Why do they salt the shells? Nobody eats the shells, right? So why salt them?

I've eaten whole peanuts, shell and all. It's a different sensation ...

That makes my skin crawl. Really, just the thought of unshelled peanuts bothers me. I don't like the way they feel. It's not as strong as my aversion to newspapers but a little bit stronger than the one I have to velvet.

I watched the Aviator last night.

I would think unshelled peanuts would be a good source of fiber. Maybe a little too good.

But I watched "Inside Man" last night. I was disappointed a bit.

Newspaper feel horrible.

How do they get the salt on the peanut itself when the shell is still on, is what I want to know... Do they inject them? Grow them with salt?

I watched Tristram Shandy and also the Best of Triump the Insult Comic Dog, and was not disappointed by either.

Triumph, that is.

Harump.

6

Evil recombinant DNA scientists, rubbing their hands with despicable glee, have tweaked the salt gene to abominable levels.

Or perhaps they just boil the peanuts in salted water.

I'm allergic to this thread.

My theory is that peanuts taste better at the stadium because the arena offers an expectation of peanut ingestion as well as a sporting event. Along the same lines, I can't imagine eating cotton candy anywhere but at a fair.

My application for an NEA grant to further study this phenomenon is pending.

Cleveland rolled an 11 in the first inning at home versus the Royals.

I've never eaten cotton candy. Primarily because my mother told me I wouldn't like it, so I agreed with her.

When my brother and I took his son to Disneyland, my nephew asked for cotton candy. So we tried the same approach, "You won't like it. We don't like it."

He was not dissuaded. He got his cotton candy. I think he said he liked it to just to spite us.

For whatever reason, boiled peanuts are relatively big out here. Apparently that's a Southern thing.

http://tinyurl.com/fq8e4

We're South, alright, but not in the antebellum way.

I can't think of eating Funnel Cake anywhere but at the fair but if I left the fair without eating some Funnel Cake it would be the 1st time.

14
Yeah, I think boiled peanuts are a Southern thing. They're also disgusting.

You do the math.

I had boiled peanuts in South Carolina about ten years ago.

It was like eating someone else's snot.

My fantasy team has Travis Hafner and Johnny Peralta, so I got 3 runs, 4 rbi and a home run out of that inning. Not bad.

In other news, my buddy got 7th in the WSOP main event for a 2.4 million dollar payday... which is more or less what Chris Moneymaker got 3 years ago for winning the whole thing.

Newspaper feel horrible.

I knew three brothers whose parents went away for two weeks and the guys spent all of the money left for them on beer. After week one, they were out of toilet paper, so they had to use junk mail instead.

You'd literally hear, "Hey man, did the mail come yet? I have to take a..."

12 Cleveland's 11-run first featured Travis Hafner's record-tying 6th grand slam of the season, no?

16,17 -- As my native NC friend says to me every so often, "You don't know what's good". Boiled peanuts are great, especially if purchaed from someone who pronounces them "balled peanuts."

20

I can only type so fast.

21 - like Grady Little?

If Hafner keeps this up, he just might be good enough to be an All-Star® someday...

20 - from the mlb.com headline

Travis Hafner connected for his sixth grand slam of the season Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, becoming just the second person to accomplish the feat.

They also have barbecue sauce in South Carolina that looks exactly like French's yellow mustard.

And the barbecue sauce in North Carolina goes by the name of vinegar in most parts of the country.

23 -- He would be great, tho he speaks way too clearly. Maybe someone from a Coen brothers movie would be better.

the article had a typo and meant Sunday

26
Ugh. The Carolina style barbecue sauce is disgusting.

How did Travis Hafner not make the all star game again? Oh yes, the silly rule about every team having a representative... It's amazing that 6 grand slams in one season merely ties the record.

29 -- D4P, which Carolina BBQ sauce do you mean? You've got your western (tomato based) and eastern (vinegar based). Discussion of this type around here is roughly analogous to northern vs southern Californians arguing water use policy.

I used to think mustard-based BBQ sauce was an unholy abomination, but I've come around on that. Done right, it's pretty good stuff.

31
I like the western (tomato based) and despise the eastern (vinegar based).

33 - Done right, they both are great. For health reasons I sadly only get to eat BBQ a few times a year. The best eastern BBQ IMO is at Wilber's in Goldsboro on US 70, and for western any of the small places in Lexington.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, "President" of Iran, blogger. There's a flag dealy up under the title bar that translates the page in to English.

http://www.ahmadinejad.ir/

34
We only eat BBQ a few times a year as well, usually during the summer. We go to Q-Shack, over by Nana's.

35 I like the links in the sidebar:

www.khamenei.ir
www.leader.ir
www.president.ir
www.irna.ir
www.irib.ir

Yo, NSA? We're kidding!

36 - Q-Shack has the best brisket I have ever had. I miss Q-shack, delicious!

36 -- Locally I agree the Q-shack is great. I also like the BBQ Joint on Mt. Sinai Rd and Allen and Sons on 86.

Anybody interested in BBQ can find dozens of threads on the chowhound.com boards.

I don't think I've tried the brisket, but I think my wife ordered it once. I'm sure I tried some of hers, and probably liked it. I usually get pulled chicken or turkey.

The only other BBQ spot we've tried is Bullock's, which we didn't particularly like. We did get a chuckle, though, over their listing of stuff like "Mac n' cheese" and "French fries" under "Vegetables".

Funny how often the the talk turns to food in here around 12:00.

Ooh, I took the Plaschke bait again this morning. It was filled with extra sanctimony. I think it may have exceeded the RDA for sanctimoniousness.

42
Regarding RDA: are we supposed to get between zero and the RDA of particular substances, without going over, or are we supposed to get exactly the RDA, without going over?

For example, if I look at the RDA for a particular vitamin, I would assume that I should get that much every day. However, if I look at the RDA for saturated fat, I would think I would probably be better off getting less than that, rather than as much as the RDA suggests.

Any thoughts...?

42 First Kelvin Kim leaves the basketball team, and now Andrew Baumgartner loses his scholarship. Just what does UCLA think it's doing, trying to replace folk heroes with actual quality recruits. The nerve of those people.

I had some pretty good BBQ yesterday at the Handy Market in Burbank on Magnolia. They were outside in the parking lot with fans blowing the smoke out into the street. Just evil.

How many column inches do 1600 words take up, when structured in one sentence paragraphs?

You can almost picture the guy sitting at his laptop, with the little smirk of self satisfaction, saying "Yeah, I really nailed 'em right there. Good job, me." It's so transparent. But hey, the best sports page in America died years ago anyway.

47
I thought Plaschke hated laptops...

Plaschke is crack, and we are the homeless.

