If Billingsley hangs a breaking ball, and gets taken deep, would we dare call that a "hanging Chad"?

Great post Jon.

1 Oh, ouch.

Maybe Billingsley isn't the second coming of Drysdale or Sutton. Maybe he's the second coming of Bill Singer (the athlete, not the latter-day misogynist). Or Pete Richert. Or Omar Daal. Or (insert run-of-the-mill Dodger pitcher here).

Who really knows?

While his longest outing is seven innings, his shortest is five. I don't see a lot for him to be ashamed about there.

I don't know many teams that can say the same about their five starter. In fact, I don't think I know of any.

Ohhhh I hope it's Omar Daal!

"Of course, it's some undefined combination of the two."

I don't know if not getting flustered falls under "internal guile," but it must help that he doesn't scream at himself a la Jeff Weaver when he walks a couple batters.

I'm impressed you worked "avuncular" into a baseball story. ;D

I have seen versions 1 and 2 of Chad pitch, I hope soon to see version 3.

2 - Thanks, Nate

6 - Oh, with baseball managers, is it really so impressive?

4 - This is going to sound ridiculous, but since that wont be out of character, here it goes: I don't know of very many teams that can replace their #5 with Sele or Tomko.

I researched 20 or so #1 starters a couple months ago to see how they did their 1st seasons. Only 2 really struggled as much as Billingsley has this year, and they were left handers- Mulder/Santana.

My expectations for Billingsley have been lowered to #3 starter over the next 2-3 seasons.

K/9 and HR/9 just havent been near dominant enough. The GB tendencies are ok, but nothing overwhelming. Nothing earth shattering like Blanton, Lowe, or Wang.

Very underwhelming rookie season, considering the hype. Am I disappointed? Yes.

But on to the next guy. Hopefully Elbert can be that #1.

This is a nice piece; go Chad!

The problem with the "better than anyone else's number five" arguments of course is that many of Chad's fans are hoping for him to be more than a good #5.

I'm off to what promises to be an extended war of bedtime attrition, so I'll just note that Jon's Pedro is pitching well in the early going here at RFK.

Grady Little is not my uncle!

4. Isnt Hendrickson the #5? I hope he is. If Hendy is the #4, something is wrong.

If I was charting the Dodgers:
#1- Penny
#2- Lowe
#3- Maddux
#4- Billingsley
#5- Hendrickson

Now, if I wanted to evaluate these pitchers, respective to the entire sample: I'd go:
#2- Penny
#2- Lowe
#4- Maddux
#5- Billingsley
#5- Hendrickson

I might be slighting Penny a bit. He's close to a #1.

The GB tendencies are ok, but nothing overwhelming. Nothing earth shattering like Blanton

including Blanton in gb/fb ratio comparison doesnt make sense at all.

11 Well goodness me Sam DC, I always assumed that we'd cut a rookie pitcher, barely able to drink a beer, a little bit of slack. Of course we don't expect him to be a five starter. I also don't expect him to have peaked, 11 games into his rookie season.

13 - I would imagine if Chad is in danger of losing a starting job, that automatically makes him a #5.

Billingsley's ERA+ is 120. he might not be pretty doing it, but he is getting results noneless.

My fault Blanton is at 1.23 GB/FB, which isnt earth shattering.

I thought his GB/FB was a little better bc I knew his HR rate was very low (only 11 in 150IP).

13 I have long felt that Penny was an excellent #2 starter (in what would be a great rotation if he were #2), and that Lowe was a midline #2 at best, but possibly a #3 given his back-and-forth dance with reliability.

As a result, I had hoped the Dodgers could find a third #2/3 guy as an alternative to having to overpay for a true #1. That's why picking up Tompko and Seo this year didn't make me smile.

Seems like people are already giving up on Billingsley or I might just be reading too much into it.

my response: his outstanding minor league record indicates he will be a very good pitcher. While he hasn't been flawless in his big league debut, there are alot of things a Dodger fan should be excited about if they watch him pitch. This is his age 21 season, he will PROGRESS to the mean as he matures. And the mean, indicated by his strong minor league record is of a very good major league pitcher.

end of rant, i have to pack now.

13 - Just as long as Maddux isn't regarded as a "horse."
After all, non-horses can't go more than eight innings, no matter how few pitches they've thrown.
Joe Morgan said so.

Billinsgley has an 80.9% LOB rate which would lead the NL if he qualified (and an ugly 5.69 FIP). The top 10 in NL LOB rate is quite a who's who.

1 C Young
2 Arroyo
3 Zambrano
4 J Johnson
5 Carpenter
6 Oswalt
7 Webb
8 Penny
9 Schmidt
10 Smoltz

Incidentally with the Cubs Maddux had the worst LOB rate in the NL at 62.7%. That jumps to a ludicrous 84.6% with LA. His FIP was 3.69 with the Cubs, something I totally overlooked when we acquired him.

What if I were to tell you that I had a 21 year old righthander, with a 95 mph fastball, an above average breaking pitch, and excellent minor league numbers?

Would that be something you'd be interested in?

I'm a little disappointed that you didn't go for the hokey newsrag headline, Jon. You could have easily done "My three Chads" to include a senselessly arcane TV-culture reference.

That is quite a list.
One thing that jumps out at me is that all of the pitchers on that list are big strikeout pitchers, which makes sense bc thats usually the only way to ensure stranding baserunners.

Maddux having a poor LOB isnt a surprise bc he doesnt K many people.

Billingsley being on that list, without an impressive K rate, is quite the feat tho.

23 - I just would like to be sedated.

23 I might be interested. Do you have him tied up in your basement or what?

Furcal, SS
Lofton, CF
Nomar, 1B
Drew, RF
Kent, 2B
Ethier, LF
Betemit, 3B
Martin, C
Billingsley, P

Looks like the everyday lineup.
Guess Lugo is a utility player now.

Billingsley has a 3.52 ERA despite 47 BB and only 38 K, that is practically unprecedented. He is having more success than Greg Maddux did in his rookie season.

27 Bring in The Gimp. Uh, I mean, The Bull.

23 You really don't have a pitcher, do you, Mr. Brock?

Maybe Billingsley should try looking at the target during his windup. When the guy can't find the plate against the #8 hitter this tends to bug me.

In the previous thread, I equated Lugo to Tony Phillips. He can play short, second, third and the outfield corners. That's quite a weapon for a savvy manager.

31 No, I don't. But I figure if we sit around and scout the minors for a while, we can come up with one.

I would imagine if Chad is in danger of losing a starting job, that automatically makes him a #5.

Not true, he's a rookie pitcher @ 21 years of age just trying to contribute, I'm really intrigued by what has unfolded with Chad, I really hope he pitches well today.

