I think I'm getting old.

Is the quality of your mouse a factor?

My all-time best (after playing this game for all of two minutes) is .203. That'll give something for the kids to shoot for.

Too bad I never found a way to make my reaction time useful in a sport that pays millions of dollars.

And if that happens, it's possible that on Sunday the NL Wild Card could be a three-way tie among Cincinnati, San Diego, and Arizona at 62-62.

Oh yeah, I'm that good.

For those worrying about the wireless mouse, the test says you can touch any key.

This site would've been better if it posted some kind of standard vs. which we could compete. But it was cool. If it turns out I could've been Gary Sheffield, I'm going to be ticked off.

all i now is that i'm getting worse & worse the more i play it.

I see the A's have been playing solid ball and have a comfortable lead winning 12 of 16 this month. I couldn't help but see how old friend Milton Bradley was doing. It doesn't look like he's contributed too much in the A's recent success. Here's Milton's numbers for August....

BA - .212
OBP - .339
SLG - .327
OPS - .666

With a quick click I could see how APerez has faired this month. Not good. In 6 PA's its .000's across the board for Antonio.

if i found out i could have been Eric Davis i'd be ticked off as well.

It's Kirk Reuter. On his baseball-reference page, the Kirk Reuter Fan Club brags about Reuter:
"You were the 10th winningest lefty from 2001 to 2003."

Stan from Tacoma

And I doubt Doug Rau ever got a ceremony at Dodger Stadium.

Stan from Tacoma is sneaking on to tell us he's been kidnapped by popup.

They seem to always do this stuff when playing the Dodgers.

He was 11-2 against the Reds, 10-4 against the Reds, 8-2 against the Brewers, and 12-4 against the Padres.

The Braves were not fooled. Rueter was 3-9 against them.

Rueter forever earned my enmity (which is considerable for this inning):

GIANTS 5TH: Rueter singled to pitcher; *high chopper, funny
hop;* On a bunt Lofton singled to third [Rueter to
second]; *right on line, fair, then foul, then Glaus picked it
up just as it came back fair;* Aurilia singled to right
[Rueter scored, Lofton to third]; Kent hit a sacrifice fly to
right [Lofton scored, Aurilia to second (error by Salmon)];
Bonds was walked intentionally; Santiago singled to center
[Aurilia scored, Bonds to second]; Snow flied to right; Sanders
struck out; 3 R, 4 H, 1 E, 2 LOB. Angels 3, Giants 3.

Stan from Tacoma

1) Christy Mathewson
2) Carl Hubbell
3) Juan Marichal
4) Kirk Reuter

I doubt Mike McCormick ever got a ceremony like this and he won a Cy Young award.

Too soon?

Stan from Tacoma

Kirk Reuter has big ears.

Two flaps up

I have big ears. And I have many Reuterian facial features.

It's my cross to bear.

Stan from Tacoma

I have a feeling that among his 363 wins, he beat the Giants at least 10 times.

Stan from Tacoma

Spahn pitched 16 games for the Giants at the end of his career in 1965.

Stan from Tacoma

Stan from Tacoma

Spahn won 3 games for the Giants.

Stan from Tacoma

Those would be hard guys to confuse.

Gaylord & SF, that's just wrong. :o)

now to test the keyboard speed

Lofton, CF (third-best average in baseball since the beginning of last year)

Nomar, 1B

Drew, RF

Kent, 2B

Ethier, LF

Betemit, 3B

Martin, C

Maddux, P (going for Top 10 in wins again)

got the line up from Josh.what do you guys think of the line up.

my keyboard speed was avg, mouse speed i was above avg.(i think)

Stan from Tacoma

Stan from Tacoma

I think this is our best line up right now.

he takes pitches very well, he has a very good hitting approach

1,2,3 it is

he has great reflexs/positions him self well to make a play.

His OPS has to be at .800 after the single and double.

Furcal bunted. Henessy looked at 3rd, and threw wild to first and Maddux scored.

Then, Furcal went to third, and the throw was wild to third, and Furcal went home.

Hennessy's throw home went over the catcher, and Frucal scored.