Plaschke's view of local sports:
UCLA football - Doesn't care for little guys
USC football - Players aren't nice enough anymore
Dodgers - Best pitcher is selfish
Lakers - Best player is a coward
Angels - Blessed by God and every person associated with the team is a saint
Kings, Ducks - Unsure, but he thinks ice is inolved
Sasha Cohen (the skater) - Greatest choker in the history of sports
Clippers - Who are they?

Baez is with a three run lead. This can only end well.

Meanwhile, in Tim Brown's column today in the Times:

Brad Penny wouldn't give up No. 31, so Greg Maddux is wearing No. 36. Somehow, Armageddon is averted. We see that numbers are important for some players. We just don't understand why. Comfortable in, all right. Familiar with, OK. Trimming, get it. Important? Move along….

50 Plaschke needs to stick to articles where he's writing about a 16 year old boy, born without a head or legs, who makes the high school tennis team. That's his bread and butter.

The Cardinals are in serious danger of being swept in a 3-game series in Pittsburgh. They're down 4-0 in the 7th.

CMC goes 1,2,3.

I see that it's Alternate Uniform Day in Atlanta. Road teams wearing solids...My head is going to explode.

If you want good BBQ in L.A. (and yes, some think there's no such thing) go to J n J's on Adams just east of Fairfax. Perfectly smoked pork ribs, with a sauce that has just enough heat in it.

49 Well said.

Over at Primer, they have an article in which Mike Lupica asserts that Mariano Rivera may be the most valuable Yankee in history.

Discuss.

To get the full Mike Lupica effect, read the article aloud at high volume with a very noticeable New York accent.

Russ Ortiz sighting in Boston.

And that was quick.

44 Heh, I used to work with Baumgartner in Ackerman at UCLA. Nice guy, though i was always surprised that he actually played on the football team. I had a chemistry lab with him too. Oh yeah, and he's color blind.

it's really too bad that the Astros can't score runs.

The Cardinals were swept by the Pirates. If the Reds hold on in Philadelphia, they move to 1 1/2 games out.

Dodgers win today, and they're only .5 back of St. Louis for second best record in the "not mediocre at all" NL.

Is there anyone that actually likes Bill Plaschke, including his family?

The Phillies caught the Reds at 5-5 in the ninth and there's free baseball in the City of Brotherly Love.

I'd love to see the Reds win the Central, and let St. Louis take the wild card. I'm thinking way too far ahead here, but it would be real nice not to have to face the Cards in the first round.

I can't be thinking about stuff like this yet. Win the division first, win the division first, win the division first...

Lineup:

Furcal
Lofton
Nomar
Kent
Ethier
Betemit
Lugo - RF
Martin

If you're hoping that the Reds wins the NL Central, can I interest you in a time share in a lovely condo in Redding as well?

69 - I would love to have the Cards not make the playoffs at all. While we're at it... No Yanks or White Sox either (I can't stand Ozzie Guillen). But I would trade all of that for the Dodgers getting in.

Those first three sentences of the new Plaschke thing are among the worst examples of prose I've ever read.

Good thing Lugo gets to go out into the sun field in his first start in right field. Little must be hoping that Maddux gets a lot of grounders.

Lugo must hate Grady Little.

63 - I tip my hat to a color-blind chemist. Those pH papers, or whatever they were, destroyed me in high school.

Dunno if you guys have seen it already but there is a nice article in the local paper down here about Jae W Seo:

http://tinyurl.com/kumyq

Sounds like his buddy Dioner is helping him out quite a bit, all the Rays need is an offense...

Sounds like his buddy Dioner is helping him out quite a bit, all the Rays need is an offense...

A few more trades with Colletti and they should be set.

Does anyone know if Toby Hall is injured? He got banged up pretty bad on Friday, and Martin replaced him in the 9th inning. Then on Saturday they sign Einar Diaz to a minor league deal. Sounds suspicious.

The Natti defeats the Phils 7-5.

76 The only time we used pH papers was when we were making sure the liquid we poured out wasn't too acidic to go down the drain. I remember doing a lot of pipetting in that lab and not much else.

So, Plaschke is upset because they took away a scholarship from someone who wasn't any good, and knew that they were going to take away his scholarship?

67 -- It's clear that Bill Plaschke's columns are disliked by many people who post on this site. Fair enough. But the comment "Is there anyone that actually likes Bill Plaschke, including his family?" is over the top. Criticize his columns, but let's not make personal attacks. As a matter of fact, when I worked at the Times, I found Bill to be a likeable, pleasant person. That doesn't mean I agree with everything he writes, either.

Okay, time to ask for help from the varied geniuses of DodgerThoughts -

I normally live on the east coast, but am taking a vacation in L.A. I just got into town, and talking with my father today he mentioned he wouldn't mind going to a baseball game. I don't think I've seen a Dodger game live with him for more than a decade, so I was hoping to get to a good one. Also, Greg Maddux has always been one of his favorite pitchers. I think you may be seeing where I'm going with this.

Is it still possible, at this late hour, to snag tickets? I'm worried that we'd make the drive to the stadium and not find a couple of seats if we tried to get scalped tickets (it's like a 60-90 minute drive from where we are, depending on the traffic). Suggestions?

83 I think he meant "does anyone like Plaschke's columns, including his family". I doubt his hatred for him goes to the personal level.

82 - That's not entirely fair. Baumgartner's not great, but he's not super terrible (he finished, umm, I want to say 6th on the team in receiving?). It's just the team had a solid recruiting season and brought in a bunch of new players, so made the decision to pull his scholie.

Marlins up 4-1 in Arizona.

Then on Saturday they sign Einar Diaz

the first thing that comes to mind about Einar Diaz is his funky swing.

87 Make that 4-2, thanks to Luis Gonzalez.

So, all-time Dodgers web gems, including Brooklyn, on ESPN's Baseball Tonight this afternoon/evening.

I'm pickin' Amoros's catch of Yogi's fly ball in 1955, Gionfriddo's catch in an earlier NY-Brooklyn Series, and I'm open for other suggestions.

UCLA did not even have to give him a scholarship for a year in the first place. They rewarded him for his good play.

90. Repko's crashing in to the wall against the Rockies last year.

90 LoDuca's sliding catch into the dugout will surely be there.

2-1 They show Monday's flag grab as a web gem.

83
I wasn't being serious.

93 Right, forgot that one. Didn't somebody at ESPN call that the best catcher's defensive play of all time?

Brian Baumgartner was 10th in receptions for UCLA last year. He caught 6 passes for 111 yards and 1 TD.

Mondesi gunning someone down at first may make it too.

OJ Mayo is supposed to officially announce he is going to USC today.

Sorry, Andrew Baumgartner.

The Cubs somehow managed to score a bunch of runs and beat Colorado.

Though Dempster did all he could to make it an interesting finish.

95 -- OK. Thanks for clearing it up.

[56] i LOVE alternate uniforms. they're almost always better looking than the normal uniforms.

Josh Rawitch thinks Plaschke's, "truly one of the best writers in the country."

and I'm open for other suggestions.