33 I was under the impression that only white point guards and veteran left handed pitchers were allowed to be savvy.

28 - Lugo was to be a utility player from the moment Kent and Garciaparra were activated from the DL - the Dodgers made that clear pretty much when they acquired him.

20 - Billingsley is capable of reducing his walk rate, likely to benefit from the reduction and likely to become a quality pitcher. The mystery, for me, is only how long this will take.

I don't think too many people are giving up on Billingsley. Some might be tempering their expectations, especially for this year. That's not the same thing.

33 Has to be an age thing, but the Dodger equivalent would be Darrel Thomas.

The Lakers have too much 'savvy' on their roster.

I don't think 27 and 30 watched Entourage this week, so they've fallen back on Pulp Fiction.

Pardon the non-sequitor -

I admit that I root for the Red Sox due, mostly, to marrying into a New England family. However much I want them to do well, though, I enjoy the heck out of the annual "the end is nigh" moment which happens to be occuring right . . . now!

This series between them and Detroit features 2 teams in great position on paper, but who are probably gripping pretty hard at this point. Although, I guess the cold reality of the AL is that a couple of real good teams are going to be left on the outs.

40 Is Entourage that show where Russell Martin hangs around with the actor guy?

37 I know that Nate talks about and a quick look at some No. 1 starters confirms this, Chad is still on the really young side when it comes to starting his MLB career.

Chad is the first really hyped prospect to make to the Dodgers during this current run.

Sure, Martin and Ethier have done great and others have filled in but there is no question that Chad has been among the top prospects for a few years and the top pitcher talked about for many years.

Expectations are hard to temper and with the great performances of Papelbon in Boston, Jered Weaver and to lesser degree, Joe Saunders for the Angels, Justin Verlander in Detroit, Florida's group of rookie starters and then the ace of the group, Liriano in Minnesota, lots of Dodger fans wanted their own baby pitching ace to live up to all the billing.

Whether or not he does, tonite's start or even the rest of 2006 will not answer but we should judge Chad on his own merits.

Good luck Chad and go spear some Marlins.

40 Highlight of the show (other than the "would that be something" line):

(interior limousine)
Eric: Uh, where do you live Bob
Bob Ryan: Wha?

God Bless Martin Landau

They are not winning every game but does it mean anything that since the Phillies trade Abreu for some subway tokens and tickets to a revival of Cats, they are 8-5 (with some bad late losses) and are going for their second straight blow out win over the Mets (11-2 in the 6th).

My Comcast Extra Innings went out just after Nomar's home run last night, and is still not working today.

MLB Audio stopped working on my Mac around the All-Star break.

So, despite paying for both to ensure always getting to follow the game, I'm left with Gameday and the stupid Giants-Padres.

I know many others have it much worse than me, but I'm really hating the world right now.

46

My advice in these situations is to start from a base, e.g., not being dead and then work your way up through things that make you happy. Eventually things won't seem so bad.

Hah -- bedtime a dream and I'm in time to report possible Griddle-worthy events at RFK. Pedro Astacio goes out for the ninth, trying to get the Nationals' first complete game of the season.

I believe Bob reported earlier that there's never been a team that went all season with zero CGs.

We'll see what Frank does. 5-run lead and 77 pitches, 2 hits, for Pedro through eight.

47

I'm having a hard time getting past not being dead right now.

Seems like death might be warm and trouble-free.

And what is up with Phildelphia? 11-2 over the Mets.

And why was this post not titled "The Three Faces of Chad"?

48 Vote for Pedro

So Astacio does it -- a CG shutout, 2H, 0BB. 89 total pitches, 66 strikes.

46

I still can't get Dodgers on Demand, the cable guy told me "it would work for sure this week"

So, Bob -- are the Cubs still alive in the no-cg sweepstakes?

46
1. Lose the Mac
2. Are you dissing Gameday...?

54
Already covered on the Griddle Sam.

*I'm having a hard time getting past not being dead right now.

Seems like death might be warm and trouble-free.*

death in IMO is a black hole of nothingness, thus you are correct sir.

46
Icaros don't get rid of your Mac. Don't become one of "them." I'm counting on you. Don't give in to the Microsoft corporate drones.

I look at you as a shining light in an ever-increasing fog of PCs.

You've got an extra "n" up there. I know you probably feel entitled, what with a life of being short-n'd yourself, but still.

Yanks down 3-0, A-Rod up with the bases loaded no outs in the sixth.

At this moment, four teams in the NL are 55-63.

That will change though as three of them haven't played or finished yet.

60 Only gets a weak single that scores just one run. Unclutch!

Time of game in Atlanta between Nats and Braves, 2:01.

Detroit up 2-1 at Fenway (8th). Ortiz up with 2 out

63
Err, make that, time of the game in Washington....

Ortiz hits a double. Shocker. Tie game.

58 Because, you know, Apple isn't a corporation. It's just ultracool Steve Jobs and his pals putting together way-bitchin machines in his garage.

66 Sorry, it was a long single. Manny now up.

Going to the ninth in Boston, tied at two.

Only gets a weak single that scores just one run. Unclutch!

it was kind of clutch, he atleast scored one. NY fans probably booed him huh?

67

Remember I own a Prius. And I own a Mac. Do I own them because they are necessarily the best product on the market?

No, I own them to take over the moral high ground!

70 Yeah -- I was just joking because of the way they boo him. I don't really think he's unclutch.

71 I top your moral superiority with -

I gave up my car and bike commute. I rent when absolutely necessary (though I am probably going to buy the Prius plug-in when it becomes available or possibly have a car custom made as an electric).

I use Linux (though I also have a WinXP box).

To top it off, I am vegan. :)

2 Agree, great post.

I had the opportunity to come to LA last Thursday on business and catch the first win of this new steak. I was struck by Chad's competitiveness and, more significantly, his inability to hit 92 on the speed gun.

After the game, I turned on the AM 980/post-game talk (can't get that in Sacramento) and listened to the mostly endless parade of intoxicated Dodger fans. One sage caller from Riverside made the obvious point: 5 months into this season, Billingsley needs to skip a turn or two, if he is going to be of any value the next 6-8 weeks.

In the 8 weeks since Billingsley was called up, he has made 11 starts and 1,098 pitches (100 p/g avg.). In no game has he thrown less than 91 pitches. He is 21 years-old.

The wise man from Riverside calmly said to the clueless talk-show host who mistook the call as a sign of giving-up on the young phenom: "...have you ever pitched? Do you have any idea what it is like to 'hit the wall'? If they don't give this kid a break, they will peel him off the wall and it won't be pretty."