Reaction time!!! I've been practicing on that test.

I LOVE THIS TEAM!!!!

9-0. LOL.

Well, not really.

Just sayin'

Well, so much for that thought. And more support sabrmetrics, sinkerballer's with terrible K/9 and K/BB ratios with surprising ERA's even out.

kinda even's out Hennessy's amazing luck.

(pause)

Okay, I'm lying through my teeth. This is what I call fun.

game score: 13, and the Giants pen should be exposed to wear and tear

And it's 10-0 after 1 1/2

a) gaining weight by
b) sitting for long periods while
c)watching oodles of electronic entertainment.

Kids. They take summer vacations for granted, you know.

Where's the Griddlemeister when you really, really need him?

Oh, and school starts Monday for me...On my Birthday.

LOL!!

What are you talking about? There was only one MLB game played today and it was in East Bristol, CN. It deserves the entire sportscenter show and then all of baseball tonight to tell us about Peter Gammons showing up and more in-depth analysis.

It's very shoddy math, but probably not too far off. It should happen apx. twice each season.

Any wagers (virtual only, ATF; no trouble here, thanks)?

If I remember correctly (someone please correct me if I'm wrong), the major league record for consecutive batters retired by a pitcher is 41, by Jim Barr, who pitched for a team that is currently losing 10-0 in the third inning. Maddux is at 28 now.

I think Gagne once retired 27 in a row over a large number of outings.

http://www.travel-watch.com/bostonmassacre.htm

I'm going to buy something for you. I'm not sure what yet but you deserve something!

Sincerely,

ESPN

Correct--41 consecutive batters retired by Giants pitcher Jim Barr in August 1972

Barry gives up and he's going home

Plasma TV's are also acceptable.

"Arousing or holding the attention; absorbing."

does it get banned for meaning "arousing?"

So, what are the odds that a pitcher with a "true" ability of roughly 4.90 ERA gives up 2 earned runs over 4 straight outings? Is Maddux a changed man? Is Rick Honeycutt THE man? Did Maddux just raise expectations for the rest of the year way too high? I'm enjoying the ride for now, but just like during our rookies' .900 OPS-fest earlier in the season, I'm scared of the crash.

As 6-4-2 put it, Eastern Sports Propaganda Network.

btw, i was doing something else earlier and so i didn't see what happened. but what the heck is THIS:

"Rafael Furcal hits a sacrifice bunt. Throwing error by pitcher Brad Hennessey. Greg Maddux scores. Rafael Furcal scores. Throwing error by second baseman Ray Durham."

someone, please explain what the heck happened.

Sincerely,

ESPN

You had to ask.

And you can make a case that he [Maddux] has been unlucky - his Fielding Independent ERA (FIP) is about a run below his actual ERA.

Remember, in incedibly large leads, and middle innings, Maddux will sometimes let the hitter have one, so that the hitter will remember his success, and Maddux has a bigger advatage. That's what Vin told me.

And it looks true, the way Maddux just dominated the final 2 hitters.

Okay... Maddux on second, Furcal bunts, fielded by pitcher who looks to third and sees the shortstop covering late (the thirdbaseman charged a few steps on the bunt). Pitcher throws to first to get Furcal and the ball goes up the right field line in foul ground about 15 yards. Maddux scores, Furcal digs for third and the throw from Ray Durham skips past the thirdbaseman. Furcal digs for the plate and beats a late throw for his second slide, his fourth base and second run produced, all one one bunt.

Hope that helps.

Maddux wants it to be more interesting. :o)

Too much time between innings to sit on the bench!

http://tinyurl.com/pf4ng

http://tinyurl.com/pf4ng

Where did the chant "Beat LA" originate?

I have my answer which may or may not be the right answer but it is my answer so you'll have to guess my answer, even if it's not the right answer.

[246] he could potentially get 7 years in prison, just because he wanted to talk to some ball players?? our society is messed up.

lakers and celtics?

Boston Celtic fans

very clever of him to get his outing where he gives up a bunch of runs out of the way when there's a 10 run lead

Well, if Nomar made the play...