Mondesi's arm has to be in there no?

97 - He's 6th amongst wide receivers, sorry. Mercedes Lewis is a tight end, and Chris Markey and Maurice Drew are tailbacks (Michael Pitre, a fullback, has more receptions but fewer total receiving yards).

106 - Gah, that's wrong too. He's 5th. Ryan Moya's a tight end as well.

LoDuca's sliding catch into the dugout will surely be there.

yeah that's a no brainer.

Mondesi gunning someone down at first may make it too.

I remember that one like it was yesterday.

ps darn Mondesi robbed us all of what could have been.

Josh Rawitch thinks Plaschke's, "truly one of the best writers in the country."

pigs are flying out of my ass at the present time.

Could someone more knowledgeable than I (that wouldn't take a whole lot) explain why MLB did away with the game winning RBI stat?

Seems like they started using it about the same time giving relievers credit for Holds began. Yet GWRBI is gone...???

111 Bob, twerp on line 2...Bob, twerp on line 2.

111
Good point. If you're gonna get rid of GWRBI, you should get rid of other "stats" like Wins, Losses, etc.

The GWRBI was eliminated because a lot of times it went to a guy who drove in a run in the first inning. It was given to the player who drove in the run that gave his team a lead that it would never relinquish. It turned that most of the time, baseball games work this way. Team A goes ahead. Team A stays ahead. Team B may get close, but Team A wins.

It was envisioned that it would identify the mythical clutch hitter. What it instead identified was the top RBI guy on teams that had good W-L records.

Hockey still has a game-winning goal stat doesn't it? And isn't it given to the player who scores the goal that is the one that creats the difference in the score, e.g., in a 5-3 game, the guy who scores goal #4 is credited with the game-winner.

84 Underbruin if you're still online... head for Elysian Park off of Sunset and you'll find tons of scalpers.

111. Because it's meaningless. It was merely an accounting note in any case (the GWRBI could come in the first inning, after all), and because every run is worth the same, there's nothing particularly important about the one that puts your team ahead to stay.

Now, if only they'd jettison runs, RBIs, batting average, CS% for cathers, wins/losses for pitchers, the save, the hold, and errors, people might be willing to think a little harder about what really measures quality.

But I'm not holding my breath.

115

And those scalpers on that street are some of the kindest, warmest gentlemen you will ever have the pleasure of doing business with.

All-time leader in GWRBI is Keith Hernandez with 129.

Kirk Gibson got the GWRBI in five straight games for the Tigers in 1986.

The NL record for consecutive games with the GWRBI is four by Johnny Ray, Milt Thompson, and Ozzie Smith.

Alan Wiggins played 158 games in 1984 and had no GWRBI, the most games played in a season during the GWRBI era without one. That was what really caused Wiggins premature death.

116 er, "catchers." Not sure what a cather is.

119. Talking to myself, there was Willa Cather, but I'm not sure if she had a CS%.

117 Racist!

121

It's a multiethnic group from my experience. The scalpers are all unified by one thing: being very intimidating.

How about catheters?

123. No thank you. You go ahead.

103 Blasphemy. Home whites, road grays, no solids on the road. This is not Nam, Smokey. There are rules. ;)

The Royals get a pass if they wear those awesome light blue road unis. I miss those.

Anyone else excited to hear Tony Kornheiser on MNF tomorrow? Not to mention, my Raiders are also playing.

I was there for that Lo Duca catch. It's weird when you actually experience a cliche like "I couldn't believe my eyes." I thought he just fell in the dugout and missed the ball. When he came out with it in his glove, the stadium went silent for a second, and went nuts. I think most of us missed the next inning recovering from the shock.

Another one of those plays and everyone will forget about his gambling problems, though not necessarily his (estranged) wife.

119 Thanks for clearing that up.

I first read cathers as "catheters."

CS% for catheters....yeah, that'd be a really interesting stat...

It's a multiethnic group from my experience.

very true.

Orel Hershiser knows pitching!

6-3 Marlins in Arizona. Top of the ninth.

I thought it was the top 5 plays of all time from any given team? the guy from ESPN said the top three of all time, WHAT?

It is top 3 for each team.

Top 5 web gems of the day.

114 116
But was there ever any thought given to stuff like saying GWRBI had to come from, say, the 7th inning on or else not be awarded?

Or other tinkering in order to be able to reward things like Betemit's blast Saturday? (Yeah, I know, that was the 5th inning. But it broke a tie at 4, yada, yada..)

Or was GWRBI just discarded on the (pause for effect)... scrap heap of history with no attempt to make it more relevant?

Apparently OJ Mayo cancelled his press conference.

This will be the game chat thread.

6-5 Marlins, one out, one on in the ninth. Joe Borowski is not getting a job done.

Carlos Quentin up with two out. He is very good.

Can anyone nail this--
--"Role me a bummer Catherwood, and leave it on the side table."
Are we really getting Joe Morgan for the game tonight. We're beat, how do we deserve this luck! I hope I'm wrong but back east for many years I'm used to losing games to the cloying remarks of a biased Morgan.

Game over. 6-5 Marlins. Yay underwater pointy vertebrates!

136- has he decided that he doesn't want to go college? I'm sure USC could make special arrangement for him, so he doesn't have to go to class.

Is there any reason why Grits feels the need to get Lugo's bat in the lineup? It's still early, but it looks like I was completely wrong about him. He's shown nice on base skills, but his power has been completely nonexistent.

#3 is a jip! Gibby sliped! that's the only reason why he dove for the ball.

I'm used to losing games to the cloying remarks of a biased Morgan.

biased is totally right, don't they have the other Giant announcer, Miller I think.

142
Who knows what is going on with OJ Mayo. He is a NCAA violation waiting to happen. He drives around in an Escalade.

I just saw the end of Alien Vs Predator. Ridley Scott, James Cameron and John McTiernan must be rolling in their graves.

115 - I think we're going to try for a game later in the week. Less hassle. Thanks for the help anyway, though, bigcpa.

145 His presser has been moved to tomorrow.

146 McTiernan just better be happy to be out of director's jail after Rollerball.

146
I would assume Monday night's game wouldn't be a problem. Wednesday is a day game.

142-

Why would you think Julio Lugo would show power? He's never hit more than 15 home runs in a year before, and has finished seasons with totals as low as 6. I'm sort of curious.

I think the Gibson catch was a "make nice" for Orel. I'd bet Willie Davis made a few that could have been ahead of it.

OTOH, it wasn't till the, what, 1970s that there were tv cameras at regular season ballgames on a regular basis? It may be that film is hard to come by.

He kind of is in director's jail.

145- I'm still amazed how USC was able to get him. I guess it's because their biggest competition for him was Kansas State. There's no way he'd be eligible to play if the season started today. USC is going to have to hire some special tutors to "help" him attain an SAT score of 800. I know they've made arrangements to make certain football players eligible.