I can't argue with Apple's moral superiority, but I'm poor. I can only affort "PCs" and Gameday.

73

You're not one of them Class 3 vegans are you? You know, the ones that don't eat anything that doesn't cast a shadow.

Darnit, blew the joke.

73
Should we call you "St. Paul" from now on...?

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Paul Scott did not vote for Patrick J. Buchanan or Gary Bauer.

78 Given my position on religion, generally, and the Catholic Church in particular, I don't think "St. Paul" is likely appropriate. I do love the way they dress though (the simple black and white, not those outlandish things they wear in Rome).

Completely wacky play in Fenway. I'm not going to describe it. Jim Leyland is angry (that's odd). 3-2 Detroit, two outs and a runner on third for the Tigers.

81
It's baffled the Gameday operator so you better explain it.

80
On second thought, you're an attorney. You've forfeited all claims to moral superiority...

I got a Mac (Powerbook, to be exact) because I was tired of dealing with viruses and the companies who secretly make them (Norton, McAfee, etc.). For that part, I am happy.

I'd still like these media issues to be resolved, and I can't find a working MS Word program that I don't have to pay for (I have no moral ground to speak of).

82
Bob: What do you think about using the conjunction "It's" (as you have) to mean "It has", when technically it should only mean "It is"...?

85

You understood what I meant didn't you? If you don't like it, take it with the International Tribunal of Contractions (ITOC) that convenes bienially in Antwerp.

84 Curious. You believe enough in some sort of conspiracy theory that virus are primarily created by anti-virus software makers, but not enough to carry it further and think that the plethora of PC only viruses might be the product of Apple.

[82} Okay, runners on first and third, one out. Munroe hits one down the right field line. It bounces off Willy Mo (giggle) Pena's glove fair. Munroe heads to second, comes back to first, and is promptly called out by the first base umpire, and safe by the home plate umpire. Leyland loses his S@#$#. He's ruled out.

Instead of first and third, one out, it's runner on third, two out. Runner at third doesn't score. Leyland is angry.

I hate you for making me type all that.

88 And then I mess up the brackets.

86
I'm no longer welcome at ITOC, after I caused a scene over the word "won't." I mean, come on: how do you get w-o-n-t out of w-i-l-l-n-o-t? Plus, why is OK to say something like "Why won't you go with me," but not OK to say "Why will not you go with me?"

71 - my school superintendent got our school system a giant contract with apple, and since then I don't really have much appreciation for Macs, except the iMovie program.

I have great respect, though, for Linux.

If you need to learn more about the function of conjuctions, there is a junction you can go to. It involves a train and a conductor.

It also rocks.

85 Are contractions neccessarily defined? Can I not (properly) contract any two words - using an apostrophy in place of all letters between the two letters on either side - and simply allow context to provide the answer to what was betwixt?

89
Man Fingers Fingers in Bracket Mess Up

93
But shouldn't each contraction have only one unique meaning? Should "It's" be able to stand for both "It is" and "It has"?

Great post, Jon.

All I can say is, as cynical as this world is, at least Chad doesn't have to live in Tommy Lasorda's cynical world. He'd have Billingsley on a one-way ticket to palookaville by now.

There are two kinds of ingenues: The ones who are afraid to make a mistake, and the ones who aren't afraid to make a mistake. Both kinds cause their own particular problems. Both kinds can be undone by their predilictions, but hopefully they learn just in time to balance their natural talent with proper respect for their roles. Chad probably will learn to "trust his stuff" but not fully til next season.

Assuming the Dodgers make the playoffs, I'm not sure I'd have him on the 25-man roster if I had to decide today. He doesn't seem ready for that kind of pressure.

92 We are discussing contractions not conjunctions. Conjunctions may get you pretty far, but they willn't help much with our issues. ;)

87

No, I've heard the "Mac makes viruses" theory as well.

Probably true.

Contraction traction
What's your action?
Making big words shorter and shorter ...

95 Got me again.

97 Hey, it was an opportunity to bring up school house rock. Cut me some slack.

Detroit beats the Red Sox 3-2.

95 I have no idea what the proscriptive answer is. But I've heard "It's" to mean "It has" all my life, and I've never once heard it corrected.

Maybe I didn't hang around with enough nuns.

84 Icaros, take a look at

http://www.opensourcemac.org/

Sounds like NeoOffice or AbiWord might be what you're looking for. And they're free, of course.

93 No. Contractions should be merely the exercise of a rule of grammar - not additions themselves to the lexicon. In your example, "It's" should not be a word that has a deffinition. "It's" should be a rule of grammar whereby an apostrophy replaced letters. The rule of grammar should require that what those letters are is made clear by the context of the sentance.

As an aside - if you consider contractions just words, then your objection to "won't" has no basis.

Merriam Webster includes both "it is" and "it has" as expansions of "it's". I'd assume that the OED does as well, but I can't access it from home.

then your objection to "won't" has no basis

Oh, it has a basis all right. Yes indeedy-do. "Basis?" "Check."

BTW: I use "It's" to mean "It has" all the time in speech, but I never feel right using it that way in written form.

Of course, the real culprit here is "fo'c'sle", which should by all rights be spelled "fo'c's'le".

I'll admit that that was a fantastic play by Kent

105 FWIW, IMO message boards are "written form" only by the necessity of the medium, and should be considered more akin to speech than to writing.

Maybe I didn't hang around with enough nuns.

they pull you're ear when you don't behave!

102

Thanks. I'll give those a try.

99 - I'm clapping

Chad has started out right. Let's see if he can keep his red circle/green circle ratio respectable today. ;)

108
True, I write speechy-sounding words like "kinda" and "sorta" and "gonna".

In thinking it over, trying to come up with sentences that use It's to mean It has, all I can come up with are sentences where it is redundant, or at least inefficient; without the contraction, the sentence would seem wordy. Like:

Tell me about your car.
It's got a V-6...
(but why not "It has a V-6?" And definitely not "It has got a V-6.")

Where is your dog?
It's left the room.
(But why not "It left the room?" And probably not "It has left the room.")

Maybe someone else will think of an essential, efficient use of "It's" to mean "It has." I couldn't.

107 I liked it better in the Astacio thread. That, and its subsequent post, had me on the floor laughing. It kind of had a "walking into the girls bathroom" awkwardness to it. Thanks for making my horrible day a little lighter.

Kershaw had the worst game of his short pro career today:

4.0 IP, 6 H's, 3 ER's, 1 BB, 4 K's

His numbers for the season still look good, though:

36.0 IP, 28 H's, 0 HR's, 5 BB's, 52 K's, 2.00 ERA

I like that K/BB

114
That's similar to my problem with "won't" and "don't". If "don't" truly stands for "do not," why does it sound so wrong to say something like "Why do not you want to eat now?"