Yes, indeedy. Philly was eliminating Boston and the Celtic fans gave them what Dr. J said was "a nice sendoff."

nah, i'll tell you it's hard to hit a dinger with the thick air in SF.

Geez, I turn on the game late (top 2) and it's already out of reach so I flip the channel to Lebowski on TMC and when I come back, it's 10-6.

Diehard Cubs fan here (and baseball fan). I'm adopting the Dodgers as my team to pull for this post season. I'm envious of the talent you guys have.

Anyway, I am watching the game to see Maddux pitch and when Alou hit that 3 run homer, I thought I saw some fan interference. Did anyone else think that? I could have sworn that ball would have dropped or been caught.

I just checked the TiVO replay and I think you're right. It's a mite curious that neither Ethier or Repko argued by I think the fan clearly stuck his glove over the wall.

Nice observation. I don't think anyone here noticed it.

Yes... I am a little sensitive to that. ;)

I really do like this Dodger team. Maddux and Garciaparra are doing well after leaving the Cubs.

I want the Giants to suffer after we got Dusty Baker from them. LOL

I'm over the Bartman incident. That play alone didn't lose us the NLCS.

317 - nice

"Skittles® Bite Size Candies, originally made by a company in England, were first introduced in the United States in 1974. In 1982, production of Skittles began in the United States. Skittles sold in the United Kingdom are made in the Czech Republic, where Mars, Incorporated makes them for export to many European Union markets"

I thought Skittles had been around longer than that.

For many of our ancestors, beer and skittles pretty much was the definition of good times.

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1
ID: 501880
PW: nomar

Stan from Tacoma

"Sitting with the statues of Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal at San Francisco's AT&T Park on Saturday, this Southern Californian wondered.

Isn't it time for the Dodgers to erect a statue of someone at Chavez Ravine?

The figures of Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky in front of Staples Center not only give the building class, but community, serving as a meeting spot for hundreds of fans nightly.

"Meet me at the Sandy Koufax statue?"

Sounds good to me."

The vast majority of fans enter through gates that directly abut parking lots.

As for the Brooklyn/LA Dodgers' Hall of Fame, that could be a nice topic of discussion here. Who would get in?

All of the Dodgers' Cooperstown HoFers would be in, obviously. Wills, Garvey and Valenzuela would finally get their enshrining moments. Other locks would be guys like Hershiser, Cey, Russell, Lopes. I'll bet Kirk Gibson would get in. Brooklyn-era guys like Hodges, Furillo, and Podres would definitely be included. There's lots of other candidates. Who else?

I disagree. Guys like Hoyt Wilhelm, Frank Robinson, and Casey Stengel wouldn't make it. Heck, even some guys who are in the HOF and were primarily Dodgers probably wouldn't make it. I don't think there's a Burleigh Grimes Marching and Chowder Society out there.

Team Halls of Fame like this are strange because the criteria include both actual ballplaying credentials and how beloved you were by the fans. Maury Wills, for example, objectively is probably not even the 50th best Dodger ever, but his popularity with the fans was such that he'd be among the first inductees into a Dodger Hall of Fame. Same goes for Fernando, for that matter.

In approximate order of preference, here are my top 20 candidates for an L.A. Dodgers Hall of Fame (giving some weight to excellence and some to karma). I kept it to L.A. guys because, realistically, I think your average Dodger fan (and your current team owner) really don't care one whit about the Brooklyn days.

Koufax
Valenzuela
Drysdale
Hershiser
Gibson
Piazza
Sutton
Gilliam
Guerrero
Lopes
W. Davis
Wills
Cey
Roseboro
Scioscia
Garvey
T. Davis
Gagne
Perranoski
R. Martinez

Obviously room would also have to be made for Alston and [holds nose] Lasorda. And Vinny should have a plaque five times as big as all the others.

Other guys I'd consider are Nomo, Karros, Baker, Osteen, R Smith, Mondesi, Podres, Sax, Green, Russell, and a persional favorite, Dave Hansen.

I'm thinking three statues would be good: Koufax, Fernando, and a fist-in-the-air Gibson.