The dodgers have Chad on a short leash. WHY?

If they replace him with Sele because Chad doesn't go deep into games, that's a hipocracy, Sele is even worse at that, and doesn't prevent runs like Chad does.

Terrible, that better not happen.

153 He and Martin Brest are tunneling through Shawshank with Andy's rock hammer as we speak.

155-

It hasn't happened yet, hopefully it's just a ploy to get Chad throwing more strikes or something.

154
Sonny Viccaro basically convinced him to go USC because of the big LA market and because he would be the biggest star the university has ever had. The shoe companies play a huge role in where a kid goes to school.

151- power doesn't mean just hitting home runs; I'm talking about all extra base hits. Lugo is showing almost no ability to drive the ball. When you mature as a hitter, some of those long doubles turn into home runs. Lugo has 20 home run type power. This is his 6th year in the majors, he's entering his prime right now (despite being 30 years old)

156
Gigli was a group effort of garbage.

158.

I dont know about that. Vaccaro works for adidas and wouldve been more likely to steer Mayo towards UCLA, rather than a Nike school.

161
It's because he will have a bigger profile coming out of LA. Reebok wants him to have as huge a profile as possible, when he leaves college. UCLA, Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky were never options, so he went with the big football school in a huge media market. Sonny already had Renardo Sidney the best prospect for 09, move to LA and he said he will go to USC or UCLA. Vaccaro wants to make LA the center for college basketball.

159 It's 37 at bats.

162
To add on to that. In an interview he said Ben Howland better not screw up with Kevin Love, meaning he better let his big recruit become a big star.

Poor Luke Hudson. Destined to be the next entry over at The Griddle.

159-

Gotcha.

I don't quite know what to make of this, but according to Park Factor, Tropicana Field is a good home run hitter's park, but not good for doubles hitters. Which makes it kind of weird that Lugo has so many doubles, yet mediocre home run power.

I'd suppose that this may mean that most of Lugo's doubles are (were) created by speed, and less because they are hit hard into the gap, or off walls.

Another weird observation...In the promo for the Dodgers/ Giants game, did they just show Jason Werth?

Vaccaro actually works for Reebok.

Mayo isn't a UCLA type of player. First of all, he would never make it past UCLA admissions in a million years. Second, he isn't a good fit to play with Ben Howland. Third, UCLA doesn't tend to recruit players with his checkered past (domestic violence, etc.).

Why did Mayo end up at USC? Some player's recruitments are for sale to the highest bidder. USC wanted a big name for the opening of their new arena and Mayo found the price to be right.

167
Adidas owns Reebok.

162. Well, Mayo's standing with Reebok is in question since earlier this year he left his Reebok sponsored AAU team (D-1 Greyhounds) for a Nike sponsored one (Miami Tropics) only to return a short time later.

I was wrong about Vacaaro and adidas, apparently he has joined up with Reebok.

I know the reasons he chose SC (visibility, etc) I just dont think Vacarro's got that much influence on him anymore.

Little known fact...Greg Maddux is also baseball's all time leader for game appearances without an undershirt.

I love how Morgan's first bumper managed to mention the D's 13 of 14 losing stretch, and not credit the D's youngsters for anything. Mentioned were Kent, Garc, and Furc.

168 Addidas does own Reebok, but it is operated as a seperate company. Perhaps that won't be the case at some point, but at this point they are completely autonomous.

I hate Duke Castiglione.

Remember when Shea Hillenbradn was supposed to tip the balance of power in the NL West?

174-

Argh, Hillenbrand.

Funny Maddux has given up hits to the first batter since his debut.

167. Any sources on OJ Mayo being involved in domestic violence? I know he got suspended one game for missing a class, but I wouldnt go as far to say he has a checkered past.

So does Lugo have an arm capable to play RF?

He transferred schools after choking his girlfriend.

WOW!! MADDUX!!

Wow, nice reflexes, grasshopper.

Maddux is golden.

Thank God. I was afraid I was going to have to listen to Joe on Bonds beating Maddox. I probably couldn't bear it.

Maddux is golden.

That line drive Bonds hit was a ROPE! going streight to CF.

177
I remember he got in trouble for assaulting a female student. Details were never really released.

179
Wow, didn't know it was that.

Maddux is very good on balls hit to him.

Looking at our rankings makes me feel good.

186

he's quick (fast reactions) = great defender.

177 + 185.

There were erroneous reports of a 180 day suspension from school and no charges were ever pressed against Mayo for the alleged incident.

Here's an interview with him where he discusses the transfer situation: http://tinyurl.com/ph5mu

So doctoring balls is okay cheating, but steroids is bad cheating...

once Jose Canseco writes a book.

188 He also ends his follow through in an excellent fielding position, which is grossly under taught nowadays.

Morgan and his veiled insinuations of Maddux cheating. Just shut up Joe.

173

What did the young Mr. Castiglione do to earn your ire? Or are you just being edgy?

187 I like Morgan's analysis for why OBP is good... baserunners put pressure on the defense and gets the pitcher throwing out of the stretch. Yeah that's it Joe!

Maddux's gameday pic is great.

Did anyone catch the TWO appearances by Jayson Werth in the opening montage?

Good thing they waited in Arlington to start the game at 7 pm. It's 98 at game time.

191

great point.

Colletti didn't want to smile for the camera

Did Joe really insinuate some ball rigging on Maddox?

To be fair to Morgan (Which is a BOOOO able offense), Miller started it. But Joe added the "Well he's never been caught" addendum.

197

They actually moved it up from 7:30 local time and DFW is insufferable these days---heat wise that is.

193- I hate the way he talks. I can't even figure out what the accent is, beyond smarmy. I hate the way he doesn't listen to the players he's interviewing. I hate the way, every time I wish he was on fire, he isn't.

So, yeah, no really good reason.

I actually agree with Joe Morgan on something - that Betemit is going to be a star. I definitely think he has a lot more potential than Ethier.

I defer all cheating questions to D4P. He knows just by looking.

203
hahaha

201 - to be perhaps fairer to them (at the risk of a boo), it was also mentioned by Tim Brown in the LA Times today as part of the reputation. They did say this:

As one veteran baseball man observed last week, the general belief is that Maddux does no doctoring but knows how to work a ball that comes to him scuffed or nicked.

So it was noted by a Rockies coach that Martin bounced his throws to second base after Maddux's final warmup pitches before each inning.

He assumed, with a grin, the young catcher hadn't suddenly lost his arm strength.

207- rather, Brown said that

23 pitches through 3. That's pretty efficient

Giant batters really know how to work the count. Maddux has thrown 23 pitches in 3 innings.

Did Joe really insinuate some ball rigging on Maddox?

Joe & Miller are ex-Giants what do you expect.

211

correction, Miller does Giants games & Joe was an ex-Giant, typo sorry.

yeah ESPN rub it in!