Icaros, Openoffice.org offers a good product which runs on Macs and is fully compatible with MS-Word and Excel.

that's a fairly low pitch for a short popup

114
It's been a long time,
now I'm,
coming back home.

Kershaw

4.0 IP, 6 H's, 3 ER's, 1 BB, 4 K's

I'm still very happy with the innings & K's

119

Is that different from NeoOffice, which I'm downloading now?

By the way, everyone, I know next to nothing about computers, except that I sometimes hate them.

bittorrent offers a free version of MS Office that works on a Mac too. ;)

121

Great lesser-known Beatles song.

By the way, when Koufax was 21 he threw 104 1/3 innings with 51 walks. Somebody who's got a calculator or spreadsheet open can figure what the BB/9 ratio was. Then we could compare it to Billingsley's 4.6 BB/6.

Grrrr.... Chad is tossing up those green circles again. Red, Chad. Red!

Icaros, I like OpenOffice.org. I use it at home as a free and legal alternative to Word.

123 It's different if you're not getting it from http://www.openoffice.org, yes.

You'd say "Why do you not want to eat now?" But because you'd re-order the words to make it sound right, that contradicts the "not additions to the lexicon" rule enunciated in 103, which I'm not sure I agree is the case anyway. Maybe 150 years from now, don't will be written as "dont" and the rules of grammar will have expanded accordingly. 'Twouldn't be the first time.

118 why does it sound so wrong to say something like "Why do not you want to eat now?

Maybe it would sound a little better as "Why do you not want me to eat now?"

that's a 4.4

Or, what 130 said. :)

126 4.4

John Lennon, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!

Not sure if it's been posted yet but the Lo Duca news keeps getting worse. I think he's going to have to change his nickname to Wilt. The title of the article is LOL funny.

http://tinyurl.com/jj7vn

15 pitches, 1-2-3

132, 134 Okay then. I'm not suggesting Billingsley is gonna be another Koufax (who has been?), but at comparable ages (although Billz had more minor league experience, since Sandy never played a day in the minors) they seem to have similar control problems. We all know how that turned out.

135 Nice Patton reference.

You don't hold your position. Let the Hun do that.

138 So you expect Billingsly to retire long before he should?

Chad has thrown 32 pitches in 2 innings.

How's the velocity on Billingsley's fastball tonight? Breaking stuff looking okay?

135 - yeah, I got the Patton reference, but I must not have been paying attention because I didn't get the John Lennon part

Thanks to everyone for the Word suggestions.

This NeoOffice says it's from OpenOffice.org, so it's probably the same.

143 see 121 (I wasn't trying to be obscure, I just forgot to add the comment #.)

90-93 with fb, curveball looking pretty good. thrown a couple of cut fastballs.

145 - oh, ok

Perhaps we could cut down Billingley's pitch count by offering to give every batter a 2-0 count when they come to the plate. That seems to be where Billingsley likes to start, but then he does fine from there on out.

wow Furcal! over the shoulder catch

Well, that was pretty stupid. Good thing he caught it.

Apparently Furcal thinks Lofton is in left field tonight

OT:
what does it mean if my laptop's wireless internet access hangs up (e.g. pages not downloading, streaming music coming to a halt), but if I gently whack the bottom of it against my knee, the hangup stops? Does the data get clogged like a wad of hair in the drain? Am I loosening the data bits by giving them a physical jolt?

Man I am so getting a Mac next time. Jobs has me right where he wants me.

152 - It means that my theory that computers are like toilets and often require you to jiggle the handle is correct.

I hate Comcast and MLB Audio!!!

(I may have these outbursts throughout the night.)

The Internet is a series of tubes! Tubes!

140 "Who knows what evil (liniment) lurks in the hearts (arms) of men?"

153 That's actually quite reassuring.

155

I thought it was a dump truck.

155 Totally tubular, man.

The Reds were shut out in St. Louis, so the Padres can tie for the wild card with a win tonight.

But the Padres are down 2-0 to the Giants.

Regarding Jon's recent thread that discussed Jayson Werth's wrist woes and the fact that he will be out of the year -- no surprise there -- leads me to a question about the disabled list. Why is it used so much more now than it was a generation and more ago. Besides Werth, Kent and Garciaparra will spend considerable time on the DL this year. I looked back at some Dodgers of the past. Pee Wee Reese played at least 140 games every year from 1941 through 1956; Duke Snider played in at least 139 games every season from 1949 through 1957; Gil Hodges was in 141 or more games each year from 1949 through 1958. The schedule included 154 games all those years, not 162 as today's does. Did those three and their contemporaries play through their injuries more than today's players do? Were they tougher? Is our medical knowledge so much great now that injuries are better diagnosed? I'd like to hear some comments.

great pitch sequence to Uggla. The first pitch cb and second pitch slider were great pitches.

can somebody tell me how many pitches Bills made?

I like this "average 1 K per inning" approach

Hey Chad, see how easy it is when you dont allow walks?

152 - It could be your antenna. Maybe a wire inside.

Or your wifi switch is on the bottom and your leg is switching it off and then on again.

162
The lack of proper diagnoses led to players playing with injuries for the most part. The players weren't tougher. They were just more expendable.

62 thru 4

4 K's, no BB, 1 hit (but caught stealing); minimum number of batters faced.

I bet we are going to have to hear about a "new" Chad Billingsley.

164 62 through 4 innings. He has faced the minimum 12 batters. This inning was his first really solid one, however.

152 - That's known as "percussive maintenance."

{162} - Part of it is probably the performance enhancers that weaken tendons and ligaments. Part of it is probably the difference in training regimines - the old timers didn't work out all year, they didn't lift weights, etc. But I think it may also have to do with the investment that the teams are making in players, you pay a guy $30M over four years, you want him healthy for a high percentage of those games.

164 To this point? He's made 62. 2/3 for strikes.

170 "What, you mean that strike zone?"

how to get Nomar not to swing at the first pitch:

throw it outside well off the plate

{174}

if he keeps that up, he's good for 6 or 7 no?

In this Starbucks where I'm sitting, someone left a Daily Breeze on my chair. It's item about Werth made it sound like the Dodgers were waiting for him to call them and tell them what was wrong with him, and knew nothing until yesterday.

Has Werth been getting paid? This seems like weird behavior for a guy who's cashing Dodger paychecks.

176 he still swung at ball 4 so that he could ground out on pitch #6.

well, now the Dodgers have a hit

Out with the No-No! I approve!

