hear about it is when they are deemed wrong by others who have far less precise information.

It is when they over step their limits (like Wendlestedt last night and the baiting Greg discusses), and their job does have limits, that they need to have the public accountibility.

473
You have plus irony and can play on words for both giggles and guffaws.
But your spit-takes will need to develop.

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