The Dodgers started play in the majors in 1884, but they weren't in the NL until 1890.

There were also major league teams for a few seasons in the 19th Century as well as a Federal League team from 1914-15 in Kansas City.

207
Those crafty veterans teaching our rookies.

Imagine if we got that in a first inning, after a Furcal basehit. Martin is a perfect two hitter.

they had to remind us of the original Fat Tub of Goo

Besides a gold glove, Maddux can move baserunners along too. Dodger batters can learn to bunt from him if they will.

I'd take a pitche if I were Furcal

219 - so would Furcal apparently

Is Felipe signaling that his players choke?

To be fair again to Morgan, he also said that he doesn't see how Maddux has time to doctor the ball.

204 I almost agree with you, although not the Ethier part. But this is how irrational and paranoid I am about Morgan. I immediately assumed that Joe was building up someone (Betenit) who could block at least one homegrowm prospect. And I think Joe knows he will have a miserable old age if the D's organizational plans work out.
The Giants have none. I don't know about the Reds.

darn you Bonds!!!

Oh, that was close!

There's going to be some turnover in the NL Gold Gloves this year.

2005 winners:
P - Maddux (maybe)
C - Matheny (injured)
1B - Lee (injured)
2B - Castillo (AL)
SS - Vizquel (maybe)
3B - Lowell (AL)
OF - Jones (maybe)
OF - Edmonds (maybe)
OF - Abreu (AL)

I assume Rolen will win at 3B. Molina might win at catcher. Vizquel, Edmonds, and Jones will likely repeat.

Not sure about 1B or 2B. Pujols might win at 1B because of other deeds. Hudson could win at 2B.

Lofton really got screwed by the umpire in that at bat. He should have walked. Schmidt is getting Glavine like treatment.

224- it could be worse. Bonds threw out Jim Edmonds at home earlier this year.

Bonds has what 12 feet of range? That was offensive.

I think I'm faster than Bonds is now.

Keep Jason throwing lots of pitches.

Schmidt has now thrown twice as many pitches as Maddux through 3.

Yeah , there slanted Joe.

226

Rolen is having a terrible year in the field. In the recent cub sweep series, he lost two games in the field for the cards.

Bonds has what 12 feet of range?

I hope his leg & arm fall off!

maddux definetly not "on".

keep it up

234
But winning the Gold Glove has little to do with actual fielding abililty. My handicapping was based on reputation.

What other third baseman in the NL has a reputation for fielding well?

Pedro Feliz?
Wilson Betemit?
David Bell?

Maddux is slumping--he took 9 pitches that inning (32 after 4 innings).

8 pitches per inning. Not bad. :)

Zimmerman should win the GG. And the next ten, for that matter.

Keep Jason throwing lots of pitches.

yeah, Lots & Lots.

235 I hope his leg & arm fall off!

The black-and-orange knight always triumphs!

237- Ryan Zimmerman

Orlando Hudson better win at 2B

240- beat me to it

237

You're correct. My point was that Rolen is so off this year and as has killed the cards a number of times that he may not win. I don't know who I'd vote for to replace him though.

Zimmerman is so unbelievable, people are comparing him to that person at third that you're not allowed to compare people to.

There aren't a lot of rookies who win the Gold Glove. Even if they deserve it.

At least it is good to note a rather reticent Joe about the D's youngster.

It's not about you, Joe.

nice one!

234 Rolen has a 112 rate2. Unless you've watched all the Cardinal games, I'm going to trust the stat instead of the anecdotal evidence.

Nice slide Jeffrey!

246 I am, of course, referring to Tracy Woodson.

Clearly had him beat? wasn't hit that sharply?

253 Personally I thought you meant Pedro Guerrero.

Kent had the rare sensible slide into first base there.

And he wouldn't give Guz a couple of years.
We may remember.

well, 66 pitches through 4 innings for Schmidt.

How's that San Francisco bullpen?

255

I thought it was Jeff Hamilton.

251

I've watched between 80 and 90 so far and usually catch around 120. Obviously I'm expressing my personal opinion, but you can go to the card blogs and gather that Rolen is way down in the field as a general consensus.

251 I'm going to trust the stat even if he has watched all the Cardinal games.

if they got there faster, they could have all played rock paper scisors for that ball

Great shot of Flanders huntin & peckin on his Blackberry!

261 Yeah, that too.

Just saw a MLB add about the evils of steroids--apparently they can destroy every organ in your body. I hope they did a bit more research than when they claimed that about every drug in the last 3 generations.
Truth has a wonderful way of being influential.

8 pitches an inning

266 - Just noticed that myself. The picture of efficiency.

251- rate2 also has Jeff Kent being a better fielder than Orlando Hudson this year. That makes it about as credible as the National Enquirer.

265 - Echoes of D.A.R.E.
"One puff on a 'J,' and your head will explode and you'll vote Democrat."

Yes. Some people don't like Rate2 Solely because it didn't comport well with the theory that the Dodgers downgraded defensively when they went from Cora to Kent.

I don't trust any fielding metrics, and very much value observation.

It's basically the only part of baseball where that's the case. Perhaps, just perhaps, both of you are partly correct.

Please don't kill me.

271 Witch!!!

Schmidt is unhittable now. My only hope is that Maddox is not one to fold and he has a much lower pitch count.
Oh Joe, please shut up.

Rating defense: The final frontier for stats-based scouting.

And the Gold Glove has nothing to do with any fielding metric either.

It's all reputation. And it helps to hit well. Or else be Rey Ordonez.

Does Joe realize that Martin has good speed? He keeps talking about how much more time guys have to throw because the catcher's running. He's 8 for 11 in steal attempts Joey.

I'd love to see a breakout of the hitting numbers for 5 p.m. starts at DS.

272 - let's see if he weighs the same as a duck first

On Friday's radio broadcast Rick Monday astutely pointed out that the Giants' low number of errors was dubious because they don't get to as many balls as most teams.

This game was a 5 pm start three years ago:
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B07200LAN2003.htm

268 It's a system that, while not airtight, works in general.

It's like saying PECOTA doesn't work because it misses the mark sometimes. In general, it gets things right.

270

rate2 in questionable IMO.

280 - that was my one game in Dodger Stadium. I haven't liked Odalis Perez ever since

Good Joe, sign Bonds.

Oh, they also don't like it because (as is consistant with my "observations") it shows Izturis as pretty much an average SS who had a below average year (fielding) in 2004, but who won teh gold glove because 1) he had an only slightly below a average year hitting (making it a career year for him offensively) and 2) announcers couldn't stop raving about the double plays and how "pretty" he looked and 3) no one ever seemed to notice that he had (and still has) no range.

Well we're at the Morgan slobbering over Bonds portion of the game.

276.

Joe has never seen Martin...but in Joe's vast baseball experience, hes also never seen a catcher who can run. Joe is not concerned with that which he has not seen with his own eyes.