178 Who's Werth?

182 He's the one rehabilitating his vestigal "Y", right?

Kent needs to get his bat going because i am on the verge of getting upset. And I dont upset that easily.

Nate, I'm surprised anything could upset you on a night when Large Chad is doing so well.

173 -- "Part of it is probably the performance enhancers that weaken tendons and ligaments. Part of it is probably the difference in training regimines - the old timers didn't work out all year, they didn't lift weights, etc."

Does that mean that the performance enhancers taken nowadays have a negative effect? Also, If they didn't work out all year or lift weights in the past, would they have made them less susceptible to injuries and missing games during the season?

well, i have an 8 hour drive tomorrow so I'm pretty grumpy thinking about that.

1) Wild pitcher manages to bail himself out of trouble:
This porridge is too hot
2) Wild pitcher sinks under the weight of his own mistakes:
This porridge is too cold
3) Wild pitcher shakes it all off and finds comfort, joy in strike zone:
This porridge is just right

Nate just look at it this way, Bills is pitching good today.

13 pitches 1-2-3

6 K's through 5

187 - where to?

Billingsley has faced the minimum through five yet has thrown more pitches than Maddux made in eight. So much for pitching to contact.

162 -- That helps to explain why far fewer players seemed to be around in their late 30s or early 40s when I was growing up.
Do you know of any source that lists how many times the disabled list was used by teams, and by player?

He still is averaging 5 pitches/PA. A small blotch on an otherwise stallar performance tonight. I do hope the Dodgers can get a run or two for him, since he only has 2 more innings max (assuming he doesn't get at least one single digit pitch count inning inthe next two).

Billingsley has faced the minimum through five yet has thrown more pitches than Maddux made in eight. So much for pitching to contact.

You are complaining!??! or just being sarcastic...

Wilson!

191 Maddux's pitches were juicy-slow. It's impossible not to swing. Also, that was the Giants.

Dodgers need some runs, though...

194 I don't know. I'm just stating a fact.

Chad's turned it up. I wish I could watch it.

pinch hit here?

186 - steriods definitely have a negative effect, as do many of the others. Long term they can lead to serious muscle and tenden deterioration. (my spelling leaves something to be desired, I know)

As for the training, I think it would - if only because it allowed them recovery time. And considering that the vast majority of injuries we seem to be seeing are muscle pulls, strains, and sprains, it would suggest that the problem may have to do with the training that many players use.

Then again, guys like Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens extended their careers because of training, so the kind of training done also matters.

Chad has thrown 75 pitches.

Nate: You heading back to the desert? Do you ever go to the Arizona Fall League games?

Well that was a terrible at bat. Lets not try the fake bunt attempt again Grady.

A little too clever by half. Bunt the stupid ball next time.

Watching from work on Gameday. I see two "Swinging Strike". Is that correct? Is Little not having him bunt?

I guess it's a problem in that Billingsley might not be able to go past 7 even though he's been basically perfect.

191
Let's not go comparing the kids start to one of the best pitched games of our generation. Not exactly fair or telling.

Heh. I guess so from the comments above. Well that was stupid...

206 He squared, tried to pull the butcher boy, and missed twice. He then tried to bunt, and missed. Just a big bowl of stupid.

he loaded them up for Lofton

Still, though, I take back the comment I made earlier that Sele should start. Billingsley has been great. :-)

203

Not really. Those are mostly around the Pheonix area and Tucson's about 90mins south of Pheonix and im mostly busy during the school year. I do see some Tucson sidewinder games though. those are fun...especially dollar beer night.

I think the lack of guaranteed contracts plays a lot into how players were treated in the past.

Also, there were scope surgeries nor Tommy Johns so when guys finally got hurt, they were done for a while.

Orel Hershiser, Billingsly is not.

213 Great, well have a nice year, hope you have gameday audio or XM so you can catch the games.

Bat firmly on the sholder Kenny - and leave it there until 2 strikes.

well, on the plus side Billingsley doesn't have the higher pitch count anymore

/sigh. Guess Kenny though he was going to get a slam...

Well, that's one way to kill a rally

216

mlbtv is a lifesaver!

yep, he hit it right to the guy's name

Maybe that at-bat gotinto Chad's head.

Not a good night for moving runners over.

okay I'll say it, Kent looked slower then a turtle trying to get that ground ball.

"Anyone else want to try to bunt?"

Nicely done Billz. Good for you.

OH HELL YEA!!!723407307@()&@@(

Yay, Chad

Billingsley, that is.

Chad hangs tough!

187- I leave Thursday and it's a 9 hour drive. Are you going with someone?

What a pitch by Billingsley! (looked like a slider)

nice. 14 pitches

2 hits, 2 K

His strikeout/walk numbers are much better now

Well, well.
I predict Billingsley will make hundreds of dollars playing this game.

Nate says my faith in Logan always is rewarded.

Scoreless through 9 and a half, Martin with the walkoff jack in the 10th?

billingsley with his build and that slider remidns me of bonderman.

What if I told you that I had a 21 year old starter, with a plus fastball and above average breaking pitch, and he'd go six innings of shutout ball, with 8k's.

Would that be something you might be interested in?

Sorry. Couldn't resist. Yay Chad!

235

I'll be happy with a win

235
It would be less difficult then to figure out the last time somebody homered in extra innings to end a 1-0 game this time.

239 Nice

I leave Thursday and it's a 9 hour drive. Are you going with someone?

actually yea, one of my best friends is coming out with me. Hes going to fly to philly from tuscon on sunday (he goes to villanova) so we are going to party it up AZ style over 4 days or so.

back to back walks

230- a hanging Chad?

If this game is scoreless in the 7th, I would be quite surprised and disappointed.

Man. Weird. I just saw Spike Lee in a Dodger Uniform in the TV...

It is okay to take more pitches Kent with people on the bases.

well Kent's out was worth less! (productive out would have been nice)

Ethier is due -- he's hit the ball hard the first two ABs.

Those JK RISP PopUps are really getting to me...

241 All these Dodger Thoughts students heading back to school! Cute!

Have a great year you guys. Sorry, I'm a little verklempt!

Okay I'll say it, Jeff Kent is not clutch

246 He swung at would have been strike three. There was no issue with that PA. It wasn't like Nomar's two innings ago or much worse, Keeny's last inning.

Anyone else getting that sinking feeling that Kent came back too early from his injury?

Son of a bee sting, if we don't score here...

250 - I'm already at school :(. These days, I I spend 10 1/2 months out of the year away from LA.

I head back a week from tomorrow

In the 12th inning of their game in Houston, the Cubs have already used 21 players, including 8 pitchers.

Seems like every time Kent comes up in a key situation lately, he pops up on the infield.

Pain...so much pain...

good job by Sanchez, he threw a bunch of offspeed stuff for strikes.

Well, phooey.

I go back home in 2 days. Then I go back to school a week later.

I just finished school.

Well that's a bummer.

Can't we just call the meetings that Pete Carroll and Karl Dorrell have with the press called "press conferences" instead of "pressers"?

Carrara's warming up? Wow.

Giles homer makes it SF 2, SD 1 after six.

yay, 1 pitch out!

Am I correct in saying fanerman and Telemachos have been silent lurkers for a long time, 'til tonight? My attendance isn't 100 percent so I might have missed you passing through earlier.

This is the best slider Billingsley has had since he's been in the big leagues. Can you imagine if he can perfect the slider and the curve? Wow.

Anyone wish to hazard a guess as to the name of the one non-starting pitcher that the Cubs have not yet used against Houston tonight?

271 Lee Smith?

nooooooo, first walk by chad.

271
Warren Brustar?

272
Let's limit it to people on the roster now.

Dempster?

and to Borchard...

You could just toss fattys up there and let him hit it.

271 Rick Reuschel?

276
That's correct.

Look for a cameo by Warren Brusstar in the RGC on August 19.

275 I'm watching on gamecast, so answering wouldn't have been a guess. I went for the joke instead.

Chad's slider was awesome today. One more inning! I want 10 Ks!

269 I don't necessarily post a lot, but I've been posting since before fanerman was fanerman. (I think)

gotta hold off on the closer for those save situations

105 pitches. That was his last. I just hope we can score for him this inning.

Thank God Chad got out of that. I would hate to see a journeyman like Geode blow Billingsley's best major league performance.

You're not correct DzzrtRatt, because once we had both Telemachos and Odysseus posting.

Telemachos and fanerman have both been around here as far back as I can remember, and my rookie year was 2004!

Why would Dusty Baker bring Dempster into a tie game when he can bring in Angel Guzman and his 7.39 ERA?

So, I'm off the grid for ten days starting tomorrow. Going to the small town in Wisconsin where my wife grew up; she hasn't been back in 20 years. It's supposedly the only town in Wisc with five o's in the name.

Name that town.

You think Ned is scouting Sam Cassell?

http://tinyurl.com/pcozk

??? What the Fish? Why not Loney?

Lucille II steps to the plate, carrying a neon sign that says I'M BUNTING.

I deep-sixed any notion of the clown museum, you'll be happy to know.

We will be at the Brewers/Rockies game on August 24, however.

289 - Oooooracine

ouch. Billingsley got pulled because he wasn't good enough to hit a sacrifice bunt

269 - Note the small testimonial on the sidebar.

Vin sounded like Ron Burgandy when he said "mountain".

292 Ahh, ok. I don't approve of course, but at least that explains why no Loney. It's hard to believe (even after Chad's last attempt) much was really gained bringing Martinez in if the plan was to bunt - but then again nothing much was lost either.

289 That is a small town. Been to Appleton and Osh Kosh, and that's it. EAA Museum, baby!

Great at bat by Furcal especially being able to lay off of those curves.

297 - I'd pay to hear Vin say, "The arsonist had oddly-shaped feet."

282 - You're probably right. I changed my name, I think. Dropped off some numbers at the end of my nmae (I think I used to be fanerman91). I've been here since the end of the 2004 season.

A kind thank you to everyone who's actually remembered me. I took a break from posting, mainly because I've been busy with school and such.

Thanks to Comcast, I'm watching the Giants game, called by the duo of Jon Miller and F.P. Santangelo.

And I'm rooting for the Giants.

Shoot me.

yes! Give Chad his win!

Those watching - wh is in the BP?

Nice!

Looks like an excellent game pitched by Chad (though I can't vouch for how dominating or not dominating he looked).

303 - Not at all. If you root against the Giants against your will, the Giants win. Know what I'm saying?

305 - Big bad John. (Broxton)

303
Icaros,
I have MS-Word (and the rest of the Office) suite for Mac.

Openoffice might work better. The version I have always takes a long time to open up the application.

and the Dodgers are put on the board by Kenny Lofton

IBB no Nomar to get to Drew. Interesting call.

Messenger's hat looks almost as goofy as Dontrelle's.

305

The Behemoth.

Billingsley's Game Score: 79.

I wonder if Tyrone and Josh Willingham are father and son.

Probably not.

I know I shouldn't care about the Giants and I don't but can't they find anyone better than Mike Stanton.

314 /tents hands... excellent.

Icaros,
Did you notice that F.P. Santangelo has been talking too close to the mic? Every "p" sound grates my ears.
"That P itch was off the P late."

Have a good time in Oconomowoc, Sam.

A rather ugly insurance run, but I'll take it.

RBI(s) for Drew

303

I know. I'm really just mad that my Extra Innings isn't working and I just missed Billingsley's best game by far in the majors.

310

Thanks. I'll look into that.

Woo hoo, let's go pester Sam!

http://www.oconomowocusa.com/

319

Not really. I've been more distracted by his sounding 16 years old.

315 - he just topped Maddux for best start for a Dodger pitcher

Kent good enough now? ;)

320 Try teaching a five year old to say that!

324 You go ahead. I'll meet you there later.

by game score anyway

ethier just took away the save situation

This is great.

Hit.

Parade.

325, maybe it's just me then.

I am beginning to get a really good feeling about this team, if they could only pound out a few more home runs.

331 Good. Saves are stupid. :)

I swear, I don't know what to make of this team anymore, completely unpredictable - and a blast to watch.

By the way, anyone else hear Skip Bayless this morning on ESPN saying the Bums will win 59 of their last 60? Is that a reasonable expectation at this point?

the 9th dodger batter of the 7th inning

Matt Herges! Think Ned'll tell the boys to go easy on him?

The last few days as a Dodger fan, I've felt like Frodo returning to the Shire.

I don't know if it's possible to compare Bills' start to Maddux's, given the different career contexts, but they both seem incredibly gratifying.

I wonder what completely off-key headline the Times will give this tomorrow? "Lofton Lofty?"

335 - homeruns are overrated, I'll take our line up of line drive hitters over a bunch of mashers that strike out twice as much as they hit.

As it happens, I was reading today about Taylor Tanskersley (sounds like a name out of Dickens) in Jeff Pearlman's biography of Barry Bonds, "Love Me, Hate Me." Tankersley, then with the Padres, gave up Bonds' 587th homer in 2002, which moved Bonds to No. 4 on the all-time list. It was on a sinker that didn't sink, and Bonds hit it 482 feet at Quallcomm.
From the book, which is excellent and very damning to Bonds::
" 'Guys still give me a hard time about it,' says Tankersley, who has gone on to a career toiling the minor leagues. 'But the way I see it, if you're pitching to Barry Bonds, it means you're in the big leagues. Plus, I was a part of history.' "

At http://baseballanalysts.com/ Bryan Smith has an article on the top 10 NL rookies at the moment. Ethier #2, Martin #7, Saito #9. DT favorite Cole Hamels is #10; Josh Johnson is #1, and his favorite for ROY.

and that makes 10!