O.K. CORRAL

How would Schmidt look in a D's uniform.Who is his agent,by the way.

287

Joe thinks all catchers are guys like Johnny Bench, Bob Boone, Milt May, and Alan Ashby.

OK now I'm stumped- the Giants are 5th in the majors in Defensive Efficiency at .713. The detail seems to back it up...

BP Rate2
Feliz 110
Sweeney 108
Vizquel 106
Finley 102
Bonds 98
Durham 90
Alou 90

286 we are well past the 1st inning.

Man' like two pitches two outs. We will lose if we continue this strategy.

{290}

Joe/his "people" have to do there homework before a game.

15 more pitches, please.

Things I had forgotten about the Joe Morgan/Terry Forster game in 1982.

1. Tom Niedenfuer was the losing pitcher
2. The Giants starting pitcher was Bill Laskey
3. The Giants batted Max Venable leadoff
4. Reggie Smith batted cleanup for the Giants
5. Bill Russell was in the race for goat horns in the game too.

294.
Joe Morgan doesnt have to do homework. Joe Morgan's played the game and therefore cannot be told anything Joe Morgan doesnt already know about baseball. Joe Morgan.

Schmidt owns Ethier.

Next time we face Schmidt, I have a feeling Ethier will get a nice little day off.

Horrible at bat by Ethier but you can hardly blame him with the types of calls that Schmidt is getting. The first pitch "strike" to Kent was laughable.

Perhaps not our night, though I will not yield. Schmidt looks physically sound.

298, 299 Of course, because, you know, Schmidt is pretty much terrible except when facing Ethier.

281- sorry, I just don't trust fielding stats. If all of the stats come to the same conclusion (that a fielder is great, terrible, etc) then they are hard to ignore.

1. Tom Niedenfuer was the losing pitcher

who of course = Jack Clark & spells 1985

296 -- And wasn't the count 0-2 when Morgan hit the homer?

Warning track power

Warning track power!

Maddux has set down 20 straight.

302 It's one thing to go 0-3. It's another to look downright terrible all three at-bats.

306 Great minds ehhhh.

one bad pitch can mean the game the way these guys are pitching.

ps I like our Bullpen better than theres.

305

Newspaper accounts say it was a 1-2 pitch.

Someone needs to explain to Joe how Dodger Stadium plays. Of course, it's one of those stupid STAT thingies.

Man, Schmidt is really on tonight. He seems to be hitting his spot every time with good movement on his breaking pitches.

Grits is insane if he pulls Maddux here

Did Heineken have to pay NASA for that ad?

309 I guess some people think striking out "looks worse" than other kinds of outs. They are all the same to me. He has taken up 14 of Schmidts 99 pitches (through 7), making his PAs slightly better (.7 pitches/PA) than average for the game.

315 - Mad dog's still goin

It is sad to see Schmidt get into the eighth when we could have had him at 120 piches now just by taking a few pitches, in the last two innings. I guess I'm being unrealistic.

At Maddux's pace, he'll crack the 120-pitch mark after 14 innings.

I like Betemit's arm.

Maddux is simply a master.

Maddux-Hall of Famer. Score some runs for him!!

Maddux is making Midas look pretty good tonite. Can we pleeeeease get a run here? Maybe even manufacture one to impress Joe Morgan.

319 Possibly, but only if everyone was a "owned" as Ethier. We wouldn't want that.

I don't think I'd pinch hit for him only because I don't trust any of the bench players. Maybe Loney, but that's it.

Checking in just to go on record as saying even I let Maddux hit in the 8th.

Drew stinks against Schmidt so I wouldn't use him

Boooo.

326 - well, it's Loney

I like this move by Grady (Loney pitch hitting for Maddux)

327 You heard it, everybody. Jon Weisman hates Grady Little.

I wouldn't have pulled Maddux.

327

Jon and Grady Little are not in agreement this week.

Grady Little has two pitchers warming up in the bullpen at the same time?!

This is an interesting descision for Alou and Sabean. Although I don't see it, baseball frowns on throwing guys into the 100's.
But I see Grid has made our descision. And I appreciate saving Maddox, but this will probably be the game. Its OK

Morgan says at this stage of his career Maddux is not able to be a horse. So breaking 70 pitches now constitutes horse status.

Maddux has thrown such a small number of pitches that you can bring him back.

It's Bret "Tie Game" Tomko and Takashi "Save Situation™" Saito!

335 - Gasp!

317 I'm all for using stat-based analysis, but I think you're being a bit ridiculous there. A guy can go 0-3 with three lineouts too, but the difference in knowing who hits the pitcher better is watching the game.

327

I don't get you Jon? you've been quoted other wise! (dose it depend on game situation or something)

Looks like Greg Haddix pitched a pretty good game tonight.

come on... it's only been 68 pitches... we could get another inning out of him easy... we'll need them the way we are hitting tonight...

So, why does Grady let Lowe hit with runners on first and third, but he pulls Maddux when he has only 68 pitches?

Loney really needs to cut down the Ks. That was his 4th of the season!

Furcal puts on his hard hat and begins manufacturing...

If Furcal doesn't try to steal here, Morgan will implode.

FWIW, I think it was the right move. Might not work out, but I would have pulled him there too. I probably would have PH Drew rather than Loney, but that is a quibble.

PS. I wouldn't go after Schmidt with a long term contract. You can't predict arms.

I defer all cheating questions to D4P. He knows just by looking

At least someone believes in me...

350 And you can't hug with nuclear arms!

Nice.

I think you have to pull a double steal here. Nomar is so DP prone.

Joe Morgan talks about a double steal in

5...4...3...2...1

Removing one of the best pitchers in the history of baseball, in the middle of a 68-pitch, 8-inning shutout, makes no sense to me.

It's not like Loney was going to give LA the lead with one swing of the bat.

Alou has a lefty up in the pen.

Does he foolishly bring in the lefty to face Ethier?

This is Nomar's bread-and-butter situation. Isn't he batting something like 8.000 after the 7th inning?

357-

Assuming we get that far, obviously.

357 - Jim Tracy was his bench coach . . .

341.

Either way, both Ethier and your straw man go 0-3. I'm more for letting Ethier, he with the .953 ops, keep hitting no matter who pitches.

If Alou has to bring in Stanton to face Ethier this inning, he's in some trouble.

if Schmidt walks Kent . . .

Son of a...

Great, now Tomko is going to come in and blow it.

That was disappointing.

356 1. three games does not erase 2/3rds of a season. Maddux may be one of the best (in the top 50) in the history of the game, but he is now mearly above average.

2. Loney was a lot more likely to give LA the lead with one swing of the bat than was Maddux.

Little thought with his head, not his heart. That's a good thing, regardless of the outcome.