This is silly.

But "Good" silly.

Huh. The Giants run the bases as stupid as we do.

This year's football schedule for the Coons of Oconomowoc High

Menomonee Falls

@ Kettle Moraine

@ Hartford

Wisconsin Lutheran

@ West Bend West

Beaver Dam (Homecoming)

West Bend East

@ Watertown

Madison West

The battle between the Coons and Beaver Dam should be full of delightful misinterpretation.

I also like the fact that Kettle Moraine High just took a name that is so straightforward since it's a geographical feature. It's like going to a high school called "Mountain."

The battle between the Coons and Beaver Dam should be full of delightful misinterpretation.

That's it, I'm moving to Wisconsin. Not really.

347 So that is not Grittle material.

347 West Bend West is just an awesome name, too.

Remember that Matt Herges was so disappointed when the Dodgers traded him to Montreal in 2002 that he cried? Is he married to Todd Hollandsworth's sister, or is Hollandsworth married to Herges' sister?

Heck of a play by Betemit - however it's pronounced.

Oh, am I smart enough not to try and get mileage out of that one from my wife who attended Oconomowoc High until grade 11.

She went on to UC Berkeley you know.

But she really just calls it Cal.

Beaver Dam High is in Beaver Dam, WI. It's like they stopped trying to come up with names after a while.

One of my goals in the week off I have at home is to watch Chad Billingsley pitch. I hope he pitches a gem.

349 Nah, Grittle wouldn't be interested. One of his coaches might be though.

342 The guy who gave up that homerun to Bonds was Dennis Tankersley.

348 There are supposedly people in Madison that could verify that I spent a fair amount of time in Wisconsin during college. I have no way of corroborating that, but neither do I have any way of contradicting it either.

I bet Watertown has a helluva a swim team.

Why exactly does Amezaga play ahead of Cody Ross?

With Izturis gone, Lugo as our 9th man, and Saenz as our top PH, the Dodger lineup is pretty relentless most nights. There isn't a single guy I dread seeing in the on deck circle most nights. After the last couple of years, thats saying something.

360 - because Girardi doesn't know about the ex-Dodger thing

According to Gameday, Broxton rolled that last pitch to Amezaga like a bowling ball, who swung and missed.

According to Gameday, Broxton rolled that last pitch to Amezaga like a bowling ball, who swung and missed.

Okay, fess up. Which one of us made a deal with the Devil about 18 days ago?

358 Yes, I know that last sentence was grammar hell.

I did nothing to deserve that.

361 Lucille II. But other than that, yes.

365 Wasn't me. I'm still poor.

11 Ks through 8. Not bad.

365 I thought not wearing my hat was sort of a deal with the devil during the win streak. Of course, when they lost last week, I made sure to start wearing it again. They've won anyways.

365 Maybe Fausto Carmona is a Dodger fan.

maybe Schuerholz is the devil

Ryan Dempster in as pitcher #9 for the Cubs. They just have two players left: Rich Hill and Carlos Marmol.

If either one of them pitches, the Cubs would tie the NL record for most pitchers in an extra inning game.

365 I would have, but I traded my soul in second grade for a PBJ, so I had nothing of interest to offer.

The Schedule Makers?

Any schedule that has the Pirates on it for 12 games is a good one.

363 He bounced a hard breaking ball around the plate.

Vinnie Chulk fails to choke up another walk-off. Giants win.

365 The devil wears Prada. Jamie shops at the same place.

Sele to close it out?

That was only the 8th inning.

376 Don't go underestimating the Pirates. I hear they have a great manager. He even has his own style of baseball.

378 That was premature...

382 - Have I heard of this manager before? Yes I have. Am I impressed with him? Not particularly.

379
Excellent point.

381 The AZ/CO crawl was passing by as I was watching the 8th inning. I'm gonna take the old brain in to get rewired soon.

The cool thing is that sure the schedule has been easy the last couple weeks, but I think its just as easy in Sept.

Pirates/Cubs/Brewers for 9 games, and then the some more whoopings of the Rockies to dole out.

Unless the Dodgers just get totally worked against the Padres/DBax, they might be able to coast into the NL West title.

To repeat from last inning, who is in the BP? :)

387 Please don't repeat that last sentence.

When does Loney play? Does he play some OF? He's just pinch-hit the last couple days, hasn't he?

Apparently, F.P. Santangelo and Eliezer Alfonzo are dating.

387 I think we have 4 against the Mets, but yeah, we have a pretty easy schedule here out. With the exception of the MEts it's either an NL West team or someone pretty terrible.

388
Given the shot from the blimp, it looks to be a couple of ants and a termite. When did we sign them?

{387} Oh, JoeyP, you did it again. You always put me in a good mood.

the Reds aren't bad, although we did work them over pretty nicely

Meanwhile, the saga continues in Houston.

What's with Houston and extra inning games

Benitez with a 1-run lead. Luckily the Pads don't have much of an offense, still the outcome is 50/50 at this point.

Loney gets playing time

Sele, Gio, Broxton, Ant, Termite... doesn't much matter. Seems like everyone gets it done.

We Win!

Nice! Great win for Bills and the Dodgeers.

7 pitches. Nice

3.5 game lead

Thats 11 games made up in 18 days unbelievable.

Somehow Benitez does not blow it. SD loses. 3.5 up.

That would seem to be Bills #4. Hopefully, it'll become Bills #1.

This is just amazing. I imagine this is how Yankees fans felt in the 1950s.

3.5 up.

Andre Ethier is on top of the division!

Dodgers pitching: 3 hits 1 walk, 11 strikeouts.
Whoa.

we got a little bit of #1 mixed in, but all in all a great outing

Watching Billz have this kind of successmanship bodes well for the future. Great outing, kid.

G'night and goodluck. See you all in round two weeks.

Dodgers are 8 games back of the Mets.

407

Yankee fans in the 1950s worried more about the Soviets invading Europe than we do today.

I think "successmanship" is my new favorite word, right up there with "disunderstood."

Where are you going Sam?

Bye Sam. Have a nice vacation. Say "Hi" to Wisconsin for me.

412
Have a great trip Sam. Hopefully when you get back we'll have won 28 out of 29.

If Sam loved us, he would log in from a public library in Wisconsin.