Nomar would make a high percentage of his free throws, if that was his sport.
Hitting foul shots is a matter of routine, so say some of the best shooters of free throws. Nomar's ADHD batting glove thing is his routine and, boy, does he have it down.
(I love watching Rip Hamilton at the line: Dribble, dribble. Bounce the ball way off to the right. Bring the ball into the body, bend the knees and shoot.)

Carrara time?

So Stanton will pitch the 9th after the Giants bat for Schmidt.

Unless the Giatns go ahead and then it's Benitez.

369-

No thank you.

365 - Or steal the win, like he's done a couple times earlier this year

and by year, I mean month

Good fast heart beat=Maddux game today

bad fast heart beat=Tomko

I have a bad feeling about this inning.

365-

C'mon, show some optimism! These are the Giants after all.

Icaros,
Taking Maddox out in a game like this makes no sense to me either.

that's the 5th hit Tomko has allowed as a reliever

Felipe at his best. He has one of the best pinch hitters in baseball and he brings in the designated bunter.

I like to refer to games like this one (i.e. when both starting pitchers pitch well and don't give up m/any runs) as a "Duel between pitchers."

380-

Hey, that's got a beat, and I can dance to it!

380 It'll never catch on.

I blame the humidor for this game.

I love Felipe

Uncle Miltie - Going back a ways here, but I was a little surprised by your comment in 204. I'm a big Betemit fan too, but since 3.5 seems to have an edge against lefties I was wondering why you prefer Betemit in the long-term?

Please understand I'm not looking to start an argument. That isn't why I come here. I really respect your opinion and would like to hear your analysis of this.

Great job by both the designated bunter and the pinch runner. Schmidt and Alfonzo could have done that same play.

I like to refer to games like this one (i.e. when both starting pitchers pitch well and don't give up m/any runs) as a "Duel between pitchers."

I call it the O.K CORRAL.

I saw a few games in the first half where I remarked that Grady was giving up the game for the long term good of personel. I was surprised to give up games, but I thought, maybe you are a smarter man than I. And it may be that sacrificing a game for a guy like Maddox is worth it.

John McGraw loved Vizquel's hack right there.

"this would not be a bad time to send Vizcaino"

I agree. he's 0-2 in stolen base attempts this year.

Felipe Alou is the greatest thing that's ever happened to the NL West.

lefty on Ethier?

Let's see if we can get to their bullpen.

Good job by Tomko, superb managing by Felipe

Please bring in Benitez!

Does Tomko only get credit for getting 2 outs that inning...?

WHEW! I'm eternally grateful they got out of that inning.

Joe & Miller calling that a "swinging bunt" by Vizquel, I call it a very bad swing.

383 Your right. Both managers have been obviously smoking something since the 8th.

397-

I like "swunt".

Ethier vs the loogy again.

Swunt is the only way to go.

Does Stanton have his 20 year pin yet?

Well that was not nearly as exciting.

399. I just got caught laughing at that.

The lefty-lefty thing always works!

Isn't it possible that this is Bonds' last Dodger Stadium appearance?

I smell free baseball. Yay!

Lugo walk-off, toss the helmet, pummeled at the plate, the works. You heard it here first.

401
If a "swinging bunt" is a "swunt," I don't think I want to know what a "checked bunt" is...

I was thinking the same thing in about the 3rd inning.

We are facing Stanton, correct?

409 - chunt?

Lugo's gonna hit a double in the gap and Martin's gonna knock him in on a single to right. Book it!

406

Please God. Hopefully he'll catch a leg sweep his next at bat.

408 You're a liar. LIAR!

413 Darn server error, there's no way I typed that!

OK maybe in the 12th...

Felipe is really trying to give this game to the Dodgers, but our hitters don't want to want to take advantage of it.

413 - the difference between Schmidt and Stanton is too great.

I predict that one of these two teams will win the game. Book it.

According to Gameday, Maddux made 68 pitches in 8 innings. Is that right? How could they take him out.

Oh, well, extra innings it is. Dodgers are 0-6 in extra innings. Are they gaurenteed to lose this one, then?

Wow. Another great call by Little (if we think Saito is our best reliever - I don't but I think that is the general consensus).

Game tied, heart of the order - bring in the closer. I like it.

I predict that when Carrara is brought in to the game, I will throw up a little in my mouth.

422 - I think the only justification is he's old.

420 Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

422. Little seems to be toying with the idea of Broxton as a closer.

that had nothing to do with Bonds. Grady is trying to give Martin a chance to stretch his legs

Why did we walk Bonds? He's not very good anymore, stop it.

422 No, that is not a good move. There's nothing for the closer to close!!

426 So naturally Broxton won't be used tonight.

Why not 4 pitches at Barroid's knee if yoou're going to walk him?

429. Its just an observation. He's used him to close a couple games in the last few weeks.

426 That may be. I think Broxton is our best reliever, followed by Tomko then Saito - so I would have brought in Broxton here. I'll like Little's call less if it turns out he has already made the switch to Broxton as the closer.

Getting Bonds out of the game only helps to improve the Giants defense from here on out. The IBB was a bad move.

choke sign! play double play depth!

Why did Bonds get intentionally walked? He's nothing more than an average hitter now.

429-

Always use your best reliever in the toughest spots.

If Bonds' pinch runner comes around to score...

Giants do exactly what Felipe told them to do, choke. Speaking of choking, is it Benitez time yet?

431 Saito would be risking getting ejected.

nope, the reliever they got with Hillenbrand

Its the Caught bunt you really need to worry about!
Thank god for Saito, do you think he can pitch another inning. I hope he doesn't have to.

Canada owns the end of the game!

bye,bye

MARTIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Walk-off baby!

YES!

OUR GOLDEN BOY!! RUSSELL MARTIN!!!!!

Nice!

I want to have Russell Martin's children.

CALLED IN 413!!!

Au Revoir, baseball!

GOLDEN BOY!!!!

Its the Caught bunt you really need to worry about!
Thank god for Saito, do you think he can pitch another inning. I hope he doesn't have TO.
wHAT A ROOKIE.

Morgan doesn't sound very happy.

So is Broxton gonna pitch now?

It's amazing he still bats 8th from time to time.

Gotta love the Big Papi helmet flip!

Man do I love Martin - great hitter, great defender, incredible character, sexy smile...

I couldn't understand at first. Then I realized it was a walk off. It looks like the clubhouse feeling is positive at this point.

We are a half game out of second place in the NL, btw.

w00t

I didn't realize Belle and Sebastian had a song called "Piazza, New York Catcher". One of the lyrics I caught was something like "are you straight or are you gay?"

Nothing quite like a "walking off of the playing field" HR to win it

I've noticed Maddux isn't allowed more than 80 pitches or so since coming to the Dodgers. Today he left after 68; that's basically five innings of work even though it ate 8 innings. Trying to keep him really fresh?

iceing on the cake type finish.

great pitching & all.

Martin seems to be everything that people think Lo Duca is.