But we know how we rate....

419

Don't worry, he'll end up doing something like that.

The emptiness will be too much for two weeks.

Billingsley's average game score is now a 51.67

Lindsay Soto is almost as hot as the Dodgers. That's all I'm trying to say.

Lindsay Soto needs to eat more cheeseburgers. With fries.

415 If you feel like laughing for a good half hour, I give you the greatest non-words in history:

http://tinyurl.com/cveua

It's absolutely crantastic!

419- would public libraries be open that late?

Dempster is up to 38 pitches. He'll have to come out soon. It's into the 16th in Houston.

other Dodger starters' avg game scores:

Sele - 49.71
Lowe - 50.58
Hendy - 44.13
Penny - 53.75

and based on a sample size of 3
Maddux - 67

Dodgers win! Yet, I'm strangely not satisfied. I want Michelle to call. =/

Dodgers on the verge of a season series sweep, at least.

If one more pitcher comes in to the game in Houston, the Cubs and Astros will tie the major league record for pitchers used in a game at 18.

If you're going to 'Sconsin, drink a Leinenkugel's beer for me. Dang, I miss that stuff. The pride of Chippewa Falls, I tell you!

The Astros and Cubs are also playing a day game tomorrow.

I think somebody at Round Rock and somebody at Iowa is getting ready to come fill in tomorrow.

they're in the top of the 13th in Coors

420 Heck, I've been gone since Sunday and I was quite happy that the girlfriend and I found a hotel with WiFi tonight. After seeing the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Mt. Rushmore in successive days, I can't say their was any emptiness, but it would have been nice to catch a couple of the games.

Besides, I've been driving so much that it's nice just to kick back and relax.

433

Add one.

Carlos Marmol pinch hits for Dempster in the 17th. He should be the Cubs 10th pitcher and is the 24th Cub to play in the game.

the Dodger Report mentions that with Lofton's latest steal, his next target to pass will be 19th century ballplayer Dummy Hoy.

Baseball-Reference lists Dummy Hoy as a similar batter to Brett Butler

Great win tonight. It's always nice to leave work with a tie game and come home with the Dodgers leading.

Three stars for the game:

1. Billingsley - great pitching performance
2. Lofton - his fielding may be shaky, but he can still hit
3. Kent - just for the nice play in 8th getting the out after the runner slid past second

Marmol PH for Dempster - so the Cubs are now at 10 pitchers (18 total between them).

Cubs brought in Rich Hill. They obviously want to end this game.

Rich Hill is in to pitch. That means all 25 Cubs have played.

439 - So we've got a Jeff Hamilton-type situation developing?

Dusty must think it's September already.

Rich Hill is supposed to start tomorrow for the Cubs.

Has it been pointed out that we are in a "virtual" tie with the Cardinals...?

441 - They're hoping the game extends to September 1.

442
It would be more like an 1880s situation. If Hill couldn't pitch anymore, he'd have to go in to the field and they'd have to rotate positions.

Anyone know what happens in an injury here? Cubs play with less than 9 or are they forced to forfiet?

Cardinals .5338
Dodgers .5333

If you can't send out nine players, you have to forfeit.

445 The Cards are ahead of us. They have played two fewer games and we split those two games.

Cubs have ran out of players.
Brad Ausmus is catching his 18th inning.

450 How is the game recorded in that event?

449 I think the Cards have us on the tiebreaker, something about head to head play.

4.17
A game shall be forfeited to the opposing team when a team is unable or refuses to place nine players on the field.

First and third, nobody out for the Cubs.

453
The stats would stand. It would just go in to the record book as a win for the team that was awarded a forfeit. There would be no losing or winning pitcher since this is extra innings and the Cubs would only forfeit if the game were tied or if they were ahead.

451
Yes, but if we were in the same division, we'd each be "0.0" games back of each other.

455 Thanks. Do you know what the game record looks like at that point? Does the pitcher of record at that time get the win? In a forfeited game, do the stats accumulated to that point count?

I notice that the Cubs have used two pitchers as PHs. When was the last time that happened?

I notice that the Cubs have used two pitchers as PHs. When was the last time that happened?

If the Dodgers and Cardinals were in the same division, the Cardinals would have the yellow jersey and the Dodgers would have the checkered jersey.

[noticed]

I'd assume that is a Cub got injured, he'd go to left field and the Cubs would just pray nobody hit it to left field.

8-6 Cubs on the single by Murton.

We go to the bottom of whatever inning it is. The 18th, I think.

459 - Let's find the Disco Demolition Night box.

Come on Astros! I want more baseball. Let's go another 9 innings.

the most hits in that game: Cesar Izturis, who is 4-8, all singles and 1 RBI

I believe the Cubs are the first team to use all 25 players on their roster in one game.

There have been other teams that have used 25 or more players, but it's been after 9/1 or in one instance, it was in April, but that was in 1959 and teams were able to carry an extra five players for the first couple of weeks.

The A's used 30 players against the Angels in a 15 inning game in 1972.

Lots of good Griddle stuff.

Somehow, in a better managed game, the Snakes and Rockies are in inning 16. Both have a bech player and at elast one reliever left before they go into their starters.

There's no box score for the Disco Demolition forfeit since the game never started.

470 That's so funny. I was just thinking to myself "Somewhere, a Timmermann is lining up a dilly of a Griddle entry."

Or entries. I'm breathless with anticipation.

Cubs win!

Ballgame. 5 hrs and 36 min. Gadzooks.

Damn. Game over in Houston.

Dodger "ball night" forfeit ended with 1 out in the 9th. Since the Cards were ahead, the ptichers of record (Mark Petkovsek, W; Hideo Nomo, L) got decisions.

Tom Henke got the save. Somewhere, Jae Seo weeps.

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/B08100LAN1995.htm

And the caravan moves to Denver ...

Meanwhile, back at the TimmerCave, Bob spends the wee hours of the morning cobbling together one interesting Griddle entry.

It may be a Fortress of TimmerTude. I'm not really sure.

It's probably just a house.

477 what caused the forfeit?

481 Dodger "fans" threw souvenir baseballs (on ball night) on to the field in protest after Raul Mondesi struck out for the first out in the 9th inning, Dodgers trailing 2-1.

http://tinyurl.com/kkkmh

These extra inning games are just a warm-up for the insane East Coast playoff games that start at 8 PM EST and end after 1 AM EST. It's nice to live on the West Coast as a sports fan.

Luis Gonzalez just picked a good time to get his first hit.

Arizona takes the lead in Colorado.

Is Matt Holiday hurt, or has Clint Hurdle managed to bench his best player in an 18 inning game?

Holiday is hurt.