Dodgers finally win an extra inning game. Nice to get rid of that 0-6.

I believe this is the Dodgers first 1-0 win since August 28 of last year.
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B08280LAN2005.htm

LA 1, Houston 0

First extra inning 1-0 win since 9/27/2002
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B09270LAN2002.htm

LA 1, San Diego 0

Like tonight, that game ended on a homer by the Dodgers catcher. (Paul Lo Duca)

467 That, my good man, is one of the great statements ever put on DT.

Bravo Zulu for Chris.

I believe Morgan didn't mention a young Dodger's name once in the whole broadcast. I admit I missed an inning or maybe more, but I bet a tape would show Morgan never said the name Martin, or Ethier. It would raise serious objections to his doing non-partison announcing. I am certain he didn't do any in the first 6 innings, when a prescient broadcaster introduces young players on both sides who may influence the game.

467- except for the fact that he plays defense, has a great arm, runs well (right now), and is a pretty patient hitter. Otherwise, you are correct.

I thought Morgan was going to cry during the wrap-up. Which makes this even more sweet.

Actually, Morgan wasn't particularly complimentary of the Giants nor did he seem to know much about what was going with them despite living in the Bay Area. Did Morgan do any preparation before this game?

Nevermind, I missed the word "think" :)

D4P,

Thanks. You were right, now that I am used to it. Now make scan move.

472 I agree with you, but there are some people (namely Plaschke) who think that Lo Duca does those things very well.

that helps the record in 1 run games too

Oh, what a beautiful morning!

Chris H- see 475 :)

Last four wins have been of the 1-run variety. I think now we're only 2 wins off the old pythag projection.

Twins 591/528 68-49
LA     591/537 62-56

So what are the matchups with the Marlins? How sweepable is that seires?

480 :)

428, 436-

Bonds is most certainly not an average hitter or "not very good". He has a 947 OPS and a sweet .459 obp. With a 2-0 count he's very likely to get on base anyway, so why not just walk him and avoid the distict possibility of a far worse outcome.

276
Glad you "came around," so to speak. Scan stops by here once in a while, but spends a little more time over there (mostly arguing with Codge).

We once again have the longest winning streak in NL going. Pretty sureal after it seems like we just lost the 11 gamer.

482 Lowe v Willis
Billingsley v Sanchez
Hendrickson v Johnson

That was one of the best games I've seen in a while. There's nothing quite like a walk off home run in the tenth inning of a scoreless game to complete a sweep of the Giants. Now I'm going to go listen to some Coltrane.

That was an unbelievable performance by Maddux (8 scoreless innings on 68 pitches). He probably could have pitched 10 scoreless innings tonight. It's so fun watching him pitch because the game moves so fast and it's double fun watching him pitch so well for us after all those years of watching him pitch against us.

I'm pretty disgusting to read the Lo Duca bashing here. What did he ever do wrong in his time here? He was an all-star catcher and a great hitter for the Dodgers.

I honestly don't see much difference between Martin and Lo Duca -- which is probably why DePodesta traded him.

I truly believe I would have said this is a beautiful game to watch even if we lost 1-0.
I should have forseen bringing Maddox to a team with a chance would have enlivened him in a big way. If he can stay ennervated the way he is anything can happen.

Note how much Lugo and Betemit did for the team.
Not fair, but interesting.

Re: 490

I do think Martin is a better defender than LoDuca.

LoDuca's long tenure in the minors, at no fault of his own, make the comparison somewhat difficult, I think, because Paulie came up so much later to the Dodgers. For a catcher, I think that skews the stats a bit.

I don't have time to find real stats, but my impression is that Martin is a bit more patient, although I think both seem to have roughly the same sort of double-gap power.

Isn't a frequent comp to Martin Kendall at his peak? Perhaps even a Kendall with potentially more pop?

WWSH

That 10 inning game took all of 2 hours and 27 minutes to complete.

I do think Martin is a better defender than LoDuca.

LoDuca's swing is fundemantaly better than Martin's (I'll give that to LoDuca) but overall Martin gets the nod in my book. But like some one else said we didn't get to see the young LoDuca because of you know who....

490- nobody is bashing Lo Duca. He was a fine player who was overrated/overvalued and was able to net us a solid starting pitcher in Penny. I wasn't a big Lo Duca fan because I value defense in catcher. While Lo Duca seemed to work well with pitchers, he wasn't very good at throwing out runners, didn't block the plate, committed too many passed balls, and wasn't great at preventing wild pitches. Russell Martin is a tremendous athlete. He has a lot more natural talent than Lo Duca.
493- Kendall pre ankle injury is the best comparison I can think of. Martin is a better defender than Kendall ever was though. Martin's baseball instincts are incredible, much like Kendall's. The best part is that he's only been catching for 3 years. He's one of the most athletic catchers I've ever seen.

Congratulations to those who got to see that game. New post up top.

Anyone have a firm grasp of Maddux's recent revival?

He doesn't seem to be striking out many people, but neither is he walking many. When the trade went down, Jon's post mentioned the case that he may have been unluckey, because his FIP was a run below his then mediocre ERA of 4.69. Jon also mentioned Maddux's good HR and walk rates.

So, even though Maddux isn't going to K gags of hitters, he keeps it in the park and doesn't walk many. In a stadium like DS, where HRs are neutral, but every other form of offense else is damped down, while Maddux himself keeps the walks down, does that mean that Maddux's revival could really last? Especially with Furcal's defensive recovery and Betemit at 3B? That Ned traded a banjo-hitting but fine-fielding SS for a solid no. 3 starter, perhaps even a solid no. 2, and one with playoff experience?

WWSH

But like some one else said we didn't get to see the young LoDuca because of you know who....
Charles Johnson? Todd Hundley?

The best part is that he's only been catching for 3 years. He's one of the most athletic catchers I've ever seen.

LoDuca was converted also, It seems like the Dodgers pull these guys (catchers) out of a hat. Great catching tredition I guess.

Now that they've run up the broom and can otherwise have some ice cream, I say leave the broom up for those underwater pointy vertebrates to ponder, and in the meantime, I'm thinking SF takes 2 from SD and ditto the CR over the AD. And my alternative hypothesis re this season is just so Maddux can pitch for the World Series champion Dodgers is looking to be just that much more correct. And, lastly, Mr. Customer, I think today we had both story and punchline.

481

Actually, 3 below. We're 62-56; scoring 591 and giving up 537 we should be (rounded to the nearest whole number) 65-53. However, if you actually calculate it out, it's really only a little over 2 1/2 below. I wonder what it looked like before the four straight one-run victories?

I honestly don't see much difference between Martin and Lo Duca -- which is probably why DePodesta traded him.

Martin plays better defense, faster/better baserunner, and has a ton better walk rate.

Besides from being short and squatty, I don't really see how they are alike.

Martin is younger and Canadian

so what are the top 3 Dodgers web gems?